Hello my dear crafty peeps! Hope you're having an awesome week! I went out to dinner with a girl friend last night and we had such a lovely conversation. She is so super busy, and I hardly ever get her all to myself, so it was a real treat. Don't you love that? We got caught up on loads of gossip and it was wonderful! It's hotter than heck here still and I'm hibernating indoors as much as possible. The great studio purge of 2016 was under way all weekend. OY. I got rid of a lot of old paper, and old cards... And made a big bag of things to sell later too. Now I feel like I can think again in here. I am definitely at my most creative in a tidy space. I went to Container Store yesterday and picked up a few odds and ends. I'm sooooooo happy we finally have a Container Store in my town. Now I can just go buy what I need and not have to drive 80 miles each way. Yay! I'm trying really hard to get organized before the big holiday crafty season begins. You know what I'm saying!! Next week is August! For you local stampers, the Sacramento Rubber Stamp Convention is this weekend! I'll be working the front table - so say howdy!!
The last Simon Says Stamp release was quite possibly my favorite release ever! I'm saying now, and I'll probably say it again... My absolute fav thing from the release is the Tropical Leaves stamps and dies. They are sooooooo pretty! (CLICK HERE for my other post made with these stamps). I have had the idea in my head of water coloring these stamps and I finally sat down and made some cards in that style. Hope you enjoy! I made two - with different word dies and different colors. Everything else is the same!
I started with a nice crisp white card base. I die cut a Stitched Rectangle from Slate Cardstock and another one from Watercolor paper. Then I used mini distress ink pads to ink the stamps and stamp them onto the watercolor paper. I used a water brush to slightly soften the color and move it around. After the leaves were completely dry, I went back with pretty blue ink and watercolored the background. The trick to this is to let one layer dry first, so the leaves and the background don't blend together.
Here is the other color scheme! Same technique... Can't decide which one I like better!!!
I die cut the Painted Hello and Painted Thanks dies from crisp black cardstock. You can see that I added spritzes of bright white mist on both the card and the die cut. I really love this look! I don't know why, maybe it looks artsy or something? I also added just a few sequins to each card. The word dies are layered on with tiny strips of foam tape.
To make my watercolor background, I smushed two colors of blue ink onto a clear stamping block. With my water brush, I added just a touch of water and to the ink and then picked up the color with my brush. Easy and fun!
This one orange leaf didn't stamp perfectly, but I just left it. Seems sort of batik?? That carved pumpkin distress ink is my favorite orange for sure.
To assemble my cards I adhered the slate cardstock panel first with tape runner. The top, watercolor layer, is attached with foam squares for a bit of height and dimension. Have I ever made a card without foam squares? I think not!! LOL.
Thanks for stopping by! Have an awesome day and I'll see you soon! I have two projects on the Simon Says Stamp blog this week - one on Friday and another one on Saturday! Take care. XO
REMINDER! RANGER SALE! Everything Ranger is on SALE at Simon Says Stamp until 7-29! Great time to stock up on Distress Inks, paints, stains, watercolor paper....EVERYTHING! Use code CHEM25. Click on the link below to go straight to the Ranger section of the store. YAY!
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Love your cards. I hope to see you Sat., but I may stay home since it's still triple-digit heat. Next time I'm there, let's take a field trip to the container store!
Posted by: Julie | 07/29/2016 at 09:08 AM
True beauties both! I was born in October so orange is one of my favorites. Carved pumpkin sounds so lovely. I had lunch with my girlfriend of some 40 years this past Friday. Always good to catch up. Our worlds are so busy. It's nice to slow down some times. Looking forward to seeing you on Friday this week. Good for SSS you are such a lovely designer.
Posted by: Anne Sturgeon | 07/28/2016 at 04:01 PM
Love the wash of watercolor on these cards. Very lovely!
Posted by: Princess Judy | 07/28/2016 at 08:53 AM
Lovely cards, Wanda!!
*mwah*
Steph
Simon Says Stamp!
Posted by: Stephanie | 07/28/2016 at 07:24 AM
Wanda, both cards are so gorgeous, I'd have a hard time choosing a favourite too! In fact, why bother? Love them both equally ;-) I can't wait to get this stamp set, which I ordered at the beginning of the month. It's cards as beautiful as yours that make me glad I bought it!
Posted by: Susi | 07/28/2016 at 07:03 AM
Hi Wanda, your cards are really lovely. I seem to have a fixation with leaf stamps and dies myself. These are so beautiful.
I wish we had a Container store here in N.S.as I am an organizational "FREAK", I'd go nuts if I had a place like that to shop in! LOL (TRUE STORY!)
Posted by: Teresa Doyle | 07/28/2016 at 04:30 AM
Beautiful cards! Like them both equally :)
Posted by: Sue Washburne | 07/28/2016 at 04:23 AM
Hi Wanda, love this leaf set two, definitely has an island vacation vibe. I can't decide either, I like both color combos. I didn't see anything wrong with the pumpkin leaves, it just looks like you hit it with some splatter. We are our own worst critics, lol. Thanks for sharing and always inspiring.
Posted by: Lisaerica | 07/28/2016 at 02:50 AM
STUNNING!!
Posted by: Holly Saveur | 07/28/2016 at 12:13 AM