Make a wish

 A different kind of a birthday card this time. I tried to go with a restricted color palette of pebble, sand, some darker brown and black.

Again I was guided by several challenges to use watercolors, a wild animal, do stamping and make no layers. And moreover, this is a stamp purchased three years ago that I am using for the first time.

I am entering it into these nice challenges:

Bastel-Traum: #105 Wasserfarbe / Watercolours - the fish are painted with watercolors

Chocolate Baroque: AG / opt. celebrations - this is a birthday card

Daring Cardmakers: A walk on the wild side - some very wild salmon here!

AAA Cards: No layers / opt. twist 'Hugs' - I am entering without the twist

NBUS: #30 AG - both stamps are being used for the first time

You are loved

 I have only recently moved into the realm of greeting cards. My usual ATC cards exist without much added gadgetry, they are based on collage (the way I do them). But for some reason I do own some embossing folders and heat embossing powder. But not with the gadgets that go with them. So then, today is 'make do' day.

The background was placed into a embossing folder and heavily hammered around the edges to create a diffused look. 

The raised image is around the perimeter only. In the center there is an oval piece of vellum which I stamped with blue and heat embossed with clear powder to create an iced look. I don'y own a craft heat gun, but used a commercial paint stripping heat gun instead. Those things get hot fast!

The flowers are stamped and colored with Oxides, the ladybug has been treated with a coat of Glossy Accents.

 

Entering this in:

Sweet Stamping challenge: Feature an animal - I hope Ladybugs count!

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Heat embossing

More Mixed Media Challenge: AG / optional brights

Chocolate Baroque: Favorite stamps - mine is that four leaf clover! Bought 10 years ago at the Paper Source.

Addicted to Stamps: #411 Make your Mark

 

Blooms according to rrch162

 There are several challenges going on at the moment that coincide and complement each other nicely.  It's almost like playing tic-tac-toe or bingo. The row reads: blooms - watercolor- pastel, all done according to a sketch. How fun is that!

I needed a greeting card. I started by stamping the background. This is one of my few background stamps, Baroque Blooms by Chocolate Baroque. I must have purchased it 2016 or 2017, and now it was time to put it to use.

I stamped with Rangers translucent permanent ink, I thought green would stay in the background. Then I colored it with watercolors, trying to keep it pastel-ly.

For the focal point I used a stamp that I purchased at the last fall 2019 trade show before the COVID closedown madness the following spring. It is a printing process stamp, it has separate stamps for all CMYK colors. 

 

 Stamp them on one another and the result is wonderfully achronistic. I have seen late 1800's picture books done with similar dotted color fields. You'll see the close-up at the end.

 

Of course there is no need to go the yellow-blue-red-black route if you crave something else- The left were started with the colors in the upper row: pale blue, pink, plum and purple (but then I added yellow and grey, too). The ones on the left were done with yellow, red, turquoise and flannel grey, as I didn't want a very contrasty flower.

 Then it was time to put it all together according to the sketch rrch162:

Here's the promised close-up:

Entering in:

We Love Chocolate Baroque: Beautiful Blooms

613 Avenue Create: Anything goes / optional Watercolor

More Mixed Media: Anything goes / optional Pastel

Retro Rubber Challenge: #162 Sketches!

Inchie Twinchie

 I was very inspired by Lost Coast Designs current challenge to create my own background.

My substrate was a book page which was first given a coat of gesso before painting over with acrylics (tan, lemon, grey). I then stamped it with terracotta ink with several stamps from my collection, Lost Coast, Viva las Vegas, Paper Source, Stampers Anonymous and more.

The paper was cut into one and two inch squares and pasted onto 5" by 3" cards.

I then stamped the focal image and added a scrap butterfly in matching colors along with a sentiment.

 

 

 Entering this in:

Lost Coast Challenge: #124 Inchies and twinchies

We love Chocolate Baroque June challenge: Hand stamped and paper pieced image

What happened to the other background? I couldn't resist some fun...