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A Sea Turtle's Journey - Ink Smooshing
by Colleen Balija on Apr 19 2024
Hi everyone! It's Colleen and I'm happy to be here with you today sharing a fun and colorful card using items from the April release!!! Today I'll be using A Sea Turtle's Journey stamp, Signature Quotes: The Sea sentiment stamp, and Liquid Splatters in Yellow Sunshine. I'll also be using existing Liquid Splatters in Blue Turquoise and Purple Lilac.
This stamp set is so detailed, and you don't need to add much to these turtles to make a great card! There are 2 large turtles and 2 small ones (Mama and baby!) to the stamp set along with some lovely sentiments.
The first step was to create a wash of color that looks like the ocean - I'm going the abstract route here because I'm not great with scenes! I placed some teal-colored reactive ink onto my glass media matt, sprayed water over it, and then placed a piece of watercolor cardstock over the inked area, moving the paper around slightly. Then I dried the ink and repeated the process until I got the coverage I wanted. This technique is called Ink Smooshing and it's FANTASTIC!
Next, I stamped a large and small turtle into each corner of the inked-up card panel in permanent black ink. Picket Fence Studios has a wonderful permanent black ink and it's become my favorite go-to for coloring and water coloring! I had to stamp the turtles a few times because of the watercolor paper, but I got a great image! Then I water colored over the turtles with Liquid Splatters in Purple, Green, and the new Yellow. Then I splattered those same watercolors over the entire panel. These liquid watercolors are sooooo versatile and vibrant!
Once everything dried, I trimmed the panel down, placed it over a slightly larger black card panel, and placed both onto a white card base. Then I finished with a sentiment from the new Signature Quotes: The Sea!
I love how the teal color in the background looks like water, and the splatters add just the perfect touch! To shop the products used in this post, click on the description of the product in the first paragraph of this post. Thanks for stopping by!
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Adding Texture and Dimension with Stenciling and Ink Schmooshing
by Colleen Balija on Mar 28 2024
Hi friends!
I love to add texture and dimension to most of my cards, but I like to keep as simple as possible. So, I've got a fun and glittery card for you today! The products I'm using are You Are So Extra sentiment die, Indian Summer stencil, Paper Glaze Luxe in Gold Ring, Paper Watercolor Splatters in Turquoise Blue, and reactive inks.
First, I grabbed some reactive inks in shades of teal and blue. I like to use reactive inks because they react to water and adds interest! You can find reactive inks just about anywhere! Placing the ink directly onto a glass media matt, I sprayed a little water over the ink and then placed a piece of watercolor cardstock, sized 5.5x4.25, right over the ink and moved it around a bit. Then I dried it with my heat tool and added another layer, repeating the same process with each color of reactive ink until I was happy with the background. Then I added water over the inked-up panel to get that cool reaction that is unique to reactive ink!
Once the panel was fully dried, I stenciled Gold Ring Paper Glaze Luxe over the inked-up area using Indian Summer stencil. I like that you can still see plenty of the inked-up area beneath the golden glaze! I set the panel aside to let the glaze dry and focused on the focal point - that HUGE sentiment!
For my sentiment that says, "You Are Extra", I die cut the bottom layer onto vellum and the top layer over a panel that I had inked up and stenciled with the same ink colors as the background and the Indian Summer stencil. This is a very large sentiment die, so I could get away with adding extra detail to it! Anywhere I can add detail, I'm on it!
I adhered the sentiment over the background panel and finished with liquid watercolor in Turquoise!
This card has so much interest because of the colors, the texture, the dimension, and the shine! Get playful with your stash of PFS supplies and see how you can come up with an easy card that adds texture, shine, and dimension! Thanks for stopping by!
To shop the items I've used on my card, click on the item description!
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by Justin Adkins on Jan 26 2024
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Join Creative Team Member Justin Adkins for a card inspired by spring and and a pastel color palette using our new Sugar & Calorie Free Stamp Set! He has all the delicious details waiting for you over on this post!