Watercolor Steampumk

Happy Saturday.  I hope you have had a chance to craft.  If not, I hope you carve out some time tomorrow.  Nothing renews the soul like unleashing your inner artist!

I sell my hand-crafted items in my Etsy shop, and at local craft fairs.  From time to time, I stumble upon an Etsy shop that I make purchases from.  And today, I want to share with you a digital file I purchased a week or so ago.   Aurora Wings, has coloring digital files for grown-ups.  {smile} I really do love to water color, so it was a lot of fun to sit and color this image. {smile}  I am also entering this card in a few challenges.

The crafty gals over @ Sugar Creek Hollow have a fun challenge this time:  Word Play; you need to have a sentiment on your project.  

The wonderful ladies over @ Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge Blog would like you to use all the pretty flowers you have been hoarding/collecting.
And finally, the talented ladies over @ Just Us GirlS have trend challenge this week: watercolor!

and here is my card

The card base is soft suede card stock by Stampin' Up!.  The first blue layer is a light blue texture heavy card stock that I purchased from a big box store.  The text paper is from Paper Studios.  I matted the text paper with soft suede card stock.  I used a scrap of G45 french country pattern paper for the scallop.  The scallop shape was cut with the Tasteful Trims die by Stampin' Up!

I wrapped the scallop trimmed pattern paper, a piece of pool party seam binding, and crochet trim around the front of the card.  I made a simple stitch with my sewing machine.  I tied a multi-loop bow with the same seam binding, and adhered the bow to the card front with my hot glue gun.

I printed my digital file onto whisper white card stock by Stampin' Up!.  I used my retired watercolor crayons and an aqua painter (both by Stampin' Up!) to water color the image.

I added some scrap pieces of Glisten pattern paper from Authentique, to the bottom edge of my matted watercolor piece.  I adhered this main piece to the card front with foam tape.

I created a tattered blossom with the tattered pinecone die by Tim Holtz.  I added some glitter to the petal tips.  I used a pale blue card stock for the leaves.  I used a die to cut the leaves.  Then I sponged soft suede classic ink, to the leaf tips.

I made a small tag to hold my sentiment: you mean the world to me   This sentiment is from the One Person stamp set by Verve.

Due to the bulk of the blossom, this greeting card will not fit in an A2 size envelope, so I decorated a large glassine bag.  I used some of the same papers and the same sentiment to decorate the bag.  

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you have been inspired to watercolor, join a challenge, or simply create something!

Sprite Mojo

my sprite in a jar

Welcome.  I have been a bit busy.  I have been asked to teach a class at a private retreat next week, and well, I have been making a few samples of a mini album I am teaching.  Anyways, along this journey to find some inspiration for my mini album, I stumbled upon this wonderfully creative challenge site.  And, so I have taken a break from creating mini albums to play along.   Sometimes, its good to change your focus, so you can get back on track.

I'm not quite sure how I stumbled upon this challenge blog: Aurora Wings, but I am certainly glad that I have.  This challenge site uses digital images.  I have embraced this new type of images lately.  And this challenge site, asks that you hand color your digital image.  I have to admit, I do love coloring.  There is a certain peace that goes with this activity.  You can't really focus on troubles, or worries.  You need to focus on the task at hand - coloring.  It gives your mind and soul a chance to take a break from the worries and busy-ness of everyday life.  A small retreat for your mind.

I needed a little direction for my creation, so I went to Mojo Monday, because they have some very easy-to-use sketches.  Here is this week's sketch:

Aurora Wings provided a free digital image this week, for the Sprite challenge.  I want to thank them for doing so.  Their generosity for providing everyone with a free image, is rather sweet {smile}.   I downloaded my free image, and set out to color my little sprite.  This is my first attempt at coloring a digital image.  I typically stamp an image in Staz-On, or heat emboss an image.  Because I typically love to water color.  I wasn't sure how the 'ink' from my printer would hold up to water, so I used my color pencils instead of watercolors.  It was really fun to sit and color.  Here is what I created:

The recipe:  The card base is Cream Cardstock from Paper Trey Ink.  I used Ocean Tides card stock (PTI) for the matt.  I used some scraps I had in my scrap box for the panels.  The yellow pattern paper is from My Minds' Eye and the polka dot pattern paper is from Heidi Swap.  I added a small open scallop trim border with whisper white card stock from Stampin' Up!.  I added some random machine stitching along the sides, and a zig zag stitch across the top of the scallop border.  I used a scrap piece of Melissa Frances pattern paper for the back drop of the jar.  I matted this piece to Ocean Tides card stock.  I added a simple single machine stitch to the piece.  (I repeated the ocean tides card stock matt and machine stitching to keep everything connected.)

I stamp and heat embossed the jar (Friendship Jar stamp set by Paper Trey Ink) onto Vellum Cardstock (Stampin' Up!).  I stamped and fussy cut the jar banner and adhered it to the vellum.  I stamped the bee in Staz-On and used my coloring pencils to color in his body.  The bee is adhered to the card front with foam tape.  

I printed my sprite onto shimmer white card stock by Stampin' Up!.  I adjusted the size of the image to 1 1/2" x 1 3/4".  To color my digital Sprite image, I used four different yellows, two greens, two browns and a black.  I fussy cut him out, and used foam tape to adhere him to the jar.  

I stamped my sentiment from the Garden Variety stamp set (PTI) onto a scrap piece of shimmer white card stock, inked the edges and cut a banner end.  I used hot glue to attach my sun flower and leaf.  I sponged linen ink on all of the edges of card stock and pattern paper.

Thank you for looking.  I hope you have been inspired to play along in either of these challenges, or both!  I have another post today of the second mini album I finished.  Please look for that.  But be aware, it is a photo heavy post.