How Do I Spell Fun? C-O-L-O-R B-U-R-S-T-S!

There is nothing like working with a new product to get your creative juices fired up!

I recently purchased Ken Oliver's Color Bursts from Rubbernecker.com and was really pleased with the speed of their delivery! I got stung at another online store before buying at Rubbernecker and had to submit a claim with Paypal but they came through for me with flying colors and got my payment returned to me! If you want to learn more about Color Bursts you can visit Ken's Facebook page and there are a few YouTube videos worth watching as well!

Basically, the Color Bursts are powdered watercolors and they come in little squeeze containers. You basically squeeze them on your paper and then spritz with water or spritz with water and then squeeze them on. Pretty simple! But there is a whole lot more you can do with them if you use a paintbrush, stencils, etc.

They can be a bit messy, though, so you may want to use them in a spray booth of some sort (I use an old shoe box) because the powder can really get into a lot of places! Trying to wipe the powder up with a wet cloth will activate the watercolors and then you will get a bunch of colorful streaks to clean up! (Ask me how I know?!)

I set out to create some Thank You cards for my stamping group and the cards below are what I created.

Basically, I used Lawn Fawn Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables to cut out my watercolor mattes. I then used my MISTI to stamp the sentiment, from the Another Thank You stamp set, with Versamark and heat embossed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder.

Working with one matte at a time, I spritzed the matte with water and then squeezed on the inks of my choice. I would add more ink and spritz again as needed till I was satisfied with my creation. Sometimes I picked up the matte and allowed the inks to run; sometimes I wiped off too much ink. I used my heat tool to dry the matte and sometimes added more water/ink after doing so.

I adhered each watercolor piece to a Basic Black matte and then onto a Whisper White Thick card stock card base.

Have you tried working with Color Bursts yet? I'm sure you would enjoy them.

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Card Inspiration—Color

In my job as cashier at Walmart, I occasionally get a moment between customers. It is then that my thoughts turn to possible card projects.

One of my favorite activities is to make a list of new color combos. I love color and can't imagine a world without it. I glean ideas from all sorts of things. A printed fabric, packaging, or like today, from a magazine.

I saw this cover for Style At Home magazine and right away I knew I wanted to use Lost Lagoon, Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake and Gold. I even jotted down a description of the card, complete with a rough sketch.

This card idea gnawed at me all through my shift until I could get home and bring it to fruition!


My apologies for the difference in color between the two card images—the second image is closest to how the card actually looks.

The card deviates only slightly from my design idea. I decided to use a smidge of Island Indigo to make the card pop. Also, I stamped on a die cut rather than straight on the card. I used two now retired stamp sets on this card: Million & One and En Francaise. I also used a punch from the retired set of punches, Itty Bitty Shapes.

Leave me a comment below to let me know where you find your best color ideas!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog