Masking Tutorial

So today is the tutorial I promised on tricky masking. I did a duck card a while ago. One of the things that is important to know how to do when using Rosies Roadshow stamps is how to mask. Know I know that masking is pretty basic for most of us, but when using a ton of accessories as is common with this line and Magnolia is that you really have to stop and think about order and little tricks to make it easier. Oh ya, and I was also asked a question about creating the blue backgrounds on my stamps.
For starters I make masks out of Eclipse paper for everything I am going to need to mask. The great thing about Eclipse paper is that it is pre-tacky and comes on a big roll. It will last forever and it saves me the time of putting the two way glue on my images. The other thing I have in hand is my Stamp-ma-jig which is essential for proper placement.


To create the duck card I started with placing the mask down in the spot where I would wanted the bath to be. Please remember that I am doing this quickly and am not aiming for perfect placement right now. If you notice, I have cut up a section at the back of the bath so that the bath line will not run through my duck.

Using the Stamp-ma-jig I stamp my duck and shower head.
I remove the bathtub mask and then place a mask over the duck and shower head. make sure the duck and shower mask do not go below the front bath tub line. If you prefer not to cut your duck short, then let the mask sit normal and fill in the lines after you stamp the bathtub. That is what I did so that I could keep my mask complete.
Bathtub is stamped.
I remove my mask and you see the empty spot where the masks were.

I then fill in the lines with my Faber Castell Pitt Pen.

I replace the bathtub mat and and stamp the rug.
Here is the finished piece. It is actually quite fast to do when the masks are all cut out. ( yes I know I did a bad job stamping the rug, I was doing it fast).
Next I hand draw the little hearts. If I had a heart stamp I would use my stampa-ma-jig to stamp them.
Ok, for the background color I use Twinkling H2O's. I pick the colors I want and using my waterbrush and a quick circular motion I pick my points to add and spread color. Usually I go into the V areas and then blend the colors out. You could also use watercolor or re-inkers to do this. If you are not using watercolor paper then please remember to not overdo the water.

I then move in with my darker color and again look for the natural V's to add in a darker shade for more depth. Hope this helps.

Hugs,

Sophie

DT Magnolia

Tonight is another fast post because I just finished my second Stamper's Club and I am pretty tired. This card was finished yesterday, but I have not been able to post till now. I wanted to create something a little different. I wanted my Tilda to be a beautiful brown with dark hair.....like me. I am half Mexican, and wanted her to reflect some of my own heritage. ( my other half is Hungarian). The background panel was created using the images from the Magnolia Goblin line. Tilda is from the most rescent release of their Lilac line. This has such beautiful woodland accessories. I wanted it to look like she was walking through a forest. Tilda was stamped on water color paper, and colored with Caran D'ache watercolor pencils, Twinkling H2O's and Radiant pearls. Back panel was stamped with PTI Stampers select white and colored with Copic Markers and Twinkling H2O's. Paper, CS and flowers are all from Magnolia's web shop. Oh and if you have not heard the news, Magnolia's new forum has opened. Keep checking it out to see upcoming events and information.

DT Lilac Angel

Just a quick posting today. I decided to use the Magnolia Lilac Angel which is one of my favorite from the newest release! She is just beautiful with her bouquet of Lilac's. There is a matching lilac stamp ( as seen in card below). All images are Magnolia, sentiment is Papertrey and Ink ( Green Thumb), Paper, ribbon and Prima are all from the Magnolia shop. Tag is cut with Spellbinder tag dies, Image was stamped on PTI select white and colored with Copic's. Sorry for the short post, but am super busy!
Hugs,
Sophie

