Christmas in July – Believe

All aboard.  Have you been a good this year?  If you were, Santa will bring presents.  Presents.  Presents.  Presents.  Will it be Copics?  Will it be Sunflower and Dragonflies Creative Designs products?  Will it be Spellbinder Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Cricut, Big Shot, Stampin’ Up in colours?  What is on your wish list this year?

Had a new haircut and colour

Had a pedicure

Have a nice day!

Stamps:  Odd Bird Planet-Kelly’s Knome Train 1957W, Believe

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Tutorial Tuesday: Layered Watercolour

Watercolour is so pretty and easy to do.   This week, I will show you how to use Tombow markers.  Other watercolour markers will work such as Stampin’ Up or Le Plume II.

Today’s tutorial will also show you how to combine two colours on each layer for added interest.  By leaving white space, highlights are created naturally.

I would love to see your watercolour, so please tap me on the shoulder by leaving me a link, so I can take a peak of your work.

Have fun!

Supplies:

Watercolour paper

Variety of ink pads

Bella Blossoms (or another stamp that you can layer)

Paint brush (not in photo)

Watercolour markers (I used Tombow)

Stamp out image four times and cut into layers as shown in photo.  If you are using a stamp other than Bella Blossoms, look for line breaks that you can use to create different layers.

With your first colour, randomly colour around the backside of the stamped image.  Do not add colour in a wide band.  Keep the colour as close to the edge as you can.  Blend with a damp paint brush by moving the colour in a circular motion, starting from the edge and working towards the center.

With a darker shade of the same colour you used with the last step, rub colour along the edge of the image as seen in this photo.  Colouring your image along the side of the flower prevents an excessive amount of watercolour.  If there is too much colour, you will not have the nice blended look from dark to light as seen in my example.

Pull the darker colour onto the image by holding your paper in your hand, and with the other hand, drag the paint from the edge of the paper right onto the paper.   The right hand side of the flower shows what the colour looks like when dragged onto the flower.  Once it is dragged onto the front, blend with a damp brush as seen on the left side of the flower above.

In the areas that were not coloured with the pink, I added purple and blended in the manner described above.

When a layer is small, just colour one side of your watercolour paper.

Using a number 0 brush (very, very tiny–almost non existent), move the colour with a dampened brush in a circular motion from the top of the image to almost the bottom.  Then with a clean brush and clean water,  move your brush in a circular motion from the bottom of the image, to the top of the image.  This is the secret to have a nice dark to light look.

If you are using Bella Blossoms, stamp out your image onto a background.  I used the largest oval from the Oval Nestability set.  You can cover your stamp with ink or just in the area you wish to have stamped out.

Adhere the bottom layer to the background.  Add the other layers.  In my example I used pop dots for layer 2 and 3, and used adhesive to layer the top layer.

Image is now ready to use on a card.

Stamps:  Bella Blossom’s by Stampin’ Up

Ink:  Green is Adirondack’s Lettuce; Tombow markers 703,665, 725, 676, 623

Cardstock:  SU Regal Rose and Lovely Liliac

Embellishments:  Cuttlebug template and die cut

More ideas for Bella Blossoms

Mary’s earthone card

Josee’s blue card

Lynn’s card and purse set

Laura’s brown and pink card

Christine’s gift cards

Chris has two different designs

Heather made her blossoms glitter

Tutorials are posted every Tuesday.  For an index of Tutorials, visit the Tutorial page listed at the top of this page.

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S&D Challenge #1 Paper Piecing and Nestability Giveaway

Welcome to the blog challenge from the Sunflowers & Dragonflies DT! This week’s challenge is to paper piece. Anyone can play along in the challenge and we hope you will! There are no limits on time or supplies. Of course we’d prefer that you use images by Sunflowers and Dragonflies, but feel free to use other images. Please post a direct link to your challenge project from either your blog or an online gallery so we can view it. If you upload to an online gallery, please use the keyword S&D1 (add challenge # after S&D). Please check out the challenge projects below from each of our DT members and click on their blog links to find details about each specific project.

Canada Beaver was paperpieced using BasicGrey’s Offbeat designer paper.  Image was stamped several times and the pieces were layered.  Two extra mapleleafs were stamped out and used on the card front (can you spot them?).  The striped paper was machine sewn onto the background. Sentiment is Odd Bird Planet.

