Lawn Fawn "Lovable Legends" | Unbelievable Birthday

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Two in a row. That's right folks. LOL. See? I am really trying. Perhaps my crafting is cyclical? Lots of posting, lots of making but never do they meet..

Today I have a simple to make birthday card, featuring Lawn  Fawn's "Lovable Legends" stamps set.

To begin, I cut down a piece of 140lb cold press watercolour paper using the largest of the "Small Stitched Rectangles" die, I then used Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon and Twisted Citron Distress Inks to create my background. I just sponged them on randomly, much like the beginnings of a galaxy background. In the end you couldn't really see the Twisted Citron, but it did help create some nice highlights when I was sponging.

I used some clean water in my Distress Sprayer and spritzed the background to get that wonderful distressed look.

Once the panel was completely dry - not just mostly, but completely! - I prepped it with my powder tool and stamped the giant squid and the greeting with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with Lawn Fawn's White embossing powder.

I then used Peacock Feathers and Seedless Preserves Distress Ink to drop in some colour to the squid. My idea here was to create a somewhat transparent look with the purple acting as the shadows around his curves.

The stamp set comes with a long dotted wave border stamp, so I used that along with the Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink to create some tone-on-tone wave textures.

I had an extra frame from another project that coordinated well with the panel and (more importantly fit) so I adhered both to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

To finish it off, I covered the giant squid with clear Wink of Stella (and as you can see, I went a little bit heavy handed here). But I gotta have that glitter. I then added some clear and iridescent bubbles.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate every like, thumbs up, new subscriber and comment - I LOVE hearing from everyone!

Embossed Vellum Overlay for Mother's Day | ft. Lawn Fawn "Flutter By"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have a card (and video!) featuring a gold embossed vellum overlay on top of a brightly watercoloured background. This is pretty much how I imagined it in my head when it came to me.

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

There are a few things I would do differently if I were to redo this card; chances are I will make another of these, it was just fun to play around with the watercolours.

I think with a different colour palette, this technique could be used for pretty much any type of card. I'm looking forward to trying this in more earthy tones for a masculine card.

I hope you like today's card (and Video!) and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Sparkle and Shine

Gilded Butterfly Encouragement Card | ft. Urban Stamps, Nuvo Gilding Flakes and Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

A while back I created a gilded butterfly card (which you can see here), I loved the card so much that I decided to create a tutorial video to go along with it.

The card today is a little different, as it is a 9"x 4" card. It fits nicely in a legal size envelope so it won't require additional postage; and that is always a good thing!

Or you can watch in HD over on YouTube!

The images are stamped with VersaMark ink on Bristol Smooth paper, then embossed with Ranger's Sticky Embossing Powder. The gilding flakes I used are the Radiant Gold Gilding Flakes by Nuvo. Please watch the video above for the full tutorial on how I created this card. And see just how crazy these flakes are. I'll be cleaning up these flakes for days. LOL they are everywhere!

In real life, the butterflies are super shimmery, unfortunately it doesn't really pick it up all that well on camera.

I don't often finish the insides of my cards, or if I do they are an after thought depending on who I am giving them to. But here is a shot of the inside that has been embossed with gold embossing powder. 

I hope you like today's card (and video!) and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and now on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Watercolour Wishes | ft. Clearly Besotted "Merci Beaucoup"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I know that many of us started making cards as a way of expression. We don't always have the words, whether the right ones or enough of them to convey what we feel, and while we could easily pick up another form of art; painting or drawing, we're drawn to cards because of the emotion an image can send.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and maybe that's true. A handmade card is like that. We channel our emotions into colouring or painting, stamping or paper piecing and the recipient knows the time and effort that was put in. They know the love and thought behind the little card they hold in their hands when they open the envelope.

For some people, a card is a card; but for others they can feel the difference between something that was lovingly (and often painstakingly) put together instead of one that was grabbed off the shelf while getting a jug of milk.

To begin, I stamped the rose from Clearly Besotted "Merci Beaucoup" set with Antique Linen Distress Ink on Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper using the MISTI. I used the MISTI for this because the ink is so light it takes a couple stamps to get an impression that you can see clearly while colouring.

I then used a mix of my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers and Distress inks to watercolour the image.

Once that was completely dry, I returned the panel to my MISTI and stamped the greeting from CTMH "Cursive Birthday" with CTMH Cranberry pigment ink. I then adhered the panel to a piece of coordinating cardstock cut just a bit larger, and mounted the whole lot to a standard A2 size card base.

To finish off the card I added a few clear droplets from Pretty Pink Posh to look like drops of dew. These droplets have a bit more dimension to them than I would like, but the final result is always amazing.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and now on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Floral Thoughts Series | Watercolour Birthday ft. Clearly Besotted "Fresh Flowers" and Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today, I wanted to share a birthday card that I had created for my Grandmother. She loves florals, so I had no option but to choose Clearly Besotted. Their floral collection is like nothing I have ever seen before. The detailed designs lend a sense of realism, while still giving us all the space we need to colour using any medium we like.

