Videos — Page 2

Art Happens – New Craft Stash Blog Hop: Day Three + Giveaways

One thing I’ve learned over the past few years is that Art Happens. It truly does. Today I’m kicking off Day Three of the New Craft Stash Blog Hop with some of my crafty friends. We’ve all collected & hoarded craft supplies…come on – I know you’re one of us! Several of us were chatting a few weeks ago and decided – let’s just hop for fun and made the rule that we had to use something new. Now that means – literally new or just new as in it’s been in the drawer for a bit and it’s finally time to break it out! Today I’m using several products just like that…and I can’t wait to show you what I’ve done.

Be sure to hop on to all three days worth of hops. Get inspired to use your “new” stash, leave a comment and be entered for prizes! You’ll have until the 23rd to leave a comment. I’d love to know what new item you’re going to play with next!

Gorgeous Art Happens Tutorial

It’s no secret that I’m in love with mixed media supplies. I love to create simple mixed media projects, AND real mixed media. Well I have a treat for you today. Today’s projects are the result of a fun little gel printing session I had the other day. I wanted to use some of my newer acrylics and some new Stamplorations masks (Art Happens) and word dies. I’ll post a time lapse video later with my entire printing session, so today’s video just showcases the print I made for these two beauties…enjoy!

Click Here to view video in HD on YouTube

What do you think? It’s actually quite fun. When I first started, I’ll admit…I was quite intimidated. But the more I got into that session, and the more art that just literally poured off the plate…I kept saying things like WOW, I can’t believe I just made that and Ooh that’s gorgeous. Seriously…I was quite impressed with myself! And I think I’ll always keep that first fabulous card – cause it literally is one of those where I still say – I can’t believe I made that! You know that feeling, right?

Well, this gel printing session didn’t disappoint. I ended up with 8 art journal pages and 34 prints. Yup! Gel Printing goes so fast, and more you get into the session – little bits are left behind on the plate – Tip: do not clean your gel plate in-between. The work you create will do that for you. Today’s print that I used came about 4/5 prints into the session. Some of the beauty on the print is from prior prints. I love the patina kind of feel. That weathered look that you usually only get with time and exposure to the elements.

Here are the two cards – one is a traditional A2 sized card – and it needs so little to complete it. Just the Gorgeous die, cause…well hello, it’s gorgeous! And a simple little You to complete the sentiment. The die is one of the MANY fabulous word dies from Stamplorations – I am such an addict of Shery Russ dies and stencils – stamps too! She’s got some ah-mazing stuff. She’s a one woman operation, has phenomenal customer service and I swear the woman doesn’t sleep. Want to see her stuff? Click Here and use the code STAMPINGRID for 20% off orders of $15+. Hey, every little bit helps, right?!

The second project uses the mask Art Happens. I have this same sentiment from Stamplorations in a smaller sized die. WAIT till you see the mixed media project coming up using that – it’s a beauty! Using masks in gel printing is a great way to preserve colors in layers and really allow them to pop as in this project. I wanted to emphasize it a bit more, so I outlined it using a Pitt pen and Posca paint pen. I was going for a sloppy look, cause let’s be honest – there’s nothing perfect about monoprinting.

Here’s a funny fact – ask any of my crafty friends who really know me – in card making, perfection is kind of one of my OCD things. Everything has to be lined up right, matted properly, etc…so mixed media nearly gave me convulsions at first. I tried to control everything – until I realized that the magic happens when you let go and just let the art actually happen.

So I hope you’re encouraged to give monoprinting a go. It’s SO relaxing, you’ll have a crazy amount of prints to create cards with, and I know you’ll just fall in love with it like I did. Hey, if this OCD papercrafter can become a mixed media artist – there’s hope for all of us, right?

Thanks for stopping by, be sure to visit all my friends’ blogs on today’s hop, and if you missed the first two days – hop on over to those too. I have the full list below. We have incredible prizes and I’m giving away a prize pack myself! Thanks for joining us on this fun little Summer journey. I hope you’re inspired now that you know Art Happens!

Comment to Win Prizes

We have some amazing sponsors & Prizes:

Stampscapes – 2 prizes – choice of Nature Sheet Stamp Set ($26.50 value)
CAS-ual Fridays Stamps – $25 gift certificate
Catherine Pooler Designs – $25 gift certificate
Right at Home – $20 gift certificate
Stamplorations – $20 gift certificate

PLUS….

I’m giving away a prize pack to one lucky commenter from one of my blog posts! So be sure to leave comments on all the blogs – all three days for your chance to win!! Just comment on all the blog hop stops by 7/23/18.

So now it’s YOUR turn to hop along and be inspired by some of my crafty friends. Thanks for taking the time to hang a bit with me today. I’ll be back in a few days with a mixed media project for you. And stop by tomorrow as well – I’ll post that hop list too!

Today’s Hop List – Day Three

Ingrid Blackburn <— You are here!
Ardyth Percy-Robb <— Hop here next!!
Josefine Fouarge
Tracie Pond
Nanette Tracy
Lisa Harrolle
Justine Hovey
Susan Powell
Jennifer Cerizo

Did you miss Day one or Two? Get caught up here:

Day One Blog Hop List:

Ingrid Blackburn – Yup that’s me with a different post & project!
Jenny Colacicco
Ashlea Cornell
Karen Baker
Ali Farmer
Catherine Pooler
Allison Cope
Veronica Zalis

Day Two Blog Hop List:

To make finding the supplies I used in these projects a bit easier for you, here are a few clickable links. Compensated Affiliate Links are used when possible. Click here for disclosure. Happy Shopping!

