Tulip Festival
Posted: May 7, 2015 Filed under: Blooming Garden, Watercolour | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 12 Comments
The Tulip Festival officially starts in Ottawa tomorrow, but as you can imagine the tulips have started celebrating ahead of the opening ceremonies. I decided to create a couple of tulip displays myself but on paper not in the garden. I do have two tulips in bloom which would make the ratio of blooming tulips to planted bulbs quite similar to yesterday’s sad daffodil ratio.
I worked on both these panels at the same time on the same piece of watercolour paper. They were only separated by a piece of masking tape which explains why there are little splatters of red on the panel below even though I intended to keep that one clean and white. When I finished these panels I was a bit ho-hum about them; they were ok but not exactly what I had hoped. Adding mats and sentiments made the difference. The one below had a blue watercolour border that I ended up cutting off to add a red border and sentiment instead. The blue border was too soft on an otherwise crisp contrasting card. On the one above the border was created by the tape so I decided not to add another colour cardstock for the sentiment but remove it with a die cut instead leaving a subtle but readable cream coloured sentiment.
Both cards were stamped and painted with distress stains over ‘masking fluid-splattered’ hot pressed watercolour paper. The top one got the extra spritz and splatter treatment at the end to make the tulips explode a little whereas the lower one was left with the colour inside the lines.
Supplies:
Stamps: Blooming Garden(PB)
Creative Dies: Many Thanks, For You (PB)
Inks: Mowed Lawn, Festive Berries, Ripe Persimmon distress stains (Ranger)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White 110lb smooth, Neenah chilli cardstock
Also: Stick it adhesive sheets, dimensional adhesive, Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints
Bird on a branch
Posted: April 17, 2015 Filed under: Happy News, Watercolour | Tags: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Penny Black creative dies 13 Comments
Last week I posted a card featuring negative painted leaves and mentioned a second card made at the same time. Both cards were inspired by gum leaves. This is the card I created using a negative mask cut from frisket film with the ‘happy news’ die. When I cut the bird and branch image out of the frisket film I used a piece that would cover most of my watercolour panel. I obviously didn’t think too much about where I was positioning it because I ended up with the bird balancing oddly on the diagonal branch. I think it would have been more natural if the branch was closer to horizontal but it still seems to work.
The frisket film works well masking watercolour paint but some does seep underneath. Fortunately on this panel the only seepage was around the leaves not the bird. I painted a layer at a time and let the colour dry in between to avoid getting the panel too wet. The paint is gansai tambi watercolour with some details done in watercolour pencils. I completed most of the painting before removing the mask. With the mask off I painted some extra leaves then worked with the green and blue seepage around the leaves to create the impression of more foliage in the background. Once the leaves were totally dry I scratched a spine into each leaf with a sharp knife.
At this point I wanted to create some contrast to make the bird pop a little more but I didn’t want to paint a fiddly background around all the edges. Instead I cut another ‘happy news’ mask from masking paper and positioned it directly over the painted bird (which was totally dry) I then sponged the golden colour using memento peanut brittle ink. Once I had good coverage I pressed a damp paper towel into the sponging to give it more of a watercoloured texture.
This is a technique I will play around with more because I have many dies and they make great outlines for watercolouring. Getting a negative and positive mask from each die cut means double the possibilities.
My dad celebrated his 80th birthday this week and hopefully this card has arrived in Australia and been opened by now. He and my mother check out the cards on my blog regularly and my dad drops hints from time to time that he would like to see some Australian scenes. I definitely had eucalyptus leaves in mind when I painted this scene but I can’t say that the bird resembles any particular Australian bird. (If the card hasn’t arrived yet Dad, you’re getting a sneak peak!)
Supplies
Creative Dies: Happy News (PB)
Inks: Memento Peanut Brittle ink (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Natural White 110lb cardstock, teal cardstock
Also: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, grafix extra tack frisket film, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils
For the grad
Posted: April 8, 2015 Filed under: For the grad | Tags: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Penny Black stamps, Sharpies 13 Comments
I’m playing with the whole “sailed off into the sunset and lived happily ever after” idea on this card. Of course it would have to be “flew off into the sunset” and although graduation is the end of one adventure it is usually the start of an even bigger one. Regardless I have a bird flying free over a watercoloured sky, painted of course with my new gansai tambi paints.
