Love, love, love
Posted: February 6, 2015 Filed under: Heartfelt, Poise | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 5 Comments
I have another brushstroke stamp featured on today’s card coloured in a loose watery style using Memento markers. To begin I taped a piece of watercolour paper to a cutting mat with painter’s tape. I inked the ‘Poise’ stamp with Memento Northern Pine, Rhubarb Stalk and Love Letter markers, spritzed it and stamped it onto the watercolour panel. I stamped two more flowers to fill the panel then spritzed lightly to let the colour bleed and blend.
For added texture and background I applied Memento Love Letter ink to the heart stamp from ‘So Very Much’ set and stamped down either side of the panel to create partial imprints of text. With a waterbrush I added some diluted Love Letter ink to the edges of the panel, blurring some of the text as I went. For a darker red I diluted Rhubarb stalk ink in the same way.
On a scrap of watercolour paper I painted Rhubarb Stalk and Love Letter ink, spritzed it to blend then dried it with a heat tool so I could cut three “loves” using the die from the ‘Heartfelt’ set. The watercolour panel is matted with Coral Reef mix & match paper then attached to a Neenah Natural White card base. Once again I stamped parts of the heart stamp in Wheat versamagic ink down both sides of card base front.
Supplies:
Stamps: Poise, So Very Much(PB)
Creative Dies: Heartfelt (PB)
Inks:Memento Northern Pine, Rhubarb Stalk, Love Letter markers & Versamagic Wheat chalk ink (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano hotpressed 100% cotton watercolour paper, Coral reef mix & match paper, Neenah Natural White cardstock
Pop pop poppies
Posted: February 5, 2015 Filed under: Pop pop poppy | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 12 Comments
Today’s card features the new brushstroke stamp ‘Pop Pop Poppy’. All this week the new brush stroke stamps are the stars on the PB blog. Yesterday Jill Foster shared a video showing how to make her gorgeous watercolored card with this stamp.
I began by masking the watercolour panel with painter’s tape to create a border. I then painted water over the whole panel and inked the poppy petals with seeded preserves distress stain and the leaves with peeled paint distress stain. When I stamped it on the wet paper the colour bled into the surrounding area. I added tumbled glass distress stain with a paintbrush. I dabbed away a few dark areas of colour to leave areas of muted purple, blue and green on the panel as background colour. When the stain was almost dry I re-inked the petals with seeded preserves, and stamped again for a defined image. Using a stamp positioning tool I stamped the petals then the leaves with peeled paint and finally the flower centres with memento tuxedo black ink. I splattered a little seeded preserves stain over the panel as I like to do.
The little tag was cut using a die from the ‘flower tags’ set. I sponged the edges with seeded preserves ink then stamped a sentiment from ‘pretty petals’ in the same ink. To finish it all off I tied some ribbon around the panel and a bow on the tag before popping up the whole panel on a watercolour paper card base.
Supplies:
Stamps: Pop Pop Poppy, Pretty Petals (PB)
Creative Dies: Flower tags
Inks: Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord, Bundled Sage, Tumbled Glass distress stains (Ranger), Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% & 25% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: Green satin ribbon
Winged things 2
Posted: January 28, 2015 Filed under: CAS, Swirling Wings | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Ranger Distress stains 12 Comments
Today I have another card featuring the gorgeous new ‘swirling wings’ die from the Penny Black “Bring on the Happy” release. The panel you see on the card above is the where the inlaid coloured pieces on yesterday’s card came from. I started with a wet piece of watercolour paper and dropped several colours of distress stain onto the paper and let them blend with each other. I also sprayed some pearl-ex spray over the colours to help them blend and give it all a glimmery sheen. When I cut the butterfly I cut from one side, then the other without going all the way to the middle. That way I was able to keep the body of the butterfly attached but lift and curve the wings. I used the cute little ‘smile’ die from the ‘heartfelt set’ to add sentiment. Mounting it on a black card base seemed the perfect way to show off both the colour and the lacy swirls.
Supplies:
Creative Die: Heartfelt, Swirling Wings(PB)
Inks: Dusty Concord, Victorian Velvet, Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw distress stains (Ranger)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Epic Black cardstock
Also: Pearl-ex spray made with interference blue pearl-ex and water
Demure but sparkly
Posted: January 26, 2015 Filed under: Demure, Stitched Edges | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 21 Comments
Are you ready for some brand new Penny Black prettiness? The new release is being revealed today on the Penny Black blog, facebook and website and there will be projects on the design team members blogs featuring new products for the new few weeks.
