Winter Song

Posted: October 22, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Watercolour, Winter Song | Tags: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps | 10 Comments

It’s a winter watercolour week on the Penny Black blog and here is my contribution. This little scene works well as a watercolour with all that sky needing colour. I decided on a limited palette of blue, purple, black and grey with just a touch of mustard on the chickadee’s feet.

I started by stamping “Winter Song” on watercolour paper in versafine onyx black, a pigment ink which won’t bleed when I start adding water. Next I splattered some masking fluid on the paper and let it dry. Using an Indianthrene Blue #247 watercolour pencil colour I shaded all the sky area then blended the colour with a water brush. I tried to avoid colouring in the little white circles but some were too small. Next I started adding Delft Blue #141 by taking colour from the pencil tip with a waterbrush. Using the same colour and brush, I painted above the snow banks blending from dark to light up the panel. I also added both blues to the bottom of the panel with a brush. I painted the bird with colour from black #99, medium grey #97 and gold ochre #183 pencils. The trees on the left hand side looked too flat so I painted shading on one side of tree trunks with colour from medium grey # 97 pencil.

When all the watercolouring was dry I rubbed off the masking fluid and used a white gel pen to draw in any tiny branches or circles that were painted over. I matted with black, then periwinkle cardstock and attached it to a white card base to create a 5″x 5.5″ card. You can’t see in the photo but I did add a little shimmer to the snowflakes with a clear wink of stella pen.

Supplies:

Stamps: Winter Song (PB)
Inks: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Pencils: Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils Indianthrene Blue #247, Delft Blue #141, Black #99, Medium grey #97 , Gold ochre #183 (Faber Castell)
Cardstock: Penny Black Periwinkle mix & match paper, Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Natural White 110lb cardstock, Black
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid, Signo white gel pen, clear Wink of Stella pen

Moonlit Forest

Posted: October 20, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Nature's Friend, No Card Left Behind, Stamped Landscapes | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains | 16 Comments

As you can see I am still creating super moons! This time the moon is lighting up a snowy pass through the forest. I have only skied by moonlight once. It was beautiful, cold, but beautiful. This scene reminds me of that moonlit ski because there seems to be a pass between the trees. When I went the moon was nowhere near as big as the one above but it gave us enough light that we could see the trails without headlamps most of the time.

The moon for this panel was masked with frisket film but I have discovered that, for watercolouring, low tack film does not do the trick like extra tack frisket film. I have tried both now and extra tack seals better without damaging the paper. The brand I have tried is Grafix; I am sure there are other brands available but I was able to order both low tack and extra tack from DeSerres. I positioned the large moon mask on watercolour paper that already had some masking fluid flicked over it. I also placed a frisket mask across the bottom of the panel to cover the snowy foreground. I painted Victorian Velvet and Chipped Sapphire distress stains over the whole sky area and spritzed pearl-ex spray (interference gold) over the panel to blend the colours. When I peeled off the moon mask I discovered some of the stain had seeped under the mask (low tack frisket film) so the moon was no longer a circle. I decided to keep going regardless of my wonky moon and stamp the trees to reveal only part of the moon. The tree is from the “Nature’s Friend” set and is a solid silhouette. As you can see the trees are sharper over the moon area, which was dry, and more blended and watery where the paper was damp from the stain and spray. I inked just the top of the tree with a paint brush to stamp the shadowy tops of trees in the distance.

In the foreground I painted a couple of lines of stain then blended with water to make the colour fade out. I wish you could see the shimmery sheen from the pearl-ex spray over the whole sky and tree area. It is really rather pretty and has a gold tint which is why I chose a gold mat and thread to finish the card. The simple sentiment is from the same set as the tree.

Supplies:

Stamps: Nature’s Friend (PB)
Inks: Victorian Velvet, Chipped Sapphire distress stains & Chipped Sapphire distress ink (Ranger)
Cardstock: Navy Cardstock, Gold cardstock, Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: Grafix frisket film, Winsor & Newton masking fluid, scanfil metallic gold thread, Interference gold Pearl-ex powder mixed with water to make a spray.

