A blog devoted to the cards I make in my tiny upstairs space. When my sister stays there, she calls it an "artist's garret". I'm not an artist, but am an enthusiastic cardmaker - hence the title "Cardmaker's Garret".
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Saturday, 24 March 2018

Squeaking In Under the Wire

I've been meaning to do two cards for Darnell's March Twofer Challenge, but somehow March flew by!  So I'm getting them done and linked up on the last day!


I recently bought a new Penny Black stamp full of different flowers that is perfect for the challenge.


The first one is a "best wishes" card that I will probably use as a birthday card and put the "happy birthday" sentiment inside, and the second is a "summer time" notecard.  I went with softer colours, the full image, and some tiny flower sequins for the first, and, for the second, brighter colours that make me think of the heat of summer, just part of the image, and a die cut frame.

Here's the first card.  I'm also entering it in the "Inspired by All the Little Things" challenge where the image is:



I watercoloured the image with my Gansai Tambi paints - I find they give me the flexibility to achieve a soft watercolour look.  I did a bit of grey around the bottom to ground the image and mounted it on a thin dark grey mat.  My plan had been to use 3 or 4 regular sequins on the open space but I couldn't decide on placement and they just didn't look good, so I scattered quite a few tiny flower sequins around and glued them down, and then wished I'd just let the image stand on its own.  Oh well - no way to peel them off without damaging the panel.

And the second card:


I coloured this with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers - I laid down the colours and blended them into each other without using any water so I got rich strong colours.  I trimmed it down and attached it to the card base.  I then created the top layer with the sentiment, an opening, and a cross-stitch frame around the opening.

Thanks, Darnell, for creating the Twofer challenge - it really stretches my skills to think of two different ways to use a stamp!





Supplies:
Stamps - Penny Black flowers, unknown Best Wishes, Rosie's Road Show Summer Time
Ink - Archival Jet Black
Paper - white and dark grey cs, watercolour paper
Size - 5.75" square, A2
Accessories - Gansai Tambi watercolours, Zig Clean Brush markers, tiny flower sequins, foam tape, Ali Express cross stitch dies



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18 comments:

  1. Loll24 March 2018 at 08:44

    Beautiful cards Susan. This is such a beautiful image and I have been thinking I should buy it ... now I know I HAVE to! :) I love the soft colours of the full bouquet done with your gansai watercolours. So pretty and delicate. Then the strong and vibrant colours of the partial bouquet done with zigs ... gorgeous. Especially love the design with the partial circle die-cut frame. Great work! Thanks for playing along with us at Twofer Card Challenge! xx

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  2. Darnell24 March 2018 at 10:19

    Ooooh, Susan, what a wonderful bouquet stamp!! You have really done a masterful job of coloring it to bring it to life as both a subtle spring bouquet and a bold summer bouquet! I think the added flower sequins ROCK! You placed them just right! And the little stitched archway window really frames your second bouquet perfectly!! Thank you so much for playing along in Twofer Card Challenge #3! Hugs, Darnell

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  3. Verna Angerhofer24 March 2018 at 11:19

    Two beautiful cards using that wonderful stamp of pretty flowers. I love the way you did one in more subtle colors and the other is done in bolder ones. Both look amazing! Thanks for joining in the Twofer Challenge #3.

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  4. Craftychris24 March 2018 at 11:26

    Both of these are beautiful and so wonderfully coloured! I love those little flower sequins on the first one - so pretty! xxx

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  5. nancy littrell24 March 2018 at 11:47

    Your cards are so beautiful and so different. I love how your loosely watercolored your 1st card's bouquet for a soft look.
    Your 2nd card is so different colored with your Zigs for a very vibrant look and beautifully framed with your die cut.

    TFS both your beauties my friend. Now if only Spring would come with at least a few nice days in between the rainy days. Gosh, we had rain mixed with snow last night. Now just rain off and on. Stay warm..Hugs..

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  6. Bonnie24 March 2018 at 15:53

    I love those tiny flower sequins, Susan! I've never seen any that tiny and I think they are lovely sprinkled around your beautiful bouquet of watercolor flowers! And the deep red flowers are gorgeous and beautifully framed!

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  7. Nstiz24 March 2018 at 16:31

    You do such a wonderful job with your water coloring, Susan! You make me want to try it again to achieve that wonderful, soft effect. Love the bold colors of your second card too. This is such a great take on that challenge!

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  8. Christine Alexander24 March 2018 at 20:00

    such beautiful flower images, I love both layouts especially the half circle it's so bold :) awesome card :)

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  9. Anita in France24 March 2018 at 23:34

    That's such a lovely soft, dreamy jar of blossoms, Susan ... the delicate watercolouring adds beautifully to their charm! You've created such a beautifully bold, framed bouquet on your second card ... the rich, saturated colours really do evoke that summer time feel ... and pop wonderfully with all that gorgeous white space! Thanks so much for playing along with us at Twofer! Anita :)

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  10. Leigh Penner25 March 2018 at 04:44

    These are both very pretty!

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  11. Mac Mable26 March 2018 at 11:11

    So delicate and so pretty. Love how you've used the same stamp to make two different cards x

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  12. Karen Dunbrook27 March 2018 at 04:16

    gorgeous cards!!
    xx Karen

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  13. Kelly Lunceford27 March 2018 at 15:39

    These are both gorgeous! Absolutely beautiful!

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  14. Papercraft Boutique27 March 2018 at 20:19

    Both cards are exquisite, Susan! Your watercolouring is fantastic - the soft and loose colouring with Gansai Tambi paints and the vibrant colouring with Zig brush markers. l love the bold red flowers. The matting and the framing are well thought out too. Wonderful twofer cards. Hideko xx

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  15. Christine Alexander30 March 2018 at 19:37

    Congrats on your honorable mention at Twofer :)

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  16. Mac Mable31 March 2018 at 03:33

    Many congratulation with the honourable shout out with these two fabulous and gorgeous cards Susan x

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  17. Cathy31 March 2018 at 12:49

    2 stunners Susan! Congrats on your honourable mention at Twofer, Cathy x

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  18. Silke Ledlow1 April 2018 at 17:19

    Both cards are absolutely beautiful! Love the images! Thank you for joining us!

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