Peaceful Winter

This week I am sharing some winter landscapes here and on the Penny Black blog. I created this wintry scene by combining two stamps from the ‘peaceful winter’ transparent set. I made use of my stamp positioning tool as I wanted to stamp in colour then over the top with versamark. (Jill has created several videos demonstrating this technique. You can find them on the Penny Black youtube channel)

I began by stamping the trees on the left hand side of a piece of watercolour paper in memento northern pine and London fog ink. I spritzed some water over the stamping which made the colours separate into brown, blue and green. I dried the stamping then stamped over the whole image in versamark before embossing it in clear powder to make it waterproof. Next I used the smaller landscape stamp from the same set to add the background trees and used the same technique and inks to stamp a coloured image then emboss it to make it waterproof.

With all the scenic stamping done and embossed I moved on to the watercolouring. I cut a circle of frisket film (clear adhesive film for masking) and stuck it firmly over the top of the left hand trees. I then painted water over the section of sky above the horizon. I pressed both my northern pine ink pad and a memento nautical blue ink pad onto an acrylic block to create a palette of two inks. I built up the sky colour by painting first with nautical blue then creating cloud effects with more blue or northern pine ink. Once the sky dried I removed the moon mask.

I used some diluted northern pine ink to give the foreground snow a bit of colour and shadow then dried the panel. I finished off the card with a sentiment from the ‘love & peace’ set stamped in versafine olympia green and a dark green mat before attaching the panel to a natural white card base.

Thanks for dropping by; I’ll be back tomorrow with another chilly scene.

Supplies

Stamps: love & peace, peaceful winter

Inks: memento northern pine & london fog, nautical blue inks, versamark

Paper: Neenah solar white cardstock, hot pressed watercolour paper

Also: stamping platform, frisket film, WOW clear gloss superfine embossing powder

More layered poinsettias

Posted: November 29, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Brusho, layered poinsettia | Tags: Brusho, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, WOW embossing powders | 10 Comments

I liked that first layered poinsettia card so much I made another, this time with some pale green brusho to get the ‘white poinsettia’ look. I think I could go even lighter with my paint so there may be another poinsettia card to come. I started with watercolour paper splattered with masking fluid so I would have little white dots over the petals at the end.

I painted lime green brusho on the watercolour panel but it ended up separated into distinct areas of blue and yellow so I add a tiny bit of olive green brusho to get everything looking greener. When I die-cut the petals I tried to keep the smaller ones a little lighter and the larger ones darker.

Even though I was aiming for clean and simple when I lay the petals on a white card base, it was a little too stark. A layer of vellum softened the base and I splattered gold paint over it then added an embossed sentiment. Solving the vellum adhesive problem was easy under the die cuts and sentiment but the corners needed something too so I added just the tiniest amount from my tombow tape runner to hold them down to the card base.

Stay tuned because I think there are another couple of colour schemes yet to be tried with this pretty little die set!

Supplies

Dies: layered poinsettia

Stamps: joy & happiness

Versamark ink, WOW gold metallic rich embossing powder

Paints: finetec mica pearl 12, brusho 12, brusho 8, masking fluid

Neenah solar white cardstock, hot pressed watercolour paper, vellum

Berry speckled Christmas

Posted: November 28, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Berry speckled | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Ranger Distress stains | 11 Comments

I am happy to be sharing this card over on The Foiled Fox blog today. I used a combination of distress markers to colour the berry branches first then, once they were dry, I clear embossed over the top so they would resist the masking fluid I splattered and the sky I painted next. The process is described in detail over on the Foiled Fox blog so pop over and check it out.

This was definitely a project where a stamp positioner came in handy to do all the colouring first and embossing after.

Supplies

Stamps: berry speckled, sweetest moments

Inks: forest moss distress ink, versamark

Distress Markers: festive berries, frayed burlap, gathered twig, barn door, forest moss

Paper: Neenah solar white cardstock, hot pressed watercolour paper

Also: stamping platform, masking fluid, WOW clear gloss superfine embossing powder

Layered Poinsettia

Posted: November 24, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Brusho, layered poinsettia | Tags: Brusho, Finetec artist mica watercolour paint, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 5 Comments

After creating a pretty blue background through the magic of brusho yesterday, I decided to do the same with green and red for poinsettias. This set of four dies is called ‘layered poinsettia‘ and it was so easy to create pretty red and green flowers with some scattered brusho on watercolour paper. I had three scraps of hot pressed watercolour paper on my craft mat. I sprinkled mostly brilliant red brusho on two with a bit of leaf green either end, then I sprinkled more of the green and less of the red on my third strip. After I had spritzed water over them all I could see where more colour was needed so I sprinkled some more of the first two colours plus some rose red and spritzed again.

I left the scraps to dry then laid three flower dies on the strips and cut our 3×3 of the small, medium and large flowers making sure I got some green on the large and the medium ones. Once they were all cut I lay them back on my craft mat and splattered gold paint from my finetec mica pearl set over all the flowers.

