2016 Watercolor Calendar - April

We're up to April on our Watercolor Technique Calendar!  Today I wanted to make some posies...cause we'll, we do have some flowers starting to bloom in April but mostly I'm tired of snow and cold - LOL!!

So here goes...

I thought it would be fun to make posies...they are really easy to use and way fun to make.

1. Start off by securing your paper to your work surface with a bit of washi or painters tape.

2.  Apply a wash of light blue for the background.

3. Once the background is mostly dry, paint on several medium sized circles using whatever color you want your flowers to be.

4. Apply one or more additional layers of color to your flowers.

5. Now the fun begins...  Pick up a darker shade of paint and start making swirls on each "flower".

This is what mine looked like after 1 layer - notice they aren't perfect...no need.  We've got many more layers to add.

6. Continue to layer on swirls of color to each flower.  Use varying shades of paint as you go - more water = lighter colors, less water = darker colors.

7.  I used a bit of purple in my flowers to make shadows.  

8. After I had all the swirls on I wanted, I took a #2 (small) round brush that had been dipped in water and swirled it around to mix and blend the previous layers of color until I was satisfied with the look.

9.  Now it's time to add stems, leaves and grass.  I didn't take photos of this process...it's pretty self explanatory.

After it was dry I removed the tape.

and this is how it turned out!

So then I began on my calendar page - I squeezed in 5 blossoms but of course you can make more or less depending on your taste.

This is about 1/2 way done...

And after I swirled everything together with just water.

Added my leaves, stems and grass...

And here's how it turned out!  I'm so pleased with it, I almost hated to add the calendar - LOL!!  I had a hard time deciding where to put it.  I ended up just plunking it down near the center because ...well, not sure why but I just did.

Someone asked why I demo on a card then make the calendar page...  I always test out my design idea more than once.  When I decide on a design (on the right), I make one to take photos of the process (card in the center) then I make the actual calendar page.  I use the 2 smaller versions for cards - when we're done with the calendar I will have 12+ watercolor cards as well!

Hope you're having fun playing along.

Ink Stains Pocket Letter Swap

I had a question about the pocket letter swap that I wanted to clarify -

YES - everyone is welcome and that includes international Ink Stained friends!

I always try to include everyone in my swaps and give-aways.

So if you've been thinking about it, please feel free to play.  I've got several people signed up who are more than willing to swap with friends from outside the USA.

Color Throw Down #375

This week Color Throw Down has a beautiful, fresh color palette to work with....Orange, Yellow, Green and Grey!

As it happens these are almost the exact colors in the Club Scrap kit this month - Celebrate!  All of the stamps and papers for this card came from the kit.  I LOVE the stamps this month - lovely flourishes and beautiful mandalas which if you use a light color of ink (Ash in this case) you can color in the little dots as desired.  Way fun!

I added clear glitter glue to the larger color dots to make 'em pop.  

I would also like to enter it into Craft Stamper Magazines
January Make It Take It Challenge -
Anything Goes!

Supplies:
Club Scrap.com - Papers, Stamps, Inks

Glitter

A poem as lovely as a tree....

One of the challenges posed to the IMAGINE Crafts design team was poetry...we had to create a project centered around one of our favorite poems.  I chose Joyce Kilmer's poem about trees...I love it and have for quite some time.  Trees are so unique and beautiful and I'm lucky to live in an area that still has large numbers of them.

Here is what I created....

This was created on a canvas board - the trees are actually made using Black and White StazOn Studio Glaze and a palette knife.  Fun technique - check it out here - A Poem As Lovely As A Tree.

Have a wonderful day friends!

2016 Watercolor Calendar - March

Today I'm back with the watercolor calendar page for March.  This is one of my favorite techniques for watercolors - I think it's because of the randomness of it.  You get totally different looks every time that I really enjoy.

Since it's for March I am working with yellows and greens in honor of St. Patrick's Day but of course you can use whatever colors you would like.   I have found that using 3 or more shades of each color works best with this technique.  The layers of color help to create the depth we're going for.  Remember watercolor is all about building up layers.

Start off by wetting the upper half of your watercolor paper with water.

Paint the lightest color of yellow first - just swish it around, the water will help blend it.  Hold the paper up and tap it a bit on your work surface to help it run down the paper.

While the paint is still wet, add a second and if desired a third color of yellow to the top of the card.

