Background Stamping with AWDML and a little Trip

 Hello there friends!!! It's been awhile for us to meet together again.  I have had family in town for the last month and we took a little side trip just recently. Can you guess where? Here is a photo of my favorite part of our trip. A little place out of the way of the city. It was stunning! This is the first time I have ever understood someone naming a color 'sea foam'.  It really IS a color! So gorgeous!

Here is a little picture of my darling husband teaching 3 of the 4 kids how to fake "falling off a cliff." Yes, I know... being married with 4 boys is NOT for the faint of heart! (because actually hubby WAS on the edge of the cliff. Had to be so the other wouldn't fall!)

And, TADA!! Here is where I was. Do you recognise it?? It was a lovely trip! We returned to a full week of fun activities in Singapore before my guests departed just two days ago, and just between you and me, all I have been able to do since they left, is sit on my couch. Just can't bring myself to do one thing.  It was a whirlwind adventure to have them here. They have definitely made my year! We did everything under the Singapore sun, and anyone who knows how hot that can be will understand why I can't move now!

But a new week is coming so I thought I would stop in and say "Howdy!" and share with you my project for this week over at A Walk Down Memory Lane. You can jump over to the blog for a quick tutorial on background stamping with small images. I threw in some water-colour for good measure 

; )

Thanks for stopping in today and not giving up on me even though I have been missing for so long! Even when it's quiet here, I will always be back at least once a week, so hang on for Fridays!

I hope all is well with you and yours. Thanks for the love!

xoxo

k

Sending U Happy Thoughts: Watercolor Resist

Happy Monday! Today is just a quick card featuring a water-colour resist using rubber cement. Really easy and fun! I was just testing out the technique and thought I would share one photo.  Honestly, I took a bunch of photos but only this one with a blue background was the best. And I would retake photos and post but my kids are out of school all this week and I can't really stop in for more than a moment or two or there is complete kid mayhem!

So that's my Tip #1 for you today (about photography not kid mayhem ;)... always take pictures with a background that will help your photo pop! Blue and orange are complementary so that is why I paired these two, and why it looks good. I took a bunch of photos with a yellow background and it just muted everything so it wasn't as nice to look at. Blech!

Ok.. here's what I did... take your rubber cement and make your image. I made a big U on my water-colour paper. Then wait for it to dry. And I mean, REALLY! I know how antsy you will get, but you just gotta wait this one out folks!  Then water-colour your paper, any colours you choose. Again, wait for it to dry! Then rub off the rubber cement and Voila! You have your image revealed and the water-colour resisted. I added an addition stamp sentiment from Wplus9. Now I know this may not read the way I want it to, but its supposed to say "Sending U Happy Thoughts." Does it? I hope so.

I added some glossy accent drops to finish it off. Rounded my corners and put it on a card base. Again, let those glossy-s dry! You can see where I ruined a drop by stacking it with other cards before it was fully dry. Oops. So that's Tip #2 for you today. Drying time is painful but OH so necessary. For rubber cement, paint, glossy accents and even your nails. Get used to trying your patience!

Don't forget this week is the Sweet Stamp Shop New Release! So be sure to come back here tomorrow for some Sweet inspiration and stop by their blog to see the amazing new sets! (I believe there will be 5 for you to enjoy!)

Also this week I'm over at CutCardStock.com for my first card project They have some discounts running right now for fall coloured card stock to help you with all your fall projects. So be sure to check it out!

Thanks for stopping in and spending a moment with me. I know time is precious!

What are you up to this week? I hope there is some craftiness in your future. 

Have a good one!

xoxo

k

Gold Hello

Hey there!! After coming down from this last crafting weekend, I finally found myself today and promptly realised that I missed you! So here I am, back to post.

I'm sharing this card, which is already on my Pinterest and FB pages, but I don't think I have archived it here, so I thought I would real fast.  But honestly, I'm just here to say "hi"! ; ) How are you?

This is one of my first watercoloring attempts and for some reason I like it better than all the others I have done since then. Why does it work that way? Beginners luck and then what follows is the obvious fact that I can't water-colour. But I am trying to remedy that now! Lots of practice, that's what it takes. Boo-Hoo, poor me ; )

Ok, first I started with some water colour paper and used my water-colour pencils to wash the background. Not too much blending because I love the stripes of colour. I waited for it to dry and the splattered it with black, which is always a dangerous mission! So many black splatters flying at once! I was lucky enough for it to not make too much of a mess but I did loose a few envelopes that I had sitting on my desk. I always learn the hard way! And they seem to have landed pretty kindly on my paper too. Whew!

And for the sentiment I used the Big Hello die cut by Simon Says Stamp that is all over the blog-o-sphere. But its gorgeous, so how can it not be!? I also used a technique you see a lot... stacked die cuts. Four cuts in white and one in gold. I searched all over Singapore for this gold foil card stock. Finally found it and now I am out again.... why didn't I buy more when I had it in my hands? Probably because its just too darn expensive here. I need a direct shipping tunnel from SSS to me minus the shipping costs. That would solve a lot of issues for me, I think.

Ok. That's all for today. Just wanted to come say 'Hi' and I was taught never to come to a party empty handed! But really, is this a party? Maybe, maybe not, but I love it all just the same!

Less than 12 hours left to vote for Gallery Idol! So head on over and get'er done! Hope I get to have another crazy crafting weekend!

