Charlie Love

Here is another card for the “Love is Sweet” challenge at Clear Dollar Stamps. I used a combination of four CDS stamps: Charlie Fenced in (horse peeking over fence), Picket Fence, Fun at the Farm (girl horse), and Woodland Critters (Foxy!). First I stamped Charlie fenced in, then masked him and stamped the picket fence, the girl horse was stamped separate, all stamped with onyx black versafine. I used the new to me technique of watercoloring with metallic gel pens on both horses. Before I cut an image out after watercoloring with gel pens, I spray it with hairspray to keep the shimmer in place. Click on the picture below to see how the girl horse shimmers. I haven’t mastered the art of distress paint yet, still trying. I used picket fence distress paint on the picket fence, I know it’s not supposed to be used this way, but thought I would try it anyways, I used a small brush and applied it to each of the boards on the fence, (it did crackle a little) after it dried I sponged with weathered wood distress ink. The sky was sponged with tumbled glass. The grass in the foreground was punched with a MS border punch. The light blue layer was cut diagonally then placed at each corner. A piece of light green was run through the cuttlebug with a heart block embossing folder, then sponged with peeled paint distress ink. The base card is dark green. I don’t know what the wealth and love things are, they are something I bought off a clearance rack at Walmart a while ago, (love those clearance racks!!) but thought they fit, they are attached with mini brads. The red hearts were stamped with versamark and embossed with detail white ep. I needed a dollar sign for her thought, and didn’t have one so I freehanded it using a versamark pen. Three red brads adorn two corners.


See how she shimmers, click on her and get a better view.

I have been using cheap gel pens, I have a couple brand new sets, still in the boxes, the kind where you get regular gels and metallic gels all in one box maybe twenty to thirty pens, the metallic ones give off the shimmer. I have some stardust pens too, but they are more costly, so I save them for touching up other things, they may work a lot better, but I am happy with the results using my cheap pens. It is time consuming, but the results are nice. Just mark a little color, grab your waterbrush and pull the color. Make sure when you stamp your image to use an ink that doesn't react with water. I use onyx black versafine. If I'm in a hurry, I will heat set it first, but so far, I have had no problems with the versafine smearing with water. I do have problems, and have to heat set it, when coloring with prismacolored pencils and goo gone. Try your pen out on a piece of scrap paper to see if it works. Then color away. Like I mentioned above, I learned after the very first image I cut out, after watercoloring with metallic gel pens, some of the shiimmer seems to come off from handling, so I spray mine with hairspray. Thanks for stopping by and leaving any comments.