FHi Everyone. Happy Tuesday.
Over the weekend, I did manage to make a few cards for the Altenew Educator Certification Program that I am doing, so will have a few cards to share with you for the rest of the week.
Tonight's card is one of my favorites and I really wish I could get a photo that would show you just how rich and gorgeous the colors really are!
Watercoloring is something I still have issues with… I really do want to control the paint far too much and just find it hard to let go and let the water do the work. I know that I can probably get over that compulsion… but it really is difficult :-) So, the Creative Watercolor Media was a good class for me to take. You can see the details of the class here
I wanted to create a fairly clean and simple card, but one that still had a lot of detail. Seems like an oxymoron, I know! I began with a piece of Arches Hot Press watercolor paper and stamped the two iris images from the set onto the paper using Versamark ink and heat set them with gold embossing powder. I then did the same with the three leaf images.
I took my Altenew inks – Shades of Purple – and used them as my watercolor medium. I started with the Midnight Violet color in the centers of each of the larger flowers and allowed that to dry. I then used the next color – Deep Iris and added a little ink moving towards the outer edges of the flowers and then finished up with the more diluted wash. I then worked on the six more upright flowers, keeping those to a more monotone color scheme.
I had to add a little yellow to the center of the flowers, so I needed to dry the flowers. Now, I could have done the right thing and let them air dry… but I'm way too impatient for that, so dried them with my heat gun! I then took a mixture of yellow and orange and applied that into the middle of each of the petals and dried them with my heat gun.
Last thing for the flowers… add a little green along the outer edges of the larger more horizontal petals and, of course, the stems. I gave the leaves a quick treatment of three colors from the Green Fields inks and they were ready to go.
Here's a closeup of the flowers:
Then…. now this is the part that gave me the most grief. I couldn't work out what to do for a background. I tried a little bit of pale blue blending – nah…. that didn't work. I then tried some artistic (well, maybe not so artistic in my case!) splattering using the colors in the flower. Nah….. that didn't work either. So, I did what I always do when I'm stuck – I took off for 10 minutes and just thought about something else. About 30 minutes later, I came back and knew exactly what to do :-) Do you ever do that?
I masked off a panel that was just about the size of my arranged flowers and went to town with the brand new (and may I say, new favorite colors) Sweet Dreams inks. I started with the darker color and worked my way up to the lightest to create a lovely ombre effect. I used the same watercolor paper for the background as I used for the flowers and leaves and the ink blends just beautifully. I am in love with the deep rich background.
Here's a closeup of how beautifully the ink blends:
For the sentiment I didn't want to go with my usual horizontal…. I just thought the flowers were too beautiful that having a horizontal sentiment would detract, so I went outside of my comfort zone and put the sentiment vertical! I know…. SHOCKER!
I was very happy with the card in the end though and was pleased that the Altenew class forced me to make another watercolor card! 🙂
As you can probably see, I popped up the flowers on foam tape to add a little dimension and don't you think this sentiment is fabulous?
On a personal note:
Oh… it's going to be 43 tomorrow! Oh.. that is going to feel so good. Such a departure from where we have been. I took this photo on a very cold, but sunny, morning over the wetland. You can see just how pale blue the sky is – but I loved the look of it with the clouds and snow on the wetland and the deck.
I want to thank all of you who continue to visit my blog and those that leave me messages or send me emails. You really are the reason that I continue to do this. So, I dedicate this card – and the sentiment – to all of you tonight. Thank you!
I'll be back tomorrow with another card. In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.
Hugs
Jaydee
Card recipe:
- Stamps: Enchanted Iris – Altenew
- Inks: Altenew – Sweet Dreams, Shades of Purple and Summer Afternoon
- Cardstock: Arches Hot Press and Neenah Solar White
- Embossing Powder: Fine Golden – Altenew
7 Responses
So happy to see that you let loose and let the watercolors do the stamping/talking….gorgeous result all around. Hope that you step outside of your comfort zone and experiment more! GREAT job on this one, Jaydee!
Only a single word : stunning!!!!!
I loved your coloured-pencil Iris cards but I think this one is even more beautiful, especially with the gold embossing. Enjoy your “warmth” tomorrow – we’re more than double that here in Brisbane!!
This card is really gorgeous. I always like your cards, but this one is extra special.
Love this beautiful flower and sentiment. I think your coloring is awesome. I’m a little OCD, so I can relate to “controlling” the water. I need to keep practicing my coloring with pencils, watercolors, markers, etc. Thanks for sharing this sweet card and picture of your neck of the woods. Enjoy your day!
Oh my, such a beautiful card! Wow Jaydee, this is stunning! The flower colors look so real and added to the perfectly blended background make this one of your best cards ever! And I love the vertical sentiment, a nice change of pace.
Your winter photo looks like it could have given you the inspiration for your blue background perhaps. ; )
Lovely!! So glad you went with a vertical sentiment. The iris are absolutely the best! Love the background and that you didn’t cover all the card. Stunning is the best word for this card.