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I took another online class from Art-Classes.com - Watercolor Pencil Jumpstart. Having taken the colored pencil class and the watercolor class a lot of the material was cross-over but the watercolor pencils had some unique characteristics that were fun to play with.
These are my homework sheets:
When we were done we used our favorite technique to create a cover and bound all the lessons into a book.
Ddd
One advantage to taking these online art classes is that I learn new techniques for a variety of mediums that I can call upon to use in my daily activities.
I recently called upon the wash and ink class homework I did of the hydrangea in watercolor but used it with watercolor markers in my devotional book.
Ddd
This is the last of four resist butterfly cards that I made. The link to the inspiration tutorial is back on day 1 of the series (Feb 17).
These are the steps I used:
I stamped on watercolor paper with Versamark and embossed with clear powder.
Then I used the ink from Distress pads to watercolor and blend inside the butterflies. When those were dry I made a watercolor wash on the background combining blue and green.
I then took the card to the ironing board and pressed with a hot iron through a plain piece of white paper. This melts the embossing powder which is then absorbed into the paper.
The last step was stamping with a scripture stamp in black ink.
On this layout the bottom butterfly got a smeared wing so I cut it off and trimmed the watercolor paper to a square. This was bordered with a black striped paper over a red patterned paper.
In keeping with the red patterned paper I gave this a red base card.
Ddd
This is the third in a series of cards that use the same tutorial as inspiration. You can go back to the first one for links to that tutorial.
Here, again, are the steps I used:
I stamped on watercolor paper with Versamark and embossed with clear powder.
Then I used the ink from Distress pads to watercolor and blend inside the butterflies. When those were dry I made a watercolor wash on the background combining blue and green.
I then took the card to the ironing board and pressed with a hot iron through a plain piece of white paper. This melts the embossing powder which is then absorbed into the paper.
The last step was stamping with a scripture stamp in black ink, trimming and bordering in black.
The pinks were the prominent color in these butterflies so I used a bright pink for the base card.
Ddd
You can see yesterday's post for the inspiration piece and tutorial for the cards in this series. Here again are the steps I used in creating them:
I stamped on watercolor paper with Versamark and embossed with clear powder.
Then I used the ink from Distress pads to watercolor and blend inside the butterflies. When those were dry I made a watercolor wash on the background combining blue and green.
I then took the card to the ironing board and pressed with a hot iron through a plain piece of white paper. This melts the embossing powder which is then absorbed into the paper.
The last step was stamping with a scripture stamp in black ink, trimming and bordering in black.
There was more orange in this set of butterflies so I used an orange base card.
Ddd
On the blogs that I follow regularly I saw a tutorial by Melanie Muenchinger on making a butterfly card using a resist technique. This is the link to the tutorial: http://melaniemuenchinger.blogspot.com/2016/02/video-white-watercolor-splatter-with.html
and this is the project she created:
I used that as inspiration to create a selection of cards using my hand-carved butterfly stamp.
I stamped on watercolor paper with Versamark and embossed with clear powder.
Then I used the ink from Distress pads to watercolor and blend inside the butterflies. When those were dry I made a watercolor wash on the background combining blue and green.
I then took the card to the ironing board and pressed with a hot iron through a plain piece of white paper. This melts the embossing powder which is then absorbed into the paper.
The last step was stamping with a scripture stamp in black ink, trimming and bordering in black.
The card for today has more yellow tones than the others so I gave it a yellow base card.
Ddd
A couple of weeks ago I saw Kristina Werner make a Christmas card with some simple watercolor triangles and a black pen. I made a note to try this myself - with a few changes.
Kristina used narrow painters tape to mask of triangles to paint her shapes in. I just free-handed my triangles.
Kristina used watercolors. I used the ink from Distress Markers in seven varieties of green.
Kristina left the foreground white. I used the markers like watercolor to create snowbanks.
We both used fine line marker to draw decorations on the trees and stamped a greeting in black.
Kristina used some metallic markers to color in her ornaments. I used a distress tool to rough up the edges. On some I used distress ink to color the rough edges.
