Stamping the stories: Mary Poppins
Posted: December 4, 2015 Filed under: Sweet Home, Uptown | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 12 Comments
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. You recognise this lady of course! I read many of the Mary Poppins books not just the original with the Banks family and enjoyed the movie as well. As a child I had Mary Poppins, Bert, Jane and Michael paper dolls, actually I still have them in the doll box with all their outfits.
This card was fairly straight forward to make. I brayered the sky with pink and yellow from one end of the panel and dark blue from the other. I dotted the sky with a gel pen then stamped outline stamps along the bottom and coloured them in with a black sharpie to change them to silhouettes. I made a stencil of Mary Poppins by printing her picture then cutting her out with a craft knife. Then I sponged through the stencil with black and added a sentiment.
Yesterday a few of you added your favourite imaginative or magical stories in the comments. Winnie the Pooh got a mention as did Harry Potter and Mother Goose. I have one more left to share and it is a huge favourite of mine and has been read or listened to numerous times in our family. It is definitely a classic.
Supplies:
Stamps: Uptown, Sweet Home, Yuletide Greetings (PB)
Inks: Paris Dusk, Angel Pink, Cantaloupe, Tuxedo Black(ImagineCrafts/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Neenah Classic Crest solar White 110lb smooth, Neenah epic black
Also: white gel pen
Stamping the stories: Lord of the Rings
Posted: December 1, 2015 Filed under: Butterfly Party, Fantasy, Leaflets, Splendor, Stamped Landscapes | Tags: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 17 Comments
I don’t understand it but none of my children seem to have inherited my love for ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy and ‘The Hobbit’. I think they all read the latter but I am not sure that any of them finished all three LOTR. I have read them several times and thoroughly enjoyed them so when challenged with a fantasy and imagination theme the delightful forest of Lothlórien came to mind. I pulled out some tree stamps, some green inks and gold thread to create a representation of the magical forest realm of the elves in middle earth.
I used some sponging for the golden light of the sky, painting and stamping for the trees and grass and a little gold die cut popped up on gold thread as an embellishment. I stamped some of the trees wet into wet to create some misty atmosphere but added some more defined stamping once the paper dried. I think the little bit of script helps give the middle earth look. The speckled look is from a fine splatter of masking fluid applied before I started and removed once all the paint and ink were dry.
Have you read any JRR Tolkien? Are you a fan? What about the movies? Years ago my husband and I were watching ‘The Fellowship of the Ring”; we did not know one of our girls was still awake in next room. All she could hear was music then battle sounds, then talk, then battle sounds over and over. She finally asked us to turn it down; it was too scary to listen to. Poor thing. The movies are a whole lot of walk, talk, walk, fight, fight, fight, walk, talk, walk, fight, fight…
Supplies:
Stamps: Splendor, Fantasy, Butterfly Party (PB)
Inks: Rich Cocoa, Bamboo Leaves, Espresso Truffle, Pear Tart, Olive Grove(ImagineCrafts/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Fabriano 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, green cardstock, Neenah natural white
Dies: Leaflets (PB)
Also: Gansai Tambi paints, gold embroidery thread, masking fluid
Stamping the Seasons: Winter
Posted: November 18, 2015 Filed under: Joy to All, Stamped Landscapes, Watercolour | Tags: Bister, Canson watercolour paper, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks, Tsukineko Versafine inks 13 Comments
Stamps that can be used all year round are winners in my opinion and I am always happy to see new tree stamps to use in my stamped landscapes. The ‘Joy to All‘ set contains a tree and some twiggy foliage stamps that I will be using winter, spring, summer and fall. This week and next you can see the Penny Black design team using new products to ‘stamp the seasons‘.
To create today’s wintry scene I splattered some masking fluid over the watercolour panel, let it dry then taped the panel to a firm surface to prevent warping. I used blue bister powder to paint the sky and snow banks then added the background trees in memento nautical blue ink while the sky was still damp. I stamped the tree from Joy to all in black ink then added shadows for all the trees in blue ink. To finish the scene I stamped the twig stamps from the same set in the foreground in black. Once all the ink was dry I removed the masking fluid then chose one of my favourite sentiments from the new release and a narrow black mat to frame the panel.
If you come back tomorrow you will see my spring scene using the same ‘Joy to All’ set.
Supplies:
Stamps: Joy to All, Season’s Gifts, Prancers (PB)
Inks: Memento Nautical Blue & Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (ImagineCrafts/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Canson 100% cotton hot pressed watercolour paper, Neenah epic black
Also: Winsor & Newton masking fluid, Bister powder
Stencilled Trees
Posted: October 29, 2015 Filed under: Nature's Beauty, Tiny Tree | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Tsukineko Memento inks 6 Comments
You know I have said before, ‘You can never have too many tree stamps!’ Well if you find yourself running short you can always make a few tree stencils to help you through that difficult time. I was happy to see some new tree dies in the latest release from Penny Black and decided to make my own stencil by die-cutting a row of trees using two different sized tree dies.
I used a piece of Plaid stencil plastic and cut a row of trees with the die from ‘Nature’s Beauty’ set and a smaller tree from the ‘Tiny Tree‘ set. I sponged a gradated sky with two blue inks then sponged two greens through the stencil. I was going to spritz the images quite generously to make the colours bleed together but I decided to stop after a couple of spritzes because the watermarks and texture from the paper already looked interesting. I diecut a single tree from the stencil plastic also so I could sponge isolated trees then painted the shadows of the snow drifts around them. The foreground tree was sponged and spritzed the same way then die cut and popped up on some die cut fun foam for added dimension.