To create the watermarked look or ‘back runs’ I blended colours then let them dry a bit before adding more paint. I worked from blues to pink, red, orange then yellow in the bottom left hand corner. When it was all dry I stamped the two images and sentiment from the transparent ‘for the grad’ set.
There are celebratory cards on the PB blog all this week.
Supplies
Stamps: For the grad (PB)
Inks: Versafine onyx black ink
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Epic Black 100lb cardstock
Also: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints
Leaf negatives
Posted: April 6, 2015 Filed under: CAS, Happy News, Watercolour | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Penny Black creative dies 18 Comments
I am enjoying my new watercolour paints and experimenting with different ways to use them. The panel above is part of a masking experiment. I used the ‘happy news’ die to cut a mask from frisket film. Frisket film is made of plastic so I ran the die back and forth through the machine a few times to make sure it cut well. I saved both the negative and the positive die cut image and worked on two panels at once so one could dry while I painted the other. For the one above I used just the positive leaf and branch portion of the die cut image.
I pressed the frisket film leaves firmly onto hotpressed watercolour paper and painted some greens and blues around the leaves. The shape of the leaves reminds me of gum leaves (eucalyptus leaves) so I stuck with the muted blues and greens I remember from the gum trees in Australia. Some paint did seep under the frisket film in places but I didn’t worry as I knew I was doing several layers anyway. When the first layer was dry I repositioned the mask and repeated the process. I think I repositioned the mask three times; I’m not sure. By the time I had painted several layers the first white masked leaves were almost completely covered in paint but the outlines were still distinct. I added some splatter, a sentiment then matted in a co-ordinating teal cardstock.
The other panel I was working on used the negative frisket film mask and will be on the blog next week. Thanks for dropping by.
Supplies
Stamps: Snippets (PB)
Creative Dies: Happy News (PB)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Avon Brilliant White 110lb cardstock, teal cardstock
Also: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, grafix extra tack frisket film
Centrepiece
Posted: March 27, 2015 Filed under: CAS, Centerpiece | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 18 Comments
Have you visited the Penny Black blog this week? Jill Foster has been sharing gorgeous projects all week to showcase the new ‘Time to Celebrate’ release. There is a giveaway too, so make sure you drop in. This lovely vase of flowers is one of the new stamps and I pulled out my new watercolours to paint it. I started by inking the stamp with memento angel pink on the flowers and desert sand on the vase which gave me a pale outline for my painting. I used a small round watercolour brush and worked one petal or flower section at a time. I started by painting water onto a petal, added pale color to the watery area and spread it, then added darker colour on the section closest to the centre of the flower or to any areas that would be in shadow behind another petal. As I painted I dabbed excess paint and water away with a paper towel or dry paintbrush. I worked on sections that were not adjacent to each other so the paint could dry before I painted the petals next door. I used both paint and markers for the stems, leaves and flower centres.
When the flowers were dry I painted the vase and finally a pale shadow below it. I picked out some co-ordinating pink and green cardstock to mat the panel and die cut a green sentiment from the new 2 die set ‘Many Thanks’. Thanks for dropping in.
Supplies
Stamps: Centerpiece (PB)
Creative Dies: Many Thanks (PB)
Inks: Memento Angel Pink, Desert Sand, Bamboo Leaves, Grape Jelly, Tuxedo Black (PB)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Natural White 110lb cardstock, pink and green cardstock
Also: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints
Happy News
Posted: March 23, 2015 Filed under: CAS, Happy News, Watercolour | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Penny Black creative dies 19 Comments
Penny Black has a mini release out today and you can see projects featuring the new stamps and dies on the blog and facebook all this week. I have two cards for you featuring the rest of the faux marble watercoloured panel I made last week. It was inspired by Sandy Allnock’s video of her faux glass technique. I used a bird & branch die called ‘Happy News’ from the new release. Rather than use only the die-cut or the negative I wanted to use both so I didn’t lose any of the pretty patterned panel. To raise the bird and branch above the background I stacked six die-cuts out of navy cardstock then stuck the watercoloured die-cut on top. This panel has proved quite hard to photograph; I’m not sure why but it is hard to get the greens to look like they do in real life. I switched to a grey background which lessened the contrast but it still isn’t quite what I see. (blue, green, gold, white-who knows?) To make it easier to stack the die-cuts I stuck scrapbook adhesive sheets on the back of my cardstock before cutting. To finish I matted it on gold cardstock then on a deep blue panel.
