Easter Sunday – Celebrate.

Easter Sunday – Celebrate.

Hi there!
Happy Easter Sunday!
No Sale today, if that’s ok.
It’s Easter Sunday.
We are on HOCHANDA Shopping TV 
today at 11am 3pm and 6pm – that’ll do!

I hope you are having a good day?
Getting set for a good walk and roast lamb here.
But have to weave it in around the telly, because
our good friend Paul Church is on HOCHANDA TV today, 
and he is showcasing some of the latest and greatest of Clarity.

Wait till you see the Leafy Swirl in a Groovi Plate!
Here is the stencil version on a Gel Printing Plate.

We do have some pretty unique and beautiful stencils.
Paul will also be showing off
a set of what are some of the best stencils in our box!

These are a couple of years old now, you know, but still brilliant.

He’s going to show you how to run stencils through an embossing machine, but this is one technique I think it’s good to have a step by step on.

So, I have copied my blog from way back when to today,
so that you can see how we convert the actual lines of the stencils into a quasi stamp.

Here’s the set:
Poppies
Pods
Honesty
Chinese Lanterns
Seed heads

Actually built to fit the 6″ x 6″ Gel Printing Plate.
(I’ve got some cool news on that note, but more anon….)

I took the Seed Heads Stencil and played with it. 
Here are my findings.
Ink up the stencil with Black Soot Distress Pad. The result was better and less blotchy when you use a Speedball Brayer to distribute the ink.

Check out the difference.

Lay a piece of square white card on the inky stencil.

Now here we can decide how dark we want the black to be by how much pressure we add to the Embossing machine.
I am going to go down two routes for you: one dark, one lighter.
I control this by how much copy paper I add to the sandwich I put through the embosser. 
More copy paper, more pressure on artwork = darker
Less copy paper, less pressure on artwork = lighter
Pretend you want to cut a die. You won’t use a soft mat. You are not embossing the card; you are simply using the machine like a mangle.

This example here shows a darker example which is quite blotchy, because I didn’t use a Brayer to spread the ink out evenly.
But let’s go with that for a while.

Wash and dry the Stencil. 
Position it over the top with masking tape.

Use our fantastic Stencil Brushes and Make-up Sponges to colour the background with Distress pads and Adirondacks. 
Both work well.
I used
Lettuce Adirondack
Spiced Marmalade Distress pad
Milled Lavender Distress pad

 Use the make-up sponges to add depth of colour to the 
flower heads.

So you can see here, when I removed the stencil, 
I wasn’t thrilled with the black blotchy frame.
What did I learn? To spread the ink on the stencil with a brayer.
What can I do? Cut off the blotchy frame!

That’s better!
 Or we can go down a different creative path.
Rewind to the start,
using a brayer to spread the ink out evenly,
less copy paper = less pressure = grey.
I LOVED this effect. 

 It reminds me of a fantastic Fabric design by Sanderson!

At this point, I was so delighted with the work, I really wondered whether I shouldn’t just leave it alone…
But curiosity got the better of me, and I got out my lovely box of Faber Castell Colouring pencils
It’s the Easter treat from yesterday, remember?
Hahahaha! 2 years on, and she’s still using virtually the same colours as she did yesterday!!!!
That‘s funny.

My, how time flies when 
you are lost in a world of shading and blending…

Avoiding the pin-line white of the flowers, 
I proceeded to shade in the seed heads with
Light Flesh, Dark Flesh, 
Pink Madder and Rose Madder.
Toned down the white backdrop with Ivory.

Added shade with 
Warm Grey, Cold Grey 
and finally, a 5b Pencil

I could spend another hour, gradually adding more shade…
but I’m already running late!

Hahahaha! 2 years on, and she’s still chasing her tail!!
Spuds and carrots to peel, beds to make!

So, there we  are. Same stencil, completely different look.

 Which one do you prefer? I know which one I like better!

Now apply those ideas to the other new Flower Stencils 
in your mind’s eye…

A W E S O M E

Ingredients:

Seed Head Stencil 7″ x 7″
Embossing Machine (E-Bosser)
Make-up sponges

Colouring Pencils
Don’t forget to tune in to Paul on Hochanda

You can watch on your TV

  • SKY 663 (24/7)
  •  

  • FREEVIEW 39 (6AM-9PM)
  •  

  • FREESAT 817 (24/7)

 or online, on your PC

https://hochanda.com/

with much love from

105 thoughts on “Easter Sunday – Celebrate.

