Inked Holly: Visible Image

Hey everyone…

How is everyone?  Hope you’re all good.

Hands up who’s seen the new Christmas stamps and stencils for Visible Image yet?!  Oh my… aren’t they fabulous?!  I love the grungy mixed media sets (endless possibilities) and the stencils give you those two classy ‘Christmas’ titles as well as that cute bauble!

I have been beavering away behind the scenes creating some samples for Helen and Mark and this was one of my first…

I adore the Inked Holly stamp. I’ve always loved a good holly and ivy stamp but the take Mark has put on this is  fabulous!  So, I began by making my typical inky, drippy background using Distress Oxide Sprays (Chipped Sapphire, Faded Jeans, Salty Ocean and Tumbled Glass) and after leaving to dry, I added the white heat embossed segments of the stamp around the edges.

I then had a brainwave to use one of the music stamps, Music Speaks, to add the music as I was humming ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ whilst making this! (You are too now, right?!)  For the music I used  Versafine Clair’s Morning Mist ink pad and wiped any excess off the white heat embossed image.

To add some texture to the background, I used the Mesh It Up stencil.  I have a few little Liquid Pearl bottles that I rarely use and though they would look fabulous through the stencil.  Having squished a good lot of the Platinum Pearl out onto my glass mat, I added the medium using a palette knife and left to air dry.

The central focal point of the layered stamp was super easy to make.  After die-cutting a circle in watercolour card, I added Distress Spray Stains (not Oxides!) to create a watery effect.  I used the same colours as before but obviously you get slightly different colours because they’re not oxides.   Once completely dry, I heat embossed the stamp using WOW!’s Metallic Platinum powder and then three times more onto a separate sheet of watercolour card.

The leaves and berries are coloured using my Arteza watercolour brush pens and I’ve then given all three a spritz of Tattered Angels ‘Pretty Pink’ Glimmer Mist.  Once dry, I’ve fussy cut each one out of the main stamp and layered the holly leaves at a slight angle to each other using foam tape adding Ranger’s Glossy Accents to the top berries.  Then I  added some red cheesecloth behind the die-cut to break up the background.

Before adding to the card, I drew around the edge of the die-cut (and the background) using the WOW! Freestyle Tool added the same platinum powder.

This stamp is perfect for creating mixed media Christmas cards and tags but you could simply stamp it in one colour and colour it for bright and gorgeous Christmas tags or cards.  So versatile!

All the Christmas stamps and stencils are available to pre-order now and are released on Friday 18th September… so plenty of time for all that Christmas crafting!

The design team have been busy making samples to share some inspiration for each of the stamp sets and stencils so keep checking the Visible Image Facebook page for lots of ideas!  You can check out their Instagram page too and Helen has been updating  daily with all our makes.

Catch you again soon for another Visible Image make… H xx

Words of Support: Visible Image

Morning, morning, morning…

It’s been a few weeks since the new Visible Image stamps and stencils came out and by now I’m assuming you have a favourite or two!  When the DT were shown the stencils waaaaay before they were a reality, I was super excited to have a wordy stencil such as  Words of Support and one that was so poignant was just such a breath of fresh air!

This make was super simple but I’ll give you a quick run down…

I started the make using a gel press background I’d already created a while back.  I used a 7″ circle press for this and just brayered on pink and white acrylics.

I love the fact that the new Ripped Fishnet stencil is outline free so I popped him on top of the gelli print and used Distress Oxide Ink Pads to add some colour.

I didn”t tape the stencil down so had to be a bit careful but look at the what you get…

… lovely mottled effect!

I wanted to use the words separately so trimmed a hole in some scrap paper to mask off areas and to blend the colour, I used a mixture of Picked Raspberry, Dusty Concord and Seedless Preserves.

The jigsaw pieces from the Don’t Judge set, were stamped onto another pre-made background that I added some shimmer mist too, trimmed and added to the card using foam tape.

The small sentiments, also from the Don’t Judge set, were then stamped around the edge before trimming and matting onto black card and then to an 8×8″ card blank.

