Monday 30 March 2020

Timeless Tropical Hawaiian card

#thecraftythinker #stampinup #timelesstropical #cardmaking , Timeless Tropical, Hibiscus card, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
Hawaiian themed card?
So the harsh truth is that I don't always love every element in a bundle.  In this particular case, I love the flower, I don't mind the palm trees but I REALLY don't like the pineapple.  But, that hibiscus was enough for me!

However, I thought I'd give that pineapple the benefit of the doubt and have a go at using it.  Hmmm.  I've tried to disguise it, but I'm still not excited.

Anyway, here's my attempt to befriend the pineapple!

Thank you for visiting.
'Til next time! (and not a pineapple in sight!)
Stephanie

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Friday 27 March 2020

Very Versailles Thank You

#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #veryversailles , Very Versailles, Painted Poppies, Thank you card, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
Very Versailles with Painted Poppies "splodges"!
I love the images in the Very Versailles stamp set - so I can't really understand why it's one of the most under-utilised sets in my collection.  Time to correct that!

I stamped the frame image with Terracotta Tile ink and covered it with a mask before stamping the script image in the same ink but stamped off once (tap the stamp into the ink, stamp onto a scrap piece of paper and then stamp onto the project). 

I then stamped the foliage and lace with Shaded Spruce ink.  Using one of the "splodge" stamps from the Painted Poppies stamp set, I tapped into Shaded Spruce ink, stamped off once (see above) and then randomly stamped around the edges of the project until I ran out of ink.  I repeated this process until I was satisfied with the balance.
#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #veryversailles , Very Versailles, Painted Poppies, Thank you card, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
A few self-adhesive sequins finish the Very Versailles card
Having removed the mask, I stamped the greeting with Shaded Spruce ink.

The base card is Shaded Spruce and there's a layer of Terracotta Tile.  

The final touch was to add some Adhesive Backed Sequins in the luminescent pale green shade.

Thank you for visiting.
'Til next time!
Stephanie

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Monday 23 March 2020

Painted Poppies Reincarnated

#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #nolinewatercoloring #paintedpoppies , Painted Poppies, No Line Watercoloring, Masking, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
After a bit of cosmetic surgery, I ended up prefering the messed up test piece to the original card!
So this is what happened to my test piece from Friday's card!  You know I hate to waste anything!

Having finished painting the poppies, I trimmed around the bottom of them (see below for a photo of the test piece).

I then turned it upside down and painted the area under the poppies with Petal Pink ink, adding shadows with Gray Granite ink.

Then I adhered this to a piece of Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper before adding it to my Gorgeous Grape base card.

The sentiment, from the So Sentiments stamp set, is stamped with Gorgeous Grape ink.

As a finishing touch, I pressed Perennial Essence Floral Centres into a Blackberry Bliss ink pad before adhering the to the centre of the poppies.
#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #nolinewatercoloring #paintedpoppies , Painted Poppies, No Line Watercoloring, Masking, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
Adding shadow under the flowers really provides "dimension" and  makes them pop
Keep scrolling down beyond the supply list if you'd like more information on how I watercoloured the flowers - I used the same process for both today's and Friday's cards.

Thank you for visiting.
'Til next time!
Stephanie

Product List - All available for purchase in my online store
#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #nolinewatercoloringtutorial #paintedpoppies , Painted Poppies, No Line Watercoloring, Masking, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
This was how my card started out - a mistake, then a test piece!
This ended up as a test piece because I didn't like my composition so I decided to use it to practice colouring the poppies and to test some background colours and effects.
#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #nolinewatercoloringtutorial #paintedpoppies , Painted Poppies, No Line Watercoloring, Masking, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
Step one - Stamping the centre with Blackberry Bliss ink
Step 1: I used a light ink to stamp the Painted Poppies image.  I happen to have some Purple Posy ink but I think Highland Heather would work fine, especially if stamped off first before stamping onto the watercolour paper.

Step 2: I used an image in the Floral Essence stamp set and Blackberry Bliss ink to stamp over the flower centres.

Step 3:  I "painted" one petal with water.

