Winter Weather
Posted: January 16, 2016 Filed under: Nature's Friend, Soft Whisper, Stamped Landscapes | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Ranger Distress stains 11 Comments
Remember back in December when I kept mentioning the lack of snow around here? There wasn’t just a lack of snow there was really no winter weather at all. Well, that is over; we have snow, ice and it’s cold outside! The winter weather has inspired me to create some snowy scenes.
I stamped and painted these two winter scenes beginning both times with a splatter of masking fluid to create the look of falling snow. Once the masking fluid was dry I stamped the large tree trunk stamp, ‘Soft Whisper’ in brown and then added some more masking fluid on the top of the branches (on the snowier card) and added extra definition to the branches and trunk with light brown, dark brown and black paint.
On one card I stamped the trees in green distress stain on the other I painted trees in brown brusho. It was interesting to limit my colour palette to brown and blue for one card and the additional green on the other card. I added the sky and snow banks after the branches so there is some bleeding of brown into blue here and there.
I was interested to read the comments on my recent gelli plate post; I will be trying the different techniques described when I get a chance. I am also hoping to share more art journal pages this year including the one I started yesterday.
Stamps: Soft Whisper, Nature’s friend (PB)
Inks: Black Soot, Gathered Twigs, Forest Moss, Broken China distress inks and stains (Ranger)
Paint: Colourcraft Brusho
Cardstock: Canson 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid
A mixed media card!
Posted: January 13, 2016 Filed under: Camelia | Tags: gelli plate, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 6 Comments
It seems that mixed media doesn’t appear on this blog very often but if I make a bit more progress in my art journals that might change. The card above features the first and only use of my gelli plate. I have seen lots of wonderful creating done with gelli plates but mine is currently stranded on Mount Techniques-To-Try along with other cool stuff!
I began by laying rose die cuts on my gelli plate then brayering red printing ink over plate and roses. I removed the roses before making a print of the pattern on deli paper. Out of several prints this one showed the most detail. I was going to throw away the very messy rose die cuts but a friend who was busy creating at the same time convinced me to hold onto them. Once they were dry they made delicate details which co-ordinated with the paper. I added some text to the paper, a solid strip to ground the embellishments and some gold die cuts for the focal element.
Have you gelli-printed? I intend to get back to my plate and would love to hear your favourite way to use one.
Supplies:
Stamps: Letter Background (PB)
Dies: Camelia die, Love & Joy die (PB)
Inks: Red Printing ink (Speedball), Black archival ink (Ranger)
Cardstock: Mixed media paper, deli paper, gold foil cardstock
Happy Anniversary, Baby
Posted: January 7, 2016 Filed under: Bridal March | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 39 Comments
It was my wedding anniversary yesterday so a wedding related card seems appropriate. I don’t do many cards with people in them and do not have skills in painting skin colour. Making this a monochrome card solved that little problem nicely. I only used two colours, both from the purple family, and managed to blend enough colour within the outline to provide some dimension. I stamped with distress stain and pulled colour from the stamping while it was still wet. Masking tape around the original panel created a frame then popping it up on dimensional tape which created another subtle frame.
This elegant dress looks nothing like my wedding dress, nor did I have a veil or fancy boots like those above. I did design and make my wedding dress myself and still love it despite how dated it seems now. My mother borrowed her wedding dress from a dear friend; it was extremely elegant and would not look out of place today. Mine will not be back in style until enormous sleeves return!
Supplies:
Stamps: Bridal March (PB)
Inks: Milled lavender, Aged Mahogany distress stains (Ranger)
Cardstock: Hotpressed Fabriano watercolour paper
Brusho Hearts
Posted: January 5, 2016 Filed under: All my hearts, Brusho, Love & Hugs, Love is growing, Triple love | Tags: Brusho, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 13 Comments
‘Tis the season for creating Valentine cards but the fresh snow outside my window is calling me to keep creating snowy scenes! New stamps and dies however, were calling from inside my craft room so red, pink and hearts it is. The new release from Penny Black is full of love, hearts and sweet wishes and is available in the online store now.