A really lovely card to send to someone in need a little hug… and here’s the lovely goodies I made it with…

For more ideas and inspiration, you can check out Visible Image on Instagram and follow the hashtag #visibleimage where you’ll find so many amazing makes from all over the world!  Plus the  Visible Image Facebook page has daily posts from us design team members as well as all Visible Image fans.  It’s a lovely community so pop on over if you haven’t already!

I’ll catch up again soon… H xx

Daisy Daisy from Visible Image

Morning everyone!

I am loving this beautiful weather we’ve been having lately, pottering around in my garden and I have a few beautiful blooms of Daisys popping out between some foliage… although I don’t get many Hummingbirds making an appearance unfortunately!

For this weeks Visible Image DT inspiration, I’ve used two new stencils, Daisy Daisy and Heavy Rain and overlaid the beautiful Life is Beautiful Hummingbird.

So here’s how I did it…

I began by trimming some watercolour card to 7.5″ square and laying the Daisy Daisy stencil in the middle.  I’ve given it a good spritz using the new gorgeous Speckled Egg Distress Oxide Spray and then carefully removed the stencil before drying.

As I wanted to stencil over the flower, I used the stencil again to make a mask and secured it in place with some low-tack masking tape.  I’ve then used the Heavy Rain stencil to add the fabulous lines across and up/down using the oxide ink pads shown.

To give the Daisy some definition, I’ve used my Derwent Intense pencils on the petals, some I’ve used a water brush on and some I’ve left and when this layer was dry, I added a few swishes of white Posca pen.

The Hummingbird was added using a stamping platform as I wanted a good coverage and knew I may have to re-ink it two or three times. I’ve used Chipped Sapphire and Dusty Concord Oxide ink pads for this, dabbing the ink pads over the stamp, stamping it on the background and then  changing colour.

The sentiment is also from the Life is Beautiful set and has been stamped using Versafine Clair Rain Forest and added to the card using foam tape.

To complete the make, I’ve matted it onto a navy card and then onto an 8×8″ card blank.

I am loving the new stencils and stamps… what’s your favourite?  Ripped Fishnets is very popular stencil and I love it too… but I also love Words of Support.  Great for journal makes and you may have seen my journal page I recently posted on the group page using that alongside the new Bad Day stamp set.

If you’ve bought any of the new releases (or anything Visible Image to be honest!) keep an eye on Instagram and the #visibleimage as there is sooooo much amazing stuff being posted daily… and of course, the group page on Facebook has fabulous cards and makes uploaded too!

Enjoy the weather while it’s lovely and sunny (I hope it is wherever you are!) and I’ll catch up again soon xx

 

Chaotic Shaker Card: Visible Image

Hey everyone,

How is everyone?  Hope you’re all well and adjusting to getting to back to normal-ish again.

I’m back today sharing a card I made using the new utterly fabulous Ripped Fishnet stencil from Visible Image.  I want to say straight out, I didn’t set out to make a shaker card.  Shaker cards are way off my radar and not sure what happened!

I started out with the Ripped Fishnet stencil and some modelling paste which gave an awesome texture.  Once dry, I used Distress Oxides to colour the entire background (Mustard Seed, Wild Honey and Spiced Marmalade).

As I wanted the texture to stand out more, I popped the stencil back over the dried one and using a blending brush, added Ripe Persimmon.

To use up some backgrounds I already had made, it was about now I decided to make a shaker card.  Never again.  I don’t have the patience or the neatness for anything requiring restraint.

This background was made using the Scribble stencil and I die cut it before spraying with Distress Spray Stains to make a nice bright colour.

The rim of the shaker circle was also a pre-made background using Grate-Ful that I also die-cut.  I can’t even explain how I made the shaker bit as I’ve permanently erased it from my mind as it was so stressful!

The central flower for the shaker, from the Creative Chaos stamp set, was stamped using Versafine Clair (Nocturne) onto another background made using the wonderful Drizzle stencil.  After trimming the flower, I positioned where it was to be on the background and then stamped it in black again so the stem would come out of the shaker and continue down the card.

