Watercolored Valentine Cards

Today I want to share two Valentine Cards I made using Distress Watercoloring. I created these for Jude's kindergarten teacher and teacher's aide.

  The background was created using an older Hero Arts cling background stamp embossed in white onto Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock. I then ink blended Spice Marmalade and Barn Door Distress Ink over the embossed image. To add depth, I then used the same Distress Ink colors to watercolor all the hearts on the background. I die cut a heart out of the center of the background to create a shaker window. The window is covered with acetate and the shaker well was created by die cutting the same heart into red fun foam sandwiched between the background and a white piece of cardstock. The sequins in the shaker are Lucy's Cards Tropical Paradise Sequin Shaker Mix. The "Sending" Die was die cut from red glitter cardstock and adhered to the top of the acetate. The black sentiment is from the Simon Says Stamp Sending and Wishing stamp set. More sequins from Lucy's Cards and gems from my stash were added to complete the card. 

I absolutely love how these turned out! I can't wait for Jude to share them with his teachers on Thursday.

30 Day Coloring Challenge

I am participating in The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge, check out how it works here.

Before I committed to the challenge this time (I've tried before, but didn't get the full 30 days in), I laid out some ground rules for myself:

1. To use materials I already had on hand

2. To fix mistakes & live with the results vs. starting over if I didn't like it

3. To try new techniques or to relearn things I've done before

4. To complete projects with my daily coloring. 

After 10 days, I am still going strong! So today I want to share some of my completed cards and a general statement of how I created them. 

I used the Simon Says Stamp Elizabeth background stamp embossed in white on Tim Holtz watercolor paper. The color was added using Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers and Distress Ink in Spun Sugar. The sentiment is from Tim Holtz Snarky Small Talk Stickers. I finished this card using cardstock and gems from my stash. The sequins are from Lucy's Cards Tropical Paradise. 

This card started with an older woodblock background stamp from Hero Arts embossed in white on Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock. The light blue is Tim Holtz Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and the darker blue is Mermaid Lagoon. The leaf die is Tim Holtz Sizzix Garden Greens Bigz and it is dipped in Crushed Olive and Peeled Paint Distress Ink mixed with Perfect Pearl Mist. The love die and sentiment are from Simon Says Stamp Kristina's Love stamp and die set. The small heart dies are from an older die set & the sequins are from my stash.

This card background was created by ink smooshing Distress Ink in Spun Sugar and Abandoned Coral. The stamps are from the Simon Says Stamp Kristina Love stamp set. The thick lines of "Love" are watercolored with Abandoned Coral and then covered with Glossy Accents. The heart dies are from an older die set and the sequins are from Lucy's Cards Tropical Paradise.

This background was created by ink blending Spun Sugar and Barn Door Distress Ink, then splattering Perfect Pearl Mist onto the inked background. The sentiment from Kristina's Love stamp set was embossed in white and colored with Barn Door Distress ink. The sequins are Lucy's Cards Ice Crystal sequin mix.

This card was created using an older woodblock Hydrangea stamp from Hero Arts and the sentiment is from an older set by them as well. Both are embossed in gold embossing powder along with the edges of the card. The flower image is watercolored with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers and Tumbled Glass Distress Marker. The completed piece is mounted on cardstock from my stash and then added to a white card base. 

I'll be back in a week or so with more completed projects using my 30 Day Coloring Challenge pieces. 

Color Throwdown #529

Color Throwdown #529 has a nice, warm feel. Which is a nice change from the whites & blues of winter and the reds & pinks of Valentine's.

I used a piece of Strathmore Briston Smooth Cold Press watercolor paper for my base and Tim Holtz Distress Ink Mustard Seed to ink smoosh the background. The butterfly stamp is from the Tim Holtz  Distress Watercolor  Kit. The butterfly is stamped in Archival Black ink and then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I watercolored the butterfly using Distress Ink in Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, and Barn Door. The butterfly trail stamp is from an older Cocoa Daisy stamp set, and the sentiment is from the You stamp set and is from Simon Says Stamp. The piece is finished with Simon Says Stamp Summer Gold sequins and red gemstones that I picked at Michaels. The whole thing is matted on a piece of red cardstock and then placed on a white card base.

This card was quick to make and perfect for an upcoming friends birthday.

Color Throwdown #528

This week's Color Throwdown took me a while to figure out.

This is not a color combination that I usually create with, so I didn't decide till today what I was going to create.

Once I decided on sunflowers, creating got a lot easier. I knew I had a small stamp set that came with a Tim Holtz kit I picked up at Michael's a while back and the sunflower image was one I really liked, so that is it what I went with. 

Starting with a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock, I used an older The Crafter's Workshop stencil with embossing paste in the center of the cardstock. I embossed a glittery gold embossing powder over the embossing paste, then using an ink blender added TH Fossilized Amber Distress Ink & TH Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink to the center. I blended TH Tumbled Glass Distress Ink over the remainder of the background and then used TH Broken China Distress Ink and the TH Flourish Layering Stencil to add flourishes across the background. I stamped the sunflower and stem images from the Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Kit three times on TH watercolor cardstock and used Fossilized Amber, Squeezed Lemonade, Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters, and Gathered Twigs Distress Inks to watercolor them. Once dry and cut out, I popped the sunflowers & leaves up with foam tape and slid the rest of the stems under the label and adhered them. The message on the label is from Tim Holtz's Way With Words stamp set. I splattered the entire piece with Perfect Pearls in Gold and then scattered sequins from my stash to finish the piece. 

