Delightful Dahlias

Where does the time go?? I see that the last time I posted was March 6 :(

I had been working on projects for my stamp group that I could not show you at that time and then I got sick with a cold that kept me down for over a week. Finally, I am feeling like myself again and can get back to working in my craft room!

One of the projects that I couldn't show you before were some thank you cards for my stamping group. I gave my MISTI quite the workout in creating them!

The card design is cased from demo Elizabeth Holloway. She has a video on her blog to show how she creates the card. I did mine slightly differently.

I decided to use the Note Cards that Stampin' Up! sells because I wanted a smaller size so that I could use the Mini Treat Bag as an envelope for the cards.

Secondly, I opted for Watercolor Paper instead of Whisper White because it showcased the technique better. I also opted to fill my Stampin' Spritzer with rubbing alcohol instead of water so that the cards dried quicker.

To begin with, I used my MISTI tool to stamp a dahlia (from the gorgeous Regarding Dahlias stamp set) on each watercolor matte using Versamark. I made sure to stamp on the smooth side of the paper so that my stamps would look and stamp better. I then heat embossed each matte using White Embossing Powder.

Back to the MISTI to stamp a second dahlia on each matte; I heat embossed each matte as before.

Next, I filled my Stampin' Spritzer 3/4 full with rubbing alcohol and added about 14 drops of Coastal Cabana Ink Refill. I shook the spritzer to mix the color evenly.

I placed one of the watercolor mattes in my spray booth (a large box from a pair of boots) that helps to keep the spray from going everywhere in my craft room!

I held my spray about 5 inches from the card and spritzed a few times to get some light coverage on the card. As I sprayed, the flowers were revealed. I repeated the process with each watercolor matte.

Because I was using rubbing alcohol, the cards dried fairly quickly but I sped up the process a bit by using my Heat Tool.

I then used a Sponge Dauber with Coastal Cabana and rubbed in a circular motion out from each flower's centre to add a bit more color to the flowers. They contrasted nicely with the spritzed background.

I replaced the watercolor matte in my MISTI and arranged the Thank You sentiment on the lid. I stamped it with Smoky Slate, two times, re-inking the stamp each time. Only using the MISTI could I stamp the sentiment twice in exactly the same spot! I stamped twice because the watercolor paper tends to absorb the ink and I wanted the sentiment to be a bit darker without resorting to a darker ink. The Smoky Slate looks lovely with the Coastal Cabana.

After stamping each matte, I then adhered each to a Coastal Cabana matte using Fuse Fast. I wrapped each matte with Basic Gray Baker's Twine.

Finally, I adhered each matte to the note card.

What do you think? I love how they turned out!

I hope you'll try this technique and then drop me a link to show me YOUR creations!

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Creative Blog Hop

Today I am excited to share with you because I was asked to take part in a Creative Blog Hop! Michelle Long, a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator from Oregon, invited me to participate. You will definitely want to check out her post for the hop as she designed a lovely group of items!

Saturday was my day off so I had all day to play and create for this post. I chose to work with watercolor again; I am really enjoying the many different techniques available to produce watercolor effects with ink.

I started by selecting a piece of watercolor paper. I used washi tape to tape it down on my craft mat so it would not curl up as it got wet.

I wet the paper with clean water using a large, flat brush. I then dipped my Aqua Painter in either Blackberry Bliss or Old Olive ink refills and dropped ink or painted portions of the paper.

As I went, I blotted or added more ink to areas, depending on how it looked to me. I also spritzed water on it using my Stampin Spritzer. It definitely did not look the way I had planned it! However, I grew to like it more and more as I continued the process.

Finally, I decided I had laid down enough color so I used my heat tool to dry it before continuing.
I wanted to add a few water spots so I picked up some clean water with my hand and flicked it onto the paper. I let it sink in for a bit and then blotted it with a paper towel. I repeated this a couple of times until I was pleased with the effect.

