top of page

Freddie with Sparkle Ink



Hi everyone, today I would like to show you one of my favourite images by Whimsy Stamps, I just can’t get enough of this cute Freddie dragon! Almost all of the colours on today’s project are from the Spectrum Noir Sparkle Inks, I totally love how long these inks stay water-reactive, you can work with them until you are perfectly happy!


Step 1:

I started my project by stamping Whimsy Stamps “Freddie” onto Strathmore Bristol Smooth Surface Paper using black ink and than I heat embossed using clear embossing powder. This way my lines stay black and crisp no matter how much water I add.

Next I coloured around the image using the Spectrum Noir Sparkle Ink in “Rose Quartz”, which is a sort of peachy colour, in combination with a small brush. This part doesn’t have to be super neat, since I’m going to fussy cut the image later on.


Step 2:

After fussy cutting the image I started colouring the dragon itself. For the yellow parts I used a Spectrum Noir Sparkle Ink in the colour “Sleigh Bell”, a small brush and water. By adding water to thin out the colour you can create more depth and dimension in your colouring. Keep adding to the shadows until it’s dark enough for your liking.

For the flower petals I picked “Pink Garnet” and applied the colour in the same way. Do remember that these inks are very potent, and a little goes a long way!


Step 3:

For the green parts of the dragon I used a combination of two Sparkle Inks: first I applied my lighter colour, which is “Lichen”, and than I added “Garden Green” to the shadows to add more depth into the image. For the reddish parts I used “Hearthside”, but I toned it down a bit with a slight bit of the dark green.


Step 4:

After the colouring is done I added some highlights using a white gel pen.

All of today’s Sparkle Inks are from the following sets: Forest Glade, Traditional Christmas, Perfect Pastels and Glitz and Glamour.



Step 5:

Now that my focal point is ready I can focus on the background: for this I die cut a square panel from a piece of watercolour card stock. I decided on my lay out and stamped my sentiment (Clearly Besotted “Beautiful Friend”) onto the panel using Spectrum Noir Finesse Water-Proof Ink in “Noir Black”.



Step 6:

To create a fun design on my background I used an ink-smooshing technique: for this I added some of the “Rose Quartz” colour onto my glass work surface and than used a piece of plastic (like a stamp packaging) to pick up the ink and smoosh it onto my watercolour paper. This I did several times until I liked what I had, than I dried my panel with a heat tool.

After drying the panel I added some splatters in the same colour as well as Spectrum Noir Metallic Ink in “Silver Ingot”, using a brush.



Step 7:

Time to put my card together: I die cut a slightly larger square panel from gold mirror card stock and adhered both squares together using liquid glue. This combination I adhered onto a crème coloured card base using one millimetre thick foam tape. And to finish my card I now only have to adhere the dragon image on top also using one millimetre thick foam tape.

I totally love how this card turned out!

Detail picture:


And that is it for today’s project! I wish you a creative day!

bottom of page