Faux Watercolor Thank You + Sale-a-bration Second Release

Did you hear?  There is a second release of Sale-a-bration items available now.  I absolutely love the set Eclectic Expressions.  You can get it free with a $50 product order!  My "faux watercolor" is made using this new set.

I started with a panel of Shimmery White and stamped the larger watercolor splotch repeatedly with Sugar Plum, Fresh Fig and Berry Burst.  On a scrap piece of Shimmery White I stamped the same colors using the smaller splotch.  I used the scattered dots, stamping in Fresh Fig over the top of both stamping several times without re-inking.  The greeting is stamped in Basic Black and is die cut using my Big Shot and the Rose Garden Thinlits Dies.  The following image shows all the stamps in the set.

I used my Aqua Painter to smudge or define some of the edges of the stamped images. The base card is Fresh Fig Card Stock. The "watercolored" panel is mounted to a layer of Basic Black Card Stock with just a 1/16" border showing.

The die cut layer is mounted using Stampin' Dimensionals, tucking some messy loops of Basic Black Metallic Thread behind it.

It's finished off with a few Basic Rhinestone Jewels. 

I would love for you to choose to order your Stampin' Up! supplies through me.  You can get the supplies for this card from my online store 24/7!  Don't forget to use my February Host Code, HZTEG7F6, when placing your order (no need to use it if your order is $150 or more 'cause you will get hostess benefits).  It's Sale-a-bration time so you get to choose one of the free items from with every $50 in product you order.

Thank you for looking! I think you will love the Eclectic Expressions set.

Debbie

Bicycle bicycle bicycle . . . I want to stamp my bicycle

My apologies to Queen for adapting their lyrics.  When I saw the Bike Ride Bundle in the 2017-2018 Annual Catalog I thought of that song "Bicycle Race".  Then, I thought it would be the perfect set to make the occasional card for my daughter who is an avid biker.  This is what I came up with recently.

The card base is Lemon Lime Twist.  I used Shimmery White Card Stock for the card front.  I did a little watercolor wash to give the illusion of sky and grass, Shimmery White holds up to watercolor so well! I thought the widest roll of Washi  tape from Pick a Pattern Washi Tape made a perfect base to ground the bike.  I used a scrap of Silver Foil Paper for the "aluminum" basket.

I made this card for my daughter, she loves reading even more than biking so adding the stack of books was a must.  No fussy cutting on this because their are so many detailed dies in the Build a Bike Framelit set.  There is even a die that is emboss only, the pebble die seen here.  I didn't use it but it would be great for grounding the bike.  

When I had it all together I thought the background needed something so I stamped some little starbursts using a stamp from Colorful Seasons.  I put Wink of Stella directly on the stamps thinking it would add a subtle pattern.  I don't like this at all, the detail of the stamp was lost and it looks gray and messy to me.  Alas, I was out of time so I didn't redo it.  On the other hand, I do love the Rhinestones on the wheel hubs.

Thanks for looking, I hope I've inspired you to send a card to someone you care about today! 

I would love to have you purchase your stamping supplies through me!  You can shop in my online store 24/7!  When you do be sure to use the September Host Code, 7A7FWZ4W, for your order of less than $150 in product.  You qualify for host benefits at $150 so you need not use  the code for those.

Debbie

Watercolored Painted Harvest Birthday

Did I mention that I love this new set, Painted Harvest, available in the Holiday Catalog?  It didn't even make my list when I placed my preorder and now it's one of my favorites!

For this card I tried a watercolor technique.  I spritzed  a watercolor panel with water and also spritzed the inked stamp before putting ink to paper.  I used Crushed Curry for the larger petal stamp and Peek-a-boo Peach for the smaller petal stamp.    The center is Early Espresso and I used Early Espresso ink for the greeting as well.

The stem and leaves were stamped with Pear Pizazz spritzing the stamp after inking and before putting to paper.  Make certain the watercolor paper is completely dry before stamping the greeting.  I used the Happy Birthday greeting from Butterfly Basics.  It's one of my favorites, I love the mix of fonts.

I finished it of by adding some splatters.  I used my Aqua Painter with a lot of water dipped in some Early Espresso ink (squeeze your closed ink pad to get some ink on the lid and use that ink).  I distressed the edges of the watercolor panel, mounted it to a Crushed Curry layer and that went onto a Thick Whisper White card base.  Oh, I also tied on some Linen Thread and tied a bow.

