Hi Creative Friends,
I am sharing one of my favorite kind of card designs. This one is a lovely winter scene with the sweetest tiny birds. I used the recent Penny Black’s Take Wing stamp set to create this one.
This card is for my sister’s birthday. She loves nature so I hope this makes her smile… and you too!
I started with a 5″x7″ hot-pressed watercolor panel with 1/2″ border of tape around all the edges. It is best to use a very-low tack tape, like Purple Tape (see supply list below), for this so it doesn’t tear your panel when removed. After the panel was taped, I mounted the panel and positioned the stamps into my stamp positioner.
The stand of trees was stamped using waterproof ink, my favorite being Versafine Black Onyx. After I had a clean and clear impression, I let it dry thoroughly. Inks like these have a very long open time, so if you go to the next step too soon, it will surely smudge!
Now that the ink was dry and using an old (but in good shape) brush, I liberally applied liquid hand soap to the bristles, then carefully painted the trees and birds with masking fluid. At the same time, I cut a round of masking paper for the sun (or moon if you prefer to call it) and placed it on the panel.
After the fluid was completely dry (it didn’t take long!), I began coloring/painting. Using a piece of torn masking fluid, I masked off the snowbank, and then colored the sky with a blending brush. I started around the sun/moon with Scattered Straw, then gently added Wild Honey. From there, I blended on Stormy Sky and added shadow with Chipped Sapphire.
Hint: if all this seems confusing, check out our video here for a visual/audio demonstration.
After I was happy with the sky, I removed the masked snowbank, rubbed off the masking fluid, and removed the sun/moon mask. Next, moving the masking paper, I blended Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot distress ink to add shading around the trees. This also created small snow drifts.
The birds were painted with Crackling Campfire, Rusty Hinge, and Black Soot distress inks and the trees were painted with a very watery solution of Black Soot.
For the finishing touches, I added a little Scattered Straw and Wild Honey inside the sun/moon and mounted the panel to a 5″x7″ card base.
I toyed with adding a sentiment but in the end, I couldn’t bear it, I loved the scene so much. ♥
