Potted Pretties in Pencil

Posted: May 24, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Coloured pencil, how sweet, Penny Black, potted pretties | Tags: Faber-Castell Polychromos Colour Pencil, Penny Black stamps | 5 Comments

This is the new ‘potted pretties’ stamp from Penny Black; it is pretty isn’t it? Although I love the soft blends of loose watercolour I also find pencil colouring very satisfying too, especially on kraft cardstock.

I use Faber Castell Polychromos pencils and chose a dark and a light pink along with white for the petals, two greens for the leaves and a tan with white for the pot. Once I had almost finished I added some more shadow to the centre of some flowers and the shadows of the leaves with a dark burgandy pencil – a trick I learned from Kathy Racoosin, colouring wizard.

If no-line watercolour is more your thing then I am colouring the same image in that style too. I’ll post it on the blog soon.

Don’t forget to check out my new online course if you haven’t already. The discount TEAMBLOG10 is still valid for a 10% discount at checkout. Thank you to those of you who have joined already. I am excited to hear from or see some prints once you’ve had a chance to dive in!

And another event you might be interested in if you are local is the Community Paper Crafting Garage Sale on June 10.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox)

Gel Printing with the Strands stencil

Posted: May 18, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Classes, Dies, Echidna Studios, Flutters, gel press, online class, Penny Black, rustic birdhouse, strands | Tags: Echidna Studios, gel press, gel printing, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps | 4 Comments

A stencil gel print for you today. I created this distressed print on a large gel plate so I could pick up a card front and an envelope print at the same time. If you don’t have a large plate you could just use the same paint colours and stencil on a second print. Just in case you didn’t catch my news yesterday, my new online course Gel Print Journey is now available! (And there is a discount for blog readers TEAMBLOG10)

The stencil is called ‘strands’ and it is a digital design I created and have made available in the Echidna Studios etsy store. The bold print shown on the card above was made with copper, burgandy and purple paint so I chose a dark burgandy cardstock to cut dragonfly elements and a sentiment strip. Printing directly on the envelope is a easy way to co-ordinate with your card and I placed a sticker on the white envelope before printing to preserve white space for the address. I think I might make a video of this process because it’s quick and effective, a combination I like.

The pattern on the second card is very muted because it is a ghost print, the leftovers on the plate after I pulled the one above. I cover this technique in my new online class using a range of different stencils and colour combinations.

Even though ghost prints are often patchy I like using them for collage or backgrounds as I have here. The line between cream and grey ended up looking like a path or lawn and I just like the unique grungy texture.

The dies and stamps I used to finish the cards are all Penny Black, those dragonflies on the first card are some of the first dies I ever got and they’re still a favourite.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & ScrapNStamp)

Sun Kissed

Posted: May 15, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Penny Black, sun kissed | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks | 5 Comments

These breezy flowers are from the new Penny Black release. The stamp is called ‘sun kissed‘ and I have stamped it twice on this card. I used both distress markers and ink pads to ink the stamp; I know the markers are being discontinued but while I have them I will keep using them.

I inked the flowers with barn door and worn lipstick, spritzed the stamp lightly then stamped on hot pressed watercolour. Often I follow this step by blending the ink on the petals with a damp paintbrush. I decided not to do that this time as I liked the soft ‘impressionistic’ look of the uneven coverage. I inked and stamped the stems with mowed lawn then added some fossilized amber to some of the flowers.

I added fine lines and dots to each flower head with a fine black marker then added a sentiment from the PB ‘Enjoy builder set’. The builder sets include one or two large solid stamps then a range of phrases or words to stamp adjacent to the large word. Once again I decided not to add any background blending or shading. I like the simple clean look of the stem and flowers on white and it gives me a chance to get to know the stamp before combining it with other stamps or techniques.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & Scrap n Stamp)

Hollyhock Heaven Indeed!

Posted: May 11, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: hollyhock heaven, how sweet, Penny Black | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks | 9 Comments

This is the stamp I didn’t know I’d been waiting for until I saw it in the new Penny Black release! Hollyhocks are such beautiful flowers. I don’t have any in my garden so obviously I need some on my cards!