It was a fun card to make!  I gave it to my mom for her birthday and she loved it!  The best thing is that I was able to give it to her in person.  She was visiting me on her birthday.  Not sure that has happened...ever!

Thanks for looking.  Hope you enjoy my projects!

I would love to have you purchase your stamping supplies through me!  You can shop in my online store 24/7!  When you do be sure to use the September Host Code, 7A7FWZ4W, for your order of less than $150 in product.  You qualify for host benefits at $150 so you need not use  the code for those.

Thanks for looking!

Debbie

Watercolor on Shimmery White

Have I mentioned that I love watercolor?  This is such a fun card to make.  Endless combos possible.

Start with a base card of Whisper White Thick, my favorite base layer now!  Cut a panel from Shimmery White Card Stock.  Shimmery White is great for watercolor and offers the shimmer and a little contrast to the stark white of the base.

I used my Aquapainter to add the watercolor wash, I think I used Pacific Point and added just a touch of Blushing Bride.  Then with my fingers I flicked some water to get the water spots.  Then used the Gold Wink of Stella to splatter the card a little with just a little more shimmer.

I stamped the thank you greeting from One Big Meaning in Memento Tuxedo Black.

The leaf is cut from a scrap of Basic Black using the Flourish Thinlits. I only put glue on the spine of the leaf and I lifted the edges a bit off the card for some dimension.

The finishing touch are some sequins from the Metallics Sequin Assortment

I'll be using this basic layout for many more cards!  I think a happy birthday one is in order.

Don't forget to check out the retiring products -- some discounted up to 50%!  While supplies last so don't wait too long.  When placing your order us Host Code 462RNRFM for orders under $150.

Happy Easter!  Thanks for looking.  What color will you use when you make this card?

Debbie

"Charm"ing Curvy Keepsake Handbag Card

My favorite thing about this card is the authentic "Coach" tag charm – I make handbag cards just to be able to use one of these charms. It was fun to make my own little paper tassel, too!

I used a portion of the Curvy Keepsake Box die – it was the perfect template for a handbag!

I used a wash of Sweet Sugarplum ink for the background and stamped a few flowers over the wash and finished with a few splatters of Sweet Sugarplum.

Here is a list of all the supplies I used – they can be ordered through my website from the comfort of your own home! 

Curvy Keepsake Box Thinlit
Penned & Painted Stamp set
Moroccan Designer Series Paper
Very Vanilla Card Stock
Sweet Sugarplum Card Stock
Shimmery White Card Stock
Basic Black Card Stock
Basic Gray Card Stock
Silver Foil Paper
Sweet Sugarplum Ink
Basic Gray Marker
Aqua Painter
Silver Metallic Thread 

Thanks for looking!

Debbie

Simple Joy Watercolor Christmas Card

Today I'm playing with a very basic watercolor technique for this simple but elegant Christmas card.  You could make a lot of these in no time at all and they are flat so are easy to mail as well!

Emboss Watercolor Paper with the Softly Falling Embossing Folder.  I used my Aqua Painter and started a very light wash of ink – Night of Navy at the top, Marina Mist in the middle, Soft Sky at the bottom – and blended them as I went

I added some Floral Boutique Washi Tape across the bottom 1/3 of the card 'cause I thought the Joy needed a "shelf" to sit on.

I cut to Joys from the Wonderful Wreath Framelits Dies, one from Night of Navy, one from Silver Glimmer Paper.  I used the Fine Tip Glue Pen to glue the two joys together, offsetting them slightly which I think makes the word stand out more. The Fine Tip Glue Pen is perfect for detailed areas where precision is a must– I love it!

I used Tombow Multipurpose Glue to mount the Joy just above the washi tape and then used my Clear Wink of Stella pen to randomly add just a bit of shimmer to the raised dots. Can you tell I love the Wink of Stella?  I think I use it on nearly every project. Finally, I mounted the watercolor paper onto a Night of Navy card base.

Stampin' Tips:

When using a very dark base card I add a white panel to the inside when I'm ready to send the card.

Use Fast Fuse to adhere Watercolor Paper to another layer.

