CCEE1615 - One Layer Card with Watercolor Background

Anne was not kind to me this week.  She chose as her CCEE Stampers challenge a one-layer card with a watercolor background.  Please know that watercolor is the technique I feel least comfortable using.  I'm not really happy with my card; but, as they say, it is what it is.  At least I gave it another shot!

I'm sure the rest of the team had more success with this challenge.  Pop over to the CCEE Stampers blog to find out.

Tutorial Time - Watercoloring with Gelatos

This is the last Tutorial Time challenge for 2014 -- the team is taking the month of December off!  As luck would have it, today's tutorial uses supplies that I didn't have in my craft room -- Gelatos.  Barb Klusendorf wrote a tutorial for simple watercoloring using Gelatos, so I went to Michaels (50% coupon in hand) and bought a small set of them to try.  Turns out it wasn't too hard.  Here's my card:

Hope you can play along with the rest of the team.

Stampin'B Challenge #56 - Mother's Day

NancyRuth’s Mother’s Day card challenge gave me another opportunity to try my hand at watercoloring. I am determined to keep at it until someone finally says, “STOP! You’re not very good at this!”




I tried using water color crayons and an aquabrush to see how that went. I did a wash with yellow on the entire panel and tried the “salt technique” that Jeanne Forsyth showed me a couple of weeks ago. I stamped the SU lilies with Stazon Jet Black, then masked them and stamped the foliage behind them. Using a couple different crayons (Pumpkin Pie and Really Rust) I did the lilies. I colored the stamens with a brown watercolor pencil but didn’t use the aquabrush. The DP is from Basic Grey’s Ambrosia paper pad, and the sentiment was cut with a Nestabilities Labels Four die after stamping with a coordinating Scent With Love stamp. A few silver half pearls finished it up.
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Stamps - SU Fifth Avenue Florals, Scent With Love Label Accents
Paper - SU Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie; Watercolor paper; Basic Grey Ambrosia DP
Ink - Stazon Jet Black, Palette Landscape, ColorBox Silver
Accessories - Watercolor crayons, Aquabrush, Watercolor pencil, Spellbinders Labels Four, Silver half pearls

Blog Hop - Day 4

Mark's Finest Papers Design Team is celebrating our BRAND NEW STAMPS for the Speedy the Cat Designer Collection and Serenity Collection with a Blog Hop! For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the design team members' blogs on March 10th, 11th, and 12th. On Saturday, (March 13th), a winner will be chosen from those who have visited all 9 blogs all three days.The winner will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog and will receive 2 Stamp Sets that will be released NEXT month. And remember, tonight will be the New Flourishes Release at Mark's Finest Papers!

I’ve been practicing my watercoloring leading up to today’s card. I stamped and gold-embossed one of the single roses from the Spring Roses set. Using markers and a water brush, I colored it in – adding a couple of highlights with a white gel pen. I cut out and popped up the rose and leaves onto some DP from Basic Grey’s Blush paper pad, which I had cut out using the Nestabilities Labels One die – matted in gold. The wine-colored sheer ribbon and fancy brad added a touch of elegance.

Visit the rest of the design team and comment on each blog for a chance to win two new stamp sets.

March Guest Designer:
Liz: http://rightbrainmadness.blogspot.com/

Nancyruth- http://nancyruthat.blogspot.com/
Nikki- http://smellslikehomemade.blogspot.com/
Lois- http://clownmomcreations.blogspot.com/ (that’s me)
Peggy- http://www.artfulljourney.com/
Vicky- http://www.villagestamperramblings.blogspot.com/
Jeanne: http://nannys-room.blogspot.com/
Faith- http://stampinwithmarkiesmom.blogspot.com/
Mark’s Finest Papers- http://marksfinestpapers.blogspot.com/

If you haven't commented each day, you still have time to go back and get your chance to win. Good luck!

Stampin'B Challenge #48 - Flower and Buttons

Watercoloring is not my forte; but I figure in order to get better, you have to practice, practice, practice. Joanne wanted us to use a flower as our main image and buttons as our embellishments.

