Sun and sea
Posted: May 24, 2016 Filed under: Brusho, Out to sea, Serenity | Tags: Brusho, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 4 Comments
Over on the Penny Black blog this week ‘Father’s Day’ cards are the feature. My card could definitely be used for Father’s Day (if I remember to post it!) but it could be just as easily used for any friend or family member. The colour scheme and the lack of floral images does make it a good choice for a masculine card.
Four different painted panels were cut up then layered to create my sunny seascape. The background blue panel is one piece of cold pressed watercolour paper; I taped masking tape across the horizon about 2/3 of the way up then painted some masking fluid in lines to suggest waves and light on the sea. Once the masking fluid was dry I painted the sea with cobalt blue and turquoise brusho. Once that dried I repositioned the tape to mask the edge of the sea so I could paint the sky with turquoise brusho.
All the remaining pieces were painted on hot pressed watercolour paper. For the tree and grass I used three greens (listed below) and dark brown brusho. I used a large piece of watercolour paper adding brown just in the area where I would die cut the tree. After die cutting the tree I used a craft knife to cut a hill from the rest of the green area. To keep the tree sitting flat on the background I used the bottom of the tree die to cut into the green hill then inserted the tree in the space when assembling the scene.
I used the ‘Out to Sea’ die to cut a yacht from a yellow brusho panel then painted red over the hull of the boat. The only other piece to cut was the sun which came out of a piece I painted with yellow and a sprinkle of red.
To make assembly a bit easier I applied ‘stick it’ adhesive to the tree panel before cutting it out. I embossed the little sentiment in white before putting it all together. My husband just walked past and was surprised that this was one of my cards; it is a bit of a departure from my usual.
Supplies
Stamps: Happy Snippets
Dies: Out to sea, Serenity
Paints: leaf green, sea green, emerald green, cobalt blue, turquoise, yellow, ost. red, dark brown brusho
Ink: Versamark ink
Paper: hot & cold pressed Fabriano watercolour paper
Also: white embossing powder, masking fluid
Shaded Canopy
Posted: May 2, 2016 Filed under: Shade Canopy, Stamped Landscapes | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 3 Comments
‘Shaded Canopy’ is another lovely (and versatile) stamp from the new ‘A Little Bit of Sunshine’ release. My scene today could be spring or summer depending on where you live. When I first moved to Canada I could not believe how bright green the summers were. Where I lived in Australia I was used to pale muted colours in summer because everything became very dry.
I used distress stains and inks for stamping and for painting the background leaving a space around the scene to frame it then popping up the panel on the same colour card base.
I am teaching a class this month in Ottawa where we will use this stamp to create four cards, one for each season.
Supplies:
Stamps: Shade Canopy, Words of Kindess(PB)
Inks: Forest Moss, Peeled Paint, Weathered Wood, Tumbled Glass, Mowed Lawn, Vintage Photo distress stains (Ranger)Versafine Onyx black (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Iris Shimmer
Posted: March 23, 2016 Filed under: Color Burst, Pure Iris | Tags: color burst, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps 19 Comments
I am having all sorts of fun with brushstroke stamps at present while teaching my March class. Not only have I been experimenting with all my floral brushstroke stamps and a range of mediums, I have been inspired by the creativity of the class members also.
In my most recent class someone created a beautiful burgandy iris with the “pure iris” stamp and some merlot colorburst powder. Her petals could not have looked more life like! I tried the combo at home and added some pearl-ex spray and some yellow gold liquid metal. My camera did catch some shimmer in the photos so you can imagine how much there is in real life. I took a little video of it shimmering in the sunlight and posted it on instagram.
Supplies:
Stamps: Pure Iris, Special Wishes (PB)
Mediums: Colorburst powders, Liquid Metal (Ken Oliver) Versafine Onyx Black ink (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Hot pressed Fabriano watercolour paper, Burgandy cardstock
Also: gold metallic thread
Orange Iris
Posted: March 1, 2016 Filed under: Passionate | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps 10 Comments
This is the third colour scheme I have chosen to stamp the irises and there may yet be more! Don’t be mad but I didn’t write down my colours and my desk is covered in stuff so your guess is as good as mine. I have been doing a better job recording my supplies by snapping a photo of the panel beside the supplies at the time of creating. Apparently I did not do that this time. What I can tell you is that I splattered some water on the panel first then stamped in watersoluble die inks; this creates some soft blurry patches here and there. I blended a few areas with a paint brush and added some finer details and splatters with watercolour pencils. I embossed a sentiment on brown card and popped it up over the panel matted in the same colour.
