Summer Sunset

Hi everyone.  I'm currently away on vacation over on Galiano Island.  We arrived last night and it started to rain.  It's been raining all day ... so it's too chilly to sit out on the deck, but we are enjoying the beautiful waterviews from inside the house.  It's all about resting and relaxing this week.  Jer and Alex are here for the weekend and we've been eating lots and playing games.  I pulled out my zigs this afternoon to do a little watercolouring and soon was joined by both Jer and Alex.  They had fun playing with the zigs. :)

Today's card is more playing with watercolour washes.  This was an experiment and it didn't turn out as I had planned. :)  I was looking to create a summer sunset with a watercolour flat wash.  I was hoping the colours would blend into each other a little more, but it's still a pretty background, so I'm sharing with you.

I wet my watercolour paper first, and then mixed up my paints with water to create pools of colour to work with.  You need to have the colours mixed ahead so that you don't have to mix more as you go along.  I started at the top with a few strokes of pink, then changed to orange (overlapping a bit with the pink), and finally to yellow (overlapping a bit with the orange).

I added a die-cut silhouette of some trees and leaves overtop so the sunset could peek through.

I'm adding this to the CAS Mix Up September Challenge - Watercolour Wash.  And I'm also adding this to the CAS Watercolour September Challenge - Silhouette.  Silhouettes don't have to be black! :)

  

Come join us!

Stamps:  Sentiment - Painted Butterflies (Altenew)
Paper:  Watercolour (Arches 140 lb. cold press); White (Neenah 110 lb. card stock); Basic Gray (SU!)
Ink:  Peerless Watercolour (Bright Yellow, Orange, Geranium Pink); Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  sponge brush, large 1" flat brush, Birch Tree Window die (Simon Says Stamp), white embossing powder, heat tool

Challenges:
CAS Mix Up September Challenge - Watercolour Wash
CAS Watercolour September Challenge - Silhouette

With Love for Izzy

Hi everyone.  Today I'm sharing a card I made for Jer's dear friend, Izzy.  He asked me to make her a special birthday card that was feminine with red or purple.  I used all three. :)

This is my first time watercolour blending both red and purple to create a two-toned flower.  I'm happy with how it turned out.

Of course, I got a smudge of black at the top left and didn't realize until after I finished watercolouring!! :)  So I fussy-cut the flower and stems, leaving a thin white border.  Then I popped up the flower heads for dimension and glued the bottom of the stems under a sentiment banner at the bottom.  A few sequins add sparkle ... Izzy is all about the bling! :)  I took my white gel pen and went over the lines of the stamens to make them stand out more.

I'm playing along with The Flower Challenge #12 - Tic-Tac-Toe.  I used the line across the middle "Gems, Watercolour, CAS". :)

  

Thanks for coming by for a visit.

Stamps:  Bouquet of Thanks; Thoughtful Messages (both from Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Mixed Media paper (Strathmore 140 lb.); White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.)
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Wilted Violet, Candy Apple, Twisted Citron; Archival Black (Ranger); Black (Memento)
Accessories & Tools:  Water brush, white gel pen, sequins

Challenges:
The Flower Challenge #12 - Tic-Tac-Toe

CAS Watercolour September Challenge

Hi everyone.  It's the beginning of September already!!  This year is flying by.  Time for a new challenge at CAS Watercolour.

For our challenge, silhouettes can be black, white, metallic or any other dark colour (gray, navy, brown).

My card starts with a tissue paper watercoloured background - click HERE to see my video tutorial.  I used a piece from my stash, so not sure of the ink that I used but believe it is Distress inks worn lipstick and peeled paint.  I glued it onto a piece of white card stock for sturdiness.  I placed a Wildflower stencil over top and sponged with Delicata Gold ink.  The card front was mounted onto a base and then the sentiment banner was glued on top down the left hand side.

We are thrilled to have Birgit (Rapport fran ett skrivbord) as our Guest Designer this month.  She won the July Butterfly challenge with this amazing card.  Welcome Birgit!!

Please check out the challenge blog to see the beautiful silhouette cards from our Design Team and Guest Designer, Birgit.  And then come play along!

Stamps:  The Big, the Bold, The Happy (Winnie & Walter)
Paper:  White tissue paper; White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.).
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Worn Lipstick, Peeled Paint (Tim Holtz); Delicata Gold (Tsukineko)
Accessories & Tools:  water mister, Wildflower stencil (Tim Holtz), sponge

Challenges:
CAS Watercolour September Challenge - Silhouette

CAS Mix Up September Challenge

Hi everyone.  Welcome to the launch of the September CAS Mix Up Challenge.  This month the challenge is hosted by Bonnie.

Playing with re-inkers to make this card. I placed a drop or two of red and brown distress inks on my palette, diluting with a bit of water.  Then used a round brush to add clear water to my mixed media card front.  I picked up red ink with my brush and just made some loose brush marks across my card front.  Rinsed out my brush and picked up the brown and added strokes of brown, making sure to overlap the red. That's it.  Let it dry and added a simple black stamped sentiment and black silhouette flower die-cut that I shaped with my stylus.

Check out the CAS Mix Up Challenge blog to see the amazing cards from our talented Design Team and wonderful Guest Designer, Cathy (Cathy's Card Spot).

Then come play along!!

Stamps:  Everyday Messages (Hero Arts)
Paper:  Mixed Media card front (Strathmore 140 lb.); White (Neenah 110 lb. card stock)
Ink:  Distress Re-inkers:  Candied Apple, Vintage Photo (Tim Holtz); Black (Memento)
Accessories & Tools:  water mister, paint brush, Joyful die (Penny Black), stylus and mat


Challenges:
CAS Mix Up September Challenge - Watercolour Wash