Thursday, May 29, 2025

Heart of Nature-Circles

 

Hello, Blank Page Muse family. This is Lori and today I have this whimsical card to share with you. It consists of a lot of circles, a cone flower, and a bee to end our month of Winged Things theme. I had so much fun playing with paste and sprays while makimg this card. Continue reading for a step-by-step pictorial of how I created this week's card.

I started with a piece of white cardstock, cut down to A2 size. I splattered the panel with sprays from my stash in lime and turquoise. I love this color combo and it's one of my favorites. I started in the corners, diagonal to each other, and mixed them in the middle.

To compliment to circles from the spray, I added concentric circles with the stamp Dotted Circles with turquoise ink from my stash. I added the cone flower and bee from Heart of Nature Butterflies Bees stamp set.

I colored the flower and the bee with colored pencils. I love cone flowers. They can come in a variety of colors, but red is my favorite, so that's the color I chose. I used brown for the cone. I left the wings of the bee uncolored, so as to pick up the colors of the spray from under it. I colored the bee in yellow and dark brown. I didn't want to use black on the bee as I would lose the eyes if I did so.



After coloring, I wanted to continue playing with circles and color. I chose the Butterfly Trails Mixed Media Stencil and white texture paste. I dyed the paste with Distress Ink Reinker in Wild Honey to match the color of the bee. I randomly added paste through the stencil.

Final card. All I did was add a sentiment that was stamped on white cardstock where the edges had been inked with the same turquoise ink I had used when stamping. I hope you like this card!

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Zhuzhed Vellum Butterflies ~ WINGS


Hello! Welcome back to the BPM blog. Today's project features vellum butterflies that are zhuzhed. Zhuzh is to make something stylish, lively or attractive. Bear with me for now but you will see what I mean at the end of the post.



I colored a heavy weight vellum with Copic markers. I overlapped the colors. Just make sure the colors that you overlap are complementary so you don't end up with a muddy color. 


I dipped a paint brush on the blender fluid and tapped the brush on the colored vellum. If you don't have a blender fluid, you can use rubbing alcohol instead.


The blender fluid moved the alcohol ink creating a splatter effect. I heat set the vellum to dry it.


I inked the butterfly with a black pigment ink. After treating the vellum with an anti-static tool, I stamped the butterfly to the colored vellum. Stamping on vellum can be tricky. Because of the slick surface of the vellum, there is a chance that the stamp will shift. You can use a stamping tool if you like to prevent this.


I poured black embossing powder to the wet pigment ink. I wanted the lines to be a true black that's why I chose a black embossing powder over a clear embossing powder.


I heat set the powder to melt it. Using a heavy weight vellum is very advantageous in preventing any warping the vellum brought about by repeated heating.


I fussy cut the butterflies leaving a small border around it.


I arranged the butterflies on a woodgrain cardstock cut at 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".


To keep the arrangement of the butterflies, I picked the butterflies with a Press 'NSeal wrap. 

I sprayed and flicked Tim Holtz Tarnished Brass Distress Spray Stain on the woodgrain panel for a bit of interest. I heat set this to dry.


I applied glue only to the centers of the flat butterflies. Notice that the butterflies are still attached to the Press 'NSeal wrap.


I carefully flipped the wrap so the side with the glue faces the cardstock.


I gently press the butterflies to the panel. I set this aside to dry.


After I removed the Press 'NSeal, I gently lifted the wings of the butterflies off the cardstock. Except for the butterfly on its side, all the butterflies have its wings zhuzhed.


I adhered a circle sentiment to the right bottom corner the panel. 

I hope you like today's project. 

Visit our social media sites for more stamping fun!

Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.



 

Friday, May 23, 2025

A Little Birdie Told Me ~ Wings

Hi, friends!  It's design team member Walter here on the blog with you.  Today I'm sharing my final card for the May theme of Wings.  For this card, I wanted to focus on a bird and the Flower & Bird Sketches Art Rubber Stamp Sheet Set provided the perfect images to use.  The bird stamp is so beautifully detailed.  I didn't want to use traditional bird colors though . . . I wanted the bird to pop.  I decided upon stamping it on patterned paper for a touch of whimsy.  I feel that it creates a happier aesthetic and is very pretty.  Oh, and a little birdie told me that you're amazing!


I used the following to create it:
Here's how I created it:

I began by stamping the trio of flowers onto the card panel using black ink to create the main focal point.  I thought it would be a nice effect to have an arch of floating "invisible" feathers around the floral.  The next step was to use the smallest feather stamp and clear embossing ink to stamp the arch design in place.  I made sure to place the feathers in different positions to give a "stages of falling" look.


Once all of the wings were stamped, I restamped the floral element with black pigment ink and then dusted the entire panel with clear embossing powder.  I wanted to seal the floral to add a shine to it and help it stand out.


I decided to use gel pens to color the flowers to make sure that they are opaque since alcohol markers would have given them a more translucent effect.  I started with a darker base gel pen, let it dry, and then put in highlights were a lighter shade.  I'm pretty happy with how they look!  I then stamped the sentiment at the top of the card.



I stamped the bird onto some patterned paper with Scorched Timber ink and then fussy cut it out.  I put some double-sided foam tape onto the bird and set it aside.  I covered up the sentiment and floral with low tack tape and used the inside part of the sprayer to tape some Caramel Toffee ink splatter onto the card.


The last step was to adhere the panel onto the card base and then place the bird down onto it.  While a very simple design, it's packed with nice colors and some really cool design elements.  I hope that you like it!