  1. I'm all set, hoping to watch live but recording just in case. Must get my stencils out for a play, really like this technique. Might have had a cheeky purchase already ;-). Have a lovely Easter. Ours has been quite sad having had to say goodbye to my gorgeous whippet boy Trevor but the sun was shining on Friday, we had a beautiful day, made beautiful memories too xx

    1. I am sorry to hear about Trevor. It is so hard to say goodbye to our furry friends but they bring such joy when they are with us and we cherish our memories of them. Best wishes, Sue

    2. Oh how very sad for you to have had to say goodby to Trevor. In time you will be able to think of all the good times you had with him. Love and hugs Alison xxxx

    3. Thank you ladies for the sympathy, I've always loved Trevor's name too, he was a silver brindle, very handsome, really missing his presence, we were devoted to each other. Luckily I have another whippet and Greyhound, Jason and Eddie to keep me busy , thank you all again xx

  2. This is gorgeous. I havent been successful with embossing stencils yet. Nor have i tried this technique. I may have a dabble later on. Happy Easter to you and yours xx

  3. Lovely, must try it out. I think I looked before and didn't have the right plates if I remember. Will have to try with different combinations.
    Happy Easter to you and Dave! Xx

    1. Couldn't resist the leafy swirl plate. Its my most used stamp and stencil! Hope the weather isn't too bad where you are. Sunny spells here mixed in with horrible rainy spells. Xx

    2. Sounds like your weather is pretty much the same as ours – we have even had a hail shower too! Still the sun was a bonus! We have had a weather warning for the early hours of tomorrow! We can expect winds of up to 70 mph – lets hope they are wrong! xx

    3. Hello Donna. Good choice getting the swirly plate. It's my favourite too. I think I'm going to have to put everything into a hat that I'd like, and just pull out a couple! My list is getting too long for my purse haha¬

    4. Hello Donna we liked the leafy swirl too, I'm just dropping hints to my husband who forgot to buy an Easter present for me after I said no to chocolate (I know!!!, but I've still got a box from Christmas!). Hope you've had a good day xx

  4. Happy Easter to you Barbara and Dave! And all the lovely Claritystamp team!
    Isn't it amazing how different you can make just one stencil just by a change of colour!
    Have a lovely day..I'm just about to watch Paul on the telly now!
    Love and hugs! Xxxx

  5. Happy Easter to you Barbara and Dave! And all the lovely Claritystamp team!
    Isn't it amazing how different you can make just one stencil just by a change of colour!
    Have a lovely day..I'm just about to watch Paul on the telly now!
    Love and hugs! Xxxx

  6. I'm so glad you re visited this as both results are lovely in different ways. I shall be getting my stencils out and having another go as I always ended up with really blotchy results before – the brayer would appear to be the way to go. Hope you have a lovely restful Easter Sunday xxxx

  7. Happy Easter Barbara, Dave & the Clarity team!!
    hope you enjoy your time off. Love this, I prefer the coloured pencils sample but both are lovely. Haven't tried embossing any stencils yet but will have a go.
    Managed to catch the end of Paul's first Hochanda session and love the Groovi leafy swirl and the new punches. Will watch later again. We too have lamb for dinner cooked by our son what a treat!! xx

  8. Happy Easter Sunday to you & Dave too 🙂
    Just finished watching Paul's first show and couldn't resist visiting Clarity to buy a little Easter treat out of my bonus from work……Looking forward to Paul's other shows.
    Have a wonderful day, Carole xxx

  9. Guten Morgan Frohe Ostern got that in a txt from my son who is in Germany this weekend but Happy Easter Barbara and Dave in case its
    not quite right.
    Just watched Paul's first show he was great and ohhhh the leafy swirl groovi a must have and the corner punches ohh brilliant.
    Need to try this stencil through the mangle technique only got the wee big shot but going to give it a go..well when a can put my Groovi down a bit addicted at the moment.
    Take care have a lovely day.. love Dot.xx

    1. Happy Easter Sheila,Pam,Diane,Morag,Alison and all the bloggy family hope you have a great day..xx
      Happy Easter cuddles Brenda get yir wellies on here's yir egg commin our the Bridge noo ….x

    1. Happy Easter Sunday Diana pam Brenda gilly morag Alison and to all the lovley crafting people on the blog crafting hugs
      I'm going out today to see a very dear friend who got me into card crafting she is going through a very tough time this past year and now so have a happy Easter Sunday
      Gilly enjoy your groovi hugs xxx

