I cannot believe how many cards I've been able to get done since taking Watercolor for Card Makers! There are just so many amazing techniques to try, and I've barely scratched the surface. My stamps have been getting a lot of use! Soon I'll have a nice stash of birthday and thank you cards to choose from when an occasion comes up, instead of scrambling to make something at the last minute!
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Just finished up a few more cards from Watercolor for Card Makers class. This has been such a fun class, I'll be sad when it's completely over. Luckily I've learned so much from it that I have plenty of ideas to keep me busy for quite a while!
Yesterday (Friday) was supposed to be the last day of Watercolor for Card Makers, but today we found out there is a bonus day! Hooray! I hope to get a few more cards done today, but here is one from yesterday. Tim Holtz shared a technique using mini distress stamps on a stencil. I really liked the effect, but don't have the mini stamps so I tried it with stamp markers. I was pleasantly surprised with the results. The card came together quickly, which proves I am able to make a card in less than 3 hours (which seems to be the average time it's been taking). I seriously need to speed things up a little!!
I fell in love with the card Jennifer McGuire made for Day 6 of Watercolor for Card Makers Class, and just knew I had to try it. She used white embossing powder and it just looks amazing. Here is my first attempt at it. It seemed like there was more color variation while I was doing it, but it doesn't show up very well since I forgot to go darker than I wanted since it will dry lighter. After seeing today's videos, I realized that the stamp I used might look better using a wet on wet technique. So now I am in the middle of painting the same image, but using wet on wet. It takes a lot longer for some reason (probably just me), but I am liking the results. I'll try and post it later or tomorrow. Happy painting!
Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful ladies! Here are a few cards that I've managed to finish for the Watercolor for Cardmakers class. I've done a lot of experimenting with stamps and different kinds of paper and paint, and a lot ended up in the trash! That's good though, because I am finding a few things that work for me. One of my favorite techniques so far is coloring a stamp directly with markers, stamping it onto watercolor paper, and then using a wet paintbrush to blend the colors. That's what I did for both of these hydrangea cards. I'm sure with more practice I'll get better at blending. I also liked using an acrylic block to make a frame around the image. The last card is from Day 1 of class using the Vibrant Watercolor wash technique. I can't wait to see what next week holds!
Day 2 was a practice day in Watercolor for Card Makers, but there were several more videos posted with even more ideas for using watercolors on cards. I spent a lot of time in my craft room, but only have one card to show for it! The rest of the backgrounds haven't made it to card form yet. Many ended up in the garbage, but it was still fun trying the techniques.
Happy Cinco de Mayo! I've been looking forward to this day not only for enchiladas and margaritas, but also because it's the first day of "Watercolor for Card Makers", a class taught by some of the major celebrities of the paper crafting world. I would be totally starstruck if I ever met any of them in real life, so it's a good thing this is online. It is amazing to see what they come up with! The first lesson was on watercolor backgrounds. Here are a couple cards I came up with using the class video as a guide. I used a vintage plastic doily as a stencil for both cards. I used my Slice to cut out the sentiments, and then added a little washi tape and some tiny embellishments. These were really fun and easy to make! Using watercolors helps me to let go of perfection a little bit, and just see what turns up. I kind of like the messiness of it.
I am a sucker for a grab bag. It must have started when I was little and I'd be on vacation with my family and we'd go into one of those off-the-beaten-path gift shops and there would be a little plain brown lunch bag with a label saying "Grab Bag". Usually it was only 50¢ or so, but that was about all the money I usually carried around back then, so it was a weighty decision. I would agonize over it for hours it seemed. Sometimes I'd pass on it or not have enough money, and to this day will never know what wondrous things were in the bag. Other times I would spend my hard earned 50¢ on that grab bag. I'd open it excitedly, imagining jewel studded tiaras, toys that would entertain me for hours, or the ultimate prize: Candy. Candy is gold to an 8-yr old. I honestly don't remember what was in most of the grab bags I bought as a kid, but it sure wasn't any of the things I had imagined. The only time I didn't feel cheated was when I got a bag of smooth, polished rocks. They were really cool.
Fast forward almost 40 years, and I'm wandering through Goodwill, and see a huge clear plastic bag bulging at the seams, and stuffed with all sorts of things: paper pads, pencils, mini books, toys, ribbon. But that's only what you could see. The inner contents were hidden because the bag was either stapled or taped shut. Sometimes it's possible to shift the contents a little to see what's underneath the top layer, but it still doesn't show everything. I took that one home, and have since purchased many similar bags, and can tell you that I've only been truly happy with about 3 of them. The rest of the unwise purchases had maybe one or two good items, and the rest was blech. But yesterday was different. This bag looked special. I could see a couple things that looked good, and a bunch that I could only partially see. It did seem to be all scrapbooking stuff--not just a hodge podge of totally unrelated things, which immediately justified purchasing it. I didn't even hesitate--just put it in my cart. The little voice in my head was saying "Maybe it's the ONE!" When I got home I couldn't wait to rip into it. I was so happy and so relieved to find that almost every item was brand new in its packaging, and was also something that I would actually use on my cards and scrapbook pages. My favorite things are the sewing pattern rosettes from Studio Calico. Another fun discovery was a little handmade album made with the sweetest papers. I can't imagine why anyone would give it away. If you made that album and you happen to see this and recognize it in the photos, thank you so much! So now of course, next time I see a big grab bag, I will have the pleasant memory in my head of finding one stuffed with crafty goodness, and will end up buying it, forgetting that a good one only turns up about 3% of the time. It's so much fun though! |
AuthorHello! I'm Sarah. A wife and mom who loves estate sales, thrift stores, pretty papers, books, and coffee. I'm a left-brain gal, trying to wake up my right-brain and have fun with it. Archives
January 2015
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