Darkroom Door Christmas Bush Watercolor Background Cards

 

Hi friends!  It's Autumn Clark from SewPaperPaint with you today to share some Christmas card inspiration with you featuring Darkroom Door stamps.  If you're not ready to start on Christmas cards, just Pin this post for later, but I like to get a jump on my Christmas cardmaking and find that seeing inspiring designs really get my creative juices flowing.  I was eager to play with the Christmas Bush stamp set, as it is one of my very favorite Darkroom Door designs.  In fact, this background stamping technique could easily be done in different colors and it could serve as a non-Christmas pattern any time! 

I decided to make two panels at the same time.  I dipped the first panel in Antique Linen to get some background color, but left the second panel white.  I then inked up the stamp with Festive Berries and Rustic Wilderness Distress Inks (red first, so it doesn't contaminate), then spritzed lightly with water before stamping on my first panel.  I then spritzed it again and stamped onto my second panel, resulting in a lighter, more watery look.  This is called second generation stamping, but with a watercolor twist.  I kept going until I had filled both panels.  I then sponged the white one a little with Antique Linen around the edges.  

For the pinecone card, I used the stamp platform to repeat stamp both the pine cone and bough with different colors and a light spray of water between stamping.  The sentiment also comes from the Pine Cones stamp set.  The Santa image was hand stamped by Rachel Greig from Darkroom Door and sent to me in a goodie bag.  He is from the Yuletide Volume Two stamp set.  For both cards I layered with a bit of tattered canvas fabric. 

Here are a couple more cards I made with these stamps. They incorporate the Christmas Bush, Pine Cones, Yuletide Greetings, Lots of Labels and Spanish Tiles background stamps.  I hope these ideas get your mojo pumping!  Hugs, Autumn

Posted HERE @SewPaperPaint

Posted HERE @TopflightStamps

Darkroom Door at Topflight Stamps!

AALL & Create Tracy Evans Astrantia Mixed Media Cards

 

Hi friends!  It's Autumn Clark from SewPaperPaint with you today to share a couple of uplifting cards featuring AALL & Create stamps & stencils by Tracy Evans and Olga Heldwein.  I started by dipping my panels in a combination of Cracked Pistachio, Tumbled Glass and Peacock Feathers Distress Inks, then added the stamped Astrantia.  I fussy cut two extra flowers, adding a little Twisted Citron for a pop and curled their edges with a bone folder.  TIP: Watercolor outside of your lines for ease & to conceal fussy cutting gaps.  :)

I used the word stamps in the set to add some detail to the background, stamping in Peacock Feathers, then sponged Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide through the Mosaic stencil.  I love this stencil so much and used it in another array of cards in THIS post.  I went over the edges of the panels with Finnabair Paper Texture Paste and the stencil, then added a little watery ink, letting it pool between the cracks. 

I finished with Tim Holtz stickers over a bundle of thread.  I just love this stamp set by Tracy and can't wait to use it again!  Hugs, Autumn

AALL & Create at Topflight Stamps!

Fall Crafty Individuals Mushroom Collage Card

 

Hi everyone!  It's Autumn Clark from SewPaperPaint with you today to share some fall cardmaking inspiration.  I fell madly in love with the new release by Crafty Individuals and just had to have the Counting Toadstools and Counting Down Background stamps.  I am a huge fan of collage style images!

I made an inky background with Rusty Hinge, Gathered Twigs and Barn Door Distress Inks, then stamped the mushrooms and background.  I then stamped another and fussy cut it, coloring it with the same inks.  I stitched around the perimeter of the panel, then added a sentiment from the Words stamp set by Hobby Art, which I cut to resemble one of the Tim Holtz small talk stickers.  I hope this card is an inspiration to you today!

Crafty Individuals at Topflight Stamps!

AALL & Create Tracy Evans Autumn Slimline Cards

 

Hi friends!  It's Autumn Clark from SewPaperPaint with you today to share some autumn cardmaking inspiration.  I've combined a couple of AALL & Create stamp sets to make these fall slimline cards.  First, I used my stamp platform to repeat stamp the tree by Bipasha from the Archway set #264.  I used the archway sideways to stamp a little "bridge" or wall, and again on the sides of the cards to make a border. It's always fun to use a stamp in a different way than intended, right?