Harvest Moon

Posted: October 16, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Etched Branches, Nature's Gifts, No Card Left Behind, Stamped Landscapes, Watercolour | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains | 17 Comments

The lovely foliage stamps in the new Penny Black release are perfect for creating stamped landscapes. There are some new transparent sets as well as a couple of slapstick cling stamps that I will use winter, spring, summer and fall. Both these cards are very simple in design using only one foliage stamp to suggest the landscape.

The card above was a “no card left behind” project as it didn’t go quite as planned. I decided to paint a watercolour moon inside a negative mask cut from frisket film. The aperture was wider than the moon you see above. After I had painted the moon in golden orange distress stains I dried it completely (or so I thought). I swapped the negative mask covering the moon for the circle mask which left the rest of the sky to be painted in darker tones. When I started painting the darker distress stains onto the paper the colours seeped in under the mask. They didn’t spread over the whole moon just around the edges. When I removed the mask it did not look like a realistic moon any more. To save my scene I cut a smaller moon mask, stuck that over the watermarked moon then sponged a darker sky around it to cover the seepage. I finished the scene by stamping the branches from “Nature’s Gifts” several times across the bottom and tying on a little tag.

Having learnt from experience I placed the mask on dry unpainted watercolour paper for the panel below. I painted the sky with distress stains and there was no seepage. (I will do more experimenting with the frisket film and let you know what I discover) When I removed the mask the moon was too white and flat so I painted and sponged some pale yellow and brown ink around it until it looked more realistic. I stamped the gorgeous etched branches across the base in black to complete my scene.

Both cards are around 5 inches square so I have been having fun with a friend’s envelope maker making custom envelopes out of pretty designer paper in my stash from long ago.

These cards make me think of one of my favourite songs, Helpless, by Neil Young. It’s the line, Yellow moon on the rise that keeps popping into my head. I have liked that song for many years. Little did I know as a teenager back in Australia I would one day live in Ontario (also mentioned in the song) and see Neil Young in concert twice. Do you ever get inspired by songs or performers? I know Ardyth has a thing for David Bowie but I’m definitely more of a Neil Young girl!

Supplies

Stamps: Natures Gifts, Etched Branches, Special Wishes (PB)
Inks: Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard seed, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen distress stains & Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo, Black Soot distress inks(Ranger)
Cardstock: Neenah Natural White 110lb, Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, rust cardstock

Moon on the rise

Posted: October 10, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Etched Branches | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains | 18 Comments

‘Etched Branches’ is a beautiful new stamp from Penny Black`s latest release ‘Winter Wonderland’. I used it to make a ‘moonrise’ scene but I can see myself placing it in a snowy scene very soon.

I used frisket film to mask the moon on watercolour paper. The film is new to me but I will be using it when I’m watercolouring and getting the paper quite wet. Post-it notes and masking paper can get too soggy if I apply a lot of water to the edges. After positioning the moon mask I painted the sky in stripes of pink and purple using the distress stains listed below. I let them dry a bit then painted more water and stain over the colours this created the watermarked edges which look a bit like clouds. I removed the mask and painted a few wisps of cloud over the moon area. I stamped ‘Etched Branches’ in Versafine Onyx black ink then sponged the land below the coloured sky in purple grey and black. To complete the card I matted in white and added branches in purple and black cut with the ‘Natures Song’ die.

I was up a bit earlier than usual this morning to start on a birthday breakfast for my 14 year old and the sky was very pretty in pink and orange. The view from my kitchen is obscured by branches like those in the scene above but also by power lines which are not quite so picturesque.

