random reflections

Pairs: Reflections on the Canal

Every week when Debbie and I walk the canal, we turn on the Runkeeper app on my iPhone. The distance rarely changes more than 0.1 of a mile, but our time is improving. The best part about having my phone handy is that it's ready to capture a lovely view. Here are two reflections for this week's Pairs at Helena's blog. Check out the rest of them there.

This is the first bridge we walk under as we leave Shoen Place in Pittsford. I didn't notice that the reflection of the sky is much more detailed in the photograph than the actual sky until I uploaded the photo. 

I don't know the technical name for this structure, but it's used to control the amount of water in the canal. You can see the difference in light between the two photos. This one was taken on our way back to Pittsford, probably an hour later than the first photo. I love the arrows pointing at one another.

It's a good thing we weren't hoping to walk today! It's nearly 7:30 in the morning, and still almost dark since it's been raining and blowing ever since last night. It's gotten much cooler, too. It's supposed to clear up (but not warm up) this afternoon. I hope it does because we've been invited to a fall celebration at Skylar's school which will take place outside.

Online Card Class: Exploring Watercolor Mediums

One last post with some cards for the current Online Card Class. This one has been very interesting, and I spent quite awhile yesterday playing with different kinds of watercolor mediums and different techniques. A few ended up on cards, and more than a few ended up in the wastepaper basket, but that's to be expected. I learned quite a bit in the process, and enjoyed it, regardless of the outcome.

The first card ended up being one of my favorites despite the fact that about half-way in to watercoloring the heart, it was simply awful. Instead of tossing it, I started dropping in more color and it ended up totally different (and much better) than what I expected. This came from the Day 1 lessons using watercolor markers. I played around with Akashiya Sai Watercolor Brush pens which I received as a Christmas gift last year. Because I owned those, I was reluctant to order any Zig Clean Color markers, but I'm glad I did as I find them much easier to use. Both were ultimately used on the card below.

I white-embossed the heart from the new Simon Says card kit stamps, " Here's Looking at You," and then watercolored it. The sentiment is from Papertrey's "Round and Round" set embossed in Liquid Platinum. Since none of my metallic cardstocks matched, I used a technique Jennifer McGuire showed in a Day 1 video---edging a piece of cardstock with Versamark ink and then sprinkling on the embossing powder. Voila! A perfect match.

The next card uses the traditional watercolors in pans or palettes (Day 2.) This time I used the Kuretake Gansai set which I love for it's bright colors. The card itself was inspired by one that Debbie Hughes created for this month's Simon Says card kit.

The stamp is from a free set sent to me by Simon Says called "Your Birthday," and the die cut is from Papertrey's "Swoosh" set. I carefully (learning from earlier in the week), dropped on some Heidi Swapp gold spray and added a few sequins.

There are actually two cards (just different embellishments) for the Day 3 technique of using watercolor pencils. Most of them were Inktense pencils, but a few are from a set I bought years ago by Staedtler. It was a bit of a challenge to find the kind of image I wanted, but I found this old wooden stamp by Stampington which worked out perfectly.

The sentiment is from Simon Says (another favorite card kit set) called "What's Brewing?" The die cut (also Simon Says) was cut from a failed watercolor background. (Actually there are no failures with that technique. I save them all for exactly this purpose!)

I started the last card first, and abandoned it, but finally decided I could "save" it. The only change from the first card is that I die cut some banners (Papertrey's "Sketched Shapes") from some DCWV vellum I picked up at Michaels. I adhered a MME enamel dot on top.

Now I need to get back to Project Life, and our trip!

 

 

Papertrey September 2015 Blog Hop

When I first saw this inspiration piece ten days ago, I was determined to participate in the blog hop this month. It's been quite a few months since I've been able to.

Nicole challenged us to try Betsy Veldman's chalkboard technique, and that's one I've never tried. It took awhile to find appropriate stamps and to get the design the way I wanted it, but after that it went pretty quickly. I used stamps from the "Wee Folks" Mini Market kit, "Modern Wood Mats", and "Natural Beauties." It's definitely not my CAS style, but I'm pretty happy with the end result.

To keep with the fall color scheme, I mounted it on a Canyon Clay card, and added three small leaves punched from scraps. A wooden button from MME holds them together.

While I had my supplies out, I decided to try a much more traditional card, using one of the techniques from the Online Card Class on watercoloring. I tried a couple of things, but finally inked the image, then spritzed it with water before stamping it on the watercolor paper. The wreath didn't really bleed that much, but the berries did enough to give them a sense of dimension. 