Next I did what I'll call "strategic ink dipping."  LOL!  I sort of curved my paper to dip the light portion of the card into Antique Linen Distress Ink, then dipped the tree portion into Rusty Hinge.  Then I dipped the top and bottom into Aged Mahogany.  I added some extra droplets of Vintage Photo. 

Once my inky panels were dry, I stamped the falling leaves from Tracy Evans' Pine Cones set #389 with more Aged Mahogany/Rusty Hinge.  I dipped some seam binding into the same colors, then stamped tags with the autumn stamp and added grommets and the crinkled seam binding.  

 

And here are a couple of tags I made last year with Tracy's Pine Cones stamps.  Click HERE for details.  I hope these projects have inspired you today!  Hugs, Autumn

AALL & Create at Topflight Stamps!

Handmade Mark Making Tools for Gel Printing

Hello everyone!  It's Autumn Clark from SewPaperPaint with you today to share a fun tutorial on using your gel plate with "found" items for mark making.  I've been asked to make a video tutorial, and though I'm no videographer, I hope you will find it helpful as you play with your gel plate.  In times like we are facing there is something special about transforming the ordinary into art.  I truly love using stencils with my gel plate and there are many videos that speak to that, but I hope this tutorial will encourage you to use what you have, where you are, the best that you can.  :)  I have used very basic cardstock and old acrylic paints, some that I have had for years.  

Here is a list of the items I used for mark making:

Corks for circles

Images stamped onto Fun Foam and traced with an ink pen

Die cut Fun Foam

Cast off Die Cut Fun Foam

Bottle Caps

Hot Glue designs onto Fun Foam

Poem written onto Fun Foam with ink pen

Hand Cut shapes from Fun Foam glued onto corks 

So here's the printing process video:

And a few collage style cards I made with my prints:

These stamps are by Visible Image (click to shop):

Gel Printed Cards with That's Crafty Stamps

Hi friends!  It's Autumn Clark from SewPaperPaint with you today to share a couple of mixed media style cards made with gel printed backgrounds and stamps by That's Crafty.  I have been having the best time playing with my new 6x6" gel press printing plate.  I shared a video of all of my prints from my latest session HERE on Instagram. 

I picked out my two favorite backgrounds.  The periwinkle was made using this stencil by PaperArtsy, PM006.  I stamped Grunge Flowers Set 4 by That's Crafty onto my backgrounds and again on another less favored background, which I fussy cut and layered for dimension.  For the orchid card I used a paint cap and printed white paint onto the gel press, which allowed multiple prints of circles as shown in the video.  I used the gorgeous border stamps by Tracy Evans for AALL & Create, #34 Circles on the sides of both cards with accents from a Posca white pen.  I finished the designs with some machine stitching and washi tape. 

I hope you're inspired to play today!  Hugs, Autumn

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AALL & Create Blooming Birthday Cards

Hello friends!  It's Autumn Clark from SewPaperPaint with you today to share a couple of bright and cheery birthday cards featuring the AALL & Create Blooming Field stamp set and the Cloister Grille stencil.  

I cut out portions of my favorite gel plate prints, which were made with craft paint and the Cloister Grille stencil.  To get this effect, I laid the stencil onto wet paint on my gel press, then used a scrap paper to lift the paint in the open spaces of the stencil.  I then removed the stencil, allowed the paint on the plate to air dry and covered with a layer of white paint to make the pull.  I stitched around the square panels with my sewing machine and used portions of the Tracy Evans Fritillaria stamp in coordinating Distress Oxides and Versafine ink to add some texture.  

I stamped and fussy cut two of the flowers from Olga's Blooming Field stamp set.  I used Zig Markers to color the images.  I used an octagon die to cut the paper I used to lift paint from my stencils in printing.  It had all sorts of colors and patterns from a day of play and made a unique base for the floral motif.  I edged the octagons in black ink.  

I finished each card with a sticker sentiment, edged with some doodles, and contrasting mat.  I hope these bright and cheery cards will be a blessing to my friends with summer birthdays.  I hope they have inspired you today!

Find these beautiful products at TopFlight Stamps today!