    2. Happy Easter Sheila! I started with a tree, as you suggested and then I thought that I would do the smaller one, and I'm quite pleased as I can see an improvement in the second. I got the amount of pressure better and stopped being so tense! That's my limit I think for today. Enjoy your time with your friend today – groovi hugs to you too, Gilly xxx

    3. Evening my dear blog friends I've had a lovley day it was so good to go visit my very dear brave friend she spoilt me with lovley flowers and craft things when I got home my daughter drove up with my granddaughter with flowers hand made white chocolate Easter egg from a lovley chocolate shop in Scarborough with a bag of chocolates inside for Tom so thoughtful in bed now resting hugs to all xxx

  10. Happy Easter to you and Dave and all here on this blog . Let us remember and rejoice and never cease to marvel at the daily miracles and transformations in our lives . Joy now Janice

  11. Happy Easter Barbara – sounds like you're planning a lovely day with Dave – enjoy it all! I love what you have done with the stencil and I prefer the second one – it's absolutely beautiful and my sort of colours! I enjoyed watching Paul on tv earlier, and I am looking forward to seeing the other shows too. I have today started out on my Groovi journey, in a very small way – as I have to pace myself. I think that maybe you should put a 'Warning Notice' on the Starter Kit – that it is seriously addictive!! Hugs Gilly x

  12. Happy Easter Morag, Alison, Diane, Pam, Brenda, Pen, Jackie, Sue57 and all on the blog! Hope that you are all having a lovely Easter Sunday! I have now done my first little bit of Groovi – and as I was saying to Sheila – I am able to see an improvement in the second tree that I have done. I got the amount of pressure wrong to start with and must have been tense, but managed to improve a little bit with the second tree! Very pleased, but I know that I need to take it slowly. I have tried to take all of your bits of advice and they have obviously helped me! Thankful hugs to you all, Gilly xxx

    1. Im so pleased you have done some groovi and noticed the difference in your trees and stopped when you got fatigued hugs dear blog friend xxx

    2. Gilly, another tip, when writing a word or message hand write it onto a piece of scrap parchment or tracing paper then turn it over so you can read it backwards with ease.

    3. Well done Gilly for getting into the groove. If you can see an improvement already then you've done brilliantly for your first attempt. Enjoy! Hugs xxx

    4. Hi Gilly, well welcome to the club! Pleased that you have made improvements already. I bet you'll soon be as addicted to Groovi as the rest of us. Love and hugs Alison xxx

    5. Hi Gilly good to hear you enjoyed your play, it's very addictive. I bought the starter kit for my sister with a voucher for extra plates, she text me on Friday to say her box of goodies gad arrived but so had 109 exam papers to mark so she was having to get on with work before play! Have fun xxx

  13. Hi Barbara,
    HAPPY EASTER to you and everyone!!!
    My favourite is the first one of your art works. Haven´t tried this with your stencils before but have to.
    Rolf xxx

  14. Happy Easter all – mmm roast lamb, my favourite. We've just had jacket tatties with tuna and salad, but I don't know if the diet would run to a roast lamb dinner! Just getting ready to watch Paul's recordings and am so looking forward to seeing his fab demonstrations. Love both your stencil projects, but the second one is just so lovely Barb. Susan x

  15. happy easter. not watching this time as am away and forgot to record. my internet access is not great so tough. i'll watch next month and hopefully they will repeat, hugs xx

  16. Lovely as was then roast lamb think for us to but at our Rebecca's no cooking for me today wonderful have a son in law who loves cooking so he is in charge so cannot watch Paul this afternoon so later on IPad on catch up any news on virgin letting Hochanda on so can record Happy Easter better tash Bobcalling xxxx

  17. My personal choice is the second one but both are lovely. I haven't tried any stencils through my machine yet but must be confident and give it a go. Missed first show but now getting ready for the afternoon one. Happy Easter

  18. A Happy Easter to you, Dave and the Clarity team Barbara and also to my fellow bloggers here. Hope you have enjoyed your roast lamb and as I unfortunately missed Paul earlier so will watch that on catch up but yippee he has just come on to do some stamping so will finish quickly! I love what you have done with the stencil and fabulous colouring too and will try something similar myself. x

  19. Hello Barb,
    Happy Easter Day to you and your family.
    I love today's tutorial, and now that the family have gone home, will watch Paul on catch up, and then see him "live" at 6.
    Maureen xxx

  20. Oh no! Just gone to watch Paul back, and the time change has confused my machine. So have other random things recorded. Think I've now set it for the 6 o'clock show – although it's saying Clarity will be on at 7 – very confused! So I'll have to watch on catch up. Love the leafy swirl stencil, so have to see the groovi plate!

  21. Hope everyone in Clarity blog land is having a lovely Easter Sunday. Hope you have a yummy sunday lunch Barb. Lamb is my favourite with a bit of mint sauce, well a lot actually. Took my mam out for lunch today and had to take my old doggy as well as he wasn't well enough to be left as his water works are a bit dodgy. He was as good as gold and no accidents thank goodness. I just love the second print you have done the best. I love printmaking of any kind. The second effect is great. I had thought about doing some lino cuts and using my embosser as the press. With old doggy being not so good I had forgotten about Paul being on Hochanda but I will be able to watch the later show and hope to see the others repeated. Its been a day of sunshine and hail showers here. Proper spring weather. Must go got an Easter egg to unwrap and demolish. Much love Jayne

  22. Hi Barbara
    Paul was brilliant as usual. His enthusiasm is infectious. I have ordered the stencils. I think for me the 2nd version of that lovely artwork just ticks all the boxes. I hope you had a lovely Easter Lunch and enjoyed your day.
    Hugs from Chris X

  23. Hi Barbara, happy Easter to you and Dave, and everyone on here. Thank you for reblogging this. I think you've been in my head again – using stencils like stamps has been sparking in my head recently, and I had forgotten you showing us this arty technique. Gives a great look.

    Hochanda, or whoever sets the electronic TV guide on the telly must have thought the clocks went forward 2 hours this year!!!! So I missed Paul's first show, but realised in time for changing the recorder for the next 2. Not had a chance to watch them yet, so something nice to look forward to. Sounds like there's been lots of cushions and suits needed today!!!! I've just put my Zebedee springs on and ordered yesterday's generous stamp offer, and some of my favourite Adirondack colours so I've got a spare. That gives you plenty time to come up with what we are going to do when we run out of our favourite colours!!!!!! 😉

    Hope you're feeling the benefit from your chilling out time this weekend. love Brenda xx

    1. Hello Brenda, I hope you've had a good day!. I'm just off to bed to watch Paul, I hope that my recorder has behaved itself and recorded them correctly. Or I'll be on catch up tomorrow!
      Sending a big hug xxx

    2. Hello Brenda, happy Easter to you and Daisy. Good idea with the inks, you are organised. I was.ooking at ink lad storage today, thought I would need a small one but I was told to do a count up of pads before I order, whoops, that will be the large one needed then!! Take care xxx

  24. Just been catching up on all of Paul's shows and now feel the need to go and play. Didn't he do well, he has such a calming effect on me. I'm so pleased to see the leafy swirl on a groovi plate which is now on top of my wish list. The other stamps set I'd love to see in a groovi plate is the blue tits. Got to go and watch the last of The Night Manager with my groovi stuff on my lapdog.

  25. Hi Barbara, I couldn't choose a favourite between your two demos. They are both so beautiful. A great tip using the brayer instead of inking straight onto the stencil, thank you for that! I hope you've had a wonderful day. xxx

    1. Hi Morag, happy Easter, hope you've had a good day. Just tried to watch Paul's shows that I recorded and all I've got is Indigoblue, so I'm not very happy at all. Looks like I'm watching on catch up tomorrow. Love and hugs, Alison xxx

  26. Loved the shows and the artwork, some of those Groovi plates will be on order in the near future. Might invest in the swirl stencil too. X

  27. I hope you're having a lovely Easter. Nice to be able to delegate the shows; boss's privilege. I shall catch up with them later.
    I love Clarity stencils. I used the Chinese lanterns this week for 3 cards, and today have been working on Christmas cards (!) with the bauble aperture and the holly background. They complement stamps so well too. Very pleased. My only problem is that I have a Cuttlebug, only 6 inches wide. Oh well, there must be a solution….possibly involving money!
    Love Carol x

  28. Hi Barb,
    This is one of my favourite stencils and really love both pieces that you've produced. Hope you and Dave have had a good day. Wishing you both a Happy Easter. Love and hugs Alison xxxx

  29. Hi Barbara
    Happy Easter to you and Dave, hope you've had a good day and your roast lamb was lovely, we had that too. I've caught one of Paul's shows today and learnt such a lot, will be playing catch up later. Love this artwork, I bought the stencils on the back pf this so I think it's time to dig them out again. I had to smile at your little comments on the blog, life doesn't change much does it. Just been watching a documentary on The Queen at 90 – she doesn't slow down or stop either, think you are both made out of the same stock!! Have a lovely relaxing evening xxx

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