I just did a search of ‘iris’ on the interwebs and it came up covered in the relatively common purply-blue variety but there were also a few other colour combinations I might just have to try and replicate. There was one deep apricot one with blue accents and a burgandy one and a peach one and … this is going to be a busy stamp!
(BTW This pretty stamp is called ‘passionate’ and it is a brushstroke stamp. I just updated my classes page with details of my upcoming ‘Working with Brushstroke stamps’ class. I will be teaching it twice at the Riverside Drive location and twice at Crop A While scrapbooking store in Orleans.)
Supplies:
Stamps: Passionate, Snippets (PB)
Inks: A pretty orange ink and an olivey green ink
Pencils: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, brown cardstock
Elegance
Posted: February 29, 2016 Filed under: CAS, Elegance | Tags: CAS, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Versafine inks 11 Comments
Elegance is the perfect name for this new stamp featuring a bunch of calla lilies. I think I had some in my garden once but apparently you need to dig them up each year and replant them?? That was just not going to happen I’m afraid, no matter how elegant they might be. I have quite a few day lilies that come up year after year and multiply with no attention from me so I have just stuck with them!
I stamped in weathered wood stain because I wanted to keep the lilies looking white; ink would have worked just as well but I only had stain. I used my watercolour pencils to colour the flowers and background (colours listed below). I found a scrap of exactly the right blue card to frame the panel and matched it with versafine ink for the sentiment.
I must admit I am taken by surprise that Easter is less than a month away; 2016 is flying by!
Supplies:
Stamps: Elegance, A very happy easter (PB)
Inks: Weathered Wood distress stain(Ranger) Blue Lagoon versafine ink (Tsukineko)
Pencils: Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils sap green 167, apple green 170, lemon cadmium 105, light orange 113, light grey 195, medium grey 197, night green 155 for background (Faber-Castell)
Paper: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, blue cardstock
Flower Gala
Posted: February 19, 2016 Filed under: Flower Gala, Uncategorized | Tags: CAS, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Versafine inks 19 Comments
The daffodils above and the tulips below make up the pretty new ‘Flower Gala’ cling set from Penny Black. I kept my layouts simple positioning each stamp to neatly frame a sentiment. The sentiments are new too, one from each of the new sentiment sets in the ‘So Special‘ release. (listed below). I stamped both the flower stamps in vintage photo distress ink then painted the interior with distress stains which blended with the vintage photo ink for an aged effect
The ‘So Special’ reveal continues on the PB blog this week as the transparent stamps are featured and you still have a chance to win a shopping spree until Feb 28th.
Supplies:
Stamps: Sentiment Collection, Special Thoughts, Flower Gala (PB)
Inks: Vintage photo ink, Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmalade, Seedless Preserves, Peeled Paint, Abandoned Coral, Worn Lipstick, Forest Moss distress stains (Ranger) Vintage Sepia (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, brown cardstock
Blue Skies
Posted: February 18, 2016 Filed under: Branch of Grace, Geometric borders, Passionate | Tags: Dr Ph Martin Hydrus watercolor paints, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 7 Comments
Ottawa had a record snowfall this week so it is quite the winter wonderland outside. Today, however there is a clear blue sky, a bit like the one on the card above. This card shows a different colour scheme for the new ‘Passionate’ stamp I shared in purple tones a few days ago. I used the same technique as here and here to paint a blue sky first with Dr Ph. Martin Hydrus liquid watercolour paint. I splattered some masking fluid before painting anything so there are a few white dots here and there.
I inked with distress stains and used the misti to stamp a few times to build up the colour on the flowers. Anywhere I wanted a distinct line between colours I used paintbrush to ‘touch it up’.
Supplies:
Stamps: Passionate (PB)
Dies: keep smiling
Inks: mustard seed, spiced marmalade, rusty hinge, peeled paint, forest moss distress stains (Ranger)
Paint: Phthalo blue Dr Ph. Martin Hydrus
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, green cardstock
Another blue sky frames the blossom branches below stamped with the new ‘branch of grace stamp’. Once again I painted the blue first and let it dry before stamping. Because of the fine twiggy detail on this stamp I used a mix of stains and markers to ink the stamp, choosing to ink only part of it in places so the branch would be narrower the second time I stamped it. I blended the grey and black inks with a paintbrush to give some dimension to the wood. The new geometric border added to the Asian feel of the card.
