Backgrounds using Glimmer Mists and Inks

Now I'm back in the office I'll start again !

Below is a card I'm making for a friend, the background was colour washed over with the Tinkerbella Ink in the Rich Violet colour, then randomly stamped using the filigree swirls from the Damask Hearts themeplate, ( now if you enlarge the picture those eagle eyed amongst you will also notice the smaller versions of these - they were in the December Guilds members offer stamps ) in a deeper violet. The background for both toppers was made with the Glimmer Mists - Pink Bubblegum and also an odd splodge of the Rich Violet. Again I normally do a whole A4 sheet then I can choose what bits I want to use - the spare gets popped in my backing box.
The top left is from the Delightful Damask themeplate, the bottom from the Damask Hearts and the edging around the bottom one was also from the Decembers Guild offer. I purposely didn't want a full on black , more of a worn effect , so after inking up the stamp I gently prestamped on a spare piece of card just to take some excess ink off. I haven't finished the card as I just wanted to show you the effect of making your own backings, the top right image is a piece of Stampbord , coloured using the glimmer mists to match, overstamped with a green then stamped again with the mini Filigree and a little scratching to highlight areas, I still have a couple more to do to finish the card.
Ok so scroll down to see the great backing papers that I started this about ............. Please remember you can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.




Making your own backgrounds is so much fun, I could spend hours doing this, I tend to sit and play around with my colours. All the backgrounds below were made using the Glimmer Mists Spring Fever set and Tinkerbella inks. I've tried where possible to show alternative views as the colours will change as you move the papers around. All my papers are either A4 or A5 size. As a note - although I call them papers most of my backings are done on card around 200gsm.

Glimmer Mists - Lemon Zest and Rum Raisin, with a final spritz of Irridescent gold.



Below .... Glimmer Mists - Denim Blue and Honey Dew Mist and a splash of Irridescent Gold. This particular backing is to be used with my Peacock stamps from Graphicus




Below .... Glimmer Mists - Denim Blue, Irridscent Gold and Tinkerbella Inks Sky Blue & Teal




This A5 below was what was made from the excess ink and overspray from the above paper, the texture comes from the corrugated board that was below the paper.



This next one is so easy to make , and gives an A4 sheet full of wonderful colour. Just fold an A4 sheet in half, blot - splodge - splatter whatever colours you like on one half and simply fold the card over and rub to mirror the image on the other side, touch up any places as required. Glimmer Mists used - Golden Terracotta and Lemon Zest with a little spray of rum raisin around the edges.


Glimmer Mists - Pink Bubblegum and Rum raisin - just using a spray and holding and turning the card to let it flow naturally.



Now the next couple are for some cards I'm making for a friend, and yes the colour really is a Lime Greeny Yellow ! Using Glimmer Mists - Lemon Zest and also some Tinkerbella Ink Sunshine Glow kit. As this is part for a project I've already stamped one section in white and clear embossed it before making the background. Middle section has had some of the leaves touched in - using the Tinkerbella ink. As mentioned - the colours change so beautifully as you turn the page around. The lower picture was made the same way but with a few strokes of Tinkerbella Teal.





These are for the same lady - to go with the above , this time the papers were made with the Tinkerbella inks , the Rich Violet and the Teal ( mixed with some Glimmer Mist Pearl Glimmer ) I have made the A4 sheet sectional as I'm going to be using it in various ways. The top section is a nice grungy texture - criss crossy brush strokes blending into a soft Turquoise. The next sections are much deeper as some of them will be overlayed with a vellum as shown in the pictures which will soften the colour back down.



Ok - back to my favorite colours - I just love these rich warm Russet tones - all again made with the Glimmer Mists and Inks






Well that's just a few of my backings - I hope I've managed to show just what wonderful effects can be gained from just a few simple items and it really doesn't take long.

Busy - Busy - Busy

Apologies to all, work has been so hetic and my blog has taken a nosedive of late, but in the snippets of time that I can catch I have been making lots of backing papers and card , so I'll be popping them on for you all to see.

Making your own backing papers I just find so relaxing, I never know what's going to turn out and every one is unique, I'm sure quite a few of them refect my aurora. Anyhow pictures speak louder than words so I'll pop some pictures on.


P.S. I haven't forgotten the Queen of Hearts but I'm doing a lot of detail painting on that as and when I can - all I will say is The Luttrell Psalter

Knave of Hearts

Wow - I saw this in the Graphicus Sale - Knave of Hearts and at half price ! I wasn't too sure what I might use it for but at £6.25 you can't go wrong. Boy was I wrong - ( gob smacked as they say in Yorkshire ) the detail in this set of stamps is fantastic and I hope the pictures go someway to showing this.
My first reaction that sprang to mind was the old Medieval architecture, the colours of the stonework and etchings as often seen in these old places and I've tried to bring this out in the card.

1. Using direct to paper techiniques I created an old stone effect background, over the top of this I stamped the large acanthus styled design in a deeper shade, then over this in various shades used in the DTP I randomly stamped the crown.

1.