I let them dry and assembled them by dotting glue on the backs. There is a teeny tiny die for the centres (which I have not lost so far!) which were cut from gold foil cardstock to tie in with my gold splatter. To assemble the card I glued the flowers on a strip of white cardstock, attached that to a strip of shimmery red cardstock then mounted it on a white card base. I added the little ‘sending joy’ sentiment from the PB holiday snippets set.

Don’t forget the Foiled Fox has a cool sale on all weekend; just click the link in my side bar or right here and use the discount code HOLIDAY2017 when you check out.

Supplies

Dies: layered poinsettia

Stamps: holiday snippets

Ink: versafine crimson red

Paints: finetec mica pearl 12, brusho 12

Neenah solar white cardstock, hot pressed watercolour paper, shimmer red cardstock, gold foil cardstock

Frosty wreath

Posted: November 23, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: A blizzard, wreath & bow | Tags: Brusho, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps | 3 Comments

I have a frosty little wreath to share today which seems appropriate now it’s all frosty outside. I created my background on hot pressed watercolour paper by sprinkling ultramarine brusho over the paper then spritzing it with my homemade pearl-ex spray. The result is a shimmery pattern of blue, turquoise and purple made with paint powder from just one container.

I applied stick it adhesive to the back of neenah solar white cardstock then die-cut three wreaths using Penny Black’s ‘wreath & bow’ die. I stacked them on top of each other which was surprisingly easy even though they were quite delicate. I use a pair of tweezers to squeeze each section of the die-cuts into alignment with the ones above and below.

I stamped a sentiment from festive snippets on purple cardstock, embossed it in white and attached it overlapping the wreath then matted the painted panel in purple also. To finish it off I attached some silver cord and a little die-cut snowflake on top of the sentiment strip. You can find all the supplies listed below; I am experimenting with the appearance of my supply list; word has it that people like to see the product not just the name. Let me know if the pictures and links are helpful.

I know there are sales everywhere you turn this week but I just want to mention one. The Foiled Fox is offering 15% off everything in their store this weekend and if you click through from my blog you don’t have to wait until Friday to start shopping. The coupon code for check out is HOLIDAY2017

Supplies

Stamps: festive snippets

Dies: wreath & bow, a blizzard

Paper: Neenah solar white cardstock, 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper

Brusho paint: ultra marine

Also: white embossing powder, stick it adhesive, pearl ex interference blue powder, silver cord

Glorious Day

Posted: November 18, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Snowy Perch | Tags: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps | 6 Comments

When I posted my first card made with this stamp I mentioned a second I had completed when I knew the image better. In this one I managed to keep the snowy areas white from the beginning rather than dilute them after I realised my mistake! I used fewer inks and left the leaves on right side of the stamp unstamped.

I stamped bird, perch and foliage in antique linen first then went over the perch and leaves as with vintage photo and black soot distress markers. I stamped then blended with water before adding ink to the berries with festive berries and barn door distress markers. To colour the bird I switched over to my watercolour pencils, picking up colour from the lead with a small damp watercolour brush.

I finished off the card with a sentiment stamped in versafine vintage sepia then popped up the panel on craft foam.

Supplies

Stamps: snowy perch, peace & love

Inks: antique linen, vintage photo distress inks (Ranger), versafine vintage sepia (Tsukineko), black micron pen (Pigma)
Markers: vintage photo, black soot, festive berries, barn door distress markers
Paper: 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper (Fabriano)
Pencils: dark carmine, light orange, black & cold greyIV Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils

DiOx background

Posted: November 16, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Flower sparks | Tags: distress oxide inks, Penny Black stamps | 8 Comments

I taught a class a while ago where we created distress oxide backgrounds similar to this one. I began with a piece of hot pressed watercolour paper, swiped my salty ocean and fossilized amber distress oxide inks across the panel then spritzed it generously while holding the paper upright which enabled the ink to run down towards the bottom of the panel. I held it the opposite way so the lighter colour ran back into the darker. I kept doing this until I had a fully covered, blended background.

It’s hard to see in the photo but I spritzed with pearl-ex spray which created a sparkly sheen over everything. (I create my own pearl-ex spray by adding less than ¼tsp pearl-ex powder to a small spritzer full of water) Once the panel was dry I splattered some more spray over the background and dabbed it off with a paper towel to created the patchy light and dark effect.

I stamped the Queen Anne’s lace stamps from the Penny Black Flower Sparks set in fossilized amber, salty ocean and black soot distress oxide inks. To finish I attached to a white card base and added a white on black embossed sentiment. All the supplies are listed below; some include affiliate links which give me a small commission but add nothing to your costs. Anytime you feel like browsing in The Foiled Fox online store, clicking through from the Foiled Fox promo in my side bar will send some commission my way if you make a purchase. And while we are chatting about the lovely folk at The Foiled Fox I have an inside scoop: they are starting a loyalty program where you will earn ‘foxy dollars’ every time you make a purchase there. Even though it hasn’t officially begun any November purchases will count towards your future foxy dollars!

