Winter wardrobe

Posted: December 22, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Skis 'n' sled, winter wardrobe | Tags: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 1 Comment

I had some fun and a certain amount of frustration putting today’s cards together. The fiddliness factor was high, well for me anyway. All three cards feature the winter wardrobe and sled ‘n’ skies die sets from Penny Black. I’ve backed them with the mosaic pattern stamp on the first two cards and created an outside window backdrop for the final card.

On the cards above and below I stamped the mosaic background stamp then embossed in clear powder. Above I used versafine crimson red ink; below I used versamark. To create all the clothing, skis and sleds I painted scraps of watercolour paper with gansai tambi paints. I had a bunch of coloured scraps that I lay the various dies on to cut as many elements as I could. I also cut a few from black card stock. When I had all my little bits and pieces cut out I arranged them on a white sheet of paper and started making combinations and vignettes. For a few crazy moments I thought about videoing the process of putting these cute little collections together then realized that it would make me want to poke tweezers in my eyes and possibly have the same effect on you, my faithful readers.

Despite the fiddliness factor it was fun to combine my different coloured hats, mitts, scarves, muffs and trims to co-ordinate and contrast with the sleds and skis.

To create my outdoor scene I used a piece of brown wood textured cardstock then tore some white card to create two layers of snow where I tucked in the sled, skis and hats (or beanies and toques depending where you come from!) I painted pale blue on a white piece of watercolour paper for the window panel and die cut a light brown square with four more squares cut from it for the window frame.

All three panels are on white card bases and two feature sentiments from the PB holiday snippets stamp set.

I hope you are having a warm and wonderful day.

Supplies

Stamps: holiday snippets

Dies: winter wardrobe, sled n skis, square dies

Ink: versafine crimson red, versamark

Paper: neenah solar white, neenah epic black, hot pressed watercolour

Paint

Adhesives: multi matte medium, kool tak foam

Layered Poinsettia

Posted: November 24, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Brusho, layered poinsettia | Tags: Brusho, Finetec artist mica watercolour paint, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 5 Comments

After creating a pretty blue background through the magic of brusho yesterday, I decided to do the same with green and red for poinsettias. This set of four dies is called ‘layered poinsettia‘ and it was so easy to create pretty red and green flowers with some scattered brusho on watercolour paper. I had three scraps of hot pressed watercolour paper on my craft mat. I sprinkled mostly brilliant red brusho on two with a bit of leaf green either end, then I sprinkled more of the green and less of the red on my third strip. After I had spritzed water over them all I could see where more colour was needed so I sprinkled some more of the first two colours plus some rose red and spritzed again.

I left the scraps to dry then laid three flower dies on the strips and cut our 3×3 of the small, medium and large flowers making sure I got some green on the large and the medium ones. Once they were all cut I lay them back on my craft mat and splattered gold paint from my finetec mica pearl set over all the flowers.

I let them dry and assembled them by dotting glue on the backs. There is a teeny tiny die for the centres (which I have not lost so far!) which were cut from gold foil cardstock to tie in with my gold splatter. To assemble the card I glued the flowers on a strip of white cardstock, attached that to a strip of shimmery red cardstock then mounted it on a white card base. I added the little ‘sending joy’ sentiment from the PB holiday snippets set.

Don’t forget the Foiled Fox has a cool sale on all weekend; just click the link in my side bar or right here and use the discount code HOLIDAY2017 when you check out.

Supplies

Dies: layered poinsettia

Stamps: holiday snippets

Ink: versafine crimson red

Paints: finetec mica pearl 12, brusho 12

Neenah solar white cardstock, hot pressed watercolour paper, shimmer red cardstock, gold foil cardstock

Under the trees

Posted: November 13, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: under the trees | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 5 Comments

So many of the stamps from the ‘Be Merry’ release are suitable for seasons other than winter and occasions other than Christmas. For this card I used the ‘under the trees’ stamp, masked out the little critters, snowflakes and gift and chose a warm colour scheme to make an autumn card. I stamped the ‘under the trees stamp in versafine vintage sepia ink. I cut a little post-it mask to protect the area where the critters and hanging snowflakes were as well as wiping ink off the circles in the sky so they wouldn’t stamp either. I left the stamp in the stamp positioning tool for re-stamping later. I began by paint a pale wash of tumbled glass distress stain over the whole piece of hot pressed watercolour paper keeping the edges darker than the centre. I added some forest moss, crushed olive, mustard seed, spiced marmalade painting around the trees and ground as well as painting some loose background trees into the damp panel.

I dried the panel before painting the wooden fence so the distress stains would not bleed out of the stamped image as in the background area. I used gathered twig and vintage photo distress stains to paint the fence then dried the panel again so I could restamp in the stamp positioner. By the time I had added all the blended colour the original stamped trees and bushes were less prominent so I inked them with a ground espresso marker and re-stamped and then painted over until they stood out once more.

To finish it off I stamped a sentiment from Penny Black’s ‘happy wishes’ set in fossilised amber distress ink then versafine vintage sepia several times over the top.

