A Scottish Castle

A Scottish Castle

Hi there!
Thanks for stopping by.
Thursday’s blog is always blue, so here’s a Scottish Castle:
Eilean Donan Castle, to be precise…

I used:
Castle stamp
Denim Adirondack

Clarity Blending Mat
A6 Clarity Card

Ink up the castle in Denim and blot it lightly on copy paper before 

 you stamp it carefully directly onto the blending mat.

Lay the Clarity card down onto the wet image, 
and transfer the image by rubbing the back.

Well, I’ve seen better, I hear you say. Mmmm. Me too. 
But it will do; it’s a reflection. It’s in the water!
I’m just about to cover it up anyway!

And what’s lovely is, that as soon as you stamp the castle above the water into place with the Denim, the iffy looking reflection looks perfect!

Tear strips of sticky masking tape (we’ve all got a roll of that rubbish stuff that won’t come off the roll, and sticks like you know what!) Well, that’s perfect for this job! Now aren’t you glad you couldn’t bear to part with it?

Start with the water. Overlap the strips, and leave a little of the card free in the sky.

Using a make up sponge, add Denim to the Card areas. It will wipe off the masking tape. We need an Archival ink – a permanent ink – to stain the masking tape.

Mix it up a bit when you stain the actual masking tape. I used Sepia and Cobalt Archivals.
  

See how the torn edges of the masking tape stain darker, thereby creating water ripples?
And see how little it mattered how perfect your reflection image was?! The shape is all we need!

See how the Denim stains the Claritycard, 
whereas the Archival Cobalt stains the tape area?

So you can create a whole landscape with a few strips of masking tape; just remember you need Archival inks to stain the tape. There are some fabulous colours nowadays!

When you have completed your artwork, carefully wipe it, to remove any excess ink.  
This is where the clouds come out.

Yes, so there we have it. A landscape with a difference.
Hope you like it.

much love,

76 thoughts on “A Scottish Castle

  1. You have all these tricks up your sleeve….can't wait till the next one you pull out of your hat!!! This is such s lovely effect, I would never have believed it if it wasn't you telling the method. Have a great day tomorrow, let those who will spoil you. X

  2. Happy Birthday cha cha cha. This is a really cool technique, just how do you come up with these ideas? What fun and such a neat final result. Thanks. Hope your day is extra special just like you…..

  3. Happy birthday! I love seeing Eilen Donan Castle. My Australian aunt post pictures on my facebook wall nearly every day of the castle from various angles and at various times of day! Yesterday the photo was with a half dozen topless kilted men walking towards the castle!!! A great view! I have sent her a card using this stamp! She liked it!
    I hope that you enjoy the moments today to create memories to cherish in the future. xx

  4. Happy birthday fellow Pisces – have a wonderful day. Celebrating my birthday tomorrow, mixed feelings as I lost my lovely mum last year, she loved Scotland.

  5. Very innovative with a great effect…I'm still trying to think what to do with my "garden birds" that's a little different, but I don't think they'll look quite right stuck under masking tape! lol….. Now your birthday has finally arrived, have a great day Barbara & make sure you are spoilt rotten the WHOLE day – Hope you have another chill-out shopping day planned like you did on Janice's B'day – Anyway, whatever you do…..Enjoy!! Take care, Carole x

  6. Love this castle scene (being Scottish) and the masking tape well that's something I never new. I learn something new every day here and it's wonderful. Hope you have the loveliest day for your birthday and as we say in Scotland " Lang May yer lum reek" x

  7. Hello Barb, Happy Birthday lovely lady, hope you have a wonderful day and relax. Thanks for a great card, very unusual technique, one to add to the try list. Bx

  8. Wow…interesting technique – love you leave the tape in place!! Scotland is beautiful and I am guessing you missed going there last week so this is a little tribute to your Scottish friends – the castle is great – you did something similar with it at your workshops last year with the mat – so I will now have another go!! Have a great day Barb xx

  9. Bus just went over a bump so my comment got published before I had finished. I love Scotland and this is such an iconic image. Living the artwork as always. Have a great birthday Barbara and let your family and friends spoil you.

