Watercolor Greetings...

Today I have a couple clean-and-simple watercolor greeting cards to share with you. I came across a great pricing deal on some Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors, and couldn't wait to play with them. I wanted to experiment with these new colors using both a concentrated coloring and a watery, free-flowing coloring technique, so I pulled out a couple flower stamps to play with.

Instead of using a loose coloring technique all over, I played with coloring the images more exactly, and using the loose coloring in the background. These watercolors are fabulous for this...you need so little pigment on your brush to get the concentrated color that I imagine this set will last me for years!

First up, a little number using more "autumn-like" colors...

Originally I stamped the image with light brown ink to blend the outlines, but decided I wanted more contrast because I was using a blue-grey background, so I used a scribble technique over the outline with a black pen, and highlighted more with a white gel pen...

I reversed the usual order of stacked die cuts by placing a white cut under the black to add some brightness to the sentiment over the background...

Supplies:

Stamps:   Unity Stamp Co. "Lean on Me" (flowers);   Simon Says Stamp 'Happy & Smile" (sentiment)

Dies:   Simon Says Stamp "Sending"

Watercolors:   Yarka St. Petersburg             Black pearls:   Kaisercraft

Miscellaneous:   Uniball Signo white gel pen;   Zig Mangaka black pen

Next up, a stamp with brighter florals, combining a darker background with a lighter, splattered one...just for fun...

I added more image outlining as with the first card, and highlighted the stamens with a white gel pen...

I used the clear Wink of Stella pen a little differently on this card. I loaded some of the sparkly ink onto my craft sheet, then back onto a smaller watercolor brush, and flicked it over the entire card front. It makes the card sparkle, but in a very subtle way. Here's a better closeup-all those tiny white looking dots are the silvery sparkle from the Wink of Stella pen...

And this time, I used the bright white diecut sentiment above the black shadow diecut for stronger contrast to the portion of the background that was darker...

Supplies:

Stamps:   Penny Black "Jubilant"

Dies:   Simon Says Stamp "Small Hello"

Watercolors:   Yarka St. Petersburg             Pearls:   Recollections

Miscellaneous:   Kuretake Wink of Stella-Clear pen;   Zig Mangaka black pen;   Uniball Signo white gel pen

Thanks so much for visiting today!

Watercolor Potpourri...

Hello, again! My crafty mojo is apparently on a small vacation lately, and when that happens, I start to reorganize my work space, and play with making clean and simple watercolor cards (which is a lot more fun, and truthfully, more productive, than the reorganizing chore... ha).

So today I have a small collection of watercolor cards to share with you. A couple pieces were practice pieces that turned out perfect for a card front. I'm thinking I should tell myself that they're all "practice pieces" from now on. I seem to relax more when I view them that way, and when I relax more, they have a tendency to turn out just the way I want them to! You'd think I'd be wise to my own Jedi-mind-tricks at this age, but I admit it...I effectively psyche myself out a lot, even as an adult who should know better. :)

So on to the picture show. This first pair is made using a Unity stamp. For one, I drew a brick wall in the background, and after I painted the second one with no background, I liked it, too. So, both became all occasion cards with the same sentiment...

Supplies:

Stamps:   Unity Stamp Co. "Erica Girl" and "enjoy this day"

Color Mediums:   Grumbacher Transparent Watercolors;   Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils

Miscellaneous:   white twine,  small colored gems,  "yellow" Stickles

This next card is a 4"x 6" note card that I painted after seeing a red poppy card painted with a similar treatment. Unfortunately, I didn't note the name of the creator of the card that gave me the idea, I just wrote "shade with brown" next to the words "large poppy stamp" in my little idea notepad. (I sometimes do this rather than pinning the inspiration piece so I don't copy it too closely.) So if you see this and it reminds you of a similar card, please let me know and I'll edit this paragraph to credit my inspiration artist!

It was a little difficult to photograph this purple to look the same as it does IRL, but hopefully you can see the raspberry highlights and deep purple shadows...

