For the card above, I used the same metallic inks and stencil that I did for this card. But this time I tried it on watercolour paper instead of mixed media paper. I learned another lesson ... the shimmer from the metallics doesn't show up on the textured watercolour paper. Next time I'll just use inks and save the metallics for another project.
It did make a fantastic ghosted image, though. I placed a leafy sprig stencil over top of the green and blue smooshed background, spritzed quickly with lots of water and quickly removed the stencil. I blotted with a paper towel and ended up with a fairly crisp image. It's in the background of the card with watercoloured, die-cut poppies over top and an antique frame to finish. It does add a lot of dimension in the background.
Here's a close-up ...
I hope you'll give this technique a try and then join us at the challenge blog. Check out the reminder cards from our Designers and wonderful Guest Designer, Ishani. Remember to keep your card CAS and use ghosting through a stencil.
Today I'm sharing a card that almost ended up in the garbage. :) I first smooshed the background with Metallic Liquid Metals (Emerald, Turquoise) onto mixed media paper. I placed a leaf stencil over top and spritzed with water, removing the stencil right away. Let the water sit for a few seconds and then blotted with a paper towel. The ghosted image of the leaves worked but didn't have a lot of contrast. I was disappointed, but still liked the card front. I took a medium tip white paint pen and outlined the leaves to give them more presence. I added a thin white frame and stamped the sentiment in black. Three different sized water droplets complete the design.
Here's a close-up ...
In the end, I'm really happy with this card. This is a fun technique that's easy to do. I hope you'll give it a try and join us!
This is a fun technique using stencils to remove colour to add a different effect. I learned that it's best to start with a background that is "freshly made". Watercolour and powdered ink backgrounds that have been done a while, don't tend to release the ink as easily a newly done pieces. Also, this technique works with a variety of papers ... watercolour, mixed media, bristol, etc. (not regular card stock). I find mixed media works the best as ink tends to sit on top so is effected by adding water more than the other papers. Hope that helps for those that are new to this. There are also instructional videos on the challenge blog.
I sponged by background with distress inks (pink and orange). Placed my stencil over top, spritzed with water, quickly removed stencil and let the water sit for a few seconds before blotting with a paper towel. Once dry, I adhered my panel to a card base and popped a die-cut framed flower over top.
I hope you'll check out the challenge blog to see the gorgeous Ghosted cards from our Designers, and our very first Guest Designer, Ishani (Quillish). Then come play along. We'd love to see you in our gallery!
Stamps: Paper: Mixed Media paper (Strathmore 140 lb. 400 Series); White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.) Ink: Distress Inks: Picked Raspberry, Ripe Persimmon (Tim Holtz); Smoky Slate (SU!) Accessories & Tools: sponges, Flower stencil #2 (STAMPlorations), water mister, Floral Stem Collage die (Poppy Stamps)
Hi everyone. Today is the start of the November CAS Mix Up Challenge. This challenge is hosted by Bonnie and she has come up with a great challenge for this time of year.
I used a NBUS die for this card. The tree is new to me, and I've die-cut it in white and sponged on two shades of brown DOX inks. I also sponged two shades of blue DOX inks for the sky and then splattered with water and blotted to create the look of a snowy sky (ghosting).
The tree was die-cut a second time in turquoise glitter paper. The ornaments were cut from the glitter tree and glued on top of the brown tree. Simple, but fiddly work. :)
A simple stitched snowdrift die-cut was added to the bottom and stamped with the sentiment in matching brown ink.
Glitter is always fun to use, especially on holiday cards.
We have a wonderfully talented Guest Designer this month. Robyn (Waterlily Cards by Robyn) is joining in having fun with glitter. Welcome Robyn!
Please check out the challenge blog to see all the amazing glitter cards from our Design Team and Guest Designer, Robyn. And then come join the challenge with your CAS (clean and simple) Glitter card.
Stamps: Christmas Messages (Hero Arts) Paper: White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Turquoise glitter ($1 store) Ink: DOX inks: Vintage Photo, Frayed Burlap, Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean (Tim Holtz) Accessories & Tools: Sponges, water mister, Ornament Tree die (Penny Black); Curves Border die (AliExpress)
Hi everyone. Today I'm playing more with no-line watercolouring and using one of my new Penny Black stamps. I watched several of Jill Foster's (PB&J Penny Black) recent videos and used a few of her techniques and layout. I have changed up a few things to make it my own design.
