Buck at waterfalls

I felt like doing a black and white scene today, here's the result:

The scene is done on glossy cardstock and coloured with dye inks using a Stylus Tool. All the stamping was done with Archival Jet Black ink. Grey and black dye ink was used to colour the scene, starting with the lighter shades of grey and gradually building up darker layers. Parts of the sky, the waterfalls and the lake were left the white of the paper. The water pattern stamp was stamped using first to fourth generation stamping, going lighter where the water is lighter. Mist was added with white pigment ink and highlights with a white gel pen.

Thanks for looking!!

Supplies: Sutter White Tail Buck; Stampscapes: Brook Falls 184G, Pines and Rocks 195G, Ducks in formation 027A, Reeds 067B, Reeds Lg 068D, Water Pattern 231C, Pine Tree 196F, Prickly Branches 271G; Adirondack inks: Lake Mist, Slate; Distress Inks: Pumice Stone, Black Soot; Archival Jet Black; Colorbox Frost White; white gel pen; Kromekote glossy cardstock.

Autumn silhouette scene

This card is for the Hero Arts September challenge (autumn theme). I wanted to try doing a scene with a bigger silhouette image. The scene is done on glossy cardstock and brayered with dye inks.

First, the glossy cardstock was brayered with Peach Bellini, then the moon was masked and the sky was brayered with inks in the following order: Peach Bellini, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge, always leaving a bit of the previous colour showing. The hills were masked with torn paper and brayered with the following inks: Crushed Olive, Bamboo Leaves, Peeled Paint, Pesto, Forest Moss. The trees were stamped with Archival Coffee ink using first to third generation stamping. I used the stem of a flower stamp for the strands of grass. I added just a bit of dry brushed white pigment ink around the moon and highligts with a white and an orange gel pen.

Thanks so much for looking!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Three Winter Trees K5255, Musical Walk F5468, Delicate Leaf Clusters CL477, Scattered Leaves CL298; Stampscapes Ducks in formation 027A; Distress ink: Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge, Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss; Adirondack: Peach Bellini, Pesto; Memento ink: Bamboo Leaves; Colorbox Frost White; white gel pen; Kromekote glossy cardstock.

Dad and Me layout

This layout is for Color Combo’s Galore Challenge #210. Here's the inspiration panel:

The colour combo is very pretty, and woodgrain and ledger patterns are some of my favorites, so I used both. The base of the layout is a ledger paper which has been dressed up with quite a bit of stamping. Here's my layout:

The woodgrain, bird and quote were stamped with Archival Coffee ink. The bird was coloured slightly with Rusty Hinge. The starburst and journaling block were stamped with Distress Ink Rusty Hinge. I like how the distress ink looks like it is beneath the woodgrain, although I stamped it second. The ‘Photographs’ and script stamp were stamped with Pumice Stone – using a second generation impression for the script stamp to just give a hint of text. I also used a sheer house accents (fitting with the architectural theme). The three chipboard pieces were covered with cardstock and the heart was stamped with a thank you definition.

The photos are from a photo boot, and I’ve had the third one from this series of four in a little frame on my desk ever since I can remember. I used a somewhat enlarged version of the photos here. Some close up photos:

Thanks so much for visiting!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Woodgrain Pattern S5100, Starburst Lace S5317, Old Letter Writing S4878, Thank you definition CG268; Red Lead Paper Works bird stamp; Tim Holtz Stamper’s Anonymous Element's of Time and Curiosities stamps; GCD journaling frame; Distress Ink: Rusty Hinge, Pumice Stone; Archival ink Coffee; Collections Elements ruler and word; Maya Road sheer house and chipboard frame; GCD heart and bird chipboard; Tim Holtz film strip; Panduro velvet hearts; twine.

