how to – Highlander Celtic Stamps

Cornwall Stamping

8 Trading-Card-Size Designs to Inspire You

Cornwall is Celtic too!

I’ve created a lot of images for Scotland, Ireland and even Wales, but have neglected Cornwall and do apologize for this oversight. So now I’ve got some for you who have Cornish heritage, and for those of you who simply like this fascinating corner of the United Kingdom.

This post is about some of the stamping play I’ve been doing with the new group of Cornish theme stamps.
I hope you get some fun ideas here.

The stamps are available from the Etsy Shop as clear polymer only.

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Miner’s Mainstay

The Pasty was a miners daily meal. Read the fun story in the newsletter or the next blog.
Miner is embossed with black, the Pastys with Distress ink, all masked, cosmetic sponges used to dab on Distress inks, remove masks

Mists of Time

Black embossing for the mine ruin, then dark gray Distress ink for the miner and pasty. I used cosmetic sponges to dab and swirl Distress inks to create a misty, ghostly effect.

Life Light

Using a reverse mask of the miner, I used a cosmetic sponge and white embossing ink rubbed onto dark blue cardstock, then heat-set the ink with NO embossing powder. Then I embossed with black powder the miner, being careful to wipe off the tip of the candle part of the image first. I created a little more of a cloud of light with the white ink, heat-set it, then used colored pencils to add to the effect. Black dye ink stroked on the bottom of the card adds depth.

Light of the Past

Simple embossing with black ink & powder, and lots of colored pencils.

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Cornish Holed Stone – Mên-an-Tol

All Trading Card size.
Starting with dark blue card stock, emboss the stones with clear ink and powder. The moon stamp is from Stampscapes. Then I simply used colored pencils to play with the lighting effects.
The third one is purple embossing ink and colored pencils.

Night Magic – Men-an-Tol
Mystic Moon – Men-an-Tol
Solstice Shadows – Men-an-Tol

Night Magic by Kim Victoria, Highlander Stamps stones of Cornwall, Mên -an-Tol

Mystic Moon, Cornwall Mên-an-Tol stones rubber stamp art by Kim Victoria for Highlander Celtic Stamps

Solstice Shadows, Cornwall Mên-an-Tol stones rubber stamp art by Kim Victoria for Highlander Celtic Stamps

Cornwall Collage

Just the holed stone of Mên-an-Tol with a mine ruin you can see to this day. Notice the tiny person to give it scale. Images embossed in black, then colored with pencils, finally mask the image and over-stamp with the Knot-work square.

Cornwall stone and mine ruin rubber stamp art by Kim Victoria for Highlander Celtic Stamps

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If Van Gogh Used Rubber Stamps

If Van Gogh Made Cards

I love Van Gogh’s paintings, and have copied 2 of them to learn more about how he thought. So when I needed to create an ad for RSM’s fall issue I had a flash of inspiration: how about a Starry Night scene using my ancient sites stamps.

I did a test run on scrap paper to get the positioning right and to plan the card.

Stonehenge Starry Night How-To

•    Stamp Stonehenge with water-based black ink on matte card stock.
•    Mask Stonehenge and emboss the Labyrinth with orange pigment ink and clear powder.
•    Stamp and emboss the Abelermo Stone (who seems to be photo-bombing the picture) with black pigment ink and black detail embossing powder.
•    Color with pencils.
•    Start with yellow & orange pencils to sketch the outline of the shadow area and color the Labyrinth “moon”, Starry Night stars (which could be stamped first with the Single Spiral stamp), and halo the big stone.
•    Using a light blue pencil I colored over the Stonehenge to soften the inked image, colored the shadow, and started the sky.
•    Using dark blue and 2 different greens I colored the rest of the scene using bold lines and strokes to emulate the brushwork of Van Gogh.

All these stamps available in my Etsy Shop

Looking for Inspiration?

Masterwork paintings are a great resource to inspire your application and coloring.
Use your internet search engine to find images from Monet, Renoir, Rembrandt, Cezanne, any artist that inspires you.
Think about what it is that attracts you the most. Is it the style, elements, use of color, or something else?
Then apply those ideas to your own card making.
Matisse turned to cut paper collage to express himself. This would be an easy thing for you to incorporate into your card-making.
I think I’ll look into doing more of these Masterwork-inspired pieces.
Would you like that?

Let me know in Facebook.
Thanks for being here and reading all the way through.
Happy Stamping!
Kim

The Ancient roots of the Leek

Wearing of the Leek?

One of the traditional ways that Welsh people celebrate their national pride on St. David’s Day is by wearing a leek. There are two intriguing tales from Welsh lore about this custom, one taking us all the way back to the 6th century.

A badge

The first story goes that soldiers of the ancient British king, Cadwaladyr, were about to fight their traditional enemy, the Saxons. Dewi Sant (St. David) advised the Welsh to wear a leek in order to recognize their fellow countrymen during the battle. Many have doubted this tale, as St. David and his followers lead a quiet monastic life, far away from such battle scenes; also, this legend wasn’t recorded until the 17th century.

A field of green

Another legend recounts the tale of brave Welsh archers who helped Edward the Black (the first English Prince of Wales) defeat the French in 1346. Because the archers fought in a field of leeks, this symbol became a reminder of their bravery and loyalty, and the Welsh began to wear a leek in their caps every St. David’s Day.

Ancient roots

It is very likely that the Welsh association with the leek predates St. David by hundreds and possibly thousands of years, to a pre-Christian time when Celtic people lived close to the land and had a deep affinity with trees, plants and other such aspects of Mother Nature. The leek may have had a special status with the Celtic tribes in the area we now know as Wales, although this is speculation.

One scenario is that the druids – who were priests, doctors, poets, teachers, minstrels, and human archives of ancient wisdom – shared and used their knowledge of the healing properties of the leek. Such qualities were alluded to in ancient holy books such as the Bible and the Torah, and leeks were depicted on ancient Egyptian wall carvings and drawings. They were even cultivated in ancient Mesopotamia.

The leek, with its reputation as a medicine to cure a variety of illnesses, would have been highly valued before the era of St. David. It was regarded as a cure for the common cold, alleviated the pains of childbirth and would later be used as a tasty, healthy ingredient in cawl, the traditional Welsh broth. It offered protection against wounds in battle and was supposed to help one keep away evil spirits. One of its benefits was to aid in foretelling the future; young maidens were to place a leek under their pillow at night to see the features of their future husbands.

The proud leek

So when you see this humble plant worn as a proud symbol of Welsh heritage, or see it as an emblem in a coin, flag or banner, you can appreciate its “Celtic connection” to an ancient past.

Researched and written by Kathi Hennesey, owner of Triskelt shops

Fun things to do ~ crafts, recipes

We found resources for cool activities to get you in the Welsh mood.
Check out these links:
www.Wales.com for free PDF how-tos, recipes, and more

Castle pencil holder
Pom Pom Welsh Sheep
Paper Welsh Dragon
Paper Daffodil
Welsh Flag
Welsh Bunting
Welsh cakes
Bara brith
Welsh rarebit
lots more

Teachers and Crafters
Here is an United Kingdom site full of home-school activities for all year.

The amount of fun stuff here is amazing! And you don’t need to be a child to enjoy it all.