Thursday, May 29, 2014

Get Well for Friend

One of our friends was out cutting the grass and he fell and bumped his head. He had to go to the hospital because he was actually bleeding into the brain, sweet guy. But they think he will be alright and sent him home after a short stay.

I used all GKD products except the twine and hand punch for the sentiment. Stamp Sets: By the Sea 2 by Theresa Momber, and Under the Weather by Rupa Shevde. Entered into MIUM at STV, use 10 layers by Lee.

Thanks so much for coming on over to have a peek! Aloha dear friends!




Monday, May 26, 2014

An Anniversary Card for my Sweet Husband

I can't help but gush when I talk about how much I love my husband. But I'll restrain myself lol. It was our 21st celebration. How quickly the years have flown by.

Stamp Sets: "Life is Good" and "Country Roads" by Theresa Momber for GKD
Tree stamps: B&B stamps (red rubber, premounted wood stamps) I think they're very old
Cardstock: 120# base and 80# layering weight GKD Pure Luxury White; DCWV dark brown for layering
Stamped with Memento London Fog gray ink
Colored with Prismacolor Pencils
Snow made by Signo Gel Pen in white
Mod Podge and snow gel mixed and splattered with paint brush






Thank you very much for stopping by!

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Watercolor - Gelatos on Background Stamps

Wooohooo, this one worked! Finally :D :D :D


I took a Just Rite floral background stamp and colored the flowers with Gelatos. Then I gently spritzed water all over it and waited a bit, laid the watercolor paper over and :(  - the first one didn't turn out (see below). But I resprayed the stamp and Oh LA LA!!! I'm over the moon with it and will just paint the backside of the first one that kinda flopped.

Really - that's all I did. Then after it dried I added the sequins and will add a sentiment later on but had to get it uploaded. But the colors are soft and muted  - remind me of looking at a beautiful garden after the optometrist puts dilating drops in your eyes ☺ prettiful!


1st & then 2nd Generation layers: (big difference)








Sending hugs to all who take the time to visit my humble blog :)  ♥

Watercoloring over a Liquid Frisket Mask & Splatter

Yikes, out of my comfort zone.

First, cut out a heart from post it note and apply the outside paper (without the solid heart) onto your watercolor paper. Inside the negative space heart shape, get a Q-tip or dedicated dead brush for applying Liquid Frisket all around inside that heart space. Move it over and create another liquid frisket heart close by. Now, take courage -- dip your brush into the frisket and tap it gently against your forefinger of the opposite hand to create some splattering across your whole watercolor base paper. Put this aside for about two hours and let dry (it's humid over here so I waited longer).

Load the water across your now dry heart base layer, over the frisket. Frisket repels water :D Pick out your colors and dip them around the watered down panel and let the water do its thing. Set this aside and let dry again. The next morning (for me) I took my adhesive remover eraser and started rubbing the liquid frisket off the panel and it left white hearts and white dots all over - giddy! I tied the checkered red ribbon, dangled a brass key, colored the thread pink and red, added 2 crystal red hearts inside the hearts, and then covered the white space hearts with Crystal Lacquer for a rounded, clear finish.

I tried this with a snowy hill and snowflakes, but that was a mess lol.

For watercolor Class Day 2 - Backgrounds




Thank you everyone -- I appreciate your efforts to stop by :*

Watercoloring a Solid Stamp

Boy, this was complicated.

First I painted gelatos onto the stamp,misted it lightly, and stamped it onto watercolor 140# paper. It didn't turn out very solid, so I took the paint brush and added some water, touched some of the paint and spread the colors more evenly. Let it dry. Go back in and add darker tones to the centers of the flowers by touching the tip of the wet, round paint brush to the tip of Derwent WC pencil (a deep blue) and carefully add whispy strokes to the centers of the flowers. Let dry again.

For the background colors, I used regular colored pencils lightly stroked in an angle - oranges, yellows, pinks and a touch of blues. I didn't want to mess up the watercolored flowers by attempting a risky watercolor background today.

Stamp set by Flourishes, "Bees & Blooms."

Then I added the ribbon and gold metal dragonfly, some simple scoring around the border -- for Tammie, sympathy for her mother passing this week.

Watercolor Class: Watercoloring Stamped Images Days 3&4


Thank you for stopping by and taking a look ♥


Sunday, May 18, 2014

Watercoloring a Secret Garden

Ok, it isn't really an entire garden, but it's a few flowers and it's my first time trying to give this a serious try. It is the HARDEST technique on the planet (for me, so far).

I used the SU Secret Garden stamp set and stamped off a flower image (Memento Gray) one time, then stamped gently onto the watercolor paper. I didn't want to use a pencil and make my own stencil. I figure paled out gray ink will blend away with the paint, and it did.

Using dabs of distress inks tamped off onto a glass block, I added water and went at this.

Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick, Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive.

