A revisit to the cards I made with the Card-io stamps earlier this month. I was very pleased with the backgrounds, which all look like a 'northern lights' sky. I finally decided that I'd add spots of white acrylic paint for snowflakes, and paint the same on the tree boughs. I put dots of clear dimensional medium on top of the snowflakes, once the paint had dried, and then left the medium to set overnight. (I used Ranger 'Glossy Accents' medium.) It's added a very tactile element to the card, and given a wet-look to the snowflakes, so I'm quite pleased with the end result.
I know the top of the circular 'window' looks a bit wonky on the photo - it's not quite so noticeable on the original card. It's a hand-made item for a family member or for a friend; I quite like those little tell-tales which demonstrate the hand-made quality of a thing.
This is the other card design I put together. I haven't added the snowflakes or the snow on the boughs - just for a different look, but I think I will add the snow on the tree at least, so the tree doesn't look so sad and bare.
It's the background colour of the sky that I'm most pleased about. It has a chalky look which I like, but it was achieved with ink stamp pads. Nothing fancy - just some standard issue pads I bought from Hobbycraft and I've had them for years. I cut a stencil from paper to achieve the snow banks, and used a make-up sponge applicator to apply the ink. It was soft, but without the oil residue that remains on a dried baby wipe, so the effect is a little more scratchy and unblended.
This skyline on the right was achieved with a different paper stencil - the top edge was cut, and the stencil used for the lower snow bank was just torn.
I used the same hobbycraft 'own brand' stamping inks, along with little Versa Color squares in 34 orchid (pink), 20 turquoise (light green) and 19 cyan (light blue). The hobbycraft inks were sold as a 3-pack of red, Green and blue - I think they are selling the same set this year. On some of the other cards I've added hobbycraft dark blue and purple.
The black ink I use is Versafine onyx black. It really does capture fine detail. For less detailed stamps I have a little Dew Drop 'Brilliance' pad in graphite black. It's made by the same people who make the Versafine pad - Tsukineko. The Dew Drop ink is starting to break down a little now - but it is four or five years old.
To blend the colours above I used a slice of a washing-up pad (green and pink in the picture left - I used the green side). Again, the blend has that nice chalky, grainy feel, but soft. I tried with a piece of black Velcro too - the soft side which the 'teeth' lock into. It didn't do anything.
The original card has a really nice pale yellow overtone to the colours, which could only have come from that pea-green hobbycraft ink pad. I'm sorry the photo I've uploaded hasn't really captured it.
I could rattle on for hours about inks and colours and blends - and don't get me started on calligraphy ink! Maybe that'll be another blog for another day ........