She also loves watercolour, so I opted to use the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers as my medium for today.

To begin, I stamped this floral image from Clearly Besotted's "Fresh Flowers" with Antique Linen Distress Ink on Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper. I chose to use Antique Linen for my stamping because I wanted to do a "no line" watercolour. Distress Inks will react with water and the lines will fade away when you apply the watercolour to an area. I suggest using the MISTI or another stamping tool because of the texture of the paper, you'll want to get a good impression.

I then used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, applying the colour only where I wanted the darkest areas to be then using clean water to pull the colour out towards the edges of each petal. It's important not to work in areas that are right next to each other so they don't bleed together.

Once the image was completely dry, I used my white gel pen to add highlights to the ends of the little stems (?) in the centre of each flower.

My greeting, from CTMH "Cursive Birthday" set is stamped with CTMH Gypsy pigment ink. I added a scattering of coordinating sequins across the panel and adhered the watercolour piece to a slightly larger piece of purple cardstock. Then I mounted the whole lot to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Mixing Mediums | Happy Birthday ft. Clearly Besotted "Sunshine & Smiles"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

By now, it should be no surprise that I love to colour. I have a bunch of different mediums over on my Product Review page and I would encourage you to try as many as possible. Having options means you can do whatever you're in the mood for; and that's a wonderful feeling.

To begin, I stamped this flower (I'm not sure what it is) from Clearly Besotted's "Sunshine & Smiles" set with Antique Linen Distress Ink on Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper. I chose to use this Distress ink because I absolutely love the look of no-line watercolouring, and the Antique Linen is perfect for that.

I then used a mix of Distress inks and my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers to colour the image in. With both mediums I used a small #2 round watercolour paint brush with clean water to get the colours moving. You can certainly use a water brush, but I prefer the control I get with a regular paint brush.

Once the panel was completely dry, I stamped the greeting from CTMH "Cursive Birthday" set with Goldenrod Pigment ink by CTMH. Because of the texture of the paper and the finicky nature of pigment ink, I stamped this with the MISTI.

I then adhered a panel to a piece of coordinating cardstock that I had in my stash and mounted the whole lot to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

To finish off the card, I adhered a scattering of yellow sequins across the panel. Typically, I would have used my glitter pens over the petals, but I didn't want the ink to reactivate with the moisture.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Monster Hugs | ft Lawn Fawn "Monster Mash" and Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

We've all needed a get well card for someone we care about. Whether they're just feeling down and we want to help cheer them up, or there's an illness and our only expression is the written word. It's always nice to know that someone, somewhere is thinking about us when we need that support the most.

I've done many get well cards, usually floral thinking of you type things that are pretty or simple cute designs to make someone smile; but what about those kids that are under the weather? With social media recording our every day lives, we see more and more these really sick kids that are missing out on family gatherings, birthday parties and school.

Today I have a get well card, specifically for those kids. They may be going through things that most adults could never dream of, but deep down, they're still kids - and finding the right expression, something they will understand is very important.

To begin, I stamped the monsters from Lawn Fawn's "Monster Mash" with CTMH archival ink on Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper. I created my own greeting using part of the sentiment from the same set and the large letters from CTMH "Framework Alphabet".

To colour each area, I added a line of colour with the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers where I wanted the deepest colour and then used clean water to pull the colour out. If you haven't used these markers, I highly recommend you check out my review (linked above) and give them a try. These were definitely one of the best purchases I have ever made.

For the grass and the sky, I wet the paper with clean water then dropped in the colour from the pen, I wanted it to be rather vibrant, so this took a couple layers - there is a ton of pigment in these pens and they blend incredibly well.

Once the panel was completely dry, I used super sticky two-way tape to adhere it to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Not for Sympathy Anymore | ft. Distress Inks and Inkadinkado Stamps

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

As you know the last week has been pretty crappy. When I feel crappy I tend to make sympathy cards. Maybe I'm feeling sorry for myself and I need a little perk up, or maybe just channeling my grief into a project helps me to feel better.

So when I started this card, feeling crappy, my intention was to make a sympathy card. Obviously, I wasn't going to send it to myself, but the thought had crossed my mind. But by the time I was done the card, I didn't need it to be a sympathy card anymore. It was just a beautiful card that came together in as I worked on it.

I opted to not put a greeting on it, because maybe I'll use it as a "birthday card" or a "thinking of you card" or a "sorry your dog peed in your shoe" card. Who knows? I just know that at the end of the process the card didn't say "sympathy" to me - and I was okay with that.

To begin, I cut down a piece of Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper. I prepped it with water to make the whole panel damp - but not wet enough to curl. Then I dropped in Peacock Feathers and Seedless Preserves Distress ink to create the background.

