Share Handmade Kindness

I'm participating in a month long event that was developed by and started yesterday over at the Jennifer McGuire, Ink blog.  I've mentioned before that she is my absolute favorite paper crafter to follow.  There are several bloggers that I like and follow, but Jennifer's style more closely matches my own and I also relate to her because, like me, she doesn't come from an art background.  Also like me, she started when she was making scrapbooks for her family.

The challenge is to make something (anything) by hand with love.  It could be dinner, dessert, cookies, taking photos, creating a scrapbook page or a card or just a handwritten note.  People just love to get "real" mail and for some of us, the joy is in creating those things.  I know I groan every time I see how much junk is in the mailbox and what a delight it is anytime I get something besides a bill or junk.

I have someone special that I want to reach out to for this challenge.  This person makes an impact on so many lives but she has no idea just how much!  I'm sending a card that I made to say thanks and to try and tell her how much she has impacted my life in a positive way.

I made this card with the same technique that I used to make the Audrey Blue Ornament Card. Using a piece of chipboard that came in a package of paper, I cut the heart out for my mask this time.  First I used a Mini Ink Blending Tool and Simon Says Stamp Thistle Ink to color in the heart.  I stamped the flourish in the heart and heat embossed it using WOW! White Pearl Embossing Powder. Since my ink was already down, it gave the flourish a tone on tone look.  I applied Versamark using a Mini Sponge Dauber all over the heart, then I used Interference Red Perfect Pearls over that.  A very light misting of water helps to set the Perfect Pearls. As you blend in the Perfect Pearls, the color looks different depending on what light is shining on it.  The Interference Red gets a beautiful kind of rose colored shimmer in the right light and I like that it changes as the light does. I wanted to make the heart seem like an ornament, so I used the ornament topper die from another set.  I wasn't sure it would work, but it was perfect.  I ran the rose colored ribbon through that ornament topper to make it look like it was hanging.

I used the Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangles in the largest size to cut the background panel and then the next largest for the card front panel and tucked the ribbon behind the background panel with a couple of glue dots.  Then I cut and added my sentiment.  This is my favorite "thanks" die from Mama Elephant cut from the same Bazzill Marshmallow as the front panel for a perfect match.  I cut all the little hearts in some Creative Memories Thistle colored paper that I had also added the Interference Red Perfect Pearls to using the Simon Says Stamp Holiday Shapes Hearts and Stars die and the Simon Says Stamp Large Holiday Shapes Hearts and Stars die.  Those two die sets give you 8 different sizes of each shape and are something I use frequently.   Once I had everything assembled I added the hearts to my card front using Ranger Multi Medium Matte.  For my final touch I gave all of the hearts a coat of Ranger Glossy Accents to give the hearts a little dimension, then set it aside to dry for a couple of hours.

I hope some of you who are reading this will go check out Jennifer McGuire Ink (link on the right hand side) and join in the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge.

Audrey Blue

I love Audrey Hepburn.  I think she had style and class that not many could equal.  In fact, the only other person who comes to mind is Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.  I have no idea if the Simon Says Stamp Ink and Card Stock were selected with Audrey Hepburn and Tiffany & Co. Jewelers in mind, but that is immediately where my mind goes whenever I hear this name.  It is a gorgeous shade of blue and Simon Says Stamp has captured my undying loyalty to this color.

Even though I have all the Stampin' Up! ink colors that were available when I bought mine a few years back, I loved the Audrey Blue Card Stock that I bought to make my grandson's wedding card so much that I gave in and bought this ink pad and a few others of the Simon Says Stamp Ink collection this past week.  So far I have not been disappointed.  I find these ink pads to be very "juicy" and easy to use for Ink Blending.

The technique I am using today is called "Pearlized Blending".  I'm participating in a challenge over at Papertrey, Ink Blog where I learned this technique.  I'll also enter this over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge for "Anything Goes".  I still have a number of Christmas Cards to make and I'm pretty sure this one will get made several times and in several colors.

I started by cutting a 4.25 x 5.5 mask from some pretty heavy chipboard that came out of a package of paper.  I lined up my ornament die in this mask and cut that shape out. I used Post-It Tape to cover my white cardstock panel with the mask.  Using a stamp from the Baroque Motifs Stamp set by SU!, I stamped part of that image as a design on my ornament.  I heat set that using a White Pearl Embossing Powder from WOW!.

Next I used a Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool with my Simon Says Stamp Audrey Blue Ink and worked the color into the ornament shaped opening of the mask.  Once I had the color on, I went over that with some Versamark using a sponge dauber.  Using a soft paint brush, I took my Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder and dusted the image with that.  After Brushing off the excess,  I polished up the ornament with a clean dry paper towel.  This left a beautiful shimmer on my ornament.  I looped some sheer narrow ribbon through the top piece of my ornament to make it appear to be hanging.

I cut the sentiment in silver foil card stock using a scrap from a set of dies that I bought last winter from Papertrey, Ink.  Then I assembled my card.  The background panel is cut from Simon Says Stamp Audrey Blue Card Stock using the Stitched Rectangles Die.  The paper was treat with some Tattered Angels Dazzling Diamonds Spray before I cut it.  This is another of Simon's great 100# solid color card stocks.  Next I cut the ornament panel with the next size down of the Stitched Rectangle Dies.  I adhered those two pieces then pulled the ends of the ribbon over the top of the background panel and attached them with a glue dot on the back since it wouldn't show once I assembled my card.

