Feel Good Cards – SkyPaperScissors

If Friends Were Flowers, I’d Pick You

May 20, 2018May 20, 2018 Sky

Hello, friend!

Today’s card features the Pretty Pansies stamp set from Clearly Besotted. This set has a few sentiments, and two larger stamps of flower bunches that make it easy to fill up a card.

I started with an A2-sized piece of Neenah Solar White #80 Classic Crest cardstock which I placed into a Misti stamping tool. The stamping tool isn’t necessary for this card, but it was helpful to create symmetrical stamping. In hindsight, since I was just making one card, it would have been just as quick and easy to hand stamp.

I position a flower stamp at the corner of the card, with part of it extending off the card. I stamped the image in Copic-friendly Hero Arts Intense Black ink, and then rotated the card 180 degrees to stamp the image again, in the opposite corner.

Then I rotated the card 90 degrees, removed the stamp and positioned the other flower stamp to fill in the empty corner. I stamped the image and then rotated the card 180 degrees to stamp in the opposite, and last open, corner of the card.

For coloring, I used five Copics: RV63, RV66, and RV69 for the pansies, and YG23 and YG17 for the leaves. For both flowers and leaves, I started by adding a solid layer of the lightest color, and then adding flicks of the darker colors from the center, outwards. Then I went back in with the lightest color to blend a little.

With the coloring done, I went back to the Misty and stamped the sentiment in Versafine Black Onyx ink, a pigment ink that remains wet for a little bit. I sprinkled Hero Arts clear embossing powder over the top, and hit it with my heat gun.

I trimmed the panel down to 4″ x 5.25″ inches and then added foam tape to the back before I adhered it to an A2-sized card base. To finish, I added drops of Dandelion Yellow Nuvo Crystal Drops to the centers of each of the flowers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Encouragement Cards, Feel Good Cards

Something Amazing Awaits You On The Horizon

May 19, 2018May 18, 2018 Sky

Hi there, I hope you’re having a lovely start to the weekend!

Today’s card features the Stay Salty stamp set by Julie Ebersole for Ellen Hutson’s Essentials by Ellen line. I was really drawn to the sailboat and waves in this set, as well as the sassy sentiments (including “Holy Ship! It’s your birthday!”).

I started by smooshing three Distress Inks (Mermaid Lagoon, Broken China, and Tumbled Glass onto an acrylic block , making sure to overlap the colors slightly. Then I sprayed the block with water using the Ranger Distress Sprayer (any fine misting spray bottle will work) seven times, from about a foot away. I turned the block ink-side down and placed it onto an A2-sized piece of Canson XL watercolor paper. I used the smooth side of the watercolor paper to get a lovely smooth finish and to have an easy surface to stamp on.

I weighed the block down under a few heavy books and set a timer for five minutes. When time was up, I removed the books and picked up any excess inky water with a paper towel. I set aside the panel to dry.

On some scrap pieces of Neenah Solar White 80# Classic Crest cardstock, I stamped the sailboat, waves, and cloud images in Copic-friendly Hero Arts Intense Black ink. I did some basic coloring using YR68, Y38, and Y35 for the boat’s sails, E35 and E31 for its hull, and BG07, BG05, and BG02 for the waves. I left the clouds white and then cut out all of the images using my Brother ScanNCut2.

When the background was dry, I adhered the boat using liquid adhesive and then adhered the waves and clouds using foam tape for a bit of dimension. Then, I used a Misty stamping tool to stamp the sentiment in Versafine Black Onyx ink. To finish, I adhered the card front to an A2-sized card base.

Thank you so much for visiting!

Feel Good Cards, Just For Fun Cards

Salty Kisses

May 18, 2018May 17, 2018 Sky

Happy happy Friday! I’m so excited that the weekend is just a few hours away, how about you?

Today’s card uses the Salty Kisses stamp set from Waffle Flower. These beautiful images just beg to be watercolored!

I started by stamping all of the images and the sentiment in Altenew Evening Gray ink onto an A2-sized piece of Canson XL watercolor paper. Then, using Derwent watercolor pencils, I added a very light layer of color. I used Light Blue 33 for the sky (very hard to see in the photos), Spectrum Blue 32 for the ocean, Orange Chrome 10 for the sails, Copper Beach 61 for the boat’s hull and the dog, and Raw Sienna 58 for the sand. The beach ball is Orange Chrome 10, Lemon Cadmium 2, and Light Blue 33. I also added a bit of French Gray 70 to the clouds, but again, it’s quite hard to see in the photos.

After I added the light layer of color, I used a Pentel Aquash waterbrush to activate the watercolor and to smooth them out. I intensified some areas of color by going back in with the pencil and then again smoothed it out with the waterbrush. I haven’t used watercolor pencils very much, but for an amateur like me, the control of watercolor pencils felt very reassuring.

To finish, I adhered the watercolor panel to an A2-sized card base.

Thanks very much for stopping by!

Celebration Cards, Feel Good Cards

Wishing You Both Joy

May 16, 2018 Sky

Hello there, I hope you’re having a lovely day!

