Blue Birthday

Posted: March 26, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: banner blooms, banner blooms cut out dies, Dies, exquisite envelope, online class, Penny Black | Tags: , , , | 6 Comments

Blue is my favourite colour and the different hues seen on this card are examples of why it appeals to me so much. I tend to prefer the blues that are a little bit purply but I like the teal blues as well.

All the blues on the card are made from one ink, chipped sapphire distress ink. If you watercolour with your dye inks you have probably noticed that some inks separate into different hues when diluted. I thought I would share this card today because it features in one of the lessons in my Colour Clues online course. Colour Clues is a card making course which covers colour blending, contrast, separation and mixing. I created a 40% discount for all my online courses back on February 29, mentioned it in a blog post then forgot about it! That’s why I’ve been featuring it more this week. The discount code LEAPYEAR40 is active until the end of March 28 which is now two days away.

I chose the Penny Black sets Banner Blooms and Exquisite Envelope for this card because there were plenty of enclosed petals and leaves to trap colour. Banner Blooms just happens to have a co-ordinating die set which sped up the layering of blooms and leaves. This post includes affiliate links from Foiled Fox . If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Do you have a favourite colour. Does it turn up often in your crafting or perhaps in your wardrobe? I definitely wear a lot of blue!

Faux Postage Stamps – Video

Posted: March 7, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Darkroom Door, Elizabeth Craft Designs, fine flowers vol 2, global postmarks, Nature Walk, Tutorial | Tags: , , , | 6 Comments

Recently I created some faux postage stamps from a stamped and watercoloured panel. I pulled out another floral panel from my ‘pile of possibilities’ and filmed myself making some more faux postage stamps to feature on cards. The watercoloured panel features a repeated flower from the Darkroom Door set, ‘fine flowers vol 2’ and there is a video of my watercolouring process for that too.

The large postage die set I used is from Elizabeth Craft Designs and includes a die to cut perforated stamps of different sizes which remain joined until you cut or tear them apart. There are also dies which cut rectangles to fit in each of the ‘postage stamp’ spaces. There are also bonus number and symbol dies, so the set offers quite a lot.

I chose this set because I liked the way the postage stamps were all joined and I have the option of creating combinations or individual stamps. There are dies available from other companies which just cut the perforated lines and I demonstrate how to do the same thing with that kind of die towards the end of the video. Adding stamped postmarks and even small words makes the faux postage look real and I’m really enjoying using stamped panels, patterned papers and gel prints to make my own postage. I think any hand delivered card I make from now on should have a handmade postage stamp on it!

Berry Branches

Posted: December 11, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: a berry branch, Penny Black | Tags: , , | 10 Comments

It’s another old favourite, maybe I say that a lot but when it comes to Penny Black brushstroke foliage stamps need I say more? This one is called ‘a berry branch‘ and I’ve featured it once a few years back on two different cards. How is that possible? I know it did turn up in classes a few years back and it was definitely part of this years ‘Painting with Stamps’ in-person class. Some of my previous posts have shown first and second generation prints from the same ‘inking’ and the two cards above are another example.

I keep the stamp in the stamp positioner and after stamping one panel I place another one in the same corner, spritz the still inky stamp and then stamp a paler more diluted impression. Often the second one ends up being my favourite. I used distress inks which work so well with added water.

When using this technique you can’t always control where the colours will blend into each other but I don’t let that worry me. I quite like the areas where green blends into brown into red.

Some of the panels got the splatter treatment, all were embossed with the canvas embossing folder and I added small PB sentiments either to the panel or just underneath it. Just one stamp but definitely a pretty one! Today’s post features affiliate links to The Foiled Fox. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Christmas Critters blog hop

Posted: December 1, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Penny Black, robin's christmas | Tags: , | 17 Comments

I am happy to be participating in Scrap’N’Stamp Christmas Critters Inspiration Hop today. You will be able to find oodles of critter inspiration on the blogs included in this hop. With eleven different stops on the hop there is sure to be something for everyone. Be sure to leave comments at each stop along the way- a winner will be randomly selected from those comments to win a $50 gift certificate to the SNS online store & announced on the SNS blog December 26. If you are looking for critters of any kind make sure you check out the 20% off Critters Sale.

When invited to a Critters themed hop I knew I would be stamping a bird and this sweet Penny Black robin was just the thing. The stamp is called Robin’s Christmas and you get the whole scene in one lovely stamp. Kind of similar to a one a one pot meal – always a winner in my book!

I stamped the bird on hot press watercolour paper first with speckled egg distress ink which is a nice pale blue which I could easily stamp over with darker colours. With the outline image stamped I used speckled egg ink from a re-inker to paint the sky behind the bird. Once that was dry I continued to work in a stamp positioner with one or two ink colours at a time stamping all the other elements. I used evergreen bough and rustic wilderness for the leaves, tea dye and walnut stain for the wood, candied apple for the berries and feathers and weathered wood and tea dye for the bird’s feathers.