Stamps: Etched Branches (PB)
Creative Dies: Nature’s Song (PB)
Inks: Victorian Velvet, Spiced Marmalade, Dusty Concord distress stains & Dusty Concord distress ink (Ranger) Memento London Fog, Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Neenah Black 100lb, Neenah Avon Brilliant White, Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper

CAS(E) this sketch #95

Posted: October 3, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: CAS, Prancers | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps | 22 Comments

I have been creating snowy scenes with dye inks on a large watercolour block this week. When I saw sketch#95 at CAS(E) this sketch and still had a corner left on the block already flecked with masking fluid I thought I could put the two together. Sometimes when I look at a sketch I can’t see past the shapes and images in the sketch, arrows for instance in the current sketch.

With this sketch I was able to see past the arrows and visualize a snowscape with a stand of trees on the right hand side. I did deviate from the sketch and add a few more trees on the left. Whether I play along or not I am always impressed by the imagination and creativity of the design team members in their interpretations of each week’s sketch.

To create the scene I punched a little circle mask for the moon and painted the sky in two blue distress stains. I added two dips with the same stains then stamped trees in memento ink. When all was dry I rubbed off the masking fluid. I hope you are not getting sick of these trees from the Prancers set, ‘cos I just can’t leave them alone!

Supplies

Stamps: City Lights, Prancers (PB),
Inks: Tumbled Glass, Chipped Sapphire (Ranger) Memento Northern Pine (Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% & 25% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid

Emboss resist wreath

Posted: September 30, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Autumn Jewels, Dancing Leaves, Decadence | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains | 6 Comments

After making numerous emboss resist panels for my September classes I had leftover pieces big enough to punch leaves from. I used a rounded leaf from the new Autumn Jewels set of dies to cut as many leaves as possible then arranged them into a wreath. The arranging took me quite a while as I tried various methods and orientations for the leaves. Having them all turn in the same way and overlap the same way seemed to be the best option in the end. I bent some of the leaves to curl down towards the card and others to curl up, then attached some with 3D adhesive squares and others with flat adhesive. I poked a few twigs of “dancing leaves” in amongst the leaves, added a small bow before matting then stamped a sentiment.

The colours around here are not at their most vibrant yet but on the way to Lake Placid a week ago I enjoyed a gorgeous display of reds, yellows and oranges across the hill sides.

Supplies

Stamps: Decadence, Special Wishes (PB)
Creative Dies: Autumn Jewels, Dancing Leaves (PB)
Inks: Mustard Seed, Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo distress stains & , Fired Brick distress inks(Ranger)
Cardstock: Neenah Natural White 110lb, Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: 3D adhesive squares(Scrapbook Adhesives). clear embossing powder, red grosgrain ribbon

Blessings

Posted: September 18, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Autumn Jewels, Lush & Lavish, Words of Gratitude | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Ranger Distress stains | 10 Comments

The new leaf stamps and co-ordinating dies from Penny Black are such a treat to use. To create this card of cascading leaves I started by spritzing a 5″x 7″ watercolour block with water. I then inked several of the leaf stamps from the “Lush & Lavish” set with the autumn toned distress stains listed below. I stamped each stamp repeatedly working from one end of the paper to the other so all the intense coloured leaves were at one end and the paler ones at the other. I let the paper dry completely before die cutting three whole leaves and two partial leaves from the intensely coloured end of the paper. I trimmed the other end to be a background for the card. Using the distress inks I sponged the edges of the die-cut leaves to darken them. I arranged and attached the leaves on the background panel, some popped up and others just glued.

To finish the card I cut the word “Blessed” and a border strip from Penny Black fall festival paper. The leaves are just beginning to turn here in Ottawa, there is nothing as intense as the colours in this card but I am looking forward to seeing the gorgeous colours. We have several very large trees in our backyard so once the leaves start turning and falling it goes on for weeks and weeks and weeks.

