Watercolor Masking - Day 5 at Spring Card Camp

Hello everyone!  Yesterday was day 5 at Spring Card Camp over at Onlinecardclasses.com.  The extremely talented Debby Hughes showed a technique using a die cut as a mask.  Her cards are always amazing. She made it look so easy.  But.....mine didn't work out the same..lol.  Such is life.  I did use watercolors I have never used and I was able to make three cards from the mess I made.  So, it's a win in my book.

Here are two cards I made from my attempting to use the die cut from Darice as a mask.  My water seeped all up under it so it didn't leave the outline I was looking for.  I ended up die cutting another flower from a blank piece of watercolor paper and placing it where the image should have been.  The die cut I was using to mask turned out ok, so it got a place on the second card.

I am going to keep trying with watercolors.  I love painting, but something about the lack of control with watercolors makes me struggle.  While attempting to do another background to try the masking technique again, I had a little Bob Ross moment.   In the spirit of Bob, I went with it.  My happy little accident turned out to be a tree.  I put it on a hillside and attempted to add some clover.   Even though it was a mistake, I really kind of like it. 

I'm officially a day behind in class.  Today's class looked super fun and I can't wait to get to it, but that will have to wait for tomorrow. Maybe this weekend I can catch up.  Until then....

Thanks for stopping by!   Stay home, stay safe, and stay creative!

Die Cut 2 for 1 - Spring Card Camp Day 4

Hello everyone!  Today's lesson was from Julie Ebersole, a master at CAS.  I really love her style.  She showed some examples of using coordinating die cuts with images to get two cards from one stamping session, which is the theme for this class. 

I used a stamp set I have never used (another challenge for myself - to use things I haven't used) from CTMH called Chelsea Gardens - Cardmaking stamp set. One of the few sets I have with coordinating dies.   Here was my take on today's homework.

I stamped the butterfly on the outside and the inside of the card on the left.  I die cut the one on the front to reveal the one on the inside. I stamped more butterflies from the set on the inside and I colored everything with Prismacolor pencils.  It has been a long time since I used colored pencils.  They were my first artistic love.

The card on the right had the butterfly from the card front, which I colored with Copics.   The "hello" sentiment was from an old Hampton Arts stamp set, again, that I had never used. 

I had a lot of fun with the lesson from class today.  I find coloring relaxing and I tried something I wouldn't normally do.   Thanks to OCC for getting my creative juices going again!  

That's all for me.  Until next time...stay home, stay safe, and stay creative! 

Coloring with Paper - Spring Card Camp Day 3

Hello everyone!  Today in class we explored coloring with paper with Yana Smakula.  She made some lovely cards by paper piecing a stamped geometric background.  I have to say, I struggled a little bit with this one, too.   This class is pushing me to try all kinds of new things, which I enjoy.   Here is my take on today's class.

I only have one geometric background.  This was one of the first background stamps I bought.  It's from Hero Arts called Hexagon Background.  I used Versafine ink to get a good dark stamp on this colored cardstock.  Word of caution, that's a lot of ink in these backgrounds, let it dry really well or heat set it before you start cutting.  I had ink everywhere before I was done...lol.  I didn't have a house stamp or die, so I just cut two squares and made my own.  I tried to create my own landscape with the colors.  I'm not sure I was totally successful, but it was fun trying!

I can't wait to see what the class holds for tomorrow.  Until then...stay home, stay safe, and stay creative!

Colorful Circles - Spring Card Camp Day 2

Happy Easter everyone! It's day 2 at OCC's Spring Card Camp. Today was all about blending color and stamping to make two card fronts from one stamping session.   Of course, my cards are nothing like the example, but this is my take on it. 

 

I used a BoBunny stamp set called Circular Textures. I love making backgrounds with this stamp set. I used my dye inks from CTMH. I am probably the only crafter out there that doesn't own any distress oxide inks..lol.  I will one day!

I can't wait to see what tomorrow's class is all about.   I hope everyone had a safe and happy Easter.

Until next time....stay home, stay safe, and stay creative!

Thanks - Spring Card Camp Day 1

Hello everyone!  I hope all of you are safe and healthy.  It's been a while since I have posted anything.  With the shelter in place order, I have a little extra time.  I hope to be able to share with you some of the things I have been creating.  Online Card Classes started a new class today, Spring Card Camp.  I haven't had an opportunity to take a class from them in a long time.  Their classes are always fun and inspiring.  Today's lesson was from Jennifer McGuire on how to turn your large stamps into an embossing folder.  I can honestly say, I would never have thought about it.

I gave today's lesson a try, but I was not successful.  I don't think I have the sandwich makeup for my die cutting machine to make it work, or maybe I just lack the patience..lol  What I did end up with was a nice background for a card and probably something that I wouldn't have done on my own.

The stamp set is an old CTMH set called I Adore You.   I used it to stamp the flowers in the corners.  I heat embossed them and then blended some Creme Brulee ink over them to created a vignette effect.  The sentiment was made with a die from a Little Yellow Bicycle die set.  The leaves were some that I had laying on my desk from a previous project.

I have challenged myself to use only what I have on hand and readily available.  My pile of leftovers and scraps on my desk is all I have used to make all my creations this year.  It's quite satisfying to actually use up some of this stuff.

That's it for me for now.  I can't wait to see what tomorrow's class will be.

Until then....stay home, stay safe, and stay creative!