Birthday Wishes for Luke and Jake

These two cards are for a pair of brothers whose birthdays are just a few days apart.  I had fun making the backgrounds using the coffee filter prints tutorial on Splitcoaststampers.  I colored the images using Prismacolor pencils and used a solvent to blend.  I hope these bright cards will make the recipients happy!

Stamps: SU Toucan of My Love, Balloon Celebrations, Hooray It's Your Day

Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black, Distress Ink Twisted Citron, Salty Ocean  PTI Orange Zest

Paper: Photo Paper, SU Summer Sun, Gorgeous Grape, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Brushos, Coffee filters, Winsor and Newton Sansodor Low Odor Solvent, SU File Tab Edgelit die, SU Balloon punch

Watercolor Celebration

Good morning!

Yesterday I created this panel for Splitcoaststamper's Watercolor Wednesday challenge number 2. You can find the challenge here.  I joined late so I'm playing catch up.

The challenge was to watercolor using dye inks.  I started out with Marigold Morning, Purely Pomegranate and Melon Mambo inks.  I didn't realize how similar Melon Mambo and Purely Pomegranate are, especially once the inks are diluted a bit with water.  They were too close in color for me so I added Eggplant Envy (remember that color?) over the pomegranate flower.

My panel was 5.5" wide, but only 4" high, so I needed to decide if I should cut it smaller or add to it.  I decided to rotate my image to make a vertical card and add a black strip to the left.  I was planning on using a pink card stock as the base, but I didn't really like it.  I tried Marigold Morning and thought that was perfect.  The sentiment from SU Honey Bee was perfect for this CAS card.

This card will be going to my sister in Ohio.

Stamps: SU Flower Fest, Honey Bee

Ink: SU Purely pomegranate, Melon Mambo, Marigold Morning, Tangelo Twist, VersaFine Onyx Black

Paper: Watercolor paper, SU Basic Black, Marigold Morning

Thanks for visiting! I hope you are able to create today.

Paula 

In My Heart

I was playing around a few weeks ago with Distress Ink and a small Cuttlebug embossing folder which resulted in the panel that is on this card. I used Worn Lipstick and Spiced Marmalade, and tossed the panel in my pile. This morning I had out my Finetec gold watercolor paint and wanting to use up the rest on my brush, I picked this panel and added some spatters and a little outline by dragging my brush along the outside edges.  I really like how the gold brought the panel to another level.  It made me want to use it, so I decided to make a card for my sister Andrea.  She's had a tough year, breaking her hips three times.  She is finally home now, but she lives several states away so I don't get to see her as often as I'd like.  I try to send her a card every few days to let her know she is always in my heart.

I mounted the panel on black card stock and chose Orange Zest CS from PTI for the card base.  I found a scrap cut from a previous watercolor background and added it lengthwise across the card.  It still needed something so I found a sliver of white CS and embossed it several times with one of my oldest and favorite embossing powders, Judikins Egyptian Gold.  I wanted a sentiment that would follow the line, and this one from Summer Hills stamp set by PTI worked perfectly.

Have a creative day!

Paula

Water Color Wednesday Challenge

Hello!

It's been a long time!  I'm now retired and have recently dusted off my stamps.  I'm in the process of organizing and unmounted my older stamps.  While doing so, I visited one of my favorite stamping sites, Splitcoaststampers.  They have started a new weekly challenge - Water Color Wednesday.  The first challenge was June 3, so I'm a little behind. Here is the link for the challenge.

Here is my entry for WCW001

The technique was for an acetate smoosh, but instead of putting your paper on the acetate, you use a second piece of card stock to transfer it to the watercolor paper. This gives you a lot more control.  There is a very well done video in the challenge thread with directions for this technique. It's difficult to see in the photo, but I also flicked on a bit of gold watercolor after my panel was dry.

My original plan was to mount this on a light aqua paper, but it looked too washed out.  I loved the look on the Old Olive and I think it makes a nice masculine card with the deeper color.

Stamps: SU Summer Silhouettes, PTI Birthday Classics October, PTI Tags Its #10

Ink: SU Always Artichoke, Handsome Hunter, Old Olive, Fine Tec Watercolor Luna Gold, VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black

Paper: Canson 90lb cold press watercolor paper, SU Basic Black, Old Olive

Accessories: SU Black Detail Embossing Powder, Crystal Stickers Mosaic 5mm Black

Well I enjoyed playing with my stamps again, and I certainly hope it won't be 9 years before I post again!

Have fun creating!

Paula

A Little Note

My nephew's wife called the other day with a request for a letter. My sister was going on a weekend retreat and part of the weekend involved receiving letters from family and friends. My sister lives in Ohio, so I had to make a quick card in order to get it out there in time. Even though this was quick, I'm happy with it. I really like the look of the vanilla ink on the purple. And since one of my favorite color combos is green and purple, the olive twill was a perfect choice. Thanks for visiting! I hope you are enjoying the anticipation of Spring as much as I am.

Blackbird Birthday

I used an embossing folder on this card and then sponged ink on the raised areas to color them. I'm not really sure if I like it or not. I embossed the bird portion again using black and cut it out. I popped the bird up with dimensional tape. Maybe the bird needed a bit of red on it's wing. I don't know. I ran out of time as the recipient's birthday was looming and I needed to get the card in the mail. Sometimes I feel bad about sending a card that am not completely pleased with. Do you ever feel that way? I try to remind myself that the thought is what counts and any card is better than no card at all. The photo was taken in the waning light of day. It's hard to get home from work early enough to take a decent photo. But the days are getting longer, little by little! Thanks for visiting!

A 90th Birthday Celebration

This is a card for a very special birthday. Sue is surprising her husband for his 90th birthday and people from all over are sending cards to help him celebrate. I met Sue and John a few years ago at a Splitcoast dinner in Milwaukee. If you'd like to make him a card, see this post for details.