Having adhered the flower to the centre of the shaker, I added some Tonic Nuvo Sunset Yellow Butterfly Confetti before topping with a heat embossed sentiment on acetate.

To finish, I’ve added two of the smaller flowers from the Total Chaos set and randomly stamped the DNA stamp around the edges of the card.

Have to say, I do love the finished card but I think I’ll stick to my textures and layers in future!

Find tons of inspiration over on the Visible Image page on Facebook or on Instagram by searching the hashtag #visibleimage.

Catch you next time, H x

 

Under the Sea: Visible Image

Hello everyone…

Welcome back to my blog!  Today I’m sharing a bit of a busy make using the new Ripped Fishnet stencil from the wonderful Visible Image.

I started with a basic green and grey shaded background to which I then added the Ripped Fishnet stencil.  Over the stencil I added a mixture of Chipped Sapphire, Stormy Sky and Faded Jeans Oxide Ink.

For some reason (and I have absolutely no idea why) I decided to add these large green bubble shapes which I’m not sure about now.  I used the Mesh It Up and centre of the Daisy Daisy stencil to add some interest to them and splattered them with white Posca pen and indian ink.

The Ripped Fishnet stencil is crying out for sea themed makes and I had to do one to get it out my system so I grabbed Dare to Swim and Art Rebel for those gorgeous fish!  The fish were heat embossed onto a tag I hadn’t made into anything… and the jellyfish stamped and then clear embossed to seal the colours.

The jelly fish was coloured using a mixture of Derwent Intense pencils and Arteza Brush Pens before being trimmed and set aside.

I decided to add some fine-liner scribble around the bubble shapes and then added the Scripted Streets text dotted around for some extra texture.  For a little bit of sparkle, I added the cute shoal of fish in WOW’s Aquamarine powder and they do look lovely and shimmery.

For the seaweed, again I’ve clear embossed over Distress Oxide inks and coloured as I did the jelly fish.  They’ve then been layered on the card using foam dots with the fish woven in and out.

The images have been layered and I’ve added some glossy accents to the circles on the jelly fish and dotted a few around as bubbles.

The sentiment, courtesy of the 2020 Vision set, has been stamped twice to create a slight shadow and I’ve given the large circle the glossy accents treatment to match the rest of  the card.

It’s a very busy card and a bit quirky but I kind of like that!  Here are the Visible Image products I’ve used for the make…

If you’re a Visible Image fan, I hope you’ve managed to catch some of the Facebook Lives Helen and Mark have been doing.  Mark has been demoing the new stamps and stencils and showing the design team samples we have all made.  Loads of new inspiration every day on both Instagram and Facebook and not just by the DT, by everyone… and every one is amaaaazing so do check it out.

I’ll be back soon with another Visible Image make… bye for now xx

The Forest: Visible Image

Hello again everyone…

Lots and lots of new Visible Image stamps sets and stencils out (or coming out) in the next couple of weeks and I’ve been really lucky to have been sent some of each to have a play with.  I’ll be honest, I was slightly over excited when they arrived… such an amazing release and Mark has done it again for #teamawesome.

So today I’m focussing on The Forest stencil which is just beautiful and I have 2 makes to share with you.  Once again, the quality of all the stencils is just amazing… perfect thickness… as I hate it when you spend out for stencils and they turn out to be all whispy and thin, don’t you?

I absolutely love the colours on this card and it was so easy to make.

The back ground is made using Distress Oxide Ink Pads in an Ombre effect using Chipped Sapphire, Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord and Picked Raspberry.  I then lightly tapped on some black indian ink for a bit of texture and some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Pretty Pink for some gently sparkle… and  the light really reflects off the sparkle on the finished card.

Overlay the stencil and make another ombre effect using Black Soot, Hickory Smoke and Weathered Wood and ensure the inks are dry.

With the background complete, I used the foreground stamp from the Into the Woods stamp set and added Versafine Clair Glamorous to the bottom and their Warm Breeze to the trees.  I used a stamping platform for this as I wanted a real hit of colour so over the colours a couple of times.  When satisfied, I heat embossed them using WOW!’s amazing Clear Embossing powder.

