distressink – Page 16 – SkyPaperScissors

Thanks a Ton

April 27, 2018April 26, 2018 SkyPaperScissors

Happy Friday! I’m doing an extra little happy dance because not only is my stressful work week over in ten or so hours, but I also have a friend coming over tomorrow to craft with me. I have a few crafty friends, but only one who has joined me in card making. Where are all the card makers hiding?!

Today’s card features one of the sweet whales from Ellen Hutson’s Essentials By Ellen S’Whale set. I have been seeing a lot of photos of people on cruises lately and I was inspired to make something blue.

I started with an A2-sized piece of Canson XL watercolor paper. I smooshed three colors Tumbled Glass, Broken China, and Mermaid Lagoon) of distress ink onto an acrylic block, overlapping, but not mixing, the colors very slightly. I then sprayed the block seven times with a fine mist using a Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer, though any sprayer with a fine mist will do. I sprayed from about a foot away so as not to disturb the ink too much.

I then turned the block over, ink side down, and placed it onto the center of the watercolor paper. When I use this technique, I usually weigh down the block with something heavy which helps force the colors to blend and smoothes them out, but when I saw the beautiful droplets of blue, I realized that I wanted a more textured look for this card so I didn’t put anything on top of the block.

I waited nine minutes (usually I wait five) and then removed the block, lifting at an angle so that the last part of the block touching the paper was over the area with the darkest color. This was important because the inky water tends to pool at the last point of contact and if that point of contact had been over a light part of the blend, then I would have gotten a splotch of a dark color in that light area.

I dried the card front with a heat tool until it was just slightly damp and then I put it between two sheets of typing paper and placed it under a heavy book. I find that doing this helps the piece dry a bit flatter than if I had left it out.

While the card was drying, I stamped the whale in Copic-friendly Hero Arts Intense Black ink onto a piece of Neenah Solar White #80 cardstock. Using N0, C1, and C3, I did some very simple Copic coloring and blending. I die cut the whale and set her aside.

The sentiment is heat embossed onto a piece of black Recollections 110# cardstock. I stamped the sentiment in Versafine ink, sprinkled it with Hero Arts white embossing powder, and then hit it with a heat gun.

When the card front was dry, I adhered it to an A2-sized card base and then adhered the whale and sentiment strip using foam tape for dimension, and that finished up today’s card.

I hope you had a wonderful week and that your weekend gets off to a great start. Thanks a ton for dropping by!

Encouragement Cards, Feel Good Cards

You Are Capable of Amazing Things

April 22, 2018April 22, 2018 SkyPaperScissors

Hi there! I hope you’re having a lovely day!

Today’s card uses the Focus On You stamp set from Altenew which has a number of beautiful flowering branches.

I started by stamping three branches of flowers in Versafine Black Onyx ink onto Canson XL watercolor paper. This ink is waterproof and plays nicely with watercolors. Once the ink was dry, I added color using a few Arteza Real Brush Pens (Honey and Punch Pink for the flowers, Pea Green for the leaves, and Chocolate for the woody stems). In hindsight, I could have used any type of marker since the details in this image are so small and there’s not much opportunity for adding water or blending. I used a white Sakura Gelly Roll pen to add some very small dots to the centers of the flowers. When I finished coloring, I cut out the images using a Brother ScanNCut2 and set them aside.

The background is a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth which I cut down using the largest die from the Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Rectangle die set. Then I used a foam blending tool to softly blend Dried Marigold Distress Ink in the area that would be behind the bouquet of flowers. To add a bit of movement, I added splatter by smooshing the ink onto an acrylic block, adding a bit of water, and using a 2 round brush to flick ink onto the card front. I let the card front dry for a bit and then stamped the sentiment in the same black ink.

Then I assembled the bouquet, starting with the sprig in the middle which I adhered flat onto the card front. For the spring on the right, I added a few Zots Bling adhesive dots to the back, layering two dots on top of each other for a bit of dimension. To the spring on the left I added foam tape so that all three sprigs sit at different heights. Once all three sprigs were adhered to the paper, with their stems overlapping, I tied a bow using a piece of hemp twine. Finally, I adhered the card front to an A2-sized card base.

Thanks for stopping by!

Just Because Cards

Life Happens, Coffee Helps

April 20, 2018April 19, 2018 SkyPaperScissors

Happy happy Friday! We survived another week!

I often think of coffee-themes on Sunday evening, when I’m dreading dragging myself out of bed on Monday morning to start another challenging week at work. But today I was inspired by the My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge #381, specifically by the three small dots in the sketch that, for some reason, made me think of coffee beans (I must have been really tired!).

I started by blending Vintage Photo and Tea Dye Distress Inks onto a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper. I added some sprinkles of clean clear water, let it sit for about 10 seconds, and then dabbed it up with a paper towel. Then, I blended more Vintage Photo over the resulting spots which gave the effect of a darker splatter, rather than a lighter splatter.

