Creating and Connecting

Who wants spring to come? I sure do! Today's brings the only spring we are seeing here in Alberta, Canada. I sure have enjoyed this past month, guest designing at the  Just Us Girls Challenge !  You talented ladies have been so sweet to me!  Today I am using  WPlus9 Tossed Floral Background  and  Essentials by Elllen Big Scripty Hello by Julie  dies.  The theme for my final guest card in this wild card week is "Inlay Die Cuts".  I have been trying to pull out unused or gently used stamps and dies lately, and I had never used either of these dies. Although not super quick, I do love how it turned out, so it was well worth the time! I also share the non-inlay version of the card:) I hope you drop by and  check out all the wonderful cards the JUGS team made:  Carol,   Sue ,  Angie,   Vickie,   Ina,   Bobby,   Nancy,   Lisa,   Maria,  and  Cécile . And please make sure to pull out ...

I love to color! Today I am using the beautiful Essentials by Ellen Mondo Amaryllis stamp set along with the Essentials by Ellen Mondo Holly stamp set for the sentiment. I have a couple of tips on how I achieve greater depth and texture in my coloring. Here is a short video on how I made and colored this card. Tips: 1. Use both warm and cool colors in your image. Here my warm, or more orangey red is Copic Marker R29 and my cool, or more blue reds are Copic Marker R89  and Copic Marker R39. 2. Use a muted medium shade of blue such as Copic Marker B34  to deepen the color of the shadows. 3. For more realism add texture once you are finished with your Copic Markers using Prismacolor Pencils. I used PC 1029 and PC1067. 4. And most important, just color and have fun!   I am joining 3 challenges with this card. Emerald Creek Dares Challenge: Christmas/Winter   with Emerald Creek Craft Supplies Time Out Challenges: Merry and Cheerful If ...

Watercoloring the Essentials by Ellen Mondo Gerbera Daisy  did not go as planned, but what goes as planned in life!  Ellen brought me this stamp set when she came to visit a few weeks ago.  She brought me many gifts you will see me use in upcoming posts:) Thank you Ellen!  I just had to use it before fall was over and where better to use it than the Inkspirational Challenge !   I started out with no line watercoloring, but when I finished it still needed a little somethin', so I added the black stamp outline and a little splatter and it turned out just right.     Today I am joining the Inkspirational Challenge   with my fall themed card inspired by this photo:      I hope you can go make a card and have some fun! Betty Supplies: Essentials by Ellen Mondo Gerbera Daisy Black Ink Pad Canson Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper Daniel Smith Payne's Gray Daniel Smith Quinacridone Deep G...

No line watercoloring is one of my favorite techniques, so today I have used the Essentials by Ellen  Mondo Magnolia stamp. The reason I am excited to share this card today is because I want all of you to know about an amazing paint color.  I did not have this color in my palette until a sweet friend shared it with me. (You know who you are, and thank you!) It is the main color I used in this image,  Daniel Smith's Bronzite Genuine .  Do you see that shimmer! (If you are on your phone please zoom in, it is there.) I love it! I did not add the shimmer, it is right in the paint. Other small tips: Prior to painting I masked the stamens using a calligraphy pen to apply the masking fluid. I used  Daniel Smith Blue Apatite Genuine for my shadows and mixed a bit of  Daniel Smith Burnt Sienna with the Bronzite Genuine for the fine details of the flower. Once everything dried I removed the mask and added some glossy accents to the flower a...

I watercolored the Essentials by Ellen Mondo Amaryllis .   It is a wonderful new addition to the mondo collection of flowers and is amazing to watercolor. I remember every Christmas our Mom would have brought an amaryllis bulb out which she had stored to somehow, miraculously to me, make it bloom at just the right time.  And there was always the suspense before it opened on how many flowers would be on it that year.  This image is a fond reminder of those days! Tips: When painting petals of this size I paint one petal at a time. After letting it dry I add a second layer for the detail. I mixed a bit of Sepia with Quinacridone Coral to soften the coral boldness.  I used Payne's Gray for the drop shadow. I used a white gouache with a bit of Payne's Gray for the stamens. The opaque nature of the gouache allowed me to cover the under layer of painting. If you are thinking of buying the Daniel Smith watercolors and will only use them for sm...