Thanks for spending some time with me here on the blog.  I'll see you again next month for a new theme.  Until then . . . be well!

Be sure to visit our social media sites for more stamping fun!

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Hello Sunshine Colorful Card ~Intersection Stencil

 Hi everyone, Steph Ackerman here today using some amazing stamps and stencils from Blank Page Muse.


Stencil: Intersection


Tape the stencil to a white panel and ink with Distress Oxide Inks.
Be sure to blend the colors when they intersect.



Create a card from white cardstock and ink edges.
Die cut the stenciled panel and a background panel.
Finish the card with a simple sentiment.


Thanks for stopping by.

Steph

Looking for more Inspiration? Click the links below!
The Blank Page Muse Shop https://blankpagemuse.com/

Monday, May 19, 2025

Happiness Blooms

Hello, Blank Page Muse friends! This month, our theme is winged things. I chose to make a card where the main image is floral with a butterfly as a highlight. Keep reading for a step-by-step pictorial directions on how I made this clean and simple card.


I began by stamping my images in different colors on an A2 panel made from Nina Classic Crest Cover Solar White Cardstock. I stamped the flowers in Memento because it is a Copic-friendly ink. I stamped the butterfly in a medium purple and the sentiment in a deep purple, both from Altenew. The butterfly is from Heart of Nature Butterflies Bees, the floral image is from Flower and Bird Sketches, the sentiment is from Happiness Blooms from Within words & Henna Floral Motif.


I colored the flower with Copic markers: G07, YG17, G28, Y13, Y15, Y38, and YR18. The butterfly was colored with BV13 and BV17. When using Copics or any coloring medium, you use dark colors to show shadows and light colors for highlight. With florals, it's also good to use darker colors at the base of petals and stems. This adds dimension to your image and make it look more life-like. Remember, things in nature are rarely identically symmetrical, so it's ok if your coloring isn't perfect!



I watercolored blue around the flowers. This makes the image colors pop and adds dimension. I used a Tim Holtz Watercolor Pencil in Tumbled Glass. I scribbled blue around the flowers, then used a size 4 watercolor paint brush. I used a very small amountt of water, so I didn't need to use watercolor paper. I dried the paper and added a second layer of pigment.



Final card. I trimmed down the front panel to 4 x 5 1/4 ", attached it to a white card base with foam adhesive. I thought a few purple gems from my stash would add a little interest and bling. I hope you like this clean and simple card, using Blank Page Muse stamps!


Saturday, May 17, 2025

Fairy Friend ~ Wings

Hi, friends!  It's design team member Walter here on the blog with you.  Today I'm sharing my second card for the May theme of Wings.  For this card, I wanted to focus on the magic of wings.  I decided to go with a white silhouette against a black background to emphasize something out of the ordinary.  The little fairy rests on a sunflower taking a break to rest her wings and take in nature’s beauty.  It's a beautiful way to say hello!


Here’s what I used to create it:
Here’s how I made it:
  • Used low tack tape and Pixie Spray to adhere the stencil to my card.
  • Added each section of the sunflower by coloring them in with acrylic markers.  First the petals with a light yellow, then the center with brown, and then the leaves and stem with a dark green.  I them went back and added additional details to each using a darker yellow on the petals, a lighter green on the leaves & stem, and several shades of brown & black on the center.




  • Stamped the fairy onto chipboard with white pigment ink, added embossing powder, and heat set it.  I them fussy cut the fairy.

  • Stamped the sentiment onto the card with white pigment ink and set it with a heat tool.
  • Placed double sided foam tape onto the back of the fairy and placed her onto the sunflower.
This is such a simple card to create!  However, the beauty of the acrylic paint on the black cardstock is really quite striking, and the white silhouette of the fairy adds a touch of magic.  It’s such a fun design!





Thanks for spending some time with me here on the blog.  I'll see you again next month for a new theme.  Until then . . . be well!

Be sure to visit our social media sites for more stamping fun!



Friday, May 16, 2025

Metallic Painted Dragonfly Panel ~ WINGS


Hello! Welcome back to the BPM blog. Today's project is about using metallic watercolors with stencils. I hope you like it.


I used the following items on this project:
  • Blank Page Muse Sunflower & Dragonflies stencil
  • Black watercolor paper trimmed at 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"
  • Metallic watercolors
  • Paint brushes, size 2/0 and size 2

I temporarily adhered the stencil to the black watercolor paper panel.


I applied the metallic watercolor paint to the black watercolor paper using the stencil openings as guide to where to apply the paint.


I played with the colors doing some ink blending on the wings. I used the larger brush to paint the dragonfly's wings and the smaller brush for the dragonfly's body.


If I feel that the metallic paint is not enough, I added more pigment by directly painting over the area.


Since I will be painting more dragonflies, I dried the painted dragonfly with a heat tool.


I positioned my stencil where I want the next dragonfly to be painted on. 


The great thing about using paint with stencils is that I did not have to clean the stencil in between painting since I almost am not touching the stencil with my brush except for the intricate areas of the dragonfly's body.


Another great thing about using stencils is that you can flip the stencil and you will end up with a totally different design. The dragonfly's body is curved the opposite way when is is flipped. 


I repeated the process all over again until I filled the whole canvas with dragonflies.


I added dots of watercolor paint to fill in the open areas between the dragonflies.

I have no plans on what to do with this panel at the moment but this is ready to be added to a notecard. I can add a sentiment to make it personalized if I want to. I can also use it to embellish a layout. Or I can just frame it for display. 

I hope you give this stencil technique a try.

Visit our social media sites for more stamping fun!

Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.



 

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