Category: Backgrounds

Watercolour Backgrounds and Die cuts

4/3/2015

Hi There!
I haven't posted for a while and my craft room/studio is all mixed up and crazy since moving rooms around. It will still be a few months untill it all gets sorted - but starting to get serious crafting withdrawals!
I found this card and photos and wanted to share some happy creativity :)

This card background is made using watercolour pencils (as you can see I used in an earlier post) and I sprayed it with Perfect pearls for a great shimmer.
The die cut is from "Simon Says Stamp" and is a full card front. I mounted this with foam tape to add dimension. I then die cut the "Happy Birthday" sentiment and added to the front.
The twine was a simple black and white - but it needed colour - this is where Distress Stain can be your friend!

I know this Blog post was short and simple - but I really love this card and the happy colours. If you want any more detail please comment or send me a message.
Thanks for visiting NICS :)

3 Comments

Thankyou Tags

20/12/2014

1 Comment

I have recently changed jobs and wanted to say 'Thank you' to all of my amazing team that I worked with. Of course I had to add the personal touch and create something unique. I used the tips from Paula's class earlier this year creating tags using Ranger Distress products. I loved how these tags turned out - each one being a little bit different - just like my managers :)

So to start... I created the tag backgrounds - I didn't have any tags left so I made my own from Ranger Manilla Cardstock - I used Tim Holtz Distress Stain but also made my own sprays using the Distress Ink Refills and Mini Mister bottles, really wanted to make sure I could get the right coverage. It got really messy - so much fun! Love playing :)

I used my new addiction - stencils - with 'Dusty Concord' Distress ink to create some great dimension and pattern on the tags. I then distressed the edges using 'Iced Spruce' Distress ink. I added white splatter with Dylusions ink and then added Damask pattern from Stampers Anonymous and Archival Black ink.

Next was to create the elements - Butterflies and Thank you Die Cuts - I heat embossed both of these giving a great shine and dimension - then added some extra colour to the butterflies with Tim Holtz Alcohol inks.

Time to put it all together.......

The tags all came together beautifully :) each one with its own little bit of 'unique'.

Thanks for visiting NICS - I hope I have been able to share some inspiration with you.

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Alcohol Ink Background and Die Cuts

15/9/2014

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Here are a few cards that I have been playing with this week using my favourite tools and mediums - Ink and Die cuts! Yay - love getting messy and creating something from plain paper.

So my favourite thing is to start with plain paper and build up from there - this time I wanted to use alcohol inks so I used a glossy paper and then using a combination of Alcohol ink colours on the blending tool created the Pink/Purple and the Green/Blue/Yellow backgrounds.

I bought this set of Balloons and I am in love! I have used them for so many things - just love the happiness you get from Balloons :) So after cutting a bunch of these "Gorgeous Little Puffs of Happiness" using my Cuttlebug I also Die Cut sentiments from 'Simon Says Stamp'. I used white and the same colour as I used to "matt" the background, this helped to tie all of the components together.

I stuck the sentiment die cuts together using my 'ZIG' glue pen and offset the white - I wanted it to create a bit of a border/highlight and it turned out great! I also wanted to add some dimension and sheen to the Balloons - Perfect Pearls to the rescue - so shimmery!

So now I don't remember where I got the idea from - either Jennifer McGuire or Kristina Werner - but they made a card where they used the same Balloon die cut and tied the strings to all of the balloons - I loved it! It was very fiddly and it took a lot of patience - but it was worth the effect.

I had one piece of inked background left and I couldn't resist the simplicity of contrasting colour. I die cut a large sentiment and embellished with some gems - love this one too :)

I hope I have shared some tips and inspiration :) I cant wait to share some other cute cards I have made with the happy little Balloons.
Thanks for visiting NICS

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Water Colouring - Backgrounds

25/7/2014

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Hiya, Welcome back to NICS :)
Watercolour has been very popular on all the crafting videos I am seeing - so of course I had to play! I have made a rainbow style background and have used it in a few different ways - hope you like it :)
I started with Watercolour paper and I am using 'woodless watercolour pencils' from my local art store. To add the water effect I am using my waterbrush - there are different brands on the market and also different brush sizes - I am using the wide water brush from Tim Holtz.

It is really easy - I just started to scribble the colour sticks - overlapping between colours and can create additional colours - just wait until you add water!

Then with the water brush (you could also use a paintbrush with water) I blended the colours - follow the direction of the 'scribble' and start with the light colour otherwise the dark colour will overlap and you will mess up the 'blending'. I love the bright rainbow colours and the way the pencil just melts :)

Before I could do anything else I needed to let this dry - you could use a heat tool to make it faster - but I wanted to take advantage of everything already being out on my desk and I made a few more backgrounds ....... after the paper was dry I die cut out hearts - using SSS heart shape die and the Cuttlebug machine.

Ok - so now what to make with the backgrounds? I decided to make a 'shaker card' the colours were so pretty it ended up being the perfect card for Mothers day - I added a sentiment that I cut with my Cricut machine and the card looks so pretty. It matched with the flowers that we gave her and also the "White Paper Layered Frames" (I showed these on my Facebook page and will post the details soon)

So then what do I do with the heart? Well my niece was having a 'bike party' for her birthday - so I used my Cuttlebug to die cut the 'Retro Bike' from 'Fancy-that' I used the sentiment that came with the 'Australian Simply Cards' Magazine on the same day - perfect timing! I added some sparkle to the heart, bike and sentiment using 'liquid perfect pearl' spray from Ranger.

I have been dying to try out my new stencils and texture paste - and with an engagement coming up - this makes the perfect happy 'love' card. This also meant I could use my new 'love' die from SSS. I ended up with a few spare pieces - so here is another card :)

There is so much that you can do with the same background to create different cards, shapes and images. And never let anything go to waste - I love to challenge myself with 'left-overs' to create something - or always save them for another project.
I hope you have some inspiration - I also found the watercolour pencils are great for crafting with the kids - I bought some cheap water colour paper pads from the local craft store and my nieces had so much fun when they stayed over - and the best part - it is relatively "un-messy" :)

Have a wonderful day and thanks for visiting NICS :)

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Watercolour Backgrounds and Die cuts

Thankyou Tags

Alcohol Ink Background and Die Cuts

Water Colouring - Backgrounds

Hi, I'm Nicole from NICS
I am looking forward to sharing inspiration and ideas with you.

Archives

Categories

Watercolour Backgrounds and Die cuts

Thankyou Tags

Alcohol Ink Background and Die Cuts

Water Colouring - Backgrounds

Hi, I'm Nicole from NICSI am looking forward to sharing inspiration and ideas with you.

Archives

Categories

Hi, I'm Nicole from NICS
I am looking forward to sharing inspiration and ideas with you.