A Challenge Card and an Improved Card

I'm on birthday cards today, a brief break from Christmas cards.

Seize the Birthday wants "Flowers" as its topping.

And The Flower Challenge is "Use Your Favourite Flower".

I used a new flower stamp that I love because it is an agapanthus, definitely a favourite flower because it is blue!

I put the stamp in the MISTI and inked up with various mini Distress inkpads and markers, spritzing with water, and stamping onto watercolour paper until I was happy with the results.

I trimmed the panel with a stitched rectangle die, added a vertical sentiment, and bordered in navy blue cs.

It will go off to my cousin in England who grows the most amazing agapanthus!

On to a second birthday card.  I made this card a couple of years ago:

See this post here for the details.  I was not totally happy with it and never sent it but my friend who is an artist has her birthday coming up so I pulled it out again and revamped it a little bit:

I re-stamped the image and added some watercolour paints to the jar, the brushes, and the tips of the brushes.  Then fussy cut it and glued it on top of the original stamped image.  A simple fix but it made all the difference - I am so much happier with the card now!

Supplies for card 1:

Stamps - Penny Black agapanthus, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment

Ink - various mini Distress inkpads and markers

Paper - watercolour paper, white and navy cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Lil Inker stitched rectangle die, blue pearls

Supplies for card 2: 
See this post here

A Card for a Painter

The wonderful Karen Dunbrook (of the Snippets blog) is hosting this week's Technique Lovers' Challenge at Splitcoaststampers - "Splash Watercolour".   She's included the video tutorial (see here) by the equally wonderful Loll Thompson (of Stamping with Loll) on how to do the technique.

I first learned it from Loll using regular Distress inks but it is equally fabulous but slightly different with Distress Oxide inks as I used here.

I made the card with a particular friend in mind - when she retired she decided to learn to paint using oil paints. She took several classes and has become really good - so good that I've bought two of her paintings for my house. I wanted to capture her favourite colours so used the three colours of Oxide inks closest to them for my Splash Watercolour background.

As Karen says in the challenge, it creates a perfect background for stamping on. I put the stamps in my MISTI so that I could restamp a couple of times to get a good dark impression.

To finish it off, I die cut the panel and some black cardstock with the layering rectangle dies and mounted it on a piece of fun foam.

Karen's SCS challenge inspired Loll to run a mini challenge over at her blog (with a small prize for the winner).  Loll's challenge is open for one week only, whereas the SCS challenges have no deadlines.  If you make a card, be sure to link up in both places!

Supplies:

Stamps - Viva Las Vegas jar of brushes, Impression Obsession sentiment

Ink - Ranger Archival Jet Black, Distress Oxide (Cracked Pistachio, Fossilized Amber, and Broken China)

Paper - watercolour paper, white and black cs

Size - A2

Accessories - fun foam, Spellbinders layering rectangle dies