WWC77 - Marsha's Colour Challenge

This week we have a wonderful selection of colours, courtesy of Marsha. I loved working with these colours, and after seeing what the other Watercooler Artists have done, it's clear that this colour combo fits any style. Here's what we had to work with:

I immediately thought watercolour! It's my favourite technique. And Very Vanilla cardstock is great for watercolouring. It adds a soft undertone to the colours.

Since I had just received the Rose Wonder stamp set, it is the perfect choice for colouring.

This image is all one big stamp and I simply inked it up with Archival Black ink and stamped it onto the Very Vanilla cardstock.

Using an Aquapainter, I first coloured the entire rose with a layer of Pink Pirouette, not worrying about creating shadows, or even covering the whole image. Then I did the same thing with the leaves and Mint Macaron.

One thing I've learned about watercolouring, is that it is important to let the ink dry thoroughly before adding another layer. You can either let it air dry, or hurry things up with a heat tool. I like to stamp several images so I can colour the others while waiting for each layer to dry.

Once it was dry, I went over the leaves again with Mint Macaron, but just applied ink randomly to give it some variation in tone.

For the rose, my next layer was done with Sweet Sugarplum, taking care to not cover the Pink Pirouette layer completely. After that layer was dry, I went over it again just in a few spots where there might be shadows.

Once that layer was dry, I went back to the Pink Pirouette and did a quick wash over everything to smooth out any lines that might show between the layers. You do want to be careful not to use too much water or the cardstock will begin to fray.

The banner at the top, as well as the sentiment and little hearts are from the Thoughtful Banners stamp set, stamped with Night of Navy and Pink Pirouette for the hearts. I do have the coordinating punch, but cannot find it after my move, so I fussy cut it. I wanted it to have a bit more substance, so I glued it onto some Night of Navy cardstock and then cut it out again, leaving a bit of a border of Night of Navy. To make the hearts glossy, I covered them with glue from the Fine Tip Glue Pen.

Next, I thought the centre of the rose needed some bling. My thought was to put a tiny Rhinestone Basic Jewel there, to look like a dew drop. However, the only rhinestones I could find were the retired jumbo sized ones. So, I went with it! Go big or go home, right? Here's a closeup:

A mat of Sweet Sugarplum sets of the main image panel nicely and I like how it looks with the Night of Navy cardbase.

To see what the other Watercooler Artists have done, visit Watercooler Wednesday, then show us how you would combine these lovely colours.
 
 

WWC76 - Penny's Clean & Simple Butterflies

Welcome to another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge. This week Penny has given us a Clean & Simple (CAS) Challenge with a theme of Butterflies. Since there are many ways to interpret what Clean & Simple is, the team of Watercooler Artists have decided to clarify our interpretation of Clean & Simple:

Rules for our Clean & Simple Challenges:
Either a single layer upon which we stamp or a base with a single layer upon which we stamp. Since we use embellishments for any other type of card, no embellishments or die-cuts or anything except the simplicity of stamping for the "clean & simple". That gives a clear reason for its name. And what is simpler than stamping? That will allow heat embossing since, if one decides to use a colour, heat embossing would show better than simple stamping. But no embossing folder embossing. Clean and simple.

Cardstock - stamps - ink - that's pretty much it. What I like about this, is that it shows it is possible to create beautiful cards with just the basics. Here's what I did:

I chose to go with just a card base of Thick Whisper White cardstock. This CS is amazing. It's heavy enough to stand on it's own and it stamps beautifully. I have even watercoloured on it. For the butterfly image, which is from the Butterfly Basics stamp set, I inked it up with the new Calypso Coral Ombre stamp pad. This stamp pad gives you various shades of one colour, from light to dark. It does work better with a larger image, but I still like the little bit of colour variance on these. You can see it better in this close-up:

To give a bit more interest, I used the little dots stamp from Timeless Textures with Peekaboo Peach, one of the new InColors.

The sentiment is also from Butterfly basics, and I did something different with it.

Instead of using ink, I coloured the stamp with the Gold Wink of Stella pen. It gives it a bit of sparkle.

And that's it! Clean & Simple!

Now it's your turn to give it a try. Visit the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog and check out what the other Watercooler Artists have come up with, then link your creation.

 


 

WWC75 - Deborah's Sketch Challenge

Welome to another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge! This week Deborah has given us this sketch to follow:

Now, you might think having to follow a sketch is limiting. Not so. While we do still follow the sketch as far as all the layers and details go, there are options. Such as, flipping the sketch to make it horizontal instead of vertical. Which is what I did.