I created a red and pink panel with brusho then die cut a bunch of different sized hearts using three different dies. Aren’t those tiny ones cute? I popped up two of the hearts on fun foam and attached the others directly onto the stamped panel.
What are you creating in the new year?
Supplies:
Stamps: Love & Hugs (PB)
Dies: Triple love, Love is growing, All my hearts (PB)
Mediums: Brusho powders, Versafine Satin red ink
Cardstock: Hotpressed Fabriano watercolour paper, Neenah chili red
Also: white fun foam
Bloom
Posted: January 3, 2016 Filed under: Enamor, Friendship Flowers | Tags: Kuretake Zig clean color real brush markers, Penny Black stamps 14 Comments
A card I made a while back but a sentiment appropriate for a new year. I coloured this panel when I first bought my zig clean color real brush pens. There are a few areas where the colour breaks out of the lines but I don’t let that worry me. The colours in the basic set I bought are very vibrant. I stamped the flowers in pink and green then coloured with the markers. Laying down and blending all the colour for the background with a brush pen was time consuming so I won’t being doing it often but I like the dark and light of the wash and watermarks. The stamp is a winner because you can bend the stem and make it look like you have a bunch of different stamps.
This card is inspired by my parents. My parents have been married for 54 years and have lived in ten different homes in those 54 years. They have planted and cared for a garden alongside all of those ten homes. Sometimes they started from scratch; other times they carried on the gardening work of the previous occupants. Our family enjoyed the beauty of their flower gardens and the produce from their fruit and vegie growing. In all those ten homes they have also nurtured relationships with those in their community; they have bloomed where God planted them. Below is a photo of their current garden.
Supplies:
Stamps: Enamor, Friendship flowers (PB)
Inks: memento bamboo leaves, rosebud (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Markers: Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers (Kuretake)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, green cardstock
Sky’s the limit
Posted: December 31, 2015 Filed under: Gleeful, One-Layer Simplicity challenge | Tags: Brusho, One-Layer cards, Penny Black stamps 12 Comments
Happy New Year everyone! It’s the first of January which means it is the first day of a new challenge at One Layer Simplicity. I am hosting this month and the challenge is to make a one layer card inspired by the phrase ‘the sky’s the limit’. You can make the sky the focus of your card like I did, be inspired by the phrase itself or come up with an idea of your own. Link your project over on the One Layer Simplicity blog any time before January 24th.
To create my great big sky card I first flicked some masking fluid on watercolour paper then taped it down to keep it from warping when wet. I stamped the sled carrying passengers in versafine onyx black ink. Underneath the sled I positioned frog tape to mask the toboggan hill. To mask the children and dog I used my new Molotow masking pen. With all of that masked I was able to paint the rest of the panel with brushos to create a pretty blue and pink expanse. Once the sky dried I gently removed the masking over the stamp and coloured the image with watercolour pencils. Finally I removed the tape and added a sentiment. The panel did warp a little so I ironed it. Are you surprised to see people on my card today? Yep, me too!
Thank you for your response to my two ‘Top 10’ posts; you were very kind and encouraging. I am excited to share some new products and techniques in the coming year as well as continue using and describing some of my favourite tried and true methods and materials.
Supplies:
Stamps: Gleeful, Holiday Snippets (PB)
Mediums: Brusho powders, Versafine Onyx Black ink
Cardstock: Hotpressed Fabriano watercolour paper
Also: Winsor & Newton Masking fluid, Molotow Masking pen
My Favourites from 2015
Posted: December 30, 2015 Filed under: Bister, Brusho, Hand drawn, Hand lettered, Penny Black, Stamped Landscapes | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 17 CommentsThank you for your response to the viewer’s top ten from 2015 and thank you for the encouragement to keep sharing here. I love reading your comments and visiting your blogs and I am hoping to respond to your comments more in the coming year because I enjoy the conversations that develop from time to time. Sometimes they are about techniques and products but often they are about memories, traditions and experiences. It is great getting to know you better.
I whittled my favourites down to 10 but there were a few more I wanted to include. The pink one I shared yesterday was a favourite but it already made one list! The cards included below are in the order I originally posted them and a click on the photo will take you to the original post.
This one is a favourite for what is happening in the background as well as the foreground.
