I made this card last night, first with the Melon Mambo rose. After looking at the finished product, I couldn't help but think that a Rich Razzleberry rose might look better. So... I colored another of the pre-embossed roses I brought with me and colored another one in Razzleberry ink. The watercoloring isn't as good as my last Razzleberry rose (that'll teach me to watercolor at night, without good lighting, when my eyes are tired!). This morning I took some shots of it out in the sun on the lanai, which wasn't as easy as you might think as it's SUPER windy, and the sun kept wanting to pop back in behind a cloud. I laid the Razzleberry rose over the Mambo one and had to shoot quickly before the wind knocked it off and sent it flying. All to get a shot so you can let me know which color rose you like the best on this one! I'd appreciate your thoughts. Mahalo!
I made some time last night to make a card using one of the roses I'd colored earlier yesterday. I had planned to keep it simple, using white as my main background, but it just didn't look right. I put the Old Olive card stock over the white, but it was still too plain, so I added the leaf image from Great Friend, since it matches the Sizzlix leaf die I planned to use with the rose (which I sponged over in Old Olive). I like the card, but wonder if it's just a bit too busy-looking. What do you think?
Haven't had time to sit down and stamp yet here on Moloka'i, but I did find some time today to do some watercoloring. I wanted to try a more traditional watercoloring of my Fifth Avenue Floral rose. The roses were all stamped on Shimmery White paper in Craft White ink, embossed with Crystal Clear embossing powder. This paper will create blotchy marks if you add too much ink in one spot, so I first took my aquapainter and lightly brushed across from one side of the image to the other with just water. I then took some ink from a reinker and, starting off the image in one corner, moved my aquapainter back and forth across the image, like you would for the watercolor wash technique, giving a gradient of color. I kept going back over areas of the image with the aquapainter, adding ink and first checking the color intensity on the edge of the paper before putting it onto my image. I probably spent at least five minutes on each rose, adding depth to the color without letting the aquapainter stay on any one spot too long. The orange rose does have one spot where the color bled through to the back, but I was able to cover it pretty well. All of the roses were colored with a single reinker color - one's Pumpkin Pie, one is Melon Mambo, one is Summer Sun, and the last is Rich Razzleberry (probably my favorite of the new In Colors). I spent the most time on the Razzleberry rose, so I decided to go back over the other three one more time to make some of the areas a little darker and richer in tone. The photo doesn't do the Razzleberry rose justice, as it looks more purple in the image than it does in real life. Now that they're dry, I hope to have some time tonight to make some cards using them!
After hitting the jacuzzi last night, I took some time to make a couple of new cards. The first uses the rose I colored yesterday morning. It's all Summer Sun ink in varying shades. The Crushed Curry just wasn't working for me - not enough yellow, so I'm glad I brought along a Summer Sun reinker. The rest of the card uses Razzleberry Lemonade DSP and several card stocks - Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Old Olive. Crushed Curry polkadot ribbon adds a nice touch along with the scallop edge border. The leaves are in Old Olive card stock, cut out at home with my Big Shot die cutter machine (LOVE it!). The rose was embossed back at home on Shimmery White card stock using VersaMark ink and detail white embossing powder.
While my DH was sitting on the lanai playing around on the laptop, I took advantage of the time and did some stamping! My card uses several new In Colors - Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, as well as Razzleberry Lemonade DSP. I really like these three colors, and will love Bermuda Bay once they get the quality control issues taken care of on the stamp pad and reinker - which is why I left that color at home. There's nothing like sitting at the dining room table, listening to the waves crash on the shore, while making a card. Wish I could afford to retire to a place like this - but it's soooo expensive! Another 2 bed, 2 bath unit on our floor is for sale - a mere $869,000 for 1,263 square feet, plus monthly maintenace fee of $1188, plus property tax of $6177 - can you imagine how expensive it would be monthly?! Way out of my price range, for sure (which is probably why it's been on the market for TWO YEARS). Anyway, back to stamping... The only stamp set I brought with me was Great Friend and I love that butterfly! I really wish the butterfly punch Stampin' Up! came out with was one that went with this set, but it doesn't. That's one punch I probably won't be buying, as the stamp set, Flight of the Butterfly, that it coordinates with just doesn't do much for me. Hope you had a great weekend, and once again, thanks for visiting my site!
Back again, with more to share! Last night I made these two cards, again inspired by Deb over at ARTfelt Impressions. She used Crushed Curry for her rose, which turned out gorgeous. I've tried it twice on the Shimmery White paper - once with just Crushed Curry, then again with Crushed Curry and Summer Sun. Neither acheived the bright yellow tones that Deb got using watercolor paper. They looked great wet, but once dry, the tones were very subdued and bland. Not sure why. So, plan B! I used Rose Red and Regal Rose reinkers on these two, and I like how both turned out. Whisper White, Regal Rose and Melon Mambo card stocks were used, as was Old Olive for the leaves. Razzleberry Lemonade DSP was added along with two of my favorite Stampin' Up! ribbons. Doesn't look like I'm going to get in any stamping tonight, so nothing new to share for a few days. Thanks for stopping by today.
We stayed at the condo today so the girls could go swimming and I could get some laundry done. The girls and I were all down to one outfit left, so it was time to do a few loads. That's one thing I love about renting a condo when we're on vacation - having your own washer/dryer to use. I also cooked dinner tonight, so having a fully equipped kitchen was great, too. Well, while the clothes were washing/drying, I took advantage of the time and did some stamping! I made three more cards like the one I posted earlier today, all with variations in the colors I used and where the scallop border(s) went. I think it would make a nice gift set of cards - good for a thank you, thinking of you, or birthday card.
Aloha! Although I've actually been doing a little creative work while here vacationing on the Big Island, I made my first finished card today. What a great setting to work in - sitting on the lanai, feeling the tropical breeze, watching the waves hit the shore while working on a card. I printed out a few card samples for inspiration before our trip from Deb's blog, ARTfelt Impressions. I'd bookmarked her blog a while back, and rediscovered it again last week. I love the fresh, simple but elegant style of many of her cards. One card on her blog that caught my eye was this one. I didn't want to flat out copy it, so I did make some subtle changes. The stamp set is Great Friend, which I was happy to see made it into the new catty. I wanted to use some of the new In Colors, so this card features a scrap of Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry and Whisper White card stocks, along with Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive inks. I love that polka dot ribbon - I broke down and bought a spool of each In Color. The card background is sponged with Melon Mambo to give it some depth (I'm kicking myself for not bringing along Itty Bitty Backgrounds - ugh!). The butterfly is popped up with dimensionals, as is the piece below it that's tied with the ribbon. I plan to make more of these in different In Color combinations while we're away. Mahalo for visiting today!
One of my favorite places to visit for some stampin' inspiration or conversation is at stampinaddicts.com. I've been a member since March and love how friendly everyone there is. The gallery is growing, and if you like to participate, there are always interesting topics to chime in about on the message boards.