Magnolia DT

I saw this card on Anita's Blog, and was totally blown away!! I wanted so much to try something like it. I did not quite succeed, but still like it anyhow. Eventually I will get it down pat!
recipe:
stamps: Magnolia, SU sentiment
Ink: Versamark, Stewart Superior Burnt Umber
Paper: Bazzill, DP from Magnolia's shop, Fabriano, Vellum CS
Other: Watercolor pencils, Radiant Pearls, Twinkling H2O's, ATC glitter, Spica Glitter pen, May Art ribbon, Nestability circle.
to start, I layered my DP on my Brown CS and cut a circle with the nestability. Then I placed it on the pink CS and drew in the circle and then cut that out with the nestability. I stamped all the images and colored them in. For a fantastic tutorial on coloring with watercolor pencils and Twinkling H2O's, check out Katharina's Blog tutorial. Next I stamped the girl in the centre of the piece of vellum CS ( using Versamark) and embossed her with SU glitter embossing pwd. Then I placed the vellum between the brown and pink CS and adhered it. The circle colored girl was placed below. Flowers and sentiment were adhered to frame it and little spirals of paper were added here and there. Hole was punched through vellum and ribbon run through and tied, and glitter was added to the centre of the apple blossoms.
Have a great day,
Hugs,
Sophie

Rakle Stamps

Wow, now this is exciting!! I just got these amazing images from Phebe at Town Scrapper, and let me tell you, I am blown away! This particular image really attracted me because it is so totally boy, with no feminine aspects. The stamp company is Rakle, and I think they are from Norway. The rubber that they are on is really deeply etched and high quality. They come EZ mounted in beautiful packaging. since I was a bit tired of making cards, I thought it would be fun to decorate something that I use. This is a mini Clipboard that I got at the dollar store. It is 6" x 9". I wanted to have a teen boy feel, a nice change from all the girly that I love doing. I did some doodling on the paper ( which is stamped) to look like a bored teens notebook page ( everything but the work he was supposed to be doing), and the Key was sketched and thrown on to show just the sort of stuff you might find in his pocket.

recipe:
Stamps: Rakle Skater boy, CHF lined paper, SU Genuine Article, My own key
Paper: Basic Grey Dp, Fabriano watercolor paper, Whisper White
Ink: Stewart Superior Black, Distress in: Marigold, Marmalade, Vitage, Tea Dye, Walnut Soot, Pine, Shabby Shutter, Jean, China
Other: Bind it All, mix of ribbon, Radiant Pearls, Rangers blue Cloud Acrylic Paint, Mod Podge

Image was colored with Distress Ink and then enhanced with Radiant Pearls. Note paper was stamped with SU Turquoise and then put through the bind it all to give the look of having been ripped out. Next the other side was cut with my Create-A-Cut and given that torn look. Distress Ink in Walnut, Tea Dye, and Soot was spread around to show wear and lack of care. Doodling was added. Key was sketched on watercolor paper, lines drawn over with Faber Pitt pen in Umber and then colored in with watercolor pencils and Radiant Pearls. all images were cut out, and the whole item was painted and adhered. Thanks so much for coming by, and have a wonderful Tuesday!!
Hugs,
Sophie

Magnolia DT-- Warning!

Warning: doing the vellum cut-out will cause squinting and twitches in the eyes, cramping of the fingers, and a strain on your time and patience!!

That being said, I don't know why I get these bright ideas late at night. I wanted to use the beautiful Magnolia flower bundle as a focal point in a card. That's when I decided it would look nice as a medallion in the centre of the card. Well my bright idea took me several hours into the night. It probably did not help that I was watching movies on the movie channel at the same time. For some odd reason it takes me longer to stamp when there is a good movie on.
recipe:
stamps: Magnolia, SU Beautiful blooms
Ink: Stewart Superior Burnt Umber, Distress in Tea dye, Lipstick, white Memories ink
Paper: CS vellum, PTI stampers select, Bazzill, SU Chocolate Chip,DP paper from Magnolia
Other: Copic Markers, Tombow markers, Twinkling H2O's, Lemon and Diamond stickles, SU gold cord, circle nestability.
Ok, for starters I layered the DP on to the brown CS. I then used the circle Nestability to cut the circle. Then I placed the cut out circle on the vellum in the centre and drew my circle. I took the Magnolia flower bundle stamp and stamped it out in a rotating pattern with white memory dye ink. I made sure that no images overlapped, but sometimes touched. I then lay it out on my cutting mat, and with my exacto knife, I cut out tiny piece by tiny piece. I did not try to take out to big a piece at once since the vellum can be fragile, and I did not want to damage my image. Once it was all cut out in the circle, I colored it in on the backside of the white lines with my marker, using the brown to depict the branches of Magnolia tree. Once it was dry I adhered it to the back of my DP/cs layer, and then adhered it to the card base. Twinkling H2O's was used to create the shadow of blue to act as a backdrop. Tilda was stamped on the PTI CS and colored with my copic markers. Her wings were stickled as were the lines of her magnolia blossom and the medallion blossoms. Holes were punched in the CS of the card and cord tied around on both sides. Thanks so much for coming by to peek.
Hugs,
Sophie

DT Magnolia

Yay, yesterday my DT package arrived from Magnolia!! Now I know that you have probably been wondering what on earth happened with my Magnolia cards lately. Actually, we in Canada accidentally got overlooked for the Shabby Chic release. So I was quite excited when the most recent package arrived. If you go over to the Magnolia shop, you will see the latest Club release and Lilac Magnolia! This is one of the images from 2 releases ago, but it is the first chance I had to use it. Flowers, images and most of the paper is from the Magnolia shop! So today I decided to participate in the Friday's Sketchers. Today's sketch is brought by Magnolia DT member Beatrix.

recipe:

stamps: Magnolia, SU Fancy Flexible Phrases

Ink: Stewart Superior Burnt umber, Distress in Tea dye and Shabby Shutter

Paper: Bazzill, Magnolia shop paper, SU Certainly Celery DP, SU Eggplant cs, Fabriano

Other: reinkers, Radiant pearls, Twinkling H2O's, Prima Flowers, Dollar store rhinestone brads, Velvet ribbon, Nestabilities.

Now I know that I promised a tricky masking tutorial, and I promise it is coming. Just give me a wee bit more time. Got a nasty cold along with the kids and have been dragging my feet all week. Honest to goodness it is just one thing after another!

Hugs,

Sophie

Little bits of everything!

Wow, the days just fly by! There is lots going on here. We over here in Petawawa have entered that wonderful period of Spring Cleaning!! Twice a year the trucks will go by and pick up all the large bits of junk that we want to get rid of. It also the time that people go around checking to see what everyone is getting rid of. Sometimes, by the time the truck comes by there is nothing left to pick up. You know what they say...." one man's junk is another man's treasure!". Also I just picked up a baby trailer for the back of my bike. Now this is exciting because that means I can take my fellow with me wherever I want to go. I have come to the conclusion that the less money I give to the gas companies, the happier I will be.
So some new to share, I have decided to step down from my DT position at CCdesign. As you know I have been hinting at a project that I am working on. It is big, I am excited, and I won't be able to share for a few more months. Now I love working with CCdesigns, and I love the fantastic images that Christine comes out with every month. Sadly I don't feel that I can give my all at this time. There is to much on my plate, and I am trying to bring things down to a manageable level. So wish me luck and I hope you will be as excited as me when I can finally say what I have been up to!
OK, so next I have this card that I made over the course of a few days. The image has been stamped and colored since this weekend, and I just placed unto the card today. I usually have a store of pre-colored images that I like to do in my odd minutes of the day. The images are all from Rosie's Roadshow. All I can say is FUN ! I love how you can use them in an infinite amount of scenes. the sky is the limit with these images! I showed the images that I used down below to show you how every image is individual, and it is up to you to mix and match.
recipe:
stamps: Rosies Roadshow, Norsk Stempelblad ClearStamps
ink: Stewart Superior Burn Umber, Soft Sky, River Rock, Old Olive, Mustard, Tea Dye, Vintage
Paper: SU Marigold Morning, Soft Sky, Fabriano watercolor paper, Chatterbox DP
Other: Stamp-ma-jig, Eclypse paper, Prima flowers, EK Retro flower, dollar store brads, stickles, re-inkers, Twinkling H2O's, Radiant Pearls.