Supplies

Stamps: under the trees, happy wishes(PB)

Inks: tsukineko versafine vintage sepia, ranger fossilised amber distress ink

Markers: ground espresso, gathered twig distress markers

Distress Stains: tumbled glass, forest moss, crushed olive, mustard seed, spiced marmalade, ground espresso, gathered twig, vintage photo

Paper: hot pressed watercolor paper, green cardstock, cream cardstock

Tools: stamping platform, heat tool

Alcohol Ink Baubles – a tutorial

Posted: October 8, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Alcohol Ink, baubles, inspired, tall trees, trees and hills | Tags: Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Alcohol Ink, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 22 Comments

I am happy to finally have a video tutorial to share with you today. It’s been a while I know. This one I created for Splitcoaststampers “Falliday Fest”.

The card designs are very simple, the intricacy is in the patterns the alcohol ink makes.

I included several different methods of making alcohol ink patterns and also a few ideas for making the patterned panels into cards by die cutting circles to turn into baubles or snow globes. Method one involved blending alcohol inks on a non-stick craft sheet then swiping a piece of yupo paper through the ink to create a pattern. In method two I used a felt applicator with dots of alcohol ink on it to apply ink to the yupo paper. Method three was alcohol ink applied directly to the yupo paper. You can see all three methods in detail on my video tutorial below.

This post includes affiliate links to The Foiled Fox online store. At no extra cost to you I will receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking a link to The Foiled Fox from this blog. The affiliate links are a new feature on my blog. I have been working with The Foiled Fox for quite a while now and I can recommend their store wholeheartedly. They have an extensive range of art and craft products and prompt and helpful service (also lovely packaging!)

Supplies:

Stamps: holiday snippets (Penny Black)
Dies: baubles, tall trees, nature’s creatures, inspired, trees and hills (all Penny Black), circle dies
Inks: stream, pool, stonewashed, shell pink, cloudy blue, denim, silver, snow cap, eggplant, lemonade alcohol inks (made by Ranger) majestic blue versafine ink & deep lagoon versafine ink
Paper: yupo paper, neenah solar white paper
Also: silver cord

Peaceful moments

Posted: September 25, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: peaceful moment | Tags: Brusho, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 5 Comments

Sometimes when I am planning classes or just trying new stamps or techniques I end up with a pile of ‘experiments’ which were not what I had hoped for but were still worth saving. They often go into the ‘pile of possibility’ to be used later. From time to time the ‘pile’ gets so big I have to throw some experiments away because I know I will never actually choose to do anything with them. Today’s cards were made from panels stamped with the ‘peaceful moments’ stamp.

This thank you card was created by stamping the peaceful moments stamp over a brusho background. I sprinkled brusho on a craft mat, spritzed and swiped my watercolour paper through it. I matted and stamped the sentiment three times in a co-ordinating colour.

The order for the just because card was a little different because I needed the image stamped first before I could paint the background. I stamped in versafine onyx black ink then painted a ‘V’ of yellow, a strip of pale blue then topped that with a darker blue. Once that was dry I painted grey hills below the sky. I matted in yellow then embossed a sentiment on a thin strip of cardstock to wrap around the panel. For added texture I attached some branch die cuts to the card base.

I used the embossed offset technique (described here)to create the thinking of you card then painted hills in blueprint sketch distress stain across the background, some were diluted and blended others I kept an hard edge and strong colour.

I hope these few cards give you a few ideas for working with silhouette stamps.

Supplies

Stamps: peaceful moment, snippets
Dies: winter branch
Inks: versafine onyx black, versamark, danube blue memento ink (tsukineko) scattered straw, tumbled glass, weathered wood, black soot, blueprint sketch distress stains (ranger)
Paint: brusho
Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: white embossing powder, clear embossing powder

Tweet conversation

Posted: September 20, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: tweet conversation | Tags: Dr Ph Martin Hydrus watercolor paints, Penny Black stamps, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 3 Comments

I’m sharing a series of wintry scenic cards this week here and on the Penny Black blog. It wouldn’t be a wintry series if I didn’t include at least one northern lights card would it? The paint is Dr Ph Martin’s Hydrus watercolours for this scene. I taped a piece of hot pressed watercolour paper to a firm surface and then painted a wavy line of water across the panel about a third up from the bottom. I painted water into the space above the wavy line then started adding paint while tipping the panel toward the top, that way the paint ran from the edge of the ‘snow bank’ into the sky. I gradually added ultramarine paint and phthalo green to the wet area, tipping and tilting to get blending and pattern. Once the sky area was full of colour I added a few drops of hansa yellow light paint to make some brighter highlights.

Once the paint was completely dry I tore a piece of masking tape and positioned it in the bottom corner. Using a stamp positioning tool I placed the ‘tweet conversation’ stamp so it overlapped the tape at the bottom then stamped it in black ink. Again I made sure the ink was dry before removing the tape and using the same blue and green paint to add some snow bank shadows around the base of the branches and half way between the skyline and the base.