With my last little scrap of the faux marble watercoloured panel I created a CAS card on a kraft base which picked up the gold details. The ‘thank you’ die is another from the new PB release. I stuck the die-cut words inside the card.
Thank you for all your kind words about my poppy series. Let me know if there is another PB stamp you would like me to play around with and I will see if inspiration strikes!
Supplies
Creative Dies: Happy News, Many Thanks (PB)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Natural White 110lb cardstock, gold , navy and kraft cardstock
Also: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints 38, 50, 55, 56, 62, 66, 91 and gold wink of stella brush
Imagine
Posted: March 15, 2015 Filed under: Dies, Watercolour | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Penny Black creative dies 57 Comments
I am enjoying my new watercolour paints and have watched some recent watercolour videos by the very talented Sandy Allnock. She has been playing around with the same paints (Kuretake Gansai Tambi) and posted a video last week where she created a faux glass panel inspired by vase she saw. I used some of the same techniques and made a faux marble panel. I painted blues, greens and purples on a piece of watercolour paper and let them blend. I dried them with a heat tool then added more layers leaving some pale and others dark and intense. When I was happy with the colours I painted some thin lines of gold onto the panel and blended them out on one side with a very wet paint brush. This gave me a soft edge and a hard edge I also splattered some gold paint over parts of the panel. The piece on the card above is less than half the watercoloured panel so I have some more to play around with another day.
For the sentiment I stacked four diecuts of the word ‘imagine’ each with ‘stick it’ adhesive on the back to make them easier to stick together. The gold cardstock I used was slightly duller than the gold paint so I brightened it up with my gold wink of stella pen. I did the same with the sides of the card base so it would all match. I am thinking it might make a good graduation card.
Supplies
Creative Dies: Envision (PB)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, gold cardstock
Also: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints 38, 50, 55, 56, 62, 66, 91 and gold wink of stella brush
Red Poppies
Posted: March 11, 2015 Filed under: Blooming Garden, Watercolour | Tags: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Penny Black stamps 9 Comments
More poppies. I thought it might be fun to try a few different techniques with the same stamp, especially such a pretty stamp. In some ways outline stamps such as this one are more versatile than brushstroke or silhouette stamps. On my previous card I used the outline of the poppy as a guide for my watercolour painting. On this card the embossed outline is a fence to contain the watercolouring. I have a new set of Gansai Tambi watercolour paints that I am experimenting with so painting within the lines seemed to be a safe way to start.
I stamped in black and embossed in clear powder on watercolour paper. I chose a pinky red and an orange red for the petals, laying down the pinky red first over the whole petal then adding the orange red from the centre. I used an olive green and a brown to fill the seed pods. I decided to paint over the flowers with masking fluid while I painted the blue panel which was probably not necessary considering I had the embossing to fence in the colour. Once the masking fluid was dry I ruled a rectangle around the image letting a few petals extend over the edge. My pencil lines were my guide for painting the blue background. When it was all dry I peeled the masking fluid off and discovered it had absorbed a lot of the colour from the petals. I’m not sure why this happened so I will experiment further with paper, paints and different masking fluids. But for this panel I just added more colour and carried on. To finish I added a little sentiment on the side and popped up the panel on a cream card base.
I have created a few projects with the new watercolours now and I am really enjoying both the choice and the richness of the colours.
I’m not sure if I will follow this post with another poppy project; I have been wanting to play along with the current One Layer Simplicity challenge so we will have to see where the inspiration hits first.
Supplies:
Stamps: Blooming Garden, Snippets (PB)
Inks: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White 110lb smooth
Also: Kuretake Gansai Tambi 36 Watercolor Set
Heather Telford 