WWC296 - Michelle's Challenge: Anything Feminine Goes

 

Hello, hello and welcome!  This week we are creating feminine cards at The Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and we would love to see your creation in our gallery.  Michelle is our hostess this week.  

I've had my eye on the Altenew Hibiscus Garden 3D die set for sometime and finally bought it.  I wanted to use seasonal jewel tones  so I die cut my pieces from Altenew's Enchanting Washes Cardstock.  I like the gorgeous colors and the fact that it is thick like cardstock.  For the leaves I ink blendeded  4 colors of green on watercolor paper.  My background is a light watercolor wash where I then softened the edges with a towel so it fades out.  I dried the panel and then  added purple and black paint spatters.  Next I mixed gesso with Iridescent Shimmer Spray and added more splatters.  I assembled and paired with a Bold Envelope and my birthday card is now ready to mail.

I am also playing along with:

Festive Friday FF0071 I included die cuts, patterned paper (hibiscus), flowers and sentiment.  

UPDATE:  I was excited to see my card was selected as a "Festive Fave"!

Crafty Hazel Nuts Patterned Paper Challenge  I used Altenew Enchanting Washes Patterned Cardstock for the two hibiscus.

Karen

Altenew Academy: Creative Watercolor Media

Hello and welcome.  I just completed The Altenew Academy "Creative Watercolor Media" class and wanted to share this card with you.  

In class #4 we were taught how to watercolor with shimmer sprays.  I don't have any shimmer sprays so I hydrated some shimmer powders and used that instead.  In class #5, we learned to make watercolor backgrounds so I made a coordinating panel for the lotus.

My Process:

• I thought Altenew's Inked Lotus would be so pretty with this technique so I stamped the images on watercolor paper using Versafine Onyx Black ink.  I then let it dry.
• I hydrated 5 colors total, three for the lotus (pink, purple and blue) and two for the stem (green and yellow).  I then used the wet on wet technique as I dropped color into the the petals of the bloom.  The colors don't blend as well as watercolors, but the shimmer patina is so pretty in person.
• I popped the watercolor panel back in my Misti and restamped the outline after the paint dried.
• I decided to make a coordinating background so I spritzed the leftover shimmer paint on my media mat with additional water and then dipped a piece of watercolor paper into the puddle.  I dried and re-dredged until I liked the background.  I still had leftover ink so I was able to make a second background panel to keep with my "made ahead" backgrounds.  
• The sentiment is from the same Inked Lotus stamp and die bundle.  I love when a stamp set has usable sentiments included.

Pro Tip:  The key to these watercolor backgrounds is to add lots of layers of color.  Dredge, dry and repeat until you like the panel.  

I am also playing along with The Flower Challenge and their Summer/Winter theme.  Summer for me!  I used cool blues and purples that remind me of a swimming pool.

I am so pleased that you stopped by!

Karen

Altenew Academy: Celebration Stencil Techniques

Hello and welcome.  I just finished a wonderful Altenew Academy course and I am excited to share my card with you.   Laurel Beard taught us stencil techniques and I loved them all!  This is my favorite card from the class.  I also used my favorite Altenew stamp and die bundle called Weekend Doodles.

My inspiration came from lesson 3:  Stamping with Stencils and  I chose to watercolor over my stencil.

My Process:

1. I taped my stencil to a 6 x  6 piece of watercolor paper.  Next, I wet my watercolor paper well with a brush.  I then "pounced" three colors of distress ink onto the wet watercolor paper.  
2. I haven't used my Zig markers in months but they were exactly what I wanted for this project because of their bright vibrant colors.  I heat embossed my floral image, colored with Zigs and then die cut.
3. I die cut a white panel for the sentiment and to provide some contrast with the bold stripes and then heat embossed the sentiment.  I glued the white panel to the background and then used foam tape to adhere the flowers.

Supplies:

Altenew Watercolor Stripes Stencil

Altenew Weekend Doodles stamp and die bundle

Distress Inks:  Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon and Twisted Citron

Zig Markers:  Emerald, Green Shadow, Pale Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Yellow and Bright Yellow.

Watercolor Paper

Neenah Cardstock

Versafine Onyx Black ink and Clear Embossing Powder

Liquid Glue

Foam Tape

I am also playing along with:

Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #458

Lil Red Wagon Create Your Own Background Paper Challenge

Seize The Birthday All About Summer Challenge

I was so pleased to see this card chosen as a Top 3 at Tuesday Thowdown!

I am so pleased you stopped by and I would love to hear what you think about this card.

Karen

WWC238 - Tristan's "All About Occasions" Challenge

Hello and welcome!  This week it is all about occasions at Watercooler Wednesday and I chose to make a birthday card.  Tristan is our hostess this week.  Pop by the Watercooler Wednesday Challege website for more details and to link your creation.