Filed Under: Art, Blog Hop, Mixed Media, One Layer Card, Techniques, Uncategorized, Videos Tagged: Gel Press Gel Plate, mixed media, monoprinting, Stamplorations

New Craft Stash Blog Hop: Day One – Creating Sunbeams in Scenic Cards Video

Written by Ingrid Blackburn 92 Comments

Welcome, today I’m hopping along with some crafty friends, well….just because! Several weeks ago, several of us were chatting about how we have all this “New” product just kind of sitting around, and it occurred to us to break some of that out and have a “just for fun” blog hop! So naturally I thought – I’ll create a scenic card and make Sunbeams on a foggy day with my new Mossy Tree Trunks stamp that I’ve had for eons, but have never used…so “new” to me!

Do you have any craft supplies sitting around that are “new” because you haven’t used them? Break them out!

So here we are – over the next 3 days, we have a fun filled hop each day for you. Come get inspired and be sure to comment along the way to be entered for a chance to win one of six prizes plus a few more from several of the blogs along the way!

How to Create Sunbeams on a Scenic Card Tutorial

Click Here to watch in HD on YouTube

Creating sunbeams is actually quite easy on your project. The most important thing to remember is to pick a lightsource and have everything emminate from that spot as in the video.

Here’s a photo I took while walking in the Black Forest in Germany one morning. See how the sunbeams just pop out of the scenery, and come from one fixed point?

Pigment ink sits on top of paper vs. dye ink that soaks in. So when you layer your pigment sunbeams, they’ll create a diffused ray that sits on top of your stamped image. I chose to wipe a slight ray away from my stamped image to help accentuate this beam of light, but it is not necessary.

One of the most important points to remember is that to really allow your “light” to show – you need dark as well. That contrast is what makes the scene – dark vs. light.

To help give the scene a mystical look, try to keep your background “in the fog”. I was born and raised in San Francisco, so I naturally love fog, and miss it terribly – I know I’m weird. So I thought – let’s put it into our project! To create that mystery in the background, don’t over stamp or color. Keep the light in the scene – and make sure you’re stamping any background images really light. In the video, you’ll see that I stamped the images off onto scratch paper up to 4 times before stamping on the glossy cardstock.

I use Kromecoat 12 pt. glossy cardstock for my scenic cards. It’s a nice heavy weight glossy cardstock. You’ll also want a dye ink that doesn’t dry immediately – I like to use Memento, Distress Dye and Catherine Pooler Designs inks along with the Colorbox Stylus Tool with sponge tips. This card is sized 5 x 7″.

Of course, to see all the tips and tricks along the way – you’ll have to watch the video, don’t worry, I sped a ton of it up – this project took me nearly 2 hours to complete – but is so realistic, it was worth every minute. There’s a great transition at the end of the video that showcased the evolution of the card.

If you’d like to see another fun project I created using pigment ink in a scene, be sure to check out my Harry Potter Scenic Card here. In that one you’ll learn how to use pigment ink in a circular way to create an explosion of light. There’a a video too!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Comment to Win Prizes

We have some amazing sponsors & Prizes:

Stampscapes – 2 prizes – choice of Nature Sheet Stamp Set ($26.50 value)
CAS-ual Fridays Stamps – $25 gift certificate
Catherine Pooler Designs – $25 gift certificate
Right at Home – $20 gift certificate
Stamplorations – $20 gift certificate

PLUS….

I’m giving away a prize pack to one lucky commenter from one of my blog posts! So be sure to leave comments on all the blogs – all three days for your chance to win!!

Day One Blog Hop List:

Day Two Blog Hop List:

Till then – keep those fingers inky –

Supplies

Filed Under: Blog Hop, One Layer Card, Scenic, Stampscapes, Uncategorized, Videos Tagged: Catherine Pooler Ink, distress ink, Dye inks, scenic stamping

WOW Embossing Glitter & Powder Blog Hop

Written by Ingrid Blackburn 115 Comments

Let’s kick off our Monday morning with some Sparkly inspiration…it’s all about WOW Embossing Glitter today! (okay – a few embossing powders too…) Thanks for stopping by – you’ve probably hopped on over from the incredibly talented Ilina Crouse’s blog. We have quite a hop for you today, so let’s get to it!

SO what exactly is WOW Embossing Glitter? The geniuses behind the incredible powders decided to mix their regular embossing powders with some sparkly glitter and voila! And let me tell you – no one does embossing powder or embossing glitters like WOW. If you haven’t tried them yet – don’t wait, don’t pass go – RUN…you’ll thank me for sure.

If you’ve followed me for a bit, you know that glitter and I are not exactly on the best of terms. Oh, don’t get me wrong – I LOVE the look, I just seem to always get more on me (and ultimately my hubby) than my project?!! Enter Embossing Glitter. The sheer fact that the glitter melts into that gorgeous embossing powder and stays put had me at hello!

Now, I’ll admit, I do still get glitter on me, don’t ask me how – it just happens. I’m quite sparkly as I write this, but the cool thing is, I have six super sparkly cards all ready to hit the mailbox. I had so much fun making these cards, and I know each one will definitely brighten up each person’s day – what’s better than that!

So let me show you too can create!

WOW Embossing Glitter Tutorials

No. 1 – Well Hello There

My original project ended up being #1 and #2 on the same piece. It didn’t quite turn out as I expected – so I could do one of two things – toss and start over, or split and create two cards! Obviously the only one that made sense was to create two, right? Have you ever had that happen to you? Come on, I know you have!

This one is simple, straightforward and quite honestly – striking! The beauty of using Catherine Pooler Ink…it stays wet for a few seconds. The key to this is to be completely ready. Have everything you need out. If not, once you’ve stamped in your desired colors, you’ll just need to stamp over it with versamark and then add your WOW Embossing Glitter. Here, I used Wanderlust. Wanderlust is a special blend inspired by Catherine Pooler. It’s drop dead gorgeous. Just like a little jar of diamonds!

Mask of a border, stamp your Say it in Diamonds pattern alternating in Mandarin Spice and Skylight. The key is to stamp and image or two, and add the powder. Don’t get too ahead of yourself – you want to get excellent coverage. Emboss and repeat, it’s that simple!

Smoosh your versamark ink pad onto a scrap piece of Midnight cardstock, add Black Twinkle and voila – you have your own glitter paper!! Stamp and emboss your sentiment from Say it in Diamonds in Black Twinkle, adhere your strip and that’s it! Super quick, VERY sparkly, and perfect for any occasion.

No. 2 – Make a Wish

The other half of my original project was a sunburst. I wanted to sponge some colors, glitter them up and then create my border. What I didn’t account for, was adding the wrong Embossing Glitter…lol! Whoops! I was supposed to add Sunset Boulevard, but added Turkish Nights. It was a happy accident for me, as I ended up with two projects instead of one!

Mask off a few inches, and sponge Limoncello rays through your Twisted Sunburst stencil – this stencil ROCKS! Shift and sponge Mandarin Spice in the open space. It’s okay if a tiny bit overlaps. You will get a bonus while highlight to the rays.

Place your stencil over your Limoncello rays. Smoosh a Versamark pad through your stencil. Lift and add Aladdin Embossing Glitter to half your rays from the sun outward. Tap the excess off and add Turkish Nights (or better yet, Sunset Boulevard). Emboss. The different between Turkish Nights and Sunset Boulevard is Purple vs. Orange hues.

Shift your stencil to cover your embossed areas, and smoosh a versamark pad through your stencil onto the Limoncello Rays. Smoosh a little versamark from the corner of your pad onto the white sun. Add Wanderlust Embossing Glitter and heat set.

Create your own glitter strip using Midnight cardstock and Black Twinkle. Adhere over seam on card and emboss a sentiment in your remaining white space. I used a few from the new Starlights stamp set with some Primary Ebony Embossing Powder. It’s that simple. You can create this with just glitters, or sponge and glitter like I did. The result is pretty darn eye-catching!

No. 3 – Love Makes the World Go Round

I had a little fun with this one. And I have to say – it ended up being quite relaxing! The fun part, seeing all the WOW Embossing Glitter sparkle to life.

Start out by smooshing versamark over several word dies. I used the Love Word Die with (Left to right) Fools Gold, Aladdin, Vintage Peacock, and Turkish Nights. Once you have your word dies – pick some ink colors that will compliment the sparkle! Here are the combinations that spoke to me:

Fools Gold – World embossed in WOW Earthtone Pepper, Rose Petals and Icing on the Cake inks and Chocolate cardstock. Fools Gold has an earthy gold quality to it with a dark reddish undertone to it. So Rose Petals seemed like a fun pairing. I love the look of pink and brown, so this ended up being one of my favorites!

Aladdin – Emboss the world in Ebony, and give a nod to our British hosts from WOW today. I thought it would be fun to honor not only the UK, but it’s the 4th next week, so red, white & blue it is! Aladdin was the perfect compliment. It wasn’t gold – but has a little gold in it. This one uses Peppermint Scrub, Juniper Mist and white to its advantage. The Postage Stamp Die edges are embossed in Black Twinkle and the card base is surrounded with Wanderlust – it’s a beauty!

Vintage Peacock – This one was my all time favorite of the day. I’m a sucker for the complimentary colors – Blue and Orange together. The Vintage Peacock has some gorgeous teal in it mixed with deep black and silvery sparkle. For an added twist, the world and postage die border is embossed in my favorite brown by WOW – Primary Bark. Done on Chocolate cardstock or with Black ink underneath, it’s super deep. The edge of the card base is embossed in more Vintage Peacock – this card is a STUNNER!

Turkish Nights – This one is a bit different than the bunch. Turkish Nights has this deep Lavender hue mixed with Gold, so naturally – Sugared Lavender and Shea Butter were my ink choices, right? The world is stamped in black and embossed in Clear Regular powder. The postage die edge is embossed in Black Twinkle and the card base has a perimeter of the Twisted Sunburst stencil embossed in Wanderlust. It isn’t too visible, so I switched to just smooshing the edge of the base in later cards.

Each one has it’s own personality and character. It was fun to mix and match powders with embossing glitters. Ultimately I kept the palette more to the Spa side, which seemed to work well with the glitters. I love the variation in the die cut rectangles from the Postage Dies – the alternating Stamp/Stitched look. And The World Awaits is the perfect stamp set. It’s fun, has endless sentiment options and is totally unique on the market.

Prizes and Hop List

So I hope you enjoyed these couple of projects! Be sure to comment on everyone’s blogs. We have prizes!!! WOW is giving away 6 powders of your choice along with a carry case, and Catherine Pooler is giving away the Life of the Party collection of inks!

Winners will be announced the week of July 2nd on the WOW Blog.

Enjoy all the inspiration. Jaine Drake is up next from here. And then hop on through the list!! If you ever get lost along the way – be sure to start back up at the WOW blog!

Ingrid Blackburn – You are HERE!

Jaine Drake . – Hop here NEXT!!

Now it’s your turn to add a little sparkle to your day!

Supplies

Filed Under: Blog Hop, Techniques, Uncategorized, Videos Tagged: Embossing

Effortless Ink Blending + Adding Texture – Video Hop with 120 Prizes

Written by Ingrid Blackburn 7 Comments

Do you want to know just how easy effortless ink blending can be? Well, then you’re in the right place! Today I’m participating in a video hop along with 55 other crafty friends to help Save the Crafty YouTuber!

What does that mean? YouTube just recently changed their requirements for being able to earn on your videos and channels. That’s how many crafters earn a little extra money to help pay for all those crafty supplies you want to see us teach you about in videos. Making a video seems like such a simple thing – trust me, it’s not. The little 8 minute video I’m showing you today took me 7 hours start to finish to bring to you. And that’s just the video part.

It’s nice to be able to earn a little bit from the ads you see on the videos. Trust me, it’s nothing to retire on, it helps cover some crafty/tech costs – but not much. I do it more for the love, but it is nice!

YouTube recently changed the minimum requirements for the ability to monetize your channel (ads on videos), and it will now take a new crafter quite an effort to get to that point. I remember what it was like to be new, it’s not easy, and it’ll take a bit to get to these new minimums.

So my good friend and fellow crafty YouTuber Justine Hovey had the brilliant idea to organize a video tutorial hop to help SAVE some of the crafty YouTuber’s out there. She’s like that – always the cheerleader for every single YouTuber – big and small. Not everyone is like that, and I’m proud to call her a dear friend.

Everyone was invited to join – including some big names. The folks you see on this hop are all true champions. They don’t care about WHO is on the hop – they just wanted to help the smaller channels. And I applaud that.

So, today I, along with several of my seasoned crafty friends and companies have teamed up with many smaller channels being directly affected by this.

The goal – help us save their ability to continue like they had before. WATCH the videos (minutes watched are important), & subscribe to their channels – another key component. I want to thank you for taking the time, not just to read this, but hop along. For your time and effort – COMMENT along the way on every video. LITERALLY every video has prizes attached to it!!!

Catherine Pooler is giving away some ink pads on every single video! Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 gift certificate on every single video! Plus there are even more prizes from these amazing companies:

Effortless Ink Blending Tutorial & Video

For today’s tutorial, I wanted to showcase a technique that I have perfected. Seriously, if you have any trouble with getting an absolute effortless look to your ink blending – look no further. In just a few minutes I’ll show you how YOU too can have the perfectly ink blended look to your projects:

Click HERE to watch on YouTube in HD

Here are some tips to keep in mind:

Your pressure is EVERYTHING
Seriously, watch exactly how LIGHT I hold my tool in the video (1:05)
Work light to dark – not the other way around
Bring your lighter colors back into the transitions to help blend it out – KEY

I recently read an article that said to work dark to light. I 100% disagree with that.

You can not take away color, you CAN build it up.

Trust me, I have been ink blending for years. It’s probably one of the few techniques I’m the most disciplined at. Why? Pressure is EVERYTHING.

I am a fast crafter. Meaning – I’m a bit impatient. But not with ink blending. Cue screeching brake sounds….. Yes, even I have an internal throw on the brakes – watch your pressure, Ingrid voice!

Isn’t that just gorgeous? Did you watch the video yet? Did you see how to add some fun sparkly texture to this project – oh, and did you notice the BRAND spanking new colors, word die and stencil?!!! YES, they are all being released tomorrow (2/13) over at CatherinePooler.com. Stop back by here for an awesome blog hop the next few days.

Want to learn more? Try these tutorials out:

Thanks for watching & thanks for subscribing…now go comment on everyone’s video post!!! Win those 120 prizes up for grabs!!! 🙂

Keep those fingers inky –

Supplies

To shop all the fun items I used in today’s video visit these sites. Have any questions? Leave a comment here or on my YouTube Channel. I’ll be adding the new products on 2/13 so check back for links to those!

Filed Under: Blog Hop, Clean and Simple, Techniques, Tools, Videos Tagged: adding texture to cards, ink blending, video hop

Harry Potter Inspired Card Video Hop

Written by Ingrid Blackburn 126 Comments

Have you ever been inspired by a favorite book or movie? Today I bring you a fun little video card hop, inspired by the Harry Potter series and a few of my crafty friends for a Harry Potter Scenic Card Tutorial!

This summer, Justine Hovey and I met up for lunch in Stuttgart, Germany while we were both visiting. I don’t even remember how we got onto the conversation – but we discovered yet, another love that we shared in common – Harry Potter! We thought, that would be a just for fun video hop – and my mind immediately went to my friend Laurel Beard – who I knew loved Harry Potter just as much as me. And Justine knew Jessica Frost Ballas was just as addicted, and this hop was born!

So here’s a fun, book/movie series inspired hop for you – filled with prizes, a little magic and of course – Harry Potter!

Be sure to hop along all four blogs and YouTube channels – leave comments – cause we’re giving away prizes on each blog – Harry Potter themed prizes!! Plus it’s fun to see how each designer was inspired.

If you’ve followed me a little, I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that I just HAD to create a Harry Potter scenic card! Harry Potter inspires me in so many ways – the castle, forest, bricks, owls, forest, dark vs. light, books, forest, wands, magic and oh, did I mention FOREST?!!! Naturally I had to create one of my favorite scenes of all time (Spoiler Alert) – the Dementor attack/Patronus charm at the end of Book 3.

