Stamping For Pleasure, where we are required to make at least two Christmas items for one blog post.
I decided to make this pair of little cards, just 4.5" square. Not my usual style really but I received these Penny Black clear stamps as part of a prize last year and thought I would see what I could do with them. I had trouble getting a good black impression on the foreground images, I don't know if that is due to the card I was using or the clear stamps, anyway I ended up using black Versafine Onyx Black and embossing it with clear powder, it still wasn't very black but at least I could use Promarkers to colour it with. I stamped again onto masking tissue and cut out and masked the images while I stamped the tree with Versafine Olympia Green ink.I think it looks as though I stamped them on a bit of a lean, they must have suffered in the recent gales!! I coloured them with a bundled sage Distress Marker and used Sakura sparkle pens for the baubles.I added snowy white highlights to the tree and the ground with a white Signo pen.I made another mask for the tree and used it while I shaded the background lightly with tumbled glass Distress Ink, and then stamped some snowflakes with a Crafty Individuals background stamp and the same ink. I used the largest of the Spellbindres Marvellous Squares die set to cut matting layers from some snippets of red card. I trimmed the images to fit and rounded the corners. After fixing all the layers together I stamped the greeting from the same set of stamps and added some Stickles glitter to the snowy bits and some gold coloured gems in the corners.
I am going to post this at the Snippet Playground as well seeing as the red card came from my snippets box.
Thank you for coming to look and for all your kind comments which are greatly appreciated.
Hi Jean . . . two little cuties here. I think the trouble you had is common to all clear PB stamps . . . they don't use the good quality polymer of other brands, so the ink doesn't "stick" to the stamp properly.
ReplyDeleteThese are 2 cuties - thanks for joining in with Rudolph Day.
Hugs, Sarn xxx
Hello Jean, your cards are brilliant, I love the cheeky little faces on the images.
ReplyDeleteluv
irene
xxxx
Love these two images Jean, and you have made two pretty cards. The Marvellous Squares die cuts work really well in the red and frame the images perfectly. I must try and join in with Rudolph Day next month. I seem to keep running out of steam lately. x
ReplyDeleteYou are right Jean; this is not your usual style, but it is good to do something different now and then, and they are two very cute little images. I like the red frames too. I usually find my black memento ink pad works well with the clear stamps, so it may just be these ones that caused the problem. Kate x
ReplyDeleteTwo super Christmas cards, the images look so cute.
ReplyDeleteYvonne
As always two brilliant cards from you Jean, great images.
ReplyDeleteKath x
Oh I love these! Your tree looks great and those added touches are really special...love the snow & your clouds & background too. I would think the Versafine would work well on these detailed images...might a stamp press help get a better - sharper image? I have trouble with some of the clear images sometimes, and the stamp press helps. But I think these look great, so if you hadn't said, no one would guess! Love that S/B matting effect too. Beautiful with your lovely colored images! TFS & Hugs (one other thing I've been told, is lightly sand the image with the sand block...don't know if any of this is helpful!)
ReplyDeleteTwo lovely cards Jean - so sweet. Gorgeous die cut frames as well!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Di xx
The die-cut frame is so effective with your rounded corners & I love the texture on that tree. I'd imagine it is the cardstock for VersaFine is usually very black, plus after that number of inkings I'd have imagined the stamps would be conditioned. Penny Black stamps are normally not a problem in my experience.
ReplyDeleteThe results look fine & I don't think anyone would think about it by looking.
Paula (PEP)
Oh they are gorgeous cards! Come here and stamp me some...oh and can you colour them in too? Ta ;-) xxxx
ReplyDeleteSweet cards :)
ReplyDeleteTwo lovely cute cards x Jan
ReplyDeleteThese are both cute, and I love how the penguin hitched a ride on a sled in one of the cards! Too cute, great images!
ReplyDeleteTwo great stamps and two great cards! Love that die behind your image!
ReplyDeleteHi Jean, just wanted to pop over to say thank you for the lovely comment you left on my Rudolph Day entries - I appreciate it very much. The trees don't look wonky to me, but they may be because I'm sat at an odd angle lol.
ReplyDeleteI have had the same problem with other clear stamps and ink too, in fact most stampers probably have and it's not your fault. I have found that I don't use Distress inks on clear stamps because you can't get a good inking. There are two tips I can pass on, sorry if you've heard them before. If a clear stamp isn't inking well I clean it up and then go over the top with sticky tape or an eraser - it has worked for me in the past. Hope this helps you huni xx