Dogwood

Hi, Bloggin' Buddies!

My Aunt loves Dogwoods and it will soon be her 97th birthday, so I made her a card using the Impression Obsession's Dogwood Cling stamp (Aislinn Adams, F12003) and my Gansai Tambi watercolors. I heat-embossed the image using Memento Luxe ink. I don't think this process did this lovely image justice, so the next time I think I'll try a different watercolor medium. I also got a bit carried away with my splatters! I have never been a fan of yellow - I hardly ever use it - but it is her favorite color, so.......Ah, well.

The sentiment is also from Impression Obsession (MC657 Wishes).

I will submit this to the Impression Obsession Blog current challenge "Birthday Wishes"). There is still time for you to play along!

Thanks for the visit and for being patient as I work through trials with watercoloring!

Wonderful Watercolor

Hello, Bloggin' Buddies!

I recently took a class where we learned to use watercoloring with die cuts. We did several watercolored backgrounds and then we watercolored die cuts which were made from watercolor paper. It was intimidating, but so much fun. I just love my Gansai Tambi watercolors - they are so highly pigmented and so rich.

For this card I blended three different colors of watercolors, being careful not to create mud (as my friend says "ask me how I know").  I then stamped the dry background with some brown ink and added the watercolored Penny Black die cut image. The sentiment is from Tim Holtz and the bling is from my stash.

This is headed to the current Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog, which is Wonderful Watercolors. You have time to play along!



Thanks for the visit and I hope all is good.

Ellen's Mix it Up Challenge

Howdy, my Bloggin' Buddies!

Have you heard the news?

Ellen Huttson has a new challenge going on over at the Classroom! The first one is to mix a wonderful "Essentials by Ellen" product with a Hero Arts product.

I have been having such fun with my new Kuretake Gansai Tambi paints and decided that this was the perfect chance. I have many of Ellen's great Essentials (such amazing designs!), but I wanted to combine this simple word die from Julie's "You Rock" set with part of a Hero Arts sentiment, in this case one from Essential Messages, CL371. The background is from Neat and Tangled (hope that is permitted!).

I added a mist of Perfect Pearls after the watercolors were applied - a lovely shimmer! - and some sequins from my stash.

I'm still fighting with making good photos at the new house - sorry!

Give this challenge a try - you have a couple of days. And check back at the Classroom for additional future challenges.

Thanks for the visit - have a great week!

Playing in the Water

Colors!

Hello, Blogging Buddies:

I am so excited about my new set of watercolor paints!

I had been using an old kid's set that I got at a garage sale for $1.00, but I kept hearing so many of you talking about the Japanese Gansai Tambi paints.

I finally jumped in and got a 36-color set and I think I'm in love - with every rich and creamy pan of luscious color. What a treat it is to use these amazing paints.

I did some clear embossing on watercolor paper and played for hours. Love the look!

The background stamp is Hero Art's Lattice and the "Hello" die is from Simon Says Stamp.

Thanks for the visit and have a lovely weekend,

Smile

Hello, Bloggin' Buddies!

I sure hope you have had a great weekend. We sure did - it feels like Spring, but we continue to pray for rain.

Today I am sharing a fun little card that incorporates products from several companies. The sentiment is from a fun set by Inkadinkado called "Kid Quotes, Friendly Advice". These just make me chuckle. The crazy rabbit is from paper Smooches "A Little Lovin" and the matching dies. Finally, the vellum circles, called "Circle Scribbles" are from Papertrey Ink.

These are all mounted on a background that is water-colored with Distress Inks (but I just got a new set of great water colors - can't wait to try them).

Thanks for the visit and have a wonderful week.

Hope Times Three

A few weeks ago I attended a class at The Paper Garden in Sacramento, CA. It was taught by the amazing Peggy Jo Ackley of Pink Ink Stamp Company (formerly Lockhart Stamp Company). She taught us a bunch of different watercolor background techniques using Twinkling H20s and had us make a nifty little swatch book for future reference. Very cool.

I finally had time to give some of this a try. I have a difficult time with watercolor because I have serious control issues and I also hate messes!

I got out paints and some Twinkling H20s, created a big mess and gave it a try. Of the seven backgrounds I prepared, only five were salvageable.

I heat embossed one of my favorite current stamps by Neat and Tangled called Hope Anchors onto the backgrounds. I just love the message of hope and encouragement derived from Hebrews 6:19. I previously made several cards using this stamp for the friends we met when we went on a cruise with my sister-in-law's church.

Here are three samples. I used a Tim Holtz stencil on the green one to add some definition. To each I added a strip of glittery paper and some matching punched stars.

Hope you are enjoying the last vestiges of summer!
Thanks for the sweet visit & have a great weekend,