Harry Potter Scenic Card Tutorial

I knew the perfect stamps to use too…Stampscapes. Kevin Nakagawa’s gorgeous line of stamps would perfectly evoke that larger than life feel I wanted to create along the frozen lake deep into the Forbidden Forest. Here’s a video of exactly how I created this beauty.

Click Here to watch video in HD on YouTube

The Tree Trunk stamp was perfect for this card. But I needed it at different heights – and what do you do when your card is larger than the stamp? That’s part of the beauty of Stampscapes stamps. The way Kevin has beautifully drawn these scenic elements is with little dots. So it’s very easy to naturally stretch and build onto your scene with it looking effortless and part of the original design.

So in this image, the left most trunk is actually only 4.5″ tall and the card is 5.25″ high. So how do you stretch your image so that it goes the full length? Simple – flip the top of the trunk around and stamp to fill that area. Now, you can’t have your tree get fatter – so you’re limited to a small part of the stamp, but see how it seamlessly lines up?

For the bottom – fill in the area with a little bit of color – add some dots with a micron pen and some distress markers. Then take the bottom of your stamp – ink it up and fade out the edges on it. That leaves you with the gorgeous texture – use that to fill in your trunk base. It just blends effortlessly! With more shading, and there’s zero chance of anyone noticing that wasn’t meant to be. Would you have seen the seam if I hadn’t pointed it out to you?

To bring the Harry Potter Scenic Card to life, layer your ink colors light to dark into your scene from the edge in. I used Kromekote Glossy cardstock – 12 pt for a strong base that let the colors glide with the Colorbox Stylus tool. Blues, Greys, Greens and Browns – your nature colors fill the scene with depth.

The key to this scene is the dark mystical nature of the Forbidden Forest. Without it, and it’s just another forest scene. We need the play of good vs. evil here – light vs. dark. Since I wasn’t sure how I could create a Dementor, I used dark shadows to get that effect playing off the bright explosive Patronus Charm.

And to get that bright glow – emboss the large buck (my Harry Patronus – the stag) and surround it with the white explosive glow. To get it to look just right, I had to play – and as you see in the video…a few ways just didn’t give the right feel. Swirls with a paper towel and some Hero Hues Unicorn Pigment ink did the trick.

Some finishing touches of white gel pen to emphasize ice and cold along the lake edge and glow in the tree trunks mixed with the perfect dark edging pulls the scene together. I didn’t have a greeting that worked for me, so I created my own with a downloaded Harry Potter free font.

I LOVE the third movie – and this is one of my favorite scenes. I think I love Harry and Hermine climbing over the huge roots at the base of these monster trees the most. The forest is so mystical and dark – I can do with out the dementors – they always freak me out…so it’s a good thing I can create my own Patronus – at least in a Harry Potter Scenic Card form!

What’s your favorite book/movie? Do you have something about this series that inspires you? Colors, characters, elements? When you start to create yourself – tag us with #CraftyPotterHeads! We’d love to see what you make.

Leave me a comment and I’ll enter you into my Harry Potter drawing! I’m giving away a couple decks of Harry Potter playing cards – to be delivered by Owl Oct. 1st….okay…I guess USPS will have to do. Back to reality for this muggle…

Thanks for stopping by! Now Accio Firebolt – hop on and visit my crafty friends for more chances to win and some creative magical inspiration!

Harry Potter Magical Blog Hop List

Ingrid Blackburn – You are Here
Jessica Frost Ballas – Head on over here Next!
Justine Hovey
Laurel Beard

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Supplies

Filed Under: Blog Hop, Distress Ink, Inspiration, Scenic, Stampscapes, Techniques, Uncategorized, Videos Tagged: distress inks, Harry Potter, Ink Swipe Technique, stampscapes

Freshly Picked: Layered Watercolor Stamping

Written by Ingrid Blackburn 5 Comments

Today I have some fun new cards using products from the latest release by Catherine Pooler Designs – the Freshly Picked collection. The Freshly Picked Collection has four stencils, two new stamp sets, three new die sets and two new ink colors – neutrals!!! I have been waiting for these inks – and you won’t be disappointed – the shades are gorgeous.

Today I have two cards using the I Pick You stamp/die sets and the Mod Flowers stencil from the Freshly Picked collection. And naturally – we’ll play with a simple little watercolor technique that I love – layered watercoloring.

When you layer multiple colors in watercoloring, you get a little more realism in your works of art. Now, you can also layer the same color over dry layers for more depth, but today we’re going to work with different hues. Adding a different hue gives a little more depth to your image – and that’s perfect for fruit. I even created a quick video tutorial for you here:

Click Here to watch in HD on YouTube

Freshly Picked Watercolor Tutorial

First we’ll create our background. Secure your project and Mod Flowers stencil to your surface. Using a light touch, blend a background from the center outward, fading your pressure as you near the edges. That helps to give you a faded vignette look. Isn’t this color just gorgeous?!!

Next die cut the fruit shapes you wish to use out of 140# cold pressed watercolor paper. The die shapes are together, making it easy to create multi colored images by just stamping the pieces you need – I LOVE the way that is designed!

Ink up your Pear in Tiara ink first. Then add a little shading on the bottom with Tiki Torch. Come back over it with your Tiara pad just like in the video to blend the edge out. If you don’t do that, you’ll have a harsher transition that doesn’t always look natural. If you get some of the darker ink on your pad, gently lift it off with a paper towel. As long as your pad comes up the right color – you’re good to go!