For final touches, I heat embossed the cute little owl in black and then the sentiment, also from the Into the Woods set, onto black card, trimmed and added using foam tape.

My second make today starts off with a grey smooshed background using Distress Oxide ink pads in Hickory Smoke, Ice Spruce and Weathered Wood.  They’ve also been given the indian ink and Glimmer Mist treatment for extra interest.

I’ve done another ombre background on this card too but this time used Black Soot, Chipped Sapphire, faded Jeans and Dusty Concord,

I’ve then used Prima’s Graphite Texture Paste (which has a wonderful subtle gritty finish) with  the bird from the new Time Flies stencil to create this dominating image over the card.

To finish, I used the little sentiment from the Break Free stamp set.

The fabulous new stencils are available to pre-order from this Friday 3rd July and are released on  17th July… and if you enter the monthly challenge over on the Visible Image Facebook page, you could bag yourself £100 voucher… and that’s A LOT of stencils! Haha!!

Keep an eye out on all the socials for lots of inspiration, Instagram and Facebook are uploaded too regularly with sneaky peaks and makes.

I’ll be back soon with another new make to share.  thanks for reading!

H xx

Love is Love: Visible Image

Morning all,

You can’t have not seen the new Visible Image stamps that are on pre-order now… and aren’t they beauties?!  I absolutely love this Love is Love set… bang on perfect for these volatile times in which we find ourselves.

I’ve barely been able to put this stamp set down since it arrived Friday and my head is whirring away with possibilities and ideas for it.

To begin the card, I’ve added some star washi tape strips to watercolour card and gesso’d over the top to protect the tape.  After overlaying the Square Root stencil, I’ve created an ombre effect using Chipped Sapphire, Blueprint Sketch and Salty Ocean to which I’ve then lightly spritzed water over to add texture.

After using a black permanent fine liner to draw in some scribbly lines in the stencil gaps, I’ve flicked on some black indian ink to break up the blue and add extra interest.

Having already measured where the two face stamps would lay on the card, I used the sentiment for the set, Love is Love, down the centre.

The two profile stamps are just brilliant! The words on them (trust, love, eternity, friendship, loyalty, empathy, kindness etc) are so bang on trend and perfect for all types of cards and journalling and I cannot wait to journal with this set!

I’ve heat embossed the profile stamps using WOW!’s Opaque Bright White embossing powder and then used oxide ink pads (Candied Apple, Picked raspberry, Seedless preserve, Blueprint Sketch, Cracked Pistachio and Mustard Seed) to create the rainbow effect.  Once trimmed, I’ve secured them directly to the card before matting onto black card to finish.

Once again, the new stamps are on pre-order now from the online shop and are due for release on Friday June 26th… just in time for the weekend!

 

Check out the Visible Image Facebook group or Instagram for loads of inspiration from the design team using the new stamps… we can barely put them down!

See you soon, H xx

Gel Press Tutorial: Visible Image

Hello everyone and lovely to see you here…

I’m back today with a tutorial for Visible Image showing you how I made the Gel Press cards I recently posted on the Visible Image Facebook page and I was going to attempt a video but honestly, no one needs to hear me wittering on and I am utterly inept when it comes to technology!

These were the two cards I shared on the Facebook page…

… and I had such a good response and there was a hearty ‘yes please’ to my tutorial offer so I hope this helps in some way.

This is the card I’m going to make with you today and take you through the process step-by-step.  It really is very simple and fairly quick to make.

These are the main tools I used for the make… a 6″ round Gel Press, the Into the Woods stamp set, masking tape, a small brayer, a water spritzer and some watercolour card which I trimmed into a 7″ square.  The Gel Press is brilliant.  Made from a rubbery gel, it holds mediums on the surface and allows you to press stencils or stamps (or anything  – leaves, end of tubes, corrugated card, bubble wrap) into the medium and create mono prints which you can then use alone or add more images or text too.

