Mixed Media Tags Featuring Red Castle Stamps

I’m back today with a project that is a first for me – mixed media tags! My project features stamps from Red Castle (available exclusively at The Queen’s Ink) and Penny Black as well as inks and stencils from Tim Holtz and Ranger.

Rowhouse Greetings | Red Castle Stamps

As you know, my primary medium is Copic markers and the end result is usually a handmade card, but I’ve been experimenting with other media, including watercolors, colored pencils, and Distress Inks. These simple tags provided the perfect opportunity to explore color and texture with supplies that I already had at hand.

INSTRUCTIONS

I work in a relatively small space and knew that things could get messy quickly. I covered my work surface with an Easy Clean Mat from Tonic to protect it and speed clean up when I was finished.

  1. Using a blending tool, apply Distress Ink to one side of a #8 manila craft tag.
    In the case of the first tag, I started in the middle with Mustard Seed, blending each side with Spiced Marmalade followed by Picked Raspberry. For the second tag, I started at the bottom with Chipped Sapphire, working upward from dark to light with Peacock Feathers and Broken China, ending with Cracked Pistachio. I followed with a second coat to make sure that the inks were well blended and coverage was even.
  2. Lightly spritz the tag using a mini mister filled with plain water.
    The water will activate the ink and create a pattern as it dries. Use as much or as little as you want to get to desired effect.
  3. Once the ink has dried, stamp the images to be embossed with Versamark Ink. 
    I used Leaves Set 3 by Red Castle Stamps. The images are deeply etched and leave a clear impression. I particularly liked the botanical images and chose those for my tags.
  4. Cover with embossing powder and heat set the images.
    Be sure that your heat gun has had a chance to warm up first to reduce warping of your tag.
  5. Decide the placement of your stencils and apply Texture Paste with a palette knife. Wash your palette knife and stencil immediate with water. Allow Texture Paste to dry completely.
    Do not use a heat gun to dry the texture paste as it may cause bubbling (unless that’s the effect you want!).
  6. Once texture paste is dry, lightly dab and blend Distress Ink in the color of your choice over the raised stenciled areas. 
    You can either select a contrasting color to make the stenciled image stand out or match the ink to the background to create texture without additional contrast.
  7. Stamp any additional sentiments using a stamping platform.
    I selected sentiments and a butterfly image from the Spiritual Snippets Stamp Set and the Snippets Stamp set, both by Penny Black. I used a Tim Holtz Stamping Platform so that I could stamp multiple sentiments at the same time using Versafine Ink in Onyx Black.
  8. Apply Distress Micro Glaze to seal inks.
    A little goes a long way! Buff with a soft towel (I actually used a paper towel) to remove excess.
  9. Add a ribbon or other embellishments as desired.
    Don’t forget to sit back and admire your work!

SUPPLIES

Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. Items marked with an asterisk (*) were provided by a store or the manufacturer for free or at a discount. All other items were personally purchased. Read more.

  • Tonic Essentials Easy Clean Mat (*)
  • #8 manila craft tags
  • Distress Inks: Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Picked Raspberry, Cracked Pistachio, Broken China, Peacock Feathers and Chipped Sapphire
  • Ranger Mini Round Ink Blending Tool and Foam Applicators (one for each ink color)
  • Ranger Inkssentials Mini Mister filled with plain water
  • Stamps: Leaves Set 3 (*) by Red Castle Stamps; Spiritual Snippets by Penny Black; Snippets by Penny Black
  • Tsukineko Versamark Embossing Ink
  • Stampendous Detail White Fine Opaque Embossing Powder
  • Heat gun
  • Palette knife
  • Ranger Texture Paste (opaque matte finish)
  • Various stencils (I used the custom stencil included in the Tim Holtz Distress Mixed Media Spray Stain Kit)
  • Tim Holtz Stamping Platform (*)
  • Tsukineko Versafine Ink in Onyx Black
  • Tim Holtz Distress Micro Glaze

Hope my project inspires you to try something new!

Journey of a Thousand Steps

Welcome back to Rowhouse Greetings! On this crisp, autumn day, I have another project featuring one of the stamp sheets from Red Castle Stamps. I’m back today with another project using the Leaves No. 4 stamp sheet by Red Castle Stamps. This time, I colored the image with Copic markers and paired the image with a sentiment from Penny Black.

Since the image was larger in scale, I created this card in 5×7 format. As with my previous Red Castle Stamp project, I used the new Tim Holtz Stamping Platform to stamp the image on X-Press It Blending Card with Memento ink. Since the stamps are unmounted, I set up the stamping plate as if I were using a clear stamp and adhered the stamp to the plate with a low-tack double-sided tape.

Don’t forget – these Red Castle stamp sheets are only available at The Queen’s Ink and when they’re gone, they’re gone! You don’t want to miss out on a quality stamping product.

Supplies

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; X-Press It Blending Card by Copics; Bountiful Seven (*) by Authentic; Bazzill Basics in Yam
Stamps: 42031 – Leaves Plate 4 (*) by Red Castle Stamps; Heartfelt by Penny Black
Dies: 5×7 Matting Basics A by Spellbinders; 5×7 Matting Basics B by Spellbinders
Copics: G20, G21, G24, G28

Items marked with an asterisk (*) were provided by a store or the manufacturer for free or at a discount. All other items were personally purchased.

Leaves Plate No. 4 by Red Castle Stamps

I’m here today with a card featuring one of the red rubber stamp sheets from Red Castle Stamps. These stamp sheets, exclusively available at The Queen’s Ink, are deeply etched and create a clear, crisp impression. Subject matter ranging from antique images of cats, leaves, and vases to classic art, the Gibson Girls, canaries, alphabets, snowflakes, dominoes, textures, prayerful expressions, and more.

To inspire you, I’ve put together a simple, but elegant card featuring an image from Red Castle’s Leaves Plate 4. I used the new Tim Holtz Stamping Platform to stamp the image on watercolor paper with Versamark ink. Since the stamps are unmounted, I set up the stamping plate as if I were using a clear stamp and adhered the stamp to the plate with a low-tack double-sided tape.

I recently acquired a set of the Nuvo Aqua Flow pens and decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to try them out. I dabbed a little color along the vein lines of the leaf and blended it out with a damp watercolor brush. Once the ink dried, I fussy cut the leaf and mounted it to the card with foam tape for added dimension.

The design papers are from the Bountiful Collection by Authentique. I selected a sentiment from Penny Black’s Heartfelt stamp set and used Versafine ink in Vintage Sepia to coordinate with the autumn tones of the card.

Hope my project has inspired you! And remember – these Red Castle Stamps are only available in limited quantities. Once they’re gone, they’re gone! So don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to stock up on a high quality stamp.

Supplies

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Watercolor Paper by Strathmore; Bountiful One (*) and Bountiful Six (*) by Authentique
Stamps: 42031 – Leaves Plate 4 (*) by Red Castle Stamps, available exclusively at The Queen’s Ink; Heartfelt by Penny Black
Dies: A2 Matting Basics A & B by Spellbinders
Embellishments: Gold Fine Detail Embossing Powder by Ranger
Inks: Versafine in Vintage Sepia by Tsukineko; Versamark by Tsukineko; Nuvo Aqua Flow Pens (*) by Tonic Studios in Red Apple, Fresh Green, Lemon Zest, Spiced Ginger

Items marked with an asterisk (*) were provided by a store or the manufacturer for free or at a discount. All other items were personally purchased.