I Brake For Pumpkin Head Witches

Hi Everybody!  Regina here.... Have you started making Fall and Halloween cards yet?  I just made my first Halloween card!  I have so much fun making Halloween cards because I can just let loose and have fun and there's definitely no right or wrong way to do things.  I like pumpkins and I like witches so I figured this stamp would be the best of both.  The stamp I used on this card is from I Brake For Stamps by Rick St. Dennis and it's called Pumpkin Head Witch.  If you are a serious Halloween card person, then you HAVE to check out the stamps by Rick St. Dennis.  Some of them are really scary!  I used the stamp on the inside called Jelly Beans and Bit'O Honey.

 

I know, I know, the inside is cutesy and doesn't really go with what I did on the front but that's okay, no right or wrong and I knew I was making this for my boyfriend's Mother, who loves Halloween, so I thought she would like this. :)

Last week I showed a tutorial on how to use Bister watercolor powder.  This week I tried something in conjunction with Bister.  Have you used a Frisket Liquid Mask yet?  I bought mine at Amazon, here is a link to Frisket..

It's very easy to use.  What this does is mask anything you want to keep white if you're painting or creating a background.  I wanted to make a spooky background using just black Bister but I wanted my stamp to be in the midst of this background.  I didn't want to cut the stamp out with a die and put it on the background like I did with the Bister Barn card last week.  I wanted to color the image with Copics as well.  Wow, this is really asking for a lot isn't it?  Here's what I did:

I used 140# Strathmore cold press watercolor paper and stamped my image using Versafine Onyx Black ink and I embossed that with clear embossing powder.  This will keep the ink from smearing and allow me to use the Bister with water and also color with copics.


Next, I took an old paintbrush and painted the frisket over the stamped image.  This will mask the stamp when you make the Bister background.  Let it dry for a couple hours or so.  I allowed mine to dry overnight just because I couldn't come back to it that same day.  It will feel tacky to the touch but will still be dry.  There is a link above for this Frisket mask.

It's okay if you go out of the lines but remember it will be white if you do.  I did in a few spots but it's okay.

Next I made the Black Bister Background.  Here is a link to my Bister Tutorial from last week.  I think it's so cool how other colors can be seen from just using the one color, black.  I see gray, a golden color, purple.  Just sprinkle powder where you want it and spritz with water.  The water really makes the Bister crystals come alive!  You can add more in places or smear around with a paintbrush. (see tutorial link above)

It's very important to let your paper dry completely.  Why am I telling you this?  Well, because I didn't the first time around.  As I was pulling the frisket off the stamp, the top layer of the paper tore so let it dry completely.  I'm not perfect and this was my first time using it so I'll show you what not to do so you can learn from my mistakes.

See in the first pic where the paper tore where the boot is?  I didn't let it dry enough after I spritzed with water. 

 See how the ink is bleeding onto the image?  The first time I used Memento ink, forgetting that I am using water.  I had copics on my brain so I grabbed Memento. 

 
Then just take your finger and gently pull it off.  It will be gummy.  I was so amazed at how this protected my image.

Now you're ready to color with copics.  The colors I used are listed below.  I did use one watercolor pencil, the purple, because I don't have very many purple copics for some reason and I wanted the exact shade of purple I used here.  This was the first time I had ever used watercolor pencils and I have no idea if I did it the correct way but it worked.  I colored with the purple pencil pretty heavily and then dipped a paintbrush in water and just smeared it around until I liked how it looked.  I'm not too concerned with my coloring being super perfect, shaded, blended, etc, because I want to show how to use the Frisket Mask and the Bister background.

If you have never tried watercolor powder, you can purchase it at I Brake For Stamps for $1.65 each.  The Bister powders were put in small containers so they are affordable for everyone.  Try it!  It's so much fun!

I popped up the image layer with some black fun foam to give it some height and dimension.  I've been doing this a lot lately rather than using 25 pop dots, fun foam is quicker.  I used Scor-Tape to adhere it.  I scribbled a black gelato on a piece of card stock and dipped my paintbrush in water, swirled it around in the gelato and added a little bit of darkness to make a ground for the Pumpkin Head Witch to be standing on.  I finished the card off by trying to break up a little bit of the background with some color.  With the background being a matte finish, I thought using glossy vinyl would be a good contrast so I cut out a moon, bats and the word, Boo! from the Silhouette store with my machine.  Then added a few sequins in dark gray to add just a hint of shine and sparkle.  


Supplies Used:
Recollections 110# white card stock for card base
Gina K Designs Black Onyx Card Stock
Strathmore 140# watercolor paper
My Minds Eye - Haunted, patterned paper
Craft Medley Cup Sequins - Dazzling Metallics, Citrus on inside
651 Vinyl in yellow, black and orange
Artist's Loft Watercolor Pencils (bought from big box store) - Violet and Light Violet
Black Gelato
Ticket Tag Punch (corners)
Fun Foam in Black
Scor-Tape 1/2"
Tombo Dot Runner Tape Runner Adhesive
Copics Used:
Pumpkin:  YR12, YR15, YR16, YR18
Dress:  G05, G07, G09
Y02, Y15
Y26 for the buckle

Thank you for taking a look at my card this week for my I Brake For Stamps post.  I hope you'll try the Bister watercolor powder and the Frisket Liquid Mask.  Did I inspire you to run to your craft room to make a card?  :)

Please visit my blog for more inspiration at http://cardsbyregina.blogspot.com

If you would like to join my blog to follow my work please click on the 2 squares to the right of Join This Site.  It will take you to another window and there you will click on Join This Site on the right.  I don't know why the Join This Site button is not working.  I have written to some different people so hopefully someone can help me with this.  

Have a great day!


Regina - I Brake For Stamps Design Team Member