I stamped the daffodil from the soon-to-be-released set Daffodil and Anise from Mark’s Finest Papers Speedy the Cat collection onto watercolor paper. Using markers and a water brush, I colored in the flower and then cut it out. I didn’t want to add too much activity, so I just cut the plain circles using nestabilities and then glued the daffodil on top. The sparkly flowers and small daffodils are the required button embellishments.

All cardstock, Palette ink, and Basic Grey DP available at Mark’s Finest Papers. The stamps will be available on March 10th.

Stamps - Mark's Finest Papers Presents: Speedy the Cat Collection - Daffodil and Anise

Paper - Mark's Finest Papers Corn Husk, Deepest Mahogany, Wonderful Watercolor Paper; Basic Grey Nook & Pantry DP

Ink - Palette Noir Black and Burnt Umber

Accessories - Clear ep, Markers, Buttons, Water brush

Stampin'B's Challenge #25 - Watercoloring

Faith (Markie's Mom) was the challenge hostess on the Stampin'B's Design Team challenge blog this week. She had me scrambling with another watercolor challenge. Actually, this is the second card I made for her challenge. I forgot to take a photo of the first one before I gave it to my sister for her birthday.

Take two: – the image is a beautiful sunflower from Rubber Stampede, which I colored using watercolor crayons and an aquabrush. I still have a problem with the washed background. I’m going to have to work on that process! The Heidi Grace DP was just the right color to go with the Really Rust mat. The sentiment, from PTI’s Birthday Basics, is cut with one of the smaller dies in Spellbinders Labels Four set.

I guess I should thank you, Faith, for making me work at a technique with which I struggle. Practice, practice, practice!!!
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Stamps - Rubber Stampede Sunflower, PaperTreyInk Birthday Basics
Ink - Versafine Black Onyx
Paper - Flourishes Classic White, Flourishes Watercolor, SU Really Rust, Heidi Grace DP
Accessories - Clear embossing powder, SU Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquabrush, Nestabilities Labels 4, Ribbon

Stampin' B's Challenge - Watercolor

This week's Stampin' B's challenge really put me to the test. When Nicole said “watercolor,” I shuddered but decided I’d better plunge right in! Watercoloring is NOT my forte! But I guess that’s what challenges are for, to make you go outside your comfort zone.

I stamped the rose from SU’s Fifth Avenue Florals with Versamark onto Shimmer White cardstock and clear-embossed it. Then, as I was using Real Red ink and an aquapainter, I tried to remember what Faith (Markie’s Mom) had said about using lots of paper towels when you watercolor. When I got the rose to what was acceptable to me, I let it dry and cut it out. The leaves are stamped with Handsome Hunter and cut out. Not wanting to take away from the flower by putting the Basic Grey Bittersweet DP under it, I cut out a section of the DP with a round Nestabilities die before gluing it down. The rose and leaves are all on pop-dots to give a 3-D effect. The simple sentiment is from SU’s So Many Sayings.

* Stamps – SU Fifth Avenue Floral and So Many Sayings, Rubber Stampede Rose Leaves
* Ink – Versamark, Handsome Hunter, Real Red reinker
* Paper – Shimmer White, Basic Grey Bittersweet DP
* Accessories – Clear ep, Nestabilities die

After I made my first card, I watched a tutorial on Patty’s Stamping Spot on watercoloring the rose from Fifth Avenue Floral and decided to give it a try. I had to watch the tutorial twice before I was half-way comfortable in starting. This technique was explained at a Stampin’ Up regional meeting. The roses were stamped in Whisper White on SU Shimmer White cardstock and clear embossed. After spraying the paper with water, you lay down reinkers with an aquapen and let the color spread through the sections of the rose. I’m definitely going to try this technique again. The leaves are Sizzix die-cuts, cut from Garden Green cs and sponged with Always Artichoke; and the butterflies are punched from YoYo Yellow with a Martha Stewart punch.

* Stamps – SU Fifth Avenue Floral, Savvystamps sentiment
* Ink – Whisper White, Always Artichoke, Reinkers – Regal Rose, Pretty In Pink, Cameo Coral
*Paper – Shimmer White, Garden Green, butterfly YoYo Yellow
*Accessories – Clear ep, Sizzix leaf die-cut, Martha Stewart punch