Finally I adhered my sentiment using Ranger Multi Medium Matte.  Like Audrey Hepburn, I think this card is simply elegant and classy.  I hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know you visited.

Watercolor Peonies

I went out to Hobby Lobby today to get some watercolor paper that was different than what I already have on hand at home.  Today I got some Canson XL Bristol Watercolor Paper which is much whiter & brighter than the other Canson XL I've been using.  It's important to note a few things, however.  The Bristol variety in this particular Canson paper is a 96# paper and not the 140# I've been using.  I did not see the Bristol in 140# at all.  I think it will be okay now that I've learned how the water and the color work together and I won't over saturate the paper.

This afternoon I started by stamping my image in Versamark and heat setting it using Simon Says Stamp Ultra Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder.  I had mentioned in a previous post that I felt like my embossing powder was not very good. Today's mail brought my package from Simon Says Stamp which included two new types of gold embossing powder; Ranger and Simon's. When I stamped my image on the "new" Bristol Card Stock, it melted quickly and smoothly. Then it occurred to me that maybe it had more to do with the paper than the embossing powder.  So I stamped the same image on the 140# Canson with the same "new" embossing powder and it again took a lot more time to melt it than it did on the 96# paper.  I let my heat tool warm up for about 30 seconds before taking it to my paper to help prevent warping.  But when I used the original embossing powder which is from Judikins, it takes about twice as long to melt.  The gold embossing powder is the only one that I've had a problem with.  I did get a Ranger Gold Embossing Powder but I haven't tried it yet. I want to be able to make a fair comparison so for today I limited it to the original Judikins Gold Embossing Powder and the Simon Says Stamp Gold Embossing Powder.  I was really happy with how well the Simon Says Stamp brand worked.

One of the things I tried the other day was to combine some of my silver with some of the gold into an empty container since I had noticed how quickly the silver melts.  This was ineffective and just made it so I have more of the not so good powder.  It's all right.  I will use it eventually but you can be sure I won't buy that type of gold embossing powder again.  Now, on to today's project!

I'm finding that I enjoy watercolor so much that I look for stamps and dies that make coloring possible.  I have some smaller Japanese Peonies from Altenew that I really love, but I also like how big this one is and I am really loving how smooth the Canson Bristol paper is.  A friend asked me one day what was the worst part of water coloring and I replied that it ended too soon -- Ha! This is from the Bird Blossom set by Stampendous.  It also has coordinating dies.

I used Tim Holtz Distress Markers in Picked Raspberry to color the pink flower, Abandoned Coral for the coral flower and Seedless Preserves for the purple flower.  When the Seedless Preserves first goes down it seems a very boring sort of purple.  Once you add a little water, the magic happens and you get this pinkish purple which is my absolute favorite color.  Creative Memories used to have a paper this color called "Thistle".  It was and is my all time favorite and I absolutely love it.  It hasn't been available for years so I'm hoarding the small supply I have.  I guess I'm going to have to take a more active role in suggesting colors to my favorite stores by sending them samples of those colors that just aren't out there right now and are no longer available from the original source.  I need Cameo Coral, Thistle, Eggplant and the list goes on.

When I was at Hobby Lobby today I noticed a bottle of the Distress Stain in the Seedless Preserves and I grabbed it up because I am kind of hard on my markers. I don't intend to be, but I am. With the stains, they have a little sponge dauber on the top of the bottle so you can just touch that to an acrylic block to get your color and then mist it with however much water you like or dip a water brush into the color.  I try to start fairly light and then build intensity where it would normally appear in the shadows.  I'd like to try a few of the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers which have an actual brush tip vs. the kind of hard felt tip that other brush markers have so I've started a list of a few colors I'd like to try.  Just as I have with my Distress Markers, I will get a few at a time.

Anyone who wants to try to watercolor with inks can use any type of water based ink or reinker you already have with a water brush or a regular small paint brush and some clean water.  The water brush I'm using I've had for a number of years. You can also use any of the water based color sprays that are out there.  The distress inks and stains are made to work with water, so they are particularly well suited to this technique.

I always love some shimmer and shine on my cards, but one thing I've learned is that it detracts from the visible watercolor technique that I'm using on my images.  You can't really see the different layers of watercolor that I've put in if I use other products like Wink of Stella or Perfect Pearls although I enjoy those too.  I think it would just depend on who I was making the card for.  If it was for a fellow papercrafter, I think I would be more technique driven than a regular card.  Everyone enjoys getting a handmade greeting card.  I also think that everyone has to find and do what works for them.  It takes me only about 15 minutes to watercolor a single image but I try to add in more layers because I enjoy it so much.  You can see the shimmer that is on this colored image.  I used Interference Red Perfect Pearls for the flower and Forever Green for the leaves. It is pretty but I don't really think you can tell it is water colored any more.  I also used Tumbled Glass Distress Marker for the "Halo".