I started by stamping the image in light brown ink in my Misti. I left everything in place, watercolouring the poinsettia with distress inks while still in the misti. Once I was finished with the flower, I dried it with my heat tool, added anti-static powder, stamped the image over top using Versamark ink, and then heat embossed in clear. I think my clear powder is old because it bubbled a little, but it just makes the flower look a little sparkly.
I masked the card front and sponged the background with three colours of brown distress inks (antique linen all over; brushed corduroy around the sides and edges; vintage photo just on the edges). I splattered some water and then blotted with a paper towel (ghosting). Removed the masking tape and stamped the sentiment in black and also clear embossed it as well. I finished the card by rounding one of the top corners.
I know this sounds like a lot of steps, but it actually was fairly quick to make and I enjoyed every bit of the watercolouring (my favourite part!).
Hi everyone. I'm playing along with this week's Merry Monday (#249). My friend Colleen is hosting and she chose Mistletoe for this week's challenge.
This is my one and only mistletoe stamp. :) I stamped it twice and heat embossed in white. Then I sponged with Broken China DOX inks. I sprayed a little water and blotted to create a bit of visual texture to the background. I die-cut into a circle and then coloured the leaves with a green zig brush. I added some Dazzling Details glitter glue over the leaves, half pearls for the berries, and two small bows from silver cording. The circle is popped up to give the card a bit of dimension.
Here's a close up:
A simple card that seemed to take forever to come together. It happens sometimes. :)
Thanks for the fun challenge Colleen! The challenge is open until Sunday, so there's still lots of time to play along.
And I'm playing along again this month at Rudolph Days, run by the lovely Maureen (Scraps of Life by Scrappymo!)! Two months in a row ... maybe it will become a habit. I hope so! :)
Hi everyone. Had a really fun day in the studio today. Susan and Christine came over and we played with all sorts of things. The card above was some experimenting with Distress Oxides. This is my first try with sponging them ... they are so creamy and blend beautifully. This is a combination of only two colours (Broken China and Cracked Pistachio) on mixed media card stock.
Once I finished sponging, I spritzed my leaf background stencil with water and then pressed the wet side into the sponged card. I blotted quickly with a piece of paper towel, removed the stencil and blotted again. I got this beautiful ghosted image of the stems and leaves. I added a die-cut white frame and white flower sprig. The sentiment is stamped with the Broken China DOX (Distress Oxides) ink.
I had to try it another way. So I sponged the same two colours onto a second piece of mixed media paper. This time I laid the stencil on top of my sponged card, spritzed with lots of water, blotted with paper towel, removed the stencil and blotted again. I got a softer version of the one above. This time the background of the stems and leaves are ghosted. Love the subtle colours.
Have lots more panels from today with different products. Will be sharing soon once I make them into cards.
I'm entering the above card at AAA Cards where they are looking for Stenciling.
Thanks for stopping by for a visit!
Stamps: Many Everyday Messages (Hero Arts) Paper: Mixed Media (watercoloured panels); White (Neenah 110 lb. card stock) Ink: Distress Oxides: Broken China, Cracked Pistachio (Tim Holtz) Accessories & Tools: water mister, Mini Climbing Vine stencil (The Crafter's Workshop), Flower Frolic die (Penny Black), Lorelai Outline Leaf die (Poppy Stamps), Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Hi everyone. Received my Distress Oxides in the mail today. :) So excited!! I wasn't going to get them because I have been spending lots of $$ on stamp supplies lately, but caved yesterday and placed the order. I couldn't believe they arrived today. :)
So this is my first play. They are so unique and it will take me a while to figure out all the different ways to use them. For the card above, I just swiped three colours (Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick) directly onto a mixed media paper card front. Just little swipes of colour here and there. Sprayed with lots of water and let it run. Used my heat tool to speed up the drying, and then splattered water droplets (ghosting). Used Walnut Stain to stamp my image and sentiment. Easy and fast card.