I love this finished piece. I usually make cards, but this will be added to my creative wall in my scrap room as a reminder to try new things and to use what I already have available on hand. 

Let's Talk Books- It's Newbery Week

As a middle-grade Library Media Specialist, I am blessed to be surrounded daily by amazing books.

I have spent the last few weeks sharing Newbery award-winning books with my students in preparation of tomorrow's Newbery 2019 announcement. There are many awards given tomorrow through the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards, but for the age of my students, I focus predominately on the Newbery award.

I thought today that I would share two of my favorite Newbery books from previous years.

2013 Newbery Winner

I love The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. I think my love for this fantasy story comes from the fact that I remember reading an article in the newspaper about the real Ivan in the mid to late 1990s. Applegate read a similar article and did research on the real Ivan as a jumping off point for writing this book. In her story, she makes her Ivan into the protector he never got to be in real life.

As an experienced reader, animal books are so hard for me because I know that many times the animals in the story die and I struggle with that.

Here is the book trailer for The One and Only Ivan:

I think Gary D. Schmidt, the author of Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now, said it best "The One and Only Ivan will break your heart --and then, against all odds, mend it again."

I have a deep love for this book and for the real Ivan, who luckily got to live the remaining ten years of his life at Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia.

Here is a link to Zoo Atlanta's page about the real Ivan: Ivan the Gorilla.

I think this book is appropriate for readers 8-12 years of age. I give it a solid 5 stars, even as an animal book where an animal dies.

2016 Newbery Honor Book

Another favorite of mine is The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.

I  don't think I have ever been upset by what the Newbery committee chooses as a winner, but in 2016 I was dumb-founded. A picture book beat out The War that Saved My Life and I was not happy. I rarely reread anything, because my to-read list is forever long. I have read this one twice and will probably reread it again before I read the sequel- The War I Finally Won.

The War that Saved my Life is historical fiction and takes place during WWII as European parents began evacuating their children out into the countryside to keep them safe from what they feared would be bombings of the larger cities.

Here is a good book trailer for The War that Saved My Life:

Never in my life have I championed a character from the beginning until the very end of the book. I found myself encouraging & cheering for Ada on every page. I also have never despised a character as quickly and as thoroughly as I did Ada's mother from page one, till the very end of the story.

Here again, I give this one a solid 5 stars and I recommend it for children 10-14 years old.

 I have a long list of Newbery books that I am interested in reading and at the top of my list is Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo & The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.

I am hoping tomorrow's award announcements add new and amazing books to my Newbery award reading list.

Color Throwdown #527

This week's Color Throwdown #527 uses my very favorite color- GREEN! So I was really excited to create a card using this week's colors.

Years ago I went through a Hero Arts Wood Block background stamp purchasing frenzy. Of the many I purchased, S5154 Three Ferns and S4878 Old Letter Writing are still two of my favorites. You might be able to find them through eBay or other crafty sites, but I'm not sure. It has been quite a while since I have used a wood mounted stamp and I am quite spoiled using my Misti stamp press, so today's card gave me a little bit of anxiety. I was determined to stamp it well once and not have to remake my card base. 

I actually ended up stamping the ferns twice, but I was able to simply flip over my Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock and start over. The first stamping on the smooth side was too light and I didn't like it. I did use a stamp positioner to help me stamp the second time on the rough side. I'm glad I used it because I ended up needing to stamp a second time to get better coverage. 

I stamped the fern using a mixture of Distress Inks in Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, and Crushed Olive. I then stamped the Old Letter Background over the top of the whole piece in Simon Says Stamp Slate Ink. I could have masked the fern image so that the Old Letter Background wouldn't be on top of the fern, but I didn't want to take the time to hand-cut the mask and I also wanted the Old Letter Background to be seamless across the whole background. 

To minimize the grey lettering on top of the green of the ferns and to give the ferns a more solid appearance I used Distress Markers in the same Distress ink colors to add additional color. I used a watercolor brush and water to give the ferns a completed look. I then splattered the background with Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls. The Thank You message is from an older clear Hero Arts stamp set- All Occasion Messages CL272, which may still be available through eBay or other crafting sites. I stamped it on navy blue cardstock and embossed it with white embossing powder. I matted the card on the same navy blue cardstock and then added an additional mat of bright green handmade paper, that I have had forever. I finished the card with gold and clear, iridescent sequins from my stash. 

To complete the envelope, I stamped the fern background in the bottom left corner and then again on the back flap. 

Color Throwdown #526

I am back with another Color Throwdown weekly card.

This week's challenge uses beautiful blues that feel very wintery to me. 

I was in need of another birthday card for a sweet neighbor, who I happen to share a birthday with this week. I plan to drop this card in her mailbox on the way to work Friday morning. 

This card started with a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock and Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Mermaid Lagoon, and Chipped Sapphire. After ink blending, I sprayed the whole piece with Perfect Pearls Mist. The white die cut snowflakes were cut from another white piece of watercolor cardstock and then inlaid into the blue background. Additional vellum die cut snowflakes and sequins were added to the background along with the Wishing die cut. I used Broken China Distress Ink to create a mat for the piece & then mounted the whole thing on a pre-made card base and envelope set I picked up at Michaels. The envelope was stenciled with an older The Crafter's Workshop snowflake stencil using Broken China Distress Ink. 

I was able to inlay the blue snowflake die cuts into the white cardstock base, so I have another card base in the making. The most difficult part of this whole card was placing the original colored pieces back into the die cut shapes.

I'm looking forward to the release of the Color Throwdown's next color challenge tomorrow.