Once that was completely dry, I prepped it with my powder tool and stamped the images from Inkadinkado "Meadow" stamp set with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with detail white embossing powder.

I then cut a piece of coordinating purple cardstock to create a border on the left and right of the watercolour panel, adhering it down with super sticky two-way tape. Next I mounted that on a white panel and rounded the corners on the right side.

I adhered that panel to the front of a standard A2 sized card base and rounded the right corners of the base as well. Finally I added a few sequins just to give some additional dimension and because I really just can't help myself.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Floral Thoughts Series | Cheer Up ft Clearly Besotted "Sunshine & Smiles"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Now that Christmas is over, and we've had our white winter wonderland, I'm pretty done with winter. I'm done with the snow and the cold and the biting wind. If you look outside it doesn't look that bad, it looks crisp and clean - then you open the door and you're blasted with sub-zero temperatures that just make you want to curl up in bed with hot tea and a book.

In the hopes of spreading some warmth, today I have a bright card that I'm hoping will cheer us all up as we trudge through yet another week of temperatures in the -25C (-13F) range and snow halfway to our knees.

To begin, I prepped a piece of Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper with my powder tool and stamped the sunflower (or maybe a daisy) image from Clearly Besotted's "Sunshine & Smiles" set with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with detail white embossing powder.

I used the Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers to add colour to the image; starting where I wanted my darkest shadows to be, then using my water brush to pull the colour out towards the ends of the petals and the leaves.

Working in relatively large sections, I wet the paper around the image then dropped in colour, pulling it to the edges of the paper to create a soft blue background.

Once the panel was completely dry, I stamped the greeting from the same set using CTMH Archival ink. I chose archival ink as it is waterproof and won't run if the paper is still a bit damp. If I were a patient person, I probably would have done the greeting in a mid-grey or even an ochre. But I don't have those in archival ink.

I used super strong two-way tape to adhered the panel to the front of a standard A2 sized card base. Then, to finish off the card, I added a scattering of yellow sequins across the piece.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
Anything Goes

Product Review Series | Luminarte Twinkling H2O Watercolours

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Last week I had a poll going on my Facebook page to see what you would like to have reviewed this week. It was an incredibly close call but the Luminarte Twinkling H2O Watercolours won with 52% of the vote. Keep an eye out this week for another poll!

I currently have three packages of these that I feel give me a pretty fair palette of colours to choose from. Don't get me wrong, I would certainly love to have more, but for what I do and my needs at this time, these suffice.

As always, this will be a pretty long post, with a bunch of pictures. So grab a coffee and enjoy!

First Impressions:

• Vibrant colors
• Cute little pots
• Decent packaging
• Has the name on the bottom - I'll get to this
• They are Acid-free, Odorless and non-toxic - so good for kids to play with
• According to the website they are available in 210 colours!!
• Can be purchased individually in 5/10mL pots - but I was only able to find them in these packs of six at my local Michael's Craft store

There aren't really an "instructions" with the packages as to how to get them to work, so I was a little disappointed there. They have claims on the site about being child-friendly, but they don't work like any type of paint I have ever purchased for my kids. If I weren't crafty and these were gifted to one of my kids it would be disappointing because they don't work right out of the gate.

To use:

• Open the pot (obviously)
• Spray or add a few drops of water and let them sit for a few minutes. These paints are hard. Like super colourful little rocks inside cute little jars, by adding some water and letting them sit it softens the paint and "activates" it so you can actually use it.
• Paint and enjoy!
• You don't have to wait for the paint to dry out before closing it up. It'll dry out just fine with the lid closed - at least I have never had a problem with it. 

After using these, I found:

• They are incredibly pigmented - there is a lot of colour shoved into that little pot, so a little goes a long way
• Insanely shimmery - You know how I always mention that my camera doesn't pick up the shine and that makes me sad but in real life it really sparkles? With these, the camera picks up the shimmer as you can see in the large butterfly on the right. In real life, the shimmer is off the charts. I couldn't even believe it 
• They blend pretty well - to be fair it was very late when I made this card front and I didn't actually use watercolour paper. Normally I would have. So that being said they can be used on 110lb regular cardstock as long as you aren't going crazy with them - They would be excellent to add just a bit of shimmering highlight to an image
• Be aware that they will warp the page as they dry - just make sure you cover the entire back of the panel with a very strong adhesive so that it will lay flat.
• When the paint mixture is thin it is very transparent - so if you want to add a light wash of shimmer over another colour, you would be able to do so
• As the water starts to evaporate or continue to seep into the paint pot the paint will become very thick - at this point you can use it on dark cardstock (picture below) as it is very opaque and just as shimmery.

As my paints dried I used a couple of the colours on just a scrap of black 65lb cardstock by Recollections. The blue I found to be the most vibrant, but I think if the same consistency were reached with most of the others it would work as well. Obviously a very light colour like yellow won't be as opaque as a blue or dark purple but experimenting with them would be fun.

