Watercolor Wildflowers Card

Hello, crafters!  Thank you for joining me today for a super-easy watercolor card project.  I know when watercoloring on cards first became popular, I really hesitated because I felt like it was for "serious artists only."  But please let me assure you that this is a technique anyone can do!  All you need is some watercolor paper, water based inks of your choice (today I used Distress Inks), and the Everyday Brush Strokes stamp set.  Let's get started!

I wanted to create a unique shape for my focal piece, so I decided to use my Kat Scrappiness Fancy Scalloped Stitched Border dies to cut along both the top and bottom of my watercolor paper.  I wanted to cut the piece first and then stamp so that I could get my placement just right.

Since I was thinking of a field of wildflowers, I selected a pretty green and a blue ink for my stamping.  Using one of the Brush Stroke stamps, I applied both colors of ink to it and then spritzed it lightly with my Mini Mister bottle.  You just want the ink to bead up a bit, not dribble off the stamp.

I stamped the image all across the bottom half of my watercolor paper piece, double-inking and spritzing the stamp each time until I had filled my paper.  I set it aside to dry completely, although you can speed up the process by using a heat tool.  To give my scene a simple sky, I used more Distress ink that I watered down a bit and loosely brushed it across the top of my paper.  I used an aqua brush for this, but any paintbrush would work as well.

The sentiment I chose was also from the Everyday Brush Stroke stamp set, and I stamped it with my favorite VersaFine black ink.  This ink is a very rich, true black that stands out against everything and always gives a crisp impression.  To create the look of a field of flowers, I used a fine tip permanent marker in black to create simple "stems" by flicking my pen up from the bottom, changing the angles and length slightly to avoid a uniform look.  Some simple dots in black and then white ink finish the look.

I found a piece of pale blue card stock to use as a mat behind my focal, cut down to 4x5.25" so that it's slightly smaller than my A2 card base.  To carry more green into the design, I added a strip of watercolor paper that I colored with the same Distress Ink as before.  Making your own papers just by using inks is super quick and easy, and saves you the aggravation of never finding the perfect color to match your project.  I decided to pop up my focal piece on foam dots so that it would stand out just a bit (maybe that blue was too perfect of a match!), and then dotted on some Nuvo Crystal Drops.

I hope that you enjoyed this card project and that it gave you some new ideas for the very versatile Everyday Brush Strokes stamp set.  Please take a look at the other blog posts featuring these stamps and the other new items that Kat Scrappiness has.  Have an awesome day!

Spring & Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop for Kat Scrappiness

Hello, crafters!  Today I am bringing you my card project for the Coffee Lover's Blog Hop for Kat Scrappiness.  This is a great event running from May 25th thru June 1st, hosted by Kat Scrappiness and open to all.  I will provide more details at the end of this post, but first let's take a look at the steps I took to create this card.

Since this hop is focusing on Spring and Summer, I decided to use some colorful Doodlebug Designs chevron striped paper as the base for my coffee cup.  The adorable Kat Scrappiness Layered Coffee Cup Die makes a nice-sized focal for any project, with realistic elements and layers for adding dimension.  I used Kraft card stock for the coffee sleeve, and a nice bright white for the lid.

Once my coffee cup was assembled, I gathered together some kitchen themed stamps from my stash and stamped them out in coordinating inks of deep pink and turquoise blue.  I wasn't too sure which images I would use (or what would fit into my design) so I stamped multiples in both colors to choose from.  Believe me, the other images won't go to waste!

I selected a scalloped circle die and a plain circle die to create a little badge for my coffee sleeve.  The sizing had to fit within the coffee cup edges or else it would look unbalanced, so I used the coffee canister and two cups for my grouping.  I don't know what it is about these stamps, but I just love them!  I think I'll make a few more of these just to have them on hand 😀

As you probably already know, I'm happiest when I'm creating my own custom backgrounds, and this project was no exception.  I found the perfect turquoise and deep pink card stocks (both from Doodlebug Designs), and luckily found a chevron red rubber background stamp in my stash (it's awesome when that happens, isn't it?)  I used VersaMark ink and Clear embossing powder for the stamping on these 4x2.5" panels.  On the pink card stock I repeatedly stamped those two coffee cups to coordinate with my focal piece.  If you'd like a more subtle look, just do the stamping with the VersaMark ink and set it aside to dry.  You will get a lovely "watermark" look.

Another little trick of mine is to use my Copic alcohol markers to color small pieces of white card stock.  Sometimes it's just easier to find the right color when you create it yourself.  For the "Got Coffee?" Die I picked a lovely dark brown ink called Walnut #E59.  I find it a bit easier to color the card stock before die cutting so that you don't accidentally warp your words or get your fingertips overly inky.  I also like to use the scrap piece for lining up my words on my project.  By laying the scrap down first, I can simply snug the die cut words right back where they came from for perfect placement.

My final embellishment was to add a few scattered sequins in brown and golden tones, dotted with Nuvo Glitter Drops in Chocolate Fondue and Honey Gold.  And there it is - my finished card for the blog hop!  I hope that you enjoyed this card, and that you'll give these awesome dies a try.  Don't forget:  join the blog hop and share your own coffee lover's project with Kat Scrappiness for a chance to win a $25 gift card for the Kat Scrappiness shop.  Two lucky winners will be chosen for this, and a third random winner will be selected to receive BOTH the Layered Coffee Cup Die AND the "Got Coffee?" Die.  There is also a special shopping code for this event.  Enter "ILOVECOFFEE" as the discount code at checkout and receive 10% off your entire order.  This event runs from May 25th thru June 1st, so be sure to jump in and join us before time runs out.  Good luck, everyone!