We are very excited about the prize!  Each week a different Spellbinder Nestability will be given away.  This week’s prize is the large oval set.

Are you excited yet?

To jump start your card, layout or project, the design team has put together some very cute projects.  For details of each one, click on the name of the DT member.

Jennifer’s card uses the colours of the Canadian flag.

Beth created a wonderful masculine card.

Kim’s project is lots of fun.

What, never heard of Farcle before?  Click here for more information.

That’s not all.  The Canada Beaver can be purchased at 20% off until next Saturday.  Simply put SD Challenge 1 in the comment section at check out time.  The discount of 20% for the stamp will appear when you are billed for actual shipping cost of your order.

We hope you enjoyed our first challenge.  The winner of our challenge will be randomly selected so everyone has an equal opportunity to win.

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Kreativ Blogger Award

Beth passed me the Kreative Blogger Award.   Beth is very Kreative herself, always participating in challenges and my tutorials.  For example, she created a lovely card with my One Layer Border Card tutorial from this past Tuesday.

I am supposed to tell you 7 things about myself, so here goes:

Adirondack ink pads are the most used ink in my stamp studio

There are days that I am so stressed with the mess of my stamp room, I simply do not go in there

I must confess that I am a hoarder.   I buy things that “speak to me” and don’t use it because I’m terrified of not having it when it is used up.  I seriously need help.

Machines that I own:  Cuttlebug, Cricut, Big Shot, Sewing Machine, Drill Press

Aside from stamping and scrapping, I do altered art, altered books, and make windchimes out of real silver teapots, cream and sugar pieces, and silverware.  I created a mosaic “time out” chair for my sister’s five children (her ex-husband threw it out on her).  Even do beaded pickle forks and serving flatware.  Right now I’m working on a polymar clay project with a very cool artist friend.

I am working towards a Visual Arts Certificate at Lambton College and so far have credits in slab pottery, pottery wheel, watercolour, photography.

My studio is soon moving to the basement.  My condo unit is 30 years old and has the original fuse panel with glass fuses.  There is only one electric socket in the large area.  Once the panel is updated (will be done next month), and more electrical sockets are added, I will move downstairs where I will have many desks and shelves.  One table will be dedicated for all my machines so I don’t have to pull them out of storage every time I use them.  The rest of the construction will then work around me and my space.  I promise myself to keep my new space clean with no clutter.

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Flowers Are the Poetry of Nature

Watercoloured with Tombow markers on watercolour paper. Machine sewn. Stampin’ up Regal Rose and Lovely Liliac cardstock.  The decorative white background is a diecut from Stampin’ Up.  The pink scrolls on each corner are a Cuttlebug die cut.  Sentiment is Hero Arts.

Have a nice day!

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Tutorial Tuesday: One Layer Border Background

Whew, I’m back and with a tutorial that I’m sure is going to delight!  After the tutorial, I have a big announcement.

This has to be one of my easiest and quickest techniques yet!  I have learned through the number of comments left on my tutorials that this is just the kind of tutorial you want.  For being the easiest tutorial, I was shocked to learn that I have 17 photos to share with you.  As you know, I like to take detailed step-by-step photos which, I think, is one of the reasons my tuts are so popular.

Today you are going to learn how to create the multi-coloured and stamped border.  This technique doesn’t have to stop at just a border; you can create a whole background instead.  My tutorial is quite long, so let’s get started.

Supplies:

3 to 5 colours of ink

Two sponges

assorted background stamps or stamp’n wheel

(The reason I like two sponges is to keep the colours from touching each other.  If they do combine, the colour becomes muddy.  Use a good craft sponge as seen above)

I am going to demonstrate on  6″ x 6″ and 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″.  For each size, a smaller piece of cardstock is used for masking as seen in the photo above.  The size is dependent on the size of the decorative border you wish to have.  Experiment and have fun in deciding what is right for you.

At random, rub first colour onto cardstock.  Use your other hand to hold the masking cardstock firmly in place.  An example of how I inked a portion of the cardstock can be seen along the bottom; note how I did not ink right up to the masking paper.  I did that with the intention of adding a second colour in that particular area.

