Distress Watercolor Card

I had some fun trying out a new stamp set from Unity . I particularly like the designs of Phyllis Harris - they are sweet and whimsical. They are also great for coloring techniques. I am such a beginner at coloring of any type; some artists are quite skilled!

I stamped my image on some watercolor paper, using Archival Gray ink which does not bleed when wet. It also provides more softness than stark black. Using several shades of Distress Inks, I would rub the ink pad onto my Ranger craft sheet, then apply to the paper with a wet brush.When I had all the coloring done, I mounted the panel onto a blue patterned cardstock, leaving a wider margin on the right hand side. I tied some thin brown twine twice around both papers and tied it in a simple knot.

Before mounting this panel onto the striped paper, I added several strips of 3M foam tape to the back to help even things out since the twine added some bulk. Then I stamped my sentiment directly onto the striped paper with Hero Arts Black ink. Everything was mounted onto a kraft cardstock base.

Below is the inspirational image from the Unity website; I chose to try to follow this color scheme and will like this up to the current Unity challenge.

Inspiration Image

Till next time,

Immi

Stenciling + Stamping

I'm squeaking in under the wire here for a submission to this month's Make It Take It Challenge with Craft Stamper Magazine.

The only requirement is to incorporate stencils. I chose to use a couple of stencils to create the green and purple background. First, I used a piece of sequin waste. I applied Distress Peeled Paint ink with an ink blending tool through the holes to some white cardstock. Then I selected a Heidi Swapp stencil and sprayed her Color Shine spray in Amethyst on top of what I'd already stenciled.

The sentiment is from a new Mama Elephant stamp set I recently ordered (Merci). I stamped it on a smaller piece of white cardstock with Hero Arts Black dye ink. Then I stitched it down the left side of the panel onto some black paper. 

The Merci set also includes a few small flowers and leaves. I stamped those on a scrap of white cardstock, also using the Hero Arts Black ink. I cut them out and layered them onto my stenciled background using Glossy Accents.

To help my stenciled background stand out against the white cardstock base, I mounted it onto some black paper with a subtle grid pattern.

Till next time,

Immi