Posted in Aqua Painters, beginner stamper, Blender Pen, encouragement, Stampin' Up! 2019-2020 Annual Catalog, Watercolor Techniques

It Starts with Art

A lot of us spend a lot of our time working in jobs that we may not like. The easy solution is to change to a job we do like. But that is not always possible. One way to “survive” your job is to “Start with Art”. Being creative is known to help improve your psychological well being. This Stampin’ Up! stamp set is retiring soon, so don’t waste any more time and let’s create a card to help you “Follow Your Art” no matter what your art may be!

This card is so fun because of all the color and the mixed designs! There are also a few Techniques thrown in there as well!

Here is the It Starts with Art stamp set. There are many exciting images to make a host of cards. I decided to use the stack of ribbon since it complimented the Follow Your Art Designer Series Paper (DSP) that I chose.

Measurements: Blueberry Bushel card stock (CS): 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches and 4 x 3 inches; Follow Your Art DSP: 5 1/4 x 4 inches and 4 x 3 inches; Coastal Cabana CS: 8 1/2 x 3 1/4 inches with a score line at 4 1/4 inches and Whisper White CS: two 4 x 3 inch pieces.

Let’s get stamping!

Stamp the sentiment “Follow your art” on one end of one 4 x 3 inch Whisper White CS in Memento ink. Leave space around the sentiment for the Tailored Tag Punch. Flip the Whisper White CS around and stamp the stack of spools on the opposite end.

For coloring the spools of ribbon, I did a bit of experimentation with markers and decided the Watercolor Pencils created the most appealing look. When I used the markers, I did not like the card. I actually thought it was ugly! The Watercolor Pencils made the card look so much better! I did use the Blushing Bride Stampin’ Write marker since there is not a Watercolor Pencil in Blushing Bride. The colors for the Watercolor Pencils are Pacific Point, Calypso Coral and Coastal Cabana. One of the Techniques is to use the Blender Pen.

I started coloring with the Blushing Bride Stampin’ Write marker on the middle spool. I tried to only put one layer of ink down and keep the color light.

I colored the top spool and the stripes on the bottom ribbon with the Coastal Cabana Watercolor Pencil. I did color a little darker in areas where I wanted a slight shadow.

I colored the middle ribbon with the Pacific Point Watercolor Pencil. The bottom spool and the ribbon on top are colored in Calypso Coral Watercolor Pencil.

Blending Technique The Blender Pen is a dual tipped pen filled with a specialized solution for easy blending. You just go over the Watercolor Pencil with a light touch and blend the color. To clean off the color, you just write on scrap paper until the fluid from the pen runs clear. I started Blending the Coastal Cabana Watercolor Pencil first.

Next I blended the Pacific Point Watercolor Pencil, and finally the Calypso Coral.

Now we need to fussy cut the spools of ribbon.

Tip: To fussy cut into really tight space, use the very tip of your Paper Snips and make very tiny cuts. I did try just leaving the center of the heart uncut, but I did not like the way it looked. Set this piece aside.

Punch the sentiment out with the Tailored Tag Punch. (I had to photograph this card twice because I did use the Stampin’ Write Markers initially. That is why the spools of ribbon are still there).

Prepare to use the Aqua Painter by squeezing the closed Blueberry Bushel ink pad to get a little ink on the lid. Add a few drops of water to the ink. Place the sentiment card piece on scrap paper as this technique can be a little messy. The black cardstock is just there so the sentiment card piece would show on the photograph.

Splatter Technique Flick the tip of the Aqua Painter on the lid to splatter the color onto the sentiment card piece. Clean the Aqua Painter by squeezing water out onto a paper towel until the water runs clear.

Squeeze the Calypso Coral ink pad and get some ink on the Aqua Painter. Flick the Calypso Coral ink in the same way as the Blueberry Bushel. Allow to dry, or use your Heat Tool to dry the ink more quickly.

