Harmony

 I have been playing with some shimmery watercolors lately . . .

As always, the camera has shirked its duty to accurately reproduce the glimmering beauty in front of it.  Trust me, the flower colors are like jewels and they absolutely sparkle.  I can't wait to use these paints again!

 

Cardstock:   Strathmore #100 Bristol, Multimedia #140 Aquarelle    

Stamps:       The Artful Stamper Field Flower, Stampin Up Itty Bitty

                     Backgrounds, Starving Artistamps Positive Words

                     “Harmony”

Inks:             ColorBox Black, Frost White

Waterclrs:    Iuile Christmas Series: Apple, Orange, Cobalt, New Leaf

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:            Die-namics Pierced Rectangle Frame, Impression

                     Obsession Tied Line,  Kat Scrappiness Stitched

                     Fishtail Banner

Emb Fldr:    Spellbinders Blistered

Doo Dads:   Inkssentials Enamel Accents: Black       

Thankful

For this Thanksgiving card, I wanted to try out my beginning skills with the liquid watercolors I've been playing with.  The pumpkin images were small enough that I figured I couldn't screw up too badly . . .

I've lots more to learn but I still had a fun time with this one!  While I need to find ways to back out of boo boo's, I've learned so far that adding more water can usually mitigate at least some of the damage when color slips out of bounds.  To that end, heat embossing the image can be a great help in preventing spillover!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Rain Forest, Various watercolor papers 

Stamps:       Great Impressions Pumpkins in a Row, Purple Daisy

                     Sand

Inks:             VersaColor Brown

Waterclrs:    Concord & 9th Marmalade, Sprout, Parsley, Wheat

Emb Pwdr:  B’Muse Devil’s Food Delight

Dies:            DieNamics Verticle Stitched Strip, Frantic Stamper

                     “Thankful”, Spellbinders Fall Botanical              

From My House

 Mixed feelings on this one . . .

Too many trees?  Poorly placed?  Boring?  I don't know . . . I did have fun inserting all of the yellow windows.  But, as so often happens, the end result was not exactly what I had in mind.  Ah well, maybe next time . . .

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Multimedia #140 Aquarelle, Scrap

                     Yellow, Blue, Navy, Red     

Text:            (typed) “From my house to yours”

Inks:             Distress Black Soot

Dies:            Impression Obsession Town Builder, Tim Holtz

                     Woodlands, Papertrey Ink Angled Labels          

Doo Dads:    Gelly Roll Clear

New Home!

 Oh boy, did I ever have fun with this one!

These dies from Tim Holtz were a delight to play with!   I enjoyed trying out various arrangements with all of the truly creative elements available in this set.  Normally, I don't do much with teeny tiny shapes, but there is such charm in these designs that I couldn't resist.  The set has two more buildings and lots more embellishments, so check it out.

 

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Strathmore #100 Bristol    

Stamps:       Stampin Up “On your new home”, Seth Apter Links,

                     Purple Daisy Sand

Inks:             Distress Fired Brick, Walnut Stain, Stormy Sky, Weathered Wood,                                     Brushed Corduroy, Mowed Lawn

Emb Pwdr:  Vipies Transcendence

Dies:            Tim Holtz Cityscape-Suburbia, Impression Obsession

                     Plane with Banner, Memory Box Garden Pots & Buckets,

                      Lil Inkers Cloudy Sky             

Doo Dads:    May Arts Jute          

With Sympathy

It has been a good while since I've used any of my Hero Shadow stamps, so I took this opportunity to put three of them to work. . . . 

The result was more subtle than I was going for, but given that this is a Sympathy card, that's probably best.  Shadow stamp images were all the rage back in the day, and for very good reason:  they create instant backgrounds in all sorts of shapes and textures. There probably isn't a card theme out there that cannot be enhanced by the use of these creatively artsy tools. I just might challenge myself to go through my stash of Shadow stamps and see how many different looks I can get with them.  Stay tuned!

