Thursday, August 6, 2015

Watercolored Hollyhock Birthday Cards

Hello Friends! I'm buzzin' in real quick to share a few of the cards I've been working on for a customer. Birthday cards are on my work area this week. Here's a little look into The Hive...


You're also getting a peek at a few more cards I created. I may post those in a day or so. Anyway, for today's card share I did a little watercoloring with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens. I've gone back to making two of each card, this way I can have extras to put in my Card Boutique. I used the Sunshine and Smiles stamp set from Clearly Besotted. I just love the hollyhock and sunflower images in that set. Today, I used the hollyhock and I colored it two ways.



I kept the cards fairly simple because I really want the focus on the watercoloring.



For my first card, I stamped the image onto the smooth side of a piece of Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Card stock, using Versamark ink and then I heat embossed with white embossing powder. I love the look of the white outline with the watercolored image. It's so soft and delicate. Next, I die cut the panel with a Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle die and matted it with green.I mounted the focal onto a piece of craft foam and then adhered it all down onto a purple top folding card base.  I don't use a lot of purple in my designs and I really don't know why. It's a lovely color. For the sentiment, I white embossed the Happy Birthday and then used an oblong punch on it. I adhered that with a bit of foam tape. A sprinkling of Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh was added as the finishing touch.



For my second card, I followed the same steps as the card above. However, with this one, I stamped on the textured side of the watercolor card stock. I really like the textured side best. I wanted to see if there was any difference with the blending of the Zig brushes on textured vs. smooth. The smooth side did blend a little bit better, but not enough to make me want to use it exclusively. And, for this image, instead of using a watercolor brush and clear water, I used an "empty" Clear Wink of Stella brush filled with water. It really is loaded with lots of glitter and why waste it? I add a bit of water to the barrel and use it like a water brush. I will keep adding water as long as there is glitter!


click to enlarge
 I turned off one of my lights to try and capture the sparkle for you. It is sooooo pretty! And you can also see the different textures on the watercolor card stock here, too. Which side do you prefer? Textured or smooth? 

That is all I have for today. Thank you so much for dropping in! I appreciate the visit.


Blessings~



supplies~ 
stamp set: Sunshine and Smiles(Clearly Besotted)   "happy birthday"- Express Yourself(Stampin' Up!)
card stock: Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery(Stampin' Up!)  Raspberry Fizz(Papertrey Ink)
specialty paper: Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Card stock(Ranger)
ink: Versamark(Tsukineko)
punches: Word Window(Stampin' Up!)
dies: Stitched Rectangle, Postage Stamp Edge(Simon Says Stamp)
bling: 4mm, 6mm Sparkling Clear sequins(Pretty Pink Posh)
coloring medium: Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens - 080 purple, 041 light green, 025 pink, 050 yellow
other: Super Fine Detail White embossing powder(Simon Says Stamp)

4 comments:

Jeanne said...

Oh my goodness, Barb! These cards are absolutely gorgeous. You sure know your way around those watercolor pens, that is for sure! Wow! I'm gravitating slightly more toward the purple flowers. There is something about the blending of the colors that is drawing me in. That's not to say I don't like the glittery goodness of the pink. I think I might prefer the smooth side just a hair more for the coloring. But I really like the texture of the bumpy side for the background. Does that make sense? And thank you so much for the tip about the WOS pen and filling the empty barrel with water to get some extra life out of it. :) Have a wonderful weekend!

CherylQuilts said...

Oh, Barb, wow these are gorgeous! I agree that you sure are mastering these wonderful watercolor pens! The colors are gorgeous, and the sparkle IRL must be even more beautiful! I agree that a simple layout is best to showcase these gorgeous hollyhocks! Stunning cards, sweet friend! Hugs!

Leslie Miller said...

Gorgeous cards, beautifully watercolored!

stampmonkey said...

Wow! is all I can think to say each time I see one of your creations, Barb. Your coloring skills absolutely blow me away --doesn't seem to make a difference which medium you're using, your coloring is always wonderful. {I don't get by here as often as I'd like, and I rarely take the time to comment...instead I just gawk at your beautiful coloring; forgive me.} I'd say all your practicing and 30-day challenges have been very fruitful for you. I can't imagine you need any more practice time, but whatever you're doing is working very well so keep it up. ;)

I honestly can't decide which side of the watercolor paper I prefer. Both of your cards are stunning, even though they each have a slightly different look. I love pink, but these days I'm gravitating towards purples for some reason. Not sure if that gives the lavender card a slight edge or if it's the non-texture {if that's a term?} that is drawing me in. Regardless, they're both gorgeous and I'm sure the recipients will love them.

I'm always amazed, and slightly envious -lol, at how many different stamp and supply companies you 'collect' from! And again I'm just blown away by your coloring talent, be it with Copics, watercolor, colored pencils, whatever the case may be. You rock, Barb! Some day/year I hope to have some time to sit down and play with my coloring. For now, though, I'm letting the patterned papers be the "color" and having the sentiment be the focus instead of an image. *sigh*

Anyway, I hope to be back a little more often. I always love seeing what you've created.

blessings and hugs,
Christi