Again, hold it upright and tap it to get your colors to run down the panel.  Continue to add additional layers of paint until you're happy with the design.

Now rotate the panel so the first color is on the bottom.

Repeat the process using shades of green starting off with the lightest color first.

And here's how my card panel turned out!

I love how you can see all of the different layers and how they blended together.

Now you're going to have bits of paint that drip onto your work surface. I like to keep some plain tags handy to pick up all the stray bits - they are perfect for ATC backgrounds, note tags, stamped images and more!

So I went on to create my calendar page using this technique.  When I started in on the green I actually got this really cool formation that I liked so I stopped there.  It's actually fewer layers than the card panel example but I liked the look.

Next I added a bit of stamping.

 

And finished it off by flicking on a touch of gold watercolor.  If your set of watercolors doesn't include gold you could use a gold Gelatos, watered down gold acrylic paint, etc.

I added the calendar page and called it finished.

Supplies:

Watercolor Paper

Kuretake Watercolor Paints

IMAGINE Crafts: Memento Inks - Olive & Bamboo Leaves

JFF Stamps - Shamrock & Celtic Knot

RubberStampMadness "Stamping All Year Long"

As you might recall I mentioned that I had a card published in RubberStampMadness new book - Stamping All Year Long.  Well, they have a special deal going on....

RubberStampMadness published a new rubber stamp art book called Stamping All Year Long. At 116 pages, the book is filled with inspirational artwork. 

To order a copy, go to RubberStampMadness Store. scroll down to find the "New Book." 

Mention my blog in the "special instructions" section, when you order. Once there are four mentions of my blog, RSM will send me a complimentary copy. Thanks so much for considering this. 

Since I already have an artist copy, if I earn a free copy I will be giving it away here on my blog!  So if you've been thinking about ordering a copy, please consider mentioning Ink Stains. 

Lacey Organizers

It seems like the first of the year everyone starts thinking about getting organized and this year is no different.  I've seen so many different organizational tips and projects on Facebook and Pinterest lately but you know one thing most of them have in common?  They are functional but lack in the interest department...yes, I know the industrial look is in but hey, come on...it doesn't have to be boring.

Well, I have taken one of those industrial organizational projects and kicked it up a notch with the help of IMAGINE Craft's Creative Medium.  Check it out....

Fun huh?  I took some old lace I had in my stash to take this mason jar storage idea to a whole new level.  For a complete step by step guide along with supply list check out this link - DIY Lace Mason Jar Storage

Here's another photo of the jars (so you can see the lace pattern better).  It's amazing how much detail the Creative Medium picks up from the lace.  Of course you could use stencils, other fabrics, mesh, etc. for the design you'd like to transfer to your jars but the process will be the same.

So, who says organization has to be boring?

NOT ME!

Do you have organizational projects going on right now?

I have some ribbon/fiber/lace that I need to organize but alas it's going to be a huge undertaking that will have to wait a bit.  Too many projects and soooo not enough time.

Club Scrap Card Sketch - Jan '16

This month's card sketch over on the Club Scrap forum is so much fun...I think I may be making more than just this one.  It lends it's self to using up smaller pieces of paper you might have in your stash.  

This month's kit is Celebrate (more on that later) and that's what I used to make this card...  There is a lovely white cardstock that has an embedded design in the paper (no idea how they do that) that has a grey text printed on it which is what I used for the top portion of the card. 

  

I used another paper in the kit - the BEAUTIFUL glitter paper for the bottom of the card.  OH MY!  I do love my glitter so this is perfect in my book!!  I am seeing an extra order of glitter paper in my near future.  

 I stamped one of the cool circle mandalas and colored it in with some fun pens I found at Office Depot - Foray StyleMark.   I added a grey gemstone in the center.

Here is the sketch....

I hope you'll give it a shot!

I can't wait to share more of this month's kit with you in the coming days.  This is Club Scrap's 200th kit which is why "Celebrate" is so fitting!  It is filled with beautiful colors, patterns and amazing stamps.  This one is a real keeper!

Pocket Letter Page Swap - Sign Up Here!

Hello friends - if you recall last fall I asked about interest in a Pocket Letter swap and there seemed to be enough interest to proceed.  Now that the holidays are over it's time to give it a go!