Here is my lineup:
The first has no inking of the edges -
On this one I just inked the edges -
This one got the corners of the page inked as well as the rough edges -
For this one I inked the corners BEFORE roughing the edges and then inked the edges by dragging directly on the ink pad. I also inked the edges of the base card -
This last one I accidently spattered it with ink while doing the watercoloring on another one. I LIKE that effect. I distressed the edges less on this than on the others.
Look at the cool spatter effect -
As it happens I like the tree decorations best on this one, too.
All 5 of them were mounted to a light moss card base.
Ddd
Time for a new 'tag' from Tim Holtz's 12 tags of 2015 series. I can hardly believe that I have kept up with this challenge all 11 months, to date. Only one month to go. This has worked out so well, I will strongly consider continuing if Tim keeps up the challenge.
Here is Tim's version:
Fair warning: my version looks nothing like this (as usual)!
Here is the process I followed for my project...
- cut a piece of kraft cardstock for the front of a card
- place a dot of metallic pearl acrylic paint on non-stick craft sheet
- roll a brayer over paint to apply a thin coat to the roller
- apply paint to a background stamp with the brayer (I used a script stamp)
- stamp onto the cardstock and immediately clean brayer, craft sheet and stamp with soap and water
- dry image with heat tool
- use distress inks on craft sheet to create a 'wrinkle-free' background (I used crushed olive, peeled paint and frayed burlap)
- dry with heat tool
NOTE: the stamped acrylic paint resists the distress ink
- ink the edges with foam tool and distress ink (I used frayed burlap)
- sprinkle with water droplets, let stand shortly, blot and dry with heat tool
- use black archival ink to stamp the outline of what will be the feature image
- use tape runner to apply gold foil along the edges
- stamp the feaure image onto watercolor paper using black archival ink
- use distress markers as ink to watercolor paint the image (I used festive berry and aged mahogany, peeled paint and forest moss, mustard seed and shabby shutters)
- dry with heat tool
- use bulb sprayer to spritz a dark marker over the image (I used gathered twig)
- hold to light and trace image lightly with pencil on the BACK of the paper
- spritz back with water and use a ball tool to burnish outlines over craft foam
- dry with heat tool
- cut out image
- use black marker to color the cut edges
- use foam tape to mount to card front over the stamped outlines
- use black archival ink to stamp greeting and auxillary images
NOTE: the image above is the best color rendition
- adhere created panel to bordering gold cardstock
- adhere to folded card base with foam tape (I used a dark pink to match the poinsettias
And here is the completed card:
The image I used is actually an art deco flower stamp but I turned it into a poinsettia with my color choices. I stamped, colored and cut the blossoms separately and layered them on the card front.
Ddd
Another month, another 'Tim Tag'. I am continuing on my plan to complete all 12 of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2015. We are now up to March and here is the tag that Tim made and posted instructions for:
So here are the steps I followed - with different products and/or processes while aiming to get a similar result.
--cut a heavy piece of patterned cardstock, printed with a lace design
--create a collage of tissue tapes while leaving some areas of the background exposed
--on a non-stick craft sheet, squirt some acrylic paint in various colors. I used 'one-stroke' paints in lavender, pink, red, blue and yellow
--mist with water and mix it into each color to make them thinner
--swish the collage through the paint
--mist the paint with water to allow it to blend
--use heat tool to dry completely
--use archival ink in jet black to stamp butterfly - I used my hand carved stamp
--while still wet, apply clear detail embossing powder
--hit with a heat gun to complete embossing the butterfly
--stamp and cut a mask for the butterfly
--put on the mask then place a stencil over the top
--use a stiff card to squeege texture paste through the stencil
--remove the stencil and the mask
--sprinkle with gold detail embossing powder
--LEAVE TO DRY FULLY WITHOUT HEATING
--after completely dry, use heat gun to melt the gold embossing powder
--cut into tag shape of desired size
--apply adhesive to the entire back using the Xyron machine
--stick the tag to heavy black cardstock
--trim the black down to a thin outline
--use hole punch at the top of the tag
--use punches to create a black 'hole reinforcement' and glue it on
--press two Distress Ink pads to the non-stick craft sheet
--mist with water
--wad up a length of seam binding and press it into the color. mist it with water to spread the color
--crinkle the binding and dry with heat tool
--thread binding through the hole in the tag and knot it
--connect a charm to the ribbon with a pin
--attach a key charm with the ribbon
--glue other metallic charms to the surface
Here is the result of my effort:
For the last two months I have made display pieces instead of tags. I did make a tag this month but I have no idea how I might use it.
Ddd
I set out to use the techniques presented by Tim Holtz in his February posting for the 12 Tags of 2015.
This is the project he made:
The idea was to create a collage tag with the theme presenting things you love.
Here are the steps used to create my piece:
--Gather stickers, scrapbook paper, printed tissue, tissue tape, etc. with the theme (in my case this was all related to sewing and cooking)
--Run a base piece through the Xyron to cover with adhesive (in my case the base was tagboard and I used a piece 5.75 x 4.5 instead of a tag)
--Adhere the printed tissue as a base layer (I used sewing pattern)
--Adhere other selected items in collage arrangement (I used two handwritten recipe stickers, cardstock with dress forms, a strip of graph paper, cardstock with fabric print, sticker of a quilt and button stickers)
--Trimmed all the overhanging elements to the edges of the base piece.
--Added tissue tape in two styles with measurements and numbers (to represent measuring tapes)
--Lightly sanded the edges of the piece then used the sanding block to scuff the surfaces of the elements to distress them.
--Sealed the whole surface with clear matte medium. Dried it.
--Applied 'Picket Fence' Distress Stain over the whole surface. Dried it.
--Sealed with clear matte medium again. Dried it.
--Outlined the elements with Distress Marker in Walnut Stain and smeared with a fingertip to create shading.
--Applied a gold sticker frame, gold sticker corner and gold sticker lace trim.
--Smudged shading around all of these elements with same Distress Marker.
--Selected a copper heart element with engraved text.
--Sanded surface and applied Picket Fence Distress Stain to it. Dried. Glued to surface with Glossy Accents.
--Used black Sharpie to reinforce the engraved text.
--Cut out tiny letters and glued in place with Glossy Accents.
--Darkened the letters with the Walnut Stain Distress Marker and smudged with my finger.
--Used a bulb sprayer and a Black Soot Distress Marker to spatter the whole surface of the piece. Dried it.
--Punched 1/8" holes in the button stickers.
--Tied coordinating twine through the button holes with the knots in the back.
--Used same twine to tie a real button in place inside the frame with the knot on the front.
--Used foam tape to mount the piece to a fabric-covered mat board backing.
Here is the finished piece:
This will be a display piece on the door of my quilting/sewing studio.
Ddd
For several years I have been following Tim Holtz’s posts and collecting his ideas for decorated tags. At first he did the ’12 tags of Christmas’ with step-by-step directions for each one. Then, last year, he switched to one tag per month – still doing 12 tags, but spreading them out over a year.
Amazingly, I have never played along, making a tag with the steps he has outlined. So this year I decided to challenge myself to recreate each of the 12 tags using the products I have on hand, even if they are not the same as what Tim uses.
The first of Tim’s 12 tags of 2015 is outlined here. In case yo want to follow along with HIS products and steps to see where I got my inspiration and where I made changes.
So here we go...
I cut a piece to work on from a manila file folder. I ran this through my Xyron to apply adhesive to one side of it.
I scrunched up some printed tissue paper and applied it to the card with just a few wrinkles.
I trimmed the tissue even with the edges of the card.
I used a sanding block to scuff the edges of the card
I used my fingers to apply various acrylic paints in a random manner:
While the paint was still wet, I misted it with water to make them blend.
I blotted some of the paint away and then dried it partially with the heat gun.
I pressed a Walnut Distress Ink pad to an acrylic block.
This was misted with water.
Then I used a paint brush to flick the ink over the edge of the block onto the card.
This imparted a spattered effect as shown here:
This was turned this way and that to get it to run into the creases on the surface. Then I dried it with the heat gun.
The card was set aside for a bit while I prepped some other pieces. I selected a sheet of 'grungeboard' numbers and cut out 2015.
I used a black soot Distress Marker to color the edges of the numbers.
These numbers as well as a letter sticker were laid out temporarily on the card where they would eventually be adhered.
WOW! The next product was exactly the same used by Tim (unlike most of the other ones I used).
I chose, from the kraft pages, word stickers that described the things I plan and wish for myself for the year 2015. These were arranged around the numbers but not stuck down.
One by one the words were adhered with Glossy Accents.
The numbers were moved over to scratch paper and covered with glossy accents.
The numbers were then sprinkled with glitter and set aside to dry.
While these were drying, I brushed the main piece with a clear matte medium.
When this was dry, I used a black soot Distress Marker to trace around the word stickers and smeared the ink with my fingers.
So what do we have so far?
I put some white pearl acrylic paint on an acrylic block, thinned it with water and used a brush to flick it onto the card, rubbing it away where it obscured words.
This was dried with the heat gun.
By now the glitter on the numbers was dry. I used glossy accents to glue them onto the card where they had initially been laid out in the arrangement.
I used Glossy Accents to adhere a dove charm in an open area.
A metal word tag was adhered in the same way.
I used a bulb sprayer to make spatter from a Krylon gold metallic marker.
Here is my resulting art piece inspired by the first of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2015.
Only 111 more to go!
Ddd
As a follow-up to yesterday's introduction of the embossed tape technique, I promised to show the cards I made with the tape I created.
I used the red and gold tapes to frame out a sticker with red and yellow in it. I trimed around it and rounded the corners. I used a horizontal band of gold cardstock to pick up the gold in the embossing and cut a flag end on the right. A printed background of text (love) was layered with a red hexigon and a black/white chevron. Red and yellow layers around the frame and a gold peel-off greeting finish it up.
I used another of these little girl stickers for the second card, framing it with the green and silver tapes. I built a card base for it with yellow and green topped with black pinstripe and silver. The silver has a textured stripe on it. I cut a pre-stamped greeting strip with flag ends on both sides and curved it for interest. The center is popped up on foam but the ends are flush with the background. I echoed the flowers in the sticker with three white paper flowers and added yellow rhinestones to the centers.
With the use of metallics in the layering papers the metallic embossing really stands out.
Ddd
The online class I am taking this month started out with a technique for embossing on double-stick tape. The tape and liner (I'm using Scor-Tape) are stuck down to a non-stick craft mat. A bit of the liner is peeled up and embossing powder is sprinkled on the exposed tape.
You can mix powders so I did one of red and gold with distinct areas and one with them combined. I did the same with a green and silver combination. The powders are pressed into the sticky and the extra brushed away.
Then the heat gun is used to emboss the powders. When they are cool the tape can be peeled up and you have a sticky strip of embossing.
The one that is second from the top is the one I used yesterday behind the 'Celebrate' diecut. I used two strips side by side for a wider block.
I will use the remaining tape on projects over the next few days.
Ddd
When a friend visited from The Netherlands recently, she brought me a gift of a new craft from her country. It is called Hobby Dots. There is a pattern that is placed over your cardstock and you pierce holes through it. Then you have sheets of itty-bitty stickers in different shapes which you transfer to your cardstock, aligning them over the pierced holes. I used the end of my piercing tool to transfer the sticker bits.
I pierced out several from the book she brought me and then realized that the stickers were different shapes than the ones in the book patterns. OK, I just used the same layout and chose on my own which shapes to use. This is my first one:
I did the pattern on a printed cardstock and then used a foil 3D image to fill the frame it created.
Ddd
Back with another version of the birch trees card. This time I used distress inks to paint the background areas.
Here is the newer verion of the card:
Ddd
Another brilliant plan comes together!
The idea was to mask off strips on white cardstock and drag the edge of an ink pad over them from both edges toward the middle. This was to create birch trees. I had some table scraps that were a close match to the ink and I cut thin strips and glued them on in the open spaces.
