A Different Kind of Twofer

Hi everyone.  Today is just a quick post sharing two cards I made from one piece of background.  I received this gorgeous leafy die (Freida Curve - retired - Poppy Stamps) from a very special friend a while back and wanted to use it to create a fall card, well two cards.  

The background was in my stash from a long time ago when I had a play with watercolours and salt.  I die-cut one side of my panel with the leafy die and then adhered it to the bottom of a card base.  I stamped the sentiment (Handwritten Greetings - Simon Says Stamp) in brown distress ink.  Super quick and easy card.

The second card is just using what was left to die-cut another leafy panel.  It is smaller, so I just added another layer by using a smaller white panel with the salted watercolour die-cut.  Again, sentiment (Lots of Thanks - retired - Simon Says Stamp) was stamped in the same brown ink.

Two quick and easy fall cards.  Gotta love that!

I'm sending the second card over to the gallery at CAS on Friday #190 - Autumn.

It's our Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada.  Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends!  And a big thank you to all of you for your continued support of my blog!

Love, 

Stamps:  1) Handwritten Greetings (Simon Says Stamp); 2)  Lots of Thanks (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Watercolour paper (Arches 140 lb. Cold press); White card (Neenah 110 lb.) 
Ink:   Brushos (shades of orange); Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Salt,  Freida Curve die (Poppy Stamps)

Challenges:

CAS on Friday #190 - Autumn

Snowy Cityscapes

Hi everyone.  Playing along with this week's Merry Monday #287 - Colleen's Inspiration Photo.

It's an adorable, whimsical village.  I don't have any stamps or dies like that, so I modernized it with a silver heat embossed cityscape that I fussy-cut.  I used some pieces from my stash for the backgrounds of both cards ... yes, there are two. :)  These pieces are from when we had a Salt challenge at CAS Mix Up many months ago.  I know I used watercolour paper, but don't remember the ink (most likely turquoise brushos).  You can see the design left from the kosher salt I used. :)  I added my white cityscape and a torn piece of white card stock for the snowy hill.  Both cards are done the same, but just different shapes.

Here's a close-up of both ...

The challenge is open until Sunday noon (PST), so still lots of time to play along.  Check out the challenge post HERE to see the beautiful cards from the very talented Design Team.  I'm adding Card #1 to this challenge.

Card #2 will be heading to April Rudolph's Day Challenge - Anything Goes Christmas.  This challenge runs each month from the 25th to end of month.  Mo and her team has provided some lovely inspiration.  Hope you'll find time to check it out and play along.

Stamps:  Cityscape (AliExpress); Snowglobe Sentiments (MFT)
Paper:  White (Neenah 110 lb.); Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press)
Ink:  Versamark; colour for background watercolouring with salt --- best guess Turquoise Brushos
Accessories & Tools:  Water mister, salt, silver embossing powder, heat tool, Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinder)

Challenges:
Merry Monday #287 - Colleen's Inspiration Photo
April Rudolph Days Challenge - Anything Goes Christmas

September Rudolph Days

Hi everyone.  Here's my card for the September Rudolph Days Challenge run by the sweet Maureen (Scraps of Life by Scrappymo!)

I used one of my watercolour and salt backgrounds for the night sky.  Adding a sweet white die-cut scene that I borrowed from my friend Susan.  I had also just received this partial circle cross-stitch die from AliExpress and they fit perfectly together. :)  I added a bit of glitter along the roof of the house, ground and trees. The window is coloured with a yellow copic market and the sentiment is heat embossed in silver.  Another one for my stash! :)

I hope you'll check out the Rudolph challenge and come join in.  It's open from the 25th until the end of the month.

I'm also entering this into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #12.  I'm so excited for this challenge as I have lots of NBUS items that need some love. :)  As I mentioned, the half circle cross stitch die used for the above card is new to me.

Stamps:  Christmas Messages (Hero Arts)
Paper:  Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.); White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.)
Ink:  Brushos:  Turquoise and Ultra Marine; Versamark; yellow copic marker
Accessories & Tools:  Salt, Countryside Circle die (Memory Box), Partial circle die-cut (AliExpress), glitter glue, silver embossing powder, heat tool

Challenges:
September Rudolph Days
NBUS Challenge #12

Salted Snowflake

Hi everyone.  Today's card is another for the CAS Watercolour August Challenge - Salt.  I love how the salt reacts with watercolours.