Today’s card features the Cora Background, the Sending and Wishing stamp set, and the Wishing die cut, all from Simon Says Stamps.

I started with an A2-sized piece of Canson XL watercolor paper. I stamped the background image in Versamark ink, poured Hero Arts white embossing powder over top, tapped off the excess powder, and heat embossed with a heat gun.

Then I taped down the panel to a flat surface and wet the entire background with a flat brush. Using a round 6 brush, I dropped in a blue Winsor and Newton Cotman watercolor and randomly painted over the card, leaving some areas with more color than others. When the panel was dry, I lightly rubbed over the background with a very slightly damp paper towel to remove any watercolor sitting on top of the heat embossing.

I die cut the “Wishing” sentiment from a piece of navy Recollections cardstock. I also heat embossed the “you both joy” sentiment onto the same cardstock using the same white embossing powder from Hero Arts.

To assemble the card, I adhered the background onto an A2-sized card base and then adhered both sentiment pieces using liquid adhesive. And that finished up today’s card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Feel Good Cards, Just For Fun Cards

Hello

May 15, 2018May 14, 2018 Sky

Hi there!

Today’s card uses the Botanic Hello stamp from Mama Elephant. I love this giant stamp which stamps the entire image you see here.

I started by trimming an A2-sized piece of Canson XL watercolor paper with the largest die from the Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Rectangles die set. Then I stamped the image in Versafine ink, poured Hero Arts white embossing powder over top, tapped off the excess, and hit it with a heat gun.

For watercolors, I used colors from the Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Color Pocket Plus Set of 24 Half Pans. I used Alazarin Crimson Hue for the flowers, and Sap Green for the leaves. The sentiment is Payne’s Gray. I did some very basic watercoloring, going back in to add some details with the same color once the base layer had dried a bit.

When the panel was dry, I adhered it to an A2-sized piece of Recollections gray kraft cardstock and then adhered that, in turn, to an A2-sized card base. And that finished today’s card.

Thanks for swinging by!

Feel Good Cards, Just For Fun Cards

I Love You More Than Coffee

May 14, 2018May 13, 2018 Sky

20180513_215716

Happy Monday! Another Monday, another coffee-themed card. 🙂

Today’s card uses the Perfect Blend stamp set from Neat and Tangled.

I began by stamping the coffee cup and saucer image onto a piece of Neenah Solar White 80# Classic Crest cardstock in Copic-friendly Hero Arts Intense Black ink. I did some quick coloring using BV11 and BV for the cup, and C1 for the shading around the cup. I also used a Copic Multiliner pen to fill in the saucer line which is actually two fine lines very close together but which I had trouble getting to stamp as two separate lines. I then stamped the brown coffee and hearts image in Hero Arts Cup O’ Joe ink and fussy cut around the saucer.

I took a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock and trimmed it with the largest die from the My Favorite Things Wonky Stitched Rectangles die set. Using a foam blending tool, I blended a very soft cloud of Shaded Lilac Distress Ink around the center of the card. It’s so soft that it was very hard to photograph! To create a splatter effect over the purple halo I also sprinkled some water over the card, let it sit for a few seconds, and then dabbed it up with a paper towel.

Using a Misti stamping tool, I stamped the sentiment in Versafine Black Onyx ink, and then stamped the set of hearts in Altenew Lavender Fields ink.

Finally, I popped up the saucer and mug using foam tap and then adhered the card front to an A2-sized piece of Recollections gray kraft paper which I in turn adhered to an A2-sized card base.

Thanks for stopping by!

20180513_215003

Encouragement Cards, Feel Good Cards

Don’t Give Up

May 12, 2018 Sky

Hi there!

Today’s card uses a few products from Simon Says Stamp as well as a few colors of Nuvo Shimmer Powder. I’m really in love with these powders and am having a great time playing with them!

I started by stamping the Center Cut Heart background stamp using VersaMark ink onto a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper. I poured Hero Arts white embossing powder over top, tapped off the excess, and hit it with my heat gun.

I then used painter’s tape to tape down the background to a flat surface. Using a flat paintbrush, I added clean clear water all over the card, getting it quite wet. I also had a mister on hand, ready to add more water as needed.

I gently tapped some Cherry Bomb powder into the heart area, and then added a bit of Catherine Wheel powder around that. Then I added Solar Flare powder to the corners. Using a small round 4 paint brush, I gently moved the colors around to overlap them slightly and too make sure that the entire panel was covered. The Catherine Wheel color has a mix of colors in it, so it provided a nice transition between Cherry Bomb and Solar Flare. I misted a bit of water onto the panel when I wanted to lighten the color, or to move the colors around.

I also splattered a bit of Gansai Tambi Yellow Gold watercolor onto the panel while it was still very wet. The gold bloomed into the rest of the inky water and adds additional shine.

While the background was drying, I heat embossed the sentiment, from the You Got This stamp set, on a piece of yellow-orange Recollections cardstock.

I trimmed the background to 4″x5.25″ and adhered it to an A2-sized card base. Then I used foam tape to adhere the sentiment and that finished up today’s card.

Thanks for swinging by!