On this card, I double cut the "hello" die in black and white, heat embossed the "just saying" stamp with white powder onto black cardstock for contrast, then spot-glued them both to the twine bows using liquid glue...

Supplies:

Stamps:   Penny Black "divine" (poppy);    Altenew "Super Script" ("just saying")

Dies:   Simon Says Stamp "small hello"

Color mediums:   Sakura Koi watercolors;   Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils

Miscellaneous:   twine,  clear sequins,  white embossing powder

This final pair of images were my small "practice pieces." I was playing around with coloring and shadows on penciled-in tables beneath the flower pots. I liked how they turned out, so I cut the pieces from my practice pad, and turned them into note cards...

Supplies:

Patterned papers:   Prima "Nature Garden" collection (purple);   Glitz Design "French Kiss" collection (brown);   My Minds Eye Lost & Found "Heirloom" collection (dot)

Stamps:   Penny Black "A Bunch" (jar);   Hero Arts "Things We Love" (single flower);   Simon Says Stamp "Friendship Messages" (hello);   

Altenew "Super Script" (just saying)

Color medium:   Sakura Koi watercolors          Lace:   TheFunkieJunkie.com            Pearls:   Recollections

And last but not least...

Supplies:

Patterned papers:   Glitz Design "Vintage Blue" collection (gold and blue);   Pink Paislee "Cottage Farms" collection (taupe print)

Stamps:   Penny Black "Flower Gallery" (irises);   Penny Black "A Bunch" (jar);   Simon Says Stamp "Friendship Messages" (sentiment)

Color Medium:   Sakura Koi watercolors          Lace:   TheFunkieJunkie.com          Pearls:   Kaisercraft and Recollections

Thanks so much for visiting today...I hope your week started with a smile!

Hot Summer Pink...

Hello again! The other day as I was putting away unused supplies and bits and pieces, I found an A2 sized piece that I had cut a round aperture into, and run through my brick wall embossing folder, then set aside when I changed my mind on the direction of the project I was working on. Of course, in the midst of my mini cleanup, I had an idea what I could do with the piece, so instead of continuing to straighten things up, I got to work making a mess again! :)

The round aperture I had cut turned out to be the right size for me to use one of my LaLa Land Crafts stitched circle dies to create a frame...and then the ideas kept coming, so I kept working...and this is the end product...

I used the same green ink that I used inside the aperture to color the edges of the white leaves and berries. It was a happy find to see that the lilies were the perfect color to go with the small hot pink roses...

The little punched butterflies were accented with pink Stickles and tiny pearls. I still get use from many of my older punches - it's one of the reasons I still hold on to many of my basic tools...you never know when they'll be perfect for a current project, and they're faster to use than setting up my electronic cutter for a last minute accent...

I pencil-traced the aperture onto the base of the card, and inside it I added some stamped leaves and pink stems that would coordinate with the flowers I planned to place on the top layer around the outside of the framed circle. Then I used foam tape to attach the top embossed layer to the card base...

And lastly, a couple closeups of the embellishments at the bottom of the card...

Supplies:

Embossing Folder:   Sizzix/Tim Holtz "Bricked and Woodgrain Set"

Dies:   LaLaLand Crafts "Stitched Circles" and "Berry Flourish"

Stamp:   Simon Says Stamp "Summer Garden"             Punch:   Martha Stewart "3-in-1 Butterfly"

Flowers:   Wild Orchid Crafts (roses);   local craft store (lilies)

Pearls:   Recollections            Pearl stem:   local craft store

Miscellaneous:   "Pink" Stickles,  white twine

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit today!

Just Happy...

Summer temperatures have me in the mood for lighter, softer colors mixed with bright white.

For today's card, I played again with what I call "altered edges." I used a die designed, I think, for straight edges, but I put them on a diagonal slant to add some fun layering to the front of the card...

At the top, a flower cluster of cream and white lilies, and aqua and white mini roses, sitting atop a loopy diecut doily, accented with lots of loopy twine bows and pearls...

Over on the side, another smaller version, with just a few aqua flowers...

And a sentiment that will work for a variety of occasions, as the need arises...