Quilled flowers

Since it is the Play Date Café Challenge is turning #100 and since the inspiration panel was so pretty, I made a second card for the challenge. Here’s the inspiration panel again:

The card is also for the Hero Arts September challenge (fall theme). I was inspired to pull out my quilling paper and make some fringed flowers. Here's my card:

I used 3 mm paper for the flower centers, 6 mm paper for the inner fringed paper and 10 mm paper for the outer fringed paper. A bulldog clip was used to hold the paper while fringing it, this makes it easier to do all those cuts with a scissor. Three strips were glued together and rolled using a needle tool. I use a needle tool when I quill since that makes the centre neat. I only start to roll on the tool, and then roll the rest using only my fingers. Here's a close-up:

The flourish stamp was inked with Peeled Paint, misted with Perfect Pearls and water and stamped on watercolour paper. The script is third generation stamping using Wild Honey. I wiped some of the text off before stamping.

Thanks for looking!!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Bold Flourish S5146, Old Letter Writing S4878, Find Joy CL497; Lake City Craft quilling paper; Distress Ink: Peeled Paint, Wild Honey; Versafine Onyx Black; watercolour paper; Core’dinations Peeled Paint cardstock; Kaisercraft rhinestones.

Fruit-o-mania

Here’s my layout for the How Much Is Too Much challenge #181 (Johnny Appleseed). Janet challenged us to do a layout using 3 apples; the color combo of yellow, red and green, 3 red, 3 yellow and 3 green embellishments (buttons, brads, twine). Check out what the team did on the blog. I hope you will play along with us!

Since I had never heard about Johnny Appleseed, I had to look him up. Interesting character and I understand why he loved apples, I do too. This was a fun challenge! I did my layout about Anton’s love of fruit (the title translates to something like ‘Fruit-o-mania’), apples being the number one favourite (although he is eating papaya on the photos). I found some journaling cards that worked well for the challenge and the topic, and the layout came together quickly. I used three stamped apples, one in each colour, and the same with the three buttons, brads and twine.

Journaling summary: ‘Anton loves fruit and apples are the big favourite. Papaya, pear, peach, strawberries, grapes, watermelon, oranges, everything tastes wonderful. Bananas on the other hand are no good at all. He used to share fruits with me, but no more sharing, now he want the whole fruit to himself. He is eating papaya on the photos.’

Supplies: Hero Arts Four Apples and alphabet stamps; Artistic Outpost and Oxford Impression word stamps; Distress Ink: Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, Fired Brick; October Afternoon journaling cards; buttons; twine; Reprint heart brads.

Watercolour Bridge Scene

This scene is for Play Date Café Challenge #100. Here’s the gorgeous inspiration panel:

I was inspired by the watercolour picture to the top left and built a scene around a bridge stamp. I used Distress Inks to colour the scene, smeared on my craft sheet, misted with water and applied with a paint brush.

The scene is 8.5" x 5.5" (22x14 cm). The stamping was done with black ink on watercolour paper. First, the bridge was stamped and then the rest of the scene was stamped around that. Trees were added on both sides to extend the scene, the river bank was extended with the Sedge Filler stamp. This is one of my favourite scenic stamps, it is a humble stamp that can make a big difference to a scene, filling out empty space, adding texture, patches and fields of grass. The Tall Grass stamp was also used here and there to build the grassy bank. The animals were added to the scene to give it some life.

Distress Ink Peeled Paint, Wild Honey and Rusty Hinge was used to colour the scene. By varying the amount of water, you can get a range of different shades from the same ink. After colouring, the Oak Branch and various grasses were stamped on the edges to frame the scene.

Thanks so much for looking!

Supplies: Beeswax Bridge Scene 1188R, Rock Wall 18E, Doe in snow 1213F; Stampscapes: Sedge Filler 251C, Tall Grass Sm. 254B, Lilly Grass 295C, Maple Pair 239D, Prickly Branches 272G, Migrating Birds 151E, Oak Branch 203g, Oak Branch Sm., Foliage 035A, Reed Lg. 067D, Cattails 016B; Sutter Swan Pair D-1485; Distress Ink: Peeled Paint, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge; watercolour paper.

Something of the marvelous

This card is for Card Patterns #133. Here's the sketch:

Here's my take on the sketch:

The card is done on glossy cardstock and coloured with dye inks in a streaking motion using a Colorbox Stylus tool, starting from the edges and going towards the middle. I started with a light yellow ink, leaving the centre the white of the paper. Gradually darker inks were applied, but never covering the previous lighter inks completely. There's a great tutorial on the Stampscapes site for this technique, here.

The leaves were stamped with Archival Sienna ink and I messed up the stamping a bit. The sentiment was stamped in the middle and the oval cut out and matted. The remaining paper was cut into three panels and mounted on white card. I had to trim the one side of the cardstock a bit, and got it skewed. The panels were already firmly stuck down, so I had to leave it like that. Thanks so much for looking!

Supplies: Stampscapes: Twisting Leaves 274G, sentiment; Inks: Jenni Bowlin: Lemon Drops; Memento: Tangelo; Distress Ink: Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick; Archival ink Sienna, Jet Black; Kromekote glossy cardstock.

Window Clouds

This card is for the Hero Arts September challenge (window card theme). I needed to do another welcome baby card. This card is single layer on the front, except for the ribbon, flowers and bling.

The clouds were stamped with Archival French Ultramarine ink and the children were white embossed. Then the surface around the children was inked with green and brown Distress Inks. I cut out three of the clouds and stamped the sentiment on the inside, as well as a little bird. The windows were backed with acetate.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Clouds S5215, It's A Parade G5469, Antique Engravings CL383, Basic Lowercase Letters LL188, Printer’s Lowercase LL762; Archival Ink French Ultramarine; Distress Ink: Shabby Shutters, Vintage Photo; Kaisercraft rhinestones; ribbon; flowers.

Seasonal watercolour cards

After I did the Spring Birch card yesterday, I wanted to do another three cards using the same technique, for the remaining seasons. I had a lot of fun with these. For all three cards, the stamping was done with Versafine Onyx Black on watercolour paper. Distress inks were smeared on my craft sheets, misted with water and applied with a paint brush.

The summer card is inspired by a tree I saw the other day which had lots of pink and purple flowers, but no green leaves.

Supplies: Stampscapes: Oak Tree Lg. 179G, Flock 112A, sentiment; Distress Inks: Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Tumbled Glass, Dusty Concord, Worn Lipstick, Victorian Velvet; Versafine Onyx Black, watercolour paper.

I added lots of leaves to the autumn tree and some extra life in the form of a buck. I think I should have placed the buck on a hill that was closer, because it ended up looking a bit too big.

Supplies: Stampscapes: Leafless Limbs Lg. 053F, Buck Lg. 009B, Ducks in Formation 027A, Bare Branch 121B, sentiment; Distress Inks: Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmelade, Vintage Photo, Walnut; Versafine Onyx Black; Archival ink Coffee; watercolour paper.

The winter tree doesn’t have leaves, but I still wanted to use the same technique with the dots as on the other cards, so I let the dots be snow instead. Pumice Stone makes for a really nice snow colour.

Supplies: Sutter: Snowy Leaf Tree G1273; Stampscapes: Gulls 302A, sentiment; Distress Inks: Pumice Stone, Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans; Versafine Onyx Black; watercolour paper.

Thank you so much for looking and visiting!!

Spring Birch

Some happy news, my Fall card was picked as the Super 6 winner at Card Patterns!

My mom once gave me a printed kitchen towel which is far too pretty to be used in the kitchen. Instead, I’ve hung it on my one bookshelf as an extra sun protection for the containers my photos are stored in. It hangs right in front of me as I sit at my desk and for quite some time now, I have wanted to do a card inspired by the towel. Recently, I got hold of this birch stamp which was perfect for the project. I love birch trees with their white trunks and spring green leaves.