I decided to inlay the word Joy which was not a brilliant idea because I had already attached the thick watercolour paper to the green cardstock mat and die cutting an intricate word ended up being rather tricky.
Supplies:
Dies: Nature’s Beauty, Tiny Tree, Greetings (PB)
Inks: Memento Northern Pine, Cottage Ivy, Summer Sky, Danube Blue (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Cold Pressed Canson, Green cardstock
Also: fun foam, Plaid stencil blank
Snowy Stamping
Posted: October 26, 2015 Filed under: Snow time, Winter moments | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 8 Comments
Last week Penny Black released ‘Winter Romance’, a sweet new collection of snowy stamps and dies. I have featured both a new stamp and a fresh die sets on today’s card. I chose to use a technique I haven’t done in a while to make a crisp wintry scene. If you look closely you can see a dusting of snow on top of the hedge. To create this look you need a stamp positioning tool. I used the MISTI (of course) but when I first dreamed up this technique I used a stamp-a-ma-jig.
I stamped the hedge first in versamark on white cardstock then, with the help of the MISTI I stamped the hedge again ever-so-slightly lower in green ink. Next I embossed the hedge with clear powder. I brayered the sky with two blue inks, first the lighter ‘Summer Sky’ then the darker ‘Nautical Blue’. The embossed hedge resisted the ink revealing the fine snowy edge. I splattered white wink of stella over the sky to look like snow or stars then added the four snowflakes cut with the new ‘snow time’ set.
Supplies:
Stamps: Winter moments (PB)
Dies: Snow Time (PB)
Inks: Versamark, Memento Northern Pine, Summer Sky, Nautical Blue (Imagine Craft/Tsukineko)
Markers: White Wink of Stella (Kuretake)
Cardstock: Neenah Solar White 110lb
Also: clear embossing powder
Upcoming Classes
Posted: October 25, 2015 Filed under: Classes | Tags: Classes, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 10 CommentsI am teaching at three locations in November so I thought I would let you know just in case you happen to be in the right place to join me.
Studio BBG in Montreal
On Saturday, November 7th at 10:00am I will be teaching Winter Watercolours (contact store for details)
On Saturday, November 7th at 2:00pm I will be teaching Merry & Bright (contact store for details)
Crop A While in Orleans
On Thursday, November 12th at 6:00pm and Friday, November 13th at 12:30pm I will be teaching Woodland Watercolours (contact store for details)
Riverside Drive in Ottawa
On Saturday, November 14th at 1:00pm and Monday, November 16th at 1:00pm I will be teaching Woodland Watercolours (click here for details)
Cool tone leaves
Posted: October 13, 2015 Filed under: Bister, Filigree Foliage | Tags: Bister, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Tsukineko Memento inks 10 Comments
As you can see I haven’t put away the Filigree Foliage set. This time I didn’t paint out the filigree pattern as I have on previous cards; I kept it for a more decorative look. These colours reflect what is in my yard right now. There are plenty of yellow leaves floating down but the deep red ones are holding back.
I created this panel in layers starting by wetting the paper and stamping a few green leaves which then blended into the background laying down colour without leaving distinct shapes. When that had dried a little I stamped again in greens and mustard, spritzed some more water and also sprinkled some bister powder. Finally I stamped with water to create a few very pale impressions which picked up some of the bister lying around. I realise some of my stamped images are incomplete, some are distinct, others are blurred which is not everyone’s preference. I like to let the water and inks bleed and blend a little for some unique effects.
I’ll be back soon with some warm toned leaves. Thanks for dropping by.
Supplies
Brush Pines tag card
Posted: October 9, 2015 Filed under: Brush Pines | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks 5 Comments
The Penny Black designers are playing with tags again and have added them to cards this time. I chose the ‘brush pines’ stamp and some cold-pressed watercolour paper for my layered pinecones card. I stamped the pine cones several times so I would have extra images for the tags. I also stamped a few times without re-inking to create paler impressions. The ink was applied with Memento markers and blended with water to soften and spread the colours. I die cut the tags with the smaller die from the ‘tagged’ set popped them up over the stamped panel.
Supplies:
Stamps: Brush Pines, Believe (PB)
Dies: Tagged (PB)
Inks: Memento teal zeal, cottage ivy, rhubarb stalk, rich cocoa markers, versafine vintage sepia ink (Tsukineko), gathered twigs distress markers (Ranger)
Cardstock: Canson cold pressed watercolor paper
Also: green grosgrain ribbon
OLS 21 Whatever the Weather
Posted: October 1, 2015 Filed under: One-Layer Simplicity challenge, Summer Fun | Tags: Penny Black stencils, Ranger Distress inks, Tsukineko Memento inks 4 Comments
It is time for a new challenge at One Layer Simplicity and I am the October host. The One Layer Simplicity team (Susan, Karen, Ardyth and myself) issues a new challenge each month. We always have a different theme but the same requirement to keep the card one layer and the design simple. This month my theme is ‘Whatever the Weather’. In the southern hemisphere spring has sprung and here in the northern hemisphere the temperatures are dropping as autumn takes over. To participate in the challenge your card needs to be weather related. I used post-it masks to make a warm sunny card and a stencil to create a chilly snowflake card.
Supplies
Stamps: Summer Fun, Holiday Snippets (PB)
Stencils: Snowdance (PB)
Inks: Memento dandelion, cantaloupe, tangelo & versafine onyx black(ImagineCrafts/Tsukineko) Salty Ocean, chipped sapphire distress ink (Ranger)
Cardstock: Neenah Solar White
Also: Pearl-ex Interference blue powder
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
Heather Telford 