The sentiment is from the PB set ‘feeling of Christmas‘. To finish the scene I used an embossing pen and white embossing powder to add snow here and there.

Thanks for visiting my stop on the hop. If you want to start from the beginning click over to the Scrap’N’Stamp blog. If you are looking for the next stop after me click over to the incredibly talented Dina Kowal.

Of course there’s also a SALE 20% off Critters until December 7, so have fun shopping after you hop! As a bonus, while supplies last you can get a Christmas Critter stamp for FREE with any purchase over $50! Just look for this cute penguin stamp and add it to your shopping cart!

Today’s post features affiliate links to Scrap’n’Stamp. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Cones and Berries

Posted: November 21, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Cones & berries, Penny Black, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments

More variations on a theme in today’s post. As mailing deadlines get closer I am creating some ‘same but different’ cards to swell my stack. I have never been one to create more than about five of the same card and even when I do there are usually variations. I used the Penny Black cones and berries stamp facing downwards and upwards. I also did first and second generation stamping for a dark and a light version.

Some of the images I cropped closely as shown above and others I gave more space as in the splattered example below. The texture of the SU embossing folder ‘timber’ gave some subtle texture to the woodsy image. You can also see I did extra blending on the card above and deeper colours on the one below.

Even with the variations this was not a time consuming card to make. I worked in a stamp positioner and inked the pinecone and sticks with distress inks, the berries and leaves with distress markers or other waterbased brush markers before stamping on hot pressed watercolour paper. With the stamp in the positioner I was able to spritz it again to create my second generation image and at one stage I was stamping either end of a larger piece of watercolour paper so I could just flip the orientation between impressions. The joy to the world sentiment is from PB Christmas sentiments set and the other sentiment is also PB, it’s red rubber and I cannot find a name for the set. Speaking of mailing deadlines, my cards to Australia were posted yesterday! Having a sprained ankle is keeping me at home right now so this year I might just be a little ahead of my usual ‘just made it’ schedule.

Today’s post features affiliate links to The Foiled Fox. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Double Tweetings

Posted: November 3, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Penny Black, season's tweetings | Tags: , , | 7 Comments

Today’s cards are a 2 for 1 technique. Using the PB stamp season’s tweetings I created both a bold and a soft version with only a little extra inking on the second generation impression. I worked on hot press watercolour paper with distress inks and markers. After stamping the first time I blended the leaves and bird with a paintbrush and water.

If you haven’t heard the term ‘second generation’ in regard to stamping it is simply the pale ghost image you get when you stamp a stamp a second time without re-inking. In this case I spritzed the stamp lightly with water before stamping a second time so the inks would not be too dry to leave an impression.

The second impression gave me the pale, slightly blotchy leaves which I quite liked so I dried the panel and added more ink to the bird with markers before stamping again. Of course working in a stamp positioner makes this very straight forward. The result is a bokeh type background with the bird prominent in the middle.

Many of my Christmas cards this year feature a one stamp design with loads of white space around the image. It is a bonus to get some two-for-one panels.

I finished both cards with a small sentiment from the PB set ‘holiday snippets’

Today’s post features affiliate links to The Foiled Fox. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Coniferous Silhouettes

Posted: November 1, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Coniferous Silhouettes, Echidna Studios | Tags: , , | 4 Comments

You know me; I am always up for more tree stamps and the latest release from Echidna Studios is made to order. No, really, it is made to order; I asked my daughter for some evergreens and she designed this digital stamp from one of her own photos. It is called Coniferous Silhouettes and includes five different versions: ‘detailed’ which is the one in the card above, ‘solid’ which you can see in the card further down in the post, ‘simplified’ version not shown in this post and two versions with just tree tops – no trunks.

I printed the images on neenah solar white cardstock with my laser printer then foiled with black foil to make them darker. The foil resisted the blended distress ink just as heat embossing would do. You can see how I masked and blended in the short video below.

Even though the cards look very similar you can see some light through the trees in the image above whereas the image below is solid.

Back in the olden days I blended ink on many scenes like this using sponges; I must admit I like the smoother and faster application of the blending brushes.

Several blog readers have expressed interest in a how-to video to introduce you to using digital stamps and cutting files. We are working on getting that done for you.

Both cards with dark blue skies feature unchartered mariner and broken china distress inks; I like to have a lighter ink for the foreground snow and to blend around the moon. The card below was my test run and it features tumbled glass and peacock feathers distress inks. You can see I blended across the moon in the card below. I did it to cover a smudge but I think it looks a bit more realistic this way; maybe I’ll go back and add a light blend to the other two moons.

