More fresh poppies
Posted: February 15, 2015 Filed under: Fresh | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 14 Comments
When I posted the first card made with the ‘fresh’ stamp I mentioned another watercolour panel where I painted the same stamped poppies but had created a different effect. Once again I stamped the image with several different distress inks and then painted inside the petals by pulling colour from the outline as well adding extra stain with a paintbrush. I worked a petal at a time so I could preserve some of the stamped outlines of the image. If I had spritzed with water at this point I could have ended up with a loose image like the pink one I posted first, but who knows; watercolour is an unpredictable technique. I painted the blue background after the poppies had dried to restrict the bleeding from the petals and stems into the background.
CAS-ual Fridays has a ‘Must Love Watercolor’ challenge at the moment so I will link there and also at the Crafting Cafe where the challenge is to use your favourite technique. Not too hard to guess what that is…
Have a great week
Supplies:
Stamps: Fresh , Snippets (PB)
Inks: Peeled Paint, Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw, Tumbled Glass, Broken China distress stains (Ranger), Memento Tuxedo Black, Bamboo Leaves inks (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid
Sweet, fresh poppies
Posted: February 14, 2015 Filed under: CAS, Fresh | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Memento inks 17 Comments
‘Fresh’ is one of the new slapstick cling stamps from the Penny Black “Bring on the Happy” release. I have been chasing deadlines all week so yesterday after getting all my ‘dirty dozen’ projects finished I pulled this nbus stamp out. I created two separate panels in different colour schemes using slightly different techniques. I started both the same way by stamping on watercolour paper in distress stain. Because distress stain is a liquid the stamp does not always ink up evenly but once stamped it does stay moist for longer than it would with the average dye ink. This gives me longer to pull colour from the stamped outline in to fill the petals, stems and buds (or whatever image I’m stamping). As you see in the stamp image below this is an outline stamp and I began by painting each petal, blending the colour with water to create light and dark shades within the petals. Although you wouldn’t know it to look at it now all the colouring was inside the lines!
At this point I chose to go for a much freer look and spritzed the flowers with water several times. I waited until the image was almost dry before adding a little yellow and finally black to the poppy centres. You have probably guessed already that the white specks and spots were made by splattering masking fluid on the paper before I began.
I trimmed the panel so all that white at the top could to balance all that colour at the bottom. The current sketch from CAS(E) this sketch helped me position my sentiment and then I played around with the pink mat for a little while before settling on a very narrow strip on each side. I will turn my other panel into a card in the next few days so you can see the more controlled ‘inside the lines’ approach.
Supplies:
Stamps: Fresh , Sprinkles and Smiles (PB)
Inks: Worn Lipstick, Peeled Paint, Festive Berries, Scattered Straw distress stains (Ranger), Memento Tuxedo Black, Bamboo Leaves inks (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% & 25% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Coral Reef mix & match paper (PB)
Watercoloured Sprigs
Posted: February 11, 2015 Filed under: Deco Frame, No Card Left Behind, Sprigs, Watercolour | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 8 Comments
I had a card idea in my head yesterday and I did several trials and variations with the stamps from the transparent set ‘Sprigs’ but my original idea did not end up working. I set the experiments aside and designed a totally different card. Today when I looked at yesterday’s experiment I came up with the card you see above. The problem with the panel before I die cut dragonflies and a sentiment out was that is did not really have a focal point. The colours were pretty and some of the watercolour effects were pretty (others were messy) but it all looked too similar. By cutting the dragonflies to reveal the blue cardstock behind, the focus is taken away from the watercolour panel and transferred to the bold images and letters. I could have just as easily popped dragonflies on top but I like the cut-away look. The features I liked in the original panel are no longer trying to be the stars, they work better as back up. Next time you cast aside a stamped panel because it’s not working the way you thought consider whether it just needs to be in the background and let another element take centre stage.
To create the panel I inked up three of the ‘sprigs’ stamps with a mix of blues and greens. I inked each stamp with one colour using a large stamp pad then added another colour with a marker. I spritzed each stamp, stamped them on watercolour paper then, when I had stamped all the images, spritzed the paper.
I can’t always turn my experiments into finished cards, often the watercolour panels just get turned over so I can use the other side. Sometimes I wonder if the recipients of my cards ever see the backs of some of my panels, hopefully the adhesive holds and the rejected side stays hidden!
Supplies:
Stamps: Sprigs (PB)
Creative Dies: Deco Frame, Flutters (PB)
Inks: Nautical Blue, Teal Zeal, Cottage Ivy, Bamboo Leaves Memento ink (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano hot pressed watercolour paper, Blue cardstock
Love, love, love
Posted: February 6, 2015 Filed under: Heartfelt, Poise | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 5 Comments
I have another brushstroke stamp featured on today’s card coloured in a loose watery style using Memento markers. To begin I taped a piece of watercolour paper to a cutting mat with painter’s tape. I inked the ‘Poise’ stamp with Memento Northern Pine, Rhubarb Stalk and Love Letter markers, spritzed it and stamped it onto the watercolour panel. I stamped two more flowers to fill the panel then spritzed lightly to let the colour bleed and blend.
For added texture and background I applied Memento Love Letter ink to the heart stamp from ‘So Very Much’ set and stamped down either side of the panel to create partial imprints of text. With a waterbrush I added some diluted Love Letter ink to the edges of the panel, blurring some of the text as I went. For a darker red I diluted Rhubarb stalk ink in the same way.
On a scrap of watercolour paper I painted Rhubarb Stalk and Love Letter ink, spritzed it to blend then dried it with a heat tool so I could cut three “loves” using the die from the ‘Heartfelt’ set. The watercolour panel is matted with Coral Reef mix & match paper then attached to a Neenah Natural White card base. Once again I stamped parts of the heart stamp in Wheat versamagic ink down both sides of card base front.
Supplies:
Stamps: Poise, So Very Much(PB)
Creative Dies: Heartfelt (PB)
Inks:Memento Northern Pine, Rhubarb Stalk, Love Letter markers & Versamagic Wheat chalk ink (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano hotpressed 100% cotton watercolour paper, Coral reef mix & match paper, Neenah Natural White cardstock
Pop pop poppies
Posted: February 5, 2015 Filed under: Pop pop poppy | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 12 Comments
Today’s card features the new brushstroke stamp ‘Pop Pop Poppy’. All this week the new brush stroke stamps are the stars on the PB blog. Yesterday Jill Foster shared a video showing how to make her gorgeous watercolored card with this stamp.
I began by masking the watercolour panel with painter’s tape to create a border. I then painted water over the whole panel and inked the poppy petals with seeded preserves distress stain and the leaves with peeled paint distress stain. When I stamped it on the wet paper the colour bled into the surrounding area. I added tumbled glass distress stain with a paintbrush. I dabbed away a few dark areas of colour to leave areas of muted purple, blue and green on the panel as background colour. When the stain was almost dry I re-inked the petals with seeded preserves, and stamped again for a defined image. Using a stamp positioning tool I stamped the petals then the leaves with peeled paint and finally the flower centres with memento tuxedo black ink. I splattered a little seeded preserves stain over the panel as I like to do.
The little tag was cut using a die from the ‘flower tags’ set. I sponged the edges with seeded preserves ink then stamped a sentiment from ‘pretty petals’ in the same ink. To finish it all off I tied some ribbon around the panel and a bow on the tag before popping up the whole panel on a watercolour paper card base.
Supplies:
Stamps: Pop Pop Poppy, Pretty Petals (PB)
Creative Dies: Flower tags
Inks: Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord, Bundled Sage, Tumbled Glass distress stains (Ranger), Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% & 25% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: Green satin ribbon
Delicate Blossoms
Posted: January 30, 2015 Filed under: CAS, Delicate Blossoms, Stitched Edges | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 13 Comments
Today I have a simple design featuring a sweet new stamp called ‘delicate blossoms’. The new release, “Bring on the Happy” is available in the online store today and it is full of gorgeous new stamps, dies and stencils. To create the little panel above I used Memento inks and markers on watercolour paper. I inked the stamp one colour at a time and used a stamp positioning tool to make sure the stamp landed in the same place each time. I stamped the blossoms with love letter and angel pink and added some water to blend the colours. I let the inks bleed a little but kept flowers fairly well defined. The branch was inked with two greens and then I added water and summer sky ink around the image to spread some background colour but avoided the flowers. Finally I drew the flower centres with a marker. I cropped the panel using one of the new ‘stitched edge’ dies and added a green mat and sentiment.
Enjoy your weekend.
Supplies:
Stamps: Delicate Blossoms, Heartfelt(PB)
Creative Dies: Stitched Edges (PB)
Inks: Olive Grove, Cottage Ivy, Potter’s Clay, Summer Sky, Love Letter, Angel Pink memento (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano hotpressed 100% cotton watercolour paper, Neenah Avon Brilliant White 110lb, Green cardstock
Demure but sparkly
Posted: January 26, 2015 Filed under: Demure, Stitched Edges | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 21 Comments
Are you ready for some brand new Penny Black prettiness? The new release is being revealed today on the Penny Black blog, facebook and website and there will be projects on the design team members blogs featuring new products for the new few weeks.
I first played with the new stamps around Christmas, finishing up several cards before the new year so they could travel off to CHA and join in the fun there. I am happy to be sharing some of those cards over the next week, especially as I have been too sick and too behind to do any new stamping lately. I can’t believe January is drawing to a close and I have only posted two new cards on my blog this year!
Before I got sick I did manage to create a few new cards but you will need to pop over to Splitcoaststampers.com to view them. The reason they are there and not here is quite exciting; I was invited to join the Dirty Dozen and began my six month term on January 15. I feel very honoured to involved with such a talented and committed group of artists and look forward to doing all sorts of fun things with Splitcoast in the months to come. Many projects will be featured here on my blog but each month the Dirty Dozen fills a themed gallery with projects available to fan club members only so there will be six new cards from me there each month. January’s theme is “All Cooped Up” and believe it or not I came up with six cards for the theme despite not owning a single chicken stamp!
