New YouTube channel – New Video

Posted: February 11, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Alcohol Ink, baby blue leaf embossing folder, Branch 9 die, cricut, Dies, grafix, Moda Scrap, my designs, ornate tile embossing folder, Paper Rose, Penny Black, Pink & Main, scripty, silhouette birds, so extra supporting sentiments, Stampin Up, thank you squares, Tim Holtz, Tutorial | Tags: cricut, grafix, grafix craft plastic, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Stampin Up, Tim Holtz | 6 Comments

If you have been visiting this blog for a while you will know I had a youtube channel for many years. In 2022 after ten years of adding videos and gathering a community of 7000 subscribers my channel was deleted. In recent weeks I have started again with a new channel and some videos ‘from the archive’. My new channel is called Heather Telford Art and I would be very happy if you decided to like, subscribe and tell your friends! There is content on there that you may remember from the last few years and starting today there is new content also! The new ‘2 for 1 Alcohol Ink Panels’ is freshly filmed for my new channel and I hope it will be the first of many!

There are quite a few photos in this post because, well, this is a 2 for 1 technique and I created three panels which of course became six panels and one was cut in half so there are seven cards to show you in this blog post! Grab a cup of tea. I have added a linked supply list at the very bottom of this long post.

As well as a new youtube channel I am also a new Cricut owner. The stencil used on the card below was designed by me and cut on my Cricut. It is available as a cutting file from Echidna Studios etsy store.

Most of the 2 for 1 smooshed panels I left as a full card fronts adding only a sentiment or some die-cutting. As the panel below reminded me of the ocean, the PB wavy scallop border seemed a nice touch.

The panel below is a half panel from the first one I showed on the video. I love the patterns from the isopropyl alcohol ink spray even though they don’t stay distinct. Even when die-cutting the word from the panel I couldn’t leave it off so I popped it up. Not so funny story: I guess I haven’t popped up a die cut word in a while because I flicked those little shapes inside the letters into the garbage when I poked the word from the die. So yes, I had to hunt through my garbage to complete the card.

I don’t know why I hadn’t tried it before but seeing how well Grafix craft plastic responds when put in an embossing folder has been a revelation! I thought it might crack but it doesn’t so you can have the subtle impression of your embossing folder on a panel or the bold inked pattern as I’ve done on the card below. Sentiments in circles might be a little fad I go with for a while too; they look cute!

You can see the soft look of embossed script on the panel below, especially in the close up. This detailed embossing folder is from Stampin’ Up and is called ‘scripty’. I don’t think it is available anymore but you might something similar.

For this final card I cut six little birds from the panel and played with layouts for quite a while. I ended up just using two which means I have four birds in hand for another project. (pun definitely intended)

The intricate half circle cut out behind the birds is also one of my new cricut cutting files but more about that in another post. If you got this far, you’re a champion. Thank you for supporting me here on my blog and I would love to see you over on youtube as well.

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

Streaming

Posted: January 26, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Penny Black, Stamped Landscapes, streaming | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Staedtler watercolour brush pens | 8 Comments

As I write this a snow storm continues outside so there will be scenes like this one to enjoy in days to come. The whole scene is one of Penny Black’s beautiful scenic stamps; this one is called ‘streaming’. I worked on hot pressed watercolour paper in a stamp positioner and had splattered masking fluid over the panel before I began.

I used a few different inks so I could blend in some areas and get sharp images in others. The first thing I stamped was the top of the stamp including the horizon in uncharted mariner distress ink. Once I could see the horizon I painted more of the same ink to fill the sky adding a little black soot to the blending at the top to darken the sky. I let the panel dry before stamping the stream also in uncharted mariner ink. I took my time blending the stream because I wanted a bit of variety in the depth of colour. You can probably see a few areas that look quite dark where I added black ink to create the look of shadow at the water’s edge.

I inked the trees in black archival ink and black starless sky ink (from Ciao Bella) I also used black and blue markers here and there to add ink to fiddly places. I painted some of my own shadowy snow drifts to fill out the scene.

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

Alcohol Ink & Trees

Posted: January 13, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Alcohol Ink, grafix, Penny Black, Taylored Expressions | Tags: Foiling, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Taylored Expressions | 9 Comments

I have another alcohol ink sky to show you today paired with a very sparkly tree. I don’t own the tree die or the sparkly silver paper but this tree was a leftover from a class I attended and it looks so pretty against the blue sky. It is hard to capture on camera but there are lines and dots of silver foil on the alcohol ink background.