One of the things I've learned for water coloring flowers is that it is super helpful to keep your brush strokes going in the same direction as the petals do and only work on one petal at a time because they all point different directions.  Also, since I'm actually using ink, I can't really do more than one small area at a time. You can spend as much or as little time as you want coloring your images giving a soft wash of color or you can try to make them as realistic as possible.   Like I said, I enjoy it so I try to stretch it out as long as possible.

I'll did manage to get one of these watercolors made into a card.  I have a sick friend who'll need some cheering up in a day or two.

I hope ya'll enjoyed my thoughts and insights on these water colors.  I am going to enter this card into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.   Happy Halloween, everyone!~~

Wonderful Watercolor

This week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is Wonderful Watercolor. This is such a huge trend right now in the paper crafting industry and it's also one that I personally love.   

My favorite medium for watercolor by far is using Distress Inks either in the form of Distress Markers or Distress Re-Inkers mixed with a bit of water.  Pearlized water can be made made by adding some Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder or you can use Tsukineko Clear Shimmer Spray.  I have a few colors of the Perfect Pearls but I really only ever use the Pearl Colored Pigment for this technique.

All 57 (the current #) Distress Inks were formulated by Tim Holtz and Ranger to activate or reactivate with water, even after they are dry. They are non-toxic, fade resistant, and water based. They work great for hand coloring line images, or giving an authentic vintage feel to your other projects. They come in Ink Pads, Markers and Re-Inkers.  All of these are available at Simon Says Stamp. 

For this card I had a background panel on hand from when I took my Online Card Class - Watercolor -- Exploring Mediums.  This particular panel was done using Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors on a Canson Watercolor Paper in 140# weight.  I have the set of 36 which includes two different colors of gold pearlescent shimmering paint and a white pearly one as well.  There are smaller sets available in 12, 18 and 24.  I treated the paper afterward with a Tsukineko Shimmer Solution misting a light layer a couple of times so it didn't warp my paper.  This particular water color paper is a soft ivory color vs. some papers that are whiter and brighter.  I like both options.   

I wanted a teal color with a bit of a bluish green all tangled together for this background.  I was trying to see if I could maintain 2 separate areas of color but with no hard lines.  It's hard for me to be patient and let the water do it's work, but I did succeed here and on a few other panels as well. Since I didn't want hard lines,  I just used a bit of paper towel to pull up the extra color and moisture as the colors were drying.   It's a good idea to have a bit of paper towel or tissue along with a bit of water when you sit down to watercolor.  You can fix virtually any mistake made in your watercolor by adding clean water to the "messed up" area and sopping that up with a bit of tissue or paper towel until it's clear again. I get outside the lines from time to time and this is an easy fix so far.  I'm sure it helps that my canvas is small.  

The Scalloped Stitched Rectangle panel I had also done previously using Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tools and Island Indigo Ink.  Like always, I hang on to spare parts & pieces to see if I can use them on something else at another time. 

The Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangles I use on almost every card I make in one size or another.   I like to buy dies that I know I will use over and over and this fits the bill for me.

The floral image is from the Clearly Besotted Beautiful Friends Stamp Set and was stamped using Versamark with Simon Says Stamp Gold Ultra Fine Detail Embossing Powder and heat set.  I normally use clear embossing powder, but I wanted something a bit different and the gold adds a touch of elegance. This set also has the Beautiful Friends Coordinating Dies.  I used the Tim Holtz Distress Markers in Broken China for the flowers and Mowed Lawn and Pine Needles for the Leaves. Gathered Twigs colored the branch.  I applied my color directly to the image in very small areas one at a time and blended that color out using a Water Brush.  I always pull or push the color in the direction that the leaves or petals are going.  After it's dry I go back in with another layer or two (or three) to add depth to my color for a true watercolor look and feel.  My last layer is usually some Wink of Stella or a solution of Perfect Pearls.

My husband and I traveled this past weekend so I took some images with me to color. Since the water was contained in the handle of my brush and the color was contained in my markers, I had no problems doing this in the car as long as we were on the interstate. Curvy, hilly, rural Missouri roads would not be conducive to success, so I didn't attempt it.  While I do have other mediums available to use, this is hands down, my absolute favorite! The transparency achieved with Distress Inks is just beautiful and second to none.   

Wink of Stella comes in approximately two dozen colors but you could go broke trying to buy and keep one in each color.  Since I'm adding color with markers first, I only have the Clear Wink of Stella brush pen.  From time to time I also use a Water Brush with some Gold Shimmer Spray in the barrel for coloring, but I normally only use Clear Shimmer Spray.  You can also use any of the shimmer sprays you may already have on hand. You just need to play a little bit to find out what your spray does with your type of color and get predictable, repeatable results.  When I searched for shimmer mist at Simon Says Stamp, it popped up 62 of them.  Use whichever one you like and gives the results you want.  

