Throwback Thursday Amazing Year

 Do you ever make a card and then just keep looking at it . Imagining how you could change it, step it up, improve upon it? Well the sample I made for my post here was one such card.  Again I have used the same Amazing Year stamp set. I've kept the same card base size and layout but stepped it up.

Stepping a card up means to make it a little "more" for me. That could be adding layers,  more bling or creating a fun fold into it. For my sample today I pretty much did all of the above 🤣

I cut a mat  and stamped my parcels using the masking technique.  My mat wasn't as wide as my card base on purpose 🙃 

My card base was the same slimline/ dl size as before. But this time I stamped along the card front at the folded edge. I kept it simple with just black ink as I wanted a nice crisp contrast to my colourful parcels.

 I then stamped again in black along the right hand side on the inside of the card base. 

Now it was time to add my parcel mat to the card front. I used liquid adhesive as I wanted to create a cut-away edge to the card front. As the parcels are basically straight edges it wasn't difficult.

For the sentiment I decided to cut my stamped sentiment into parts . The reason for this was that it's quite wide and would swamp the card.

I then went all out and stamped and fussy cut out all the white ribbons and bows. I then adhered them using 3d foam. This added dimension to the card nicely. 

So my final sample is a lot different but at the same time just the same! I would highly recomend having a go at stepping up a card you've already made. Infact you could also step down a card you've already made.... that would be a fun challenge for sure!

Watercolour Wednesday Amazing Year

 Wow it's  Wednesday already! So happy hump day and welcome to a super simple multiple colour watercolour wash. Today's inspiration isn't just about the watercolour but also showcasing how you don't always need to use an image! This is especially true when they are as great as the ones in the Amazing Year set. 

For my watercolour wash today I started with some Fluid 100 watercolour paper , Watercolour pencils and a waterbrush.  

I started by scribbling the pencils in different colours onto the paper. I chose to used a dark and light shades of blues, pinks and orange/ yellow. 

 

I left a gap between each colour because as rhe water is applied the colour spreads ...

I love the way the colour almost melts as you add water with your waterbrush 😍

These colours work so well together but if there was no gap to start with they might have run together and ended up with a muddy appearance. Also not using too much water is key. I started with dry paper then added water just to the pencil.

 

As so often happens when I'm in my happy place... ummm messy place might be a better description 🤣, I like to make more than just 1!! 

So after waiting for the panels to dry completely,  a quicker way is to use your heat tool,  I took out my Stamparatus . The Stamparatus is the stamp positioning tool from Stampin' Up! That is invaluable for stamping onto watercolour paper.  

Watercolour paper has a texture that can make stamping onto tricky. With the Stamparatus you are able to stamp multiple times in exactly the same place. This means that you can get a greater depth of colour as well because watercolour paper absorbes ink multiple layers give you more impact.

I chose to only use sentiments for my cards as they are the perfect size in the Amazing Year stamp set. As well as being in beautiful fonts!

So for both my samples I have kept it simple with just basic grey mats and card bases. They are the same grey as the ink I used for the sentiments. 

 

I am really happy with these cards. The colourful backgrounds just make me smile. I do so love a bold colour 😍