Snowflake on Brusho background

It's nice to bring back an old favourite and incorporate it into a new limited edition Snowflake stamp and die set.
I saw this idea on Pinterest and just had to try it.

Recognize the background?  Yup, it's Brusho blue crystals.  I sprinkled them on a 3 3/4 by 5" piece of water color paper and activated it by spritzing with alcohol.   I tried it on regular card stock but was unhappy with the results.

After drying the watercolor paper with a heat tool, it was matted with Blueberry Bushel card stock (the closest match to the Brusho) and then to a Thick Whisper White base.

The largest of the snowflake die was cut on Shimmer paper (note:  on the unglitter side) and added to the card front using 2 layers of dimensionals.

I wish I had ordered the snowflake trinkets, so last year's Winter Wonderland trinkets were used instead.  It was added to the center of the snowflake using a dimensional.

The stamp set "Snow is Glistening" was used to stamp the inside of the card.

Supplies Used:

Stamp:  Snow is Glistening

Ink:  Blueberry Bushel, Brusho Crystals

Papers:  Thick Whisper White, Blueberry Bushel, Watercolor Paper

Accessories:  Alcohol spritz, Dimensionals, Snowfall Thinlet dies, Winter Wonderland trinket (retired)

Heartland Birthday

Happy Mother's Day everyone.
I am sitting out on the patio enjoying the early morning sunshine.  Weather predictions are "a heat wave" for the next couple of days.  Quite a change from the ice storm of 3 weeks ago.

Today's card is another masculine card - featuring the Heartland stamp set.  The images of this stamp set remind me so much of my early roots on Canada.  My family's first placement in this country was on a farm.

I sometimes wonder what I ever did without the Stamparatus.  It seems I am using it to stamp almost everything, mainly because of the clear, crisp images I getting.

The image of the barn was no exception.  After stamping it with Black Memento in, I coloured it using diluted Brusho crystals and an Aqua painter., and did a light wash on the sky and foreground.  Some Clear Wink of Stella on parts of the building really brightened it up.

Oval framelits were used to die cut and mat this art piece and they were adhered together using dimensionals after sponging the edges with Soft Suede ink.

Although the base card is Soft suede layered with Plank embossed Whisper White, I chose to mat the art piece oval with Chocolate Chip card stock.  The DSP is Soft Suede matted with Soft Suede card stock.

The sentiment is from "Better Together" and this die cut oval was added to the card front using dimensionals.

Supplies Used: 

Stamps:  Heartland, Better Together

Inks:  Black Memento, Soft Suede, Brusho Crystals

Papers:  Soft Suede, Whisper White, Soft Suede DSP, Chocolate Chip

Accessories:  Plank Embossing Folder, Layering Oval Framelits, Dimensionals, Clear Wink of Stella, Aqua painter, Stamparatus

Floral Statement Swap Cards

The theme this month at one of my Yahoo groups is "flowers".

Normally I would make 3D flowers but because I need to make 3 identical cards the postage would be prohibitive. So I opted to use "Floral Statements" stamp set and color the images with diluted Brusho crystals.

Using Black Memento ink, the background "Sheet Music" stamp set was stamped onto Whisper white card stock

The floral image was black embossed directly onto the sheet music background and colored with diluted Brusho crystals using an aqua painter.  This paint was applied in thin coats and allowed to dry between layers. To get the shade of colors I wanted I mixed some of the colors together  For instance, the flowers were painted with Yellow Brusho, but accented with a mixture of Yellow and Gumbage.  Yellow was also added to Mossy Green on the leaves.

This focal piece was trimmed and the edges sponged with Basic Gray ink before being matted with Daffodil Delight card stock and then Basic Black.  Some 3/8" mini chevron Crushed Curry ribbon was wrapped around the bottom of this piece and a bow adhered with a glue dot.

This was adhered to the card base - layers of  Daffodil Delight base, Basic Black and then Whisper White card stock.

To finish the card, I added 3 Crushed Curry glimmer enamel dots.

Again, no card is complete without glimmer, so some Clear Wink of Stella was applied to all the flowers.

Supplied Used
Stamps:  Floral Statements, Sheet Music

Inks:  Versa Mark, Basic Gray, Brusho Crystals (Yellow, Gumbage, Mossy Green)

Papers:  Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Whisper White

Accessories:  Black embossing powder, Aqua painter, 3/8" mini chevron Crushed Curry ribbon, Clear Wink of Stella, Crushed Curry glitter enamel dots

Birthday Blooms - Watercoloring and Stamping with Brusho Crystals - SUO Challenges #198

I love coloring. I love using different media to do my coloring.  I find the entire process very relaxing.  So I just had to participate in this week's challenge at SUO

The challenge is "All About the Coloring" - and for this challenge I challenged myself - to use a different medium to color with.

