Smile

Hi everyone.  I've been way behind on my visiting of blogs I follow.  Life gets in the way sometimes.  Today I visited my friends Ina, Carol, and Bobby and saw the beautiful cards they made as Design Team members of Just Us Girls.  Ina is the host and she picked the colour challenge this week which is AWESOME!  I HAD to play along.  Thankfully the challenge is still open for another day! ;)

I started by die-cutting my poppies from hot press watercolour paper.  I watercoloured them with distress inks.  I combined Mustard Seed with just a little Peacock Feathers to create the green for the stems.  Then watercoloured the poppies, first with a layer of Mustard Seed with highlights of Spiced Marmalade.  I used an orange w/c pencil to add a bit of definition to the blooms.

The background is a dot stencil, randomly coloured with Peacock Feathers ink using a clarity brush.  I love the softness the brush adds to the stenciling.  Used a stylus and mat to shape the poppy blossoms and then adhered them over top of the stenciling, using pop dots behind some of the flowers to give them extra dimension.  Stamped a sentiment in more Peacock Feathers ink to finish the card.

Here's a close-up ...

I think these colours would make anyone smile.  It feels like spring is not far away. :)  Thanks for coming by for a visit!

Stamps:  Beautiful (AliExpress)
Paper:  Watercolour paper (Arches 140 lb. hot press); White card base (Neenah 110 lb. card stock)
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Peacock Feathers, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  paint brush, Mini Tiny Circles stencil (The Crafter's Workshop), Clarity Brush, Derwent Watercolour Pencils

Challenges:
Just Us Girls #424 - Teal, Mustard, Orange

More Crafting with Friends

Hi everyone.  Continuing playing with inks and different products for the week with my good friends Susan, Christine and Nancy.

Above is our play with glass bead gel.  I started with a fairly light background  made with smooshing DOX inks.  Stencil was placed over top and Clarity Brushes were used to add colour to the flowers.  I love the softness that the Clarity Brushes produce. Cleaned off the stencil and placed it back over top, lining up everything, then used a palette knife to add a coat of glass bead gel over the flowers and stems. It gives a lot of texture and amazing sparkle, which is hard to capture in a photo.

Next up is a play with Alcohol Inks.  We actually tried a few techniques, but I haven't made my pieces into cards, except for the card below.

Nancy showed us how to use alcohol inks with stencils.  Mine didn't turn out well ... there was a halo between the stenciled image and background.  Instead of throwing it away, I fussy cut the stenciled image and created a CAS design. :)

I'm entering the above card into the current AAA Card Challenge #89 - Bright and Beautiful.

Here's a picture of the girls hard at work. :)  See the big smiles ... we are all having such a great time. :)

You're a Great Friend card:
Stamps:  Many Everyday Messages (Hero Arts)
Paper:  Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Distress Oxide Inks:  Worn Lipstick, Wilted Violet, Fossilized Amber (Tim Holtz); Distress Inks:  Worn Lipstick, Ripe Persimmon, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Wilted Violet, Peeled Paint (Tim Holtz); Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  water mister, Bloom Group Stencil (made with my Silhouette Cameo), Clarity Brushes, Glass Bead Gel (Golden), white embossing powder, heat tool

With Love card:
Stamps:  Gratitude (Penny Black)
Paper:  Yupo Paper; White card base (Neenah)
Ink:  Alcohol Inks:  Tangerine (Pinata); Wild Plum, Raspberry, Lettuce,  (Ranger); Distress Ink:  Peeled Paint (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  Lovely Large Flower stencil (Wendy Vecchi)

Challenges:
AAA Cards #89 - Bright and Beautiful

CAS Watercolour May Challenge

Hi everyone.  It's the start of the CAS Watercolour May Challenge - Flowers.

I had a lot of fun making the card above.  I started by added just a little subtle stenciling on the white card base.  You can just see it peeking out from the main panel.  I used my clarity brushes and a soft blue ink over a mesh stencil.  It just adds a little somethin' to the background. :)

The main panel I pulled from my stash.  This is done with the Splash Watercolour technique (click HERE for my video tutorial).  I used bright blue and lime green to create a colourful backdrop.

I just received this pretty flower die-cut in my lastest on-line order.  It was part of my order that I placed using a gift certificate from my sweet friend, Mary.  Thanks Mary!  I just love the look of this die ... it gives you the outline and also the filler for both the flower head and the leaves (didn't use the leaves with this card).

The flower head is cut from another piece in my stash.  It's a background I made by smooshing Liquid Watercolour sprays make from concentrate.  The pink, purple and red hues are really vibrant and pop off the blue background.

To finish the card I added a dark gray border with a white heat embossed sentiment.

We are thrilled to have Mac (The Sweetest of Peas) as our Guest Designer this month.  Please click HERE to check out Mac's card, and cards made by our talented Design Team.  Then come play along!

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank Harriet (Ally Cat Cards) for all her hard work and inspirational cards that she has provided to the CAS Watercolour Challenge over the past eight months.  She is leaving the design team and we will miss her!

Stamps:  Sentiment (Painted Butterflies - Altenew)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah 110 lb. card stock); Mixed media paper main panel (Strathmore 140 lb.); Basic Gray card stock (SU!)
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Broken China, Salty Ocean, Twisted Citron (Tim Holtz); Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  Textured Mesh Stencil (Memory Box), water mister, Sketch Daisy die (Memory Box), Liquid Watercolour concentrate in magenta, purple and red (Dick Blick), white embossing powder, heat tool

Challenges:
CAS Watercolour May Challenge - Flowers