• Center Stage Stamping

watercolor hello

I have been working on my watercoloring skills. I really enjoy it, but I have a lot to learn. I keep working at no-line coloring. I am trying to figure out how to achieve the shading and shadows I want. practice, practice, practice. I decided to try something more abstract with my watercolor paints. I came across a video on YouTube showing how to do random backgrounds with watercolors. I was intrigued. So, I played around with it. It was very freeing. Here is one backgrounds I painted turned into a simple card.

I taped off around the edge of the watercolor paper panel and added a piece of tape to mask where the sentiment would go. Then, I added random brush strokes, one color at a time. I used some of the new watercolor paints I got this summer. They are a lot of fun to work with. The pigment is so rich! Once it was dry, I removed the tape. I stamped the sentiment in black ink using my Stamparatus to get a solid print on the textured watercolor paper. I kept the card simple to let the brushstrokes take center stage. Finished card is 3.5″x5″

I definitely need to make some more of these watercolor panels. Thanks for stopping by! Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

pcc #399

Welcome to this week’s Paper Craft Crew challenge. I hope you are ready to play along. Challenges are a great place to start if your crafty mojo has taken a hiatus. They are also fun to play along when the creative juices are flowing. Either way, you should give it a try! Today’s card sketch would be a great way to start!

As soon as I saw this sketch, I knew what I wanted to do with it. I just got the fun Coming Home bundle from Stampin’ Up! and thought the tall house was perfect for this sketch.

I colored the house with my Copic markers. I really like coloring. I find it very relaxing. Do you like to color? What is your favorite medium to work with? Why not grab it and create your own project using this sketch. Be sure to upload it and share on the Paper Craft Crew blog! We would love to see your take on this week’s challenge.

Thanks for stopping by! Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

peony for you

Hello friends! I have been working on watercoloring. I recently bought some actual watercolor paints, before I had only worked with ink refills. Boy, are they fun! I love working with watercolor. I find it very relaxing, but I have a loooong way to go on my technique.

For today’s card, I die cut the large peony from the Peony die set out of water color paper. I used the tropical paint pallet I recently got to color the flower this gorgeous bright pink.

I edged the flower and leaves with some gold shimmer paint. The black and white polka dots provide a great base for the bold flower. I love back and white with a pop of color! Add in a touch of gold, and voila!

Thanks for stopping by! Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

pcc #398

Hello, crafty friends! I’m happy to be back creating with the Paper Craft Crew for this week’s challenge. Today we have a fun horizontal sketch to inspire your creativity.

I was inspired by my daughter for this card.

She is an avid reader… thus the sentiment (from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips background), She loves the out doors…thus the tree (Stampin’ Up! Pine Woods dies) and sunset watercolor, She recently got married…thus the two hearts.

How does this sketch inspire you? Join the fun over at the Paper Craft Crew! Thanks for stopping by. Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

it’s a good day

Hello friends! Just popping on quick to share a fun card I made for a recent card swap. I was looking at the zoo Globe set and started to see sketches on notebook paper. That lead to this fun design.

to get the blackboard feel, I just smudged some white craft ink on the black card stock. I love the whimsical feel I was able to achieve!

Thanks for stopping by! Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

forever and always

Hello friends. I have a special card to share with you today. It is the card I made for my daughter and son-in-law’s wedding. Their wedding was at a local winery. Beautiful venue. Wedding colors were Burnt Orange and Peacock Teal. And my baby girl was absolutely gorgeous!

My daughter loves the color orange and she loves to read. I really wanted to incorporate these into the card. I used the Forever Fern stamp set on their wedding invitations, so I decided to use that on the card to tie it together.

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share this special project with you. Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

pcc #396

Hello, my crafty friends! We kicked off October in a BIG way – my daughter got married on Oct 2!!! To add to the celebration, my new son-in-law’s birthday was Oct 1! (He better never forget their anniversary!) I used this week’s Paper Craft Crew sketch challenge for his birthday card.

He really likes sail boats, so I pulled out my Sailing Home set and my Stampin’ Blends.

I used my Night of Navy, Midnight Muse, Balmy Blue and Seaside Spray Stampin’ Blends to color the ombre panel. I stamped the white panel with the retired World Map background stamp.

You can check out more inspiration on the Paper Craft Crew blog and join in the fun! Put your creativity to work and share your project with us.

Thanks for stopping by! Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

stamp review crew: drybrush

Hello crafty friends! I am happy to be back hopping with the Stamp Review Crew again. I am honored to kick things off as the first stop on today’s blog hop. If you started on another design team member’s blog, be sure to make your way through the full blog roll. You don’t want to miss any of the inspiration that awaits! Today the fun background stamp Drybrush is taking center stage!

It can be hard to let a background stamp take the spotlight. So, I tried a couple of different approaches. First I went for a neutral color with a bit of color to accent.

The sentiment is from the So Much Love stamp set. Die cuts are from Well Written and the retired Stitched Labels.

Next, I tried adding multiple colors to the Drybrush stamp for a bolder look.

I used Coastal Cabana, Bumblebee, Flirty Flamingo and Calypso Coral. I just swiped the ink pads across the stamp in different areas. You can get some fun shading where colors overlap. I used a stitched circle and the Playful Alphabet to made a fun little shaker circle to finish it off.

Time to send you on to check out some more great projects featuring this great background stamp. Head on over to Nikki and check out her awesome creations! If you are hopping backwards pop on over to Betty and her wonderful projects!

Thanks for stopping by! Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

pcc #395

Hello friends! Welcome to the end of September. It has been a crazy busy month as we have counted down the days to our daughter’s wedding. We are now 2 days away!!!

I did find time to play along with this week’s Paper Craft Crew sketch challenge.

Here is my creation:

The card base has a wood grain dsp panel on it. It kind of blurs out in the photo. I used Free As A Bird stamp set and Peony Garden, Forever Greenery and Wood Grain (retired) DSP.

I’ll see you next week after I recover from the weekend’s wedding frenzy!

Thanks for stopping by! Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!

sunflower love

I’m back with another sunflower card! This giant image is so much fun to work with. It is great for coloring with markers or watercolor. Plus, the image looks great stamped on its own without any coloring. You can also stamp it on colored card stock.

For this card, I stamped it on Daffodil Delight card stock in Cinnamon Cider ink, leaves are stamped on Old Olive card stock in Mossy Meadow ink. I colored the flower center with a brown colored pencil and added highlights with a white one. For added texture I embossed the flower and leaves with the Subtle Embossing Folder.

Thanks for stopping by! Join me again to shine a spotlight on creativity!