HEY FRIENDS! I’ve been cleaning up my studio and going through my stash. Since I now make samples for multiple companies my stamp and die collection grows quickly. I have limited time for crafting, so my designer deadlines are always the priority, but when there is a lull, I like to circle back and look through my personal stash for stamps that that have gotten lost in the shuffle. I love the Brush Stroke Stamps by Penny Black so they were perfect for what I had in mind.

As always, I’ve linked supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

Today’s Project

I also seem to have a growing collection of waterbased markers. I suffer from full set syndrome so I can’t just buy a few markers of any given brand. Eventually, I have to have them all! I was pretty proud of myself that I’ve been getting by with only 12 Zig Clean Brush Markers. However, on Saturday, I went to the Creative Keepsakes Convention in Lancaster and at the very last display in the very last booth I came across individual Zig markers for sale. I was good – I was offered a great deal on a full set, but I stuck to expanding my current set to 24 markers, plus a handful of new colors not found in the sets. But I also had $30 in vouchers from Michaels, so I added to my collection of Tombow Dual Tip Markers.

<sigh> Did I mention that I already have a full set of Karin Brushmarkers? And let’s not forget my 358 Copic markers. Luckily I don’t feel the need (for now!) to try out all the new brands of alcohol markers.

Card 1 – At Grace

AT GRACE
Size: 4.25: x 5.5″
Featured Products:

• At Grace by Penny Black [ AZ ]
• Happy Thoughts by Penny Black [ SBC ]
• Karin Brushmarkers: 207 Cyan, 264 Artic Blue, 305 Egyptian Blue (flowers); 210 Apple Green, 228 Lush Green (leaves)
• Misti Stamping Platform [ SBC | SBP | SSS ]
• Additional supplies listed in the thumbnails below.

Card 2 – Softly

SOFTLY
Size: 4.25: x 5.5″
Featured products:

• Softly by Penny Black [ AZ ]
• Happy Thoughts by Penny Black [ SBC ]
• Karin Brushmarkers: 092 Fire Red, 200 Soft Peach 1, 181 Lipstick Red (flowers); 210 Apple, 252 Grass, 377 Ocean Teal (leaves)
• Misti Stamping Platform [ SBC | SBP | SSS ]
• Additional supplies listed in the thumbnails below.

So I looked through my stamp stash to find a few stamps that I could use with my water based markers and settled on a couple of older Brush Stroke stamps from Penny Black. These stamps are perfect for direct to stamp coloring. I did not videotape my coloring, but I did watch a lot of Penny Black & Jill (PB & J) videos on YouTube to see how it’s done. Here’s an example of the technique for creating one layer stamping using Tombow markers.

Both cards were made the same way. I started with a piece of Canson Montvale Watercolor Paper cut to 4.25″ x 5.5″ and stuck it in my Misti Stamping Platform. This is a situation where you really need to use a Misti because you will be stamping the image repeatedly as you work through the colors.

I positioned the Brush Stroke stamp in place (either At Grace or Softly) and used Karin Brushmarkers to apply ink to the various elements of the stamp. As you’ll see from the instructions below, I colored on the leaves and flowers in separate steps.

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll explain the remaining steps using the first card (At Grace) as an example:

1. With the watercolor paper and the stamp in place in the Misti, apply ink to the leaves, working from light to dark.
   I started with 210 Apple Green as a base coat on all of the leaves and stems and added 228 Lush Green to the darker areas such as the base of the leaves.
2. Lightly mist the stamp with water and stamp the image.
   The ink will dry on the stamp so you will need to lightly mist the stamp to reactivate the ink. I used the Distress Sprayer and held it several inches away from the stamp while spraying.a
3. Use a waterbrush to lightly spread the ink, filling in areas of the stamped image as necessary. My favorite waterbrush is the Zig Medium Waterbrush. It’s hard to find, but it’s the one that I keep going back to (and stock up when I find them!).
4. Apply ink to the flowers, working from light to dark.
   I started with 264 Artic Blue as a base coat and added 207 Cyan to the darker areas such as the base of the petals.
5. Lightly mist the stamp with water and stamp the image.
   Wash, rinse, repeat as needed.
6. Take a good look at what you’ve got so far.
   If it looks OK, move on. I decided that I needed more depth and definition in the flowers so I added 305 Egyptian Blue to the deepest parts of the flowers or anywhere that needed a little more definition between petals. A little goes a long way so just a few dots of color and then blend it as needed.

Honestly – go look at the video from Penny Black. What I just tried to explain will make more sense when you see it done by Jill Foster. Next time, I’ll turn on the camera!

Once all the coloring was complete, I trimmed the watercolor panel to 4″ x 5.25″, stamped a sentiment from Happy Thoughts stamp set using Versafine Clare in Nocturne. If desired, you can sprinkle clear embossing powder over the sentiment and heat set it. and backed it with foam tape. I cut a piece of Simon Says Stamp cardstock in Fog Gray to 4.25″ x 5.5″ and glued it to an A2 cardbase made from Neenah Classic Crest 110# cardstock. I assembled the layers as shown. The second card featuring the Softly Brush Stroke stamp was completed the same way.

That’s all for me today! If anyone is looking for me, I’ll be rummaging through my stash for the next project!

Supplies

[Compensated affiliate links used when possible. In addition, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Items marked with an asterisk (*) were provided by a store or the manufacturer. All other items were personally purchased.]