I used Thick Whisper White cardstock for my card base, and 3 of the patterns from the Floral Boutique Designer Series Paper. Don't you just love the crisp look of the Night of Navy and Whisper White?

The main flower image is also from the Floral Boutique DSP. It is fussy cut, which took a while! I do not mind fussy cutting, usually, but this did take a bit longer than I had anticipated. However, I love the results.

Now,  I did run into a couple of snags when creating this. First mistake I made was to glue down all my layers - before I stamped the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes. Why is that a bad thing, you ask? Well, as you can see from the angle, I did not get it straight.

And I know better! Usually, I stamp my sentiment first. That way, if I mess it up I can flip the cardstock over and get another chance. I really wasn't paying attention here. Since I didn't have time to start over, I thought I would use this as a lesson to all of you - of what NOT to do!

Next problem I ran into came when I wanted to use my Basic Jewel Pearls for the 3 embellishments. I know I have a package. In fact, I know I have several packages - somewhere! I'm still looking for them...

So, I tried to make 3 dots using the Clean Wink of Stella. It sort of worked - except they are all different sizes. But, hey, that was my intent! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Stay tuned - once I locate my MIA pearls, I'll make some adjustments to this card. And do something about the crooked sentiment.

But, all of us at the Watercooler really want to see your take on Deborah's Sketch Challenge. Visit the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog to see what the other Watercooler Artists have done with it, then link up your creation. It's as simple as that!

WWC74-Marsha's Tag Theme Challenge

Another Wednesday means another challenge. This week Marsha has given us the theme of Tags. Tags are something we maybe don't think about making - until Christmas time - but there are many other occasions throughout the year when we can use a tag.

As I'm still working with limited supplies, I thought long and hard about what to do - and it took me until 10 p.m. the night before our samples were due to be struck by inspiration. And when you see how simple my design was, you will wonder why it took me so long!

This is it:

 The image is the olive branch from the Tuscan Vineyard stamp set. I used Always Artichoke and Old Olive - what else?! - markers to colour the stamp, then stamped it onto one of the designs from the awesome Serene Scenery Designer Series Paper Stack. The photo-quality images in this collection are to die for and will add a really extra special touch to your projects.

Now, I was tempted to stamp more olive branches on this piece, but I restrained myself. It was hard to stop at one!

My Scallop Tag Punch is still packed away in a box in a pile of boxes, and at 10 at night I was not about to start digging for it. However, I did happen to have in my reach my brand new, newly arrived Lots of Labels Framelits Dies. Don't you just love that itty bitty tag? There are so many sizes in this set I can see it being used a lot.

It would have been fitting if I had used Old Olive cardstock for the base layer. But - you guessed it! - it, too, is still in a box somewhere. For some reason, I had unpacked a box with various odds and ends in it, including some of the retired Mossy Meadow cardstock. It's my opinion this colour should never have been retired - it is my all time fave green. Please bring it back Stampin' Up!

To finish my tag off, a bit of Linen Thread ties it to a piece of the new, 5/8" burlap ribbon, wrapped around the neck of the bottle.

I just have to tell you a bit about the bottle I used - and why I used it. In the town of Gibsons where I live on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada, there is an olive oil store. Really - a store that sells primarily olive oil - different oils from all over the world! Oh, and they also sell Balsamic Vinegars - so many flavours. The store is called, fittingly, the Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Company.

It is so much fun to visit. The oils are kept in big drums and there are bottles of each oil in front of the drums and little plastic cups so you can taste the oil before you buy it. They do the same thing with the vinegars. The staff is very knowledgeable about all the oils and vinegars and there are printed pamphlets with suggested pairings of oil and vinegar for dipping bread into. Yummy stuff! This particular bottle I used here contained a Greek olive oil called Koroneiki. This oil has a nice peppery after taste, which I think makes it great for both cooking and dipping bread into.

So,  here is a view of the whole bottle - I know you want to see it in all it's glory!

And there you have it - a simple tag for a tasty treat that makes a great gift.

Want to play along? It's easy - just visit the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog to check out all the other fun tags created by the Watercooler Artists. Make up a tag and link it up on the blog. We love to see the creative interpretations you all come up with.

WWC73 - Gail's Clean & Simple Challenge

Welcome to Watercooler Wednesday and my summer-themed Clean & Simple (CAS) Challenge!
It's almost a month since I moved. No - I'm not anywhere near to being unpacked. No - I don't have my craft room set up. But - I was able to dig out enough supplies to do my card for this Challenge. Good thing it's CAS!

One of the new stamp sets in the brand new 2016 - 2017 catalogue that caught my eye right away was the Sitting Here set. Who could resist the cute cat and that curled up napping dog? Not me! So, when we were able to place our pre-orders, I was happy to see this was one of the choices.

