Permanently Perfect

I hardly ever do perfect... Part of the reason I love the vintage grunge style of crafting is that I don't have to worry about that extra smudge. :)  The Funkie Junkie Inspiration Ave is challenging the team to use Archival inks because they are a permanent ink!  I love archival inks and the variety of colors along with the ability to not smudge and dry quickly!  

The beauty of the archival ink is the ability to use other mediums which you can blend and spray without losing the sharpness of the inked image. I also love the various colors which can be paired with watercolors to change the way the image looks.  I decided to use the same image and ink it up with three different archival inks and color the image with the same watercolor to show  how the outline ink can change your art and how it appears. 

I started with three scraps of paper that I cut into a tag shape.  I then stamped the flower with three different archival inks.  

For my next step I used a pink watercolor pencil and a water brush to add shading to the flowers. 

I loved the effect of all three flowers and how they looked different just because of the ink used on the outline stamp.  The watercolor pencil was the same for all three and yet each flower looks like they have a different shade of pink and green.  

I also used the archival ink to ink up the edges of the tag all around just create a nice crisp line.

Then I took each flower and created a different background  using a mix of distress inks, distress ink sprays, and archival inks to add texture and interest. 

On this first tag I stamped the flower on a scrap paper and cut the flower head out and laid it over my tag's flower.  I then stamped the field label using black archival ink in an alternating pattern.  I then used post it notes to mask off the rectangles to sponge in distress oxide ink in the alternating rectangles. 

I finished with a stamped sentiment which was cut and applied at different angles.  

For the next tag I used a new stencil with the same distress ink to add a little visual effect in the background of the tag. 

I could have used the mask but because I was randomly applying the distress ink, I just sponged around the flower.  

I also used a watercolor pencil (black) to add a hint of shading around my flower to make it pop from the paper.  I used a water brush to soften the shading of the black watercolor and was able to do this because the archival ink will not respond to the water brush. 

I added a hint of distress spray inks to the background and use the same effect on another piece of card-stock to stamp my sentiment and apply. 

For my final tag I wanted to use the archival ink to add the pattern to the background of the tag.

I stamped the pattern using the same archival ink.  The pattern started to take away the focus on the flowers so I smeared watered down white acrylic paint to soften the effect of the archival ink.  

I added shading again with the black watercolor pencil around the outlines of the flowers to make them really stand out.  I finished with a splatter of distress oxide stain spray spritzed onto my craft mat and picked up randomly onto my tag. 

I hope this inspired you to try out your various archival inks in a fun way.  I wanted to share with you the first thing I did when I received the new archival inks.

I always smear a solid section of the ink pad onto a scrap piece of card-stock.  (you also can use labels which already are ready to stick on your ink pad container)

Then I cut strips and tape them to the ends of my ink pads.  Because I have a wonderful ink rack my husband created for me that stores all my archival inks that looks like this: 

It makes it really easy to pick out my ink pads whether they are in the rack or stacked up on my craft desk. 

Suzz

Products:

• Ranger Archival Ink Aubergine
• Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black
• Ranger Archival Ink Wine Celler
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Abstract Floral
• Ranger Tim Holtz Watercolor Pencil - Black Soot 
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stencil - Deco Floral
  
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz - Curiosity Shop
  
• Ranger Distress Oxide - Peeled Paint
• Ranger Distress Oxide Stain Spray - Peeled Paint
• Ranger Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz - Love Notes
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz - Mr. Rabbit
  

The Flowers are Coming!

The Funkie Junkie Inspiration Ave is blooming with inspiration!  The team is highlighting flowers in anticipation of the flowers bursting open for spring!  

I wanted to play with my new watercolor pencils in Scorched Timber, Jet Black and White.  I decided to play around with limited color and just highlight the neutrals with the flowery images. 

I love the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz set Floral Trims.  They let you color away with the beautiful lined flowers. 

My goal was to see if I could use the brown, black and white watercolor to highlight the flowers and just use accent colors in the background and leaves. 

For my circular image I stamped the image using a distress ink in soft gray. I was hoping to highlight the image using watercolor pencils and shading. 

After stamping the image I used the scorched timber to add a touch of color around the petals of the flower and the green watercolor pencil in the leaves.  I then used a water brush to soften the edges of coloring. I came back with a yellow watercolor pencil to add a touch of yellow to the center of the flowers.  I used the water brush to blend that and soften the edges.

After I finished with my coloring and blending I decided to come back with the black watercolor pencil and add the lines again to the image to really make it pop.  I also shaded around the outside edges of the images with a hint of gray and blended with the water brush. 

Sometimes when I finish a project and the colors are softer and don't really pop out at me I will clear emboss the entire image.  This will make the colors richer and more intense.  I did that with this image. I sponged the entire surface after it was completely colored and covered it with clear embossing powder. I then heat set the embossing powder. Sometimes this takes two coats to get a clear finish. 

I then mounted the circle image on several circles before placing it on a black cardstock base and adding the coordinating butterfly and stamped sentiment. 

For my next experiment, I stamped the floral image with black archival ink on white cardstock.

Then I shaded and blended with the watercolor brush inside the flowers using the black watercolor pencil. I added a bit more shading with the brown watercolor pencil.  Blending each time with the water brush.  I came back and added a  heavier shading of black around the inside of the image.  

For the leaves I used the green watercolor pencils and colored around the inside and blended with the water brush.  

Next I decided to bring in pink around the outside of the flowers and a golden brown around the leaves.  I colored on the outside of the lines and then used a water brush to soften the edges and blend the color out. 

I finished the image with a black cardstock base and a stamped sentiment. 

I really wanted to use the white watercolor pencil and I tried a few different ideas and this was the one that worked most successfully.  I started with stamping the image using versamark and clear embossing powder to create an outline of the image on black cardstock.

After that I took the white watercolor pencil and shaded and blended the white inside the flower.  This made the white disappear into the black cardstock.  I came back and colored again with more pressure and further out to add more shading.  I didn't use the water brush as I wanted the white to pop off the black background in my second round of coloring.

To make the flowers really pop from the background I came back with a white gel pen and outlined the image to make is move and stand out.

Then the sentiment was stamped with Versamark watermark and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  I mounted the image on white and then a black card base. 

Not your typical spring flowers but I had fun exploring the use of white, black and browns with the flowers. 

Suzz

Products: 

• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz - Floral Trims
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Tiny Text
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz  Love Notes
  
• Ranger Tim Holtz Watercolor Pencils Black Soot & Picket Fence 
• Ranger Tim Holtz Watercolor Pencil - Scorched Timber 
• Ranger Tim Holtz Watercolor Pencil Set #1 
• Versamark Watermark Ink
• Ranger Clear Embossing Powder
• Ranger White Embossing Powder
• Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black 
• Ranger Distress Oxide Ink - Hickory Smoke
  
• Black Cardstock