As usual I worked in the stamp positioner with hot pressed watercolour paper. I first inked the centres of the open flowers with a dark red zig clean color brush marker, spritzed with water and stamped. Next I inked the stems and leaves at the top of the image with a green zig marker and stamped. I used saltwater taffy distress ink to ink all the flowers wiping ink off where I could see there were leaves. This is a bit of a tricky step but a bit of green in the wrong place can usually be diluted and dabbed off with paper towel. I blended all the petals with a paintbrush pulling the dark red ink into the paler pink. When stamping the lower leaves with mowed lawn distress ink the fence ended up green so I went over that with some hickory smoke ink and a paintbrush. When I was sure the flower petals were dry I added yellow to the centres just like my reference photo. To finish I splattered some green and taffy ink, added a little greeting from the PB ‘how sweet!’ set and tied some twine to fit in with the little fence.

Isn’t this stamp a stunner? I can’t wait to try other colours and pair it with other florals.

Now back to my gel printing class; it’s not going to publish itself!

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & Scrap n Stamp)

Close-up Blooms

Posted: May 10, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: bud & bloom, Echidna Studios | Tags: Echidna Studios, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Kuretake Zig clean color real brush markers, Penny Black stamps | 6 Comments

You’ve seen this digital stamp once before on my blog but it is much bigger this time. I printed it on hot pressed watercolour paper at a size that would fill the square card front. The set is called ‘bud & bloom‘ and this is just one of the three images in the set.

A bigger image fills the card front beautifully and is easier to colour. I enjoyed colouring this one while relaxing on the couch. I used zig clean color real brush pens which are highly pigmented. I was able to add intense colour to one side of the petals then blend it out with a waterbrush. It is easy to add a bit more ink if needed or add a different colour just by touching the tip of the brush pen to a wet area on the petal. The zig pens are easy to control and mine are lasting very well.

This time I kept the background clean and added a little Penny Black sentiment. If you haven’t visited the Echidna Studios etsy store lately pop over and see what’s new. There are a bunch of new stencil designs ready for cutting from a plastic film for stenciling or from cardstock to add to a card front.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox & Scrap n Stamp)

Turning

Posted: April 27, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Alcohol Ink, delicate daisies, Echidna Studios, grafix, Paper Rose, Penny Black, skewed squares, turning | Tags: Echidna Studios, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Ranger Distress inks | 2 Comments

As you know I have recently been featuring some designs from my daughter’s etsy store Echidna Studios. They are available as digital stamps/cutting files. What I haven’t mentioned is that some of the designs in her store are designed by me! She has just added a batch of digital images that I designed as stencils but they can also be printed. The circle masked on the card above and the half circle on the second card are from a digital set called ‘turning‘. The beauty of digital designs is that they can be cut or printed in any size. I cut both stencils from Grafix matte duralar using my cricut.

I blended three distress inks through the stencil onto neenah solar white cardstock then added the PB delicate daisies die-cuts and a PB sentiment.

To create the half turn stenciled card I worked on Grafix white craft plastic with three alcohol inks. I dropped isopropyl alcohol and alcohol inks on the panel then dropped the stencil into position. I tried to be patient so the inks would dry and give me a complete impression of the stencil. I did help it along with an air blower and managed not to lift it too early! I splattered a little isopropyl over the top for extra interest.

Once again I finished the card with black elements: the PB daisies and a sentiment strip from Paper Rose Studio. I hope you visit Echidna Studios store and check out the designs there. I will be featuring more in the weeks ahead. See if you can guess which of the stamp sets I designed, they are different from my daughter’s very realistic style. If you are on IG we would love you to follow Echidna Studios there too. And if you do happen to be on Instagram check out Gina Ferrari and see if you recognise anyone among her portraits.

By the way, a while back I showed a sneak peak of a squares stencil I had designed and cut. You can see I used it on the card below and in the video here. The stencil is called skewed squares and it is now available as a digital file in the Echidna Studios store.

Thanks for dropping by today. I hope the sun is shining where you are; it is peeping through the clouds here.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox, Ecstasy Crafts & Scrap n Stamp)

Birthday Window

Posted: April 24, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Penny Black, window | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks | 4 Comments

I’m a guest on the Foiled Fox blog again today featuring my first card with the new PB set, ‘window’. The window and the ivy are two separate stamps which makes them quite versatile. I wanted to try them together though so I worked in a stamp positioner with hot pressed watercolour paper.