Add your second colour.  Notice the random pattern of turquoise.  Do not be afraid of rubbing a second colour over top of another.  Two colours will work, but three will create a muddy look.

My third, and final colour has been added.  This is the time to darken any areas you feel need it.

This next step is quite simple.  Place a piece of scrap paper (I use cardstock so there is no bleeding) so that one side of the inked border is showing.

Now the fun begins.  In this step, stamp over top of the inked background that you just made with the inks.  Do not be afraid to stamp over top of the paper mask.  By doing so, your image will look more natural.  Repeat on the opposite side.

In this step, you are ready to stamp along the other two sides.  Cover the stamped areas with a mask, including the center area.  Stamp out your image into the open area.

For my A2 (5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″) card front, I wanted to add a second image.  Using another colour, I randomly stamped out circles.

If you have a rubber wheel, you can do a nice edge by using the above mentioned masking.  Of course, I took a short cut and did not mask with the wheel, but we will pretend I masked just to keep you happy

Now the cool step.  Distress your edges with one colour of ink.  As you distress over top of each colour, the ink you are using will appear to be a different colour.  Magic.

How to distress edges:  Push sponge into ink pad and swipe along the card edge.

Bammm..kick it up a notch and add white along some of the stamped images.

Not all cards have to have straight edges.  Here I tilted the paper mask to give  a diamond shaped center.

This technique is one of my favourites, and is very addictive.  It is a tutorial I have been wanting to show you for over a year, and I’m so happy to finally share it with you.  Now onto some more examples.

Stamps:  Odd Bird Planet Circle Dot Background #98K; Michelle’s Big Scroll #329U; Brigitte Left 276G; thank you 987B

Stamps:  Odd Bird Planet Circle Dot Background #98K; Michelle’s Big Scroll #329U

Stampin’ Up bird, branch and sentiment:  Spring Solitude

Adirondack Colours I used on my examples:

Watermelon

Sail Boat Blue

Lettuce

Citrus

Wild Plum

That wraps it up for this week’s tutorial.

Now onto the big announcement

Starting this Saturday, I will be hosting a weekly Saturday blog hop with my design team, and guess what is up for grabs?!  A Nestability set.  That right, a Nestability set!  Every week!

All you have to do is participate in the challenge and leave a link to your project.

Don’t forget to come back Saturday to see what the challenge is all about, and for your chance to win a Nestability set.

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Scrapbook News & Review 4th of July Blog Hop and Mini Tutorial and Blog Candy

Welcome to the Scrapbook News & Review “Oh Say Can You See” July Blog Hop.  I am so happy you are able to spend some time with us hopping around to see all the wonderful cards for this challenge.  If you continue reading my post, you will find a mini tutorial as to how I created my card.  Tutorials are posted every Tuesday.

There are a whopping 95 blog hop participants.  You can start at the beginning of the hop by starting at Scrapbook News & Review.  If you came from Winnie’s Creations, you’re on the right track.  Travelling all the way from Winnie’s blog in Norway, you had a long trip, so grab an iced coffee and sit a spell.  Shelly Skala is the next participant so scoot over and visit her very fun blog, Jaspere’s Little Corner.

A little word about my image–it is one of the stamps I designed and can be purchased at Sunflowers and Dragonflies Creative Designs.

Wow, look at the blog candy up for grabs!

For a chance to win the 4th of July cake stamp, simply leave me a comment.  Tutorial suggestions are welcome.  The winner of the blog candy will also work with me to come up with two custom-made stamps.  The stamps will include a return address label, and a “made by” stamp for the back of your card.

After colouring the image, I cut star shapes with my Cricut.

To add interest to the stars, they were run through the Cuttlebug with a swirly template.

Next, I distressed the edges with orange ink.

Card front is 5″ x 5″.  It was run through the Cuttlebug twice to completely cover the front with the dot pattern.

With a stylus I gently pushed the back of the holes so the seam on the front would be completely gone.  Cool, eh?

Lots of pop dots make all the layers pop.

Don’t miss another tutorial, subscribe today and my Tutorial Tuesdays will come to you.

For a complete list of my tutorials, please visit the Tutorial page listed on the top of my homepage.

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