Then I used a mug and an espresso maker image from the Altenew Coffee Love stamp set and stamped them onto a scrap of Bristol Smooth using Copic-friendly Hero Arts Intense Black ink. I used a few colors of Copics (C1 and C3 for the espresso maker, E31 and E35 for the mug, and R30 for the heart on the mug) for some very basic coloring. In hindsight, I might have tried W1 and W3 for the espresso maker since the Cs look particularly cool compared to the rest of the card. When I finished coloring, I cut out the images using the coordinating dies and set them aside.

The sentiment comes from Studio Calico’s Coffee by One Little Bird Stamp set. I just love the sentiments in this set! I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink onto a piece of black Recollections cardstock, sprinkled Hero Arts white embossing powder of it, tapped of the excess, and hit it with my heat gun.

For the card front, I used a piece of Neenah Solar White 80# Classic Crest cardstock. I cut out a circle using the second largest circle from the My Favorite Things Stitched Circle Inside & Out die set. I adhered the inked Bristol Smooth piece behind the card front and then adhered the sentiment strip, all using liquid adhesive. The coffee mug is also adhered flat onto the card, but I popped up the espresso maker with some foam tape. Then, I stamped a trio of coffee beans from the Altenew set in Vintage Photo Distress Ink. To finish, I adhered the entire card front to an A2-sized card base.

I hope you have a wonderful day, thanks for swinging by!

Feel Good Cards, Just Because Cards

Hello Lovely

April 17, 2018May 5, 2018 SkyPaperScissors

Hello, lovely!

Today’s card is my submission to the Color Throwdown Challenge as this week’s Guest Star Stamper. I’m super excited that my card is being shared as an inspiration card for this week’s color palette, alongside some of my favorite card makers like Amy Rysavy and Barbara Anders. How did I get to be a Guest Star Stamper? A random number generator picked my submission to an earlier challenge :p

Today’s card uses flowers and leaves from the Altenew Adore You stamp set and a sentiment the Concord and 9th Hello Lovely stamp set.

I started by stamping the flowers and leaves onto Bristol Smooth Cardstock using Copic-friendly Hero Arts Intense Black ink. Then, using Copic Sketch markers, I did some very basic blending. I added some white detail to the centers of the flowers using a white Sakura Gelly Roll pen. I cut out the images using a Brother ScanNCut2 and set them aside.

For the card front I cut down a piece of Neenah Solar White 80# Classic Crest cardstock with the largest die from the Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Rectangle die set. I stamped the sentiment in Versafine Black Onyx Ink. It was looking a little sparse so I smooshed some Mowed Lawn Distress Ink onto an acrylic block, added just a touch of water, and then used a small 2 round paint brush to create green splatters on the card front.

I went back to the flowers and leaves and played around until I settled on an arrangement. Then I used a few strips of Post-It tape to temporarily hold the arrangements together so that I could easily move each arrangement around as a single piece. I flipped each piece over and added liquid adhesive to the backs of the pieces that I wanted to sit flush against the card. Then I flipped the piece right-side up, laid it over my card, and gently removed the Post-It Tape. The remaining flowers are popped up using foam tape. Finally, I adhered the entire card front to an A2-sized card base to finish off the card.

Thank you for visiting!

Animal Cards, Birthday Cards

To the Birthday Chick

April 15, 2018July 17, 2020 SkyPaperScissors

Hi there!

Today’s card uses the colors from Color Throwdown Challenge #488. When I saw these colors, I immediately thought of the Birthday Chicks from My Favorite Things.

I started by using Copic-friendly Hero Arts Intense Black ink to stamp the chicks, giant cupcake, and balloon onto Neenah Solar White #80 Classic Crest cardstock. Then I got down to coloring. I used Y15 and Y19 for the chics, B01 and B04 for the cupcakes, party hats, and candles, and YG23 and YG25 for the candles and balloon. I used a white Sakura Gelly Roll pen to add details to the hats, cupcake frosting, candles, and balloon. Then I cut out the images using a Brother ScanNCut2 and set them aside.

For the grass I blended Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks onto an A2-sized piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock. Then I trimmed that piece using Lawn Fawn’s Grassy Border die. I stamped the sentiment using the same black ink as earlier.

For the background, which is a piece of Neenah Solar White, I very lightly blended Tumbled Glass Distress Ink along the edges of the Cloud stencil from My Favorite Things. I used the same color to lightly go around the edges of the clouds which I cut out from scrap cardstock using Lawn Fawns Simple Puffy Clouds dies. The sun is cut from yellow Recollections cardstock using the Sunny Skies die from My Favorite Things.

I assembled the card using liquid adhesive to adhere the grass, largest cloud, chicks, and giant cupcake. I applied the adhesive to the center of the sun, but left most of the rays unglued so that they stand up a little. I trimmed bits of the sun rays and clouds that were hanging off the edge of the card front.

The two smaller clouds and the balloon are popped up using foam tape. I used a Copic C1 marker to ground the chicks and giant cupcake by adding what I hope look like shadows. And finally, I adhered the entire card front to an A2-sized card base.

Thanks for stopping by!