Hi everyone. Just a reminder that we are already half way through October. The CAS Mix Up October Challenge - Ghosting is open until Oct. 24th. Come play along!
I used water splats to remove colour and create a ghosting of falling snow ... very subtle, but pretty. Also super easy to do. :)
Here's a close-up ...
I started by sponging my background, flicked water, and then blotted with a paper towel. I tore two strips of white card stock for my snow drifts, and adhered a beautiful street light die-cut given to me by my friend Marcia (Marcia's Stampin Pad). Thanks Marcia!! xx
I hope you'll check out the reminder post for the CAS Mix Up October Challenge - Ghosting to see the beautiful cards from the rest of our Design Team. You'll be glad you did.
Still lots of time to play along. Hope to see you in the gallery!
Stamps: Season's Gift (Penny Black Paper: White (Neenah 110 lb. card stock); Black (SU!) Ink: Distress Ink: Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed (Tim Holtz); Black (Memento) Accessories & Tools: Sponges, black die-cut lamp (gift from friend)
Hi everyone. Enjoying working with the beautiful colours of Autumn. This card started with a sponged background of Spiced Marmalade and Ripe Persimmon. I placed a chicken wire stencil over top, spritzed with water and removed. Waited a few seconds and then blotted with a paper towel. The water removed the design of the stencil to create a fun and textured looked background, even though there is really no texture. :)
I stamped the two leaves onto watercolour paper and heat embossed in copper. I then watercoloured the leaves using the same colours that I used for the background with the addition of some barn door to make them slightly different in colour.
I heat embossed the sentiment in the same copper on black card stock, popping it up over top of the leaf stems.
I'm adding these to two challenges ... CAS Mix Up, where the challenge this month is ghosting (removing colour ... which I did with the chicken wire stencil).
... and CAS Watercolour, where the challenge this month is autumn. I watercoloured the leaves with distress inks.
I hope you'll come play along with both challenges. Hope to see you in the gallery!
Stamps: Gently Falling (Stampin' Up!); Sentiment - Where the Heart is (Simon Says) Paper: White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press) Ink: Distress Inks: Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon, Barn Door (Tim Holtz); Versamark Accessories & Tools: sponges, Chicken Wire stencil (The Crafter's Workshop), water mister, copper embossing powder (Ranger), heat tool
Hi everyone. It's the start of the CAS Mix Up October Challenge. This month we are looking for "ghosting" on your cards. And no, not the type of ghosts that show up for Halloween later this month :) ... but a ghost of an image.
The stencil I used above is VERY open, so I wanted to create a ghost of the outline of the leaves. I sponged my card front randomly with turquoise and green inks. Then I sprayed the back of the stencil with water first, layed it on the card front, pressed down and removed. Let the water sit for about 10 seconds to work it's way into the sponged colours, and then blotted with a paper towel. Voila!! This combines Stencil Monoprint with Ghosting. :)
This month we are excited to have Mac Mable (The Sweetest of Peas) are our Guest Designer. Mac won the CAS Mix Up August Challenge - Sprays with this GORGEOUS CARD. Welcome Mac!
Please check out our challenge blog to see Mac's Ghosting card, along with the rest of the Design Team cards.
I hope you'll give Ghosting a try and come join us at the CAS Mix Up challenge with your CAS (Clean and Simple) mixed media cards. We'd love to see you in the gallery.
As always, the challenge is open until the 24th of the month.
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CAS Watercolour's first challenge is live!
As I mentioned on my blog a couple of days ago, Bonnie and I are excited to begin a new adventure with a new challenge --- CAS Watercolour Card Challenge.
The first challenge starts today. Future challenges will begin on the 2nd of every month. The challenge is to create a CAS (Clean and Simple) Watercoloured card following the theme each month.
Come join our new challenge. Create a Clean and Simple Watercoloured Autumn card and enter it in the linky on the challenge blog. The challenge runs until Oct. 24th.
The Design Team Calls run from October 1st - 15th for both challenges. Check out the details on both challenge blogs.