Thanks for stopping by. 

loves,

k

Make It Monday #165

Happy faux Monday to you : )

I'm trying my hand at the artsy water-colour technique highlighted for Make It Monday by Betsy Veldman over at Papertrey Ink. Check it out! This Monday is Artsy water-colour backgrounds. 

Here is my card:

I stamped Strawberry Patch and Wet Paint  on my water-colour paper. I stamped the strawberries/vines/flowers in Pure Poppy, New Leaf and Harvest Gold. And the sentiment in True Black. I then took my water brush and painted in the images with the ink.

I wanted to have a shadow look to my sentiment so I only watercolored the top part and kept my lines all running in the same direction. I like the look it gives. It would be fun to do this with a box stamp and then put something in the centre. Hmmmm, I'm going to have to try that now.

I embossed "your day" and added some score lines around the edges. I have really been enjoying making one layer cards lately. They can really have a lot of dimension and interest, but still be easy to mail! You gotta love that!

Ok, that's all for this weeks Make It Monday. I like the title of the challenge, because its more like, "Will I make it in time? Will I make it at all? Will I make it before my kids start fighting and the stove boils over?" YES! This week, I guess I did!

Ok. Kids say done! So I gotta run.
thanks for stopping by.
k

Paper Smooches: You Rock

Ok. I think this is bringing our Paper Smooches-water colouring bonanza to a close. At least for a little while  ; )

Can you tell I was on a roll one night? I guess I loved doing it so much I couldn't stop! I am really really loving the water-colour trend. Are you trying it too? Seriously, you should. It almost feels like flying *almost* 

Go on now! There's no stopping you!

 Ok, details... I water coloured my paper and then spattered it (and my entire desk and other cards and envelopes!) with black. Just FYI if you want to do the splatter thing. First off, move EVERYTHING off your desk. Seriously, just do it. You will thank me later. Oh, and maybe wear an apron. Or take off your shirt or something. Or maybe it's just me. That's possible too.
And second, wait until your initial water colouring has dried before you spatter. Cause if you don't, that spatter job is going to run run run! Which is fine, if that's the look you are going for. It wasn't necessarily what I wanted, but it still turned out ok. This stinkin' cute rocking horse really makes up for it! Doesn't Kim just do amazing work! I love her stamps! (yes, I know I keep saying it and saying it!)

I watercolored, then spattered, then dry embossed with a Provo Craft embossing folder, and then stamped the sentiment. In that order. Then popped up my horsy with dimensional adhesive and called it good.
And then I rested ; )

thanks for stopping in.
loves
k

Hello Baby

Are you up for another watercolored baby card? Good thing, cause that's all I got today.

I tried a new thing this go-round. I watercolored, like I usually do. Although I do wish I would have blended a bit more, but that's over now. What I did try was my hand at was making this super shiny die cut/embellishment. I did it just like all the pro's showed me! However I'm pretty sure they don't emboss their desk while they do it. I'm still trying to scrape all that off. What a mess!

I die cut 4 "baby" sentiments and glued them together. Then covered them with glue (honestly, Singapore doesn't have Versamark!?!? GASP!!) and then heat embossed it over and over and over again until it was thick and shiny and oh, so lovely!

I liked it.

Colored my frog with Copics and added a little die cut crown. I did wonder, does this say I'm calling the baby ugly like a frog? Cause, that's not what I meant at all! Maybe it looks like I'm saying "kiss that baby!" or something. I dunno. I just always have a small freak out at the end of each card, and today it was about the message it sent and not the way it looks. sigh.

Anyone else ever do that? Or are you actually well-adjusted? 

I love all things Paper Smooches. If I ever met Kim, I would totally smooch her... on the cheek of course! And for making such adorable stamps! I just love them. 

ok, folks. That's all for today. Gonna run.

Hope to see you again soon!

k

Paper Smooches: Welcome Baby

You're gonna see a lot of Paper Smooches over the next few days. Cause I think I ordered every set Kim has ever drawn. I'm not kidding. Oh, and a loooooot of watercoloring. I think I have watched every video Jennifer McGuire has done. I can't. stop. watching. Seriously.

So let me show you what Jennifer taught me when I finally stopped watching long enough to make something!

Welcome Baby!

 I really want to get my hands on some of that Distress Watercolor Paper by Tim Holtz. I have some regular water-colour paper from the art store but it warps so badly when you use it, it makes me kinda crazy. I need something tough and durable cause I like using LOTS of water... As I sit here thinking, I don't remember what watercolors I used. I've tried it all.... kids watercolors, washable markers (will show you what I mean soon, its pretty cool), water-colour pencils, ink pads and water. But for the life of me I can't remember what I did. That's just crazy!

I added a hand cut and scored vellum banner and a little pile of string in the background. I've seen this string thing around the blogosphere for awhile now (love when Laura Bassen does it) but I was such a bumbling fool when I was doing it. I kept thinking, "Surely, they just wad it up and drop it down, right?" Well, that must be some special string cause mine was not doing any wadding or dropping. It would tangle then move with all the static I created trying to wad it! It was super intense for a moment, I think I started sweating (you can almost picture it, right?) So, that string probably took more time than the watercoloring. Seriously, someone should do a video on the string alone. That would be helpful. ; )

I added some colouring to my elephants using Copics, a sentiment and some pearls.
Voila! Baby card done. Now I need me a baby to give it too...


Thanks for visiting today. Hope you have a good one!
k