CAS Watercolour April Challenge

Hi everyone.  Today I'm sharing my DT card for the CAS Watercolour April Challenge hosted by the lovely Susan (Cardmaker's Garret).  Susan wants us to watercolour Spring Flowers.  YAY!  As some of you know, flowers are my FAVOURITE to watercolour!  Susan wants us to use only spring flowers, so please think snowdrops, daffodils, tulips, crocuses, apple and cherry blossom, dogwood, etc.

We are so excited to have Vicky (Crafting Clare's Paper Moments) as our Guest Designer this month!

Nothing says Spring in Vancouver like cherry blossoms.  We have them everywhere throughout the city and suburbs.  They are pretty, delicate blooms that only last about two weeks.

I started by heat embossing my flowers with liquid platinum embossing powder.  Used distress inks to watercolour the blooms and leaves and and then cropped my image with a pretty frame.  I've added the sentiment at the bottom, heat embossed in the same colour.

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I hope you'll create a CAS card with the main feature of watercoloured spring flowers.  Then join in by clicking on the link on the challenge blog.  Hope to see you in the gallery!

Stamps:  First Blush, Million Thanks (both Penny Black)
Paper:  Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Versamark; Distress inks:  Abandoned coral, Twisted Citron (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  Liquid Platinum embossing powder (Ranger), heat tool, water brush, Simple Stackers frame (Penny Black)

Challenges:
CAS Watercolour April Challenge - Spring Flowers

CAS Mix Up April Challenge

Hi everyone.  Welcome to April's CAS Mix Up Challenge.  This month I'm the host and I'm asking you to try .....

I learned this technique from Susan (Cardmaker's Garret) last year at our craft retreat.  It's such a great way to add colour to an image and to the background separately, while keeping the colours crisp and clean.

For the card above, I started by making a Stencil Monoprint with a dotty stencil.  I then took a small paintbrush and a little bit of bleach and painted over my flowers and leaves to remove the dotty background from inside the images.  I blot with paper towel after every addition of bleach so that it doesn't spread where it's not wanted.  Soon I had a white image of flowers and leaves.  You can leave it to dry thoroughly, or as I did, I painted over again with clean water to wash (dilute) any bleach residue.  Then dried with my heat tool before watercolouring with distress inks.

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We are thrilled to have Mac (The Sweetest of Peas), joining us as Guest Designer this month!  Yay Mac!

I hope you'll join us at CAS Mix Up, adding your CAS, bleached card to the gallery.  As always, there's a few video tutorials for anyone who would like to check them out.  Hope to see you in the gallery!

Stamps: Flutterby (Penny Black); Happy Snippets (Penny Black)
Paper:  Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Black (Versafine); Distress Inks:  Milled Lavender, Seedless Preserves, Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn (Tim Holz)
Accessories & Tools:Mini Tiny Circles Stencil (The Crafter's Workshop), water mister, water brush, Circle die (Spellbinders)

Challenges:
CAS Mix Up April Challenge - Bleaching

Penny Black - Layered Leaves and more ...

Hi everyone,  Today's cards use a few of the new stand-alone dies from the new release.  First, I'm sharing a CAS (clean and simple) masculine birthday card made with Layered Leaves die 51-633.

I die-cut the leaves from white card stock.  I used a watercoloured piece from my stash ... this has a bit of sparkle, so I'm pretty sure it is a mix of Lindy's magicals on watercolour paper.  I placed the die-cut leaves over the watercolour piece and traced with a pencil, then fussy-cut.  Adhered the white over top of the watercoloured background and then adhered to my card front.  I stamped a happy birthday sentiment (smile today! 30-461) in weathered wood distress ink.  It matched pretty well! :)

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My second card uses the beautiful die, Creative Curves 51-611.  This makes a lovely backdrop for any image.

The bright white card front and black die-cut panel create a lot of contrast in this design.  A pretty stamped butterfly (Wings and Vases 30-704), coloured with zigs and fussy-cut is all that's needed to complete this design, along with a simple black stamped sentiment, Good Wishes 30-541.

My third card uses the new Bench (51-621) die.

Created a very loose watercolour wash for the background from green and blue inks.  Stamped a leafy branch from the Country Charisma stamp set 30-690, watercolouring in two shades of green ink.  Popped up the die-cut bench, which was sponged in two shades of brown ink. Finished with a blue ink stamped sentiment, Good Wishes (30-541).

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Penny Black Products

Layered Leaves die 51-633
smile today! sentiment set 30-461

Creative Curves 51-611

Wing and Vases 30-704
Good Wishes 30-541

Bench die 51-621

Country Charisma 30-690

Good Wishes 30-541

Card #1:  Layered Leaves
Stamps:  smile today! (Penny Black)
Paper:  Watercolour paper (Arches cold press 140 lb.); White (Neenah 110 lb.)
Ink:  Lindy's magicals
Accessories & Tools:  Layered Leaves die (Penny Black)

Card #2:  Butterfly Curves
Stamps:  Wings and Vases; Good Wishes (both Penny Black)
Paper:  Black card stock (SU!); White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media paper (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Zigs (Kuretake)
Accessories & Tools:  Creative Curves die (Penny Black), waterbrush

Card #3:  Enjoy every moment
Stamps:  Country Charisma; Good Wishes (both Penny Black)
Paper:  Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Distress Inks:  Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy (Tim Holtz)
Accessories & Tools:  Bench die (Penny Black), waterbrush

Penny Black - Wings and Vases

Hi everyone.  Today I'm using one of the beautiful images from the Wings & Vases (30-704) stamp set .  Comes with matching dies, ... vases cut out (51-619).  This is a set of eight beautiful images with matching die-cuts for five of the images (2 bouquets of flowers and three small flowers).

I started by heat embossing the vase and flowers in Liquid Platinum.  I love the warm tone of this embossing powder.  Used a water brush to watercolour the flowers and vase using distress inks.  Die-cut the image and added glaze on top of the vase for some shine.

Watercoloured the background with diluted Liquid Metals in coral.  Adhered the beautiful white die-cut, creative curves (51-611) on top and then popped up my vase of flowers on top of that.  To finish, I stamped a simple sentiment from the million thanks (30-680), heat embossing in liquid platinum to match the flowers.

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I'm entering this card into the Craft Stampers Magazine - Take It Make It March Challenge.

Thanks for coming by for a visit!

Penny Black Products
wings & vases stamp set 30-704
... vases cut out 51-619
creative curves die 51-611
million thanks (30-680)

Stamps: wing & vases; million thanks (both from Penny Black)
Paper:  Mixed Media (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:  Versamark; Distress Inks:  shabby shutters, peeled paint, abandoned coral, fired brick, peacock feathers;  Liquid Metals - coral (Ken Oliver)
Accessories & Tools:  Liquid Platinum embossing powder (Ranger), heat tool, water brush, ... vases cut out (Penny Black), creative curves die (Penny Black), Crystal Glaze (Nuvo), water mister

Challenges:
CSM - Take It Make It Challenge - March