Happy Wishes

Ever since I was a kid I have loved coloring!  I remember coloring until it got dark out.  In the morning I would be surprised to see the crazy colors I had used thinking they were something different!  And now, great to live in a time when adult coloring books are so popular!  I love rubber stamping because I never run out of images to color!  I have even made "coloring booklets" as crafty gifts.   

 I enjoy coloring just about any image but Angie Blom is one of my favorite artists!  Her images are so full of joy ~ "Sweet 16" is one of my favorites!  

Here I have used water color paints on water color paper.  I love coloring but I'm not great at it!  The medium of watercolor is so easy to use and so forgiving.  Splashing some color around the outside of the image in kind of a halo effect is a favorite technique.  It's beautiful enough to leave the rest of the image uncolored.  Obviously I did not leave these uncolored but instead used Zig  real brush water colors, dropping pools of the darker color where shadows would be.

The decorative edge punched on the back of the card peeks out
when the card is closed, adding interest & spunk!

On the inside I used a balloon stamp that transfers the image silhouette, not the outline.  That way I could overlap the colors an add in the outlines freehand, leaving out the lines for where one balloon disappeared behind another.  

I used intense colors and offset them with black and white washi tape on the front, inside & back.  

Homemade envelopes is one of my favorite things.  They are mostly a necessity for me because I rarely have a conventionally sized card!  Sometimes I use the colorful side of the paper on the inside, sometimes on the outside!  I always make a white label of some sort for the address to go if the envelope is very busy or boldly colored.

An Up-Lifting Day ~ PIP Challenge 1726

Hello! Hope you are having a lovely day!!

I am so happy to be sharing this water color card with you!!  The images are from Unity Stamp Co. and is named "Sending Up Something Beautiful" 

The sentiment is part of a kit from Paper Trey Ink called Stylish Birthday Sentiments

I like to pile shapes, layers and colors before I commit to a card's design. I loved these colors together but it still seemed to fall flat.  Solution: customizing the papers!!

What a rewarding task!  I love the whole process of choosing color and pattern!  I hope you are feeling inspired as well! Then head over to the PIP Challenge (ANYTHING GOES) this week sponsored by Di's Digis.  You can earn a great prize from Di's Digis and I know you'll have fun playing along!!

Thanks for stopping by :)


Please leave order requests at "HI!" notes on Facebook! I will be in touch right away!!

Graduation Season Cards

CONGRATS GRADS!

This great card was made with Unity Stamp Co Set "You Did Good" ~ there is also a female graduate "Graduation Wishes". 






I thought they would look great with water colors.  They are so soft and pretty and can match every school's colors!
  

Inside the card!

  

Special orders welcome 

 I have soooo many great sentiments and Male or Female Graduate.  Just let me know what colors & if you'd like lighter, med or darker skin tone 😊

Butterfly Splash

 I added the sentiment to a Die Cut Vellum whose edges are rubbed with
blue ink.  The Vellum was then layered over a strip of sheer ribbon and
studded with clear gem stones

Pay dirt!!  I just couldn't wait to turn these water-colored butterflies  into cards :)



This Sentiment is stamped directly over the already stamped
butterfly and water coloring.  It is embossed with black.  The
sheer ribbon with lightly inked edges, was used drop banner
style, and left free except at the top where it is glued  &
finished with 3 little gem centered flowers!



For coloring supplies please reference my earlier post & for stamps see below.

On These 2 cards I used a sheer ribbon that looks kind of wonky on film but is beautiful in person ;)





Butterfly stamp: Stampendous, Butterfly Trio http://www.scrapbooking-warehouse.com/462175.html#.V2M3pRTgaM8 

Hellen Keller quote: Impression Obsession

http://www.iostamps.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=C13036&Store_Code=IOSTAMPS&search=impulse&searchoffset=&filter_cat=&PowerSearch_Begin_Only=&sort=&range_low=&range_high=

Make a Wish sentiment: Unity Stamp Co.   https://www.unitystampco.com/shop/wish-with-your-heart-august-2014-sentiment-kit/

A Splash of Color!

This weeks "Can You Case It?" Challenge was so inspirational! 
http://canyoucaseit.com/?subscribe=success#blog_subscription-2


I wanted my card to have a colorful splash reveal an image that would otherwise be invisible!!


 


Now that I have tried it I am excited to do this with so many of my stamps and sentiments! 


First I took a square of watercolor paper.  After prepping it with an anti-static "Embossing Buddy" I used Versa Mark ink to print the image and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I then wet, with a clean brush, the places I wanted the ink to splash and applied color with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Water Color Markers. I love the results, I especially like just making a portion of the image appear!


To finish, I embossed some little sparkly flowers on the edge of a strip of vellum and then added, with black embossing powder, the sentiment so that I could plan where it would appear in relation to the rest of the card.  I sprinkled a few little gems for a 3rd element and some added dimension and the card is complete!


Both the image and the sentiment are from Unity Stamp Co
Clear Embossing Powder from ZING! (leaves a detailed and glossy, mostly solid image)

Graduation Week . . . . .

Stampin' Up! "Tassel Time"

Graduation week begins!!  I feel like I'm forgetting something but I don't think that feeling will go away until Sunday morning!!  My first born is heading off into the world!  You can follow her career here: https://www.facebook.com/Madison-Falk-Photography-606872936114757/?fref=ts

She is an amazing young woman with an amazing future in front of her <3  (no bias here!!)

No other posts this week :(  But I will leave you with some pretty images from Unity Stamp Co that I've water colored with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers.  I've never water colored before so they must be easy to use!!  I am in love with the results.  Hope you enjoy, plus I would be happy to do a quick tutorial for anyone who is unsure where to start.  I got my inspiration from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPycbxfUl-Y

Soon to be Graduation Cards!! Used School Colors on a couple of them