I used thin black marker to add some details to the tree edges for shading (both the ink ones and the paper ones) and then started drawing in a landscape, branches, and snow drifts around the trees. I colored the landscape with markers.
ISN'T THIS AWESOME?
As a last step I added a clear thick acrylic sticker to the center.
Ddd
I found this cut and tuck lattice pattern in an old on-line magazine and tucked it away a long time ago. Then recently I signed up for a swap that required some kind of paper cutting. Perfect place to use it. The pattern included all the cutting lines and the little flower pot as well. It is a very easy process to put it together but the effect is elegant.
I finished it off with eyelash yarn woven through for the vines, mini ribbon roses and a paper vine across the bottom. The text tag is popped up on foam.
Ddd
Hard pressed (lol) to come up with an appropriate 'topic' for this entry. Many years ago I saw fabrics that were decorated with what was called 'flower pounding'. They laid the flowers on canvas, covered with absorbent papers and pounded them with a hammer to transfer the flower colors to the fabric. I never tried it.
Then as I was walking along and noticed some attractive wildflowers (weeds) beside the road I decided to try a different version of this technique by laying the blooms and stems between two pieces of watercolor paper and running it through the Cuttlebug..... squish.
The result was very juicy and nothing was clearly defined. So I scraped off all the flower remains, dried the piece with a heat gun and then set to work trying to recover something from the experiment. I first used a fine-line pen to draw alont the stems, define flowers in the yellow places and draw in pods where other blobs occured. I added some grassy lines to the background and then used watercolor markers to redefine the colors as they were very washed out.
I used a dotted cardstock to frame it (along with a thin black drawn line) and a cream cardstock base.
It turned out OK in the end but the process was WAY more than squashing flowers to imprint them as I had originally intended.
Ddd
The last sketch is shown today:
I did the first one on end because this Santa image was so very tall. Since the wreath was colored green I added green Stickles on it and added red Stickles berries. Green marker was carried over to the dots in the b/w block. The text is a clear sticker:
Lots of vellum stickers of holly create a frame on this card. I added some fine doodle lines in red, green and black. A thick acrylic sticker provides text and I added red Stickles to all the berries:
The penguin is back! He, like his brothers, has Stickles snow underfoot and on the dots on the b/w block. The text is a rub-on phrase:
This one looks totally different through the use of overlapping kitchen stickers. The text is provided from the same sticker sheet. I ran the stickers off the side edges to intensify the scene-setting:
The red heart on this card is a stamped and colored image. I trimmed it close, added a black peel-off sticker with red Stickles inside. A clear text sticker graces the red block and a few additional black peel-offs finish it off:
And finally, I used a lot of gold peel-offs on this card. The two hearts have red thick heart stickers in the center, surrounded by gold Stickles. Thin red doodle lines frame the card:
And that's the end of the project.
Ddd
Here we are with the third sketch from the Verve cut-up series:
For the ones with the red center block (3) I used up some of the adorable penguin stickers I got at the dollar store. They got lines of Stickles for snowy ground and I decorated with thick acrylic stickers:
I upended this one with the b/w center block and used another of the stamped elegant ladies. I, again, added the yellow bustle but this time only added Stickles to the yellow. I used a square clear acrylic sticker on the upper right and added two rhinestones to the b/w block:
Purple is the added color on this card - used for both the b/w block and the lady's scarf. I used red Stickles on her draped neckline and one red rhinestone on her corsage. A white glossy sticker provides the text:
Back to the original rotation we have a sharp red dress with red Stickles on the neck, straps, and hem popped up on foam tape. a thick acrylic sticker rests on the top edge of the left red block, gold peel-off borders frame on the left and right sides and two black flower stickers add the final touch with their red rhinestone centers:
The Christmas sticker on this card is so large it almost covers the center b/w block. I added a gold peel-off image of three candles and colored them in with various Stickles. Gold peel-off corners adorn top and bottom. I split some long clear text stickers to apply top and bottom:
Last set will be shown tomorrow.
Ddd
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