Punch a label with the Tailored Tag Punch from the 4 x 3 inch Blueberry Bushel CS. Use the Paper Snips to cut the tag in half lengthwise.

Glue one half of the Tailored Tag Punch to the bottom half of the sentiment card piece. Now glue the other half on top.

Now to stamp the inside of the card. Use the larger button stamp to stamp onto the second 4 x 3 inch Whisper White using the Blueberry Bushel ink. Remember that an odd number of images seems more pleasing to the eye than an even number.

Use the smaller button stamp to stamp in Calypso Coral ink and Coastal Cabana ink.

Fold the 8 1/2 x 3 1/4 inch Coastal Cabana CS at the 4 1/4 inch score line. Use the Bone Folder to get a nice crisp fold.

Adhere the 4 x 3 inch Follow Your Art DSP to the front of the little card. Adhere the piece stamped with the buttons to the inside of the little card.

Adhere the 5 1/4 x 4 inch Follow Your Art DSP to the 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inch Blueberry Bushel CS. Now adhere the little card to the center of the Blueberry Bushel card piece.

This card is a little different. Fun, fun, fun!

We will use Stampin’ Dimensionals on the back of the sentiment and the spools of ribbon.

I decided that the sentiment did not show up as much as I would like. I stamped the sentiment onto a scrap of 1/2 inch Whisper White CS. I placed it onto the sentiment piece to size it and then adhered it in place.

Adhere the spools of ribbon in place.

Viola! You have a card to keep around to help inspire you to “Follow Your Art”! Or you can send it off to someone else who may need encouragement!

Thanks so much for coming by today! I hope you are doing well, and if not, I hope you have an opportunity to try to start with art to lift up your spirits!

I am an Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and I sell the products I used for this card. If you are interested in purchasing some product to get yourself started on creating at home, please comment or send me an email at theresastreasures.az@gmail.com.

Click on the photo below to get to my Online Store and purchase that product.

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Have a wonderful and creative day!

Posted in Animals, Aqua Painters, Horse, Inspiration, Stampin' Up! 2019-2020 Annual Catalog, Watercolor Techniques

Last Chance for Let It Ride! Fun with Water-coloring!

There are many Stampin’ Up! stamp sets that are retiring by June 2, 2020. I will miss several, including Let It Ride. I just love the horses! I used to go horseback riding as a kid in Albuquerque, New Mexico with my siblings. My Mom would drop us off at the stables near the base of the Sandia Mountains. After our horseback ride we would ride our bikes home. Fond memories!

This is a beautiful watercolor fun fold card. Don’t worry, it is pretty simple! It only looks complicated. I am not an artist. The stamp just lends itself to a nice watercolor.

The card opens this way and there is plenty of space to write a little note inside.

Measurements: Early Espresso Card stock (CS): 6 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches with a score at 2 inches and 6 1/2 x 4 inches with a score at 3 1/4 inches; Soft Suede CS: 5 1/4 x 4 inches; Very Vanilla CS: 3 3/4 x 3 inches and 4 x 2 inches; Crumb Cake CS: 5 1/4 x 1 3/4 inches; and Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper: 3 3/4 x 3 inches.

First I stamped the background with the Gallery Grunge stamp set using Soft Suede ink on the 5 1/4 x 4 inch Soft Suede CS. (I put a green scrap paper behind my card piece so I would not get ink on the table).

Next I used a different stamp from the Gallery Grunge stamp set to stamp in Crumb Cake ink onto the 5 1/4 x 1 3/4 inch Crumb Cake CS.

Using Memento ink, stamp the horse from the Let It Ride stamp set onto the Fliud 100 Watercolor Paper. You will need to be sure you have plenty of ink on the stamp and hold the stamp down for 10 seconds to get a dark enough image. The watercolor paper absorbs the ink differently than the cardstock does.

Stamp the sentiment “Go for it!” in Memento ink onto the 4 x 2 inch Very Vanilla CS. Leave room around the sentiment so you can use a Scalloped Circle Punch.

Now for some water-coloring fun! Turn the Balmy Blue ink pad upside down on the table. Push your thumbs down in the center, up and down, several times. Flip it over and open the ink pad. You should have an ink spot on the top of the inside cover.

I like to watercolor with the Aqua Painter. To prep the Aqua Painter you will need to squeeze the barrel that is filled with water and get a few drops of water to come out on a paper towel.

Put a few drops of water next to the ink spot (less is better). Use the Aqua Painter to mix a little ink into the drops of water. Start to apply the ink and water to the background in long strokes horizontally. Start light and gradually add color until it pleases you.

Continue to add a drop of water, then mix in the ink and apply to the background until you have the background covered. Wash off the Balmy Blue ink by squeezing the barrel of the Aqua Painter and brush it onto the paper towel until the water is clear.

Repeat the procedure with the Granny Apple Green ink. Apply to the grass. Be sure to clean the Aqua Painter before using the next color.

Using the Crumb Cake ink, apply a thin wash to the entire horse.

To get a darker ink with the Aqua Painter, do not squeeze out any water. Pick up ink from the middle of the ink spot on the very tip of the brush. Apply to areas that you want darker or shadowed. Again, I am not an artist, but I follow the artist’s lines and apply a darker layer of ink in that area. I also apply darker color to the legs that are on the opposite side of the horse. In my mind, these legs would be shadowed by the horses body.

I used the Basic Black Stampin’ Write marker on the hooves.

We are going to adhere the watercolor horse to the 6 1/2 x 4 inch scored at 3 1/4 inches Early Espresso CS. We will adhere it to the “front” of this little card with it turned backward. If you lay the card open to the table, you would adhere the horse to the left side.

The 3 3/4 x 3 inch Very Vanilla CS will go on the inside of our backward card. If you lay the card face up (the horse will be on the back of the right side), adhere the Very Vanilla CS to the left side.

The backward little card should end up looking like this.

Adhere the 5 1/4 x 4 inch stamped Soft Suede CS to the inside of the 6 1/4 x 5 /1/2 inch scored at 2 inches Early Espresso CS “card”. This is an odd looking “card” right now, but I assure you it will look great when we are done!

Adhere the 5 1/4 x 1 3/4 inch stamped Crumb Cake CS to the front of the odd Early Espresso card. Now we will put the backward and the odd cards together.

Adhere the back of the backward horse card to the center of the inside of the odd Early Espresso card. Now open the horse card and fold the front of the Early Espresso CS card under it.

Here is a “bird’s eye” view.

Use the 1 3/8 inch Scalloped Circle Punch to punch out the sentiment “Go for it!”.

To make the sentiment stand out more, I sponged some Soft Suede ink around the edge of the scalloped circle. (If you need help preparing the sponge, look at my blog about sponging here.)

Apply some Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals to the side and bottom as shown. This is because you want the card front to have a space to slide under the scalloped circle.

Place the 1 3/8 inch Scalloped Circle on the bottom left corner and be sure the front piece will slice under it before you adhere it to the card.

Viola! You have a watercolor masterpiece! Well, maybe not, but it is a very special card! Any horse-lover would appreciate receiving this card!

Thanks for joining me. I hope you try this out. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look great the first time! Just stamp several horses on a piece of watercolor and have fun! Experiment!

The 2019-2020 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog will be good until June 2, 2020. If you would like to look at the “Last Chance Products” just go to my online store and click the tab in the left hand column. You can get to my store here.

If you need any assistance and/or want me to mail you a new 2020-2021 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog, leave me a comment on this blog or email me at: theresastreasures.az@gmail.com.

To purchase any of the products I used today, click on the photo below.

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Posted in Aqua Painters, Gratitude/ Thanks, Thanksgiving, Watercolor Techniques

Harvest Blessings

Autumn leaves filling up the street; golden colors on the lawn, natures trick or treat.-Rusty Fischer

I just love the coolness and freshness of fall! With the holidays approaching, it is a great time to stock up on some cards. Here is a card of thanks.

This beautiful fall card is a lot of fun to make because it involves using the Aqua Painter to watercolor the background. I CASE’d this card from one done by Peggy Noe. This card is for the more avid stamper as it uses 3 different stamp sets.

Measurements: Very Vanilla card stock card base: 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch card base scored at 4 1/4 inches and a 3 1/4 x 3/4 inch strip; Pumpkin Pie card stock: 5 1/8 x 3 1/8 inches; Fluid 100 Watercolor paper: 5 x 3 inches. You will also need ribbon from the Gather Together combo pack, Leaves Trinkets and of course an Aqua Painter. This card was made with Cajun Craze and Pumpkin Pie Stampin’ Up! ink.

First you need to use the Aqua Painter to moisten the watercolor paper. Gently squeeze the Aqua Painter until a drop of water comes to the tip of the brush. Now spread water evenly over the watercolor paper. Note: I placed the watercolor paper on my Stampin’ Pierce mat because the first stamp is a Photopolymer. The black paper is just so you can see the watercolor paper better.

Stamp the wheat bundle in Cajun Craze onto the moist watercolor paper. The more water on the paper, the more blurred the image will be. Note: The wheat bundle is from the Stampin’ Up! Gather Together stamp set.

Continue to stamp around the edge. Use the Aqua Painter again to smear the ink a little and add color to the rest of the watercolor paper.

Take the paper off the Stampin’ Pierce mat because the next stamp is red rubber. Keeping the watercolor paper moist, stamp the flower bunch in Pumpkin Pie ink around the edge of the watercolor paper. Note: The flower is from the Stampin ‘ Up! Healing Hugs stamp set.

Use the Aqua Painter to smear the Pumpkin Pie color onto the rest of the watercolor paper. Let dry or use a heat tool to expedite the drying process.

Clean the Aqua Painter by squeezing out water onto a paper towel until it runs clear.

Stamp the sentiment “Happy Harvest Blessings” in Cajun Craze. Note: This sentiment is from Stampin’ Up! Country Home stamp set.

Use your paper snips to cut a banner end on the left hand side. Tip: Start with a center cut, then cut from one corner to the center and repeat on the other side.

Use the bone folder to make a crisp fold at the 4 1/4 score line on the Very Vanilla card base.

Adhere the dried watercolor paper onto the 5 1/8 x 3 1/8 inch Pumpkin Pie card piece. Flip over to rub on the back of the piece to ensure the adhesive sticks and you don’t smear the ink.

Apply a glue dot to the ribbon by pressing the ribbon onto the roll. Put a glue dot on each end.

Line up the ribbon on the front, then flip over and press to adhere the glue dots.

Use the Cajun Craze colored twine to tie around the card and make a bow slightly to the left of center. Adhere this piece to the Very Vanilla card base.

Apply Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back of the sentiment. Tip: I cut my Dimensionals in half to make them last longer.

Position the sentiment on the bottom right hand side of the stamped piece. Use glue dots to adhere the Leaves Trinkets just under the bow.

Tip: Pick up a glue dot with a Pierce tool and apply it to the card front behind the trinkets. This will stabilize the bow and Trinkets so they do not flop around.

And there you have a beautiful fall card!

Stampin’ Up! products used include: Stamp Set: Gather Together, Country Home and Healing Hugs; Paper: Very Vanilla card stock #101650, Pumpkin Pie card stock #105117, and Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper #149612; Ink: Cajun Craze #147085 and Pumpkin Pie #147086; Blocks: D #118485 and H #118490; Adhesive: Mini Glue Dots #103683, Stampin’ Dimensionals #104430 and Multipurpose Liquid Glue #110755; Ribbon and twine: Come to Gather Ribbon Combo Pack #150456; Leaves Trinkets #146343; Aqua Painter #103954, Stampin’ Pierce Mat #126199 and Paper Snips #103579. The Take Your Pick #144107 can be used as the pierce tool.