Ink comparisons

I thought it might be helpful for an ink comparison of some of the darker more neutral colours.  I used my dye and pigment inks to give you an idea of their coverage and their hues.

You can see the difference between Memento's Tuxedo Black ink and Versafine Black Onyx, for example.  Versafine is a much richer more opaque ink that really coats the stamp giving good coverage.

Some are VERY different in colour - for example, even though Hero Arts mid tone wet cement would seem to be a gray/grey tone, it is more of a browney or taupey gray/grey if that makes sense. 

You can see how saturated the colour of the camera is in this picture - if I had used Tuxedo Black, it would've been splotchy but Versafine Black Onyx worked perfectly!

So what are your go to neutral inks?  Do you prefer dye inks or pigment?

Supplies:
Inks: Hero Arts mid tone; Versafine; Memento

Runway Inspired RIC#40: Stella McCartney

This colour combo is so not my usual so I thought it was perfect to challenge myself. 

I pressed some Studio Calico Hearts and Arrows wood veneers into ink - Fresh red currant and mango and since I didn't have a bright enough yellow, used some dollar store pearlescent paint.  I added some Rock Candy Stickles for a little shine.

I made a little mistake on the sentiment - I meant to stamp the U in Hero Arts mid tone wet cement and then layer the rest in Versafine Black Onyx over top but stamped the U in black first so reworked the whole thing a bit.  Oops!  To get the gray part all in one line, I covered some of the words with washi tape before stamping into the ink pad and then removing it to stamp on the card.  This is another way of masking sentiments.  (The sentiment is configured in a stacked row so I had to get creative unless I wanted to cut it apart ...)

Supplies:
Paper: Staples 110lb white
Stamps: PTI Live Love Life
Supplies: Versafine Black Onyx; Fresh red currant, mango; Hero Arts mid tone wet cement
Misc: Studio Calico Hearts and Arrows wood veneers, dollar store yellow paint, Glossy Accents

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My next card also features Live Love Life from PTI's uber talented Maile Belles:

I stamped the sentiment repeatedly using Hero Arts mid tone wet cement and Versafine Black Onyx before adding the hearts in red currant, mango and harvest Fresh inks.

Supplies:

Paper: Staples 110lb white

Stamps: PTI Live Love Life

Ink: Hero Arts mid tone wet cement, Versafine Black Onyx, Fresh red currant, mango and harvest 

Thanks to RIC for the colour challenge!  Happy hopping to you all!  Oh, and if you are looking for some crafty supplies, check out my sale page here to see if anything catches your eye.  I've got grid journalling cards, an impression plate and some stamps!

CASology cue week 54 - gold

I stumbled upon Week 54 of CASology's challenge - gold.  I have gold mist, gold ink and even gold paint and sequins!  I used a few of these supplies to create some cards using this as my jumping off point.

For my first card, I used some LCI woodgrain cardstock that I misted with Mister Huey's gold mist.  I also added a Heidi Swapp resist chipboard heart that I pressed into my Brilliance Galaxy Gold for some more gold shimmer.

 Here's a closeup of some of the shine - hopefully it comes through in the picture:

Almost one layer, right?!  And no stamps - can you believe it?!!! :-0

Supplies:
Paper: SU Basic Gray, LCI woodgrain
Misc: PTI Wonderful Words hello die, Heidi Swapp mistable heart, Mister Huey's gold mist

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For my next card, I grabbed my pack of Studio Calico Speech Bubbles wood veneers (from the Snippets collection) and pressed one of them into my beloved Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink pad.  Love this ink!!

I stamped my nephew's name using Versafine Black Onyx using Lawn Fawn stamps - alpha stamps are great for personalizing cards!

I added some gold heat embossing with Zing powder combined with Versamark and PTI's Irresistible Ikat set.  Very simple but striking patterns in this set.

Since I had the alphabet stamps out and his name all lined up, I changed the first letter to a capital (it wouldn't fit on the speech bubble!) and stamped a wooden tag.  I used a bicycle stamp (Hero Arts Joy Ride) underneath it since he loves scooting so much!  I know he will appreciate it and my sister can use it for her scrapbook.  I'll add some baker's twine to it and a glue dot or three on the back so it's all ready for her.

Tip for stamping on wood - use pigment inks NOT dye inks unless you want the ink to bleed .... ask me how I know!?

