Stampin' Up! ~ Penned & Painted with Sympathy

I don't know about anyone else, but for me making sympathy cards is the hardest when it comes to making cards.  I want to make sure the person or family I'm sending the card to knows that I truly care about them and what they're going through.  Since I am NOT a writer at all I have I hard time expressing my feelings, so I want the card to help in that area...and that's why I say sympathy cards are the hardest for me to make.  

I almost forgot to take pictures of these cards , but managed to quickly snap a couple of pictures of the group.  I was taking off for a few days and needed to get them mailed out ASAP!

Peekaboo Peach

Flirty Flamingo

Sweet Sugarplum

Pear Pizzazz

Basic Black

Whisper White

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Supplies used on these cards:

Stampin' Up! ~ Happy Birthday Bloom

Today I have a fun shaker card to show you that I made for my daughter's birthday last month.  Boy are shaker cards hard to get a good picture of!  The light wants to glare off the window sheet!  I finally managed though...whew!  I used some of the left over glitter from this month's Paper Pumpkin kit to put inside.  And I was picky and had to pick through them because I didn't want some of the colors in there.  I also added some hearts in Pool Party using the Confetti Hearts Border punch to fill it up a bit more.

Pool Party

Bermuda Bay

Cucumber Crush

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Supplies used on this card:

Stampin' Up! ~ Gift of Love

I did it again...I made my card for Try Stampin' or Not on Tuesday's challenge early (weeks early, believe it or not!), but didn't post it!  Today's card is pretty simple since the optional theme is blue and white...and I actually played along with the theme this time. lol  

This card was really simple to make.  I cut the card stock to the size I needed, stamped the images, did a little sponging on the edges of the white card stock and did a little dry embossing on the card base and blue background piece, attached the pieces together and I was done!

Dapper Denim

Whisper White

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Supplies used on this card:

Stampin' Up! ~ Colorful Calla Lilies

I have another card to share with you today made with the set Remarkable You.  My cousin just had a birthday and I figured that was a good excuse to try my hand at watercolors again. :)

Can you tell which flower I painted first, second, then last?  My lines weren't as dark and harsh the more I worked it.  I painted the back flower first, then the one on the left and the right one last.  I really like the soft edges I did on the last one.  I'll keep on practicing, but I'm still happy with how they turned out over all. :)

To create this I taped around the edges of my watercolor paper with masking tape using the biggest Stampin' Up! block. Next I stamped the flowers with Sahara Sand.  Yup, with Sahara Sand (I'd use any really light color like Blushing Bride or So Saffron, depending on the color the flower is going to be).  Then I masked both the flowers and stamped the left one again back behind the other two.  I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to position it.  That's one reason my back flower is darker on the edges.  I stamped it with Pear Pizzazz on the stamp-a-ma-jig plastic piece and didn't get the stamp cleaned off well enough before I put on the Sahara Sand, so when I stamped it it was greenish brown...ugg.  I started by coloring the little "nib" in the middle with Daffodil Delight...which I shouldn't have done!  They're usually white if the calla lily is blue.  Too late...I was going with it because the yellow didn't lift as much as I would have liked.  After those were dry I started with the top flower by first getting the top area of the flower wet including the edge of the flower (in this case greenish brown! lol).  Getting the edge wet makes the color bleed and it will blend in with the color your using so it "disappears".  Then I used Island Indigo to color it in.  Basically I put it around the edges of the flower and let the water pull the color in.  That's why it's darker on the outside and lighter as it goes toward the middle of the flowers.  I did that with each part of every flower, making sure that the previous part was dry before going to the next so the colors didn't bleed into any other part of the flower.  I wet each of the stems, then added Pear Pizzazz starting that was diluted with water and before it completely dried added more in, just not quite as diluted.  Once the flower and stems were completely dry I did my background by wetting the whole thing and dropping in Pear Pizzazz by the stems and a very diluted Island Indigo around the flowers.  I made sure I kept the watercolor paper wet so the colors flowed outward.  I wanted the color a little darker closer to the flowers and stems and lighter as it got farther away.  As that was drying I added the "splashes" with my paintbrush using the same watered down colors.  Once it was completely dry (believe it or not I never used my heat gun with this card!!) I pulled off the masking tape and put it on card stock.

Daffodil Delight

Pear Pizzazz

Island Indigo

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Supplies use on this card:

Watercolor paper and various paintbrushes from local craft store

Stampin' Up! ~ From Land to Sea in Watercolor 2

I have another card to share with you today that was inspired by the card I posted the other day.  I had so much fun making the anniversary card for my sister and her husband's anniversary that I decided to make another one similar to it for my parents' anniversary. :)  

Since my mom's favorite color is blue I added more blue using Pool Party card stock for the background instead of watercolor paper.  I've enjoyed using "watercolors" (I say that because I'm not really using watercolors, but Stampin' Up! ink), but I still have a LOT to learn!  One thing I know is I'm glad I use stamps to help me with images because I can't draw worth a toot! lol 

Cherry Cobbler

So Saffron

Pear Pizzazz

Old Olive

Island Indigo

Marina Mist

Wisteria Wonder

Smoky Slate

Crumb Cake

Basic Black

Mossy Meadow

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Supplies used on this card:

Watercolor paper from local craft store

Stampin' Up! ~ From Land to Sea in Watercolor

I'm really excited to post today's card!  A few weeks ago it was my sister and brother-in-law's 20th anniversary so I wanted to make something special for them.  They do like the outdoors, not sure if they like the beach and sand though! ;)  But I have to tell you I had a lot of fun creating this card that was inspired by Try Stampin' or Not on Tuesday's sketch challenge #276.  There is an optional theme that I didn't do this time around, but it's polka dots!  If it was stripes I'd be all in! :)

As you can see by the sketch I chose to turn my card 90 degrees to the left.  I do that every now and then...keeps things interesting (or helps me create a card instead of wondering what I'm going to do since nothing is popping into my mind!). Make sure you check out the other great cards created by the design team for this sketch HERE.  As always...if you get a chance to play along we'd love to see what you create!

I'll tell you a little bit about how I created it down below, but first here are the colors I used to created this "painting"...

Cherry Cobbler

So Saffron

Pear Pizzazz

Old Olive

Mossy Meadow

Island Indigo

Marina Mist

Wisteria Wonder

Smoky Slate

Crumb Cake

Basic Black

To create this card I started with watercolor paper cut at about 3-1/2" x  3-1/2".  I used masking tape to cover about 1/4" all the way around the paper since I wanted a framed look on this card.  Note:  I always clean my aqua painter before using the next color unless I want them blended together.  I won't be writing that every time I switch colors. :)  Using my aqua painter I wet the top 2/3 of my paper and added Marina Mist and a touch of Island Indigo to the top left corner and let it bleed and blend.  I then added So Saffron to the rest of the watercolor paper where it was wet, but left a bit of a space between the blue and yellow...I didn't want a green sky!  Then I quickly added a touch of Wisteria Wonder between the blue and yellow and at the bottom of the horizon.  While that was drying I inked up the light house from the stamp set From Land to Sea.  I inked the top and just a touch of the bottom with a Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker.  Then using a Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write Marker I colored the more pronounced stripes on the lighthouse.  The last color I used was Smoky Slate and colored in between the red and at the very bottom under the black, but I didn't go all the way to the bottom.  I knew I was going to cover that part anyway with something so I didn't want it on at all because I'd have to cover it.  Once the stamp was inked I huffed on it a few times and stamped it where I wanted it on the picture.  Using my aqua painter I carefully wet all of the Cherry Cobbler on the lighthouse.  Then I did the top carefully so you can still see some of the detail, but not all of it.  Next I blended the smoky slate in between the red pulling from the outside in on each side.  The last thing I blended was the bottom of the lighthouse.  The sky and lighthouse were the simple parts for me!  Then I was stumped.  I can't visualize what I want to paint at all so I pulled up a lot of other paintings to get an idea of what I wanted to do.  I just decided to add some green to fill in for small bushes or grass.  First I wet the horizon area and a little bit below it, but made sure it wasn't too wet.  Then I started dabbing Pear Pizzazz all over and let it dry a little.  Before it was completely dry I added Old Olive so it would bleed and blend a little, but not too much.  I did the same thing with my last color Mossy Meadow.  Each time I added them I made sure I did less of each color so I didn't lose the different tones.  Painting a beach and water just does not work for me, but I took a stab at it any way.  I wet the rest of the paper below the grass, then I added a touch of Crumb Cake for sand, then quickly added Marina Mist and a good amount of Island Indigo.  After the sand and water were dry I added more blue that was a mixture of Marina Mist and Island Indigo here and there.  I'm glad I did because I thought it looked better that way!  Once it was dry I carefully took the tape off, then finished assembling the card.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Supplies used on this card:

Watercolor paper from local craft store & masking tape

Stampin' Up! ~ From Land to Sea in Watercolor

I'm really excited to post today's card!  A few weeks ago it was my sister and brother-in-law's 20th anniversary so I wanted to make something special for them.  They do like the outdoors, not sure if they like the beach and sand though! ;)  But I have to tell you I had a lot of fun creating this card that was inspired by Try Stampin' or Not on Tuesday's sketch challenge #276.  There is an optional theme that I didn't do this time around, but it's polka dots!  If it was stripes I'd be all in! :)

As you can see by the sketch I chose to turn my card 90 degrees to the left.  I do that every now and then...keeps things interesting (or helps me create a card instead of wondering what I'm going to do since nothing is popping into my mind!). Make sure you check out the other great cards created by the design team for this sketch HERE.  As always...if you get a chance to play along we'd love to see what you create!

I'll tell you a little bit about how I created it down below, but first here are the colors I used to created this "painting"...

Cherry Cobbler

So Saffron

Pear Pizzazz

Old Olive

Mossy Meadow

Island Indigo

Marina Mist

Wisteria Wonder

Smoky Slate

Crumb Cake

Basic Black

To create this card I started with watercolor paper cut at about 3-1/2" x  3-1/2".  I used masking tape to cover about 1/4" all the way around the paper since I wanted a framed look on this card.  Note:  I always clean my aqua painter before using the next color unless I want them blended together.  I won't be writing that every time I switch colors. :)  Using my aqua painter I wet the top 2/3 of my paper and added Marina Mist and a touch of Island Indigo to the top left corner and let it bleed and blend.  I then added So Saffron to the rest of the watercolor paper where it was wet, but left a bit of a space between the blue and yellow...I didn't want a green sky!  Then I quickly added a touch of Wisteria Wonder between the blue and yellow and at the bottom of the horizon.  While that was drying I inked up the light house from the stamp set From Land to Sea.  I inked the top and just a touch of the bottom with a Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker.  Then using a Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write Marker I colored the more pronounced stripes on the lighthouse.  The last color I used was Smoky Slate and colored in between the red and at the very bottom under the black, but I didn't go all the way to the bottom.  I knew I was going to cover that part anyway with something so I didn't want it on at all because I'd have to cover it.  Once the stamp was inked I huffed on it a few times and stamped it where I wanted it on the picture.  Using my aqua painter I carefully wet all of the Cherry Cobbler on the lighthouse.  Then I did the top carefully so you can still see some of the detail, but not all of it.  Next I blended the smoky slate in between the red pulling from the outside in on each side.  The last thing I blended was the bottom of the lighthouse.  The sky and lighthouse were the simple parts for me!  Then I was stumped.  I can't visualize what I want to paint at all so I pulled up a lot of other paintings to get an idea of what I wanted to do.  I just decided to add some green to fill in for small bushes or grass.  First I wet the horizon area and a little bit below it, but made sure it wasn't too wet.  Then I started dabbing Pear Pizzazz all over and let it dry a little.  Before it was completely dry I added Old Olive so it would bleed and blend a little, but not too much.  I did the same thing with my last color Mossy Meadow.  Each time I added them I made sure I did less of each color so I didn't lose the different tones.  Painting a beach and water just does not work for me, but I took a stab at it any way.  I wet the rest of the paper below the grass, then I added a touch of Crumb Cake for sand, then quickly added Marina Mist and a good amount of Island Indigo.  After the sand and water were dry I added more blue that was a mixture of Marina Mist and Island Indigo here and there.  I'm glad I did because I thought it looked better that way!  Once it was dry I carefully took the tape off, then finished assembling the card.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Supplies used on this card:

Watercolor paper from local craft store & masking tape