I then flicked some ink drops of both Blackberry Bliss and Old Olive onto the paper for added interest. I dried the paper using my heat tool and then trimmed it to 4 1/8 x 5 1/8", preserving some of the un-inked portions of the watercolor paper.

I cut pieces of Blackberry Bliss and Old Olive ribbons and adhered them with Sticky Strip to the back of the paper, both in a vertical and a horizontal format. I then wove the strips where they met and then adhered the remaining ribbon ends.

I used the Pansy Punch to cut a flower from Rich Razzleberry and inked the edges with Blackberry Bliss. I cut two additional flowers using the Petite Petals Punch, inking them as well. I also punched a flower from Mambo Melon and inked the edges with (you guessed it!) Blackberry Bliss. I used a punch from the now retired Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack to punch tiny flowers from Mambo Melon and Blackberry Bliss.

I used my Paper Blossom Tool Kit to shape each flower to make it more realistic. This set has been invaluable to me over the years and is always in my basic tool kit for card making. I adhered the parts of each flower using Crystal Effects.

I used the Bird Builder Punch to provide some greenery for the flowers, using the leaves and the bird wing to act as leaves. These were punched from Old Olive and inked with Mossy Meadow. They were also shaped with my Paper Blossom Tool Kit.

I attached the larger flower to the watercolor panel using a Dimensional and the smaller flowers were adhered with Crystal Effects. I also adhered the little leaves with Crystal Effects.

I added a rhinestone to the centre of each flower. To finish off the panel, I unravelled the gold thread from the Gold Bakers Twine and kind of shaped it into a pleasing shape. It was adhered in places with a little Crystal Effects.

The watercolor panel was adhered to an Old Olive 4 1/2 x 5 1/2" matte that had been inked loosely with Mossy Meadow.

I used Black Stazon Ink to ink the sentiment from Painted Petals on the 5 x 7" Mambo Melon card base and then adhered the rest of the card to it using Dimensionals.

To coordinate with my card I created a treat bag from the Painted Petals Designer paper, cut with the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies. I assembled the bag quickly using Fuse Fast adhesive.

I used the Banners Dies to cut a banner from Old Olive and embossed it using the Designer Dots embossing folder. I inked it with Mossy Meadow.

Using Mambo Melon card stock, I cut the For You using one of the pieces from the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies. I cut it three times and adhered the layers together to make thick letters. I adhered these to the banner using Crystal Effects.

I created another flower, using Mambo Melon and Blackberry card stocks and adhered it to the banner using a Dimensional. I then attached the banner to the treat bag using a clothespin.

As part of this Creative Blog Hop, I need to answer a few questions.

1. What are you working on?

In the next few days, I will be designing some Valentine treats for my Granddaughter, Raine, as well as planning my projects for the March session of my stamping group.

2. How does your style differ from others in your genre?

I'm not sure that my style differs from others but I do tend to use bold, dramatic color combinations and I tend to favor texture in the form of embossing, burlap, ribbons, etc. I like to try a number of different styles in card making rather than sticking with one particular style. At the present time, I am enjoying experimenting with watercolor techniques.

3. Why do you create what you do?

I enjoy the creative process and love to share it with others! What could be more fun than playing with color and paper and ribbons and ink and glitter? :)

4. How does your creative process work?

My creative process can be sparked in various ways. Sometimes (quite often in fact!) I am inspired by a particular color scheme and I create a project based on it. Other times, I may be project driven in that I may have to create a particular type of card–birthday, thank you, sympathy, etc. Still other times I start with a particular technique I want to learn and combine that with a pleasing color scheme to design a specific project.

I nominate Carrie Rhoades who will be posting projects on her own blog on February 16. I found Carrie through Pinterest. She has some amazing projects on her blog! In particular, I love the flowers she has created using the Bouquet Bigz L Die to adorn some of her projects so be sure to browse back through her posts to see these!

Be sure to visit Carrie on February 16 to view her special projects!

Thanks for visiting today!

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