I used a Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Sending & Wishing Die Set for the "Sending" greeting.  The "love" die came from a different set by Little Yellow Bicycle.  For a final touch to my card, I cut some of the Simon Says Stamp Holiday Shapes - Hearts & Stars Die with some Gold Glittered Card Stock scraps.  I assembled the card panels to the ivory card base using my ATG Gun.  I've mentioned before that you cannot move anything with this adhesive on it once you press down, so make sure you have your image lined up on the panel.  I do get one a bit crooked from time to time, but as has already been said, "It's Handmade, not Hallmark".  I think people care more about actually getting a card than they do about whether or not it's a fraction of an inch crooked.   The ATG Gun is a very cost effective adhesive but not suitable for everything I do. The hearts were adhered using Ranger Multi Medium Matte.  If a bit oozes out from the side of the embellishment, it dries to a matte finish and is invisible.  It is a great, very strong adhesive for any type of embellishment.  

I have several projects on my To-Do-List right now, so I'll be back soon with another card.   Thanks for looking and feel free to leave a comment. It always means a lot to me when people take time to comment.  

The Colors of Autumn

I'm so excited to get to do a fall card today for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  Fall is by far my favorite season.   I love the vibrant colors against the crisp, cool temperatures that call for hot tea or hot chocolate.

For this card I started with a side folding ivory card base.  Next I took a piece of Canson 140# Watercolor Paper and did the background using the ink "smooshing" technique.  I inked up each color, one at a time on an acrylic block starting with yellow.  I don't think there is much yellow left visible, but I'm okay with that because I think the background is so beautiful.  After inking up my acrylic block, I gave it a spritz of Perfect Pearls Solution then turned the block over and "smooshed" it on to my watercolor paper.  Then I repeated the same process for coral and then my deepest red ink.  I walked away for a bit to let that dry so I could see what I had to work with or if I was going to use this background at all.  I always love the shimmer that a solution of Perfect Pearls gives to anything I am working on and this was no exception.

Next I used a stamp set called "Autumn Splendor" that I already had from Close To My Heart.  I selected four different leaf stamps and stamped them randomly one shape at a time over the color in Brilliance Archival Galaxy Gold Ink trying not to overlap too much.  This set of images has lots of detail in them, so they weren't suitable to watercolor but I love the veins that show all of the details in the gold ink against the vivid colors of the background.   I was surprised at how visible the leaves are!  

I set that aside for a little bit while I stamped the greeting and heat embossed it with Simon Says Stamp Embossing Powder in Ultra Fine Gold on Vellum.  This is another Close to My Heart Stamp Set called "Happy Autumn".  For the solid color background I used Calypso Coral cut with the Sunshine Layers Designer Die.  Next I cut the watercolor with a different die from the same set that has the rounded corners.  Since they are from the same set, the size is perfectly proportioned.



I wrapped the vellum around the smaller panel and adhered it to itself on the back side of that piece.  I punched a couple of maple leaves from the watercolor leftovers using a punch that I have had for a number of years and attached them with a foam square cut in half, corner to corner.



All in all, this was a pretty simple card and the background was very easy.  The hardest part for me was actually walking away to let the ink dry on the watercolor paper.  *Ü*

I was unable to get a good picture that really shows the shimmer in the paper.  I even treat my solid color paper so it has it too.  I always love to hear feedback on the cards I post so if you've got a minute, drop me a note here in the comment section. Thanks for looking!

It's All About the Ombre

I worked on another Ombre card today in between my puppy girl, Holly, wanting to be on my lap for some snuggles and trying to get some of the mess off my desk.  I completely failed at the latter. Plus, I got some new white paper to photograph my cards on and it is much whiter than what I had before so that means fewer edits.  What I had before was from when I had a portrait studio and it was a much softer white to go with skin tones for high key photos. 

While this card front is ready, I haven't actually attached it to a card base yet. When I do, it'll likely be on Whisper White or Bazzill Card Shoppe Marshmallow.   Either of those work well with the not so stark white of my watercolor paper.  

I have a little trouble getting good pictures that accurately portray everything on the cards, but I did my best to get some closer shots and if I tell you what is there, you might just be able to see it. *Ü*

For this card, I started with a panel of Canson Water Color Paper.  When I was in class last week and the early part of this week, I played with some of my reinkers with some Perfect Pearls Solution mixed in.  I love the soft shimmer this gives to your paper, even with the water mixed in. My best guess is that the colors I used here are Bermuda Bay, Wild Wasabi and Tempting Turquoise.   You can make your Perfect Pearls Mist using a Mister Bottle with some Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder or you can just buy the ready made spray.  Another product you can use to achieve some sparkle and shimmer is Tsukineko Sheer Shimmer Spray.  These both use water in the spray, so you can't get too heavy handed with it.  It works best if you spray a light layer and then go back with another coat or two depending on your personal taste.   I love shimmer and sparkle so for me, it's usually three coats but it took me a while to go easier and in layers so my paper didn't warp too badly.  Next I embossed that using a We R Memory Keepers embossing folded in an arrow design.  I also used the Sheer Shimmer Spray after I cut this panel using the Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangles.  This size is the 2nd to largest frame.

The Scalloped Rectangle started as Soft Sky paper from Stampin' Up.  Using the Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool, I blended in SU! Bermuda Bay going in a circular motion and not paying too much attention to the center panel since I knew I was going to be covering it up.  I wanted the edges of this panel to be the dark part of the color.  The ink blending tool lets you do that without too heavy a concentration of whatever ink pad you are using.  It's a good idea to get a package of foam replacement pads and just have one for each color family of inks that you have.    There are so many blues that I have one for dark blues like navy, one for ocean blues and a 3rd one for light blues.  So far this is working for me.