This time I die-cut a sparkly snowflake to pop on top of my blue Brushos and salt background.  I added a glittery jewel to the center.  A silver embossed sentiment finishes the card.

This card was simple to make.  I made a full panel of background (4 1/2" x 6"), then cut it into four equal pieces of 2 1/8" x 3" to create four cards.  Two are for my Christmas card stash and two I will donate.  A quick and easy way to get lots of cards made. :)

There's still a few days left to play along with the CAS Watercolour Salt Challenge. It closes at midnight August 24th.  Hope you'll join us.

Stamps:  Joyful Greeting (Paper Smooches)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah); Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.); silver foil (SU!)
Ink:  Brushos:  Turquoise, Ultra Marine; Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  water mister, kosher salt, Snowflake die (Lil' Inkers), glitter jewel (AliExpress),

Challenges:
CAS Watercolour August Challenge - Salt

Golden Thanks

Hi everyone.  Today's card is another using watercolouring with salt.  I have watercoloured a piece of white tissue paper using watercolour sprays (magenta and orange).  I quickly added some kosher salt on top and let the piece air dry.  The salt reacted with the watercolour, absorbing some of the colour and creating little star bursts.  So pretty!

I glued the tissue to a piece of white card stock and cut two squares.  I splattered the pieces with diluted gold pigment ink (Delicata) and then layered them onto my card front.  A piece of white card stock was coloured with more of the Delicata ink and then cut into the flower branch and placed on top.  A simple thanks stamp finishes the card.

This month's challenge at CAS Watercolour is to use Salt.  I hope you'll check out the reminder post to see more inspiring cards using salt from our Design Team, and talented Guest Designer, Ros.

Also playing along with Just Us Girls this week.  There's lots of shine from the gold splatters, flower sprig and sentiment.

Stamps:  Lots of Thanks (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  White (Neenah 110 lb. card stock); white tissue paper
Ink:  Watercolour Sprays from Concentrate:  Magenta, Orange (Dick Blick); Delicata Gold ink (Tsukineko)
Accessories & Tools:  paint brush, water mister, kosher salt, Lavish Branch die (Memory Box)

Challenges:
CAS Watercolour August Challenge - Salt
Just Us Girls #406 - Bring on the Shine

Salted Christmas

Hi everyone.  I'm having some more fun playing with watercolour and salt.  I used Brushos for this background, adding kosher salt and letting it air dry.  I love the bursts that the salt creates.

I'm adding these to the CAS Watercolour gallery.  The challenge this month is "salt".

I actually did two pieces, the one above with deep blues and purple, and another with turquoise and blue.  I cut both pieces in half to create four backgrounds and then made them into the same design.  Great way to create four quick and easy Christmas cards. :)

Here's a picture of the turquoise one ...

I hope you'll join us at CAS Watercolour for this fun challenge.

Stamps:  Season's Gifts (Penny Black)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah); Mixed media panel (Strathmore 140 lb.); Silver foil (SU!)
Ink:  Brushos:  Turquoise, Purple, Ultra Marine; Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  water mister, kosher salt, Curves Border die (AliExpress), Holly Jolly (stitched tree) die (Lil' Inkers), Holiday Shapes (star) die (Simon Says Stamp), Silver embossing powder (Ranger), heat tool

Challenges:
CAS Watercolour August Challenge - Salt

CAS Watercolour August Challenge

Hi everyone.  Today is the start of the CAS Watercolour August Challenge - Salt.  Bonnie has come up with a great challenge.  There are a few different ways to use salt when watercolouring.  Check out the challenge blog post to find some video tutorials ... and then come play along.

For the card above, I used mixed media paper and brushos (orange, terracotta and rose red) for colouring my paper.  I sprinkled salt over top and let the card front air dry.  Then I brushed off the salt to reveal the artsy background above.

I die-cut these beautiful flower stems with a penny black die that I received as a gift from my dear friend, Bonnie!  This is called "Shall we dance" ... the flowers really do look like they are dancing.  I used Brushos again to colour the die-cuts (cut from more mixed media paper).  This time I used just a little Terracotta and lots of Rose Red so the colours are deeper than the background.

I popped up a simple white frame over my background and tucked the stems under the frame to secure them, along with a few small drops of glue.  I stamped my sentiment in Barn Door distress ink ... it matches pretty well, I think.  And for the final detail, I added some Crystal Clear YNS Gumdrops to the center of each flower. They are glittery, but it doesn't really show in the photos.