Stampers Grove have an amazing selection of Gel Press plates in various sizes and shapes so if you’d like to experiment with one, why not buy a small one to see how you get on?  There are hundreds of YouTube videos explaining different techniques and they’re hugely inspiring.

The first step in making your circle is choosing your medium and I used Distress Oxide ink pads but you could also use Distress ink pads or Distress Spray Stain or Distress Oxide Sprays… the choice is unlimited and each different medium will give you a different looking effect.

Firstly dab the ink pad around the gel press to build up colour but try not to contaminate each colour by over laying on the other.  You can see where I’ve dabbed the ink onto the gel press and then how the oxide ink almost ‘comes to life’ when I’ve spritzed with water.  Also, give the watercolour card a very light spritz as this helps the colours bleed into each other and creates a watercolour effect.  Next, lay the card onto the gel press, smoothing it down gently.

Distress Oxide ink pad colours used:

• • • • Black soot
      • Hickory Smoke
      • Chipped Sapphire
      • Faded Jeans
      • Stormy Sky
      • Dusty Concord

It’s hard to see but on the first photograph here I had quite a lot of water pooled around the black area so I just grabbed some kitchen roll and soaked it up by using a corner of the paper towel to slurp up the excess.  After slightly drying, I spritzed the card very lightly with water and overlaid another piece of paper towel.  This takes the colour away where the water drops have been and you get a lovely texture in the background.  I’ve then sprayed on some Glimmer Mist in a pale gold colour but you can leave this out if you’d like a ‘cleaner’ card.

Once dry, overlay a sheet of scrap paper and draw round the circle.  Trim the circle out and  tape the sheet over the watercolour card so any stamped images that go over the circle won’t print onto the card itself.

For the background tree stamp, I used the Distress Oxide Hickory Smoke ink pad and you can see where the excess has stamped onto the scrap paper we taped down.

The foreground trees and the beautiful lone standing tree are both stamped using Onyx Black from Versafine and I’ve stamped both going off the edges so that there are no edges stamped not to he finished card.

Stamp the sentiment from the set however you choose (so many ways to play with those words!) and then remove the scrap sheet from around the card.

I’ve then taken the little star stamps from the Faerie Magic set and stamped them using Weathered Wood (Distress Oxide) just around the sentiment to add extra interest but you could add a few small adhesive gems or sequins in a co-ordinating colour.

To finish, I matted the card onto a navy blue card stock and then onto an 8×8″ card blank which I then trimmed to size… and that, as they say is that!

I went on to make this card as I made a few backgrounds while I had the Gel press out and I’ve used the Night Owl set for this make, heat embossing the owl to add a different texture.

The Gel Press or Gelli Plate (two different makes of the same product) is a lovely way of working.  You can never be sure what’s going to appear when you peel that paper off and I love that!

If you have a go at this, please upload a photo onto the Visible Image page as I’d love to see them.

Thanks for reading everyone… catch up again soon.

H xx

Up-Cycling Challenge: Visible Image

Hey everyone…

The latest challenge over on the Visible Image page is an up-cycling challenge where you are encouraged to up-cycle something you would normally throw away!

I sat (for ages) trying to figure out what to make and then it hit me that what I actually needed was a small box to pop my makes in so that they are kept separate from those cards I’ve already blogged or posted on social media.  I like keep my un-posted makes separate so I know where my head is at!

I needed a box wide enough to fit an 8×8″ card in and initially I looked at a small cardboard box I had but realised the porridge box in the bin was perfect!

At 8.5″ on it’s side, it was perfect size-wise but a tad flimsy so I backed it with some thick card and then added watercolour card over the top so I could distress and grunge it up.  I filled in the gap round the top of the box using modelling paste and a palette knife just so it looked a bit more ‘finished’.

I didn’t have a theme for the box, didn’t know where I was going with it really so I just went with the flow.  I began by using the Stars and Stripes stencil, utilising the stars with modelling paste for the sides of the front  of the box.  Once dried (over night) I just spritzed it with blues and green Distress Oxide Spray as I love the chalky finish they give and added some Picked Raspberry Distress Crayon to the stars to contrast with the cool colours.

