Friday 15 June 2018

A STEP BY STEP GUIDE BY LOVELY SANDRA.....

Tonight I have a fabulous step by step guide by our clever teamie Sandra.  We have been asked several times about the techniques used with the recently released grasses stamps and the sun/moon effect cards.  Three card samples follow all by Sandra, who has very kindly recreated one of these cards as a step by step 'how to' guide, with notes at the end on 'how to' make the other two as well.....




Here is the stamp used in her card above....


And here are the steps accompanied by lots of fabulous photos.  Thanks so much Sandra.

The inks and tools Sandra used...


 1. Start by dusting and blending the yellow ink...


2. Use a circular mask to create the sun/moon and then add the purple ink with a brush...


3. Use a piece of copy paper to create a mask and then dust over the with Memento black to create the water...


4. Your card should look similar to the image below when the paper is removed...  


5. Use your copy paper again to cover the water and then stamp your silhouette image using the black Versafine ink.  The Versafine ink leaves a darker impression that will be clean and sharp.  As this ink takes quite a while to dry, I heat emboss mine with a clear embossing powder.  This will also avoid any accidental smudges...


6. Your card should now look similar to the image below.  


7. Stamp the image a second time to the right hand side, but a little lower this time to give a more natural look...


8. Using the Versafine ink again, stamp the image onto a piece of acetate...


9. Very carefully, line up the image and then gently rub over it to create the reflection.  Take care not to press the image above the water.  This is the most difficult part of the card to do but it will get easier with practice.  If the image isn't perfect, then you can always re-ink and go over it again as it's easy to line up with the acetate being clear.  Remember that the reflection should be lighter than the image...



10.
Do the same again to complete the reflection...


11. I used some deckle edge scissors and made a mask using two pieces of card.  Blend over it with the Memento black ink and this with then give a more natural effect between the image and it's reflection...  


12. Your card should now look similar to the image below...


13. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment onto some white card before using a die to cut it out.  I used the small finger daubers to add some colour before removing the card from the die.  This then creates a white border...





14. Here's my finished card.  Before I mounted the finished image, I used the Ink Dusters and finger daubers with Adirondack Eggplant ink around the edge to darken it.  This helps to draw the viewers eye into the image.  I mounted the image onto black card and then again onto a white card to finish...


15. To make a much easier version of the card,  just use the silhouette stamps and don't create a reflection. I've added the image below to show how this might look.  I would use a sentiment over the sun/moon to complete the card.  Don't forget that any of the colours that I've used can be changed to give your card a completely different look.  

  
The first card at the top of this post could be created in exactly the same way as the tutorial above, by creating the background first and then using then silhouette stamps. 

Moonlit Perching Bird, second card above:


1) Make a large circular aperture and then colour the moon with yellow ink. 
2)  Use a circular mask to cover the moon before using the Denim ink to create the night sky. 
3) Stamp the image with Versafine.  You can leave it to dry but I prefer to heat emboss with clear powder to give a darker image and to avoid any smudges.
4) Use a white pen to add some stars.  You could also splatter with white acrylic paint.
 


We hope you have enjoyed the tutorial - do give it a go as the cards are lots of fun to make, and we would love to see your samples.

One of our lovely customers is Eriko in Japan, and Eriko spurred us on to ask Sandra for the 'how to' above.  Eriko also attached the following lovely image she had made with the grasses stamp to her email...

 

Thanks to both of you for sharing your makes in tonight's post.

Bye for now,
Back soon,
Jean x

 

16 comments:

willow3 said...

Beautiful cards love the colours.

Sandma's Handmade Cards said...

Thank you for sharing my tutorial Jean and I hope that other crafters will find it helpful. Eriko’s card is lovely and it looks great with all the added embellishments. Wishing you all a very happy and colourful weekend. Crafty hugs, Sandra x x

Alice (scrAPpamondo) said...

Wow! Great scene! Thanks so much for the step by step and the tricks!

Anne said...

YAY!!!!!! THANK YOU for this super tutorial! I love all these cards, bravo Sandra!

Jane Willis said...

Beautiful cards - and why have I never thought of using acetate to create a reflection? Genius!

Craftyfield said...

Thanks for sharing the techniques! These are beautiful cards!

Pat said...

Three beautiful cards from Sandra and a great tutorial Jean, and who better than Sandra to pass on her hints and tips as she creates the most wonderful scenes, and thank you Sandra for all the details. x

Joan said...

Fabulous cards Sandra, might just go and have a go as I bought the stamps at Port Sunlight and haven't used them yet! Thanks for the tutorial

Joan

Eriko said...

Hi Sandra!
Thank you for the step by step tutorial.
It helps a lot!
At first glance, I fell in love with your images taking me to the mystical scenery.

Since I'm new to stamping, especially making the reflection seems so difficult.
But I'm gonna try and practise again and again.

Many thanks!

Flo Langley said...

Beautiful card by Eriko. Always great to see what the CI family around the world are making. Fabulous step by step Sandra. Beautiful cards.
Flo x

cuilliesocks said...

Sandra your card are gorgeous, love them all, as always your colouring is amazing, especially love the card with the bird, the background is fabulous. Thanks for the tutorial, I've yet to try doing a reflection, you've made it seem doable, thank you. Kate x

cuilliesocks said...

Back again to say how lovely Eriko's card is, hard to believe you are new to stamping Eriko, I love it, Kate x

Gerrina said...

Great to see how Sandra takes the steps! And beautiful results!
What a colourfull and attractive card the last one! Hugs, Gerrina

CraftyJo said...

Thank you so much for the wonderful tutorial - I was lucky enough to win these stamps so I shall go have a play and see if I can get something even half as pretty! ;)

nefertiti/Sylvie said...

Lovely cards Sandra!!!! hugs, Sylvie

Cocofolies said...

I'm late to comment, but never too late I think to enjoy your posts, Jean. Lovely card by Eriko, that's great to see CI stamps in action all over the world!
And I absolute adore the scenic cards by Sandra... fabulous step by step, thank you Sandra, and thanks so much for sharing Jean!
Coco xx