The ‘So Special’ reveal continues on the PB blog this week as the transparent stamps are featured and you still have a chance to win a shopping spree until Feb 28th.
Supplies:
Stamps: Branch of Grace (PB)
Dies: geometric border, feel better
Inks: Black soot, Hickory smoke, Frayed burlap, barn door, festive berries distress stains and markers (Ranger)
Paint: Phthalo blue Dr Ph. Martin Hydrus
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, black cardstock
A fringed iris
Posted: February 15, 2016 Filed under: CAS, Passionate | Tags: CAS, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 17 Comments
This pretty new stamp from Penny Black is called ‘Passionate’ and I think it might be a fringed iris but as I have said before my floral knowledge is limited. Penny Black gives whimsical romantic names to many of their floral stamps so I am not always sure if I have identified them correctly. The new collection ‘So Special’ is now available in the online store and the whole catalogue can be viewed here.
If your weekend was anywhere near as cold as ours you might enjoy some spring flowers today. We spent a large chunk of the freezing weather watching the shenanigans from the NBA All-Star weekend in Toronto because we have a 6 foot basketball player in the house now!
I have tried two colour schemes with this large floral cling stamp. Today’s colours are similar to the irises I have in my own garden. (I’ll share the other colour scheme another day) The cards above and below are not that different but I wanted to show you yet another reason I love to stamp with distress stains. Inking the stamp directly with distress stains makes it quite wet so a second or third impression usually creates a couple of similar but softer images. The ‘knowing you makes me happy’ card above is the first impression inked with two purple and two green distress stains. I sprinkled a little water on the paper before I stamped so the colour would bleed more in some places than others. I added a bit more definition with a watercolour pencil and painted some green stain on the stems in the centre of the image where they were not distinct enough.
The ‘happy birthday’ version of the card is the second impression; I didn’t add any new stain but did spritz before stamping to spread and blend the colour.
I used a watercolour pencil to darken the centre of the flowers and add some splatter over and around the petals.
Supplies:
Stamps: Passionate, Sentiment Collection, Snippets (PB)
Inks: milled lavender, dusty concordbundled sage, forest moss distress stains (Ranger)
Pencils: Faber Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper,green cardstock, purple cardstock
Bejeweled
Posted: February 13, 2016 Filed under: Bejeweled | Tags: CAS, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 11 Comments
I am featuring another new stamp on today’s card created in the same way as yesterday’s. I painted the sky first and let it dry completely before stamping the flowers into the whiter (cloudier) side of my panel. Once again I inked the stamp with distress stains then used elderberry marker on a second stamping to add some depth to the centre of the flower. This time I chose a dark green cardstock rather than black for the co-ordinating sentiment and mat.
Don’t forget to keep visiting the PB blog for more teasers and a chance to win a shopping spree.
Supplies:
Stamps: Bejeweled (PB)
Dies: heartfelt thanks (PB)
Inks: Seedless preserves, frayed burlap, milled lavender distress stains (Ranger) Elderberry memento marker (Tsukineko)
Paint: Phthalo blue Dr Ph. Martin Hydrus
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, green cardstock
The Unfolding
Posted: February 12, 2016 Filed under: The Unfolding | Tags: CAS, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 18 Comments
I have some new stamps and dies to share over the next little while, all with the promise of spring. The new release from Penny Black is called ‘So Special’ and it will soon be available in the online store. If you haven’t already seen the teasers on the Penny Black blog then pop over there and browse through the last two weeks of posts. There are prizes to be won by four lucky people so make sure you stop by and check it out.
I painted a pale blue sky on watercolour paper before using distress stains to colour this striking new magnolia stamp. To finish I die cut one of the new sentiments in black and framed the flower in black also.
Supplies:
Stamps: The Unfolding (PB)
Dies: party for you (PB)
Inks: spiced marmalade, spun sugar, worn lipstick, hickory smoke, forest moss distress stains (Ranger)
Paint: Phthalo blue Dr Ph. Martin Hydrus
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper,Neenah epic -black cardstock
Heather Telford 