I had to use my favourite stencil, Ripples, on the project somewhere so grabbed a Chipped Sapphire ink pad and dotted the fabulous circles around the box.

It was then a matter of layering up the stamps.  I love the two fish from Random Art of Kindness so stamped those swimming around and then added the seaweed image from the Dare to Swim set.  I hadn’t really intended the box to have an underwater theme but the colours kind of dictated it a bit.

I love the Scribble stamp on the Total Chaos set and had o have it on the make somewhere so heat embossed it using WOW’s Angel Eyes powder

To give the box a random feel, I added the tree from Into the Woods using Versafine Clair ink pads in Rain Forest and Verdant and ‘sealed’ the ink using a clear powder from WOW.  The leaves, from both Total Chaos and Tree of Life, are done exactly the same way and coloured using Arteza watercolour brush pens.

The sides needed some art and so again, make it a little quirky, I used the bulbs (and moth) from Glimmer of Light and Shining Bright and tucked the word ‘Shine’ in between them.

For the front of the box, I went all out colour clash and stamped the gorgeous Visible Image eye using Versafine Clair Charming Pink and Glamorous which I then heat embossed using a clear powder.

To finish, I needed a hefty sentiment, something that meant something to me so I chose Create Your Imagination from the Just Be Happy stamp set.

So there we have it… think I’ve mentioned it all!?

You can find the challenge on the Visible Image Facebook group page and there is a HUGE £40 voucher for the first winner and then two £20 vouchers for the next two! Enough to grab yourselves a stamp set or stencil or two… and there are some new ones on there way!!

Take care of yourselves and I’ll see you soon and thank you for taking the time to read my posts… it’s massively appreciated.

H xx

 

Brighten the World: Visible Image

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!

For this weeks Visible Image make, I’ve turned to their gorgeous Butterfly Ink stencil as it’s been a while since I used this little beauty.

I totally forgot to take some photos as I was making this (you know how easy it is to get ‘in the zone’ sometimes!) so I apologise but I’ll talk you through how it was made.

So, firstly, I cut some watercolour card 6.5″ square and adhered it to a glass mat.  Over that I laid the Butterfly Ink stencil and using a palette knife, smoothed modelling paste through.  As I know I wasn’t going to stamp over the image, I left it a little textured on top.

I left the modelling paste to air dry and then I could inky with my Distress Spray Stains.

Usually I go for cool, calm colours but I felt this needed brighter, punchier colours so reached for Candied Apple, Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral, Spun Sugar and Spiced Marmalade.

After spraying (which I do into a box so it doesn’t go everywhere) I’ve let the inks drip into each other and then dried using a heat gun and I wish I’d let it air dry as the watercolour card has buckled somewhat but I’m too impatient to wait… and once the inks are dry, I added some Glimmer Mist so give some subtle sparkle.

To give the butterfly some definition around the edges, I used a Derwent Inktense pencil (Outliner) with a watercolour brush to soften the lines.

To add the gold, I’ve used WOW!’s Mixed Media Embossing Brush and swiped some of the goo around the butterfly before adding their amazing Metallic Gold powder.

The sentiment across the middle (and top right) are both from the Wings of Change set and I’ve stamped it using Versafine Clair (Nocturnal) and then heat embossed using the same WOW! Metallic Gold powder as before.

I’ve use WOW!s Opaque Bright White powder for the sentiment and this comes from the brilliant Brighten The World stamp set.  This is a set I use all the time and is perfect.  You can use odd words or combine the sentiments and they’re perfect for my messy journal too.

To finish, I’ve matted the inky card onto black card and then onto a 7×7″ card blank.  Excellent!

What do you think of the new Visible Image fancy-pants packaging?!  Isn’t it GORGEOUS!!!  Mark has done an incredible job and he’s used my new personal favourite Visible Image stencil, Ripple!

As always, keep up to date with all things Visible Image on their Facebook page or follow them on Instagram and while you’re on Insta, follow the hashtag #visibleimage for loads of great makes.

That’s all from me… catch up again soon xx