Thanks for looking!  When you use the Softly Falling do you like the heavy dots at the top (like I used it here), or on the bottom?

Debbie

When you shop online with me remember to use October Host Code, 7ZKGME4F. Check out the great deals in the Clearance Rack!

Watercolor Flowers Birthday Card

Tying my hand at watercolor flowers – I have some work to do to perfect it, but for my first try I'm pleased!

It's just as simple as painting circles with ink and your Aqua Painter on Watercolor Paper.  I spritzed the whole piece of watercolor paper with water -- next time I won't do this and maybe I won't get the bleeding from one flower into another.  I want to do a video on this.

My inks were layers as follows – I started with Blushing Bride, while still wet I added Watermelon Wonder.  I used my heat tool at this point to dry the ink then added a drop of diluted Garden Green to the center.  Used my Heat Tool to dry the green then added Crushed Curry around the green.  The green bled into the yellow a bit so is a little washed out.  At this point I sprayed my fingers with water and flicked water onto the watercolor paper then once again dried it with my Heat Tool.  I love those little splotches.

Finally I used the Clear Wink of Stella to add shimmer to the Crushed Curry.  When all the ink was dry I used one of my favorite tools, the Embossing Buddy,  to wipe all over the center then embossed the Stylized Birthday greeting in black. 

To finish the card I layered the watercolor onto Basic Black then on to a half sheet of Watermelon Wonder.

Stampin' Tips:

I always us Fast Fuse when adhering Watercolor Paper.

Stampin' Up! currently does not sell black embossing powder.  What?  I know!  Here is a solution that works pretty well – ink your stamp very well with Versamark ink then stamp it onto the ink pad of your choice.  Occasionally doing this doesn't seem to affect the ink.

To watercolor I put a drop of refill ink in the lid of an open ink pad, adding water to dilute as needed, adding more ink as needed.  Alternately you can squeeze the ink pad to get ink onto the lid.  I wipe off the lid only if there is a lot of water left.

I hope I've inspired you to get out your inks and Aqua Painter and try this.

Debbie

Be sure to use the September Host Code TYAEUADU when placing online orders. Don't miss the great Clearance Rack deals.

Swirly Scribbles Watercolor Card

This watercolor background is very fun to do -- it's still a work in progress, I think, but I thought I'd share anyway.  I used Watercolor Paper and my Aqua Painter with a variety of ink colors; Tempting Turquoise, Peek-a-boo Peach, Flirty Flamingo and Rose Red (at least I think those are the colors!).

After water coloring the background I used the Swirly Scribbles Thinlit to cut the swirl.  I kept all the little pieces

Add some Whisper White flowers cut from Botanical Builder Framelits and the "hello" from Hello You Thinlits cut from Tip Top Taupe Card Stock.  Painted on some Clear Wink of Stella 'cause who doesn't love a touch of glimmer.

I cut several more of the swirl and glued them together one on top of the other with "green glue" aka Tombow Multipurpose Adhesive, gluing the watercolor paper swirl on the top.  That layered piece was glued back onto the card and the bits and pieces added.  Some Pearl Basic Jewels finish it off.  Card base is Tip Top Taupe.

Thank you for looking!

Debbie

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Watercolor Christmas Sneak Peek

The holidays are just around the corner. Non traditional colors for Christmas cards are a favorite of mine.  I used the stamp set Wonderful Year from the Holiday Catalog available September 1. The bold greetings with the hand lettered brush script look are beautiful!  Using Pool Party paired with Silver Foil gave it the Wintry feel I was going for.

I used my Aqua Painter and the Pool Party Reinker to paint the background onto Watercolor Paper The snowflakes are from the Flurry of Wishes stamp set, stamped in Pool Party Classic Ink.  I masked the watercolor and stamped the snowflakes.  The greeting is stamped over the watercolor in Versamark and heat embossed with Whisper White Stampin' Emboss Powder

I added a few embellishments -- Rhinestone Jewels, Silver Metallic Thread and a strip of washi tape from the Affectionately Yours collection.

Tip:  Cut a shape or 2 out of the center of the Silver Foil Sheet.  It keeps the card from being too heavy and makes this paper go further.

Thanks for looking!

Debbie

Shop 24/7 from my online store.  Don't forget to check great deals in the Clearance Rack