Home, sweet home
Posted: September 29, 2015 Filed under: Sweet Home, Uptown | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 7 Comments
I stamped all the houses for this little street with the same stamp. To make them look different I masked and changed the amount of stamp I used. It was possible to make it taller by drawing an extra window and a different doorway. I watercoloured with distress stains then added some extra shading with markers and pencils. To keep it all co-ordinated and warm toned I painted a very orange sky and sponged an orange edge on the natural cardstock mat.
Supplies
Stamps: Uptown, Sweet Home (Penny Black)
Inks:Ripe Persimmon, Aged Mahogany, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door, Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick, Black Soot distress stains or inks (Ranger), Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Cardstock:Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah Epic Black 100lb cardstock, Natural flecked cardstock
Also: Fabercastell watercolour pencils
Fall trees with bister
Posted: September 28, 2015 Filed under: Bister, Twinkling | Tags: Bister, Penny Black stamps 8 Comments
Watercolour powders seem to be a perfect medium to use for fall scenes. The colours move and blend in similar ways to the colours on an autumn leaf. To create this scene I stamped the trunk and branches before I started on the leaves. I used two brown markers for the trunks and branches avoiding the circles on the stamp as much as possible. Next I cleaned the stamp and painted water onto the circles of the stamp and stamped again. It is not really necessary to use the stamp to apply water around the branches you could just add drops of water to your panel with a paintbrush. With the water drops sitting on the panel I sprinkled yellow and red bister powder over the water and watched the colours activate. To achieve the amount of blended colour desired I added a little powder or water here and there until I was happy. I blended some areas with a brush and let other parts stay relatively sharp and unblended. To finish I painted the blue sky with tumbled glass distress stain then matted both the panel and a sentiment and attached to a natural coloured card base.
I have filmed a periscope of this technique. It is available here on replay.
Supplies:
Stamps: Twinkling, Amazing (PB)
Inks: Distress gathered twig, ground espresso distress markers, tumbled glass distress stain (Ranger)
Cardstock: Canson 100% cotton cold pressed watercolour paper, burgandy cardstock, Neenah natural white
Also: yellow & red Bister powder
Farewell to summer: Beach
Posted: September 24, 2015 Filed under: A Pocket Full, Hand drawn, So Lucky | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 7 Comments
This hand-painted card depicts one of my favourite summer activities, sadly one that I rarely get to enjoy these days. Growing up we had a beach holiday every summer. I don’t live anywhere near the beach now but I did enjoy a couple of trips to the lake during July and August. One trip was to Sandbanks on Lake Ontario. The lake is so huge that it looks like an ocean beach but the water just doesn’t taste right! Apparently the wind does whip up waves most days but when we were there it was flat, flat, flat.
The card above is based on my memories of Australian beaches. We would walk over a little or large dune and reach the beach, usually a surf beach, and check out how good the waves were going to be that day. I painted with distress stains over some masking fluid ‘white caps’ and added some grass with a stamp from the ‘so lucky’ transparent set.
This is the last in my Farewell to summer mini series, it will be pretty much autumn and winter themed cards for a while now!
Supplies:
Stamps: So Lucky, Special Wishes (PB)
Creative Dies: A pocketfull (PB)
Inks: chipped sapphire, salty ocean, tumbled glass, broken china, pine needles, scattered straw, mustard seed, vintage photo distress stains, peeled paint, crushed olive distress inks (Ranger)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah avon brilliant white, green cardstock
Pumpkins aplenty
Posted: September 23, 2015 Filed under: Periscope, Pumpkins | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Periscope, Ranger Distress stains 14 Comments
Have you seen all the pumpkins lined up in the fields waiting for…well I’m not sure what they’re waiting for, to be bought I guess, or to be collected. It is a sign of autumn to see them all there in their orange glory. I have never been a fan of orange but the distress stain, spiced marmalade, has softened my opinions a bit, it is such a rich colour.
I have two very similar cards today because I watercoloured one as a practice and then broadcast on periscope the watercolouring of the other. I scoped it yesterday so it is still available to watch on the web here.
I used the same technique for both panels, inking the stamp directly with distress stains, spritzing it then stamping on watercolour paper. While the stain was still wet I used a waterbrush to pull colour from the outline into the pumpkins and leaves. Anywhere that I didn’t have enough stain to spread I picked up some extra from an acrylic block and painted it on.
Thanks for dropping by.