We are excited to have Ros (Mikey's Mom) as our Guest Designer this month. Please check out the challenge blog to see the CAS watercoloured salt cards from Ros and our amazing Design Team.

I hope you'll come play along!

Stamps:  Sentiment - Bouquet of Thanks (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Mixed media paper (Strathmore 140 lb.); White (Neenah 110 lb.)
Ink:  Brushos:  orange, terracotta, rose red; Distress Ink:  Barn Door (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  water mister, kosher salt, Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Shall we Dance die (Penny Black), Crystal Clear Gumdrops (Your Next Stamp)

Challenges:
CAS Watercolour August Challenge - Salt

July Rudolph Days

Hi everyone.  I'm playing along with Rudolph Days run by the lovely Maureeen (Scrappimo!).  The challenge runs every month from the 25th to end of month and it's always Anything Goes Christmas.  It's great to make Christmas cards throughout the year.  :)

The card above is several techniques and has an artsy look.

I started by stenciling with Brushos, following the technique in my video.  This time I changed it up slightly by quickly sprinkling a little bit of kosher salt over my piece before I removed the stencil.  And I didn't blot with paper towel, so the colours dried very vibrant.  I let it air dry so that the salt could do it's thing. :)  It absorbs some of the pigment and creates these little bursts of colour.  It's very subtle on the card above, but if you look closely you can see the design left by the salt in the blue ink.

Here's a close-up.

To finish the card, I took a silver metallic pen doodled around the outline of the image.  Then I heat embossed a sentiment in silver to match.

I hope you'll come join the fun at Rudolph Days!

Stamps:  Christmas Sampler (Paper Smooches)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah); Watercolour paper panel (Arches 140 lb. cold press)
Ink:  Brushos:  Turquoise, Purple, Ultra Marine; Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  Snowflake stencil (Simon Says Stamp), water mister, kosher salt, silver metallic pen, silver embossing powder (Ranger), heat tool

Challenges:
Rudolph Days - July

Watercolour Wash

Hi everyone.  A few weeks ago I got together with some crafty friends and we tried all kinds of watercolour techniques and mediums.  This is one of the projects we did that day, and I finally got it made into a card.  :)

We did watercolour wash with Peerless Watercolors.  I don't know if you're familiar, but they come in several forms, including a small booklet.  They have small sheets (approx 6 1/2" x 2 1/2") of each of fourteen colours.  They are dry, but as soon as you touch them with a wet brush, you brush will be filled with gorgeous watercolour pigments.  They would be great for doing crafts when you are traveling, as you only have to bring along your brushes and the booklet.

Here's what they look like ...

I used two colours (Sky Blue and Dark Blue) for the background wash.  First, I heat embossed the image of two trees and falling snow in white.  Then taped my watercolour paper down to a clip board using painter's tape.  This keeps it from warping.  Used a sponge brush to add lots of water to the paper ... you should be able to see a sheen of wet.  Picked up the first colour with a wet brush and made large gestural strokes.  The second colour was added with a wet brush filling in some of the areas without colour along with overlapping a small amount of the first colour.  Then I tipped my clipboard, letting the colour and water run.  This created the design above.  Also sprinkled kosher salt over top and let it dry completely before brushing away the residue.  The salt pushes the colour away and created small starbursts.  Very cool!

To finish the card, I tore two pieces of white card stock for snow drifts, splattered diluted white acrylic paint over everything and let it dry before stamping my sentiment.

I used snippets for my torn snowdrifts, so I'm heading over for some fun at the Snippets Playground.  Also entering this into the AAA #66 - Watercolour challenge.  I think this is my fourth entry --- can you tell I love to play with watercolours?! :)

Thanks for coming by for a visit!

Edited to Add:  I should have included a link to this wonderful wash tutorial by Gina Kim.  I followed her steps exactly and ended up with the card above.  Thanks to Gina for sharing her expertise on YouTube.

Stamps:  Snowdust (Penny Black); Sentiment - Christmas Bell Medley (dee's artsy impressions)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah 110 lb.); Watercolour card front (Arches 140 lb. cold press)
Ink:  Versamark; Sky Blue, Dark Blue (Peerless Watercolors)
Accessories & Tools:  White embossing powder, heat tool, brushes, salt

Challenges:
Snippet Playground - Week 233
AAA Cards #66 - Watercolour