Merry Christmas with holly

Posted: December 21, 2013 | Author: Heather | Filed under: A Wish for Peace, CAS, Dies | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks | 6 Comments

These two cards are the result of some playing around with distress stains on watercolour paper. For the one above I stamped the holly (in memento ink) and coloured it(with distress stain) first, added the background (distress stain) with a paintbrush and stamped the letter background (memento ink) over everything. For the ornaments below I painted a wash of blue first and stamped the holly and music over the wash. Because the distress stain and the memento ink are both dye inks the colour intensified when I painted green over the blue background. The baubles were cut using the Penny Black die “ornaments.”

I finally sat down yesterday and wrote in 90% of my Christmas cards. I still have a few to write. Yes, I know there are only a few days before Christmas Day, but there are twelve days of Christmas aren’t there?

(the card above has balance issues; can you see them?)

Supplies:

Stamps: A Wish for Peace, Music Background, Letter Background, Dear Friend (PB)
Creative Dies: Ornaments, Love & Joy (PB)
Inks: Memento Pistachio, Summer Sky, Lady Bug (Tsukineko) Broken China & Peeled Paint Distress Stains (Ranger)
Cardstock: Penny Black mix & match olive grove paper, Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: Red ribbon from Lorraine’s stash

Joy

Posted: December 19, 2013 | Author: Heather | Filed under: CAS, Dies, Snowflake trio | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Tsukineko Memento inks | 4 Comments

This is the second card I created to play along with the Through the Purple Haze Challenge Blog where the theme is Christmas. Just as I did with my Monday card I used only die cuts, masking fluid and ink to make this card, no stamps. It did not start out as a three square layout even though this design is a favourite of mine. It began as a one layer design with a lot of masking fluid and ink involved. Things got a little messy so I decided the best thing to do was to save the best parts of the panel and create a new design. I punched three squares, popped them up and added a die cut sentiment.

Supplies:

Inks: Memento Rhubarb Stalk (Tsukineko)
Creative Dies: Snowflake trio, Love & Joy
Also: Winsor & Newton Masking Fluid

Peace

Posted: December 17, 2013 | Author: Heather | Filed under: CAS, Nature's Song | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Tsukineko Memento inks | 8 Comments

This week Penny Black is playing along with the Through the Purple Haze Challenge Blog. The theme is `Christmas`so I pulled out the masking fluid again. Before I added masking fluid I die cut the word Peace and the Nature`s Song branches out of post it notes and stuck them on the card base as masks. I didn`t flick the masking fluid on for this design; I painted it on with a paintbrush. After it dried I sponged Memento Summer Sky ink over the masking getting gradually paler as I moved from right to left.

It`s nice to create a one layer card again, made even simpler by using only one ink and no stamps.

Supplies:

Inks: Memento Summer Sky(Tsukineko)
Creative Dies: Nature’s Song, Love & Joy
Also: Winsor & Newton Masking Fluid

Berries in Snow

Posted: December 12, 2013 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Christmas reds and greens, Dancing Leaves, Stamped Landscapes | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks | 7 Comments

The snowscapes continue today and tomorrow on the Penny Black blog. Today’s card is the only one this week that does not feature “masking fluid snow”. This is the kind of scene you might see when the snow has stopped falling and the sun shines on the crisp white world.

To create this snowscape I first stamped the Christmas Reds & Greens stamp with versamark taking care to put a stamp positioner in place before I lifted it. I then inked the same stamp with dark green pigment ink, moved the stamp positioner slightly down and to the right and stamped again. I repeated the double stamping in the opposite corner and then embossed all in clear powder. The double stamping is a technique I use to make a thin layer of snow appear on a branch or tree. (I have a tutorial showing the steps of the technique here)

Next I positioned a circle mask and a hill mask, both cut from post-it notes, and then sponged the sky in blue dye ink. I cut another hill mask, positioned it lower and then repeated the sponging. I moved the mask and sponged two more times to create all the snow banks. When I removed the circle mask I positioned the negative circle mask so I could sponge some yellow to create a sun. To make a shadow I cut a mask using the co-ordinating Creative Die, Dancing Leaves then sponged through it below the stamping. The berries were painted on at the end.

Supplies:

Stamps: Christmas Reds and Greens , Yuletide Greetings (PB)
Creative Dies: Dancing Leaves
Inks: Memento Summer Sky, Dandelion & Versafine Northern Pine, Satin Red & Versamark (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Mix & Match papers Fall Festival and Spring meadow

Watercoloured Holly

Posted: December 9, 2013 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Flourish Holly, Holly Berries, Watercolour | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks | 7 Comments

A week of Winter Wonderland on the Penny Black blog starts today featuring the snow scapes I love to create.

