Thinking of You

My card today combines two Splitcoast challenges, the Love Fest day 8 inspiration challenge and the new Mix-Ability mixed media challenge MIX4 (to use water and a water soluble medium).

I'm a total mixed media newbie and I've been lurking around the Mix-Ability forum for a few days, checking it all out, watching the fabulous video tutorials they've put together, contemplating jumping in, running away instead, then going back to check it out again. But when I saw the MIX4 challenge I knew it was a good one for me to start with.

I started with a good piece of water colour paper then I pulled out my Distress Markers and scribbled a few colours onto my splat mat (referring to the Love Fest day 8 inspiration challenge to choose my colours). I used a water brush to pick up the colours and created this watercolour background. I dried it with my heat tool (because I'm not patient enough to wait for it to dry) then I stamped the image from Inspired by the Beach using Ranger Archival Ink in jet black. I knew I'd be tweaking my watercolouring just a bit along the beach so I used an ink that's permanent and waterproof. Then I went back and added more sand along the water line. I used  a dark brown marker to colour the chairs once the paper was dry again.

I mounted the watercolour paper onto a Hot Fudge Panel and chose a sentiment from Inspired by Flowers #1. I stamped the sentiment with Versamark ink and embossed it with vanilla powder. I cut out the Sea Charms Die-namics from Kraft cardstock and tied the shell in place using Hemp Cord and a Natural button. The card base is Whip Cream.

I really want to be sitting in one of those chairs right about now! LOL!

Here are the supplies I used:

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

River Boat Thank You

On Saturday night we were invited on a River Boat Dinner Cruise and I made this card to thank our friends. We had a wonderful time, met several new people, and had an amazing viewing point for the fireworks competition at Coney Island. It was a perfect evening!!

I used the ship image from Inspired by Travel from My Favorite Things and the layout is FMS53 from the Freshly Made Sketches blog. I decided to watercolour instead of using my copic markers so I had to dig out my watercolor paper, but once I found it I used the Designer Labels 3 STAX Die-namics to cut out the image panel. I stamped the ship with Palette Noir ink and set it aside to dry completely. The colours I used on the image were Memento teal zeal, Memento potter's clay, Memento london fog and SU soft sky. I used my Circle 2 STAX Die-namics to cut out a Steel Grey circle for layering and added a circle of rhinestones to jazz it up.

The background paper is from the Authentique Fresh collection. I didn't want to cover it up with strips of paper so I used the cut out portion of the Retro Squares Die-namics to cut out strips of Tangy Orange, Sweet Tooth, and SU sahara sand.

On the inside I stamped a Thank You sentiment from Thanks A Bunch and used the Solid Bracket Border Die-namics to cut out the Tangy Orange accent.

Here are the Die-namics I used:

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

No copics and almost all SU!

Here's a card that's nearly all SU! I know...I haven't done that in a while!

I really felt like watercolouring yesterday so I reached for my Spring Song stamp set...love those birds! I find this type of set is perfect for watercolouring because SU has already done the shading lines for me so I don't have to guess where to put the darker shades. The layout is the Weekend Sketch #89 hosted by Lori Craig. I also incorporated the Limited Supplies Challenge #229 on Splitcoast (to use your wedding or high school colours and at least one clip or staple or phototurn).

So I decided to use my wedding colour (because my high school colours were just horrid, in my humble opinion), light blue. I needed an accent colour so I chose light yellow because it goes so well with blue and also because the white flowers in the centerpieces had yellow centers, although it wasn't an official colour. Everything is SU except the ribbon and button.

I stamped the image with black Stazon onto watercolour paper, cut it out with oval Nesties and watercoloured it with an aquapainter and reinkers. I cut out the bird and two flowers and popped them for dimension. I added a light shading of blush blossom around the entire image to tone down the white paper, but after I did this I realized white would have been a wedding colour too...oh well, too late now.

Once I had my card assembled I had no place for the sentiment so I added it under the image and secured it with a mini library clip. A fun little accent I wouldn't have thought to do if I wasn't trying to complete the Limited Supplies Challenge.

I realize that I need more practice watercolouring, but I'm quite happy with how this turned out and it was fun to set my copics aside for a completely different look.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

A couple MFT cards

These cards are already posted on my Splitcoast gallery, but I thought I'd share them here in more detail.

This one, Rusty Flopsey, was for a colour challenge on Splitcoast, using Going Grey and Really Rust and Very Vanilla.

As soon as I saw the colours I thought of my MFT Reading Flopsey stamp.

The image is stamped with Memento black onto SU Very Vanilla cardstock, cut out with nesties and coloured with Copics. Colouring with Copics on SU vanilla was a little difficult...tough to get nice blending, but it's the only Vanilla I had. If anyone knows of a great vanilla or cream CS for copics, please let me know.

I added a little crystal effects to his glasses for the look of real lenses.

The patterned paper is SU retired Fall Flowers. I still love that paper. There was an empty space above the books so I stacked some Primas and attached them with a rhinestone brad. I think they fill the space nicely.

There was no space left for the sentiment so I decorated the inside a bit and stamped it there.

The next card is a real hoot!

These Christmas Owls from MFT are super cute, so I couldn't resist using them for the MFT What's Up Wednesday Water challenge.

I stamped them with Palette Noir onto Fabriano Hot Press watercolour paper. If you've never used hot press watercolour paper before, the difference is that it's really smooth compared to cold press paper. Fine line images stamp beautifully onto hot press paper. It can't take as much water though and it takes longer for the water to be absorbed into the paper, so you have to be patient. I used an aquapainter and inks to colour the image, and I finished off the shading with a

blender pen and ink for more precise placement and more concentrated colour.

The card base is Baja Blue, then I ran a piece of Ridinghood Red through the Cuttlebug folder and sponged it with white ink to tone down the red. The patterned paper strip is My Mind's Eye...I love the colours it contains! I grabbed my new Janome sewing machine (which arrived to me purely by accident...I was surfing around checking out where I could find it for the best price and comparing shipping costs...apparently I clicked continue one too many times cause I got a message in my inbox thanking me for my purchase. I'm such a nerd! Good news is it was from the place with the best price and shipping! grin!). Having said all that...I LOVE my Sew Mini...I'll never sew clothes but I'm happy to sew paper!

Sorry, back to the card...I sewed all the layers and tied a pretty bow with Ridinghood Red striped ribbon. Finally, I added some liquid applique to the owl's hats and some shimmer to the ornaments.

I copied my Flopsey card and decorated the inside of this one too...nothing complicated, just two strips of paper, a little more sewing and the stamped sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen