Good morning all! Well, we are in the New Year and as I get older time does seem to fly past... I was just thinking: do you remember when we were all sitting there wondering if the world was going to be plunged into the dark ages when the year 2000 hit us? There was so much speculation at the time! Now we have even past the date set in the 'Back to the Future' films and as, everyday technology evolves, it leaves me wondering if we are heading for a 'Terminator' like future...
My way of hiding from the everyday is usually to disappear into a magical world somewhere, so I decided to create a little magic with my samples for this week. To help me, I have used my Brushos again, as these are such quirky little pots of wonder that scream fairy dust and mystique to me!
To start, I decided on a card blank size (6x6") and decided on the size of the layer my 'topper' was going to be. I then sectioned off this size on a piece of Watercolour Card so as to help me plan my layout and positioning. I like to use Watercolour Card with Brushos as the fibres in the card allow for some 'playtime' with the pigments and are more forgiving. I will try to elaborate on this as I go along...
My first stage was to stamp a castle stamp from my stash (Visible Image) into one corner of my topper area. I stamped using Black Onyx Versafine to preserve the detail and heat embossed using Clear Wow Powder as this would allow me to colour the picture using my Brushos (you could just use Jet Black Staz On if you'd rather, but I am partial to embossing!). I also stamped the same image onto a sticky note to create a mask for later on.
Putting my mask over my castle, I sprayed some water over the rest of the topper area I had sectioned off and then sprinkled three of the Brusho colours onto my paper (black, emerald green and turquoise).
Next I wanted to colour my castle. I sprinkled some of the crystals from the black Brushos pot into a palette and added some water. I then painted the castle, trying to add some light and shade for some depth. The cardstock helped me to blend the watercolour and use the pigments just as you would a paint normally.
Next, I stamped a large Lavinia dragon stamp and embossed as before. I realised after I had done this that I really should have stamped the dragon first before applying the Brushos, as you could see some of the intense colour through his body (hard to see in the picture, I know).
Right, here is where you will see that my card making in this case took a slight deviation from the original plan... I didn't like the colours I had chosen, or the 'translucent' dragon! The colours are great for a different card, but not using the plan I had in mind, so here's where my journey went...
Not wanting to waste my castle, I cut this out of the paper ready to use again. I drew the topper size out again on a fresh piece of Watercolour Card, placed the castle into position and then stamped the dragon where I wanted it.
I removed the castle and then applied yellow, leaf green and brilliant red Brusho crystals to the card randomly. I sprayed water onto the card, adding more where I wanted to brighten the colour. I also 'dabbed' the card using a muslin to remove some of the colour intensity creating a more muted effect. Once this was dry, I used a script stamp to stamp across the whole page (using the 2nd generation of ink). At the last minute I realised I wanted a sentiment, so I used the Lavinia 'Believe in Magic' stamp in the corner. Around the edge of the card I wanted to echo the theme and so some 'fire' seemed in order for my dragon. I reached for my Indigoblu Flitter Glue and applied around the outside edges with a sponge. I then applied some Morris Dance Gilding Flake and rubbed over to burnish (there are loads of options for flake colours, I used Morris Dance as it has loads of green and I wanted to pick this out).
Finally, my topper was nearly complete! I stuck to my card blank, matting with some green card. I applied my castle shaping it first, adding some string and some charms. I made it very 3D with some glue gel. This worked really well I think, and gave some dimension. There you have it; not as planned, but it evolved and I like the final one better anyway!
In the same vein, I also created a more 'feminine' magic card as well... (the last one was really for my husband's birthday!)
This time I stamped Lavinia's 'Nissa' onto Watercolour Card and embossed in the same way as before. I also stamped the same sentiment, some insects and some Dandelions. I then applied some water, Brusho colours and blotted the paper. Once dry, I stamped some more Lavinia Foliage stamps in the background, this time using Vintage Sepia Versafine. Some ink around the edges and to ground the fairy, some Silver Glitter dotted around the scene and on the fairy wings and the card is complete.
I hope you like them both! You can't beat some escapism.
Thank you for reading,
Lots of love,
Martina
xx
