Little Cardinals

Combining two challenges with today's card:  the CAS Mix Up "Ombre" challenge and the ABC Christmas "L is for Little" challenge.   I have a blue ombre background and some very little cardinals on my card.

I masked off a rectangle on my watercolour paper and used various blue watercolour paints to make an ombre background.

I am in the midst of reorganizing my craft room and couldn't find my brown cs for die cutting the branches so watercoloured a scrap of w/c paper in brown (and also in red) and die cut the branches and birds. I die cut the birds twice and glued them together to raise them up off the branches more.

I trimmed the panel and popped it up on fun foam on a kraft card base.

The requirements of CAS Mix Up are:

My sentiment is stamped, I have the ombre background, and for my choice, I have die cutting and watercolouring.

Supplies:

Stamps - Rubber Soul sentiment

Ink - Recollections Chestnut

Paper - watercolour paper, kraft cs

Size - A2

Accessories - watercolour paints, Memory Box branch and tiny cardinals dies, clear embossing powder, fun foam

The Snowbaby's Gift

Reminder time for CAS Christmas!  And the theme this month is "Gifts".

I went with a sweet little snowman - more like a snowbaby, with too big a toque for its little head, sitting in the snow, wondering what the package is!

Stamped, watercoloured, trimmed into a square, bordered with an offset red square to balance with the red gift.  I used gold watercolour paint for the gift's ribbon and went over it with Wink of Stella for more sparkle.  And added Stickles to the snowy ground and Fun Flock to the pompom and brim of the toque.

Please head over to CAS Christmas to check out more cards featuring gifts - by the Design Team and this month's talented Guest designer, Leslie (Running with Scissors).  You have until June 24th to link up.  Please keep your cards clean and simple, and be sure to include the theme of gifts.

Supplies:

Stamps - Penny Black

Ink - Archival Jet Black

Paper - watercolour paper, cream and red cs

Size - 5" square

Accessories - Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Wink of Stella, Stickles, Fun Flock

Blue Forget-Me-Nots

Time to remind you that you only have until June 24th to enter a card in the CAS Watercolour "Something Blue" challenge!

Every spring / early summer, my garden is full of blue Forget-Me-Nots.  I'm always sad when they are finished and I have to pull out the dying plants - but as you pull them out, they drop their seeds everywhere, ready for next year.

I stamped the image on hot press watercolour paper with archival ink and watercoloured with my Gansai Tambi paints, using quite an intense blue for the flowers, a very pale bit of green for the leaves, a bit of very pale blue on the postmark, and adding an even paler blue wash around the flowers (so pale it doesn't show in the photo!).

I used a linen cardstock for the card base and for the stitched frame.  The frame is popped up on foam tape over the image.

I added a tiny drop of cream from a Viva Pearl Pen to the centre of each flower.  Here's a close-up:

Please head over to CAS Watercolour and check out the rest of the Design Team and June's wonderful Guest Designer, TaeEun (rainbow in november).

Supplies:

Stamps - Penny Black

Ink - Archival Jet Black

Paper - hot press watercolour paper, linen cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, cream Viva Pearl Pen, Lil Inker stitched rectangle die, foam tape

Duck Egg and Plum

Less is More has a colour challenge going on right now:

 

I went with some ink blending to use the challenge colours.

 

I sponged Distress inks, getting the colours to overlap. Then I put my stamp and background in the MISTI and stamped the poppy. Leaving everything in the MISTI, I used a brush and bleach to remove the colour from the poppy, and then restamped to keep the outline distinct.

I framed it with a stitched window die, and added a sentiment and some dark irridescent gemstones.

I've really enjoyed using the bleach technique lately.

Supplies:

Stamps - SU Simply Sketched poppy, Savvy Stamps sentiment

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Faded Jeans, Seedless Preserves, and Broken China

Paper - white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Die-namics peek-a-boo window, Lil Inker stitched rectangle die, dark iridescent gemstones, bleach