Supplies:
Stamps: Pumpkins, Snippets, Enjoy (PB)
Inks: Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge, Ground Espresso, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss distress stains (Ranger) Versafine Olympia Green & Spanish Moss (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah natural white cardstock, Kazazz textured cardstock
Also: gold embroidery thread
Farewell to summer: Hummingbird
Posted: September 21, 2015 Filed under: Footnotes, Sweet Visit, Zigs & zags | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Penny Black stencils, Tsukineko Memento inks 6 Comments
This card just says ‘cottage life’ to me especially as the few hummingbirds I have seen were at friends’ cottages. I inked the stamp with memento markers, spritzed, stamped then blended with water before another spritz to spread the colour further. To create a border I ran a watercolour pencil inside the masking tape which was holding the panel down then softened the pencil line with a paintbrush. In a surprising departure from my usual habits I sponged the card base through a stencil around the edges as well as adding a little text.
I hope you are enjoying some late summer like I am.
Supplies:
Stamps: Sweet visit, Heartfelt, Footnotes (PB)
Inks: Nautical Blue, Bahama Blue, Danube Blue, Paris Dusk, Olive Grove, Bamboo Leaves, Desert Sand, Rose Bud, Tangelo, Potter’s Clay Memento markers (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano hot press watercolour, Neenah natural White, Teal
Also: Zigs & zags stencil (PB), Gold and blue machine embroidery thread
Astral defined with pencils
Posted: September 18, 2015 Filed under: Astral | Tags: Bister, Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour pencils, Faber-Castell Polychromos Colour Pencil, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 2 Comments
The new release from Penny Black includes several negative space stamps, meaning stamps with a lot of solid rubber where the image is the part that does not stamp. This one, ‘Astral’ is the most solid of them all and I have been playing with ways to add colour and texture to the large solid area. I stamped the one above weeks back when I created this card, but it was cast aside. When I picked it up again I decided to add shadows to the sides of the trees with coloured pencils. The background colour is a mix of memento inks, distress stains and bister powder. When adding coloured pencil I used a bit of black but mainly chose colours already appearing the in the background. I used the pencils here and there to deepen the colour and define the edges.
I stamped and painted another one in green yesterday and filmed on periscope while doing so. (To watch me on periscope you can download the ap for your phone then search for me by name or watch on the web here. In both those places the videos are available for 24 hours.) On the green one I added detail with watercolour pencils and splatter with a white wink of stella pen. It is quite a large stamp; I cropped the panel for the blue and pink card to fit a 5.5’x4.25″ card base but kept the whole image plus a border for the green card.
Supplies for pink card:
Stamps: Astral, Snippets (PB)
Inks: Dusty Concord, Worn Lipstick, Salty Ocean, Stormy sky distress inks (Ranger), Memento Summer Sky, Versafine onyx black (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: Bister watercolour powder, Interference Blue pearl-ex spray, Faber Castell polychromos pencils
Supplies for green card:
Stamps: Astral, Snippets (PB)
Inks: Broken China, Salty Ocean, Crushed Olive, Pine Needles distress stains (Ranger), Memento Cottage Ivy, Northern Pine, Versamark (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Canson 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: White wink of stella pen, white embossing powder, green machine embroidery thread, Faber Castell watercolour pencils
Poppies with love
Posted: September 14, 2015 Filed under: Efflorescence, Flourish, No Card Left Behind | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks 16 Comments
I have another card featuring one of my favourite techniques, ‘watercolouring with distress stains‘. I worked on a panel of watercolour paper taped to a board and splattered with masking fluid. The stamp is an outline stamp which I inked with festive berries and ripe persimmon stain on the petals and peeled paint on the stems. I painted colour into the petals straight away so the outlines would blend with the colour in the whole petal. I drew a bud and a few leaves with a marker to fill the space more evenly. Once the flowers were almost dry I painted the background with desert sand ink and added some text also. I added black to the flower centres with a marker and blended with water to soften the edges a little.
When I removed the tape and the masking fluid I wasn’t entirely happy with the finished panel. Instead of trying to alter any part of the watercolouring I decided to add another element, the die cut flourish over the top. I tied the flourish in with a swirly sentiment and attached all the elements to a natural card base.
