Friday, March 02, 2018

CAS Watercolour March Challenge

Hi everyone.  Today is the start of the March CAS Watercolour Challenge.  This month I'm hosting and here is the challenge I came up with ...


Create a CAS (clean and simple) watercoloured card that includes a garden.

I used some really old stamps for this card.  The bench is from C.C. Designs.  I don't think they carry this stamp any more.  Same for the beautiful lavender stamp that is from Stampin' Up! - long retired I'm sure.  The pretty red flowers are from a set called Outdoor Master #1 made by Kittie Kits and still available through Rubbernecker.  I had to clean off a lot of dust before I could use these three stamps.

The sentiment is from a Fiskars set that I bought at the $1 store (again, a long time ago) ... I think it cost me something like $3 and there's at least 20 stamps.  A great deal I couldn't pass up.  So far I think I've only used this sentiment, which I really love.

I inked up the garden stamps, spritzed with water and stamped onto mixed media paper.  Added a green wash at the bottom for the grass and then stamped my sentiment.  Easy peasy, right??!!  Nope ... five tries to get it right.  But I just kept going! :)

Here's a close-up ...

I hope you'll join us for this fun challenge.  We are excited to have Nonni (Nonni's Handmade Cards) as our Guest Designer this month.  Welcome Nonni!!

Check out the challenge blog to see Nonni's garden card, along with the garden cards from our amazing Design Team.  I know you'll be inspired to play along!

I'm so excited to be working with Marcia (Marcia's Stampin' Pad), as she joins our team this month!  Welcome Marcia.

Also going to miss Christine, as she leaves our CAS Watercolour team, but will be joining the new CAS Christmas team.  The first challenge is tomorrow! :)








Stamps:  Bench (C.C. Designs); Pocket Silhouettes (SU!); Friendship Garden (Fiskars)
Paper:  Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb. Series 400); White (Neenah 110 lb.)
Ink:  Baked Brown Sugar (SU!); Distress Inks:  Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Wilted Violet, Candy Apple
Accessories & Tools:  waterbrush, water mister

Challenges:
CAS Watercolour March Challenge - Garden

30 comments:

MaryH said...

Love this one...just shouts 'spring is coming'. Love your water coloring, the flower garden is perfect with this sweet bench. Glad you got a super buy on this stamp, as it looks so versatile with all the scenes you can design. TFS

nancy littrell said...

Love your Spring garden scene, Loll. So sweet and beautifully watercoloured. Can you believe it is raining and snowing as I look out at our gardens. Crazy Springtime weather, but soon we will have Spring flowers. Thank you for such a fun challenge to remind us Spring will be here soon in all its Beauty!
Loved how you used all your older stamps with a newer Zigs Watercolouring technique:-) Hugs..

Julie B said...

Lovely, shame my garden is a wilderness of frozen earth and dead flower heads at the moment! Even the daffs are holding on to their blooms til this Arctic blast has finished! :)

Colleen said...

Amazing garden Loll!! I especially love the bench and your free hand greenery!! so very pretty my friend!! Have a great week and heart hugs!

Susan said...

Beautiful! I want to take my cup of tea into your garden and sit on the bench and look at the lovely flowers! Wonderfully done with the soft watercolour look of the flowers and greenery.

My Card Attic: Hazel said...

What a pretty little scene you have created here Loll! And such a great use of some oldies, but goodies! This looks like a miniature watercolour painting! Have a great weekend my friend! Love & Hugs. Hazel xx
My Card Attic

Liz said...

A beautiful garden scene, Loll. I love the sentiment - and what a bargain too! xx

Nstiz said...

This is such a beautiful reminder that spring is almost here! What a lovely job you did water coloring this, Loll. It looks so inviting. Love the wash you created for your grass. Love the soft colors too.

Christine Alexander said...

What a wonderful combination of stamps to make up that beautiful scene. I have one of the Kitties Kits so I should pull them out :). I love the spritzed watercolour effect.

Nonni said...