As you know I'm a fan of swatching - There's a whole big post coming up about it. I'm also a fan of knowing what my colours will look like on the paper I'm most likely to use them on. I mentioned above that there is information on the bottom of each pot about the colour - name, number etc. That's a problem for me, I like to refer back to the colours so I can remake an image or I can discuss it here in the blog, so it just spells disaster for me to have to look at the bottom of a tiny paint pot that I have just added water to. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

To solve this problem I use my 1" Recollections circle punch and punched out a circle from Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper - which is my go-to paper for most of my projects.

I activated the paints, added water to half of the circle and dropped in the colour. Once they were dry, I wrote the name and adhered them directly to the top of the lid.

My overall impressions:

These are a nice to have in the craft room, but definitely not something I would recommend you run out and buy (not that I ever tell you to go buy something, but you know what I'm saying). If you are looking to add some shimmer to your piece and you want to try something new, then by all means these are something you may find interesting. 

Being able to use these on dark and regular cardstock to add just a bit of shimmer is a huge plus for this product. As long as you are using a light hand, I think you'll be incredibly pleased with your results. That being said, this product is something I feel you need to plan to use. Having to activate the paint and wait around for it to be ready, does not lend itself well to being a "spur of the moment" kind of medium.

If you are able to find them individually or want to give one a try, I recommend a neutral colour; a pearl or pale silver, if the paint is thin you'll be able to use it over something you have already coloured (provided it doesn't reactivate with water) to give it a wash of shimmer. 

Aside from these three packs that I had come across in my craft store, I haven't seen them locally since; even in the same store. They are available online - but without seeing them in person picking a selection would be difficult. 210 colours is incredibly overwhelming even for an experienced craft supply purchaser. 

I hope you enjoyed today's review, if you have any questions about this product or a suggestion for a future review, drop me a line in the comments section below, I would love to hear from you. If you haven't already please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts.

*disclaimer: I am not sent products to review, nor am I paid to review them. I review the products that I use, that I find interesting and that I have purchased myself. I am given no reward, incentive or payment to write a review. All reviews are based on my personal experience with the product and are my opinions only.

Clean and Simple Note Card | ft. Technique Tuesday "Budding Poppies"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have a super clean and simple, single layer note card. I had done a review of the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers last week, and while I had them out on my desk, I thought I would put together another simple card.

I have never used stamps from Technique Tuesday before and was extremely pleased with the quality of the stamp and the fine detailed lines I was able to achieve when stamping. Definitely a company I will buy from again.

To begin, I cut a piece of Bristol Smooth cardstock to 11 x 4 1/4" and folded it at 5 1/2" to create a landscape side folding card. I then prepped the front with my powder tool and stamped the poppy image from Technique Tuesday and the greeting with VersaMark ink and heat embossed both with gold embossing powder.

I then used the 029 Geranium Red Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker to add a line of colour at the base of each petal and my water brush to pull the colour up towards the edges. Even though the Bristol paper stops the ink from seeping in and drying too quickly, I still work one petal at a time so I don't get a harsh line of colour.

I then added a strip of gold glitter tape across the bottom as an accent and to avoid having it look as though the flowers are floating in the middle of nowhere. An accent strip adds just a little something extra and grounds the image.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Floral Thoughts Series | Get Well ft. Clearly Besotted "Miniature Florals Collection"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today, I wanted to share a card where I use a small floral image with some masking to create a little bouquet. I chose the Black Eye'd Susan from Clearly Besotted's "Miniature Florals Collection". 

I absolutely love the floral images that Clearly Besotted has, and to make it even better, they took their large images and shrunk them down to create the Miniature Florals. Not only is this handy if you aren't looking for a big flower, but you can also finish off the inside of the card using the smaller version. Clever!

To begin, I stamped the flower on the left on Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper using CTMH Archival ink. Archival ink is waterproof and the one from Close to my Heart gives an excellent crisp impression. I then stamped off that flower and stamped the middle, masked that one and stamped the one on the right.

As I wanted the one on the right to be the shortest, I used just a piece of scrap paper to mask the bottom part of the paper so that the stem wouldn't be hanging down.

I removed the masks and used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers to colour the images in. Once those were dry, I used clean water to dampen the background and scribbled on the light blue randomly, then used more water to pull the colour out and get rid of the harsh lines.

Once the panel was completely dry, I prepped the top left with my powder tool and heat embossed the greeting using gold embossing powder.

To finish off the card I took some gold thread and looped it about the bottom a few times and tied it off, cutting the loops of the bow.