The tree was stamped on watercolour paper and I drew a few additional branches to make it extend a bit more into the scene. The watercolour background was done with Distress Inks, smeared on my craft sheet, misted with water and applied with a paint brush. I used a torn piece of paper as a mask. The leaves were applied with the same technique, mixing Shappy Shutters and Crushed Olive, and using a brush in a pretty random manner. When the scene was finished, I was thinking that I should perhaps have left a little bit more of white space among the leaves.
Thanks so much for looking!

Supplies: Sutter Stamps Right Birch I-2151; Stampscapes Ducks in formation 027A; Distress Ink: Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive, Tumbled Glass, Black Soot; Versafine Onyx Black; watercolour paper.

A is for

This layout is for Color Combo’s Galore #209 (theme: create a project focusing on a single person or object). I thought these photos worked well with the combo and I was also inspired by the inspiration board to design the layout a bit like the bookshelf on the photo, in three horizontal ‘shelves’. Here's my layout:

The background patterned paper was stamped with a text dot stamp in Versafine Smokey Grey and then again with a swirl stamp using Archival Vermillion ink. The teal cardstock opens up and the journaling is underneath it (I wrote pretty much journaling about how he was when he was 4 months old). The ‘A’ was embossed with several layers of UTEE, finishing off with a layer of red embossing powder.

Thanks for looking!!

Supplies: Tim Holtz Stamper’s Anonymous flourish stamp; Hero Arts text dots, apple, and letter stamps; GCD Label stamp; BasicGrey, Pink Paisley patterned paper; KI Memories lace paper; MME and Scrapbook King rub-ons; October Afternoon sheep sticker; MM chipboard letter, letter stickers and definition stickers (‘bliss’ and ‘smile’); Tim Holtz Sizzix mini tag and labels die; 7G photo turn; Fiskars border punch.

Clear Thistle card

This card is for the Play Date Café Challenge #99. Here's the inspiration board:

The glasses on the inspiration board inspired me to do a clear card, and I wanted to use flowers. Here's my card:

I used a thistle stamp from Crafty Individuals that I hadn't inked up before. I wanted the thistle to be lilac, but the text and the frame to be black. To get this effect, I first stamped everything with Lavender Brillance ink and then inked only the frame and text with black ink and overstamped it. A stamp positioner is essential for this technique, especially for such a detailed stamp, since the text and thin frame had to line up perfectly. The rose ribbon was coloured with Scattered Straw reinker mixed with water. The butterfly was painted white and covered in yellow glitter. The acetate was embossed and I used a really old piece of patterned paper behind the stamped panel.

Thanks for looking!!

Supplies: Crafty Individuals thistle stamp; Hero Arts sentiment stamp; Brillance Pearlescent Lavender ink; Versafine Onyx Black; Scattered Straw Distress Ink reinker; Memento Cantaloupe ink; Tim Holtz Sizzix embossing folder; Tim Holtz trim; chipboard butterfly; MM glitter; Kaisercraft rhinestones; metallic mesh.

My first home

Time for a layout, which I forgot to post earlier this week. This is my layout for the How Much Is Too Much challenge #180 (Home Sweet Home). Debbi challenged us to scrap about our home, use a house embellishment, use the colours of a room as the basis of the layout and use: 4 rub-ons, 9 buttons and/or brads, 3 labels or tags and 6 patterned papers. Check out what the team did on the HMITM blog. I hope you will play along with us!

Here's my layout:

I loved this challenge. Instead of scrapping about our present home, I made the layout about my first home and wrote 5 pages of journaling (tucked behind the layout). I am happy to have documented my memories. I also used the colour scheme of the house for the layout – seventyish green, orange, brown and yellow. The patterns and embellishments were also chosen to fit with the theme (felt, raffia, woodgrain, owls, flower brads, chipboard accents etc.). The dry embossed cardstock looks very similar to the wallpaper in one of the bedrooms. The house was cut from a piece of patterned paper and embellished further with ribbon, mica windows, and rub-ons. I was happy to use some rub-ons and an old pack of flower brads. The gate, key and key hole were painted with silver paint.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: BasicGrey, Webster's pages, Jilly Bean Soup, MME patterned papers; 7Gypsies labels; Core'dinations cardstock; Tim Holtz Sizzix key, caged bird, and hanging signed die cuts; chipboard gate; MM brads; HS chipboard letters; BG and Jenni Bowlin letter stickers; Maya Road rub-ons; felt; raffia; grungepaper.