Little did I know that I would have snow on the ground when posting these cards but it’s there!

Today’s post features affiliate links to the following companies. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. The Foiled Fox & Scrap’n’Stamp

Just Trilling

Posted: October 30, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: CAS, Penny Black, trilling trio | Tags: , , | 7 Comments

These two sweet birds are from the Penny Black ‘trilling trio’ set. There is also a cardinal in the set. I made these cards as samples for my current ‘Painting with Stamps’ class. They are examples of when slow and steady wins the race. The stamps were in my stamp positioner and, starting with the palest colours I slowly added ink to the stamp a colour at a time, stamping after each application so as to not overwhelm the small image. I did some blending on the panel with a paintbrush but again my process was ‘little by little’.(Trilling Trio is available in both the US Foiled Fox store and Scrap n Stamp in Canada)

I do enjoy the clean look of a simple image on a plain card base but added just a little texture to these images with an embossing folder to create a distinction between the panel and the base.

On the little chickadee above and below I stamped the large coloured sections in the stamp positioner then at the very end added some ‘feather texture’ with the fine tips of markers.

If you are working with bird stamps and your images are not quite coming alive I have found it helpful to use a fine tip pen to define the eye, adding the white dot back in if necessary with a white gel pen. I had not positioned this little chickadee well on my watercolour paper and it looked like it was falling backwards until I drew a simple twig with a marker to give it a reason to be at the odd angle I’d placed it! The tiny sentiment from PB ‘holiday snippets’ was just what I needed stamped in grey to keep it subtle.

Today’s post features affiliate links to the following companies. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. The Foiled Fox & Scrap’n’Stamp

Scarlet Majesty

Posted: October 26, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Finetec paints, Penny Black, Scarlet Majesty | Tags: , , , , | 7 Comments

Penny Black has released a lovely selection of poinsettia stamps over the years but this one might just be my favourite (don’t tell the others). The endearing feature on this image is those curly ends on the petals. I just love how whimsical they look. This pretty poinsettia is called ‘scarlet majesty‘ and I have featured it in years gone by.

You might have noticed that I don’t have pictures of the products used in my projects at the end of my blog posts anymore. I decided to return to just linking to products in the written text of the post. Many of the links will still be affiliate links and when clicked will take you straight to one of the three stores where I earn affiliate income. Some of the links won’t be affiliate links, they will just be for your convenience.

To create this panel I worked in a stamp positioner so I could work on one or two parts of the stamp at a time rather than try and get it right in one go. I used a couple of red distress inks to stamp the petals but wiped ink off the tips so I could ink them with green ink. I gave the stamp a spritz to get the inks moving and after stamping, blended from red to green with a paint brush. I also used some yellow ink in the centre of the poinsettia and later drew the seeds over the top with a gold gel pen.

To ink those sweet little berries I switched to water-based markers. Once dry I splattered gold paint over the panel and added a little sentiment from the PB ‘holiday snippets’. As is my preference I worked on Fabriano hot pressed watercolour paper.

Thanks for dropping by today. I appreciate your support and love to read the kind messages you leave in the comments.

Today’s post features affiliate links to The Foiled Fox. If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

Warm Reception

Posted: October 20, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Penny Black, warm reception | Tags: , , , | 7 Comments

I continue to enjoy the gorgeous autumn colours outdoors these days but there will be a few wintry scenes appearing as I create cards for the coming months. This sweet house, a Penny Black stamp called ‘warm reception‘, is similar to several we see on our drive to church. They are lovely houses and look impressive during all the seasons including when they are surrounded by snow.

I did all the inking of the stamp with watersoluble markers with the stamp in a misti so I could stamp, re-ink and stamp again as needed. I was experimenting with a brand of markers I haven’t used direct to stamp before. I originally bought them for brush lettering. If you are in Australia you’ll be able to find them but elsewhere in the world they are not so common. The brand is Artline and the shell of each marker looks a bit like lego! I inked the house and trees with red, brown, green and black using the side of the brush nib to apply ink to the stamp. I spritzed the stamp lightly then stamped on hot pressed watercolour paper. After I had stamped everything I blended some of the ink with a brush and water to fill the walls of the house, tree branches and foliage.

To add background I stamped and cut a simple mask of the house from post-it note and lay it over the house so I could use a blending brush and speckled egg distress ink to fill the background sky. Once I had applied the ink I painted over it with water, just loosely, to give it the same watercolour look the rest of the image had.

I have mentioned before that distress markers have been discontinued, that’s why I wanted to try the Artline for inking stamps. I also have a pack of Staedtler water based brush pens that work well.

Today’s post features affiliate links to The Foiled Fox . If you buy through these links I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

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