Supplies:
Stamps: Efflorescence, Footnotes (PB)
Creative Dies: Flourish, For You (PB)
Inks: Festive Berries, Ripe Persimmon, Peeled Paint Distress stains, Desert sand ink, Tuxedo Black, Northern Pine memento markers (Tsukineko)
Paper: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah natural white cardstock
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid
Autumnal grove
Posted: September 11, 2015 Filed under: Periscope, Snowy Grove, Stamped Landscapes | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Periscope, Ranger Distress inks 19 Comments
I have another card made with the beautiful new ‘snowy grove’ stamp. I filmed myself painting the trees on periscope so if you are quick you can catch that before it disappears forever. I intend to save some of my periscope videos and share them for longer on another site but I didn’t click the right button for that this morning. And maybe just as well because it was my first attempt and not my classiest presentation!
Anyway the technique is fresh in my mind so I will describe it here. I inked the stamp randomly with both walnut stain and rusty hinge ink. I stamped it on watercolour paper then used a waterbrush to blend the colour up and down all the trunks. The stamped impression wasn’t perfect but it didn’t matter because I painted over the trunks anyway. Once I had done that I painted the forest floor with the same inks and plenty of water. When it was all dry I sponged the background working in antique linen, wild honey and walnut stain, getting darker the further I moved from my ‘light source’.
Thanks for your lovely comments about yesterday’s card; can you tell I like this stamp!?
Supplies:
Stamps: Snowy Grove, Snippets (PB)
Inks: walnut stain, rusty hinge, antique linen, wild honey distress inks (Ranger)
Cardstock: Canson hot pressed watercolour paper, brown cardstocks
Snowy Grove
Posted: September 10, 2015 Filed under: Snowy Grove | Tags: Canson watercolour paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks 24 Comments
A couple of days ago I posted a autumn themed card created with the ‘snowy grove’ stamp; today I have a snowy one. I only used two colours for this one which thankfully I wrote on the back of the panel because as is my habit I didn’t note down my technique straight away and now it is a bit hazy. The panel has been sitting around for a few weeks waiting for attention.
The panel was splattered with masking fluid first, you can see the fine white dots over the tree trunks. I then taped down the panel and positioned a frisket circle mask to create a moon. It makes more sense to position the frisket mask before splattering masking fluid so the dots of masking fluid don’t keep the frisket from sticking securely to the paper. With the moon mask in place I painted a blue sky with chipped sapphire and blueprint sketch distress stains. I let that dry, removed the moon mask and placed a hill shaped frisket mask lower down the panel. I stamped the snowy grove stamp over the mask then used a small paintbrush and both distress stains to give more definition to some of the trees. I also added shadow behind the snowbank with diluted blue stain. When that was dry I inked only some of the trees to stamp in the right hand foreground. I added a few snowy dips and a sentiment then popped up the whole panel with fun foam on a matching base. Edited to add: (I filmed a short video on periscope showing how I painted the trees. It will be up for 24hrs. It was my first periscope and is very amateur but I guess I can only improve)
I do love it when I see scenes like this in winter; I think a snow covered landscape is quite magical. But as I have said before I’m not wishing summer away at all. Last night I saw the most spectacular sunset I have witnessed in a long time. I was watching my son’s soccer game so was able to see the colours deepen and develop for over an hour. It was incredible. (I shared a few photos here.)
Supplies:
Stamps: Snowy Grove, Holiday snippets(PB)
Inks: Chipped sapphire & blueprint sketch distress stains inks (Ranger)
Cardstock: Canson 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: masking fluid
Greatest of these
Posted: September 9, 2015 Filed under: Love Chapter, Soft Wings | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks 7 Comments
Today’s card is an example of wet into wet watercolour with some stamping added later for definition and texture. I wet the taped panel of watercolour paper then stamped a pale butterfly to give me an outline to paint over. I painted in pinks and purples and added background colour in teal. When it was dry I restamped in dark blue and did some partial stamping with the text stamp from the ‘love chapter’ transparent set.
I love watching the colour blend and blur when I stamp onto wet watercolour paper. If you haven’t tried it you should; it’s fun and you can always stamp over it if it is just too loose and flowy for you! I mentioned Periscope in my last post; if you’d like to know more about it I found this helpful tutorial.
By the way the latest One Layer Simplicity challenge is up and running with Ardyth. It’s all about numbers; check it out.
Supplies:
Stamps: Soft Wings, Love Chapter (PB)
Inks: Pine needles, Chipped Sapphire, Aged Mahogany, Worn Lipstick distress stains and inks (Ranger) Summer Sky memento ink (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hotpressed watercolour paper
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid
