Wading in Watercolors

As of late, I have seen some crafting with watercolors.  I have to say, there are some things I love about watercolors, and other things I am not so in love with.  Here are some cards that lately I have really liked using this technique:

I love the die cut over the watercolor background on this one.

This might be my favorite KKel card of all time.  It mixes two things I love: summer and Ali Edwards!  Isn't that background perfect for the sentiment?

This one's a Kristina Werner video that actually made me want to give it a whirl.

And here is my attempt.  So clean.  So simple.  Made, of course, under the watchful eye of Karen (see the photo background?).  I used her Sakura KOI Watercolors and a Stampin' Up! Aquapainter.  Then we sprayed some watercolor paper with water, and I experimented.  I loved how the paint blended, and knew I did not want to cover it much, so I looked for a sentiment that would fit.  I found one in PTI's Wise Owl set.  The cool thing is, I know exactly to whom I want to give this card.

A Real Color Challenge for Me

I needed a birthday card for a friend. In looking at Ann's blog, I was reminded of Kristina Werner's color challenge. I was completely out of that loop!

When I looked at the challenge, I thought, "What a week to decide to hop back in the loop!" Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, and Whisper White?! Could that be any further from any color choices I would make?! At that point I knew... the challenge was on.

For my own sanity, I had to downplay the Pumpkin Pie (orange, from here on). It had to accent the red. So from there, I went to my patterned papers to see if anyone already combined these colors for me (slacker!). No such luck.

I did find a piece of Fruits: Strawberry paper from The Paper Element that I very much liked. I used both the patterned and the solid side of that paper. Looking through all of my oranges, I found one in the latest SU! mini catalog that worked well from the Frosty Day Designer Series Paper. I accented with it as a mat for the main panel and the sentiment panel.

I had yet to use my scallop blade for my Fiskars desktop rotary cutter. I was very pleased with how easy it was to change the blades. And it cut like "buttah." The Build-A-Brads were an opportunity to showcase all papers used. I was going to leave it at that, but I felt ribbon was needed. I was surprised to find that I had some sheer orange ribbon. That was just what I wanted, because I didn't want the orange to dominate. Rather than a bow, I went with a linear design with the ribbon. I colored the SU! On Your Birthday stamp with Ruby Red and Only Orange markers.

I think it looks cute, and I know the person for whom I made it will love it.