I used a die cut mask for this one and managed to make the leaves look like eucalyptus which of course reminded me of Australia.
I worked on this one in portrait orientation then once I was finished realised it looked better landscape.
I love Queen Anne’s Lace so it is not surprising to find some in my top 10.
This is just one of those watercolours that worked above and beyond my hopes and I will never manage to do the same again! My mother has grown roses this colour so that made it extra special.
A simple design and some bister made me happy. (and of course you can never have too many tree stamps!)
After I had created quite a few bister cards I borrowed some brusho and the love affair with watercolour powders continued. “Finding” a garden in a random pattern of brusho was so very satisfying.
One of my goals this year was to paint more from scratch. I felt like I had not done much but when I looked through this year’s posts I saw some that were entirely my own design, like the one above, as well as some where I combined some stamping with some hand painting as in the one below.
My recent series ‘Stamping the stories’ struck a chord with many of you and I enjoyed the conversations it generated about favourite stories.
I only just posted this one but it is definitely a favourite. I will be doing more with this vintage colour scheme and hand lettering in 2016 so stay tuned.
Thanks for indulging me as I shared some of my favourites. They certainly represent some of the techniques and products I have enjoyed this year as well as some of the subjects I love to include in my projects.
2015 top ten
Posted: December 29, 2015 Filed under: Bister, Penny Black, Stamped Landscapes, Watercolour | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 28 Comments
Of the 170 posts I have written this year, here are the ten that were viewed the most. I guess you could call this ‘the viewers’ choice’ post. If you click on the photos you can get to the original post with all the nitty gritty details.
Of course the most recent posts don’t really stand a chance under these terms but that is way ‘best of 2015’ lists go.
The card above is from a video tutorial, one of only two I made this year! I’m sorry; you deserved more.
The one above performed surprisingly well considering it is one of my ‘loose and messy’ ones; sometimes I wonder if other people don’t like them quite as much as I do.
Another ‘messy’ one which I was quite excited about because it was one of my early bister experiments. It was the only 2015 Christmas card to make the top 10.
I love this one, not sure if I managed to part with it. If I did that person should know they’re pretty special.
This one is a classic example of ‘using a sentiment to cover up a mess’!
The ‘stacked die’ technique made from the same panel featured in the card at the top of this post.
One of my carefully painted ‘not messy at all’ poppy cards.
Last but not least, my older daughter’s birthday card, another blue bister creation. There are 4 blue cards, 3 pink cards, 2 orange cards and 1 green card, which may mean my readers like blue and pink as much as I do!
Thank you for your feedback through viewing and commenting during 2015. You, my readers, mean a lot to me; it is a delight and a privilege to share my creating with such an appreciative audience. I will be back with my favourite creations from 2015.
It’s Christmas time in the city
Posted: December 24, 2015 Filed under: Hand drawn, Hand lettered, Skyline | Tags: Hand lettering, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks 15 Comments
City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style,
In the air there is a feeling, of Christmas
Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile,
And on every street corner you’ll hear :
Silver bells, silver bells
It’s Christmas time in the city
ring- a- ling, hear them ring,
soon it will be Christmas day.
Supplies:
Stamps: Skyline (PB)
Inks: Vintage photo, Black soot distress inks (Ranger) Elegant Writer (Speedball)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, pink & black cardstock
All is calm
Posted: December 23, 2015 Filed under: All is Bright, Prancers, Soft Whisper | Tags: Canson watercolour paper, Dr Ph Martin Hydrus watercolor paints, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Tsukineko Versafine inks 8 Comments
This one went in the mail this morning so there is no way it will get to where it’s going by Christmas but hopefully before new year. I used my new Dr Ph Martin Hydrus watercolours for the sky. I will write more about them once I have done some more experimenting. Sky, background and snow banks were done as described in this post but the black foreground tree was stamped last.
Hope all is calm at your place…
Supplies:
Stamps: Soft Whisper, All is bright, Prancers, (PB)
Inks: Black Soot, Stormy sky distress inks (Ranger) Onyx Black Versafine ink (Tsukineko)
Paint: Dr Ph Martin Hydrus watercolour paints
Cardstock: Canson 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid
Heather Telford 