To finish the card I trimmed the panel, added a sentiment in black and attached to natural coloured card base.

Supplies

Stamps: tweet conversation, joyful wishes (PB)
Ink: versafine onyx black
Paint: Hansa Yellow light, Phthalo green, Ultramarine Dr Ph Martin’s Hydrus watercolours,
Paper: hot pressed watercolor paper

Peaceful sunset

Posted: September 18, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: peaceful moment | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 11 Comments

I’ve employed one of my favourite techniques to create this wintry scene. I used the same technique for years to create a thin layer of snow on branches but it is so much easier now with stamp positioning tools like the misti.

If you take a close look you can see the branches have a thin white line above the black silhouette. I created that layer of snow by stamping the ‘peaceful moments’ stamp once in versamark ink (which is clear) then I move my watercolour paper panel up ever-so-slightly (no more than 1mm) and stamped it again in versafine onyx black. With the image stamped twice I then embossed in clear powder so both the clear and the black inking would resist watercolour paint when added over the top.

I painted the lowest part of the sky in a ‘V’ shape with scattered straw distress stain, blended in some worn lipstick distress stain then finally some tumbled glass and chipped sapphire stain. I let the sky dry completely before painting the mountains with a tumbled glass and chipped sapphire stains. Once that was dry I splattered a fine mist of white paint over the scene. As the stamp is tall and thin I decided to turn a horizontal sentiment into a vertical one by stamping one word at a time, another task made easier with a stamp positioning tool.

Supplies

Supplies

Stamps: peaceful moment, full of merriment (PB)
Paper: solar white cardstock (Neenah), hot pressed watercolour paper
Ink: versamark, versafine onyx black (Tsukineko)
Stains: scattered straw, worn lipstick, tumbled glass, chipped sapphire distress stains (Ranger)
Also: clear embossing powder, bleed proof white paint

Winter’s forest

Posted: August 30, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: winter's forest | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 9 Comments

I have new tree stamp to introduce to you today. You know how I feel about tree stamps. I kept the technique quite straightforward for this card but I’m looking forward to trying a few more of my favourite mediums ie. distress stains, inks and markers, memento inks and my new favourite for photo paper – stazon. On this sunlit panel I used versafine onyx black with a clear embossing powder. Embossing the image first made it possible to keep all the trees are dark silhouettes when I painted the sunset behind. I used distress stains and a wet on wet technique to blend yellow into pink then blue. I kept the foreground white for snow then painted some shadows loosely on the watercolour paper.

The stamp is called ‘winter’s forest’ but I know it will be just as handy as spring, summer and autumn’s forest! I had a very relaxing time away last week and enjoyed painting a few pages from Kristy Rice’s Summer Cutting Garden watercoloring book. None of the pages are quite finished but I plan to share them with you soon.

Supplies:

Stamps: winter’s forest (Penny Black)
Inks: broken china, scattered straw, worn lipstick distress stains (Ranger) versafine onyx black (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper, aqua cardstock
Also: clear embossing powder

Red flowers

Posted: July 26, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Bliss, light touch | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress stains, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 5 Comments

I planted red and white flowers in tubs for my front door and back door this year and the impatiens at the front door have bloomed up a storm. The petunias at the back are doing well too but I think the constant rain earlier in the summer knocked them about a bit. I used distress stains to stamp the flowers on today’s cards and let the colours blend together on the stamp for some softness in the images.

On the card above I painted the background around the images after stamping; on the card below I painted a blue sky first then stamped over the top. To achieve extra definition on my butterfly and petals I used a stamp positioner so I could add details after the first loose watery stamping had dried.

Supplies:

Stamps: bliss, light touch, happy snippets, special thoughts (Penny Black)
Inks: distress stains (Ranger) versafine onyx black (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: hot pressed watercolour paper, black, red and natural cardstock

Golden wildflowers

Posted: July 24, 2017 | Author: Heather | Filed under: Wildflowers Vol 2 | Tags: Brusho, Darkroom Door stamps, Ranger Distress inks, Tsukineko Versafine inks | 6 Comments

I made a bunch of cards with the Wildflowers Vol 2 set from Darkroom Door the other day. I had my distress oxide inks out and some brusho and alcohol ink backgrounds on hand to add flowers to. For this card I began with a soft brusho background of yellow and green then added distress ink flowers over the top. I spritzed after stamping to blur the images into each other.

Once the coloured stamping dried I added black silhouettes to the foreground and sides to frame the panel, some dark green splatter and a black mat to finish it off.

Because the colours reminded me of a country scene I wrapped some rustic hemp twine around the panel before attaching it to a natural coloured card base.

Supplies

Stamps: Wildflowers vol 2 (Darkroom Door)
Inks: wild honey distress ink (Ranger), versafine onyx black ink (Tsukineko)
Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper (Fabriano)
Paint: yellow, leaf green brusho (Colourcraft)
Also: hemp twine