Finish the edge off with a little Tutti Fruitti and lightly spritz with a mini mister. Stamp and you’re all set!

You can see how easy it is to create these artsy little creations.

In this one – I had a little too much water on my first stamped image – and the second is a second generation stamped image – thus much more white!

Because the Black Jack background was a bit more prominent, I didn’t want the greeting to get lost – so I edged it with the Black Jack color. I can tell you – this is absolutely my all time favorite deep grey I’ve ever owned. It’s the perfect alternate to black and when watered down is the perfect light grey shade for grounding images in watercolor.

Both the new neutrals are a must have in my opinion. They are deep, rich and flawless colors – you will not be disappointed!

So, now it’s your turn. There are awesome new stencils in this Freshly Picked release – so check them all out…and I’ll have some more projects for you soon.

And if you’re a StampNation member – check out the new challenge that went live today for the Concord & 9th Masterclass. There’s even a live class with the owners of Concord & 9th today. Don’t miss out – if you’re not a member…you have no idea what you’re missing!

Be sure to stop by tomorrow…I have a special video featuring Concord & 9th products! Now it’s your turn – get inky!

Till tomorrow –

Supplies

To make finding the supplies I used in this project a bit easier for you, here are a few clickable links. Those that have multiple shopping options are indicated with letters – EH – Ellen Hutson, SSS – Simon Says Stamp. Compensated Affiliate Links are used when possible. Click here for disclosure. Happy Shopping!

Filed Under: Catherine Pooler Designs, Clean and Simple, Stencils, Techniques, Uncategorized, Videos Tagged: Blending, catherine pooler designs, die cuts, Stencils, Watercolor Techniques

Three videos – Why Use Gesso, How to Seal Paper Stencils & 3 Ways to Use Gelatos

Written by Ingrid Blackburn 5 Comments

Today I have three videos for you – 3 Gelato techniques, How to Seal Paper Stencils, & a How To & Why use Gesso. It’s a mediums kind of a day today. YAY!

Over at StampNation, we’re right in the middle of a live Masterclass with Faber-Castell. Last week the coverage was all about Gelato techniques – those super richly pigments little sticks of colorful joy. I’ll be honest – I have had Gelatos on my wishlist for three years (a girl can’t buy it all…and Santa kept skipping over them…guess I wasn’t nice enough…lol).

I finally got my hands on two of the 15 piece sets – Iridescents and Pastels. Plus last week I was showcasing at a Trunk Show over at Betty’s Creative Studio in Greensboro, NC with Catherine Pooler…and Betty had this WHOLE WALL of Faber-Castell goodness. (Insert Heavenly music and cherubs here…okay – no cherubs).

Seriously – all the colors individually, in sets, stencils, mediums, tools – you name it! Well, I had to quickly snap up 8 more colors. There are 68 gorgeous colors available, and I want them all after this last week. I seriously can’t put them down – I have gelato techniques on the brain. I’m surprised I haven’t put them on my lips yet…lol. OKAY – be honest – who has? Tell me in the comments!

Here’s the skinny…Gelato’s are a little chapstick like tube that is super richly pigmented and creamy. They literally (no joke) go on like butter – and yes, I’m saying that in a thick Long Island, NY voice. There are so many quick, simple techniques you can do with these little sticks from heaven. Today I’m teaching you three simple ones.

But first…a little prep is required for our project and tools. I thought I’d film two 1 minute tool tip videos for you – whoohoo!

How and Why to Use Gesso

Before we can even talk about Gelato techniques, we have to talk about Gesso. To spread like butter – you need to prep your work surface a bit with Gesso. This video talks about how to do this, and WHY:

Click Here to watch in HD on YouTube

Now that your paper is prepped – you can always use watercolor paper too, but regular cardstock works just fine with gesso. I do several full sheets at once and set them aside to dry – it’s great having those cut down and ready to use when I need to!

Gesso also comes in clear and black. I’ve been using Gesso for a while now in Mixed Media projects. Another great use for it is to go right over a mistake – it’s a blank slate…love that! (And I’ll admit…I’ve had to use that before)

How to Seal Paper Stencils

Faber-Castell makes these awesome paper stencil packs. For about $7 you can get TEN 6×6 stencils – seriously!!! When a regular stencil costs $5-$8, I’ll take $.70 any day! Plus the packs are themed – there are some Mixed Media ones, patterns – you have five packets to choose from.

But the dilemma for me was…I like to use wet mediums with my stencils – so why have to replace something? Regular stencils are made out of a plastic material, thus can take wet mediums and abuse. Paper, not so much. SO…seal them! This is where Glaze medium comes in handy. Plus you can use it for other things too (semi gloss look, collages, etc).

Here’s a quick little 1 minute video to show you just how to seal your stencils:

http://https://youtu.be/fDjPgBrBeC4

Click Here to watch on YouTube in HD

Okay – so we’ve got our stencils sealed, and our paper is prepped. Here’s the big tutorial you’ve been waiting for.

Three Gelato Techniques

At its core – a Gelato is a colored medium. Just like an ink pad – it’s a medium you can manipulate in several ways to add vibrant color to your projects. If you think of it like that, it’s not so scary – you use ink pads every day?!!

You’re going to learn how to use gelatos to do three techniques today: Seamless Wet Blending, the Vanishing Stencil Technique, and how to stamp with Gelatos.

