Copic Stamping - Together by Penny Black - by Nancy Sheads

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS!  I wanted to share a card I made recently featuring the cling stamp Together by Penny Black. Usually these stamps are colored using dye inks, watercolors or water based markers. But I like to color and stamp them using my Copic markers.

The short explanation of the technique is that I place the stamp in my Misti and color directly on the stamp with my Copic markers. I lightly misted the cardstock with Colorless Blender and then stamp the image. The Colorless Blender reactivates the ink on the stamp and leaves and impression on the paper. I explained the how-tos of this technique in a previous post so I'm going to link to it to save time.

I've found that the key to getting a clear image is using Spectrum Noir cardstock instead of X-Press It for the paper. Other paper may work, but I had Spectrum Noir in my stash. And while I used Colorless Blender to reactivate the ink, isopropyl alcohol may work as well, but I didn't test it. All Copic refills, including Colorless Blender, are hard to find right now so you may need to try isopropyl. Spritz the blender lightly on the paper - I found that the small Ranger Mini Misters were perfect for this technique. Just be sure that you are working in an area with good ventilation.

The design of the card was influenced by a card made for Penny Black by designer Jill Foster. Of course, I can't find the card now to link to it, but the idea of the blue inked background and the creating the frame from the Simple Stackers die came from her. For my background, I lightly blended from corner to corner using Distress Ink in Salty Ocean.

The sentiment was stamped with Versafine Clare and heat set with clear embossing powder.

Hope you found some inspiration. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you again soon!

~ Nancy ~

SUPPLIES

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Spectrum Noir Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock by Crafter's Companion
Stamps: Together by Penny Black; Magical Friendship by Penny Black
Dies: Simple Stackers by Penny Black; Classic Stackers by Penny Black
Inks: Versafine Clare in Nocturne by Tsukineko
Embellishments: Nuvo Embossing Powder in Crystal Clear by Tonic Studios
Copics: B12, B24, B26 (flowers); YG03, YG17 (leaves); Colorless Blender Refill

More Sunflower Power! By Nancy Sheads for The Queen's Ink

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! Hope you are doing well in whatever level of quarantine you find yourself in today. We’ve been keeping ourselves busy otherwise with projects around the house and garden. We sent rugs out to be cleaned, installed shelving in the basement, and redesigned the raised flower beds in the back yard. I’ve been cooking more, although I really miss the social aspect of eating out. Some days are busy and focused and other days nothing gets done. I supposed that’s just the rhythm of the days in these crazy times.

In the meantime, I’m looking for things that spark joy and keep me going through our new normal. For some reason right now, that seems to be sunflowers so I once again pulled out my trusty In Praise of Sunflowers stamp set by Power Poppy and got to work.

To start, I stamped the sunflower and sentiment on white card stock using Versafine Clare in Nocturne, covered it with clear embossing powder and heat set the image. For the background, I blended Distress Ink in Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Fossilized Amber, and Scattered Straw, working from left to right and letting it fade to white. That alone was a pretty background but I felt like it needed something more. So I overlaid the image with the Flourish stencil and blended Barn Door over Spiced Marmalade, Spiced Marmalade over the Fossilized Amber, and Fossilized Amber over the remaining white. I trimmed the panel down to 3.75 in. x 5.5 in. and added a piece of craft foam to the back to provide dimension when I put the card together.

For the card edges, I used the Square Weave Pattern Stencil and ink blended the pattern along the top and bottom edge using Versafine Clare. I covered it with clear embossing powder and heat set it.

After putting the card together, I added a few sequins to add some sparkle.

Well that’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by!

SUPPLIES
Paper: Neenah Solar White 80# & 110#
Stamps: In Praise of Sunflowers by Power Poppy; M-Powering Words by Power Poppy
Inks: Versafine Clare in Nocturne by Tsukineko; Distress Ink in Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Fossilized Amber, and Scattered Straw by Ranger – Tim Holtz
Stencils: Flourish by Stampers Anonymous – Tim Holtz; Square Weave Pattern Stencil by Altenew
Embellishments: Nuvo Embossing Powder in Glacier White and Crystal Clear by Tonic Studios; Honey Bee Sequin Mix by Honey Bee Stamps
Adhesives: Beacons 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue; Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive by Tonic Studios

Bunny Friends by Penny Black. By Nancy Sheads for The Queen's Ink

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! I actually had to look at the clock to be sure that it’s still morning. After so many weeks sheltering in place, not only do the days blur together, but the hours as well. It’s gray and rainy outside so I decided that a little spring cuteness was just the cure for a dreary day.

I have a soft spot for the critter images from Penny Black stamps and this one is one of my favorites. I’ve only been able to find it as a wood mounted stamp but I was able to easily remove the block so that I could use it in my Misti platform.

The image is colored with Copic markers (see list below). For the pots, I underpainted the shadowed areas with a series of cool gray tones before applying the YR colors to give the pots more depth. For the bunnies, I blended from light to dark so that I could control the overall darkness and applied touches of R20 on the cheeks, ears, and paws to brighten the overall look. I used V20 to add shadows on the bunnies and around the pots.

