Tuesday, 29 December 2015

Watercolour Birthday Cards using Liquid Masking


Now that Christmas is officially done, it won't be long until we are getting prepared for the next big holiday -- VALENTINE'S DAY.

But not today.

Today I have two birthday cards for you. I created these cards using liquid masking; a "new to me" product that I had seen several other card making bloggers use and I just had to try. Typically I will stamp the image onto masking paper to protect the space, but with watercolour that doesn't work as well.

For these cards, I stamped out my greetings, then applied the liquid mask. After the masking dried, I used watercolours to make a fun background. It's important to let the background dry before removing the mask so you don't run the risk of the colour bleeding into the white space, or ruining the background in the process of rubbing away the mask.

Once the masking was completely removed I wet the area inside the letters with clean water and dotted in some colour at the top so that the water would pull it down to the rest of the area. 


Green background with blue in the text

Sometimes a card will turn out perfectly and other times not so much. I had considered leaving the second card out, but then I thought that it might be beneficial for others that could learn from my mistake. 

In the card below, you can see what happens when you don't allow the liquid masking to dry completely before applying the colour. In the "Y", the purple seeped through the masking which muddied up the paper when the yellow-green was applied. 

Purple background with yellow-green inside the text. I also used the water drop technique to create a more blotchy or distressed look for the background.
Liquid masking is a fabulous product and I'm sure I'll be using it more in the future. One piece of advice if you are considering purchasing this product: don't get the pure white stuff. Get a brand that is either off-white or pigmented (I've seen blue it in blue), It is incredibly frustrating to realize halfway through that I did't remove all the masking from the card face. Trust me. THAT card definitely didn't make it up here.

Wednesday, 23 December 2015

Monochromatic Thank You


Hi everyone, thanks so much for stopping by!

Today I have a monochromatic Thank you card to share with you all. I wanted to create something simple and delicate that could work for pretty much anything.

The greatest thing about this particular design is that it can be done in any set of colours. Not a fan of green? No problem! Simply change it up and you're good to go!




Clear embossed flowers on pale green with white embossed greeting on dark green cardstock.2015, 

Tuesday, 22 December 2015

Christmas Caroling Critters


Hi everyone, thank you so much for stopping by today! Not only could I not resist one more Christmas card, this card is for the Lawnscaping Challenge #120 "Merry Christmas" sponsored by Lawn Fawn.

After doing so many snowflake themed cards and winter scene cards, I thought it might be nice to mix it up a bit. Today's card features five adorable Lawn Fawn critters out Christmas caroling. 




Supplies used:
  • Distress Inks
    • Chipped Sapphire
    • Dusty Concord
    • Seedless Preserves 
    • Mowed Lawn 
    • Shabby Shutters 
  • Lawn Fawn Stamps
    • Party Animal
    • Holiday Party Animal
    • Stinkin' Cute
  • Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
  • Copic Markers
  • Black Gel pen
  • Strathmore 140lb Watercolour paper
  • Recollections Sparkling Cardstock
  • Random Green Cardstock from my stash
  • Music Note accents

Update: January 2 2016




Honorable Gnome for the Lawnscaping Challenge! WOOHOO!!!
Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement. I'm so happy to be part of this community.