random reflections

A Trio of Rainbow Cards

Kristina Werner produced the first video for the Online Card Class: Stretch Your Stamps 2 , and demonstrated how to create a watercolored background using the Hero Arts Highline Ironwork stamp.

I photographed my piece when I was done, but didn't check the photo carefully, and it was too out of focus to share. Unusual, but it happens when you're in a hurry. You may be able to get the idea from the cards that follow. After watercoloring the piece, I cut it apart in strips and with several die cuts, and managed to create three cards. I still have a couple of hearts left over.

I used the Wonderful Words: Birthday stamp and die from Papertrey Ink for this as well as a four hearts die from Simon Says.

This one uses a couple of the strips I cut, and Wonderful Words: Thank You from Papertrey.

I love the bright rainbow colors against both black and white, but they work with bright cardstock as well. Here's the last card with Sunshine cardstock from Simon Says.

It's another Wonderful Words stamp and die ("Hello"), along with a few wood veneer hearts from Studio Calico that I colored with a Copic marker and highlighted with a bit of Wink of Stella glitter. I stacked the die cut again with several words cut from the Sunshine cardstock.

 

Watercoloring the white embossed piece took a bit of time and patience, but it was well worth the effort to get three cards into the file!

I'll be linking these up to the Simon Says Monday Challenge which is "Anything Goes."

Online Card Class: Stretch Your Stamps 2

It's not the first time, nor will it be the last, but I've overextended myself with online instruction once again. This week I had lessons in two drawing classes, the phone photography class at BPC, and the new Online Card Class. Since neither of the drawing classes have lifetime access, it's been critical to keep up with them. I'm definitely a newbie to the sketching/drawing world, so it's also been very time-consuming. Add Sarah, Adam, and Caleb's visit plus daily trips to Conesus Lake this week, and it's really quite amazing that I have a card to share! 

Two of Sarah and Adam's friends have just adopted a beautiful baby boy. We were lucky enough to meet William the day we were in Chicago earlier this month. I wanted to send a gift and card back when Sarah and Adam left today, so it was a good opportunity to try one of the techniques from Days 3 & 4--using alphabet and sentiment stamps.

This is a take on Tami Hartley's class on Day 4 where she created a banner for her sentiment by using alpha stamps. At first I thought I must have purged all my small alphas, but finally found an old Technique Tuesday one that fit on the banner from My Favorite Things Blueprints 5 die set (another item that's seeing it's first use.) The striped paper is a left-over from the other baby card I made recently, and the banners were cut from a piece of paper I watercolored. Three little hearts (using an old paper punch) with little pearls from AMuse finished it off. The "welcome" was selectively stamped from a sentiment in the "Baby Button Bits" set by Papertrey Ink.

I'm linking this up with the Simon Says Work It Wednesday challenge which is BLUE this month.

Sarah, Adam, and Caleb headed back to Chicago this morning. We've been blessed by such a nice long visit, and I'm going to miss that two-year-0ld voice (as well as his parents) every morning for quite some time. FaceTime is fabulous, but it sure doesn't replace the real deal! 

Watercolor for Card Makers & A Challenge

Today is the last day participants in the Online Card Class can post their work to the galleries. Today I found time to finish two cards I had already started and create a third one. Each one uses a different medium for the watercolor.  I've taken several of the Online Card Classes and loved them all, but this one rates an A+. Each lesson was loaded with content and inspiration, and the techniques varied from beginner to very advanced. I'll be working on the techniques for weeks to come, but I'm already more comfortable with many of the watercolor mediums now than I was when we began. One thing I've learned (which is not easy for me) is that you cannot hurry watercolor. It takes time!

All three cards qualify for the new CAS-ology Challenge: Flowers, so I'll be linking them up there.

My first card is based on a lesson for Day 2. Jennifer McGuire demonstrated how to use art masking fluid (or rubber cement) to seal the stamped image. Once it dried, it was easy to add a water color wash over it.

After the watercolor dries, you can easily rub the masking fluid off the stamped image. I added a die cut from Simon Says and put the watercolor panel on a card of Raspberry Fizz (PTI) and added some thin pieces of black card stock to set it off.

On Day 4, Shari Carroll used Gelatoes directly on a stamp. She used a red rubber stamp, so I wasn't sure how it would work on a clear acrylic stamp, but my test sample came out just as I hoped, so it ended up on the card! My purple Gelato is one of the metallic ones, and so the flower has a subtle sheen to it.

The stamp is from a rather neglected set by Papertrey Ink called "Life." I do believe this class will breathe new life into some of my older, less used stamp sets. The sentiment came from "Winter Hills," also by Papertrey. Here you can see the subtle shine of the Gelato.

