Many of my projects are developed by ignoring the traditional approaches of inking and geared toward the “let’s just see what happens if….” approach.
This card was one of those wonderful adventures in inking.
The Snowflake and Holly stamp is presented as a vertical design, but for this card it was rotated horizontally and stamped on white cardstock with Olympia Green VersaFine and heat embossed with clear powder. After coloring the image with Copic markers the whole piece was distressed with multiple colors of ink. Not only did this mute the Copic coloring, but it also yielded a wonderful antique finish.
To add back a “glow”, a white Prismacolor pencil and a blending stump were used around the leaves and berries. The last layer of color was a spray of Gold Sheer Shimmer Spritz. Once the piece was trimmed to size, it was matted with a black piece of cardstock that had been edged in white. While this seems to be an irrelevant application of ink, it really does create a soft transition from the cream card base to the white highlighting around the holly.
Here I tucked in a few little embellishments: a postage stamp from Airmail, a punched snowflake that was distressed and pounced with gold ink and an antique brad.
Edging the die-cut sentiment in black and gold added a nice contrast and complimented the gold and black used throughout the design. A double layered die-cut added more depth which was accented with a gold twine. The twine was created by running heavy-duty carpet thread across a Delicata Golden Glitz ink pad.
Since the artwork consisted of many layers, I selected a 140 lb. water color cardstock for the card. This provided a sturdy base on which to elevate the artwork with dimensional foam tape. A final edging of gold ink finished the card.
While I’ve tried to keep the “method to my madness” short and concise, I would like to add that when working on this I did build and reapply colors. At first the design just wasn’t popping. If you ever get to a point like this don’t give up! Sometimes this is the start of a wonderful inking adventure. Keep adding colors and trying new techniques with the same piece. You’ll never know where it might lead!
Wishing you unexpected inking adventures!
Elizabeth
Supplies:
Elizabeth
Supplies:
Penny Black Stamps: Snowflake and Holly 4206L, Winter Wonders 30-087, Airmail 30-072
Penny Black Mix & Match Cardstock: Storm 01-003
3M Scotch: Dimensional Foam Tape
Canson: 140 lb. Watercolor Paper
Copic Markers
Making Memories: Antique Brad
Ranger: Antique Linen Distress, Vintage Photo Distress, Shabby Shutters Distress, Fired Brick Distress
Spellbinders: Curved Rectangles Mega Nestabilities (S5-006)
Tsukineko: Onyx Black VersaFine, Olympia Green VersaFine, Delicata Golden Glitz Ink, Gold Sheer Shimmer Spritz, Sponge Daubers, Clear Embossing Powder
White Prismacolor Pencil
Other: Heavy Carpet Thread, Snowflake Punch