Pocket Letter Page Swap

Sign Ups - 1-12 through 1-22

Ship Date 2-5-16

(YES, this swap is open to international friends!)

First question some people might have - what is a pocket letter?  Think of Pocket Letters as a set of ATC's with a few extra goodies thrown in.  Basically you take a 9 hole Baseball Card page; make an ATC for each space (more on this later) and tuck in little surprises behind each card...and don't forget the letter part!

Each pocket can hold a card with the same general theme yet each with a different design.

You could design a single page that you then cut into 9 sections, one for each pocket.

You could choose different designs for each card.

Or it could focus on a single color scheme.

Whatever you choose your pocket letter should be filled with art from your heart! 

Remember the back is just as important as the front of your Pocket Letter.  You should add a letter in one of the pockets, telling the recipient a bit about yourself, maybe about where you live, work, your art, etc.  The remaining 8 pockets can be filled with anything you can fit inside...it could be stickers, die-cuts, sticky back gems, buttons, eyelets, vintage ephemera, washi tape, glitter tape, fibers, ribbon, charms, pins, brads, twine, felt pieces, gemstones, etc.  Virtually anything you can think of.  You can also add little treats too - tea, cocoa, sweets, mints, etc. 

HOW IT WORKS: 

• You can sign up here for one or two spots - Sign ups run from today through 1-22.
• Once sign ups are closed I will send you a name and address of the person you will be sending your Pocket Letter to. 
• Make a pocket letter and fill it with goodness (you can start on this right now if you like).
• You should mail your Pocket Letter to the recipient no later than February 5th, of course you can send it earlier if you would like.  Once your pocket letter has been mailed, send me an e-mail with the confirmation number so I can keep track of everyone's progress and to make sure nobody is forgotten.
• Stalk the mailman for happy mail!

PARTICIPANTS:

Please post an e-mail addy when you sign up so I can send you an e-mail to obtain the necessary info. for the swap.

1. Roni

2. Dixie - Sent

3. Heidi - Sent

4. Karen

5. Marie (mea5798)
6. Theresa P. - Sent

7. Theresa P. - Sent

8. Lynn
9. Ike - Sent

10. Jeannie - Sent
11. Dash Cam - Sent
12. Dianne R.
13. Jerri
14. Jerri
15. Jamie M.
16. Terry D.
17. Donna N - Sent
18. Kris P
19. Loretta M
20. Katherine M
21. Elizabeth M
22. Diana - Sent
23. Debi
24. Deb G. - Sent
25. Ina
26. Nikki - Sent
27. Silvia
28. Silvia
29. Denise A.
30.

2016 Watercolor Calendar - February

Today I have the second installment in our 2016 Watercolor calendar to share with you.  Today I wanted to show you a bit about blending and how the power of plain old water can change the look of your painted image.

This is my finished calendar page...now let's see how it was made.

The great thing about watercolor is it goes where you tell it so if you wet a small area it will stay in that area until you either add too much water to fit in that area or you expand the area.  So I started off by making a small rectangle on the watercolor paper with water.

Then I added a bit of color.

I continued to add 3 more water rectangles and color for each.

You'll notice how the two edges touched between the two colors when they were wet -  see how the second color which had more water feathers out into the first color that was still damp.

So then I blended the seams between each color.

I then added a second layer of paint for a more intense color of each...

To blend the colors I used a brush filled with clean water and went back and forth from top to bottom.  You can see how lovely the colors blended together.

More water play - lightening the dark colors by adding more water.

Then blending all of the colors together again.

And if you noticed in some of the photos plain water can also remove small mistakes.  Even though the paint had been dried several times with a heat tool, by dabbing on water then wiping it with a clean cloth the little streak of paint has been removed!

For my calendar page I actually tore a bit of painters tape to get a rough edge and taped the watercolor paper down to my craft mat.

Next I began adding the 4 colors of red paint one at a time just as I did in the example above.

Once all 4 colors had been applied I blended the lines between each color.

But then I had a thought - it would be fun to show you the wicking powder of clean water so I began drawing lines between each color using plain water.

The water created a lovely effect ...

Once the paints had dried I removed the painters tape.

And here's how it turned out.

I flipped it over so the lightest color was on top...

And finished it off with a bit of stamping and the calendar!

So, be off with you to frolic in the watercolor!

Have fun, blend and experiment!