Next I used Distress Marker in Peacock Feathers (with some Shabby Shutters for the leaves and stems) to watercolor my heat set Persian Motifs image.   Because my watercolor paper is not bright white, I use Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing Powder.  You could also use any color you desire to be included in your final card front.  I haven't tried gold or silver yet, but it's on my to do list! Heat setting your image with embossing powder makes water coloring incredibly easy.  For the first layer of color on the flower, I used my water brush, but the 2nd and 3rd layers were blended using my Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Pen. That was another technique they used in my online card class.  Once I had the image colored in, I die cut it with the matching die.  This stamp set has three sizes and shapes of floral images and some separate leaves so you can build a scene if you like.

I like to attach the flowers with a small bit of foam adhesive in the center of the biggest part of the flower and then I used Ranger Multi-Medium Matte on all the other parts of the flower to stick them down. That makes it look a bit raised up/bigger in the center so it seems a little more realistic and dimensional.  If I don't have smaller squares on hand, I just cut a big one in half or in quarters.

This butterfly die is one made by Impression Obsession and is a two piece die set. None of the stores I am affiliated with carry this die.  It was purchased at this year's local CK Scrapbook Convention.  Mine has a 3-inch wing span if you want to compare the sizes. 

I cut the butterfly's body with some paper scraps and the wings from vellum. Bazzill makes a really nice 40# vellum.  I like to use an adhesive down just the center of the body to attach the vellum layer.  I used Ranger Multi Medium Matte and it dried clear with no traces of adhesive showing either through the vellum or oozing out from the sides of the body.  I tried a different liquid adhesive first and that one was not very successful.  Once I had that adhered, I used my Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush Pen on the vellum layer and the base layer where the cut outs are.  If you haven't tried that product, I highly recommend it.  It's made by Zig and has a real brush tip just like the Zig Clean Color Markers.  I also use a dimensional adhesive to attach the butterfly to the panel in just the front center of the body.  This gives it a bit of lift up front in a natural looking way.  Next I put a little bit of Multi Medium Matte on each end of the wing and at the "tail" of the body.  I never attach the wings all the way to the body because I want to make it seem as if it just landed on the flower.  Even though it goes down in the mail, it pops back up a bit when the recipient opens it so it keeps that effect.  

Now I confess, I had to put my ink pad carousel on the card for a few minutes to get the flower stuck down because watercolor paper is so thick and heavy that it kept wanting to pop off.  That did the trick for me.  It was the heaviest thing in my line of sight so I figured it would work.  I added just a few Peacock colored sequins from the Rhythm & Blues Collection for the final touch. 

I also want to say that the Ranger Multi Medium Matte is incredible stuff.  It really does dry to a matte finish and becomes virtually invisible.  I could not understand why everyone loved that stuff so much when I started making cards. I mean, its only glue after all (LOL).  Well I have used it on some difficult to adhere things with fantastic results but the clincher here for me was the way it disappeared under the vellum when it dried.  I'm totally sold.  Thankfully, I have a couple of bottles on hand since they are not very big.  I'm always surprised at how little it takes for great sticking power.  Its also great to use for sequins or other embellishments you might want to add to your projects.  You do need to give it a minute to dry.  After that, you are good to go.  Do yourself a favor though and get some Fineline Applicator Tips.  These caps will fit right on your Ranger Glossy Accents and Ranger Multi Medium Matte and have a built in Cap/Wire system to keep it from clogging.  I have the 18 gauge and the 20 gauge but I find the 20 gauge is too small for me.  

I hope you enjoyed this card.  I'll be back soon with another project.  

Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge

The Simon Says Monday Challenge for this week is Ombre.  Ombre is a french word for color with a shaded tonal value, such as from light to dark or dark to light.  Since I've been working with watercolors for the past week, I stayed with that medium for this challenge.

I started with a panel of watercolor card stock.  Using 2 reinkers in Wild Wasabi and Tempting Turquoise I put one drop of each on an acrylic block and mixed it with a solution of Perfect Pearls to get this color.  I decided to do my Ombre in a slightly different way than you usually see it.  I went from light to dark to light again going in layers of watercolor so that it would get darker just where I intended it to.

Once my paint was dry, I used a Jennifer McGuire trick and put Versamark all over the whole panel then heat set it using Judikins Iridescent Sparkle Embossing Powder then cut it with one of my favorites, the Stitched Rectangles from Simon Says Stamp.  This panel was cut with the second to the largest size.  I cut three of the Mama Elephant "thanks" dies and glued them one on top of the other for a thicker embellishment.  Again, I put Versamark over the whole die cut and heat set it using the same Iridescent Sparkle Embossing Powder.  This makes it very dimensional so I could go ahead and attach to the top panel using Ranger Multi Medium Matte.

Next I cut a piece of fun foam slightly smaller than the Ombre panel and adhered it using my ATG gun.  ATG is a super strong adhesive, but there is no room for error so it always makes me a bit nervous.  You cannot lift it up and move it the way you can other types of adhesive.  But you need a strong adhesive when working with Watercolor Card Stock because of the 140# weight and usually a little warping from the water.  After that, I cut the largest Stitched Rectangle in Simon Says Stamp Mint Green Cardstock and attached all of that onto the panel using foam tape. The layers of foam really make it thicker and more dimensional. I'm sure extra postage will be required.

