More Watercolor Fun

Howday y'all. I'm posting a few of my cards from the Online Card Class I took. The first card uses a technique taught by none other than the amazing Tim Holtz.

 

I posted the next two cards on Flickr, but I decided I wanted to also share it on my blog. In the card below, the flower, from Stampendous, is heat embossed in white and watercolored, based on a technique shared by another amazing crafter, Jennifer McGuire.

This card is also heat embossed, I used a background stamp by the Alley Way Stamps, heat embossed it in gold and watercolored the inside. Shari Carrol shared this technique. She's another big name in the industry. 

So there you have it - three cards based on three techniques shared by the three biggest names in the industry.

Paper Sweeties May Release Rewind!

Have you had fun hopping? Aren't the new sets super cute?

Today is rewind day at Paper Sweeties, where we make a project using previously released products with new products. Below is the card I made. The Hello banner was cut with one of the new Sweet Cuts. I love how it cuts between every banner. You can choose to adhere it as a straight banner, or curve it a little like I did.

I'm also entering this into the Fusion Card Challenge. Entrants have the option of making a project based on the inspiration photo on the left, the sketch on the right, or both. I went with both. My sketch isn't precise, but it's okay to change it around a little bit and make it yours.

Here are the links to my team mate's blogs. Please check out their projects.

Amber Kroening
Annette Allen

Annette Witherspoon

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties

Kerin Sylvester

Kristi Schurr

Lesley Croghan

Lisa Elton

Maria Patrick

Michelle Bala

Nancy Penir

Tammy Hobbs

Paper Sweeties May Release Party!

Today is the big day. The Paper Sweeties releases are now available at the store. Once again, we are hopping to celebrate the occasion.

I hand cut the water, dirt and grass, which I created with my new fringe scissors from Stampin' Up! The frog, umbrella, lily pad and cat tails are brads. When I saw the sentiment, I immediately though of an umbrella and the rest of the card kind of took off from there.

Check out my team mates' amazing creations. They're a really creative bunch. I'm sure you'll get lots of ideas and ways to use these cute new sets.

Amber Kroening
Annette Allen

Annette Witherspoon

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties

Kerin Sylvester

Kristi Schurr

Lesley Croghan

Lisa Elton

Maria Patrick

Michelle Bala

Nancy Penir

Tammy Hobbs

Paper Sweeties May Release Countdown!

The countdown is on, my friends. Paper Sweeties will release two new adorable sets tomorrow and Sweet Cuts that you will want to add to your collection.

Today, I'm showcasing a card using stamps from the Feel Better Soon set. See the background with bandages and XOX? It's all stamps, baby. I just stamped the bandage and the XOX, alternating back and forth, then colored them with Prismacolor Pencils. That was the hardest part of this card. Then I stamped the Sending You: sentiment on cardstock that looks like notebook paper, added some washi tape and the little love this banner from Simple Stories. Bam. Done. Easy peasy.

The other ladies on this design team are phenomenal. Like, really, super amazing. You have to check out their projects because I'm sure they will blow you away! Come back tomorrow for the actual release. Woot!

Amber Kroening
Annette Allen

Annette Witherspoon

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties

Kerin Sylvester

Kristi Schurr

Lesley Croghan

Lisa Elton

Maria Patrick

Michelle Bala

Nancy Penir

Tammy Hobbs

Paper Sweeties May Release Sneak Peeks!

Who's ready for a sneak peek at the May releases? They are cute and if you're feeling bad, these will make you feel better ... literally!

I'm using several die cuts from the new Sweeties Wagon Sweet Cuts. The banner, wagon, sign and flowers in this card are included in the set, in addition to a few other dies. 

See the little box of tissues and the stethoscope? They're also a new release. This is truly a sneak peek because I only used a couple small images and the sentiment from the new set, which is called Feel Better Soon. I will show off more from that set in a future post!

Wanna see even more? Please visit my design team mates' blogs. They will give you a "dose" of happiness. (Pun totally intended!)