But back to the card at hand. This one was my favourite from the eight I created for CHA. It is hard to see in the photo but it is covered in shimmery sparkliness. I began by wetting the watercolour panel and dropping Victorian Velvet, Ripe Persimmon and Tumbled glass distress stains into the water. I also sprinkled Camargue salt onto the wet areas to create patterns as it dried. All the little dots in the background were created by the salt absorbing moisture and colour. You can try it with any salt you have on hand but different salts will give you different results. When the background was dry I stamped the flowers in Spiced Marmalade distress ink, the stems in Peeled Paint and the little seeds in Dusty Concord. I used both Spiced Marmalade and Ripe Persimmon stains to paint the flower heads, spritzing with pearl-ex spray here and there to make the colour bleed and shimmer. The sentiment and mat strips do look black in the photo but they are both purple to co-ordinate with the seed heads. See that cute little shaped edge? There are two new edge dies in the “Bring on the Happy” release and I hope they will be the first of many. That edge does add that certain something don’t you think?
Oh, Happy Australia Day!
Supplies:
Stamps: Demure, Sprinkles and Smiles (PB)
Inks: Dusty Concord, Victorian Velvet, Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade, Tumbled Glass distress stains (Ranger)
Creative Dies: Stitched Edges (PB)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, purple cardstock
Love you tree
Posted: January 14, 2015 Filed under: CAS, Tree of love | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 7 Comments
One of my favourite things to do with PB creative dies is to cut masks. For today’s card I diecut the ‘tree of love’ from masking paper then stuck it to white card stock and added a hill mask over the base of the trunk. I used three memento inks to sponge a graduated background then flicked colour from matching coloured pencils. I stamped a few hearts from the cute little ‘posted with love’ set then added the sentiment from ‘so very much’. The panel is popped up on a cardbase of the same cardstock.
Thank you for your kind wishes for Andrew’s and my anniversary; I enjoyed reading them while in New York. We had a wonderful time and I will write about it a bit and post some photos soon. I do have a confession to make however. My patient and kind husband has not received his card yet. I did not write in it before we left thinking that I would write in it during the day and give it to him at dinner on the night of our anniversary. What I didn’t count on was the fact that we were always together (not a complaint by the way, just an observation) so I did not get a chance. Later in the day I told him not to read my blog post that day but I was too late; while I was trying on clothes in Anthropologie, he had been catching up on blog posts. So even though we have been home for several days they have been full days and now I am sick in bed. It seems that my “postal disorder” extends even to the cards I don’t have to post!
Supplies:
Stamps: Posted with love, So Very Much (PB)
Creative Dies: Tree of Love (PB)
Inks: Rhubarb Stalk, Love Letter, Angel Pink memento (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Neenah Solar White 110lb
Warm wishes for a cold winter’s day
Posted: January 3, 2015 Filed under: CAS, Stamped Landscapes, Watercolour, Winter Song | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 35 Comments
These birch trees are my favourite element of the intricate Winter Song stamp so I decided to isolate them for a scene of their own. I inked them with a weathered wood distress marker and left the rest of the stamp uninked. Weathered wood is a pale grey which is perfect for painting and drawing over the top. As usual I stamped on Fabriano hot pressed watercolour paper. The background colour is distress stains painted on with a waterbrush. I defined the edges and markings on the trees with a black marker, painted some grey shading on the trunks then added the sentiment in black. I am fussy about the cardstocks matching so I mounted this panel on a thin burgandy card then made the card base from cold pressed watercolour paper which is the same colour as the panel but adds some texture.
Thank you for the kind Christmas wishes left on my blog and in my inbox. I appreciated them all. I hope your new year is off to a good start; mine has been pretty busy with a bunch of stamping and creating I can’t share with you just yet!
Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Song, Joy Filled (PB)
Inks: Barn Door, Dusty Concord, Victorian China, Aged Mahogany, Weathered Wood distress stains (Ranger) Tuxedo Black memento marker (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Strathmore cold pressed watercolour paper, burgandy cardstock
Glad Tidings
Posted: December 24, 2014 Filed under: Nature's Gifts, Prancers | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains 17 Comments
From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds
Brought tidings of the same:
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by Name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and thank you for joining me here at “Bits & Pieces” during 2014. I am so grateful to have such encouraging and inspiring readers. Thank you for visiting, commenting, requesting, inquiring and praising. I love to hear from you and I am thrilled you find inspiration and ideas here on my blog.
I am excited about 2015; I have dreams and schemes for arting and crafting which I will certainly be sharing with you. December has been a busy month at our house so I have not had so much to share on this blog. I am over two-thirds of the way through my Dressember challenge wearing dresses and raising money for the International Justice Mission. I have been blogging about that on my other blog, Sentient.
Supplies:
Stamps: Nature’s Gifts, Prancers, Glad Tiding (PB)
Inks: Scattered Straw, Victorian Velvet, Seedless Preserves, Chipped Sapphire distress stains(Ranger), Versafine Onyx Black (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Neenah Epic Black 100lb cardstock, Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Silver textured cardstock (Penny Black)
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid, white organza ribbon