I first played with the new stamps around Christmas, finishing up several cards before the new year so they could travel off to CHA and join in the fun there. I am happy to be sharing some of those cards over the next week, especially as I have been too sick and too behind to do any new stamping lately. I can’t believe January is drawing to a close and I have only posted two new cards on my blog this year!
Before I got sick I did manage to create a few new cards but you will need to pop over to Splitcoaststampers.com to view them. The reason they are there and not here is quite exciting; I was invited to join the Dirty Dozen and began my six month term on January 15. I feel very honoured to involved with such a talented and committed group of artists and look forward to doing all sorts of fun things with Splitcoast in the months to come. Many projects will be featured here on my blog but each month the Dirty Dozen fills a themed gallery with projects available to fan club members only so there will be six new cards from me there each month. January’s theme is “All Cooped Up” and believe it or not I came up with six cards for the theme despite not owning a single chicken stamp!
But back to the card at hand. This one was my favourite from the eight I created for CHA. It is hard to see in the photo but it is covered in shimmery sparkliness. I began by wetting the watercolour panel and dropping Victorian Velvet, Ripe Persimmon and Tumbled glass distress stains into the water. I also sprinkled Camargue salt onto the wet areas to create patterns as it dried. All the little dots in the background were created by the salt absorbing moisture and colour. You can try it with any salt you have on hand but different salts will give you different results. When the background was dry I stamped the flowers in Spiced Marmalade distress ink, the stems in Peeled Paint and the little seeds in Dusty Concord. I used both Spiced Marmalade and Ripe Persimmon stains to paint the flower heads, spritzing with pearl-ex spray here and there to make the colour bleed and shimmer. The sentiment and mat strips do look black in the photo but they are both purple to co-ordinate with the seed heads. See that cute little shaped edge? There are two new edge dies in the “Bring on the Happy” release and I hope they will be the first of many. That edge does add that certain something don’t you think?
Oh, Happy Australia Day!
Supplies:
Stamps: Demure, Sprinkles and Smiles (PB)
Inks: Dusty Concord, Victorian Velvet, Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade, Tumbled Glass distress stains (Ranger)
Creative Dies: Stitched Edges (PB)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, purple cardstock
Warm wishes for a cold winter’s day
Posted: January 3, 2015 Filed under: CAS, Stamped Landscapes, Watercolour, Winter Song | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 35 Comments
These birch trees are my favourite element of the intricate Winter Song stamp so I decided to isolate them for a scene of their own. I inked them with a weathered wood distress marker and left the rest of the stamp uninked. Weathered wood is a pale grey which is perfect for painting and drawing over the top. As usual I stamped on Fabriano hot pressed watercolour paper. The background colour is distress stains painted on with a waterbrush. I defined the edges and markings on the trees with a black marker, painted some grey shading on the trunks then added the sentiment in black. I am fussy about the cardstocks matching so I mounted this panel on a thin burgandy card then made the card base from cold pressed watercolour paper which is the same colour as the panel but adds some texture.
Thank you for the kind Christmas wishes left on my blog and in my inbox. I appreciated them all. I hope your new year is off to a good start; mine has been pretty busy with a bunch of stamping and creating I can’t share with you just yet!
Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Song, Joy Filled (PB)
Inks: Barn Door, Dusty Concord, Victorian China, Aged Mahogany, Weathered Wood distress stains (Ranger) Tuxedo Black memento marker (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Strathmore cold pressed watercolour paper, burgandy cardstock
A little bird
Posted: December 9, 2014 Filed under: CAS, No Card Left Behind, Winter Song | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks 11 Comments
Do you recognise this little scene? It is a portion of the large “Winter Song” scenic stamp. I was experimenting with ways to the colour the stamp back when I made this card. I wasn’t happy with the whole panel but cropping it gave me a smaller scene I could work with. Coming up with a layout that worked I’m sure took me as long as the original painting. I tried portrait but really wanted landscape orientation. A partial red mat didn’t overwhelm the panel and the words provide balance and carry the red highlights across the card. It wasn’t until I was searching for a sentiment that I realized that these three word stamps positioned in the right order have built in framing. It only took me about ten practices off the card base to get the positioning right!. I embossed them in clear powder so they have a pretty shine.
I guess I should mention how I coloured the panel. It was weeks ago so I am guessing a bit. I stamped the whole scene in memento summer sky first; you can see it at the base of the panel looking a bit like a shadow. The summer sky ink served as a guide so I could paint the scene with distress stains. I selectively inked the stamp to restamp after the painting, adding brown to the lower branches and black for the birch trees.
Thanks for dropping by.
Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Song , Joy Filled (PB)
Inks: Memento Summer Sky, London Fog, Rich Cocoa, Versafine & Satin Red (Tsukineko) Barn Door, Broken China, Peeled Paint
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Avon Brilliant White 110lb, Neenah Chili Red 100lb
Oh Christmas Tree
Posted: December 1, 2014 Filed under: Oh Christmas Tree | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Ranger Distress stains, Sharpies 8 Comments
Oh Christmas Tree, a beautiful slapstick cling stamp from Penny Black, is the star of the Penny Black blog this week. You can see this stamp featured everyday on projects created by the PB Design Team. I dreamed up tags in three colour schemes featuring only a portion of the stamp but the same technique. All three tags started on the same panel as you can see below.
I used watercolour paper splattered with masking fluid and coloured with three distress stains (Victorian Velvet, Bundled Sage and Tumbled Glass). I swiped the stains directly onto the paper then blended them with water. While the panel was still wet I stamped ‘Oh Christmas Tree’ four times in distress inks (Seeded Preserves, Peeled Paint, Aged Mahogany, Salty Ocean). When the panel was dry I switched to pigment inks that would not bleed or blend to stamp a defined image in similar colours of Versafine ink (Crimson Red, Spanish Moss, Imperial Purple, Deep Lagoon).
I cut the panel into four tags but the blue one did not advance to the next level. Each of the three remaining trees became a tag with rounded top corners and gold or silver highlights and sentiment. Using the colours in the background as a guide I darkened the edges of each tag with sponged distress inks. I highlighed the dots with gold or silver sharpies and added a splatter of distress stain and wink of stella pen over each tag. I think it was at this point that I removed the masking fluid to reveal the fine white specs. To continue the gold and silver details I stamped ‘Love’, ‘Joy’ & ‘Peace’ from “Joy Filled” and embossed with silver or gold embossing powder. I sprinkled embossing powder randomly and sparingly on top of the tags then heat set from underneath so as to not blow the powder off. To emboss the star I coloured it with a gold wink of stella marker then sprinkled gold embossing powder and heat set.
I gilded the edge of the tag with the co-ordinating sharpie then finished by adding matching ribbon and metallic cord.
Supplies:
Stamps: Joy Filled, Oh Christmas Tree (PB)
Inks: Victorian Velvet, Bundled Sage, Tumbled Glass distress stains & Seeded Preserves, Peeled Paint, Aged Mahogany, Salty Ocean(Ranger) & Crimson Red, Spanish Moss, Imperial Purple, Deep Lagoon & Versamark(Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid, gold & silver sharpies, gold and silver embossing powder, gold and silver wink of stella pens.
Falling Snow Video Tutorial
Posted: November 26, 2014 Filed under: Prancers, Stamped Landscapes, Tutorial | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks, Tutorial 16 Comments
Today’s tutorial is one I created for Splitcoast Stampers. Splitcoast posts a new technique tutorial every Wednesday and in today’s I show how to create the look of falling snow on a watercolour card. I created both a photo and video tutorial for Splitcoast.
The video took me a few attempts so I have four slightly different versions of the card which supports my claim that watercolour techniques never give you the same result twice. The picture above is the first one I created and the one featured in the photo tutorial. It has quite a bit of masking fluid snow in the sky; the one in the video ended up with a lot less. I mention in the video that I have stopped using post-it notes to mask when I do watercolour scenes. I now use frisket film, a reusable, repositionable plastic film which doesn’t disintegrate when it gets wet. It is called Grafix Extra Tack Prepared Frisket Film.
I have another video showing in detail how to apply and remove the masking fluid here.
Supplies:
Stamps: Prancers, Hello Winter(PB)
Inks: Memento Nautical Blue, Bahama Blue, Northern Pine inks (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock, Olive Green cardstock
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid, Kemper Spatter brush
Central Park in snow & masking fluid questions answered
Posted: November 6, 2014 Filed under: City lights, Prancers, Skyline, Stamped Landscapes, Tutorial | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps 16 Comments
Last week I posted a very snowy card and received several questions about using masking fluid. I decided to make a short video showing my set up for flicking masking fluid. Masking fluid isn’t just for flicking, of course, but you could be excused for thinking that when you see how rarely I do anything else with it!
I included the card above because it shows snow created after flicking a generous amount of masking fluid on a piece of watercolour paper. It is actually the piece I flicked in the video. I painted over the masking fluid with a blue and a pink distress stain (listed below) and then while the paper was still damp stamped the Skyline stamp in grey a few times then blue. I once again used the little tree from the Prancers set in the foreground. I cut the large sentiment from Yuletide Greetings into two pieces and stamped the front and the inside of the card.
Some answers to your questions about masking fluid
What is masking fluid?
A non-staining liquid composed of rubber latex for masking areas of work needing protection when colour is applied over the top
What type do you use?
Winsor & Newton non permanent masking fluid with a slight yellow tint. The yellow tint makes it easier to see where it has been applied. This is probably more useful when carefully painting the masking fluid onto a project rather than flicking it with careless abandon!
Are all brands the same?
I have used the Winsor & Newton brand for years and cannot comment on other brands. I think the key is to make sure you buy non permanent because you want to remove it after all your stamping/sponging/painting is completed.
Where do I find masking fluid?
Masking fluid is an art supply often used by watercolour artsists so you can find it in art supply stores, usually with the watercolour supplies.
How do you remove masking fluid without ripping the paper?
I must admit I haven’t had too many instances of masking fluid ripping my paper. The spots from splattering are small and rub off very easily. Sometimes with larger dots or sections it is harder to remove the masking fluid. If you are painting a larger area do a test on your paper first to make sure you can remove the masking fluid successfully. I always use my fingers to rub it off but you can use a clean soft eraser.
The video I have created shows how I splatter panels for projects such as the one above. Hopefully some of your questions will be answered once you have watched my process.
Supplies:
Stamps: City Lights, Prancers, Season’s Wishes (PB)
Inks: Memento Nautical Blue, London Fog, Northern Pine (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko) Victorian Velvet, Broken China distress stains(Ranger)
Cardstock: Neenah Solar White 110lb cardstock, Fabriano 100% cotton hot-pressed watercolour paper, textured blue cardstock, textured green cardstock, linen textured paper
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid, Kemper Spatter brush
Autumn Branches
Posted: November 5, 2014 Filed under: Etched Branches, Watercolour, Words of Gratitude | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks, Tsukineko Radiant Neon inks 12 Comments
The etched branches stamp is once again the star of an autumn card; I have yet to use it on a winter scene. Using loose watercolouring I tried to recreate the colours I have been seeing against bright blue skies lately. We have had some beautiful clear autumn days and it has been a great year for gorgeous colours.
I began by dabbing Ranger Archival jet black ink onto “Etched Branches” stamp leaving some places un-inked. I then stamped onto watercolour paper and placed a stamp positioner next to the stamp before removing it to mark the position for subsequent impressions. As I was making several impressions it helped to tape the stamp positioner to the panel with painter’s tape. I inked small sections of the “Etched Branches” stamp with Mustard Seed distress stain and stamped onto panel using the stamp positioner to guide the stamp into the same place then repeated the same steps with other distress stains inking different sections of the stamp each time. With all the colour stamped I spritzed the panel with water to make the colours bleed into each other and the surrounding area. Next I splattered the same distress stains over the panel and let all the ink dry.
Before removing the stamp positioner I re-inked a few sections of the stamp with black marker to give some branches more definition. To colour the sky I sponged Radiant Neon Electric blue ink, for the foreground Memento Luxe Pear Tart ink and to finish Vintage Photo distress ink around border. I matted the panel with brown cardstock and stacked three diecuts of the word “Thankful” for my sentiment.
For more Thanksgiving inspired projects visit the Penny Black blog this week
Stamps: Etched Branches (PB)
Creative Dies: Words of Gratitude (PB)
Inks: Archival Black ink, Barn door, Vintage Photo, Mustard Seed, Crushed Olive, Spiced Marmalade distress stains, Vintage Photo distress ink (Ranger) Radiant Neon Electric Blue ink, Memento Luxe Pear Tart ink, Memento Tuxedo Black marker(Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Natural white cardstock, brown cardstock
Heather Telford 