Hi Everyone. Happy Sunday.
It's the fabulously talented Nance's turn to host our Paper Players challenge this week and she has a great challenge for us.
Now…. clean and simple is my favorite thing…. however, I really find watercoloring really difficult… of all the mediums, this is the hardest for me. There is something about watercoloring …. I absolutely LOVE the look of watercoloring, but find it really hard to do. I love coloring…. love it…. but I find that I totally overwork watercoloring. I need to be in control and the whole thing about watercoloring is to let go and just let the water and ink do their thing…. so, I ended up making two cards for this challenge and only one of them worked. The other one was really was much too forced and overworked 🙂
Anyway, here is my card:
I started with a piece of watercolor paper and my Twinkling H2O water colors. I stamped the flowers with StazOn brown and then colored them with various shades of the H2O. I needed to create a little bit of sky around the flowers with some Soft Sky ink ensuring that I softened the outer edges to phase from soft blue to the color of the paper.
I hope you will check out the fabulous cards from our design team and then come back and play along with us this week. We would love to see what you create with this challenge 🙂
I then used my Lil Inkers Stitched Rectangles dies to cut around the image and then mounted it on fun foam to lift the focal layer from the base. I then mounted the focal image on to Crushed Curry card stock and stamped the sentiment onto a piece of Crushed Curry card stock and mounted it over the focal image.
Ann Schach
Anne Marie Hile
Claire Broadwater
Joanne James
Laurie Schmidt
LeAnne Pugliese
Nance Leedy
Sandy Mathis
Debbie Mageed
Karren Johnson
Shannon Jaramillo
On a personal note:
Well… this is the first day that I have felt even remotely normal! This flu completely knocked me for six and really took the stuffing out of me. I am still coughing and things, but at least I am fever free and starting to feel that I can function. I totally blame Lou for this 🙂 He brought this flu home and I told him that I would much rather he bought me a handbag instead of the flu!!!!
The last couple of days have been glorious. In the late 60s, with slight winds and a little bit of rain. The garden is suddenly starting to sprout green things and even a couple of the trees are starting to turn. Spring is on her way. Mind you, it's going to be 48 as a high on Monday! So, we are enjoying the gorgeous sun and warmer temperatures for as long as we can 🙂 At least we know the colder weather will be short lived.
I thought you might like a look at some of the visitors we have had to our garden:
A couple of days ago we were visited by the turkeys… and a newly returned visitor
You can see the turkey's to the right and left of the banister and, if you look closely, you can see the CRANE! in the middle of the shot. Yes! The Crane's are back. Sadly, we have not seen Niles and Daphne, but it has been wonderful to hear the distinct call of the crane's, even if they aren't visiting our neck of the woods regularly. We are hoping that Niles and Daphne are just a little late!
Of course, our deer are still visiting us! They look so bedraggled at this time of year as they shed their winter coats. The great thing about them doing that is that they leave lots of wonderful nesting material for the birds. It does make them look very bedraggled though!
This little guy survived winter and spends many hours teasing the cats. He knows they can't catch him as they are behind the screen in the porch and he sits and grooms – and eats – within a few inches of them. It drives them crazy!
As I did manage to spend a little time crafting today, I will have some cards to share with you this week, so I will be back tomorrow with a new card for you.
Before I go, I had to share this story with you. The next time someone calls you a bird brain…. say thank you 🙂 Check out this story of the parrots and the fire
In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.
Hugs
Jaydee
Card recipe:
- stamps: Blooming Garden – Penny Black – floral image. Sentiment: Stamp & Cuts Hero Arts – Hello
- Inks: Twinkling H2O's
- Card stock: Crushed Curry- Stampin' Up! Watercolor – Strathmore
- Tools: Lil Inker's Stitched Rectangle Dies
12 Responses
Jaydee, we would never know you struggle with watercolor. This is gorgeous. I love the off-center placement of the flowers, the bold colors and the soft wash of blue. It is CAS with Watercolor perfection, my friend. So glad you are feeling better! ((hugs))
Beautiful poppies, Jaydee!
Oh, this is gorgeous! I absolutely love that stamp! You definitely didn’t struggle with watercoloring on this card. Your colors are perfect! Love your photos of your visitors. I have a birdfeeder outside my sliding glass doors for my cats to enjoy. We get squirrels, a very large rabbit, and lots of birds. The kitties are fascinated and it keeps them from just sleeping all day. What a life!
Oh my, your watercoloring is just beautiful…I love to watercolor and struggled with this challenge too! Your animals are always a treasure to see!
This doesn’t look like you struggled at all, but I can totally relate about the “control” part – that’s what I struggle with in watercoloring. Love the simple beauty of your layout and those flowers are just gorgeous.
Brave you – I cannot make myself even try water coloring! Also, my grandfather was a watercolor painter. I have one by him dated 1893. Maybe that is why I am intimidated about trying. I love your work and am glad you are feeling better. Hugs,
Your water coloring is awesome! I don’t do much either, but it was fun to get it out and try. I love the flowers..so beautiful!
Jaydee this is stunning! You’ve done an amazing job watercoloring, I can’t believe you struggle with it. As always I love your nature photos, too. The chipmunk and the cats must be a constant source of entertainment!
Jaydee, so happy you are feeling better! I love this card! Your off set flowers are beautiful! I love the crushed curry paper. It is a favorite of mine! This card makes me smile! I always enjoy your nature pictures! So fun to see a part of your life! Such a beautiful scene! XX
Absolutely stunning, Jaydee! You watercolored the poppies beautifully…clean and simple perfection!
The colours of your poppies are so vibrant Jaydee – and the base card and bright yellow banner are the perfect accompaniment. CAS gorgeousness!
Love this, Jaydee! The colors are so bright and cheery and it is the perfect CAS card! I’m so smitten with your little chipmunk, too. Ohhhh, he’s SO cute!