Step 4:  I took the excess moisture from my brush, dipped it into Gorgeous Grape ink and then applied it to the wet petal near the flower centre.  TIP: I prefer to use ink from reinkers but if you don't have the reinkers, simply stamp the ink pad down onto a clean water-resistant surface (such as an acrylic block or some acetate).  But if you need to add more ink - wipe the surface dry first.
#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #nolinewatercoloringtutorial #paintedpoppies , Painted Poppies, No Line Watercoloring, Masking, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
In this photo I have painted the petal with water then added some Gorgeous Grape ink.
On the left side of the petal I have started drawing out the ink towards the edges of the petal.
Step 5: Having wiped my brush on a wet wipe (a tissue will do), I started to use the brush to "pull" the ink towards the edges of the petal.  TIP:  Don't be afraid to leave some white

Step 6: Repeat steps 3 to 5 with a different petal.  TIP:  choose a non-adjacent petal so that the two petals do not "bleed" into each other.  OR ensure the first petal is dry before proceeding to an adjacent petal.
#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #nolinewatercoloringtutorial #paintedpoppies , Painted Poppies, No Line Watercoloring, Masking, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
In this photo I have painted the adjacent petal (to the right) with water
TIP:  If you leave just a faint touch of colour in your brush when you paint with the water, it may help you see the areas you have covered.
#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #nolinewatercoloringtutorial #paintedpoppies , Painted Poppies, No Line Watercoloring, Masking, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
In this photo I have added the ink to the wet petal in the areas that I want to be darkest

#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #nolinewatercoloringtutorial #paintedpoppies , Painted Poppies, No Line Watercoloring, Masking, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
Here I have used my brush to pull ink towards the edges of the petal, finishing the second petal.
Step 7:  Allow the flower to dry thoroughly and then decide if there are small areas you wish to further define or deepen the tone.  You'll need to use a much dryer brush for this

Friday 20 March 2020

Ink it! Stamp it! Blog Hop: Thank You - Very Versailles Painted Poppies

Welcome to the Ink It! Stamp It! Design Team Blog Hop - we hop every month so be sure to pop back and visit us again!  

Today our theme is "Thank You".

You are currently at my page - Stephanie Fischer, The Crafty Thinker.  At the end of my post there is a full line up of team members, please click on the name after mine in the list to continue the hop.
#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #paintedpoppies #inkitstampit #veryversailles , Painted Poppies, Very Versailles, Ink it! Stamp it! Blog Hop, Thank you card, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
A bold watercoloured Painted Poppies image with a subdued background
Rather than take up a lot of space here in the Blog Hop, I'll provide more details in my next post where I'll share how I rescued and used the manky-looking test piece shown below!
#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #paintedpoppies #inkitstampit #veryversailles , Painted Poppies, Very Versailles, Ink it! Stamp it! Blog Hop, Thank you card, Stampin' Up Demonstrator, Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
Here you can see the masks I used and my initial plan, which ended up as a test piece because I didn't like the composition
Thank you so much for joining us today and we hope you'll join us again next month when we'll be preparing for the new Annual Catalogue by farewelling the outgoing In-colours.

I'm Stephanie Fischer and to keep hopping around see the list below to see who is up next with another great project.

Thanks for visiting
'Til next time!
Stephanie

Product List - All available for purchase from my online store

Monday 16 March 2020

Butterfly Wishes & Butterfly Beauty Dies

#thecraftythinker #stampinup #cardmaking #butterflywishes , Butterfly Wishes, Butterfly Beauty, Stitched So Sweetly, Stampin' Up Demonstrator Stephanie Fischer, Sydney NSW
The gorgeous Butterfly Wishes stamp set
Having stamped the branch onto Sahara Sand card with Calypso Coral ink, I added colour with Stampin' Write Markers in Calypso Coral, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Call Me Clover and Shaded Spruce and blended a tiny bit with an Aqua Painter.

The butterfly and greeting are stamped with Early Espresso ink.

Using Calypso Coral card, I cut a single butterfly from the grouping in the Butterfly Beauty Dies.  I then cut another from an offcut of Petal Pink card and did a little paper piecing.  I coloured the antennae and body with my Early Espresso marker and added a Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewel.

Simple but effective.

Thank you for visiting.
'Til next time!
Stephanie

Product List - All available for purchase from my online store