 

The last card was based on another of Jennifer McGuire's cards on Day 6 where she watercolored a white embossed stamped image. She used some Sparkle mist as her water, but I didn't feel the tulips were a great subject for that, so I stuck to water. This one took a lot of time. It was very difficult to see the white embossing on the watercolor paper. I taped it down on a clipboard and by tilting the clipboard to the light was able to get it watercolored. I used Tim Holtz Distress Markers for this one.

I do love these soft colors, and it was worth the time it took. 

The tulips are from Friendship Jar Spring Fillers, and the sentiment is from "Wishes Come True," both Papertrey Ink sets. 

More Watercolor

I've fallen behind in the Watercolor for Cardmakers class. The featured cards just get more and more beautiful every day, and I'm a bit overwhelmed by all I want to try. I do have a couple cards to share. The first one is watercoloring a stamped image from Jennifer Razsa's lesson on Day 5. In my desire to use some of my older wooden stamps I chose "Happy Birthday Topiaries" by Uptown Rubber Stamps. I don't even know if they're in business anymore. Every time I purge my stamp collection, this one makes the cut. It's whimiscal nature gets to me every time. 

I used my Inktense watercolor pencils for this one, and it was definitely a learning experience. I'll be giving it another go once I've tried some of the other techniques.

The next card was also a learning experiences from the lessons on Day 3:  watercolor stamping. This involves applying ink directly to the stamp and then adding water to the stamped image. I followed along with a video by Dawn Woleslagle on her WPlus9 blog to create this card. She's one of the instructors for the class, as well.

I used another older wooden stamp by Judith for the mason jar. It's a bit bigger than I would have liked so I'll search through my acrylic stamps next time for a better choice. The flowers, foliage, and sentiment are all from Dawn's "Fresh Cut Flowers."

I'm anxious to try this again soon, as I think I know what I what's needed to improve the watercoloring here. I'm hoping to find time today to watch the last three days worth of videos for class so tomorrow I can give another technique a try. I've always thought these classes were well worth the money, but this one far exceeded my expectations. I'll be working on these techniques all summer!

 

Happy Mother's Day & Watercolor #4

Today is Mother's Day in the States, and I've had quite a lovely one. Before I share a little bit about my day, I thought I'd share the cards I sent to my daughter and and gave to my daughter-in-law. Sarah's been spending a lot of time in her yard, so I sent her a gift certificate to a lovely nursery around the corner from their house. A floral card seemed appropriate. One of my goals this year is to use some of my older stamps and decide if they are ones I want to keep. The stamp collection is the one thing I really didn't spend a lot of time purging in January, although I did give a nice sized box to the charity shop. I decided this stamp of tulips by Lockhart is a keeper.

I colored it with Copic markers, adhered it to a Paper Source embossed flat card, and then to a card made with Simon Say's new Fog cardstock (a new favorite.) The sentiment is from Avery Elle.

Betsy's card is another card for the Watercolor for Card Makers class. I posted another card using this technique earlier. This time I was quite happy with the way the Distress Inks stamped off the acrylic block.

The die cut is from Simon Says "Happy," and the rest of the sentiment from Winnie and Walter's The Big, The Bold, and The Happy. After mounting it on Papertrey Ink's Tropical Teal card, I added two gold die cut hearts left over from a previous project. 

This is also the week of my birthday, and I took some money I've been saving and purchased a fixed aperture 17-50mm lens for my camera. We're finally having some splendid spring weather, and the Lilac Festival in Highland Park opened on Friday. This morning Tracy and I walked through the park and I had a chance to try out the new lens.

This is just one section of a huge pansy bed they plant for the festival each year. The design is always different.

Despite a lot of rain Friday night and some pretty strong winds (we were in the park for Tracy's brother's band performance), the magnolias have survived rather well.

 

My main motivation for purchasing the lens was to improve my ability to take photos in low light situations. I'm asked pretty frequently to take photographs at Presbytery events, usually in a church where I'm uncomfortable using my flash. And then, more importantly, I'd like more consistently good shots of grandchildren indoors. But I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the way the lens performed outdoors today. It's the heaviest lens I own, but wasn't a problem during our three mile walk.

After lunch, we went to the nursery and purchased the geraniums for our patio bed, and a flat of marigolds to plant along the driveway. Tracy bought me a beautiful hanging pot of geraniums, vinca, and lobelia which is hanging by the front door. (Forgot to take photos of these!)

Matt, Betsy, and Skylar came for dinner, and we had a nice long Face Book session with Sarah, Adam, and Caleb. I couldn't have asked for a nicer day!