When playing with alcohol inks on yupo or craft plastic you sometimes end up with areas of thick sticky ink. You can dilute and move it with isopropyl alcohol or you can press foil on it while it is still a bit tacky. Once again I cut a snowy hill by hand and added a Penny Black sentiment.

On this second card the tree is the coloured instead of the sky. I cut the tree from white craft plastic and added alcohol inks (both original and pearl formula) to another piece of craft plastic so I could then press the tree onto the alcohol inks to make a pattern and pick up the ink.

I attached the tree to an embossed background and added a Taylored Expressions sentiment. There are a few more alcohol ink Christmas cards still coming. I am happy to have inspired a few of you to look at your stash of panels to see what you might be able to turn into backgrounds and skies.

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

Cosy Cup of Cocoa

Posted: January 6, 2023 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Alcohol Ink, Echidna Studios, framed flowers stencil, gel press, Penny Black, tea set, The Crafter's Workshop, The Crafters Workshop | Tags: Echidna Studios, gel press, gel printing, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Ranger archival inks | 6 Comments

‘Tis the season for sitting by the fire, drinking hot chocolate and staying cosy. Since I last posted we have had snow, rain, ice and more snow! To create today’s card I paired a watercoloured Echidna Studios image with a alcohol ink gel print. I printed the cup from the ‘tea set‘ digital stamp set on hot pressed watercolour paper then painted it with Sennelier watercolour paints.

I added a Penny Black sentiment then framed it with a gel printed panel. It may seem like an odd combo of images but I like the way the colours worked together and it looked a little like a floral tablecloth underneath my cup image. I have only recently started using alcohol inks on my gel plate and discovered how the highly pigmented alcohol inks sometimes give me three or four prints from the one design. This pale one was either the second or third print pulled with paint after creating a colourful design on the plate with a stencil.

Hope you are staying cosy in the northern hemisphere or refreshed in the south. It is a strange thing to now celebrate my wedding anniversary and birthday in the bleak mid winter even though I was born and married in the height of summer! This weekend my husband and I are celebrating 33 years!

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

Traverse

Posted: December 27, 2022 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Penny Black, Stamped Landscapes, traverse | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks | 4 Comments

Just like many of you we have experienced some crazy weather in the past week. We were very thankful to have our family together over the Christmas weekend, I know many people had to change their plans. The scene above, made with the Penny Black stamp, traverse, is a lovely wintery scene and not unlike what we are seeing around here now.

As usual I worked on hot pressed watercolour and kept it in a stamp positioning tool. The paper was splattered with masking fluid before I started, that’s how I ended up with all the little white dots of snow falling. I stamped the top half of the stamp first in pale green, but I should have chosen pale blue. I did this so I could see where the trees were and the top of the bridge. While the panel was securely in the stamp positioner I painted the sky with faded jeans distress ink making sure the ink came right down to the top of the bridge and past the tops of the trees. When the painted sky was almost dry I stamped the trees in rustic wilderness and pine needles inks. With a damp paintbrush I blended the inks making sure I left sections of the tree white to look snow covered. I moved onto the cabin which I stamped in vintage photo and black soot. The bridge is stamped in black soot and hickory smoke ink and blended with a paintbrush.

I stamped the creek and surrounds in faded jeans distress then blended some uncharted mariner in for variety. I finished off by removing the masking fluid and adding a sentiment in rustic wilderness archival ink. Hope you are having a relaxing week.

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

Sunlit Rivulet

Posted: December 20, 2022 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Penny Black, rivulet | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks | 12 Comments

This is the second card made with the beautiful Penny Black ‘rivulet’ stamp. This time I wanted to create a pale sunrise and reflection so I painted some diluted scattered straw ink on the panel before stamping. The panel was already splattered with masking fluid in tiny dots to represent falling snow.

After the yellow ink dried I stamped the image in uncharted mariner distress ink and added a few shadows to the edge of the tree trunks with black soot ink. I blended the ink on the trees and around the snowy ground with a paintbrush but I didn’t want the blue and yellow inks to mix too much as I didn’t want any green hurricane sky!

Once the whole panel was dry I used blending brushes to apply a little more scattered straw ink to the sky and foreground as well as some blue to the sky.