Supplies:

Dies:   Spellbinders A2 Scalloped Borders Two;   LaLa Land Crafts Filigree Corner;   Memory Box Quinn Flourish;   Sizzix Flowers Branches & Leaves

Lace:   TheFunkieJunkie.com            Flowers:   Wild Orchid Crafts            Pearls:   Recollections

Sentiment stamp:   Simon Says Stamp "Handwritten Greetings"

Miscellaneous:   white twine 

Thanks for visiting today!

A Mini Pair...and a Spare...

Hello, again! With all the "fully loaded" cards I've made lately, I felt it was time to get back to some clean and simple (or my version of it, anyway) cards. I wanted a reasonably "flat" note card to send off, and decided to pull out one of my newer stamps and my watercolors and have a go.

When it was done, I realized the design would be fun on a "mini pair" - the 3-1/2" x 5" size note cards, so I made a pair of those, too!

It all started with this A2 size card...

I added several layers of color to these flowers, and although I wanted the layers to show imperfectly, they did turn out a bit more "splotchy" than I had hoped - because I didn't wait long enough for the layers to dry between applications...ah, well...lesson learned...I still like them!...

I couldn't resist adding a bit of sparkle with Crystal Stickles...

I was determined to find a way to add the gold spiral clip to the center of the twine bows. I ended up simply gluing it using Tombow Mono Aqua clear glue - it's solid as a rock...

Supplies:

Stamps:  Penny Black "demure";   Simon Says Stamp "Friendship Messages"

Color Medium:   Sakura Koi watercolors

Miscellaneous:   colored crystals, "Crystal" Stickles,  twine,  spiral clip

And here's the mini pair inspired by the A2 card. I started first by using the same stamp, but off the side a bit on the smaller size...

 

Once again, I used some of the Crystal Stickles for fun...

And I was a bit more patient this time and let the layers of watercolor dry before adding more  :) ...

Supplies:

Stamps:   Penny Black "demure";   Simon Says Stamp "Friendship Messages"

Color Medium:   Sakura Koi watercolors

Miscellaneous:   colored crystals,  "Crystal" Stickles

And for the second in the pair, a different poppy stamp...

And a much simpler background of just a light shadow effect...

Supplies:

Stamps:   Penny Black "divine";   Simon Says Stamp "Friendship Messages"

Color Medium:   Sakura koi watercolors

Miscellaneous:   colored crystals

Thank you for stopping by for a visit today!

Wishing...

It's been a while since I've made a card heavy with die cuts, and I was ready to play with a few dies that I haven't used in a bit, along with a new one, and a couple often used favorites. And since my mother's birthday is coming up very soon, what better time to make one with lots of flowers and pearls and girly embellishments? :)

So here's Mom's card this year...layers of cream diecut cardstock with lots of pretty pink flowers and loopy satin ribbon bows...

There are several layers of cardstock stacked to make the diecut scalloped bottom border, but let's start with a closeup of that yummy Prima flower that's the centerpiece...I need to find another set of this one...it has all the fun layers and gems that I love so much...

I added some handcrafted cherry blossoms and some mulberry roses alongside it...

Here you can see the layers...three in all. The card base has a diecut scallop along the bottom edge, the second layer has a different scallop edge and an open scrollwork edging above it, and the top layer has a scalloped bottom edge and the distressed punchinella die cut along the top right...foam tape holds all the layers down and gives it a bit of dimension...

And I couldn't resist adding a lone cherry blossom to the top corner...

Supplies:

Dies:   Spellbinders "A2 Scalloped Borders 2";   Sizzix Tim Holtz "Mixed Media";   Sizzix "Flowers Branches & Leaves";   Simon Says Stamp "Wishing";   La-La Land Crafts "Cherry Blossom Flowers" and "Stitched Elements"

Stamp:   Simon Says Stamp "Sending & Wishing"

Flowers:   Prima (large pink);   Wild Orchid Crafts (small roses)             Stamens:   ChocolateLetters on Etsy

Pearls:   Recollections               Miscellaneous:   satin ribbon

Thanks for visiting today...have a wonderful weekend!