Harmony parallel with nature

I was very happy to see that my Just Because card was picked as one of the Fab 4 at The Play Date Cafe! Thank you for all the comments on my card.

This card is for the Lily Pad Resist challenge. Resist is one of my favourite techniques and you can use it for so many different things, here I used it to create a frame around a stamped scene.

The photo frame was white embossed on glossy cardstock and then the scene was stamped using dye inks. The embossed frame resists the ink. The scene was coloured with blue dye inks, using a Stylus Tool, starting with the lighter inks and gradually building up colour. Mist was added with white pigment ink. I stamped the rowing boat before colouring and should have stamped it with darker blue ink, because it ended up looking a bit ghost-like. The second panel is a watercolour piece with Perfect Pearls and stamped with a swirl stamp. The background Core’dinations cardstock was embossed and sanded to reveal the inner core.

Thank you so much for looking!

Supplies: Stampscapes stamps: Lakeside Cove Lg. 049G, Boating Fishermen 093B, Cloud with Rising Moon 197E, Cattails 016B, sentiment; Studio Calico photo frame stamp; Hero Arts Magical background CG211; Ranger Archival Cobalt ink; Adirondack: Aqua, Stonewashed, Denim; Memento: Danube Blue; Colorbox Frost White; Core’dinations cardstock; trim; cheese cloth.

Baby and Fall cards

I have two cards to share today. The first card is for the Hero Arts September challenge (Fall theme) and for CardPatterns #132.



The leaves were inked with orange, red and green shades of Distress Ink, misted lightly and stamped on a watercolour background. The background was stamped with a text stamp and then again with a swirl stamp. The swirls were gold embossed. I was planning to have the cream cardstock as the base, but forgot to open the card when I did the stitching, so I had the mat the whole thing on a green base. Thanks for looking!!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Real Leaves LL684, Flourish Background (CG119), Seasonal Memories LL007; Distress Inks: Rusty Hinge, Spiced Marmalade, Forest Moss, Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany; Tim Holtz Sizzix scallop die; felt; velvet ribbon; Kaisercraft rhinestones; Dymo.


The second card is a welcome baby card and I will add the name to the card as soon as know what the little girl will be called. This card is for the Hero Arts September challenge (window card theme) and using the Color Combos Galore #208 colors (theme: use pearls).

First, the blue frame was stamped and clear embossed. The window was cut out and the inner frame was stamped on the inside of the card. The girl was stamped in the middle. The dots were stamped with white pigment ink and then I used Dimensional Pearls on each one to create the pearly background. The butterflies were stamped with blue pigment ink, clear embossed and lightly sponged. I added a printed transparency in the window. Here's a close up:

Thanks for looking!!

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps: Just Because CG351, Three People LP204, Three Artistic Butterflies LP215, Raindrop Background S5101; Distress Ink: Victorian Velvet; Memento: Lulu Lavender; Versacolor Atlantic; Colorbox Frost White; Dimensional Pearls White Opal; organza ribbon.

Just Because

Here’s a second post on this first blog day, because I wanted to meet a challenge deadline. I love doing challenges and this card is for the Lily Pad Resist challenge and for Play Date Café Challenge #98. This is the gorgeous inspiration board for the PDCC challenge:



I especially liked the picture in the top middle and used that as inspiration for my card. Here's my card:

The background was sponged with Distress Ink Scattered Straw, using a torn paper as a mask. I added a little bit of brown and then dark blue at the bottom. I am not sure if I got the colours quite right, but I liked how they turned out. The birds were stamped with second generation Vintage Photo and then the branches were stamped on top. The second panel is canvas coloured with Distress Inks and then misted with Perfect Pearls and water and stamped with a script stamp. I wanted to use the same colours in the background piece as in the focal piece. A piece of glossy cardstock was brayered with Scattered Straw, then the envelope pattern stamp was stamped on top and clear embossed. Finally, Chipped Sapphire was brayered on top and the embossing resists the blue ink.