Using super strong two-way tape I adhered the watercolour panel to the front of a standard A2 sized card base. I then decided that the flowers needed to shine a bit, so I added clear Wink of Stella over the blossoms.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Happy Holidays Series | Watercolour Trees ft. Stampin' Up "Lovely As a Tree"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I have surprisingly few Stampin' Up sets considering how lovely they can be. I find myself very torn on them. They are either completely elegant or far too basic for my tastes. This particular set, "Lovely As a Tree" is by far one of my most favourites. The trees can be used with any palette and various mediums to create the most beautiful cards for any occasion and they are excellent for masculine cards; an area in which I struggle.

This card took me a couple tries to get the way I wanted, and even then I'm sure I could play around with it some more to get it absolutely perfect.

To begin, I cut down a piece of Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper and put it in my MISTI. I then positioned the tall evergreen stamp starting with the far right tree. I used my Distress markers to colour directly on the stamp then spritzed it with a very fine mist of water and held the MISTI lid shut. I found that if I held it shut for about 30 seconds, the ink would transfer and give this very loose look to the image.

I repeated this process with the tree on the left. I let them both dry completely then repeated it again with the tree in the middle.

I stamped the greeting from Hero Arts "CL722" using the same markers as I did with the trees, but did not spritz the water. Because of the texture of the paper, I had to restamp the greeting several times to get a good solid impression.

I added a piece of teal shimmering tape down the right side and popped the watercolour panel up on foam tape and adhered it to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

Depending on your preference, you could do this with any palette so long as the colours blend nicely together. You wouldn't want to use colours that would muddy up the image when the mix.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

Muse Challenge #242

Inspired by Ardyth

 Thank you all so much for your votes and support. I really cannot tell you how much it means to me.

Floral Thoughts Series | ft. Prismacolor Watercolour Pencils

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Before I jump into Christmas, I thought I would share a card that has been sitting around my craft room for a while. We're descending rapidly into deep fall, yesterday it was t-shirt weather, today I sent my kids off to school in their winter jackets. That's life on the prairies. I'm sure tomorrow will be nice again, but today I wanted to extend the feeling of summer.

To begin, I stamped this floral image from Hero Arts (I don't remember the name of the stamp) on to 110lb white cardstock using CTMH Archival ink. I then used my Prismacolor watercolour pencils to shade in the areas where I wanted the most shadows and used clean water to pull the colour out.

When using water on regular cardstock - the trick is to make sure it is dry before adding more water. Luckily these pencils are fantastic for laying down layers and they blend so beautifully. If too much water is applied the paper will become gummy and your project will be ruined.

While that was drying I used some shimmering embossing paste through a stencil to create my background panel.

Once both panels were completely dry, I cut the floral image in half and used some super sticky two-way tape to adhere it to the embossed panel. I mounted those to a piece of silver shimmering cardstock from Recollections, leaving only the tiniest border and tied some yellow twine around them.

I then adhered those to the front of a standard A2 sized card base, and to finish it off I added a few enamel dots across the front.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss out on any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Hello Halloween Series | Watercolour Pumpkin Patch ft. MFT's "Witch Way is the Candy?"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today is the last (official) card for this year's Hello Halloween Series! Part of me is glad that it's over, it's been a long road, and another part of me is sad because I keep getting inspired by all the amazing work I'm seeing this year. So don't be too surprised if another couple cards pop up over the weeks to come.

To begin, I stamped the two pumpkins from MFT's "Witch Way is the Candy?" set with Antique Linen Distress ink on Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper. If I were to redo this card, I probably would mask off the front pumpkins - I had thought that the water and other inks would lift the lines out completely but they didn't. But the more I look at it, the more "artsy and rustic" it felt and I really fell in love with it.

I then used Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade and Carved Pumpkin Distress inks to paint the pumpkins. I used just a bit of Scattered Straw to pull out the highlights. For the stems I used Forest Moss and Gathered Twigs.

After that was completely dry, I used very watered down Gathered Twigs for the ground and then added more pigment to create the shadows. The darkest shadows are made with Ground Espresso.

Once that was completely dry, I wet the area above the pumpkins with clean water and dropped in Weathered Wood and a bit of Faded Jeans to create the rest of the background, letting the water pull the ink away from the pumpkins and fade out.

The greeting is stamped from Verve's "Autumn Splendor using Forest Moss Distress ink, using the MISTI so I could ensure a good impression.

To finish off the card, I mounted the watercolour panel to a piece of dark green cardstock then adhered the whole lot to a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss out on any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

MFT Color Challenge

Challenge #79

Muse Challenge #238

Inspired by Kim Heggins

I pulled my inspiration from her colours and the crisp clean greeting at the top. And Halloween. YAY!

 Thank you all so much for your votes and support!

Growing Up Up Up | ft. MFT's "Up in the Air"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Every year for my niece and nephew I make a card that coordinates with the theme for their birthday party. My sweet little niece turned three this year, and when I was talking to her mom it turns out that she never received her card for her second birthday.

Totally weird, because I have the sketch in my art journal from last year and I distinctly remember making the card but I couldn't find it any where! So I had to make a new card for her.