Very beautiful garden scene, Loll! I love the different water color techniques you used and the coloring of the bench and grass look amazing. Beautiful sentiment too, who ever will receive this will cherish it for sure! Thanks for having me as GD at CAS Watercolour!

Mac Mable said...

Glad you dusted off those pretty stamps and what a lovely scene you made with them. Yes I can understand about keeping going.... Beautiful card and wonderful inspiration, thank you x

Pat said...

This is such a pretty and tranquil scene you have created here Loll with this mixture of delightful flowers and the sweet bench and all beautifully watercoloured, and the sentiment is the icing on the cake x

Jeanne said...

Beautiful card, Loll. Here I was thinking you were going to say you used Artist Impressions stamps, but nope. How fun that you used some oldies but goodies here. You just made a case for not getting rid of stamps that you love, that is for sure. And so prettily! Great watercolored card. So bright and springlike. Thanks ever so much for sharing (and being honest about it taking a few tries to get it just so).

Linda said...

Love your little watercolored garden, Loll. So pretty and Springy.

Sandy said...

I am glad you kept trying - your card is stunning and I dare say anyone would love to receive your creation!
Sandy xx

Bobby said...

This is a sweet watercolored garden, Loll.

Marcia Hill said...

Your garden is just delightful Loll and makes me wish Spring would hurry up and get here! Yes, I am impatient!! Your colors and water colouring are just perfect...lovely, lovely card my friend!! And P.S. Thank you for all the kind words...so appreciate it!! :0)

Darnell said...

I never think of a card as giving you fits, Lolly! But I do know you would never let it beat you, so I'm not surprised you ended up with a perfect and satisfying garden scene! I love your design and your colors!! Hugs, Dolly

Bonnie said...

I would love to sit on your bench in this lovely garden, Loll! Sorry it gave you fits, but glad you persevered! It's a gorgeous card!

Barb Ghig said...

Beautiful watercoloring and I love how you placed the bench as your focal point, Loll! Such a stunning CAS design, too! I'm looking forward to playing along again this month!

Trina P. said...

Love your garden, Loll. Five tries, but your resilience sure paid off. It reminds me of those stock painting photos you find in a frame. Gorgeous card.

BożenA said...

I would love to rest in your garden, Loll! I love the thicket of flowers, I almost smell the lavender. Yes, I would like to move there! I am very happy that you did not give up because it's an amazing card, Loll
Hugs,
BożenA

Papercraft Boutique said...

You've created a beautiful spring garden scene, Loll! I'm always amazed by your wonderful coloring and designs, but today I was most impressed by the fact that you used all these stamps from different stamp sets/companies and made the scene look like you used a certain garden stamp set! You really know what you have and how to use them. Amazing.. Hideko xx
p.s. I love the sentiment too.

Susanne Vargas said...

This is such a pretty scene! I am ready for spring but where is it??? While I'm waiting I'll just gaze at your card... Your old stamps must have been so happy that you dusted them off and used them! I'm sure glad you did!

Ina G said...

Such a sweet summery colourful inviting garden scene you have here Loll. Such lovely water colouring.

Karen Dunbrook said...

just lovely mf...I have a bench in my bkyd and can't wait to get out there after this darn winter thing goes away.
xx Karen

Anita in France said...

So pretty, Loll ... and so worth keeping going with this lovely garden scene ... puts me in mind of The Secret Garden! Hugs, Anita :)

scrappymo! said...

Gorgeous! Glad you persevered.

Barb Ghig said...

Five tries? Oh my gosh, Loll! We would never know, because your design and watercoloring turned out beautifully! I love your color palette, too! Thanks so much for being such a great inspiration for the rest of us...I'm plugging away over here and crossing my fingers that I get something presentable :)

Robyn Oliver said...

Gorgeous spring garden card Loll, and a garden seat just what one needs to relax with a cuppa. Hope you didn't toss your other four attempts and have managed to create some other garden scenes - we all do it don't we.