Thank you so much for looking!!

Supplies: Cherry Pie branch stamp; Stampscapes Migrating Birds Lg. 151E, Hero Arts: Envelope Pattern S5507, Just Because CG351, Old Letter Writing S4878; Distress Ink: Scattered Straw, Vintage Photo, Chipped Sapphire, Broken China; Versafine Onyx Black; Perfect Pearls; Spellbinders label dies; Kaisercraft rhinestones; velvet ribbon; DMC floss.

Welcome to my first blog post

Welcome to my first blog post! I have been on the fence for quite some time regarding whether I should start a blog or not, and finally decided to do it. I am planning to keep the blog relatively simple and it is not finished yet. Earlier this year I hosted a challenge on Two Peas which I called ‘Layers of ink’, and I thought that would work well as a name for a blog devoted to stamping and papercraft. A big thank you to my friend Jan for having come up with the name.

Here’s a little bit of info about me. I have been doing arts and crafts my whole life, but papercrafting is the one that has totally captured my heart and mind. I have been making cards since 2002, when I got the idea of making my own Christmas cards. It turned out to be a brilliant idea and cardmaking has given me numerous hours of fun since then. I also scrapbook and enjoy switching between the differently sized space of a card and a scrapbooking layout. My stamps are my absolute favorite tools and I love creating something using only white paper, stamps and ink. I love trying out new and old techniques, to experiment and try different products and tools. The possibilities are truly endless.

This first post is about the blog header. I love scenic stamping, so I wanted to stamp a scene for the header. This 8.5” x 11” scene is done on glossy cardstock and coloured with dye inks. It is the longest scene I’ve made so far.

Most of the stamping was done with Archival Jet Black ink, except for the sun, clouds and water pattern, which were stamped with blue dye ink. All the stamps are from Stampscapes, such gorgeous stamps. I first stamped the cabin, masked it and stamped the Autumn Bank on top, using a stamp positioner for precise placement. Then the Autumn Bank and Brook were stamped, lining them up. The sun was stamped in the sky and then again in the water, without reinking. The scene was coloured with a Colorbox Stylus Tool and Fantastix brush tips, starting with the lighter shades of ink and gradually building up darker layers. I tried to get a lot of variation when it came to the green shades of the trees and used darker green and Pesto in the shadow areas. The water and the sky were coloured with relatively light shades of blue ink and leaving quite a bit of the paper white. Pink was added to some areas. Then the water pattern stamp was stamped with first to third generation stamping. I love the life and texture it gives to a mass of water. I wish it was me sitting in that rowing boat.

Thanks so much for looking and for visiting!

Supplies: Stampscapes stamps: Autumn Brook 212G, Autumn Bank Left 213G, Autumn Bank Right 214G, Hot Sun 285E, Cloud Strips 281F, Cloud Strips Sm. 296C, Lilly Grass 295C, Cabin Sm 248A, Migrating Birds 152D, Prickly Branches 272G, Reeds 067B, Row Boat 166A, Oak Branch 203G, Water Pattern 231C, Pebbles 256A, Tree Cluster 244E; Adirondack ink: Aqua, Stonewashed, Willow, Pesto, Hazelnut, Espresso; Distress Ink: Antique Linen, Shabby Shutters; Jenni Bowlin: Soap Powder, Chewing Gum; Memento: Bamboo Leaves, Pear Tart, Danube Blue, London Fog; Colorbox Frost White; white and coloured gel pens; Kromekote glossy cardstock; Colorbox Stylus tool; Tsukineko Fantastix brush tips.