To begin, I prepped a piece of Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper with my powder tool and stamped the hot air balloon images from MFT's "Up in the Air" set with VersaMark ink and then heat embossed them with clear.

Now if I were to remake this card, I would probably heat emboss in gold or silver - while it looks great in real life, the clear embossing does not pick up well on camera at all.

I then coloured the images with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers and used my Prisma water brush to pull the colour out.

I heat embossed the greeting with the same clear powder and then used pinks over top of it to create an emboss resist. I die cut that with the banner die from the Blueprints die-namics, and popped it up on some foam tape.

I used some super strong two-way tape to adhere the watercolour piece to the scalloped panel die from MFT's Blueprint die-namics #27. Then I popped the whole piece up on some foam tape and then mounted that to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Autumn Birthday | ft. Inkadinkado and Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Yesterday was my Grandfather's birthday. As long as I can remember he's been a gruff, no nonsense kind of man. But he's also always been the kind of man who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He's the strong, silent type - not really brooding and definitely not missing anything that happens around him. Never mistake his silence for indifference.

So it's always a treat when I give him a card. I get the "Thanks, kid" but I see the sparkle in his eyes that tells me he really likes it.

To begin, I prepped a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock with my powder tool, then stamped the maple leaf image from Inkadinkado with VersaMark ink randomly around the panel and heat embossed them with clear embossing powder.

I then used the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers to add colour to the outline of the embossing and clean water to pull the colour out. The yellowish leaf on the very bottom right was a bit too bright for me, so I went over it with a bit of green, just in the middle and pulled that out to give it a mottled look. I used the light grey to go around the outside of the leaves, pulling that out with clean water, to give them some shadow.

I then prepped a piece of vellum and heat embossed the Happy Birthday greeting from CTMH "Cursive Birthday" with Copper Detail embossing powder by Recollections. I added a few tiny drops of liquid glue behind the script so it wouldn't show through the vellum, and used adhesive on the back to ensure the banner would stay stuck.

I mounted that panel to a piece of green cardstock then adhered the whole piece to a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss out on any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

Muse Challenge

#236 Inspired by Anita Bowden

 Thank you all so much for your votes and support!

Amaryllis Just Because | ft. Wplus9 and Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

Before my father passed away, he took a keen interest in botany. I'm not saying he went all out and had a green house or anything like that. But he did like to try growing things from seeds. Apple seeds, orange pips, a little maple, those sorts of things. I think he liked the feeling you get when you see something you have nurtured take form.

His favourite, though, were Amaryllis. He would get the package of bulbs and take such care in removing that dead skin that forms, and planting it, and watering it and watching it grow.

I got this stamp right before he passed away, and afterwards I could never really bring myself to use it. It hurt too much. Even now, as I'm writing the screen blurs from tears. I can't even explain how much I miss him. How much I hate that my girls probably won't remember him. Too much of a downer today? I'd apologize, but today it's about expressing the emotion behind the art.

To begin, I prepped to pieces of Bristol smooth cardstock with my powder tool and stamped the Amaryllis from Wplus9 in VersaMark ink on the smaller piece. I heat embossed with white powder and then stamped the Amaryllis greeting below and repeated the embossing.

I took the floral blossom and stamped that with VersaMark randomly on the larger piece to create my own patterned paper and heat embossed that with white powder as well.

I then used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers to add a bit of colour and pulled it out with my size 4 Prisma waterbrush.

Once those were both dry, I popped the smaller panel up on foam tape and adhered it to the larger piece. Then I added a piece of green patterned paper behind that for a nice border and to tie the green from the leaves into the rest of the card.

Finally I mounted it all on to a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me over on the right side bar. You can also follow me over on Facebook. Toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card if for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

STAMPtember - Stamp It

Try Stamping on Tuesday

Product Review Series | Crayola Washable Watercolours

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

Yep, you read that right. Crayola Washable Watercolours. That's today's review. Now before we get into it, let me explain my reasoning for this.

This is a long one, so if you are just interested in my final thoughts, scroll down to the end to see the Pros and Cons, otherwise sit back and enjoy!

We all started somewhere, when we all first started we couldn't afford to get the Gansai Tambi watercolour palette or the Mission or Peerless or any of those Artist Level sets, heck some of us can't afford them now. But that doesn't mean that we can't still make beautiful things.

Today I'm going to be reviewing Watercolours by Crayola, that I purchased at my Wal-Mart for $3.97 plus taxes. And if you bear with me to the end, I think you'll be getting a set too.

Observations:

• Comes with a brush - it was crap and I tossed it. If nothing else, get yourself a decent brush
• 3 removable trays with 8 colours each. I'm guessing, it's a pastels, a basics and a complimentary, not sure their reasoning for how they set these out.
• Lid can be used as a palette
• Resealable container
• These pots are very pigmented
• Paints are very blendable
• Like most watercolours, you just spray a little in the pot to get it going

So for today's test, I thought I would try something new. Generally, I stamp and then colour in an image, but not today. Ohhhh no. Today we're going to be creating a universe. 

