Well the last few weeks have been a bit up and down. With the very sudden death of a colleague (RIP Baz) to having a minor car accident, being successful in applying for a new position at work (which meant some lovely girls missed out) and the starting of a new boss in my current position..... things have been unsettled. To say the least I am still struggling to find some creative mojo.
However, all that aside I have slowly but surely been learning to refine my new scrapbook crush. The very effective, beautiful.....and extremely frustrating at times!!! .... art of water colour painting with distress inks, and what better stamps to practice with than the stamps from the beautiful Magnolia range. When I first saw the Tilda and Edwin stamps I thought they were a bit 'cutesy' for me and couldn't understand the fascination. Well I have (almost) always been one that can admit when I am wrong...and boy was I ever!! I can now say that I have fallen head over heels for these stamps, and can spend ages drooling over the website thinking about which stamp to add to my collection next!!
So this past weekend I went to my Sister's place on the Saturday evening to spend the night. Unfortunately she wasn't feeling the best, and while she had a very well deserved nap on the couch I happily amused myself with inking/water colouring my lovely new Magnolia (link above) Mushrooms with Snail Stamp.
Unfortunately the angle on this first photo isn't the best, but you can see the work in progress. Stamped with Black Staz-On ink, this has all been coloured using the distress ink refills and a 5/0 paint brush....patience is most definitely a virtue to very slowly work on building up the colour to get the desired effect.
As you can see I was avoiding that second mushroom...I was so happy with how the image had turned out so far that I was sure I would muck up the second one and would have to start again. These mushrooms are part of a much larger project.... but you'll have to wait to see the finished project in the coming month. The ideas are still forming in my head for just how this is going to work out.
So I bit the bullet, and started inking up the main mushie.... and I have to say I was pretty damn impressed (even if I do say so myself) with the final product. It was exactly the effect I was after, and will look awesome when they finally come together with everything else planned for the finished product.
All inked using the following Ranger Distress Ink refills -
Mushroom Tops - Barn Door
Mushroom Stem Collar(??? if that's what it is called...) Frayed Burlap
Mushroom Stem - Antique Linen with Vintage photo for shading
Grass - Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint for Shadowing
Mushroom Spots and Gills - Pumice Stone
Snail - Pumice stone for the Body and Forest Moss for the Shell
Using the refill inks was so much harder than using the ink pad stamped onto an acrylic block, the colour is just so much more intense and it only requires the smallest amount. So much easier to go overboard and get out of control with!!
On Sunday morning I went for a walk to the Stationery shop with my Brother in Law and two nephews. I was after a new paint brush. Although I like my very fine brush, it was at times was just to fine and hard to blend with. So I went in search of a 3/0 brush... so much happier with it. While I will still use my 5/0 for those very fine details, my 3/0 is now the brush of choice. I put it to the test on Sunday, and began to ink in Tilda with Balloon (Thanks for letting me borrow your stamp Miss Sammy). Using one of my favourite coloured Distress Inks, Victorian Velvet I began to ink in Tilda's dress. Tilda this time is stamped using the Timber Brown Staz-on and I am becoming very partial to using this colour!
Unfortunately for poor Tilda this is where I stopped on Sunday and this is how she still remains. However a great start, so hopefully it continues on this way!!
Thanks for stopping by.
xx Milly