The first snow scape is a watercolour featuring holly in the foreground and shadowy trees in the background. All but one of the cards this week feature falling snow made by flicking masking fluid onto the cardstock or watercolour paper before beginning any stamping or watercolouring. The masking fluid stays on the panel until all ink is dry at which point it is easy to rub off.

To make today’s cards I created one watercoloured panel which I then cut into two for a wintry scene and a holly background. I flicked masking fluid over the watercolour paper with a toothbrush and let it dry completely. I then wet the whole panel before stamping the holly stamp several times to fill two thirds of the area. The ink bled into the wet paper losing most of its definition. I added berries with a red marker then reinked parts of the holly stamp in green to stamp over the blended green of the first impression. To complete the snowscape I painted a blue watercoloured background stamping a little branch stamp to create a blurred distant wooded area behind the holly and snow. When I want to paint with Memento ink I press the ink pad onto an acrylic block so I can add water and pick up the ink with a paintbrush. Finally I removed the masking fluid, matted both panels and added die cut holly to the card below.

Supplies:

Stamps: Flourish Holly, A better world, Glad Tiding, Season’s Wishes (PB)
Creative Dies: Holly Berries die 51-019
Inks: Memento Cottage Ivy, Danube Blue, Love Letter & Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Penny Black mix & match Spring Meadow
Also: Winsor & Newton Masking Fluid

Snow Storm

Posted: December 3, 2013 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Berry red snow white, Nature's Song, Stamped Landscapes | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks | 20 Comments

This little scene ended up being considerably snowier than I first thought it would be, hence the title. I double embossed the branches using the method shown here. Extra embossing powder stuck on and around the masking fluid droplets creating the appearance of very fine snow over most of the panel. The moon and snow banks were masked after the embossing using post it note masks. I did all the sponging with one colour, Memento Paris Dusk, and knew when I had finished that I needed some red somewhere to add a little contrast. I played around with adding a little red bird but seriously, what bird would be out in the snow at night during a storm? The answer was to add the sentiment in red. After messing it up on the panel I restamped and punched the sentiment out with a tag punch and totally covered my mistake.

To finish the card I tried several positions for the panel. To position it up the top or at the bottom meant leaving a large empty white space. I don’t usually mind doing that but neither up nor down looked balanced. In the middle looked better especially with a little texture above and below the panel.

Supplies:

Stamps: Berry Red Snow White, A wish for Peace (Penny Black)
Inks: Memento Paris Dusk, Versamark , Versafine Onyx Black & Satin Red(Tsukineko)
Creative Dies: Nature’s Song
Also: Clear e.p., red ribbon

Runway inspired challenge

Posted: August 9, 2013 | Author: Heather | Filed under: CAS, Every Happiness, Glory of Modesty | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks | 5 Comments

This week the Penny Black design team has been playing along with the current Runway Inspired Challenge.

My top card was made by sponging through a couple of masks cut with the blissful die and three different memento inks (listed below). The popped up tiles on the card below were made using the emboss resist method and the same three inks.

Supplies:

Stamps: Glory of modesty, Every Happiness, Flourish Birthday (PB)
Inks: Memento Angel Pink, Love Letter, Rhubarb Stalk & Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Dies: Bashful, Black embossing powder

Five Butterflies

Posted: July 20, 2013 | Author: Heather | Filed under: CAS, Damask Pattern, Dies, Dots, Tagged | Tags: CAS, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks | 11 Comments

I tried for a while, recently, to make five butterflies work on a card and finally gave up and settled on three. With the help of the sketch from CAS(e) this Sketch #37 I managed to create a five butterfly card.

I have seen some wonderful cards lately where a die cut image reveals all the colour and pattern happening underneath so I decided to give it a try.

I cut my butterflies first using the butterfly die from the Tagged set , then masked an area inside the card to line up with what would be revealed through the butterflies. The collage pattern I created in the masked area is a combination of the damask pattern background and the music background along with sponging in warm yellow and orange tones. A dots mask die cut from a post-it note was sitting on the desk so I sponged a few dots through that too although I admit they weren’t entirely necessary!

The sentiment just seemed like the right one to choose with those butterflies weaving through the air like that.

Where will I write the greeting on this card I wonder?

Supplies:

Stamps: Damask Pattern, Music Background, In my Thoughts (PB)
Inks: Memento Tangelo, Love letter, Dandelion, Cantaloupe (Tsukineko)
Dies: Dots, Tagged