Supplies

Stamps:Flower Sparks, Happy Snippets (made by Penny Black)
Inks: fossilized amber, salty ocean, black soot distress oxide inks (Ranger) Versamark (Tsukineko)
Papers: hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah solar white cardstock, Neenah epic black cardstock
Tools: heat tool
Added extras: interference blue pearl-ex powder

Under the trees

Posted: November 13, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: under the trees | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 5 Comments

So many of the stamps from the ‘Be Merry’ release are suitable for seasons other than winter and occasions other than Christmas. For this card I used the ‘under the trees’ stamp, masked out the little critters, snowflakes and gift and chose a warm colour scheme to make an autumn card. I stamped the ‘under the trees stamp in versafine vintage sepia ink. I cut a little post-it mask to protect the area where the critters and hanging snowflakes were as well as wiping ink off the circles in the sky so they wouldn’t stamp either. I left the stamp in the stamp positioning tool for re-stamping later. I began by paint a pale wash of tumbled glass distress stain over the whole piece of hot pressed watercolour paper keeping the edges darker than the centre. I added some forest moss, crushed olive, mustard seed, spiced marmalade painting around the trees and ground as well as painting some loose background trees into the damp panel.

I dried the panel before painting the wooden fence so the distress stains would not bleed out of the stamped image as in the background area. I used gathered twig and vintage photo distress stains to paint the fence then dried the panel again so I could restamp in the stamp positioner. By the time I had added all the blended colour the original stamped trees and bushes were less prominent so I inked them with a ground espresso marker and re-stamped and then painted over until they stood out once more.

To finish it off I stamped a sentiment from Penny Black’s ‘happy wishes’ set in fossilised amber distress ink then versafine vintage sepia several times over the top.

Supplies

Stamps: under the trees, happy wishes(PB)

Inks: tsukineko versafine vintage sepia, ranger fossilised amber distress ink

Markers: ground espresso, gathered twig distress markers

Distress Stains: tumbled glass, forest moss, crushed olive, mustard seed, spiced marmalade, ground espresso, gathered twig, vintage photo

Paper: hot pressed watercolor paper, green cardstock, cream cardstock

Tools: stamping platform, heat tool

Snowy Perch

Posted: November 8, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Snowy Perch | Tags: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks | 14 Comments

This little bird and its snowy perch are all part of one stamp. It took me a bit of playing to work out how I wanted to colour the stamped image. I have another card to share where I took a slightly different approach. I started by stamping the whole stamp with antique linen distress ink. Using a pale ink with a detailed stamp helps me see the whole image so I can add colours one by one using a stamp positioning tool. I coloured with both a mix of inks added to the stamp and watercolour pencils added to the stamped image. I inked the branch and twig sections of the stamp with several brown inks (listed below) and blended the stamping with water.

I used a wet paintbrush to pick up colour from watercolour pencils to apply colour to the bird, berries and leaves. By working wet into wet I was able to paint a lighter colour first then add either a darker colour or more of the same colour to darken a shadowed area. You can see I added a lot more water to the leaves on the right hand side so they appeared less prominent and more suitable as a background for the sentiment. Once all the colouring was finished I used a fine tip black pen to make sure the eye stood out. I trimmed the panel then popped it up on craft foam.

Thanks for dropping by.

Supplies

Stamps: snowy perch, sweetest moments

Inks: antique linen, vintage photo distress inks (Ranger), versafine vintage sepia, espresso truffle memento marker (Tsukineko), black micron pen (Pigma)
Paper: 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper (Fabriano)
Pencils: juniper green, sap green, dark carmine, light orange, black & cold greyIV Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils

Alcohol Ink Baubles – a tutorial

Posted: October 8, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Alcohol Ink, baubles, inspired, tall trees, trees and hills | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 22 Comments

I am happy to finally have a video tutorial to share with you today. It’s been a while I know. This one I created for Splitcoaststampers “Falliday Fest”.

The card designs are very simple, the intricacy is in the patterns the alcohol ink makes.

I included several different methods of making alcohol ink patterns and also a few ideas for making the patterned panels into cards by die cutting circles to turn into baubles or snow globes. Method one involved blending alcohol inks on a non-stick craft sheet then swiping a piece of yupo paper through the ink to create a pattern. In method two I used a felt applicator with dots of alcohol ink on it to apply ink to the yupo paper. Method three was alcohol ink applied directly to the yupo paper. You can see all three methods in detail on my video tutorial below.

This post includes affiliate links to The Foiled Fox online store. At no extra cost to you I will receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking a link to The Foiled Fox from this blog. The affiliate links are a new feature on my blog. I have been working with The Foiled Fox for quite a while now and I can recommend their store wholeheartedly. They have an extensive range of art and craft products and prompt and helpful service (also lovely packaging!)