 

Watercolor: Part 3 & CAS(E) This Sketch

Back again with yet another card from the techniques introduced on Day 1 of the Online Card Class. This time it was the embossed resist technique which I've done before on a smaller scale. I didn't have a background stamp with the open spaces they recommended but I thought this one called "Tiny Flags" by Hero Arts might work.

I embossed it with gold on the smooth side of Tim Holtz's watercolor paper, and used Distress Inks to watercolor diagonal stripes, and adhered it to a card made with PTI's Raspberry Fizz cardstock. The stamp is a very old wooden one by Savvy Stamps. I needed an anniversary card for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and this looked appropriately festive. The card design is based on this week's sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch. It couldn't have been more perfect!

Here's a closer look at the watercoloring.

We're off in just an hour or so to celebrate Mother's Day with Tracy's mom and siblings. We're celebrating a day early since his brother, Greg, who's band was inducted in the Rochester Music Hall of Fame last week, flies back to Texas tomorrow.

Watercolor for Card Makers 2

This was the first technique taught in the Online Card Class on watercolors. Once you've painted a watercolor background, you lay a stencil down on it, press it in, and when you lift it up here's what you see.

I absolutely love this technique and will use it again, I'm sure. Luckily it worked well on the first try!

I used my Winsor and Newton travel watercolor set with the Crafter's Workshop "Mini-herringbone" stencil on Tim Holtz watercolor paper. My favorite thing about this watercolor paper is how white it is. Both my cold press watercolor pad and my regular watercolor pads are more cream colored. I bordered the watercolor piece with a piece of Worldwin "Light Terrific Teal" cardstock. I used to be able to buy this paper locally. When the last of the local shops went out of business I stocked up on a lot of colors, but they're beginning to dwindle. I love the range of colors and it's a great weight for matting. 

The sentiment ("Oh, Happy Day" by Avery Elle) was stamped on vellum, layered on another piece of cardstock and stitched down. I'll enter this in Virginia's View Challenge:  Stitching, even though there's not a lot of it!

Watercolor for Card Makers 1

As soon as I saw it advertised I signed up for the Online Card Class:  Watercolor. I've tried nearly all the techniques from Day 1, and have four cards I'll share here over the next few days, but today is Day 4, and the list of things I want to try is LONG! Like every other Online Card Class, this one is packed with techniques, videos, and great tips that apply to more than just watercolor. I thoroughly enjoy these classes.

My first attempt at using Distress Inks and an acrylic block to stamp some intense watercolors wasn't a total success. I wasn't really happy with one of the colors I chose, but when I cut the piece into strips and alternated them, I ended up with a card I like.

The die cut & stamp are from "Wonderful Words: Thank You" by Papertrey Ink, and the cardstock is Papertrey's True Black. 

I was happier with the second attempt, but I'm saving that one to post on Mother's  Day. Off to see the videos for Day 4!

One More for the Online Card Class & Work It Wednesday

It's been a long time since I played around with so many new (to me) techniques, but I tried another variation of masking cards that Kara shared on Day 4. This time I die cut a mask from Mat Stack #1 by Papertrey Ink and used the negative to try another series of stamped circles. When I removed the mask, I felt like it need something else, so I cut another frame from cardstock and traced around it with a fine lined pen. That was better, but I wasn't really happy with it until I added the sequins. I think it still qualifies as a one layer card.

I do love all these bright colors, and I'm entering it in the Simon Says "Work It Wednesday" challenge which is to "to create a card with bright colors, flowers, sunshine or anything else that makes you think of Spring!"

Card Recipe:

Cardstock: Select White (PTI)
Stamps: Beautiful Blooms (PTI), The Big, The Bold, and The Happy (Winnie and Walter)
Die: Mat Stack #1 (PTI)
Sequins: Michaels

 

Online Card Class: Clean and Simple One-Layer Cards

Despite a couple of hours of playing around with new techniques, I only have one more card to share from the Online Card Class. But I'm thrilled to have figured out how to selectively emboss using an embossing folder, and know the playing around will pay off in the future. (I also played around with a faux watercolor technique, but it wasn't very successful.)

Two of the nicest ministers in our Presbytery are married to one another, and they just had a baby girl last week. I couldn't wait to make a card to welcome Lydia Grace. (Isnt' that a beautiful name?) I can't wait to meet her.

By using a shim made with a couple layers of chipboard, I was able to send my cardstock through the Cuttlebug with the embossing folder, and have a blank spot for the sentiment. Then I scored a line on each side of it. I like this look and know I'll use it again. 

This cute heart was cut with Papertrey's Stitched Heart die, and made a perfect way to highlight the inside sentiment.

Both sentiments are from "Bitty Baby Blessings" by Papertrey Ink. The ink and cardstock are "Doll Pink" from Simon Says, and the patterned paper is from an old MME paper pad, "Happy Go Lucky."