I used one of the floral die cuts from the class I took last week from an Altenew Stamp and Coordinating Die Set, and adhered it using dimensional foam squares.  This particular flower was colored using Mermaid Lagoon Distress Marker with a water brush.  I used Shabby Shutters on the leaves and stem.  

That finishes up this card but I might be back later with another post.  I have a special wedding card to make if I can ever get my idea fully formed.

Comparing Mediums

I never, ever thought I would say that water coloring relaxes me.  Something about doing it just seems to soothe my soul.  I am so glad I took the Online Card Class - Watercolor for Card Makers, Exploring Mediums.  I mean, who knew? While I am not water coloring freehand, I am very happy with the looks I've been able to achieve.  The class I took is specifically for card makers and it was well worth it.

This little beauty is going out in the morning mail along with a couple of others I've made.  I used a 4 x 11 Whisper White Card Base with a top fold at 5.5 inches.  The largest blue panel is Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Card Stock in Island Blue. The center panel is SU! Tempting Turquoise. Then I stamped this flower on my 140# watercolor paper and heat set it using Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing Powder.   Once the image had set, I could paint it with my Mermaid Lagoon and Shabby Shutters Distress Markers  I worked quickly with lots of water to get the background watercolored in a super soft & pleasing way. Once that was done, I could cut the top panel with the die I wanted to use and assemble my card.  

In order to be able to give a fair comparison of the different mediums, I stamped and heat embossed several of the same images on the same exact watercolor paper to see how they compared to each other.  The picture below isn't the best, but you get the idea.

So starting at the top left, the two watercolor backgrounds were achieved with Kuretake Gansai Tambi (traditional Japanese Watercolors).  It is very hard for me to be patient and let the water and color do their thing, but I did not speed that up by using a heat tool this time.  The blue/green background was achieved using #58 - Evergreen and #63 - Persian Blue.  This is at least 3 layers of color.  Maybe more, but I wasn't counting, lol.  For the pink/coral background, I used (surprisingly) #34 - Dark Pink with a whole lot of water and #31 - Scarlet Red also with lots of water.  I was able to determine what colors I would need because I swatched them.  The die cuts are just laying on top of these as I don't know when I will use them.  I keep a Ziploc baggie of things I have stamped, cut or colored for use later if I don't use them when I initially start to. Sometimes my color comes out differently than I think it will and I decide it doesn't match well enough.  So if it doesn't match at first, I just save it for another time.

The top left flower was colored using Tim Holtz Distress Marker in Mermaid Lagoon.  I love that color so much. The  top center flowers are colored in Worn Lipstick Distress Marker.

The top right flowers were colored using Water Color Crayon (a water soluble Oil Pastel *I think*) in some Regal Rose and Eggplant scribbled on to an acrylic block with some water mixed into it.  From there, you pick it up with your brush and move it to the "canvas".  The watercolor crayons were my least favorite type of water color, but I can use them for backgrounds pretty easily and they cover a lot of ground quickly.

The middle row blue floral was painted with Twinkling H2O's in Sky Blue and Forest Green with a water brush.  I have had my H20's for at least 10 years if not longer. It was a lot of fun to get them out and rediscover them today.  I have several very bright and bold colors as well as some iridescent colors.  I had forgotten how beautiful they are.  They already have that pearly shimmer, so I did not need to use Perfect Pearls.  Let's face it, if I made it, then it is probably going to have some shimmer in it somewhere!  The only thing I don't make that way is cards for guys.

The center row pinkish color flower is colored with Prima Watercolor Pencils. While these were much easier to use than I thought they would be, I still prefer the high translucence of  the distress markers over every other type or medium I have tried.  The Twinkling H20's come in a close second.  Simon Says Stamp has a great selection of these if you're interested in trying them.  The Watercolor Pencils do have an advantage in one way.  Once the "paint" is dry, it forms a sort of waxy finish over the top that helps to protect it somewhat from stray water drops or mist.

The bottom right and left flowers were colored with Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors while I did use Tumbled Glass Distress Marker for the soft blue sky. The bottom center image was colored completely with Distress Markers.  I have noticed that I'm also getting significantly faster at that method as well. Practice helps for sure!

I used Canson 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Paper for all of these flowers. I absolutely love how thick and crisp it makes the die cuts. This Altenew Persian Motifs is my first set of stamps and coordinating dies that I have purchased in that brand.  I will definitely buy again.  The quality is fantastic.

Isn't sending cards in the mail just the best feeling?  The recipients always love that you have made them a card.  Fun mail in the mailbox is not a very common thing and I know people really enjoy receiving a card.

I'll be back soon with more information and comparisons.  Class wraps up on Wednesday and I'm still on the hunt for the perfect Christmas Card too.  So I'll have lots more to show you in a day or two.

Class Practice Continues

I'm doing a whole lot of watercolor practice right now before class wraps up next week.  Some projects I feel hugely successful with and others not so much. Ninety-Nine percent of my card recipients are female so flower images are always good for those.