I stamped the ivy first in two greens because a range of greens definitely makes foliage look more realistic. I also added some brown for the stems. As I wanted the ivy to hang over the window and shutters I had to either mask the ivy or do some partial stamping. I did partial stamping, wiping ink off the very top of the window for the first impression then adding ink bit by bit to fill out the sections not obscured by the ivy. Once I had outlines stamped it was easy to use a paintbrush to fill out the rest of the wood around the leaves.

I used a mix of grey and brown for the window frame and speckled egg for the glass and side of the house adding some lines with a marker to suggest paneling. There are more details on the Foiled Fox blog so make sure you visit and say hi.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox)

Birthday Garden Gate

Posted: April 13, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Echidna Studios, garden fence | Tags: Echidna Studios, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Kuretake Zig clean color real brush markers, Penny Black stamps | 3 Comments

This is the second card I’ve made with the Echidna Studios ‘garden fence’ set of digital stamps. On the first card the images were smaller to fit on an A2 card and the arrangement was a little different. These digital images are great fun to work with as they are not transparent so when I position each pot it masks what ever is behind it.

I printed the image on hot pressed watercolour paper then did all the colouring with zig clean color real brush pens. Those pens are juicy! I added only small dabs of ink to the foliage and flowers and blended it with a waterbrush. I blended blue and green between all the fence posts to make the white pop and added a line of grey as shadow.

The sentiment is from an old faithful Penny Black set, banner sentiments. The curve of the stamp fitted nicely over the curve of the gate. The finished card is 7¼” x 4⅛” which is not a standard size I know. I will either make a custom envelope or put it in a slightly larger one.

Most of my garden is out from under the snow now so not too long before I can be working with real pots not digital ones!

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox, Scrap n Stamp)

Spring Emerges

Posted: March 28, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Coloured pencil, Penny Black, spring emerges | Tags: Faber-Castell Polychromos Colour Pencil, Penny Black stamps, Waffle Flower dies | 3 Comments

Spring is emerging around my place but not to the extent suggested in this stamp. I do have a daffodil plant that has broken through the soil and I can see a bud on it even though it is a couple of feet from the snow drifts! The stamp featured today is called ‘spring emerges’ and it is a small transparent stamp from Penny Black’s latest release.

It’s been a while since my coloured pencils were the stars of the show but after finishing this little panel I might keep them on my desk a little longer. I particularly like pencils on kraft cardstock. I often add either a base of white pencil or just highlights so the brown of the kraft doesn’t make everything too muted. On this card I blended white and reds for the tulips and added white highlights purple flowers. I layered a mix of yellows and oranges for the daffodil and two greens for the leaves and grass. I kept the panel and stamp in the stamp positioner in case I wanted to restamp over the top after colouring (which I did). With a stamp this small sometimes my colouring goes outside or over the lines, restamping just sharpened the outline. I used Gina K’s osidian amalgam ink.

I used A2 layer dies to cut the panel and the mat and added a sentiment from the PB ‘hope is…’ set. You can see some very pale white shading around the flowers too which was done with the white pencil.

Wishing you a hope filled day.

(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox, Scrap n Stamp)

Canopy

Posted: March 27, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: canopy, Penny Black | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks | 5 Comments

Today I am delighted to be sharing this card on the Foiled Fox blog. I have mentioned before how much I like the people at the Foiled Fox and we seem to enjoy a lot of the same artsy things. This new set from Penny Black is called ‘Canopy’ and it includes three similar trees of different sizes.

I completed the sky first by blending speckled egg ink over the panel of hot pressed watercolour paper. I painted over the blended ink with water then dabbed away some of the ink with a tissue to create the look of clouds. I also added some splatters because why not?

I stamped the trees one at a time and added a hill below the trunk each time. Painting the little hill while the ink on the trunk was still wet made it possible to softly blend the brown and green inks together.

Make sure you pop over to the Foiled Fox blog to learn more about my process and to browse their lovely projects and products. You know how I feel about tree stamps; you can never have too many. I love the whimsical bendy trunks on these ones; they look like they are swaying in a breeze.