Supplies:
Card
Paper: Staples 110lb white
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Claire's ABCs
Ink: Versamark, Versafine Black Onyx,  Brilliance Galaxy Gold
Misc: Zing embossing powder (gold),  Studio Calico Speech Bubbles wood veneers

Tag - wooden tag (Impress rubber stamps), Lawn Fawn Claire's ABCs, Versafine Black Onyx, Fresh steel blue ink, Hero Arts Joy Ride

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One more card to go - when I make cards for a challenge or hop, I like to pull a bunch of supplies that might work and then just build up my stash.  Why not, right?

I have seen this technique before with the full alphabet die cut out and then just a few letters highlighted in some way.  Thought I would give it a go with 'hi' and had a piece of gold shimmer card stock already cut out to use the alpha die cuts.

I glued a piece of patterned card stock behind the 'h' and 'i' and then added some Glossy Accents for shine.

I added a ton of  foam dots behind and popped the panel up onto a piece of white card stock which served as my base.  I made the gold card stock basically reach down top and bottom and only had it matted with white on the sides for a bit of a different effect.

Here you can see the shine from the shimmery paper and the Glossy Accents a bit better:

Oh, and I think I have found the trick to Glossy Accents - I used to keep it nozzle down with my bone folder, pens and X-acto knives but now am storing it on its side and it hasn't clogged and the glue is always ready to go.  Tombo Mono Multi I store nozzle down but Glossy Accents seems to prefer lying on its side ... whatever works, right? :-)

Supplies:
Paper: Recollections gold shimmer, Staples 110lb white, scrap red patterned paper
Misc: PTI Outline Alphabet die set, Glossy Accents, foam dots
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If you are looking for some crafty supplies, check out my sale page here to see if anything catches your eye.  I've got grid journalling cards, an impression plate and some stamps!

Papertrey July Blog Hop - colour combo challenge: fruits of summer #5

Here is another Papertrey blog hop colour combo - yum!  A very citrusy array of tones:

This one is pretty straight forward with some layering of inks with Rosie Posie and Rosie Posie step 2 (Fresh harvest and mango).

 I added the sentiment with multiple inking using fuschia and merlot:

The sentiment is from PTI's Mini Blooms set.  Love the combo of sentiments!!  I decided it needed a little more oomph so I used my canvas impression plate - love the texture it adds.

For my next card, I did some splattering of inks here on this card which is definitely NOT my usual style!  I took a Project Life grid card (I'm selling some extras here) and misted it with Mister Huey's spray.

I added a sentiment in Fresh mango ink and three circles in hibiscus burst, scarlet jewel and melon berry.

Some splatters on the card base and a popped up grid card and that's it!

Do you need some journaling cards for your scrapbooking or stamps or impression plates?  Check out my sale page here for more details.

Happy hopping!  I love these colour challenges because they really get me to step out of my comfort zone and try combinations I might never usually reach for.  I always make a bunch of cards to see what I can do ... how about you?  Do you have difficulty with colour combos or are sketches more challenging?  How about inspiration pictures?

Papertrey July Blog Hop colour combo #3 - fruits of summer

Another great colour combo over at Papertrey:

I took a SSS piestra die and made a mask with some Eclipse paper and sponged Fresh merlot, red currant, mango, tuscan olive and sicilian blue.

I added the sentiment with some black ink (Mini Blooms) and that's it!  A very simple one layer card.

Oh - and if you need any new supplies, check out my sale page here for some crafty items I have on sale now ... if you need some new supplies, see if any of my items interest you.

Papertrey July Blog Hop - colour combo challenge: fruits of summer #1

This month's blog hop has some gorgeous colour combos!  The one above is just one of many.

 I took some Pink Paislee arrows (on my sale page - see below) and pushed them into my ink pads - Fresh sugar, red currant and fuschia.

 You can see the resist pattern that comes up a bit better above.  I then took a Happy Trails sentiment and stamped it in Tuscan Olive ink.  I added some score lines to the card base and that was it!

My next card didn't start out as a holiday card but when I stamped the medallion from Round Repeats and saw the finished product, it looked like a Christmas combo to me! Fresh inks used were fuschia, sugar, tuscan olive and red currant.

I added the sentiment from Holiday Lights in black and then took some Rock Candy stickles and coloured in the empty spots.

Hard to see the shine but it's there! I also used the Linen impression plate for some more texture.

I just got some new patterned paper from PTI and thought I would use it for this colour combo:

 I cut out Lovely Layers die cuts of the medallion and added Simply Chartreuse which I stamped myself with Studio Calico grid pattern background stamp and added Glossy Accents to.  I popped up the medallion with some foam dots and stamped the same grid pattern using Fresh mango ink.

The sentiment, from PTI is Fresh fuschia and the ever present go to black Versafine Black Onyx.