This image was colored using traditional Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor in #36 - Wine Red, and #58 - Evergreen with a Perfect Pearls Solution and some clean water.  I make my own solution with Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder and some water in a little sprayer bottle that came from Stampin' Up!.  You can buy Perfect Pearls Solution already made up and in a spray bottle.  I used the tiniest amount of #63 - Persian Blue, along with a VERY watered down bit of the Red Wine to achieve the super soft background.  One thing I have really learned this week is to walk away and let it dry.  The colors really come to life when they have a chance to dry.  Being a control freak, watercolor is very hard for me.  I have a hard time letting the water and the pigment do their thing.  This class has been so worth it to me for the the sheer amount of practice I'm getting.  I'm able to achieve the looks I desire for card making.  Even though I know people won't criticize a card they get in the mail, I still want my cards to be as nice as possible.

I love Altenew Stamps for the lined images they design.  They also have matching dies for many of their floral images.  This particular set is call Persian Motifs and I have the matching dies although I haven't used them yet.  The Henna Elements set is very nice as well as Peony Scrolls.  The images stamp super clean also with a thin line rather than a thicker one which is great for the "Emboss then Watercolor " technique.   Some people like bright white embossing powder for this technique but I like using Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing Powder so that the embossing will be the same color as my watercolor paper.  In case I forgot to mention it before, the heat embossing helps the watercolor stay in the image and not go venturing outside of that line.

You all should be so proud of me because I got my Gansai Tambi Watercolors swatched!  I love this set so much now that I have had a chance to play with it following instruction.  Simon Says Stamp has this set available in 12, 18, 24 & 36 color sets.  Being Japanese Watercolors, they are extremely high quality.

I have about three different types of watercolor card stock at this time, but this one uses Canson Watercolor Paper.  It is 140# and cold pressed.  I haven't seen hot pressed paper at any of my local stores.  The difference is that hot pressed watercolor paper is very smooth.  I prefer to use the smooth side to my regular paper but you can also use the more textured side.  It just depends on the look you are going for.  Simon Says Stamp carries a wide variety of Professional Grade Arches Hot & Cold Pressed Watercolor Paper.  It's fancier than I need just for cards but I like to know where I can get it should I desire to experiment further, *wink*.

This card uses a white card base cut at 5.25 x 8.5 inches and top scored at 4.25 inches.   I used the WPLUS9 Sunshine Layers Die Set for the scalloped panel and the interior panel as well.  The burgundy is some Bazzill Mulberry which is a 100# weight.  I looked through my sentiment dies, but I didn't feel like any of them were a good fit on this card so I left it off this time.  I'm sending this card to my sweet Mother-In-Law who is at an assisted living facility.  She always loved cards when she was still able to be home so I think she enjoys the ones I make and send off to her.

Sending Thanks

Today's card is a simple thank you card using a couple different dies.  It gives a really fun look to be able to mix fonts and these two work particularly well. The Sending Die is a Simon Says Stamp Exclusive and the Thanks Die you've seen before as one of my favorites from Mama Elephant, also available from Simon Says Stamp.  

I used a few techniques today that I always love and I'm always happy with the results.  I started with a Canson Watercolor Card Stock Panel.  I try to keep several of these ready to go and I pre-cut larger sheets into approximately 3.75 x 6 inch panels.  I put some Tim Holtz Distress Marker in Peacock Feathers on an acrylic block, touched the very tip of my Aqua Brush into my Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder and mixed it all together with a mist of water.  Then I applied it to the watercolor panel for a soft wash of color.  When you add the Perfect Pearls, it adds a lovely shimmer to the water when then goes to the paper.  There are a variety of Perfect Pearls Pigment Powders in gorgeous colors and as a girl who likes sparkle and shimmer, I love using them.  A little goes a very long way and I feel it gives you a lot of subtle bang for your buck!   I planned to die cut this panel so I wasn't really trying to do any specific thing with the wash; just something lovely and soft.

Once I had the color wash applied to my satisfaction, I put more Peacock Feathers Distress Marker Ink on my acrylic block.  I have several acrylic blocks but my favorites are the wavy edged ones that have the finger grips on the sides for easy handling and maneuvering.   They also have a grid on them to help line up your stamps which is very handy as well!  I put just a drop of water on my block by squeezing my Aqua Brush until one drop of water came out.  I wanted a higher color concentration so that I could put spatters on my panel in a darker shade of the same color.  I use a #2 Script Watercolor brush for this.  It is similar to this brush found at Simon Says Stamp.  I already had this one.  If I wanted bigger drops, I could use a larger brush, but I was going for a speckled look rather than larger spots of water.  I just spattered the color mixture until I was happy with the results.

Once I had finished my speckling, I cut my panel using Memory Box Stitched Rectangles in the 2nd largest size.  It is important to note that you need to keep within the same set/brand of dies to keep the sizes proportionate to each other.  For instance, I can't use the Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangles Set which has the stitching on both sides of the cut line in combination with the Memory Box Stitched Rectangles because the sizes are not proportionate to each other.  So it does require a bit of pre-planning.   Next, I cut my largest rectangle using the same set of Memory Box Rectangle Dies.  For the outside mat, I cut a panel out of American Crafts POW Glitter Paper in Silver.  All of the hearts are from the same Silver Glitter card stock and are attached with Ranger Multi Medium Matte. My white card base is a top folding 120# 4.25 x 5.5 inch card. Simon Says Stamp has top scored or side scored card bases in this weight available for purchase as well as single sheets available in a 12 pack which can also be used with Copic Markers. 