For the background, I laid down a water wash, then dabbed Worn Lipstick and Shabby Shutters here and there and let it run. The centers of the flowers have pale yellow flower soft covered with gold glitter (by Martha Stewart). I free handed the leaves with a bit of pencil sketching. The sentiment is SU Thoughts & Prayers. Watercolor Paper is 140# Strathford; Base Cardstock GKD Pure Luxury White, 120#. Green layer is by Colorbök. Gingham ribbon by BoBunny. Also used: Scor Tape and Adhesive Foam Dots.

Tips: Have a good drink first, take several deep breaths, play soft music and dab excess water or color up with the corner of a tissue. You can always let it dry, and try again on the back.


For Laurie, whose dear father recently died.




Thank you so much!

Friday, May 16, 2014

60s Aloha, rubber cement resist technique!

Something about this card reminds me of the 60s.

And ok, the card before this I cried all the way through, thinking about out dog, and tearing pieces off here and there and doing stuff over again. I think I'm through with this card now. I consider it....not very prettiful.

In the watercolor class, Day #2, Jennifer McGuire showed how to use Rubber Cement as a resist medium.

I took the rubber cement and dripped the word "Aloha" and let it dry over night. The next day, one of our cats had stepped on this panel, along with two others I had made and she wore three "snow shoes" all at once, trying to shake each one off her feet - it was so funny to watch. Ok, I gave in and peeled each one off so she could run away. All was well.

I took this panel and using water paints I first laid a layer of water across it. Then I dabbled some red and yellow water paint to it and let it swirl around and do its thing.  Let that dry.

For the background, I scored two waves across the top using the Crafter's Companion board, then pierced a line between the waves and a straight line across the bottom. I used Copics to color a crochet thread pink and yellow, then hand sewed the pierced holes. I added a few daisy type punched flowers, with rhinestones in the middles and sequins around the card.


Hey - no stamps sets or ink colors to name - wow!

Rubber Cement Resist Watercolor





Mahalo nui loa for stopping by to look 

Friday, May 9, 2014

Peachy Floral Thank You (2-Step Stamping)

Hi sweet friends,

I recently made a card using the 2-step method. 2-step is a fast technique to create an image with depth without having to pull out all your paints or markers. You just stamp the main or foundation image with one color, then stamp the secondary or highlight of that image over it.

I used Stampin' Up Million & One for the elegant thank you sentiment. For the 2-step flowers and leaves, I used Stippled Blossoms by Stampin' Up. The bases of the flowers and leaves are stamped with a darker color. Then the top layers are stamped with a lighter color. The flowers and leaves have a similar stamp in the set, but just parts of it to give the entire image depth.

I touched the centers of the flowers with some Stickles Diamonds for the glitter, then 3 sequins in the same color group at this flowers.



Thank you, always, for stopping by and leaving such encouraging comments ♥

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Watercolor Class Day 1, Color Block background, stamp over the top

Watercolor blocked background. Here is the card made with the project from yesterday blocking colors. It's dry now so I used GKD Black ink (covers like no other black ink) and stamped flowers and a sentiment from Morning Meadows set by SU. I added gold twine to the olive button, copper brads in the upper corner.




Aloha and thank you for taking the time to stop by my place ♥

Watercolor Class Day 1, Translucent Hearts

The hearts were punched out of the masked watercolor sample I made yesterday. I gave them three coats of UTEE. Now they appear to be cut stone - marvelous! I popped them up on adhesive foam dots onto this embossed card, added sheer ribbon & tied a double knot. Stickles onto the small flower buds.





CLOSE UP OF WATERCOLOR HEARTS WITH UTEE---






Thank you very much for taking the time to look at what is happening here ♥

Watercoloring Day 1, A Special Blessing

You can probably tell that the class is overwhelming me already. I don't know what I've posted and what I've forgot to post. Here is the watercolor background plaid I had made earlier, now incorporated into a card. The stamp set is GKD "A Blessing From Above." Hope he looks like he is standing in the clouds, getting ready to make a sweet delivery! Perfect pearls decorate baby's blanket and ball on hat! Wink of Stella clear is all over the bird, colored with Copics and sponged the clouds with Memento Sky Blue. Scallop border punch, 5 silver brads from SU, EK Ticket Tag Punch. All cardstock is by Gina K. Designs (except for watercolor paper).




Aloha sweet friends! Thank you for stopping by!
Best wishes for your day and week ahead ♥

Watercolor Class - Emboss Resist




Finally, the card I made is using another project to use emboss resist and to lay color washes over it. I used the Irish Blessing stamp by SU text stamp to emboss, then other SU stamps to finish up the card with a ribbon and a button, twine and Sakura Orange glitter pen.





Much aloha for stopping by and taking a look! ♥

Watercolor Class Basic projects

Next up are three test projects - one using small blocks dipped in distress inks, one using a flat brush to make a plaid background, and the last is to lay down a wash and block down a mask over it. I used Mixed Tiles by Crafter's Companion. All the inks are pearlized :)




Thank you again for taking a peek at what's new here!

Watercolor Swatches for Class

Hi friends,

How are you all doing?

I am taking an online watercolor class (yay)!

COME JOIN US AT Watercolor for Cardmakers

This is a preclass assignment to create some swatches of products we have - pencils, gelatos (gel sticks), paint palette.





Thank you for coming by :)