 

Cardstock:   Strathmore Bright White, #149 Watercolor, Unknown

                     Gray  

Stamps:       Hero Large Shadow, Background 11, Paper Background,

                     Endless Creations “With Sympathy”

Inks:             Hero Unicorn, Distress Tattered Rose

Emb Pwdr:  Hero White

Dies:            Lil Inker Stitched Mats Rectangles, Memory Box Single

                     Rose Stem, Frantic Stamper Striped Frame and Insert set,

                     Punch Bunch Flowers                  

Doo Dads:   Distress Clear Rock Candy

Get Well

 Greg Smallwood is the owner of Marco's Paper which is one of the very best stamping supply stores ever.  When he blogged that painful diverticulitis had put him in the hospital for a few days, nothing would do but to send him a card . . .

 

After stenciling with colored pastes, I sprinkled on a smidge of gold glitter.  Hope the sparkle picks up his spirits and that he's back in the pink soon . . .

 

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute 

Dies:            Scrapbook Slim Nested Rounded Rectangles,

                     Rubbernecker Slimline Rounded Square, Slimline Deckle

                     Die, Paper Smooches “Get Well”                    

Stencil:        A Colorful Life Wavy Dashes

Doo Dads:    Prima Paste Rusty, Dark Olive, Red Rust, Sparkle &

                     Sprinkle Fantasy Gold, Excell Seam Marker

Soar

 Here is a second version of the gatefold card I had fun with a little while ago . . .

 

I'm thinking I should have used bigger dragonflies.  But I do like the blue and silver drama against the black . . . I hope you do too!

 

Cardstock:   Dorset Black Diamond, Multimedia #140 Aquarelle,

                      Ranger Silver Sparkle       

Inks:             Jacquard Piñata Silver, VersaMark

Colorants:    Lindy’s Stamp Gang Magical Tibetan Poppy Teal

Emb Pwdr:  All Night Media Silver Tinsel, Cloisonné Plum Sable

Dies:            Sizzix Gatefold, Tree Love Nicole Dragonfly, Frantic

                     Stamper Dragonfly Pair, DieVersions font Noodles:

                     “SOAR”                

Blossom

This card is my first experience with liquid watercolors.  While I had plenty of fun, it still shows I've got a long ways to go . . .

So far, I've learned that lots of water is a must when it comes to moving watercolor around.  A good quality paper is also of primary importance.  I used the best I had but I'm hoping that another brand I've ordered lives up to its hype and that it will make blending a little easier.  Shading and blending are my main difficulties and I'm hoping that lots of practice (and some really good paper) will help with that.

 Meanwhile, I re-discovered my little collection of fabric tracing wheels and I used several to add interest to the open spaces in the background.  I plan to use these nifty texture tools a lot more in future . . .

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Leapfrog, Cartiera Magnani Aquarello    

Stamps:       Concord & 9th Fine Line Florals

Inks:             ColorBox Black

Waterclrs:    Concord & 9th Liquid Watercolors Peacock, Buttercup,

                     Grapefruit, Oceanside, Sprout

Emb Pwdr:  Judikins Black

Dies:            Concord & 9th Fine Line Florals, DieVersions A Hint of

                     Lime font, small flower punches, various fabric tracing

                     wheels             

Doo Dads:    Inkssentials  Enamel Accents Black       

Fleur

A few years ago, I bought four sets of Tim's Distress Crayons.  For some unknown reason, they didn't take me where I wanted to go, so they've been sitting on a shelf and mocking me ever since.  But recently, Tim did a great video on pairing the crayons with Frosted Crystal embossing powder and I got fired up again to give the crayons a try.

Tim suggested scribbling a dime-sized area on a craft sheet, then picking up the color with a waterbrush and painting with it.  It worked beautifully!  For this card, I lucked out by choosing a solid instead of a line image:  by stamping in black, any of the colors that may have gone outside the petal edges onto the black background are invisible! 

After stamping with the black pigment ink, I then scattered the Frosted Crystal EP over it and heated.  The result is a textured, slightly frosty look that is very appealing.

I now love these crayons, especially because the color you see in the crayon is the exact color you get!  Used as is, there is no fading or alteration of the colors in any way - just pure, saturated vibrancy.  Of course, you can get plenty of lighter shades and great blending, depending on how much water you add to the mix.  There are lots of choices with this medium and I plan to explore them all!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Carrot Cake, Cartiera Magnani Acquerello        

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Foliage

Waterclrs:    Distress Crayons Pine Needles, Twisted Citron,

                     Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed

Dies:            Reverse Confetti Reverse Note & Frames set, DieVersions

                     font Noodles: “Fleur”, EK Success punch Flower