Here’s a video to show you exactly how:

Click Here to watch on YouTube in HD

Blending is the most basic Gelato techniques. If you’ve rubbed your gelatos over cardstock that hasn’t be gesso’d, it’s not going to blend well. And forget about using water. To use water – you need watercolor paper or gesso’d cardstock. It’s just frustrating without the proper set up – set yourself up for success!

Regular blending and water blending is a very different look. Try them both and see which one you like more!

Tips for Seamless Wet Blending

To get that seamless look, use your finger or a paint brush. I like to use my fingers, as I can really control what and where the medium flows.
Control your water – don’t add too much at the start – go gradual, better to need to add, than have to take away
Spray a little water onto your craft mat or acrylic block for a quick place to draw just a little H2O
Choose colors that blend well – stay away from complimentary colors that will create mud
Keep going – if you feel it needs a pop of color – directly add your gelato for a little pop

I’m a stencil addict – and the vanishing stencil is a huge wow for me. Usually I’m always adding color through a stencil – so to remove it is fun.

Tips for the Vanishing Stencil Technique

Pull away with a clean part of your baby wipe, twist and rotate it to get a clean piece. You don’t want to transfer right back down
Keep your stencil steady – if you aren’t confident you can hold it in place, secure it with tape
Your gelato base can’t be set. The best result is to create your background color then remove while still slightly wet even.

Once you’ve removed the color – try adding a new one in the newly blank space! Tip for adding color through a stencil – add it to your stencil and wick it to your project with a tool or fingers. It’s much easier than jamming that creamy stick through the stencil!

Tips for Stamping with Gelatos

While I didn’t end up using that piece in the project – it did turn out super cool. Be sure to properly remove your gelato from your stamp when done. A baby wipe or water should do the trick.

Add an even layer of color to your stamp
Lightly spritz with a fine mist spritzer. Try not to over water your stamp – you will lose a lot of the crispness in your image the more you add

So how was that? Now it’s YOUR turn! Seriously, don’t be afraid of this medium. It’s super easy to get crafty with.

Do you have Gelatos? Do you have favorite Gelato techniques? If so – tell me what you think in the comments below. If they are in a drawer – get them out and have some colorful fun.

Faber-Castell Masterclass

I’m looking forward to experimenting with more Gelato techniques and if you’re not a StampNation member – be sure to check it out. We had a Gelatos challenge this week (with a prize – still time to enter) Here is a little of the inspiration from the Dream Team:

There are over 700 videos, and several classes. There’s a live chat with Faber-Castell directly answering your questions this Thursday – hope you stop by there!

Till next time –

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Filed Under: Mixed Media, Techniques, Tools, Uncategorized, Videos Tagged: Faber-Castell, Gelatos, Mediums, mixed media, watercolor

Naturally Inspired Stamp of Approval Collection – 2 videos!

Written by Ingrid Blackburn 208 Comments

Welcome to Day 3 of The Naturally Inspired Stamp of Approval Blog Hop! You probably hopped on over from Lydia Evans’ blog – she’s uber talented, isn’t she? I’m such a fan of hers. The whole hop list is at the end, but first here are a few projects to showcase just how amazing this curated collection inspired me.

If you’re new to Stamp of Approval – click here to check out everything you need to know about this amazing collection of Stamps, Dies and Stencils.

And make sure you are on the wait list so you get access to the collection at 9:00 am tomorrow June 7th before the public. The Add-ons are limited – especially the Wild Garden Dies, you don’t want to miss out.

Of course, If you are a StampNation member – you not only get to order hours earlier…but I’ll see you at the exclusive Slumber Party release tonight – I’ll be participating live – so come stamp with me, Catherine and many others from the Design Team.

How I’m Naturally Inspired

If you’ve followed me for a while you know nature is my thing – in case you haven’t noticed – I love trees, the mountains, flowers – and especially greenery! I’m 100% at home walking in the mountains, woods, among trees & flowing water – I’m a born and raised northern California girl after all. Growing up in San Francisco, I’m partial to the ocean – and having lived 10 years in Florida…I never tire of these sunsets:

My true inspiration for my work is nature around me – it brings me the peace I need to think clearly and allow the creativity to flow. So much so, that I even have a few little Christmas trees all around me on my desk…lol!

In a few weeks, I’m heading back to the Black Forest for the Summer – and I can’t wait to just be in my element again (I spent the last three years there). Here’s a little sneak into my world – sadly it’s the wrong time of year for the snow, but you will definitely find me shortly wandering along one of thousands of paths and trails daily:

I love the textures and colors of nature. It drives my creations. Today I have a few colorful pieces (and videos) for you too! And wouldn’t you know…I even managed two scenic cards – very different from each other as well. Enjoy!

Project One – Naturally Inspired Sunset Silhouettes

I love scenic cards – and when I first saw the Wild Garden stamp set designed by Lisa Kirkbride, this card literally popped into my head. Paired up with Catherine Pooler Designs vibrant inks, I just knew the ink swipe technique was calling. Here’s a video on how I created this colorful layered sunset on glossy paper.

Click Here to view the video tutorial in HD on YouTube

Aren’t those colors just amazing. And with this fun technique, the possibilities are unlimited. In addition to the SOA collection, the Wild Garden set also has add-on dies which are perfect to cut out those intricate shapes.

Project Two – Medallions

One of my favorite parts of this box is the surprise elements. Usually you’ll have some awesome stamps, dies and maybe even a stencil – but Catherine really outdid herself this time. Especially with the Wanderlust exclusive embossing glitter by WOW! It’s an exclusive mix just for this Collection and let me tell you – it sparkles! I think I was able to capture the sparkle pretty well here – it’s super cool on black too, becomes sparkly yellow – like a yellow diamond.