That's right. Crayola says I can create anything, so I did. Go big or go home, right?

For the purposes of this demonstration, I used a piece of Strathmore 140lb Cold press watercolour paper taped (with green painter's tape) to a board for maneuverability and because I didn't have any idea how much water I was going to need. For the second demonstration, I used the same paper but stamped the large pumpkin image with Antique Linen Distress ink (for a no line look) from MFT's "Witch Way is the Candy?"

I prepped some of the pots by spraying in some clean water and letting that sit for a couple of minutes. Then without wetting the paper first, I just started tossing on the colours. Randomly, wherever I wanted them to go. I didn't care if they ran into each other or pooled or floated away (just kidding, they didn't float away) I just wanted splotches of colour all over my paper.

Somethings I learned:

• These are seriously pigmented. Seriously
• Paint is very movable 
• Blends well together
• Doesn't really reactivate when new water is applied to a previously painted area, as you can see there is some blending, but in other areas the borders are quite well defined.
• Glossy finish when drying. I thought drying just took forever, nope. Turns out these are shiny and have a waxy feel when they're dry.
• Layering is blotchy because of glossy finish (as you'll see in the next picture)

Once the coloured splotches were dry, I went over it with the black. Once that was dry, I used my Copic Opaque White to splatter in some stars and then the white gold from the Gansai Tambi Starry Colors to create some bigger drops.

More stuff I learned:

• Holy crap, these are insanely pigmented - what is even going on here??
• Glossy finish makes even coverage very difficult - but for this demonstration that was good because I wanted the colours to show through
• The white gold from Starry Colors seemed to pull up some of the colour from below, and that worked for me too, because now the bigger drops look like planets
• Super waxy finish, I can peel this up with my nail
• Waxy finish is transferable - touching this piece made my fingers very messy
• I recommend a sealer or a fixative, I happen to have one and once that was dry there was no more transfer and it looked amazing

I wanted to see how well these paints held up for detail work. So I stamped the large pumpkin in Antique Linen Distress ink. On the left I applied the paint directly to the paper and worked the way I would normally work. On the right, I wet the paper first then dropped the colour in, then added details as the paper was still damp.

• If you allow for adequate drying time, details are possible 
• Colour wicks nicely in the wet on wet
• Blending on the palette to get different colours is very smooth
• These seem to require more patience than my other "Artist" sets

Final Thoughts:

Pros:

• Super affordable
• Very pigmented
• Rich, vibrant colours
• Easy to work with
• Doesn't reactivate when new water is applied
• Wide range of colours
• Easy Blending
• Resealable packaging for transportation

Cons:

• Waxy finish that transfers after it dries
• Must you a sealer or fixative
• Crappy Brush - get a good one
• Doesn't reactivate when new water is applied
• Your kids are going to steal these

I would completely recommend these for anyone who is wanting something fun without the giant price tag to go with it. Use the money you save to buy a couple decent brushes and some good quality watercolour paper. 

In no way are these going to replace my Zigs, or my Gansai Tambi or even my Distress inks for watercolour, but knowing that there is something inexpensive with insane pigmentation available for me in my art room as well, is fantastic.

I fully intend to get a couple more "back up" sets, so that if my kids decide they want to paint - they can, if I leave one at a park - I won't be upset, if I just want to sit down and play - I don't have artist regret (that's a thing) afterwards.

I hope you enjoyed today's review. If you haven't already, please follow me over on the right side bar, if you are viewing this via mobile device, scroll to the bottom and click "View web version" first. You can also follow me over on Facebook. If you have any questions about this review or have an idea for a future review, please toss me a line in the comments section below, I would love to hear from you.

*disclaimer: I am not sent products for review, nor am I paid to review them. I review the products that I find interesting, that I have purchased with my own money; and I receive no incentive, reward or payment to do so.

Product Review Series | Watercolour Paper Comparison

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

A few weeks ago, I did a review on the paper types we crafters often use to create our cards or layouts, and a reader requested a watercolour paper comparison. So here it is! Thank you for the suggestion. I am very excited to get started.

Once again, this is a long one. I'd apologize, but I like to be thorough. I also added some fun math at the end!

Today I will be reviewing:

• Strathmore 140lb Cold pressed watercolour paper - this is my usual paper type.
• The Artist's Loft 90lb Cold pressed watercolour paper - a less expensive craft store brand.
• Winsor & Newton 140lb Cold pressed watercolour paper - a more expensive brand.

The test image I used today is the beautiful tulip from Clearly Besotted's "Forever Friends" stamped using the MISTI with Antique Linen Distress ink. I chose this ink to create a "no line" look as I thought the stamped lines would take away from what I'm really trying to showcase today.