For the grass, I flicked varying shades of YG markers and made of point of flicking over the base the pots even though it wasn’t on the image since grass would grow all around the pots, not just between or behind them. For the sky, I flicked varying shades of B and BG, darker around the pots and lighter as I worked my way up. I used colorless blender around the edges to fade the color into white.

For the die cut sentiment, I blended Distress Ink in Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn on a scrap of white card stock and then ran it through my Big Shot using the Bloom die from Honey Bee Stamps. I cut two more and then stacked the layers together using my Xyron for added dimension. On the top, I applied two layers of Nuvo Crystal Glaze for shine and dimension. The additional sentiment is from the Bloom stamp set also by Honey Bee which I stamped with Versafine Clare ink.

Hope you found some inspiration. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you again soon!

SUPPLIES

Paper: Neenah Solar White 80# & 110#; Hammermill Color Copy Cover 100#
Stamps: Bunny Friends by Penny Black; Bloom by Honey Bee Stamps
Inks: Amalgam Ink in Obsidian by Gina K. Designs; Versafine in Nocturne by Tsukineko; Distress Inks in Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn by Ranger – Tim Holtz
Dies: Crimped Frames by The Greetery; Bloom by Honey Bee Stamps
Embellishments: Nuvo Crystal Glaze by Tonic Studios
Adhesives: Beacons 3-in-1 Advanced Glue; Xyron Create a Sticker Maker
Copics: E30, E31, E35, R20 (bunnies); C1 C3, C5, YR20, YR21, YR24, YR27, R20 (pots); C3, C5, W1, W3 (snails); YG03, YG63, YG67 (grass); B0000, B000, BG10, 0 (sky)

In Praise of Sunflowers Redux - More Watercoloring with Distress Inks! By Nancy Sheads for the Queen's Ink

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! I’m back today with another project using the In Praise of Sunflowers stamp set by Power Poppy. I’m still on hiatus from my Copic markers and have continue playing with Distress Ink watercoloring.

Like my last card, I started by stamping the image on watercolor paper using Verafine and immediately covered it with clear embossing powder. However, this time I did the coloring with an actual watercolor brush instead of a waterbrush. I have a handful of lovely Black Velvet brushes by Silver. These brushes are a blend of natural squirrel hair and black synthetic filament. They hold and carry the water and pigment beautifully and are much easier to work with than the nylon tipped waterbrushes. They are pricey, but well worth the investment if you enjoy watercoloring.

This time I also used a mixture of Distress Ink pads and reinkers. I smushed the ink pads on my craft mat and picked up the color with a wet brush. But where possible, I substituted the Distress Ink Reinkers in place of the ink pads. I placed a single drop of ink on my craft mat and watered it down as desired. Since the ink is concentrated, I could get a better range of shades than with the ink pads. I prefer using the reinkers, but I don’t have all the colors so I had to make do with the ink pads as needed.

In a couple of places, I accidentally colored outside the line. When that happened, I applied water with a clean brush and then blotted the area with a paper towel. The water reactivated the ink and could be easily removed.

I created the background stripe pattern using Versafine ink and a stencil from Wendi Vecchi. Again, I immediately covered the ink with clear embossing powder and heat set it. I matched it with a yellow gingham design paper from My Favorite Things.

SUPPLIES

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Distress Watercolor Cardstock by Ranger; Tiny Check Paper Pad by My Favorite Things
Stamp: In Praise of Sunflowers by Power Poppy
Inks: Versafine Clare in Nocturne by Tsukineko; Distress Inks in Mustard Seed, Carved Pumpkin (petals); Tea Dye, Walnut Stain (flower centers); Bundled Sage, Shabby Shutters, Forest Moss (leaves)
Stencil: Dots and Stripes Borders by Stampers Anonymous – Wendi Vecchi
Embellishments: Nuvo Fine Detail Embossing Powder in Crystal Clear by Tonic Studios

Creative Puttering While Quarantined: Horsing Around By Judi Kauffman for The Queen’s Ink

Recipe for a lazy afternoon:

• Hand- or die-cut a simple silhouette of a horse from medium weight paper to create a stencil.
• Use your heat tool to soften a Magic Stamp block, press it against a piece of cheap polyester lace to create a patterned stamp.
• Stencil the horse with several dark colors.
• Remove the stencil and use lighter colors for the ground and background.
• Depending on the size:
• Use your creation for a card front or a notepad.
• Put it on the fridge and write notes or positive words around it each day while quarantined.

(Die shown: AccuCut for GrandeMARK machine)

YOUR TURN

• Add a horn and turn the horse into a unicorn!
• Hand-or die-cut a bunch of horses and stamp onto all of them, string them together for a garland.
• Paint, stencil and/or doodle instead of stamping.
• Instead of a horse, choose any other simple shape - bunny, flowers, cat, leaf.
• Work directly into your art journal instead of on sheets of paper.