For my summer-themed CAS, I used the pot of flowers and the cat. Using the masking technique, I stamped the cat first onto Thick Whisper White cardstock, using Archival Basic Black ink. Also stamped the cat onto a piece of scrap paper and fussy cut her out. Next, I placed the cut out kitty on top of the kitty stamped onto the WW cardstock, inked up the flower pot and flowers stamp with Archival Basic Black and stamped it so it looks like Miss Kitty is relaxing in front of it.

Using colours from the new 2016 - 2018 InColor collection - Peekaboo Peach, Emerald Elegance and Flirty Flamingo - I coloured in the flowers and leaves using an Aqua Painter. Peekaboo Peach is a great colour for Miss Kitty, as well!

To finish off, a light colour wash of Soft Sky behind the flowers and a bit of Crumb Cake shadow by Miss Kitty complete my little summer scene. Then, because I struggle with CAS, and it seemed unfinished to me, I added some splatter from the Gold Wink of Stella pen to give it a bit of sunshine sparkle. The image panel is popped up on Dimensionals on a Peekaboo Peach card base.

 We'd love to see your interpretation of Clean & Simple Summer. Just visit the Watercooler Wednesday blog to see what the other Watercooler Artists have done, then link up your card.

WWC69 - Kath's CAS Masculine Challenge

As if CAS isn't challenge enough for me, this week's Challenge Host, Kath, threw another curveball into the mix - Masculine theme!

 With Father's Day just around the corner, this is perfect timing for this Challenge. I had received my pre-order of brand new items from the soon-to-be-released 2016-2017 Annual Catalogue. Two of the colours from the newest set of In-Colors were perfect to use for this - Dapper Denim and Emerald Envy.

On a piece of Whisper White cardstock, stamp the 'Happy' from the Tin of Cards stamp set in Dapper Denim in a column. I inked the stamp once and stamped multiple times before re-inking.

The cute banner image and 'Father's Day' is from the brand new stamp set Thoughtful Banners, which comes in a bundle with a coordinating punch.

I used one of the hats from the hat stamp in the Guy Greetings stamp set, stamped in Archival Basic Black ink and fussy cut. To give it a bit of shine, I coated it with glue from the Fine Tip Glue Pen.

Mount the banner onto a strip of Dapper Denim, pop-up the hat with a dimensional, mat with Dapper Denim and mount the whole thing onto an Emerald Envy card base. And you're done!

Quick and easy! It's also quick and easy for you to visit the Watercooler Wednesday blog to see what all the other Watercooler Artists have done with this challenge. Then, create your own CAS Masculine themed card and link it to our Challenge.

WWC 68 - Libby's Colour Challenge

As the end of May grows closer, we are still saying goodbye to our favourite retiring products. This week at the Watercooler we are giving a rousing send off to what I think has been the best set of In-Colors ever!

This set of colours not only worked so well with many of our core colours, but they also worked perfectly with each other. I can't say that about previous years' collections.

My card uses all of these retiring colours. When I set out to make this, all I knew was that I wanted to use an image from the Wilderness Awaits stamp set.

I Googled images of Mallard ducks to see what colours they were. My duck has Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Blackberry Bliss and Tangelo Twist - with some Tip Top Taupe for the body. The head is actually painted with the Clear Wink of Stella brush dipped into a drop of Mossy Meadow. Also used this technique with Blackberry Bliss for the accents on the throat and wings. Some highlights from the white gel pen finish off the ring around the neck and a bit on the wings. Here's a closer look at the duck:

The sky is done with a light colour wash of Lost Lagoon, using the aquapainter. To give it some interest, I used a stamp from Work of Art and stamped "clouds", also using Lost Lagoon.

The water is done with an image from Timeless Textures and Pool Party ink. I love the look of this - like it is really water with light shining off it!

In the foreground, another one of the stamps from Timeless Texture inked with Tip Top Taupe looks like a shore line. For the grassy part, I used a stamp from Wetlands and Hello Honey. Also swiped the Hello Honey stamp pad across the bottom for more depth.

Around the edges of the Whisper White image panel, I just used the Lost Lagoon and Hello Honey stamp pads to darken the edges slightly and matted it with Smokey Slate. The card base is Lost Lagoon.

I didn't put a  sentiment on it, as I intend it to be used as a blank note card.

I will really miss these colours! Thankfully, I do like the new In-Colours that are in the 2016-2017 catalogue and can't wait to play with them. Just got my pre-order today!

Now, we want to see your take on this fabulous colour combo. Visit the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge Blog to see what the other Watercooler Artists have done.