All the images are painted using my Gasai Tambi 12 colour palette and my size 4 Prisma water brush pen. All images were allowed to air dry, I did not speed up the process with my heat tool.

Up first is the Strathmore 140lb cold pressed paper.

• Sturdy paper, doesn't require being taped down for an image like this one, probably a good idea to tape it down if you are doing a whole scene or using lots of water
• Lots of texture so when I stamped the image it took a couple of impressions using the MISTI to get it done
• Very little warping when water is applied. 
• Water seems to pull the colour across the area giving more of a "watercolour" look instead of just being coloured in.
• Paper flattens almost completely after drying
• Felt very confidant being able to add additional layers of colour without damaging the paper.
• Cost vs. Quality is excellent, comes in various sizes and is relatively inexpensive. About $20 CAD for a 15 sheet pad of 11x15"

Next is the Artist's Loft 90lb Cold pressed paper.

• Paper feels very flimsy and I had immediate concerns about stability
• Very little texture so it took the initial stamping of the image very well
• Warping with first pass of water on the paper, even in the small area of the petals
• Water seems to sit on top of the paper instead of saturating the area so the colour just sat there instead of wicking through the dampened area
• Paper did NOT dry flat
• Took much longer to dry
• Paper took damage after second layer of colour, pilling up and seemed to get mushy after the third.
• Incredibly inexpensive paper to purchase - less than $8 CAD for a 25 sheet pad of 12x9"

Finally the Winsor & Newton 140lb cold pressed paper.

• Very sturdy, despite equal poundage it felt thicker than the Strathmore
•  Nicely textured, took a couple impressions using the MISTI to get a stamped image
• Water stays where it is put and seemed to absorb straight down
• Layers, layers, layers - I felt incredibly secure about piling on the layers
• Almost no warping at all
• Paper dried almost completely flat
• Colour wicks across the dampened area beautifully
• Reasonable amount of drying time per area
• More expensive "high-end" paper. I paid about $12 CAD for a 15 sheet pad of 4x6"

Painting small images whether from a stamp or freehand is one thing, but we generally don't stop there. At least I don't. After the image area is completely dry, I like to create a halo around the image because I love that dreamy look.

I did that with each of these as well. And each performed about as I would have expected. After seeing how each paper reacted to my initial work, there were no surprises when I went on to add more water over a larger area. For each of these I did tape them to a board (I thought it best to give them all the a real fighting chance.)

Here are the pictures of each piece with the light blue halo. 

Strathmore with Halo

Artist's Loft with Halo

Winsor & Newton with Halo

Overall Impressions:

• Strathmore: For myself, I will be sticking with this for my watercolour paper. If the opportunity to try something new comes up, I will certainly not turn it away, but for my budget and my art room and the pieces that I typically create this paper is exactly what I need. It is an excellent quality for the cost, it takes layers like a dream, moves the water and paint the way I would expect and want; in the event that I mess up beyond being able to fix it, I'm not devastated if I have to toss it; aside from the amount of work that I just put in.
• Artist's Loft: This is definitely an instance of you get what you pay for. While I have many other Artist's Loft products and mediums - this paper is not something I would ever buy again. If my daughter decides she wants to watercolour paint, I'll let her use what I have left of this, then upgrade her to something else. My inability to comfortably add layers of colour to this, destroyed any illusions I had that I could find some use for it in my art room. 
• Winsor & Newton: This paper held up with multiple layers of colour, there was very little warping and zero damage. The colour moves across the page the way I expect it to when I think of watercolouring. That being said, for what I do, this paper behaved too much like the Strathmore for me to justify the difference in price. If you are a serious watercolour artist then this may be more what you are looking for, but then you would probably all ready have your paper of choice picked out.

A little bit of fun math, because why not. Given the prices at the time of this writing (above), I thought it would be fun to work out the cost of each 4x6" piece. 

• Strathmore: I can get 4 panels at 4x6" out of each sheet, that's 60 panels for each 15 sheet pad; as I mentioned I paid about $20 for it. That works out to about $0.33 per panel
• Artist's Loft: I can get 3 panels at 4x6" out of each sheet, that's 75 panels for each 25 sheet pad; as I mentioned this pad is about $8. That works out to $0.11 per panel
• Winsor & Newton: I got exactly 15 panels out of this 4x6" pad and paid about &12 for it. That works out to $0.80 per sheet

I hope you enjoyed this review. If you haven't all ready, please follow me over on the right side bar so you don't miss any future reviews and projects, if you are viewing this via mobile device, scroll to the bottom and click "View web version" first. You can also follow me over on Facebook. If you have any questions about this review or have an idea for a future review, please toss me a line in the comments section below. I would love to hear from you.

*disclaimer: I am not set products to review, nor am I paid to review them. I review the products that I find interesting and that I purchase myself, with my own money; I receive no incentive, payment or reward to do so. All reviews are based off of my personal experiences with them and are my opinion only.