Amber Kroening
Annette Allen

Annette Witherspoon

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties

Kerin Sylvester

Kristi Schurr

Lesley Croghan

Lisa Elton

Maria Patrick

Michelle Bala

Nancy Penir

Tammy Hobbs

Online Watercolor Class Day 3

I am a machine! Three posts in a row ... whew! I can't help it, I'm enjoying this class and I want to get as much out of it as I can, which includes doing my homework and trying out these innovative techniques.

On Days 1 and 2, we learned various ways to make watercolor backgrounds. Today, we started working with images. The card I'm sharing entails inking your stamp with water soluble marker like Distress Inks. I used my Tombow markers because I had them on hand and they work exactly like the Distress Markers.

Some of the stamps I used are oldies. In fact, one is so old, the company doesn't even exist anymore, but the images were perfect for the look I was trying to accomplish. Usually I like to use new products for design team posts or magazine submissions, but because I am practicing some new techniques, I decided it would be okay to bring out some "vintage" stamps.

Products used:

Flower Pot stamp - Clear Dollar Stamps (No longer in business)

Pink flowers - Lawn Fawn

Blue and Purple Flowers - WPlus9

Markers - Tombow

Sentiment - A Jillian Vance Design

Ink - Memento

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Online Watercolor Class Day 2

More homework today. The amazingly talented Jennifer McGuire showed us how to create a watercolor background without painting a stamped image using a liquid mask.

I created two cards. The first one uses a warm color palette. The flower is from Hero Arts and it reminds me of the sun. It seems perfect for a warm color palette. I stamped the image a second time on yellow card stock, cut it out and adhered it with a foam dot. Then, I used some Eyelet Outlet bling on the outer edge of the circle. The sentiment is from Stampendous.

The second card was created with the same technique, but this time I used a cool color palette. After I created the background, I stamped a sympathy sentiment. The butterfly and the cool colors just seemed perfect for a sympathy card. Fortunately, I don't have anyone to give this to at the moment, but I like to keep a couple on hand.

Stay tuned. I'm sure I'll have more homework to share tomorrow!

Online Watercolor Class Homework Day One

In the twelve years of grade school and four (plus) years of college, I never ever enjoyed doing homework ... until now. I am taking the Watercolor for Card Makers class at Online Card Classes. It's my first time doing an online class and I am very impressed.

Today we learned three techniques for creating watercolor backgrounds. One of those techniques was to create a blended background by inking your acrylic stamp block, misting it with water and applying it onto watercolor paper.

Instead of creating a background, I cut it into a banner shape. I die cut the word "hello" with a die cut from Memory Box, colored it with Wink of Stella clear glitter pen, and glued it to the banner, which I adhered with foam adhesive onto black cardstock cut slightly smaller than a 4.25x5.5 card base.

I had to add some bling, of course! Sequins and gem stickers were my bling of choice.

Stay tuned. I'll be back tomorrow with my next homework project. I can't wait for class tomorrow.

Paper Sweeties May Inspiration Challenge #19 - 'Cupcakes & Sprinkles'

It's May first which means it's time for a new challenge at Paper Sweeties! Red, turquoise and fuchsia are the inspiration colors this month. Look at those yummy cupcakes in the inspiration photo.

I recently came across a tutorial on how to make a cupcake holder. This inspiration photo was the perfect opportunity for me to give it a try.  I used two stamp sets: the newly released Happy Everything and Fresh Baked. I also used the new Sweet Cut - Beautiful Little Wishes to make the fancy label tag behind the birthday sentiment.

Interested in joining in on the challenge? Go to the Paper Sweeties blog and click on the inspiration challenge link on the right sidebar. If you need some more inspiration, check out the beautiful projects my design team mates created. They are soooo talented!

Amber Kroening

Annette Allen

Annette Witherspoon

  Char Cundy

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

  Jeanne Jachna

Kerin Sylvester

Kristi Schurr
Lesley Croghan

Lisa Elton

Maria Patrick

Michelle Bala

Nancy Penir

Tammy Hobbs

May Guest Designer:  Mynnette Kitchen