Embossed Magnolia Card With ColorBox Inks

Last night, all cozy and snuggled in my bed, I had a thought.  An epiphany, really.  I had been watching You Tube videos, and noticed that there is a resurgence of interest in ColorBox pigment inks.  People are using them to paint with, create backgrounds with, even stamp with.  I wanted to get out of bed and start playing with my pigment inks, but was just too tired.  So, after church today, I saw this Penny Black stamp on my desk, and thought I would see if I could do what I had envisioned last night in my epiphany. 

Since pigment inks are perfecty for embossing, I knew I wanted to emboss, but wasn't sure how it would look with this stamp.  So, I played, a lot.  After a few practice pieces, I decided to go for it and make a card.

I created the background onto a piece of pink card stock by brushing some distress ink abandoned coral and worn lipstick onto the pink panel, concentrating color at the bottom, and fading it as I moved up the card.  I used my Clarity brush to apply the ink.

Next, using the same colors of distress ink, I stamped the Penny Black Letter Background 1999L and Swirl Border 1969B intermittently onto the panel.  I dried this with my heat tool before moving on to the next step.

For the image, I used the Penny Black stamp The Unfolding 40-450.  I love, love, love this stamp!  I placed the stamp and panel into my Misty, and inked the petals with ColorBox cat's eye shaped pigment inks in coral, pink, rose coral, chianti, and merlot.  I inked the entire petals with the lighter colors, directly from the ink pads.  I wiped off the areas where I wanted the deeper colors with a Q-tip, and used the edge of the ink pad to apply the darker colors to the areas I wanted it darker.  I brushed some of the deeper color further into the petal, using very light pressure, to create a blended look.  I did the same for the stems and leaves, using moss green, olive, and chestnut inks.  I was going for a watercolor look, but using only pigment inks directly onto the stamp.

Since pigment ink does not dry quickly, I had time to create my scene and get all the stamping done before embossing.  Then I embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I wish you could see this in real life....the embossed shine and dimension really creates a dramatic look.  I had some pieces from my practice session, so I fussy-cut one of the flowers and buds and attached it at the top right of the panel with foam tape.

I added some spatters by adding water to some of the pigment inks that I had rubbed onto my craft mat, and flicked it off a paint brush, and added the stamens with a fine tip Sharpie marker. 

Here is a close-up so you can see the shine from the embossing, which really does not show up in the picture....

The color is a little more true in this picture than the first one.

 And a quick look at the inside.....

  Challenges:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Love, anniversary, wedding

Penny Black At Allsorts - Photo inspiration
 

Allsorts Challenge - Birthday - Happy 8th birthday to the Allsorts Challenge blog!  Congratulations!

The Flower Challenge  - Case a design team card (I chose Tae Eun's card and changed the flowers and colors)






Thanks so much for visiting today.  I hope you enjoyed your weekend, and are rested and ready to tackle the new week.  

Blessings,

lynda

Altenew Anniversary Card

Today was one of those days where it rained all day long.  Downpour!  We had a slight threat of a tornado, which is rare indeed for upstate New York!  Thankfully, it did not materialize, although we had some high winds.

So, what does one do when it rains all day?  Why, we play with our stamping supplies and make cards, of course!  And that is precisely what I did.  That is, after I did some Zentangle.  See my previous post if you would like to see a tangle I did for a sweet lady to help her through some very difficult days.

Annnd....here is my rainy day card-making result......

I used Altenew's Vintage Roses stamp set and watercolor paper.  I inked the pink roses with Tim Holtz distress inks, using the lighter pink on the base, and darker pinks on the two other layers.  I added some water with a paint brush between layers, varying the drying times between.  I was going for a hazy, watery look.   I did the same with the orchid rose, but I had to use my Tombow markers, as I had no ink colors in the distress ink line that I wanted for this one.  I just played around with the color and water until I achieved the desired painterly look. Ditto with the leaves, only back to distress inks for those.

The happy anniversary verse is from the same clear stamp set by Altenew.  I cut it in half, and layered it so that it would fit my card better.

I used the same colors for the background, wetting the card stock, then dropping in color and manipulating it to create a back drop for the flowers.  Next, I added some spatters of ink.  When dry, I attached it to a pink card, and added a strip of black and white striped patterned paper along the left edge to balance the black and give it some interest.

Some black Inkssentials Enamel Dots, and some Pretty Pink Posh clear droplets finish it off.

I am adding my card to these challenges:
 
Altenew Blog Challenge - Inspiration picture 



Addicted to Stamps Challenge  - Clean and simple

Make My Monday Challenge - May flowers

The Paper Players Challenge - Tic Tac Toe (pink, green, leaves)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything goes

Well, it's still raining.  It's going to be a soggy week, so I hope the payoff is lots of bright, new flowers and green gardens!

Thanks for stopping in today.  

Blessings,

lynda