Watercolor Flowers

We invented flowers in our watercoloring class.  I liked this layout so used it for a card.  Just die cut the watercolor, matted it on a contrasting color and adhered it to a red card.  It seemed simple was best so I didn't add any embellishment.

Watercolor Background

This is a background that I watercolored over a gold powder embossed design.  Just added some die cut embellishment.  Adhered it to a dark green card front and it's good to go.

Watercolor Butterfly

I'm currently taking the Online Card Class for intermediate watercolor.  This is a background I did after practicing some brush strokes.

Saying Goodbye

Things change.  People change.  Interests change.  There have been quite a number of changes for me this year and some major changes (like a move between states and a new house) have caused some smaller changes.  I'm no longer doing any scrapbooking, though I think perhaps I may get back to it in the future.  I'd doing far less photography and will spend some time this winter deleting a great many of my older photos--not the family shots but definitely the landscapes, wildflowers and weird stuff I thought I might use in some art projects.  And I've decided that my blog has served its purpose and I'm eliminating it, too.  I've posted in a variety of places for a good many years and there's still much to share.  I'm still doing quite a bit of stamping, but there's the extra step of taking photos of the cards, resizing and adjusting them and doing the posting and  that doesn't appeal to me so much these days.  I'll make up for it by doing postings on Facebook so you'll probably see more of me there.

I might fear that I'm losing interest in too many things (which I don't think is a good sign, especially as a person grows older) but I have new interests like wire weaving and I'd like to spend more time doing art journals.  And I should get more family genealogy data into the computer.

So this will be my last posting.  Thank you for your visits, comments and interest and thank you for sharing in bits of my life.  I'll see you on Facebook.

Masculine Kraft

Masculine cards are more of a challenge for me because I can't rely on flowers and ribbons that are my norm.  The stenciling on kraft cardstock was perfect for a more masculine look when I chose a geometric stencil.  I applied two shades of blue ink over the white but also left some of the white uncolored.  Although I masked off a square before inking, I thought the design needed more contrast so I added a dark blue cardstock panel.  The smaller gears are commercial metallic pieces that I found in my stash but I die cut, colored and clear embossed the larger gear.  Just added a few sequins for highlights, thinking they weren't too feminine to work here.  Now which guy has the next birthday?!

Color On Kraft 2

This is an even simpler coloring on kraft cardstock using a stencil.  In this case I applied two shades of green over the bottom white ink.  Again I embellished with simple white flowers (punched) for contrast and dimension.

Technique On Kraft

We are fortunate that the internet gives us broad access to new techniques for our art.  This is actually an older technique that was again brought to my attention recently.  I applied white pigment ink through a stencil to kraft cardstock.  I let that dry and with the stencil still in place, added orange and then yellow pigment ink.  It's a subtle, unique look that I quite like.  I thought it only needed a few simple flowers and some gems.