I bought a new die, Sunny Studio Frilly Frame Stripe, so I wanted to incorporate it into my card design.  I started by making a background with my Kuretake watercolors and then added the overlay to my background. I stamped, Copic colored and die cut the floral images.  I wanted the sentiment to match so I inked a piece of cardstock with a coordinating Copic marker.  Learning lesson....Let the ink fully dry before attempting to die cut. The first sentiment stuck to the die and came out in 100 tiny pieces.

Supplies:

Sunny Studio Frilly Frames Stripes die

WPlus9 Doodle Buds stamps and dies

SSS Happy Birthday die

Kuretake Watercolors

Distress Watercolor Paper

Neenah cardstock

Copic markers

The Flower Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Guest Designer for Craft Stamper Magazine

I am so pleased to have been selected to be the Guest Designer for Craft Stamper Magazine this month!  Hop over to their July "Take It or Make It" website for some inspiration or to enter your stamped creation.

Since it is summer I went with a bold nautical card.  I won the Visible Images Create Your Own Calm stamp set in a card challenge and this is what I crafted.  The background is watercolored with three colors of blue/blue-green watercolor paints.  I wet the watercolor paper and then dropped in colors randomly and let them blend as they pleased.  I then white heat embossed the darling seahorse and rings.  I trimmed the panel down so that I would have a contrasting white strip when I mounted on a white A2 card.  I heat embossed the sentiment on vivid blue card stock and then trimmed it with a stitched die.  

I hope you like this card and that you will submit your creation to Craft Stamper Magazine's Take It Make It Challenge.

I am entering this card in:
The Rainbow "Blue Breezes" Challenge


Country View Blues and Greens Challenge

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Altenew Garden Grow Birthday Card

Hello and thank you for stopping by!  I was asked to be a "Guest Designer" for the CAS on Friday "Butterfly" Challenge.

Altenew's Garden Grow stamp set is a longtime favorite so I thought it would be fun to have a gardening vignette with pink and yellow butterflies landing on the watering can and potted plant.

I started by making a simple blue watercolor background.  Next, I stamped and used Copics to color my gardening trio.  I wanted a spotlight circle so I used a stitched circle die.  I assembled the card and added a birthday sentiment.

This card is for my mother-in-law who loves butterflies and gardening.

I am entering this card in:
Altenew's April Inspiration Challenge.  I used the pink, yellow, blue color scheme for my background and butterflies and used the rainbow colors for the flowers in my pot.  I just adore this Altenew Garden Grow stamp and die set.  Every spring I seem to pull it out and make loads of cards.


Allsorts Blossoms, Butterflies and Bugs Challenge.  I chose to focus on the blossoms and butterflies for my spring gardening card.


Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.  I love the spring mood board this week and thought my garden vignette worked well.


Karen

Seaside Village Watercolor Card

I had the idea of creating a 3D seaside village for my aunt's birthday.  She loves watercoloring so that is the technique I chose.    I love this beautiful Art Impressions Shoppes stamp set.

Village Shoppes

I started by stamping the two shoppes with grey ink on Ranger Watercolor paper.  Then I used my new watercolors to bring my scene to life. Next, I took another panel of watercolor paper and created my background.   After the shop images were dry, I fussy-cut and used foam tape to adhere to the background panel.    Last, I stamped the sentiment (WPlus9 - Doodle Buds) in the sky area.

I am happy with the card and hope Aunt Nancy will like it.

I am entering this card in:

Art Impressions Cutting Edge Challenge.  Fussy cutting was my "cutting
edge".
  
Day of the Month Inaugural Card Challenge  What fun to participate in Challenge #1!


Allsorts "Favorite" Challenge.  Two favorites on this card:  the idyllic shoppes stamps and the sentiment stamp.

  

Sisterhood of Crafters "Ladies" Challenge.  I think this scene is one most ladies would appreciate.


Time out 5th Birthday Challenge  Happy Birthday to Time Out Challenges!  Love the theme "Hugs, Kisses and a lot of Birthday Wishes".  This is a birthday card I made for my aunt.



Thanks for stopping by,
Karen

Experimenting with New Techniques

Lots of experimentation on this card.  I was interested in entering the Muse Challenge #268 so I spent a day thinking about what direction my card should take.  I knew I would use the floral theme, but the rest came to me in bits and pieces.

Ultimately, I chose to focus on the following:

• Pink and Green Color Scheme
• Embossing
• Black Sentiment Band
• Floral Theme

What I changed:

• I've never done pink embossing but had been thinking about trying it for a while. The pink flowers seemed to be the perfect time.  I wasn't sure if my method would work, but I used Color Box Pink Pigment Ink and clear embossed on top.  I think it turned out bright and cheery, which is a plus for a Get Well card.
• The flower and  leaf looked bland on a white card base so I made a custom background.  Again, I've never done this before, but I used my Green Apple Inktense watercolor pencil and made a lightly striated background to complement the Copic greens.   

I used my new favorite stamp set:  Botanical Love By Create a Smile.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen