Welcome to Chapter Three

Welcome to Chapter Three: Taking Life One Page at a Time -- a space to blog about those things that keep this retired gal from getting into ...

Friday, October 30, 2015

Watercoloring with Distress Inks... and a MISTI!

Hi, everyone! I'm soooo excited to have had a chance to watch a few of those Watercolor Online Card Class videos.



I'm even more excited to have results that are somewhat shareworthy. Let's just say previous watercoloring attempts have not gone well -- especially those involving smooshing. And, I think you'll see what I mean as I take a closer look at these cards in the order in which they were created.  :)

Oh, one last disclaimer. Since I'm crafting from the road, I'm embellishment-challenged -- using the few punches and sequins I have on hand.

Now, without further ado...


Card #1   My first two smooshing attempts this time around was monochromatic, playing with spun sugar and picked raspberry Distress Inks.
  • This is actually attempt two. Attempt one ended up being a pink wash rather than a "watercolory" look.  
  • Lesson Learned: It really is essential to dry your paper between smooshes.
  • I was not head-over-heels happy with this result, but felt it might be card-worthy.
  • Thanks to the ever-so-appropriately-named MISTI, the background works with this amazingly crisp sentiment.
  • I may swap out the circles with other embellishments when I have full access to my at-home stash.  :)
Canson watercolor and Recollections black
StazOn jet black; Distress Inks spun sugar and picked raspberry
Winnie & Walter sentiment, heat embossed in black soot with clear powder
black soot spatters, applied with a lightly-misted toothbrush
circles: Stampin' Up! owl builder and EK hole punch
adhesives: Scotch ATG; Zig 2-way pen

Card #2   Attempt three ended up being more monochromatic -- and a little more of a wash -- than I intended.
  • I had planned on defined sections of blue and yellow, with some sections where blue and yellow make green. That said, I thought it was good enough to try and make a card.
  • Again, I love the crisply-stamped black sentiment and am amazed how much more artistic it makes the card base appear.
  • I am definitely going to embellish this little guy when I get home. To paraphrase a well-know verse: Visions of Paper Smooches holly dies are dancing in my head.  :)
Canson watercolor and Recollections black
StazOn jet black; Distress Inks tumbled glass and mustard seed
Winnie & Walter sentiment, heat embossed in black soot with clear powder
black soot spatters, applied with a lightly-misted toothbrush
top right corner circle: Stampin' Up! owl builder punch
adhesives: Scotch ATG; Zig 2-way pen

Card #3  Amazing, indeed!!! This is the card I've yearned to create for a long, long time. 
  • After several monochromatic attempts, I decided to go big with a red, blue, yellow combination.
  • Truth be told, I was a little ambivalent about my watercolor results initially. But, I kept drying the paper and adding bits of color around the page.
  • The technique that seemed to work best for me was: 1) applying ink to a small (3" x 3") piece of acetate --  using my finger to rub out ink edges, 2) misting the section of the paper I was using and carefully applying ink to paper, 3) dabbing remaining ink on a craft mat, 4) drying the paper, and 5) picking up beads of remaining ink with acetate and repeating inking process as desired.
  • Okay, I know I sound like a broken record.... But, these MISTI-inked sentiments are the best!
  • I used a few sparkly, pearlescent sequins that I happened to have on hand to finish off the card.
  • Linking this gem up to the Shopping our Stash Go Paperless (as in designer paper) Challenge and the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Wednesday Blog Challenge.


Canson watercolor and Recollections black
StazOn jet black; Distress Inks fired brick, peacock feathers, and mustard seed
Winnie & Walter sentiment, heat embossed in black soot with clear powder
black soot spatters, applied with a lightly-misted toothbrush
stash sequins; adhesives: Scotch ATG; Glossy Accents
Card #4   I loved Card #3 that I decided to bask in the glory of this smooshing success for a little while. So, I decided to switch gears and try my hand at the ombre technique demonstrated in one of the videos, adapting this technique to achieve a rainbow effect. Thinking I might need a little more embellishment here. Letting that idea percolate. (And, I apologize for the overall yellow hue of this photo. Not quite sure why the pic turned out like this.)

Canson watercolor and Recollections black
StazOn jet black; DI fired brick, spiced marmalade, peacock feathers, mustard seed, mowed lawn, tumbled glass
Winnie & Walter sentiment, heat embossed in black soot with clear powder
hearts: SU owl builder punch; black soot spatters, applied with a lightly-misted toothbrush
stash sequins; adhesives: Scotch ATG; Glossy Accents

Card #5   After seeing this rainbow effect, I decided to try blending at an angle, starting with mustard seed from the bottom left corner to the top right. Since this seemed like a look that kids would like, I chose to make a celebratory birthday card for the current SAS4Kids challenge.

Canson watercolor and Recollections black
StazOn jet black; DI fired brick, spiced marmalade, peacock feathers, mustard seed, mowed lawn, tumbled glass
Winnie & Walter sentiment, heat embossed in black soot with clear powder
hearts: SU owl builder punch; black soot spatters, applied with a lightly-misted toothbrush
circles: SU owl builder and EK hole punches
adhesives: Scotch ATG; Zig 2-way pen

Parting Thoughts

This post was a long one. Sorry about that. Thanks for sticking with me.

Congrats to Becca who won our Fight-Like-a-Girl Challenge at Words 2 Scrap By. We'll be launching a new challenge on Sunday.

The Cards in Envy Trick-or-Treat Challenge continues until Sunday at 6 PM Central Time. A new challenge starts up on Monday.

Huge thanks to Simon Says Stamp for the $50 gift voucher from the Wednesday Blog Challenge team for the Wrap it Up challenge. Can't wait to go shopping!

Hoping to get back to craft-show calendars and/or bookmarks this weekend. Hope you find some crafting time these next few days. As always, thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!




3 comments:

  1. Wow, I love seeing other people's progress photos. So much more "real" than "here's a perfect card". That said, I like ALL of them, and each makes a really nice card.

    About the MISTI, I use it for just stamping my sentiment. If I work for hours on a card, I don't want to stamp crooked. But for water color, or any textured surface, it's a must, as a second stamping is almost always required because of all those nooks and crannies.

    ReplyDelete
  2. These will make a fine set of cards, Sybrina! Thanks for sharing them with us at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi! Me, again! Thanks for joining us at Shopping Our Stash!

    ReplyDelete