Watercoloring the Ai Way!

Hi, Bloggin' Buddies!

I recently took a class at my LSS, and I have been watching the great videos on the Art Impressions (Ai) website (look in the "Get Inspired" section for the YouTube videos), about using some Ai stamps with markers for a delightful watercolor look. Check it out and you will be amazed.

For this card I used the Ai "Flowering Mailbox" stamp and some of the foliage stamps, Distress Markers along with a paintbrush and water. The color from the stamped image is "pulled" into the image and the stamped lines are softened with a wet brush. Such fun!

The sentiment is from "Sentiments and Quotes" from Altenew. Several embellishments/die cuts are from my stash.

I know this technique takes some practice and I hope to spend more time with it, but for now I'm happy to have an alternative to traditional watercoloring.

This is going into the current Ai Challenge, "House and Home". There is plenty of time for you to play along.

Have a great week and thanks for the visit!

Monday with Frida

Good Monday morning, Bloggin' Buddies:

A quick post this morning as I am hitting the road for a day of fun and adventure. Today's card is another watercolor playful one featuring Frida. I used my Wink of Luna brush/pens to create a cool background.

I added some gold paper, thread and tape from my stash. The sentiment is from one of my favorite sets, "Label Love" by Altenew.


This is headed for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog which is all about Wonderful Watercolor.

Hoping you have a awesome week and thanks for the visit!

Wink, wink.....

Happy Friday, Bloggin' Buddies!

As I have shared with you, I am making a real effort to loosen up a bit and develop a more artsy style for some of my work. One of my huge source of inspirations is a neat gal I "met" years ago in the card-making blogland, Cheiron Brandon. She has so much talent and I love visiting her blog to see what excitement she is up to.

I recently took a class in, and have been playing with, Wink of Luna pens. These are water-based brush/pens with lots of intense color and glimmer. They are sisters to the Wink of Stella pens that many of us have been using. What a punch of fun!

I made this card to send to Cheiron just to let her know how much I appreciate all she shares and how much she inspires. The background is Wink of Luna on wet watercolor paper with images stamped on dictionary paper and directly on the dried background. The sentiment is from Altenew (Label Love - one of my current favorites).

I plan to continue to work on this new style (but I will also keep my oldies!) and explore more with this fun product.

Thanks for the visit and have a tremendous and creative weekend!

Kraftiness

Hi, Bloggin' Buddies!

Just a very quick between road trips to share with you the little bags I put together for a neighborhood ladies luncheon we had yesterday. Each bag contains two handmade cards. I just love the black ink on the kraft paper! The stamps are from Hero Arts and Altenew.

We are having a great summer (we just returned from the beautiful North Shore of Lake Tahoe and are now headed to California's Central Coast!) and I'll return to posting upon our return.

Take care and keep crafting!

Mix It Up

Hello, Bloggin' Buddies!

I hope you had a grand weekend. It is sure feeling like summer here and we are enjoying it.

You may know that I am crazy about one of the new releases from Essentials by Ellen - "Mongo Magnolia" by the amazing Julie Ebersole. I have previously used this stamp/die set (and I have seen it used) to create very elegantly-styled cards.

Today I decided to take a different approach and make it "Homestyle".  I recently bought the Graphic 45 "Home Sweet Home" 8" x 8" paper pad and it has been calling my name. I had fun with lots of homespun layers and colors. The flower is shaded with Distress Inks.

The sentiment is from Altenew's "Sentiments and Quotes", so I am adding this to Essentials by Ellen's "Mix It Up Challenge".

Have a crafty week and thanks for the visit,