Written In Ink

Tag: paint

  • A little paint is good for the soul

    A little paint is good for the soul

    Would you like to experiment with a design like this? You’ll find a supply list below, including a link to the stencils I used from A Colorful Life Designs.  Follow the link and use discount code ChrisFan10 to save 10% on your entire order! (Master Creator Bundles are excluded as they already have a 20% discount built in.)

    Let’s get started:

    Card Base: 5.5 x 8.5, scored and folded at 4.25

    Border Layer: 5.5 x 4.25

    Card Face:  5.25 x 4

    Scrap paper for the paint brush

    Card Face:

    • I began by laying the card face down on my Grip Mat and positioning the Broken Lines stencil.  I followed that by applying beige ink across the exposed areas.
    • Laying that stencil aside,  I positioned the Bottled Posies stencil towards the left of the card face and traced two of the bottles using a black fine liner.
    • I used alcohol markers to completely colour the bottle on the left, and then I partially coloured the bottle on the right.
    • With those steps complete,  I decided that I wanted a bit of shadow underneath to ground them,  so I added that.
    • I spritzed the surface of the card face with water,  blotting it quickly.  This softened the background and added visual interest.
    •      The alcohol markers don’t react to water,  making this process safe.
    • Once the card face was completely dry again,  I put it into my stamp positioner and added the sentiment with Versafine Onyx.

    Other:

    • I stamped the paint brush on scrap paper using Memento ink,  and coloured it with alcohol markers.  
    • Once the colouring was complete I cut it out.
    • I looked through my critters binder and found the wee mouse; I quickly decided that he would provide the perfect finishing touch.

    Assembly

    • I glued the black border layer to the card base, and then added the card face on top of these.
    • I experimented with the placement of the brush,  and then glued it in place.
    • Finally,  I added the mouse as shown, sitting on the brush.

    Final Thoughts:

    I was actually creating a completely different card with the Bottled Posies stencil when I this idea struck: I had used the same process of tracing/colouring the images and had too much time invested to try the concep at that moment,  so I tried it on the next card.  

    I’m happy with the general feel of the card  (I really like the watercolour “feel”  that the background has),  but would change the positioning of the brush if I were to do it again.

    Supplies: (and links where possible)

       I have listed which products I have used and where they may be purchased. It’s a huge marketplace and in most instances, there are multiple sources and many alternatives to choose from.

    Stencils:

       Broken Lines: A Colorful Life Designs

       Bottled Posies: A Colorful Life Designs

    Stamps:  Color My World,  Colorado Craft Co.

    Waffle Flower Grip Mat, 8.5 x 6.5, Scrapbook.com

    Ink: Stampin’ Up!

    Fineliners:  Amazon

    Blending Brushes: Stampin’ Up! 

    Versafine Onyx, Simon Says Stamp

    Memento Ink: Stampin’ Up!

    Alcohol Markers:

         Stampin’ Blends: Stampin’ Up!

         Copics:  Wallacks

    Adhesive: Tombow Aqua, Michaels

    Card Base & Card Face: Accent 100 lb., Amazon

    Do you have comments or thoughts to share on this design?  Drop me a line in the Comments Section below –  I’d love to hear from you!

    You can also use the Comments Section  to be added to the list, and notified when I release new work.

  • An easy creative solution to a BIG cardmaking Blunder

    An easy creative solution to a BIG cardmaking Blunder

    What to do when you’ve invested time and materials, but then it all goes sideways? When that happens to me I hate having to scrap the time and materials invested in the piece.

    Errors are opportunities for creativity! Read on to learn more ….

    Let’s get Started:

    Card Base: 5.5 x 8.5, scored and folded at 4.25

    Border Layer: 5.5 x 4.25

    Card Face:  5.5 x 4

    Card Face:

    I stamped the images in black Memento ink and colored them with alcohol markers. I was happy with the result, as coloring isn’t my strong suit.

      Then I put this aside for a period of time,  trying to decide how to finish the piece. When I picked it back up again I was dismayed to see that it had been sitting too close to something messy –  there was a fine blue spatter in the upper right.  (Probably from cleaning a stencil, and simple carelessness with my work!). How to salvage the time and materials…. ???