The Medallions are so versatile – I’ve just scratched the surface with them. If you didn’t see the sneak peek Catherine let you in on for my Navy Metallic card in the Facebook Live the other day – stop by in a few days, I’ll have that project right here along with a few more.

This project showcases Catherine Pooler Designs Inks: Party Dress, Bellini, It’s a Girl, Sweet Sixteen and Tiki Torch.

This project keeps the Medallion Mix Up images stamped as a nest within each other – but then uses the same colors in an overlapped pattern in the back. While I love the look, it was a bit busy – so to tone it down just a smidge and allow the focal piece to jump out a bit – try adding a simple sheet of vellum. You still see all that colorful goodness, without allowing it to overtake your project.

But today it’s all about some fun colorful medallions mixed with all that sparkly goodness. I won’t lie, I’m addicted to the Best Die – I LOVE Shawna Clingerman’s (the illustrator) hand scripted font – who wouldn’t, right?

And then glitter that baby up – WOW! Literally.

But don’t think to just keep the glitter to just there – add it to the edge of your circle or card front for a truly special look. And just imagine this card in Blues & browns for a great Masculine look!

Project Three – Colorful Feathers

The Naturally Inspired Collection lends itself quite well to great clean and simple design, here’s a super quick and fun one. The Feather stamp is amazing – did you see that all the little birds in the set that can be stamped as if they are transformed out of the tip?!! How clever is that!

I kept things colorful and simple here – some great ink colors…a little mystery too! I’m in LOVE with the Simply the Best stamp set – you can create so many amazing sentiments with this set. And I just love the various ways to stamp Best – quirky, scripty – just LOVE that.

But I have to admit – my favorite stamp in the entire collection is that diamond pattern. It’s only about 1 1/2 inches long – but look at how cool it looks stamped in a row?!! You will find that it is SUPER easy to layer end to end – I did this one by hand – no Misti needed here.

Pretty cool huh? NOW…see how I used that very same feather – and colors in the next project. Yes, this next project was made with all those colorful bright colors – honest!

Project Four – Watercolored Landscape

I love both my scenic cards today for very different reasons. The techniques couldn’t be any farther apart from one another. This one is an effortless watercolor that combines the vibrant colors from the first into the muted subtle shades that you see here. The moment I saw the little birds from Birds of a Feather, I was on a mission to see how I could take the stamps from this collection and stretch them into something different – trees!

Here’s a detailed video on how to recreate just that. And if you loved this, definitely subscribe to my YouTube channel too:

Click Here to see this video tutorial in HD on YouTube

Kind of cool, huh? I love creating something new and unique from existing supplies – versatility in my products is SO important. Plus being a fan and DT team mate of Kristie Goulet – the queen of uniquely stamped cards will do that to you!

I have detailed supplies and instructions on both scenic cards in the Naturally Inspired SOA PDF Guide – it’s jam packed with great projects to get you started – definitely one of my favorite components of each collection – detailed how to instructions!

So I encourage you to think outside the box with this collection. It won’t be hard. You’ll get such varied results which is just awesome.

These four projects believe it or not – uses almost every item in the box. I love it when I can create 10 different projects and no two are the same – I can’t wait to show you the rest. That’s the sign of a home run to me! So let’s get you entered in to win one of these amazing Naturally Inspired collections yourself!

To win one, just hop along and leave some love on all my team mates blogs. All the blogs from the last two days too – the Design Team inspirational line up is epic! Tell us what inspires you too.

Here’s the talented line up for today:

1. Catherine Pooler
2. Taheerah Atchia
3. Laurel Beard
4. Lydia Evans
5. Ingrid Blackburn You are here!
6. Heather North < Hop here Next!
7. Cynde Whitlow

Hope you enjoyed these projects and videos. Was I was able to inspire you to get creating yourself? I want to know what inspires you – tell me in the comments below! You never know – you may just win a Naturally Inspired Collection yourself.

Till next time –

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Filed Under: Blog Hop, Catherine Pooler Designs, Clean and Simple, Scenic, Stamp of Approval, Techniques, Uncategorized, Videos Tagged: scenic cards, Stamp of Approval, Watercolored Scenes

Gorgeous Art Happens Tutorial

Comment to Win Prizes

Today’s Hop List – Day Three

Day One Blog Hop List:

Day Two Blog Hop List:

How to Create Sunbeams on a Scenic Card Tutorial

Comment to Win Prizes

Day One Blog Hop List:

Day Two Blog Hop List:

Supplies

WOW Embossing Glitter Tutorials

No. 1 – Well Hello There

No. 2 – Make a Wish

No. 3 – Love Makes the World Go Round

Prizes and Hop List

Supplies

Effortless Ink Blending Tutorial & Video

Supplies

Harry Potter Scenic Card Tutorial

Supplies

Freshly Picked Watercolor Tutorial

Supplies

How and Why to Use Gesso

How to Seal Paper Stencils

Three Gelato Techniques

Tips for Seamless Wet Blending

Tips for the Vanishing Stencil Technique

Tips for Stamping with Gelatos

Faber-Castell Masterclass

How I’m Naturally Inspired

Project One – Naturally Inspired Sunset Silhouettes

Project Two – Medallions

Project Three – Colorful Feathers

Project Four – Watercolored Landscape

Let’s Connect

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