Golden Layers: Adding Foil to Gel Prints

 

Hello friends! Ericka from Strangely Creative here, and today I’m sharing a colorful mixed media journal page featuring a beautiful PaperArtsy Tracy Scott bloom and a gel print with a little unexpected sparkle.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know how much I love experimenting with my gel plate. Sometimes I start with a plan, and other times I simply wonder, “What would happen if I tried this?”

For this background, I decided to experiment with adding pieces of gold foil directly to my gel plate, and I love the random bits of shine it created!

Adding Gold to the Gel Plate

I started by placing small pieces of gold foil randomly across my gel plate.

Rather than trying to create a specific pattern, I let the pieces fall where they wanted. I then added acrylic paint and pulled my print as usual.

The result was a colorful background with unexpected flecks and patches of gold scattered throughout.

I love techniques like this because you never know exactly what you’re going to get. Those imperfect little bits of gold catch the light and add so much interest without taking over the entire background.

 

Creating the Watercolor Bloom

With my background finished, I reached for the gorgeous PaperArtsy Tracy Scott 97 stamp.

I stamped and heat embossed the flower in white, which created a beautiful resist for my watercoloring.

For color, I used the Lindy’s Gang Under the Sea #2 set, letting the colors flow and blend within the embossed lines. The white embossing keeps the bloom feeling light and airy while allowing those vibrant Lindy’s colors to really shine.

Once everything was dry, I fussy cut the flower so I could layer it over my gel-printed background.

Bringing the Layers Together

After positioning the bloom, I added a few simple white marks along the side of the page.

I didn’t want to add too much and compete with the flower or those beautiful flashes of gold. Sometimes a few simple marks are all you need to bring a mixed media piece together.

The contrast between the loose gel print, metallic foil, crisp white embossing, and watercolor creates plenty of texture and movement without needing lots of additional embellishments.

 

Adding One More Layer of Texture

For my final step, I ran the entire piece through my die-cutting machine using the AALL & Create #26 Frayed Frames die.

I love the slightly imperfect, distressed edge it gives the page. It works beautifully with the unpredictable nature of the gel print and gives the finished piece another layer of texture before adding it to my journal.

 

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope this journal page inspires you to pull out your gel plate, experiment with your supplies, and see what happens when you add a little unexpected sparkle to your next print.

Have a wonderful week and happy creating!

 

Topflight Stamp Supplies 

PaperArtsy - Tracy Scott 97 Shop at: TP	AALL & Create - 26 Frayed Frames Shop at: TP	Embossing - Bright White Ultra Fine Shop at: TP	WOW! Embossing - Clear Embossing Pad Shop at: TP	Lavinia - Sentiment Stickers - Uplifting Collection Shop at: TP
Lindy's Gang - Magical Shakers - Under the Sea #2 Shop at: TP	Gel Press - Reusable Gel Printing Plate Shop at: TP	Speedball - 2" Brayer Shop at: TP

Forest Friends Lavinia Card

Hello, Lisa Hoel here. This week at Topflight Stamps our theme is Anything Goes. I had a hankering to build a scene with Lavinia stamps (so satisfying). The background is created with the Lindy's Magicals Pigment Powders set Enchanted Forest. Those powders pack a punch and are fun to use!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the Topflight Stamps store for a wide selection of different and hard to find stamps, stencils and other paper crafting supplies from all around the world! Also keep an eye here on the Topflight Stamps blog. There is new inspiration posted often!

Topflight Stamps Supplies Used:

Lavinia stamps - Ashryn

Lavinia stamps - Forest Arch

Lavinia stamps - Fairy Foragers

Lavinia stamps - Fern Heads

Lavinia stamps - Flora Set

Lavinia stamps - Woodland Fern

Lavinia stamps - Oak Leaf Flourish

Lindy's Magicals Pigment Powders - Enchanted Forest

Lavinia Elements Ink - Soft Cygnet, Pixie Green, Pine

Versafine Clair ink - Nocturne

AALL & Create stamp set - Everyday Sentiments

watercolors

A Scenic Card with Lavinia Stamps

Greetings! It's Tuesday and you've got Kathi here with a project created for an "Anything Goes" week. I missed last week's "Outdoors" theme so I decided to create a scenic card with products by Lavinia Stamps. I've used the Acorn Abode Clear Polymer Stamp, the Hanging Lanterns Clear Clear Polymer Stamp, Dana Clear Polymer Stamp, and the Texture 2 Clear Polymer Stamp with six colors of Elements Premium Dye Ink and the ever-so-useful Hills Acetate Mask.

Use Tuxedo Black Memento Ink by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko to stamp the Acorn Abode Clear Polymer Stamp by Lavinia Stamps twice - once on panel of Bristol paper and once onto repositionable sticker paper.