  10. Happy Birthday lovely lady! Have a fabulous day.
    This image always reminds me of my favourite film…Highlander! You have given us yet more inspiration on how to use the stamp! Love and Hugs. xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  11. Good morning and happy birthday Barbara. I love the image, it reminds me of my visits to Scotland. I was worried about the tape though, until I realised it wasn't coming off. X

  12. This is great as its an advance on what I learnt on a clarity workshop day. Leaving the tape on is so simple but not something I would have thought of. I hope your day is filled with masking tape surprises.In that you uncover a few things you weren't expecting but the whole thing is a wonderful experience, happy birthday. Hope the fog lifts as you lift the tape

  13. Happy Birthday!! This is different, all the way down I was waiting for the tape to be taken off and reveal the white areas but no it stayed on! I have just such a roll and was thinking that lifting it off would probably remove half the card along with it, so keeping it on is genius. Hope you have a lovely day and don't have to work too hard. Love Donna xx

  14. Barb this is just perfect for my Husband. This is his favourite castle of all and we cannot drive past it anytime we go North. We have to stop and take pics. I will have to buy the stamp now as he would love me to make him a picture like that. I can only hope I can do half as good as yourself and I will be happy and John certainly will be.
    Thank you as always for the inspiration x

  15. I almost forgot the most important thing of the day. A very Happy Birthday to a very Happy Lady. I hope your neck is beginning to feel better and you get some relief from it.
    Have the most fabulous day and surround yourself with happiness x
    Dx

  16. Hi Barb,
    Happy Birthday – hope you are taking the day off! Lovely card today with a fabulous technique. I've seen you use this before – I think with the pheasant or partridge stamp – when you were on C&C a while ago but have never tried it myself. I think that will change though when I get some masking tape – mine always seems to end up with no sticky on it at all!! Have a great day, love Alison xx

  17. As soon as i saw this stamp it made me think right back to the workshop in Stockport last year, what a lovely day we all had, and you are so inspirational Barbara. Love this different take on a landscape, you are so clever. Have a lovely Birthday xxx

  18. Happy birthday Barbara have a lovely day love and hugs xxx the card is stunning the masking tape tip is wonderful I love this card thank you for sharing love June xxx

  19. A fab scene you have created here Barbara. The torn tape is really effective.
    Happy Birthday. Hope you are having a lovely day.
    Beryl xx

  20. I love this stamp and recently made a card for a friend who is a photographer. She had taken a photo of this castle and her daughter had used some kind of technique to make the sky beautiful. I told her that I felt a card coming on…. And with Brayer in hand I made a card which she has now put on her blog to show off to everyone.I love your work Barbara, it truly inspires me. Thanks so much. Missed you at the SECC but Jo was so nice. You should get her to do your demos while you sit and chat to us all. !!!

  21. Happy Birthday Barbara. Love todays card. Can't believe how effective the masking tape technique is. I love it. Sods law though, I have had a roll of masking tape that would have been perfect for this but I threw it away a couple of weeks ago while have a good sort out!!!! Whats the betting that it takes ages to find another one that is as bad/good : ) I hope you have a wonderful day. Take care.

  22. Happy birthday Barbara, I hope you are able to enjoy the beautiful sunny day we are having
    This is another fantastic technique and it looks so essective. Thank you

    Jackie x

  23. fabulous barbara – and a very happy birthday to you! hope you're having a great day and thankyou for showing me a way to use up those rolls of tape I have! Fabulous xx

  24. What a great idea. Visited the castle last year (in the rain) and what a spectacular visit it was. I have also tried your mica version of this on your sticky sheets and it turned out really well. I shall now go and try this technique. Thanks for sharing and for your daily inspiration x

  25. that is one of my favourite stamps. i have used it quite a few times but i have never used this technique. worth visiting though. and yes i do have lots of that sticky stuff and the archival inks……hugs xx

  26. Happy Birthday Barbara – hope you have a relaxing and inspiring day in equal measure! I love Eilean Donan and last time I was there we were caught in a snow storm! Love this technique with the masking tape – I'll have to revisit my castle and bridge stamps and have a go at replicating your masterpiece. Thanks for sharing, Susan x

  27. Happy birthday Barbara, I hope you have had a lovely day so far and more fun to come this evening. Another great Blog today, much easier doing the reflection on the mat than a Brayer I would think. Wx

  28. Wishing you a very happy birthday Barbara, it's mine today too but just 12 months between us. Looking forward to seeing you at the NEC next week to spend my birthday dosh xx

  29. Lovely castle, lovely card from a very talented lovely lady. A great stamp for my fellow Scots down under. I hope you had a lovely pain free birthday Barbara, Happy Birthday! x

  30. What an unusual interpretation of the subject Barbara. It works so beautifully to give that feel of the sea, and also for those rather flat clouds you see in the sky sometimes, are they stratus, I'm not sure but a really lovely demo. The colours of blue are gorgeous too. x

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