2. The border edging on the left and bottom of the card was stamped using a sage green with an odd hint of holly green. The emblem in the bottom corner was a flourish stamp which was then embossed in copper to resemble a seal ( no - not the ones that live in water ! ). I'll explain about the top right emblem lower down.

2.

3. The scroll was made by taking some paper and aging it using Vandyke crystals dissolved in distilled water and used in a spray bottle. You can add more or less water dependant on the depth of stain you require. I made sure that I also did the back of the paper where I was going to roll it. When dry I stamped the Knave using Versafine Sepia and also added the border stamp to the top and bottom.

4. The scroll edges were torn and then inked with a copper ink pad. I used one of my paint brushes to roll the scroll and some good ol' double sided tape to ensure it stays in place. I placed the scroll on the card as though it wasn't attached, just a bit of tape under the top and bottom of the scroll but with the scroll centre off the page, this gives it some movement as though it had just been unrolled.

4.

5. The copper emblem, made by triple embossing a piece of card with copper colour embossing powder, on the 3rd embossing while the powder is still fluid stamp into it.
The verdigris aged effect was done by allowing the embossing to crack and then using my sage and holly ink pads to rub into the embossing.

5.

Overall I was really pleased with the stamp set, even more so as I have also purchased the matching Queen of Hearts set too ! But that's another story that will be coming to a blog near you very soon !

Watercolour Floral Card

So Mothers Day fast approaches and my husband asked if I could make a card for his Mum, I find water colours so relaxing to work with and decided to use a set of stamps by Helene Metivier. The outer matting layer border was made by a combination of a few of the stamps, repeated to form the complete border. The inner main design was made again by combining a few different stamps and using masking techniques to enable me to build up the effect of a group. I used a Versafine ink pad in smokey grey as I thought black would be too harsh for this watercolour card. The purple matting layer is made by using my Glimmer Mists in the Rum Raisin colour. A simple almost see through lilac organza ribbon added to the side.

Back of Card stamps

Well my order from the USA arrived, along with my Rhonna Farrer stamps I got a set of stamps for the backs of my cards. I think these are great fun and the Hallmark one made me laugh.

They come from a company called My Sentiments Exactly ( MSE ) , which have a great range of sentiments and sayings stamps for crafting.

Dragon Fly Card

Ok so I eventually finished the Dragon Fly Card - remember Dragon Fly Part 1 ( the DTP Challenge from Glenda ) ? So using a Turquoise Damask background paper from one of my scrapbooking pages over a Lavender cardstock, slightly inked around edges with a deeper purple. I restamped the dragonflies on to acetate and coloured with H2o's, a few shrinked dragon flies ( boy those little tiny ones were yikes to do ! ).

A little saying matted and layered to finish it off. I love embellishments that seem to bring a card alive, hence why I love the Dragon flies coming off the page. The direct to paper background blends great with the backing paper, almost as if it were see through.

Organise Day Part 2 -

As I've mentioned previously I do have the odd tendancy to go off on tangents - so in between knocking up my storage boxes I thought I would unmount some of my previously wooden mounted stamps, re mount them onto EZ mount and to also make A4 indexing file mounts for them.

TIPS: To get stamps off their mounts I pop them in my microwave for 10 seconds and test to see if they have loosened, if not pop them back in for another 5 seconds or you can try soaking them in hot water.

Cautionary note: EZ mount have issued a warning not to store EZmounted stamps on acetate as it can cause a chemical reaction and permanantly bond to your stamps. Laminated sheets are fine as they are PVC based.

Above stamps on their original mounts.


Stamps now de-mounted and EZ mounted. To make your index sheet you can either stamp each image or place your wooden mounts on to a photocopier or scanner . Try to use card for this as it will add to the overall strength and Remember to label your index sheet.









Place sheet in an A4 laminating pouch, if you used paper for your index sheet also slip a sheet of card under for extra strength and then run through your laminator, hot is best.

If you have clear stamps on an acetate index sheet and wish to make an A4 index filling sheet - you must put a sheet of card under the Acetate sheet before laminating or else it will buckle with the heat.












When punching your new index sheet, try to use a 4 hole system , 4 ring binders are easily available and come in sizes up to 90mm deep ( plenty of room for lots of index sheets ).
4 Ring binders will stabalise the index sheet and minimise the card from bending, this isn't so much a problem with clear polymer stamps but the weight of rubber stamps will allow a 2 hole system index sheet to bend.

For easy reference you can punch and file together any instruction / inspiration / idea sheets that go with your stamps.

You could use different colour binders for different stamp types for easy identification but if like me you have too many stamps then maybe an outer index on the spine would be better !

Ok so back to my storage box making !

Saturday - Clean Up Day - Organise Day !

Ok so before I do any more crafting I really had to sort my office come craftroom out. So last night ( Fri ) off I went to Ikea for some more of their wooden storage box units, now the last time I got these they used to be ready made - not so any more. Funny but the idea of knocking up 20 odd boxes was only enlightened by the fact that I might be able to find things again !


Armed with hammer, nails and woodglue I managed to knock up this one - only another 21 drawers to do !!!!