Well, I think that's about it for this colour combo!

Enjoy your hopping!! Oh, and check out my sale page here for some crafty items I have on sale now ... if you need some new supplies, see if any of my items interest you.

Papertrey July Blog Hop - colour combo challenge: fruits of summer #4

Here is another gorgeous combo at this month's Papertrey blog hop:

Love it!!  Here is the card I made:

I took my Niji pearlescent watercolours and did some washes of pinks and greens.  Then I cut out the negative part of hello and glued back the middle of the 'e' and 'o' while popping the woodgrain cardstock up with foam dots onto a Smokey Shadow base.

Supplies:
Paper: LCI woodgrain, PTI smokey shadow
Misc: Niji pearlescent watercolour paints, PTI Wonderful Words hello die, foam dots

With the die cut, I decided to make one more card:

I stamped banners in Fresh sugar (too light on the grey so I restamped with Jenni Bowlin spun sugar), Fresh fuschia and pear.

I popped up the die cut with foam dots as I couldn't find my clear ones ... :-)

Supplies:
Paper: LCI woodgrain, Staples pale grey
Stamps: PTI Sketched Shapes
Ink: Jenni Bowlin spun sugar; Fresh fuschia, pear
Misc: Niji pearlescent watercolour paints, PTI Wonderful Words hello die, foam dots

Happy hopping!! Oh, and check out my sale page here for some crafty items I have on sale now ... if you need some new supplies, see if any of my items interest you.

Festive Friday 13 - silver, pink and white

Well, the talented ladies over at Festive Friday have created some gorgeous cards with this new colour challenge combo:

Isn't that a pretty combination of colours?  Well, I made some more holiday cards to add to my stash.  Without further ado, here they are:

Well, the talented ladies over at Festive Friday have created some gorgeous cards with this new colour challenge combo:

Isn't that a pretty combination of colours?  Well, I made some more holiday cards to add to my stash.  Without further ado, here they are:

I used Holiday Lights from PTI with some Fresh sugar ink and silver embossing powder.  Ah, the joys of heat embossing - so simple and yet so effective!

Here's a close up of the embossing magic:

For my next one, I inked up Hero Arts Cling Dots with Fresh sugar ink and then layered it with a piece of grid card stock from Papertrey. 

 

I just got this paper pad and love it!  I have a thing for grids and graph paper so this fits the bill quite perfectly!

For my next one, I used some Blush Zing embossing powder which actually looks a little more pale peach than pink but I went with it!  I used a WMS set that a friend gave me for the ornament and then heat embossed in silver embossing powder for the sentiment from PTI's Bountiful Banners.

Very simple and CAS but perfect to mail since it is nice and flat.  Always good since so many stamps are used for holiday cards already ... plus my digital scale has decided to stop working so I can't weigh my envelopes anymore ... will have to invest in a new one. :-(

My next one uses a set that I just got - PTI's Round Repeats.  I simply love these medallions and they are so easy to stamp and line up!

A closeup of the embossing of the WMS sentiment and the layered medallion - LOVE this!!  I will have to try it with a rainbow colour combo next.

I made a tag to go with the card using aluminum tape and a SSS border die for the edge.  I used From Me To You for the to and from and then one of the sentiments in the WMS set with some sugar on the edges of the tag.

Well, that's it!  Thanks for the inspiration, Meredith and crew!  You girls rock!
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Check out my sale page here for some crafty items I have on sale now ... if you need some new supplies, see if any of my items interest you.
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Supplies: 

Paper: Staples 110lb white

Stamps: PTI Holiday Lights

Ink: Fresh sugar,  Versamark

Misc: Zing embossing powder (silver)

 

Paper: Staples 110lb white, PTI patterned paper (sweet blush)

Stamps: PTI Holiday Lights, Hero Arts Cling Dots

Ink: Fresh sugar,  Versamark

Misc: Zing embossing powder (silver)

Paper: Staples 110lb white

Stamps: PTI Bountiful Banners, WMS 2011 Holiday Ornaments

Ink: Versamark

Misc: Zing embossing powder (silver, blush)

 

Card supplies

Paper: Staples 110lb white

Stamps: PTI Round Repeats, WMS 2011 Holiday Ornaments

Ink: Fresh sugar, Versamark

Misc: Zing embossing powder (silver)

Tag supplies

Paper: Staples 110lb white

Stamps: PTI From me to you, WMS 2011 Holiday Ornaments

Ink: Fresh sugar, Versafine Black Onyx

Misc: aluminum tape, SSS hexagon border die, WRMK corner chomper