Heat set the image stamped onto the Bristol paper, which will become the image panel. Fussy-cut the sticker-paper version and adhere it atop its counterpart on the image panel.

Place the flatttest mask from the Hills Acetate Mask by Lavinia Stamps just above the rocks so that it's covering the bottom of the image panel. Brush Soft Cygnet Elements Premium Dye Ink by Lavinia Stamps over the top of the Hills Acetate mask and around the masked Acorn Abode. Next brush Lemon Drop Elements Premium Dye Ink onto the image panel blending the ink colors as you go. Continue this process with the Lime Punch, Pine, and Olive Elements Premium Dye Inks working from the center of the image panel outwards. 

Use a water-filled Fine Spray Misters by Spectrum Noir to mist the ink to add some white speckles and splatter. Remove the Hills Acetate Mask and heat set the panel.

Trace the Hills Acetate Mask onto scrap cardstock or thin acetate, cut along the traced line, and place the upper part of the temporary mask to cover the top part of the image panel.

Brush Bermuda Elements Premium Dye Ink over the temporary mask to ground the 

 masked Acorn Abode. Press the Texture 2 Clear Polymer Stamp by Lavinia Stamps onto the Bermuda Elements Premium Dye Inkpad and randomly stamp over the temporary mask and the masked Acorn Abode to add texture and interest.

Remove the temporary mask and the mask from the Acorn Abode. Color the image with Copic markers. Trim the image panel to 4.25" x 6".

Place the image panel onto a stamping platform so that it's against the bottom, but centered horizontally. Place the Hanging Lanterns Clear Clear Polymer Stamp by Lavinia Stamps facedown onto the right side of the panel so that it's a bit over the right edge. Ink the stamp with Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko and stamp. Remember that you can always re-ink and stamp again if needed to attain a good impression

Clean and dry the stamp. Position the Hanging Lanterns Clear Clear Polymer Stamp facedown in the center of the image panel, but with the end of the stamp slightly above the stamped Hanging Lanterns. Ink the stamp with Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink and stamp. Make sure that the image panel didn't move before inking and stamping again. Unlike me. Oops.

Repeat the above with the Hanging Lanterns Clear Clear Polymer Stamp on the left.

Position the Dana Fairy Clear Polymer Stamp by Lavinia Stamps facedown on the image panel so that her feet and hand are on the stem of the Acorn Abode. Ink the stamp with  Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink and stamp.

Remove the image panel from the stamping platform and thoroughly heat set it. Use watercolor pens to color the Hanging Lanterns and Dana's wings and lantern. Use glitter markers to add yellow glitter to the circles and black glitter to the dots in the Hanging Lanterns.

Edge the image panel with Bermuda and Pine Elements Premium Dye Inks, then edge again with Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink.

Finish by adhering the image panel to an A6 black textured card.

Please pop over to my blog, Kat's Tales of Stamping, for step-by-step instructions and complete supply lists.

Topflight Stamps Products Used:

Acorn Abode Clear Polymer Stamp by Lavinia Stamps

Hanging Lanterns Clear Clear Polymer Stamp by Lavinia Stamps

Dana Clear Polymer Stamp by Lavinia Stamps

Texture 2 Clear Polymer Stamp by Lavinia Stamps

Bermuda, Soft Cygnet, Lemon Drop, Lime Punch, Pine, and Olive Elements Premium Dye Inks by Lavinia Stamps

Hills Acetate Mask by Lavinia Stamps

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

Fine Spray Misters by Spectrum Noir

Thank you for visiting today!

Notes of Love with PaperArtsy

Hi, friends!  Welcome back to the blog.  It's Walter with you today as I kick off a new week's theme, which is . . . anything goes.  I really enjoy the designs of Mags Woodcock.  I first came across her work in Somerset Studio magazine and was so excited to see her products with PaperArtsy on the Top Flight Stamp website.  This week, I used two of her coordinating products, PaperArtsy - Mags Woodcock - EMW004 - Rubber Cling Mounted Stamp Set and PaperArtsy - Stencil - Mags Woodcock - PS517 to create my card.  Let's jump into my process!

I began with an A2 sized piece of watercolor paper that I spritzed with water. Instead of painting with watercolors, I decided to paint with Distress Oxide Ink smooshed on my craft surface and mixed with water.  Using the oxide inks mixed with water gives an opaque, almost paint-like look.  I used a mop brush to first move Tattered Rose around the inside of the paper and then Antique Linen around the edges.

Once dry, I stamped the heart stamp onto the panel using Versafine Fallen Leaves ink.  I also stamped the large heart and small heart onto masking paper and set that aside.  I then stamped the image of the word Love repeated several times using Ground Espresso Distress ink.

I fussy cut each of the heart masks from the masking paper and applied them to the images.  I wanted the brown color of the stenciling to be lighter than the dark shade of Fallen Leaves so I used Ground Espresso Distress Ink to add that contrast.

I removed the masks and added spots of a varying pink color to the hearts and did that with a mixture of Spun Sugar Distress Oxide ink and water.  I then tapped the entire panel with a brush loaded with Tea Dye Distress ink to some vintage grunge.  Some subtle shine was added to the panel using the ovals on the stencil and Delicata Golden Glitz ink.  I also added some splatter using Old Paper Distress Spray Ink.  In order to add further age to the panel, I used a plastic knife to distress the edges and then ran Ground Espresso Distress ink around them.

Some kind of a floral element was needed to truly complete the design.  I stamped three of the small flowers, colored them with alcohol markers, Accented the petals with a gold gel pen, added grunge with Tea Dye Distress ink, and fussy cut them.  They were adhered with double-sided foam tape and embellished with acrylic drops that I colored gold using a Studio Light Gold Metallic Martker.

I'm really happy with this design.  With elements of love, nature, and music . . . it truly strikes the right note!  Thanks for spending some time with me on the blog today.  I'll see you again next week.  Until then . . . be well!

Top Flight Stamps Products Used:

PaperArtsy - Mags Woodcock - EMW004 - Rubber Cling Mounted Stamp Set

PaperArtsy - Stencil - Mags Woodcock - PS517

Tsukineko - Versafine Clair Ink Pad - Fallen Leaves

Studio Light - Essentials - Metallic Markers - Silver & Gold

Under the Lantern Light

 

Hello crafty friends! Ericka from Strangely Creative here, and today I’m sharing a card that was especially fun to make because it was created for my mom’s birthday!

My mom loves raccoons, so when I pulled out the adorable Tumble from Lavinia Stamps, I knew exactly who needed to be the star of her card. I decided to create a magical nighttime scene around him, complete with a glowing lantern, colorful sky, woodland foliage, and just a little sparkle.

Starting with Tumble

I started with Bristol Smooth cardstock and stamped the sweet little Tumble raccoon. I then added the Mini Lamp and Seed stamps to begin building the scene around him.

I wanted it to look as though Tumble was walking with a glowing lantern in the middle of an enchanted forest, so before adding my background colors, I masked him off to keep the image protected.

✨ Creating the Lantern Glow

To create the light around the lantern, I used the Lavinia Circle Masks and began blending Sundance ink closest to the lamp. From there, I gradually expanded the glow with larger circles of Russet Orange and Merlot. I love how layering the colors this way creates the illusion of warm light radiating from the lantern. It's such a simple technique, but it can completely change the atmosphere of a card.

Building the Night Sky

Once my lantern was glowing, it was time to create the night around it.

I blended Della Blue and Blue Atoll across the rest of the background, allowing those deep blues to contrast against the warm yellows and oranges around the lantern. Along the bottom of the card, I added Pine and Pixie Green inks to create the grassy woodland floor.

 

A few spritzes of water over the ink-blended background lifted some of the color and created beautiful little variations that reminded me of stars and texture in the night sky.

Creating the Enchanted Forest

To give Tumble a cozy place to walk through, I stamped several Lavinia foliage and forest images along the ground and around the edges of the card. Layering the silhouettes helped frame the scene and made it feel as though we were getting a tiny peek into Tumble’s secret woodland world.

I then used a little watercolor to add color and shading to Tumble himself, keeping it soft so he still worked with the dreamy background.

Finishing Touches

Of course, an enchanted forest needs a little sparkle! I used a sparkly gold pen to add small highlights throughout the background, giving the scene just a hint of magical light.

To finish the card, I added:

• A simple sentiment strip
• Gold details for a little extra shine
• My signature hand-drawn frame

 

And with that, Tumble was ready to wish my mom a very happy birthday!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope Tumble’s magical evening inspires you to pull out your stamps, experiment with light and color, and create a little story of your own.

Have a wonderful weekend and happy creating!

 

 

 Topflight Stamp Supplies

Lavinia - Foliage Shop at: TP	Lavinia - Forest Moss Shop at: TP	Lavinia - Tumble Shop at: TP	Lavinia Stamps - Mini Lamp Shop at: TP	Lavinia Stamps - Mini Seed Head Shop at: TP
Lavinia - Circle Masks Shop at: TP	Lavinia - Elements Dye Ink - Blue Atoll Shop at: TP	Lavinia - Elements Dye Ink - Della Blue Shop at: TP	Lavinia - Elements Dye Ink - Merlot Shop at: TP
Lavinia - Elements Dye Ink - Pine Shop at: TP	Lavinia - Elements Dye Ink - Pixie Green Shop at: TP	Lavinia - Elements Dye Ink - Russet Orange Shop at: TP	Lavinia - Elements Dye Ink - Sundance Shop at: TP
Tsukineko - VersaFine Clair - Nocturn Shop at: AZ | TP	Lavinia 5/8 Stencil Brush Shop at: TP