Whenever I use watercolor paper, I have a bit of trouble with the watercolor panel warping a bit because I always rush it by using my heat tool to dry it.  I hear that if you let it dry naturally while it's taped to a flat surface that it doesn't do this, *Ü*.  So *I* have to use a super strong adhesive for my cards so the panels don't lift up.  That means I am using either a liquid adhesive like Ranger Multi Medium Matte or I'm using my ATG (Advanced Tape Glider).  The thing about the ATG is that you had better have your panel lined up when it touches your card base because there is NO repositioning it.   Coming from a scrapbooking background I was used to being able to reposition things until I pressed it down.  This is definitely not the case with the ATG.  But the biggest perk to it is how long I can go between adhesive refills.  With other adhesives, I go through quite a few of them, so I was trying to find a more economical adhesive.  I think it is, but it's also a little hard to get used to and handle.  

I had to edit this post to tell you that I used Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush Pen on the words (just in case you didn't notice)!

I wasn't trying to achieve any particular look with this card.  I only want the recipient to open it and think "FUN"!  I have to dash off and write a note, but I hope you enjoyed today's post.   Happy Sunday!

A Unexpected Surprise

It's already the middle of September!!  Wow - this year is just flying by in so many ways.  In my husband's family, we gather the whole family at Christmas every year.   My hubby is one of 6 children so by the time we all get together, there's already a dozen of us.  Then add in our kids and our grandkids--well, you get the idea.  It's nice that we still have this tradition.

Since I started making cards this year, I really want to make all of my Christmas Cards by hand. That requires planning so don't get too excited when you start seeing Christmas cards here.  I'm going to be trying several things so I can decide which one(s) I want to use.  It just so happens that the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge this week is to use a favorite technique.  I combined a couple that I really like; Watercolor and Emboss-Resist.  I first saw Jennifer McGuire use this technique and I love her style.  It is similar to my style.  

For this card I started with a piece of watercolor 3.75 x 5 inch card stock in a cold pressed 140# weight.  The first thing I did was to stamp my image in Versamark and heat embossed it with Simon Says Stamp Fine White Embossing Powder.  For the background I wanted to use my Pine Needles Distress Marker to make the color wash, so I put some color on an acrylic block, just touched the very tip of my Waterbrush into my Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder and gave it all a mist of water and mixed it up.  Next, I used my mister bottle to lightly spray my watercolor paper with water all over so that the color would soften a bit when I applied it.

Using a Water Brush, I picked some of the color off of the acrylic block and touched it to my paper.  Since my paper was damp, it makes a color wash rather than a solid color.  I love watercolor, but I've had to practice A LOT to let go of the control and let the color and water do their thing.  Not an easy thing for a control freak to accomplish! Ha ha! I still need more practice, but I did pretty okay for this card.  The Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder combines with the water and color to give a shimmery effect in the color.  It's really beautiful!  The Noel Stamp is one I have had for a number of years and I was determined to try to use it this year.  While I was letting the watercolor piece dry, I cut a card base of 5.5 x 8.5 inches scored and top folded at 4.25 inches in Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Mint Card Stock.  This card stock is a 100# weight and makes beautiful, crisp cards.  It seemed the best color match for the Pine Needles Distress Ink and I love that it's a non-traditional color for Christmas.  A little something unexpected in the recipient's mailbox.  

Next I cut the "Christmas Blessings" sentiment using a Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Die in Gold Foiled Paper.   I am pretty sure I would also like this card done in Silver and Pearly White and a combination of other shades of blue from light to dark.  I am particularly anxious to try some lovely, cool and wintry shades of blue like Audrey Blue and Seaglass, also from Simon Says Stamp. Simon has really nice 100# card stock in a great selection of colors and many colors also have matching Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Dye Inks.   It's always nice to have coordinating products in a wide variety of colors.  In fact, it's one of my favorite things about Simon Says Stamp.

  

For the final touch I cut several stars from Glittered Gold Card Stock using the Simon Says Stamp Holiday Shapes Hearts & Stars die.  That die is one that I use over and over again and I have the Simon Says Stamp Large Holiday Shapes - Hearts & Stars on my wishlist. 

Before I finished today's post, I got out my Mermaid Lagoon Distress Marker to try a blue variation that I was thinking of earlier.  I used yet another technique that I am enjoying which is paint (ink in this case) spatters using a small #2 script brush to pick up the color and then tap it over the water colored piece so it splatters on to the background in unique patterns.  There is no way to ever make two cards the same way, so each will always be unique.  

I used snowflakes and sequins for this card but I think I would like glittery stars equally well.

While I like the Blue with the Silver and White embellishments, I think I do prefer the gold better at this point so I'll be trying this in other colors over the next several days.

I confess - it's late when I am posting this, so if you see something wrong or missing, please leave a comment so I can fix it.

Have a blessed week, everyone!!