This card is very much CAS, and definitely my style. I added a bit of Clear Star gelly roll pen to the berries which give them a nice shimmer.

 

This card uses one of my favorite sets:  "A Wreath for All Seasons", and "Think Big Favorites #16."

I also spent quite a bit of time trying to create a card with this week's Make It Monday technique. I finally gave up for today, but may be back if I can find a sentiment that will work better than I one I wanted to use.

 

More From the Watercolor Card Class

I haven't quite finished watching all the videos from the last day of the Online Card Class:  Exploring Mediums, but I have two more cards to share. The first one is another from Day 1, using gold embossing and watercolor markers.

I've become a fan of Simon Say's "One With Nature" set. I die cut the solid leaf shape from a piece of Memory Box paper in my scrap pile. After embossing and watercoloring the leaf on Tim Holtz watercolor paper, I mounted it behind the green layer and bumped it out onto a white top-folding card. The sentiment is from Papertrey's "Petite Pots." A rather artsy interpretation of a fall leaf.

When I was watching Jen Razsa's video yesterday for Day 3 on using colored pencils, I had no intention of trying to draw a design for a card. Later, though, I came upon a pumpkin image on the internet, and thought I'd give it a try. Like most new techniques, I learned a lot doing this, and would make some changes the next time. 

I drew and colored the pumpkins with a combination of Inktense and Staedler watercolor pencils. The sentiment came from two Simon Says sets, "Giving Thanks," and "Happy." I'm a little happier with the splatter on this card than I was on the last one.

I tried a couple of other techniques but didn't come up with anything that was worthy of including on a card. There's still a lot to try. All of the Online Card classes include a lot of content!

Pairs: The Birthday Cowgirl

Monday was Skylar's fourth birthday, and we celebrated twice. The first time was at her party on Saturday. Thunderstorms were forecast, but didn't show up until well after the party. Thank goodness, since the Cowgirl theme included pony rides in their back yard. Betsy rode at a stable growing up and knew the woman who ran the stable, so she brought over two ponies for an hour, and the kids loved it. Here's the girl all decked out!

 

 

It took her awhile to decide about the ponies, but once she got on she absolutely loved it. By that time, most of the other kids had moved on to the swing set and making bubbles, so she was able to ride for quite awhile.

On Monday, just the family assembled for cake and family presents. We gave Skylar a homemade gift certificate for Zooclasses at the Seneca Park Zoo. Grandma and Skylar are going together. Yeah, for that! They're specifically for 4 and 5 year olds, and each month focus on a different group of animals. October will be our first class, and it's all about birds. We're doing it on a month-by-month basis to see how she likes it, and to coordinate schedules.

Here's the birthday card I made for her. For once, I had the design in mind beforehand, and it came out just the way I envisioned it. 

 

This one took a few dies to put together:  Balloons & Baby Party Animals (Simon Says), and By the Numbers & In the Meadows (Papertrey Ink), as well as a little heart punch I've had forever. The stamps were from Baby Party Animals, and Winnie and Walter's Big, Bold and Merry. The confetti in the balloon came in a Simon Says card kit and is from Martha Stewart.

Linking the Pairs to Helena's fine blog where you'll find other interesting pairings for sure.

 

Online Card Class: Watercolor-Exploring Mediums Day 2

Let's just say that Day 2 of the Online Card Class on watercolor was a lot more challenging than Day 1. I'm a huge fan of the no-line watercolor technique, but find it nearly impossible to execute. I must have watercolored ten little animals tonight before I finally got one I was willing to use on a card! Not that I think it even looks easy to do, but it never looks as difficult as I find it to be. But eventually I ended up with one little piggy and made a birthday card.

I used a combination of tube watercolors and Zig Clean Color markers that I swiped onto my craft mat and picked up with a watercolor brush. The stamp set is Baby Party Animals from Simon Says which has the cutest little animals, and a font I like a lot for the sentiment. I used a piece of Summer Sunrise card stock to mat the watercolor piece (Fluid Hot Press) and then mounted it with some fun foam to a top-folding card made from Orange Zest.

In the midst of watercoloring baby animals, I got so frustrated I pulled out Papertrey Ink's Happiness in Bloom to try Jen Rzasa's technique of swiping your stamp with Distress Inks and then misting them before stamping on the watercolor paper. I'm not a huge fan of the end result, but like the little animals, it was a learning experience.