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

Merry Berries

Posted: November 29, 2022 | Author: Heather | Filed under: merry berries, Penny Black | Tags: Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Penny Black stamps | 8 Comments

As I was stamping and painting this panel it hadn’t occurred to me that these berries are mistletoe and maybe shouldn’t have been red! The stamp is called Merry Berries from Penny Black and it’s stamped three times. I picked a red and a purple for the berries and a couple of greens for the leaves. I used both distress inks and distress markers to get everything inked.

With this many small leaves and berries I work in a stamp positioner and sometimes ink the stamp with one ink pad and then remove ink where I don’t want it. I stamp that first colour or in the case of the leaves, the mix of forest moss and mowed lawn and, because I had wiped ink off the berries, they will be unstamped (ideally!). I switched to markers to ink the berries, stamping a couple of times to build up shadow and depth. Once all the leaves and berries are inked I blend with a paintbrush and water to fill the shapes.

The little white dots on the leaves are the result of splattered masking fluid on the hot pressed watercolour paper. I splatter the masking fluid on several panels of watercolour paper ahead of time and let them dry so I can grab one when I need one. When all the stamping and painting is completed and dry I rub the masking fluid off with my fingers or with adhesive eraser. To finish the card I stamped a sentiment from the PB ‘promise of hope’ set.

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

Let’s Skate

Posted: November 22, 2022 | Author: Heather | Filed under: birds and banners, Brutus Monroe, Dies, Echidna Studios, Foiling, layered Xmas wreath die set, let's skate, Penny Black, silver sketch deco foil, snowflake digital stamp set, stocking stuffers | Tags: Brutus Monroe, brutus monroe embossing powder, digital stamps, Echidna Studios, Foiling, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps | 4 Comments

Don’t let that blog post title trick you. I won’t ever be the one saying, “Let’s Skate”! I will happily say, “Let’s make cute cards with skates on them.” My less than stellar skating experience ended when my children became proficient and I realised I didn’t have to get out on the ice and wobble around any more.

These lovely skate dies are from Penny Black and I was thrilled when I saw them. I have been using them in the Christmas card class I’ve been teaching but decided to make a few vintage looking pairs with various pieced layers. Quite unusual for me to piece layers but I do like how they turned out. On card above I filled them with die-cut foliage.

Both pairs of skates are popped up on snowflake backgrounds printed then foiled from my daughter’s snowflake designs available in her Etsy store. I printed the file on kraft paper on my laser printer then foiled in white on the piece above and Brutus Monroe silver foil on the design below.

The vintage style cream colour I used for the boot is a gel print, black cardstock for the heel, silver for the blade and some burgandy for the trim. Fiddly but worth it in the end.

These skates look really cute cut from patterned or collaged paper too. Not cute enough to make me want to skate though!

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

Christmas Elegance

Posted: November 18, 2022 | Author: Heather | Filed under: christmas elegance, gel press, Penny Black | Tags: gel printing, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps | 6 Comments

You might recognise the type of background I used for today’s card. It is one of my gel printing clean up sheets. I think this one looks a bit like plaid. I used the Penny Black ‘Christmas elegance’ die to cut the tree from the panel and splattered with gold paint.

I attached the die cut panel to an embossed piece of white cardstock, also plaid. The sentiment is a little tricky to see; I think it might have been better to stamp it in navy ink rather than emboss those tiny words. All in all the card is simple and elegant and I like that combination!

By the way I have updated the classes page with my final in-person class for the year. I wish I could tell you the new online class is also ready! I’m working on it!

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

Stay Cosy

Posted: November 16, 2022 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Dies, Echidna Studios, Foiling, Penny Black, Skis 'n' sled, snowflake digital stamp set, winter wardrobe | Tags: Echidna Studios, Foiling, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps | 5 Comments

Today is the perfect day for a ‘stay cosy’ message. Overnight the snow started falling and the world is white once more. I guess that lovely long autumn wasn’t going to last forever!

This card came together quite easily as I had some of the elements left over from other projects. The background is made from a digital stamp designed by my daughter (Echidna Studios on Etsy). I printed the snowflakes on kraft paper with my laser printer then foiled with white white foil. I love how delicate and pretty they are.

The sleds, skis and cosy winter clothes were left over from previous years and I had stored them with the dies just in case. They are all cut from painted watercolour paper. I hand cut the snow drifts from linen textured paper and added the sentiment from the PB ‘jolly snippets’ set.