When Brusho Crystals appeared in the Occasion catalogue I was probably one of the first people to order it.  But learning about it's properties and behaviors proved a bit more difficult.

It was a steep learning curve - from knowing how to open the crystal containers to how much of the crystals to use.  I was not enamored with the bright splashes of background colors I created, so have  worked hard to tone down the colors and find different methods of using it.

For today's card, I made the Brusho Crystals into watercolor paints, and applied this paint in layers to an image.  I even experimented using the Brusho directly onto stamps to create a background for the card I was planning.

Here's the card:

The floral image was stamped and embossed with copper embossing powder on a separate pierce of  Whisper White card stock.

To make the Brusho Crystals into watercolor paints, a small amount of Crystals were added to separate ink wells of a paint palette along with about 3 drops of water. and the mixture stirred.  Colors used:  Prussian Blue, Mossy Green, and Yellow.

The aqua painter was used to apply each color in layers, allowing each layer to dry before adding more color.  I even mixed some of the colors to get a more realistic look i.e. yellow with the green on the leaves.

The image was the fussy cut and set aside while I stamped the panel.

This was another experiment.

I added some Prussian Blue crystals to a cotton ball and added a small amount of water.  This I used as an ink pad.  The small single flower stamp was then inked up and stamped repeatedly to create the panel background..  Some empty spots were filled in using the dot stamp and Pear Pizzazz ink.  In retrospect I could have used a baby wipe but I didn't have any so opted for a cotton ball.

I'm actually surprised it worked as well as it did.

Before matting the panel with Marina Mist card stock I sponged the edges lightly with some Marina Mist ink.

The card base is Marina Mist card stock, layered with Whisper White embossed with the Petal Burst embossing folder. The matted panel was added to the left side of the card front with dimensionals.  Some 1/4" white organza ribbon was added near the bottom of the panel prior to being adhered to the card front.  A double ribbon was added as well.

I added the cut out flower using dimensionals across the panel of the card front .

Here's a better look at the stamped panel with the floral image attached.

The sentiment, from Many More Thanks, was also embossed with copper embossing powder, and diet cut using the Petal Passion framelits.  It was added to the card front using dimensionals.

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Birthday Blooms, Many More Thanks

Inks:  Versa Mark, Marina Mist, Pear Pizazz, Brusho Crystals, Pear Pizzazz

Papers:  Marina Mist, Whisper White

Accessories:  Aqua painter, Copper Embossing Powder, 1/4" White Organza ribbon, Petal Passion Framelits, Petal Burst embossing folder, Dimensionals

Brusho with Floral Statement - Hello

I've been playing with Brusho Crystals this week and tonight I thought I'd try my hand at water coloring an image using this medium.

The Floral Statements stamp set, which is being carried over into the new catalogue, was perfect for this.

After black embossing the image on Whisper White card stock, it was coloured with diluted Brusho Crystals using an aqua painter.  The colour was applied in layers allowing the paint to dry between applications.

The art piece was matted with Basic Black card stock and some 1/4" white organza ribbon and bow added to the bottom before it was adhered to the card base layer with dimensionals.

Some self adhesive Tutti Fruiti sequins were added to provide a bit of bling.

Supplies Used;
Stamp:  Floral Statement
Inks:  Versa Mark, Brusho Crystals
Papers:  Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories:  Stamparatus, Black Embossing powder, Aqua Painter, 1/4" white organza ribbon, Tutti-fruiti self adhesive sequins, dimensionals.

Gorgeous Butterfly - Brusho and Glimmer Texture Paste

Today I played - using the new Shimmer Texture Paste with Brusho crystals.  I used various dies and decorative masks, but the one I like the best is this butterfly I created.

Using the Bold Butterfly Framelit taped to a piece of Watercolour paper, I sprinkled a tiny bit of red and yellow Brusho crystals within the confines of the framelit.

Then, using a palette knife, I added some of the new Glimmer Texture past and mixed the paste with the Brusho - the paste being wet activates the Brusho crystals.

When I was happy with the result, I removed the butterfly framelit and set it aside to dry.  While it was drying I washed the framelit thoroughly.  This last step is very important.

Using Basic Black cardstock, I die cut a Butterfly thinlet the same size as the framelit.

When dry, the butterfly was die cut using the butterfly framelit.

The two were adhered together at the body only using tombo glue.