Bird Confetti

I have used "watercolor" paper before that was labeled as such, but then when you start applying water, the paper curls up, or the brush messes up the tooth of the paper. That's why I LOVE Tim Holtz's watercolor paper, because it holds up to all kinds of watercolor abuse! You can get the paper really soaked, but it will dry up nicely. And the paper is 2-sided, with good texture on one side, and smoother on the other. In my card above, you can see that I used the textured side.

The confetti-cake look of the background was achieved by squirting Ken Oliver's Color Burst powders onto the paper, and then misting them with water. I used a combination of yellow ochre, burnt orange, and sepia; however, each of these colors contains granules of other colors (for example green, mixed in with the yellow), which accounts for the spots of blues, purples and reds that you see.

I was so late to jump on the bandwagon of stamp platforms, that I ended up just kind of running along behind it. But when I finally got one -- the Tim Holtz/Tonic platform - I can see what all the fuss is about! Although I haven't had it long, I know it has saved some cards. In the case of this card, since I was stamping on texture, the first take, though pretty good, didn't come out as dark as I liked, so I just inked up the stamp and hit it again. Nice, rich color was my result.

I like the pairing of this verse with the birds, because they are showing us how it's done: to be still, and know that God is there -- the perfect example of trust!

Thanks for looking! Have a great Wednesday. :)

Supplies:

Stamps - Verve scripture stamp

Paper - Tim Holtz watercolor paper

Ink - Versafine onyx black

Dies - unbranded birds on a wire die
Accessories - Ken Oliver Color Burst powders

Purple Sympathy

I tried a different watercolor medium this week -- Ken Oliver's Color Burst powders. I've used the powders before to make beautiful abstract backgrounds, but this is the first time I used them with a brush to color "inside the lines." The colors are super vivid, and I found myself adding water and blotting to try to tone down the color a bit. It's amazing how far a few tiny flakes of powder could go! When I finished coloring the flowers ("Flower Fields" by Stampendous), I used the paintbrush "tap" technique to add sprinkles of color to the background. To do this, I got plenty of the color on the brush, held the brush firmly over the paper horizontally, and then tapped the handle of the brush with the index finger of my other hand, which allowed the color to be flung around a bit. I added the tag with the sentiment by Verve, and framed out my picture to complete it. This is an easy way to use some of those larger images, and is quick when you need a card to send out on short notice.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!