I used Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade, and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks on a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor paper. Then I sprayed the card with some Heidi Swapp gold Color Shine. That's another technique I could use some practice with. The "birthday" sentiment was stamped on a piece of watercolor paper that I'd use to create an ombre effect. It just happened to match perfectly.

 

Online Card Class: Watercolor-Exploring Mediums

I'm in the midst of Liz Steel's new online sketching class, Edges, which is (no surprise) very thorough and very challenging. So it's probably not in my best interest to have enrolled in a second, concurrent, course. But since my biggest challenge in the sketching class is watercolor, this has applications for both cards and sketching.

Today was the first lesson in the Online Card Class, and it focused on watercolor markers. I loved Jennifer McGuire's first card, and after watching the first few videos (there are five today), I took some time to try out the techniques she demonstrated.

I used some new watercolor markers, the Zig Clean Color markers, and like most of the reviewers, I like them very much. After embossing the flowers in gold, I used just three markers to watercolor the flowers and leaves.

The flowers seemed appropriate for a simple sympathy card, and I never seem to have one on hand when I need it. 

I used some new Fluid hot press watercolor paper which I love. It's a lovely, very pale cream color and very smooth. I matted it with some gold card stock by Paper Source and mounted it on a top-folded Vintage Cream card. The floral design is from Clearly Besotted's "Fresh Flowers," and the sentiment from Papertrey Ink's "Round and Round."

 

Pairs: Morning Light

When Debbie and I arrived at Schoen Place yesterday for our morning walk, we noticed the beautiful light behind the parking lot. I didn't even know there was a small pond back there, but here are two shots of the morning light. It was a bit foggy as well. After a total washout of a weekend, we've had a week of almost perfect weather:  cool nights and mornings, and warm, sunny afternoons. 

 

We're really enjoying our weekly morning walks along the Erie Canal. We start in Pittsford (about half way between her house and mine) and walk to Bushnell's Basin. Round trip is about 5.8 miles, and we have breakfast at the Coal Tower Restaurant at the end of the walk. Yesterday we agreed we'd keep it up until it snows so, hopefully, we'll have many more weeks to go!

Happy Birthday

I have a couple birthday cards to share today. The first one was created for Sarah's birthday, and I thought I had already posted it. But we were in the midst of our travels between Chicago and home around her birthday, so it never got posted. 

The background for the card was created with "Ombre Builder" by Papertrey, a fast and easy way to create a pop of color. The die is from "Wet Paint II," probably my most used word die, and the rest of the sentiment was stamped with Alt&New's "Label Love" stamp set. I bumped up the card front with some fun foam and put it on an Orange Zest card.

The second card was created for a friend who turned 80 this summer. I attended her surprise birthday party just two days before we left on our trip, so it's another card that hadn't been posted.

I scored the white panel every 1/2 inch and then die cut the numbers with the "By the Number" dies (PTI) and backed them with a patterned paper from Pebbles "Fun in the Sun" pack. The orange card is another Memory Box card from my stash.*

The sentiment is from Papertrey's "Big Birthday Wishes."

*Not long ago when I posted some cards, I expressed a desire to find some more Memory Box cards which I suspected had been discontinued. Krista left me a comment saying her local stamp store carried them, and she had already checked to see if there were still some left. I gave them a call, and now have four more packs of cards. And yes, they have been discontinued. Thanks, Krista, and thanks to the lovely women at her stamp store who couldn't have been nicer!

 

A Little Sunshine

We were supposed to be on the road this morning to the Adirondacks for the annual backpacking/girls weekend. The guys were planning on hiking a trail-less peak(s), but the forecast was for steady rain all weekend. They finally decided last night to forego it, and we've got a couple fun outings planned for the rainy weekend here to compensate.

It seems like a good time to share a couple cards I made for friends last month with the Simon Says August Card Kit:  "Summer Sunshine." Both cards were based on one designed by Lucy Abrams for the kit. We would have loved some more summer sunshine this weekend. Sadly, we had it yesterday and it's forecast again for Tuesday-Friday, but not for the weekend. 

Aside from the strip of paper on the second card, and some Papertrey Ink dies, all the supplies came from the August kit.

The sunshine die was cut from shimmer paper, and I loved Lucy's idea to color in the "HELLO" stamp with the Gelly Roll glitter pen.

It seems like a good day to switch out our summer decorating for a bit of fall, which inspires me to clean and purge a huge cupboard in our basement. Later this afternoon, we're planning to go to a movie and out to dinner, but a rainy day is a great day to spend in the basement!