Under Water Watercolour

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

I don't really have a theme for today's card. It's one of those "almost any occasion" cards that was more for me to just paint and play around with than anything else. Which makes it perfect for the challenge today.

To begin, I cut my watercolour paper down to a standard A2 sized card. I then stamped the images from Darcie's Heart & Home (JCS204) set. I couldn't find a set name, just the number so if you are looking for it, hopefully that helps.

All the images are stamped with CTMH Archival Black Ink, this ink is great because it dries quickly and is completely waterproof.

I coloured the images with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, adding the colour where I wanted it to be darkest then using my Koi water brush (size 2) to pull out the pigment. This is a new water brush for me, and so far I really like it. It's travel size and has a pretty good barrel volume. The water doesn't come out too quickly which is great and the bristles are quite long.

The background watery area was done by scribbling one of the markers randomly and then pulling the colour out. I love how the shade varies and it looks like there is some purple in there as well, but really it's all just one marker.

I covered her tail with Wink of Stella clear, and you can kind of see it in the picture, but really the camera never does it justice. But in real life she really sparkles!

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge:

Create A Scene

Sunset Sympathy

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

I was a little bit torn on whether to add this card to the Floral Thoughts mini series or let it stand alone. In the end it seemed more fitting to keep it outside the series.

I wanted to convey a simplistic beauty while maintaining a subtle sadness that generally comes with giving a sympathy card. I saw this colour combination on Pinterest (I wish I had saved the link to share it, she had so many fabulous combinations, it was a joy to read).

I find it somewhat therapeutic to create sympathy cards when I'm missing my Dad; channeling my sorrow into something beautiful that he would have loved. Classic tortured artist, right? Nothing that extreme, I assure you. Just a way to remember him creatively, I suppose.

To begin, I masked off the top and bottom inch of the panel with post-it tape. I then sponged Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Abandoned Coral Distress inks to create the sunset background.

Once that is completely dry, I used my MISTI to stamp the swaying tree from Stampin' Up's Thoughts & Prayers stamp set in CTMH archival black ink. I used the MISTI to ensure that I could stamp image a second time in case it wasn't as dark as I wanted.

I cut the panel down to 4 x 5 1/4" and mounted that on a black panel cut to 4 1/8 x 5 3/8", this creates the tiny black boarder. I then mounted the entire bit on a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own.

Sunshine Shaker

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

I've had this design in my head for a little while now and it's just been itching to get out. So when these two challenges came around (and at the same time!) I was very excited.

I can't wait to share this with you, so let's just dive right in!

This card is a great collaboration of companies that I love! The stamped chameleon image is from MFT's Polynesian Paradise coloured with Copics and then fussy cut out.

The sun and clouds were die cut using Lawn Fawn's Spring Showers dies. The branch and little flowers are die cut using Spell Binder's Cherry Blossoms dies.

The sequins are from Doodle Bug and the paper is from my stash!

To add colour to the background and the sun I used Distress inks Mustard Seed, Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass, Gathered Twigs and Spun Sugar.

I created the shaker part using the We R Memory Keepers Fuse Tool and an old 12x12 scrapbook sleeve.

I think that about covers the buffet of products used in this card, it was really great to just sit down and play around.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge:

Photo Inspiration

and

Time Out Challenge:

#61 Inspired by Words

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine"

Anthony J. D'Angelo

Floral Thoughts Mini Series 6 | ft. Wplus9 "Beautiful Bouquet Dahlia"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

Like most stamp sets in my collection, I first saw this one on Pinterest and fell in love. The moment I saw it, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. So into the shopping cart it went.

I wanted to create a warm and happy card and chose my palette accordingly. Interestingly, and it didn't even occur to me until right now, there is no glitter on this card. The embossed greeting is shiny, but other than that there is zero shimmer.

Mind. Blown. Right?

To begin, heat embossed the image in white onto 140lb coldpress watercolour paper. 

I then used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers to colour it in. These pens are pretty much my go-to for colouring right now, and my absolute first choice when it comes to watercolouring. I cannot get enough.

Typically when I am creating a piece that will make it to the blog (because some don't) and moreso when it will be entered into a challenge, I write all the supplies and colours down so I can reference them during post. I have been led to believe that the paper for this post was stolen by a certain sweet-faced 4 year old that I caught in my craft space. Basically that translates to me not having a list of colours for you. 

The blue halo around the image was created by wetting the area with clean water and dropping in Tumbled Glass Distress ink.

The greeting from Clearly Besotted's "Sunshine and Smiles" set is heat embossed with gold. 

I then mounted the panel on a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge:

Anything Goes

and 

Time Out Challenge #60