CAS Mix Up Card with Ghosting: Stamps: A Little Sentimental (Clearly Besotted) Paper: White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.) Ink: Distress Inks: Mowed Lawn, Peacock Feathers (Tim Holtz) Accessories & Tools: Leaf stencil (Carabelle Studio), sponges, water mister, Fresh Foliage die (Memory Box), stylus and mat, sequins
CAS Watercolour Card - Autumn: Stamps: Script; Heartfelt (both from Penny Black) Paper: Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.) Ink: Delicata Gold (Tsukineko); Black (Memento) Accessories & Tools: Watercolour sprays made from liquid concentrate in Orange and Magenta (Dick Blick), Acetate sheet for smooshing background, Maple Leaf die (Poppy Stamps)
Hi everyone. Today I'm sharing a video tutorial on the Ghosting Technique (sometimes called Faux Bleaching or Water Stamping).
I used three different types of card stock, along with three different types of colouring mediums to show the variety of looks you can get with this technique. They all start with a dry, inked background, and then the "ghosting" can begin.
Below the video is a detailed written description of the ghosting technique. All three cards in this post are made from the backgrounds done in the video.
I hope you'll take a few minutes to watch the video. You can watch it on YouTube by clicking HERE. I'd appreciate a "thumbs up" if you find it helpful. :) Thank you!
The first segment of the video is ghosting using distress inks (see card sample above). Since the background is sponged (no water used), you have the option of using regular card stock, watercolour paper or mixed media paper. I used regular card stock (Neenah 110 lb.) for the card above, randomly sponging with two colours of distress inks. Distress inks work really well for this technique as they react well with water.
Once you have your inked background, the ghosting technique is always the same. Add water, let sit for 10-15 seconds, and then remove with a paper towel. You can use a stencil, stamp or just flick water.
IMPORTANT TIP: If using a stencil, make sure to remove the stencil quickly after spritzing with water so the stenciled images stay crisp. If the stencil is left on the wet surface for long, the water seeps underneath the stencil and blurs the images.
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Ghosting with Watercolour Sprays on Watercolour Paper
For the second card, I used watercolour paper saturated with two colours of watercolour sprays. You can use watercolour paper or mixed media paper for the sprays. Regular card stock will not hold up with all the water content of the sprays.
It is important to use "freshly" made backgrounds when using watercolour paper for this technique. Pulling out one from a stash will not work well. Not sure why, but assume the ink absorbs into the watercolour paper and over time becomes permanent.
Again, just added a stencil over top, spritzed with water, removed stencil right away, waited for the water to activate the inks (10-15 seconds) and blotted with a paper towel. The watercolour paper will be wet after the ghosting technique. As it dries, the contrast between the background and the ghosted images becomes greater. You are left with a subtler ghosting image when using watercolour paper.
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Ghosting with Brushos on Mixed Media paper
Here's the third card from my video. This time I started with Brushos (3 colours) on mixed media paper. You could use watercolour paper or mixed media paper with Brushos, but not regular card stock.
I just flicked some water onto the dry, inked background, left it for 10-15 seconds, and then blotted up with paper towel. You can see the large bleached splatters in the background.
Create without Fear card: Stamps: Subway Art Buiders Create (STAMPlorations) Paper: White (Neenah 110 lb. card stock); Black (gifted to me by my friend Christine) Ink: Distress Ink: Peacock Feathers, Vintage Photo (Tim Holtz); Versamark Accessories & Tools: Sponges, Clock stencil (Tim Holtz), water mister, Copper Frantage Embossing Enamel (Stampendous), heat tool
Leafy Hello card: Stamps: The Big, the bold, the happy (Winnie & Walter) Paper: White card base (Neenah 110 lb.); Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press) Ink: Watercolour sprays made from Liquid Watercolor Concentrate (Dick Blick) Accessories & Tools: Leafy stencil cut with my Silhouette Cameo), water mister, white embossing powder, heat tool, Rose die-cuts (gifted to me by my friend Bonnie)
Sunset Silhouette card: Stamps: Effulgence (Penny Black); Sentiment - Where your heart is (Simon Says) Paper: Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb. - 400 Series) Ink: Brushos: Lemon, Orange, Brilliant Red; Versamark Accessories & Tools: water mister, Black embossing powder, heat tool, Black acrylic paint and Gold acrylic paint for splattering (Liquitex)