    I added both large and small drops of paint above the brush.  I used a fine liner to outline the drops and a blue alcohol marker to fill them in.  I also added small dots of blue marker here and there to bridge between the fine spatter and the larger drops.   It worked –  I was delighted with the result, I had successfully camouflaged my error!

    I carried this one step further by creating puddles of paint under the brush. (There were puddles around the paint pot,  but not under this paintbrush).

    I used a white gel pen to add accents here and there in the scene.

    I put the card face into my stamp positioner and added the sentiment.

    I cut the card face into three panels,  1 ⅓” each.

    Assembly

    I glued the border layer to the card base.

    I glued the three pieces of the card face onto this, spacing evenly.

    Final Thoughts:

    I love Anita Jeram’s work,  and was so happy with the images as placed and coloured. (I don’t pretend to be an expert with any form of colouring, so when I get something that I’m satisfied with, I’m happy!).   

    Then I was dismayed to notice the spatter,  and finally, happy again when the problem was resolved.

    Happy – dismayed – happy.  Sounds like a movie theme!   😆

    Of course if you want to avoid the need for a rescue operation, putting the card in a safe spot is definitely the way to go.

    Supplies: (and links where possible)

       I have listed which products I have used, and where they may be purchased. It’s a huge marketplace; in most instances, there are multiple sources and many alternatives.

    Stamps: Paint the Town, Colorado Craft Co., 

    Versafine Onyx, Simon Says Stamp

    Memento Ink: Stampin’ Up!

    Alcohol Markers:

         Stampin’ Blends: Stampin’ Up!

         Copics:  Wallacks

    Fineliners: Amazon

    White Gel Pen: Arteza,  Amazon

    Adhesive: Tombow Aqua, Michaels

    Card Base & Card Face: Accent 100 lb., Amazon

  • How to Rescue Your Card Designs from Mistakes

    How to Rescue Your Card Designs from Mistakes

    If you’re new, or experienced, or anything like me (!) you have run into situations where you need to rescue your card from a blunder.

    Let’s get Started:

    Card Base: 5.5 x 8.5, scored and folded at 4.25

    Border Layer: 5.5 x 4.25

    Card Face:  5.5 x 4

    Card Face:

    I stamped the images in black Momento ink and coloured them with alcohol markers.

      Then I put this aside for a period of time,  trying to decide how to finish the piece. When I picked it back up again I realized it had been sitting too close to something messy –  there was a fine blue spatter in the upper right.  (Probably from cleaning a stencil, and simple carelessness with my work!). How to salvage the time and materials…. ???

    I added both large and small drops of paint above the brush.  I used a fine liner to outline the drops and a blue alcohol marker to fill them in.  I also added small dots of blue marker here and there to bridge between the fine spatter and the larger drops.   It worked –  I had successfully camouflaged my error!

    I carried this one step further by creating puddles of paint under the brush. (There were puddles around the paint pot,  but not under this paintbrush).

    I used a white gel pen to add accents here and there in the scene.

    I put the card face into my stamp positioner and added the sentiment.

    I cut the card face into three panels,  1 ⅓” each.

    Assembly

    I glued the border layer to the card base.

    I glued the three pieces of the card face onto this, spacing evenly.

    Final Thoughts:

    I love Anita Jeram’s work,  and was so happy with the images as placed and coloured. (I don’t pretend to be an expert with any form of colouring, so when I get something that I’m satisfied with, I’m happy!).   

    Then I was dismayed to notice the spatter,  and finally, happy again when the problem was resolved.

    Happy – dismayed – happy.  Sounds like a movie theme!  

    I’m so happy that I decided to rescue this card.😆

    Supplies: (and links where possible)

       I have listed which products I have used, and where they may be purchased. It’s a huge marketplace; in most instances, there are multiple sources and many alternatives.

    Stamps: Paint the Town, Colorado Craft Co., 

    Versafine Onyx, Simon Says Stamp

    Memento Ink: Stampin’ Up!

    Alcohol Markers:

         Stampin’ Blends: Stampin’ Up!

         Copics:  Wallacks

    Fineliners: Amazon

    White Gel Pen: Arteza,  Amazon

    Adhesive: Tombow Aqua, Michaels

    Card Base & Card Face: Accent 100 lb., Amazon