Supplies

Stamps: Lush & Lavish (PB)
Creative Dies: Autumn Jewels, Words of Gratitude (PB)
Inks: Mustard Seed, Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo distress stains & Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Vintage Photo distress inks(Ranger)
Cardstock: Neenah Natural White 110lb, Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, PB Mix & Match Fall Festival paper
Also: Adhesive Sheet & Thin dimensional adhesive squares(Scrapbook Adhesives)

Walking Home

Posted: September 16, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: On the Town, Watercolour | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks | 38 Comments

I have been wanting to create a little scene ever since I received the transparent set “On the Town” from Penny Black. I took a break from stamping in autumn colours so I could pull out the masking fluid and create a snowy stroll. After masking a rectangle on my watercolour block, I flicked masking fluid onto my watercolour paper and let it dry completely. I then stamped the lamp post and the three trees in grey and black inks. I spritzed the stamp and the paper with water so the colour bled immediately into the surrounding area. I waited a short while before I added distress stains to the background and sky area. I didn’t want the stamped images completely dry so that the blend between trees and sky would be soft. I used two blue stains and a yellow for the sky/background area. (colours are listed below) I inked the stamp of the people in both grey and black ink so the right side would look more in shadow. I added some shadows to the snowy path with a paintbrush in both blue and grey.

To finish I rubbed off all the masking fluid flecks, matted the panel in navy cardstock and popped it up over a navy satin ribbon.

Thanks for dropping in today.

Supplies:
Stamps: On the Town (PB)
Inks: Chipped Sapphire, Broken China, Mustard Seed distress stains & Black Soot distress ink (Ranger) Memento London Fog ink (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Natural White 110lb cardstock
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid, Navy satin ribbon

Autumn Dance

Posted: September 10, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Ranger Distress stains | 7 Comments

The Fall 2014 reveal and giveaway continues on the Penny Black blog this week. The image above was created using one of the new Autumn stamps, a large whimsical array of leaves. I used watercolour paper and stamped the image twice, once in wild honey and again in frayed burlap distress inks . I then used wild honey, spiced marmalade, barn door, frayed burlap and dried marigold to paint inside the leaves and over the outlines. Using a waterbrush I blended the colour from the dots and lines into the background filling the spaces with pale yellow and olive tones. After finishing my colouring I restamped the outline image in vintage photo distress ink. Finally I added some gold pearl ex mixed with water over the top of a few leaves. You can’t see it in the photo above but on the actual card it adds a gold shimmer.

The whole image has a wavy border with leaves and swirls cutting through it here and there but I just kept the border at the top of my panel and trimmed the other three sides. I sliced the panel into three even sections and popped them up on dimensional squares. I knew I had a nice long sentiment for the narrow space but I had to hunt it out. It’s from the “…wishing you” set.

Supplies

Stamps: Autumn Dance, …wishing you (PB)
Inks: Mustard Seed, Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo distress stains & Wild Honey, Antique Linen(Ranger)
Cardstock: Neenah Natural White 110lb, Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: 3D Foam squares (Scrapbook Adhesives)

Simply Leaves

Posted: September 8, 2014 | Author: Heather | Filed under: CAS, Lush & Lavish, Watercolour | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains | 4 Comments

I was working with new leaf stamps from Penny Black today; they are from the Fall 2014 release being featured on the PB blog all week. The panel I was making was more vibrant and bold than the one above (you will see it on the blog next week) but the images on the scrap paper beside me were muted and watery like these. I was using distress stain and stamping several impressions without reinking because the pigment is strong and a little spritz of water makes it go further. Before changing colour I stamped off on the scrap paper to clean the stamp. I decided to recreate the pretty pale leaf images on a card instead of a scrap.

For each leaf I applied a little distress stain to one side of the leaf image, spritzed with water and stamped on watercolour paper. The stain and water blended but not evenly. I didn’t clean the stamp between colours; that’s why there is a bit of yellow in each leaf. The little specks of colour you see on the panel were splats made as I lifted the wet stamp from the paper. Basically this prettiness just happened; I had very little to do with it. I was so happy with the simplicity of the three leaves I didn’t even add a sentiment. If I want one I can add it inside.

Supplies

Stamps: Lush & Lavish (PB)
Inks: Mustard Seed, Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo distress stains & Wild Honey(Ranger)
Cardstock: Neenah Natural White 110lb, Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Fall Festival mix & match papers (PB)