I started with coming up stamping my images on Eclipse paper and cutting out for the masks. Image was decided upon and then stamped using stamp-ma-jig. I colored image using watercolor brushes and re-inkers, then intensified the colors with Twinkling H2O's and Radiant Pearls ( originally made by same company as H2O's, and not made any more but I have left over). Stickles was added to the hearts. The image is so shimmery and lovely, and it is too bad that the camera can't truly capture how it looks. Stay tuned for my next posting when I go through the steps of masking. It is a little more complicated then standard masking.
Hugs,
Sophie

Shhhh.......It's a secret!

Well, I am going to tell you a little secret about myself. I love simple cards! There it is. Don't get me wrong, I love the large cards with layers and DP and all that fun stuff. But sometimes, I miss the time when the image was the focal point. One of the things that I love about Rosies Roadshow is that you can create an adorable scene that can be the focal point of your card. I hope you can bear with me as I amuse myself with the simple for a little while!
recipe:
Stamps: Rosie's Roadshow, Norsk Stempelblad Clear Stamps
Ink: Stewart Superior Hybrid in Burnt Umber
Paper: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron DP, Fabriano Artistico
Other: Prima Flowers, Sky ribbon, Copper brads, White Gel pen, reinkers and Twinkling H2O's for coloring.
Frame was stamped and then using the stamp-ma-jig I created the scene. A couple lemons in the basket were popped up, and the basket was popped up. Sentiment hand scribbled ( my writing is not worth beans lol)
Hugs,
Sophie

Glam Girls

If you have not seen them already then I strongly urge you to check them out! This image is part of the most recent release from CCdesigns. Isn't she cute? And isn't she just perfect for those of us who have budding Diva's in our family lol. She reminds me of my daughter when she dresses up in her sequence and rhinestone play clothing! All supplies can be found at CCdesigns, except for the watercolor paper, watercolor pencils and twinkling H2O's.

recipe:

stamps: CCdesigns Glam Girlz

ink: Stewart Superior Hybrid in Burn Umber, Distress in Spiced Marmalade and Vintage

Paper: Bazzill CS and the DP can be found at CCdesign, I'm just not sure what line.

Other: Caran d'ache watercolor pencils, Twinkling H2O's, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinder tag die, Jessie James glitter dots, rhinestone, Crystal effects, May Art ribbon, CCdesign flowers, Create a cut was used for scallop edge.

Image was colored on Fabriano Hot Press 140 lbs Artistico paper. The twinkling H2O's were used to enhance the watercolor pencils. Crystal effects was used to make the glasses appear real, and ultra fine glitter was lightly sprinkled on top. Everything else is super easy!!

Hugs

Sophie

Not my fault!!

I can honesty say that it is not my fault that I have not posted or been around lately. Last week saw me with the mother of all tooth aches. I spent my week grouchy, and on T3's trying to lessen the pain and spending most of my time on the couch. I had no desire to stamp or surf or anything. Needless to say I am getting a root canal on a tooth! How on earth at my age I managed that I have no idea. I have gone all this time without serious issues only to get this. Then I went away for the weekend and came back to a problematic computer. How on earth do you leave for a weekend with everything running fine, and come back to a computer where everything is going wrong? My card reader is dead, my computer almost did not start, my Internet was haywire. And go figure my husband who is my resident computer expert ( I am the resident computer moron) is gone for the month. So I was fiddling for 4 hours trying to get things up and running. You know the drill, sit and carefully read all the options, and click the one that seems it will do the least damage. When all else fails kick! Oh well something worked because I am up and running, with a wacky Internet, and a dead card reader. Direct from camera for me *sigh*. Anyways, now that I have that off my chest, this is my card from a while ago since at the moment I have nothing better to show. But tonight I will present you with something. Images are Hanglar, and sentiment SU. Card is from a Splitcoast challenge awhile ago.
Hugs,
Sophie