Don't worry - the drawers won't stay blank for long ... I haven't decided whether to stamp them or paint a mural theme Hmmmnnn

Glendas Challenge - Jan 08

Firstly I must keep up with this blog thing !
Ok so Glendas DTP Challenge, I have used two different methods for the Direct to paper, the traditional one with ink pads and also one using the Spray inks. Both results below. Just click pictures to see larger versions of them. Hope you like them.

Direct to paper using pigment inkpads.

The idea for this card was the gorgeous Sweetpeas that grow at the back of my garden. I've no idea where they came from, they just grow every year along with the wild Ivy.

Along with Butterflies we get the occasional Dragon flies.
The teals and turquoises are my representation of the foliage and purple the hues of the Sweetpeas.

Base card A6 off white semi sheen, using just Petal Point ink pads and Catseyes ink pads - first layers blending turquoise and teal, then blending the lilacs and deeper purples.

I used a single line diamond style border stamp on an angle for the netting / trellis effect, repeating using various colours to highlight where needed.

I stamped some twirling vines randomly over the background to replicate the leaves and tentacles of Sweetpeas.

Finally came the Dragon flies, again randomly stamped in a deep blue, coloured in with a dry paintbrush just dabbed on the various ink pads that I'd used for the background. I will eventually finish the Dragon flies with either some shimmer or acetate wings - not sure and no doubt when the time comes to it I'll probably do something completely different !

Direct to paper using Spray Inks

Nowadays with Spray inks so readily available I find them so versatile for backgrounds and really easy to work with. The Spray inks I used for the background are available from Graphicus which are the fabulous Glimmer Mists, these have a fantastic lustre and as the name says - they Glimmer ! Mmmmm yummy ! I need more !!!
I used the Golden Terracotta, Denim Blue and Lemon Zest ( Spring Fever Kit ) for this card.
The idea of this card was an old writing desk with it's worn leather, you know - the type that has the gold tooling around the edges.
TIPS: The card may get quite damp so I always use a little repositionable tape under the centre just to stabilise the card and stop it curling as much - I don't want that Glimmer mist running off !

I do apologise in advance but the Glimmer does not show up too well in photographs.

Shown in picture above: To make the background is completely random, this is why I think the spray inks are so good, with the ink pads you are placing colour where you want it, with the sprays you can never be too sure of what you may get but it will always look fantastic. I used 10cm square cream card.
I took the Lemon Zest and sprayed centrally, I could have now just used the Honeydew green mist around the edges but it's more fun experimenting. I know blue and yellow make green so I sprayed that more towards the edges.
Using a brush I just swirl and blend some of the puddled mists together, now I have a golden centre with an outer hint of green fading out to blue. I need some reds and browns.
Again red and green make - brown or some sort of shade of brown ! so I spray my Terracotta randomly around the edges and using my brushes I can now blend where I want deeper colours and using a stroke brush I pulled some of the blue back towards the centre.
As I had only used a little repositionable tape under the centre of the card it will still curl slightly but this will allow the mists to settle at the edge of the card - similar to creating an inked edge.
I'm impatient - want it now - so out came my heat gun, as I was drying it I used my brush in the areas I wanted more effect just to build up the colour. Finished result on the left.

Next the first stamp layer. This is a repeating damask background stamp, I used my Petal point ink pads - in a soft caramel.
( Sorry about picture but I'm still trying to catch that wonderful Glimmer effect ! )

My next stage was to replicate the effect of the tooling used on desk leathers, out came my border stamps and using a Versafine sepia I stamped the scrolling leaves on the left hand edge and the ornate corners on the right.
The pale damask background can still be seen under.
For my top layer I used a collage stamp which has a writing theme to it - letters, ink pen and ink pot, I used the Versafine sepia again but added hints of Versafine red to lift areas.
To add effect, shadows were used under the top letters and ink pen, I just used a dry brush and dabbed it on my ink pads and brushed gently where I wanted the shadows. You could also use pencils to do this effect.
Please definately click this picture as You can see the various colours in the background that were achieved just by the simple use of 3 Glimmer mists. ( Ideally and if you know what stamps you will be using - I would have stamped the top layer before the edge layers and masked it off ) So that's the topper as it stands now, it will go in my drawer and I will no doubt add more to it in time or re stamp the top layer so I can decoupage it !

Now I need to clean up and get a coffee !!!!

Close up of the shadows applied to the top letters and pen to add a feeling of depth. You can also see the hues of the blue mist in the left corner.

BELOW: Here's the GLIMMER - WOW ! I had to tilt the card in the sun ( yes we did have an odd ray of it today so off I rushed - camera in hand ).

1am in the morning and I'm still drawing !

Just finishing a design on the PC and came across a few of my daughters jewellery designs so thought I'd pop them on for you all to see. She makes everything from earrings to charms, a lot of her beads are hand made, if you look closely you will see the mandrels in the centres. Where ever I go in the world I always try to bring her some beads and shells back with me and I was so pleased to see some beads from Cuba in the Dark coloured charm.
She was asked by a local craft store if she could give some lessons on jewellery making but unfortunately with her new Salon only opening October last year she hasn't much time. To say she's only 19 she's done so well and we're really proud of her.

Hope you like the pictures. Just click them to enlarge.