Because Shimmer and Shine!

Happy Wednesday!!! It is another glorious summer day here in Boston, and our Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge fits in nicely with a glorious day! This week it is all about Shimmer and Shine! We want to see you add some SHIMMER to your cards! The Design Team is playing with Lindy's Gang products this week. Lindy's Gang kindly provided us with some fun products to play with and let me tell you, I am IN LOVE with these Magicals powders! They make for a fabulous shimmering watercolor when you use them with waterbrushes!

I combined the Magicals with some gorgeous floral stamps from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps to create this beautiful design on watercolor paper. I just love how much the colors shimmer! And they go on nice and opaque, too, which is totally fun!

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I simply dipped my waterbrush into some of the powders and then mixed them with a bit of water on a silicone craft mat. I was then able to paint with them just like any other paint. I love how well the colors layer!

Now it's YOUR turn! Create something and Add a Little Shimmer and then link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Certificate to the Simon Says Stamp Store! WHAT?! Yup. Totally.

Have a Happy!

Hop To It!

Have you seen the latest from Simon Says Stamp?! The Hop To It release is live and it is fabulous! So many cute stamps and dies to choose from! And many have a spring time feel and I was QUITE ready for that here in snow-filled Massachusetts!



I used the brand new Artful Flowers stamp set for this card. I LOVE these flowers! They just cry out for watercolors, so that is exactly what I did with them! I painted the flowers with watercolors and then used Spectrum Noir Aquas to add some depth of color to the stems. I heat embossed the sentiment in gold on a strip of grey paper, trimmed it into a banner, and adhered it with foam tape. A few simple sequins finish it off!



You can find my complete supply list below. Be sure to head on over to the Simon Says Stamp store to check out this release and more!

Supplies: (Links are affiliate links. Your support is always appreciated!)

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Artful Flowers
Watercolor Paints: Zig Kuretake 24 Color Set (I love these paints. Definitely a great tool!)
Watercolor Paper: Tim Holtz
Patterned Paper: Pebbles Inc. Happy Day 6x6 Paper Pad
Sequins: Pretty Pink Posh Marshmallow Cupped Sequins 4mm
Ink: My Favorite Things Hybrid
Cardstock: Neenah Desert Storm

Have a Happy!

Watercolor, oh, and sketching and stuff, too!

So, here's the deal. I have been REALLY loving watercoloring, as you have likely noted if you follow my blog regularly. My Mom mentioned that  she had liked those ones lately, too, SOOOOO.... I got this crazy idea in my head that I wanted to do a watercolor piece for her for Mother's Day.

Okay, so, I've been doing it, so no big deal, right? Welllllll.... I didn't want to just do a stamped watercolor piece. I wanted it to be all my own work. SO, I decided to go a little wild and crazy and decided to sketch out something and then watercolor it. I carefully watched a couple of videos from Sanketi who inspired me in a way that really made me feel like I could make this happen. Then I decided on a subject - Old North Church in Boston seemed like a good fit. Then, I sat down with a sheet of watercolor paper and made it happen!



I began with a pencil sketch, given that my general idea on drawing and me was that, well, I can't draw. LOL! I used another picture as a reference, but I was pretty happy that I was able to produce something that looked like real buildings and such. HA!



I then used a pen to sketch over my pencil sketch to darken it and make it more permanent. I wanted the black outline to be visible, so I used a permanent pen that wouldn't bleed while I painted.



Finally, I added the paint! I had SO much fun painting this piece! I used layers of paint to achieve depth and shadow and I know it isn't perfect, by any means, but I could NOT have been happier with how it turned out! I was so excited to share this with you guys!!!  I did frame it, however, I neglected to take a photo of it in the frame, naturally. LOL!

I hope you like it! And even more...I hope this inspires you to try something that seems like it is just more than you can do, after all, you may find out that you actually CAN do it! YAY!

OH! And for those who may need a refresher on US History, this is the church known most widely for the good old, "One if by land, Two if by See" during the Revolutionary War. Paul Revere instructed three men to two lanterns in the steeple. That steeple is now a reproduction of the original, as the original was actually destroyed by the Storm of October 1804. It was replaced at that time, only to be blown off entirely by Hurricane Carol in 1954. The steeple that stands today is a perfect reproduction.

Have a Happy!

Hello, Beautiful... stamps. Beautiful stamps!

I recently purchased this absolutely GORGEOUS Summer Garden stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. It is a collaboration set between Simon and Mama Elephant, so that alone pretty much guaranteed greatness! I am not usually much of a floral person, but they have been growing on me lately, and this one was just TOO good to pass up. I pulled it out to play this week and I am IN LOVE! This is one of my favorite cards ever! I just really love it. I hope you do, too. HA!



I stamped the flowers in VersaFine ink on watercolor paper. I like the way that pigment inks stamp on watercolor, so I'm finding myself using those more when I know I'll be painting a bit. I painted the flowers, but the leaves, I chose to stamp in colored ink. To create the scatters, I pulled out the amazing new Custom Panels die set from Avery Elle. I die cut the hexagons from watercolor paper, painted them, added some shimmer with my Wink of Stella clear brush, and then coated them with Glossy Accents to create my own embellishments that matched my stamping perfectly! I LOVE THEM!!! I also used one of the dies to create the curve at the bottom of the card.



You can find all of the products I used in the links below. If you haven't started watercoloring yet and are looking for a great set, I LOVE my Sakura Field set! It's portable, comes with a waterbrush, and has a good selection of colors that can also, of course, be mixed to create more! LOVE IT!

Have a Happy!

*Simon Says Clear Stamps SUMMER GARDEN SSS101413 with Mama Elephant Avery Elle Custom Panel Die Set *Sakura KOI WATERCOLORS SKETCH BOX 24 Colors with Waterbrush *VersaFine SMOKEY GRAY Ink Pad Pigment *Memento Luxe Ink Pad NAUTICAL BLUE Tsukineko *ZIG Wink of Stella ELEGANT Set Glitter Black Silver Clear Brush Tip Markers 025375 Wink of Stella Clear *Ranger Inkssentials GLOSSY ACCENTS Glue Dimensional Adhesive *Neenah Environment 80 LB SMOOTH DESERT STORM Paper Pack 25 Sheets *Tim Holtz DISTRESS WATERCOLOR CARDSTOCK Ranger Ink TDA39549 *EK Success 1/16"" SQUARES 3-D Foam Dots Adhesive SPAF-THS *Judikins Eclipse ART MASKING TAPE SHEETS 8.5"" x 11"" *GP023 *Fiskars Compact STAMPING PRESS Stamp Entire Project at Once! 02958 *Precision Heat Embossing Emboss Tool Gun Hero Arts PW200

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Hugs & Kisses

So, after creating my watercolor blocks card that I posted on Friday, I had bits of watercolor paper sitting around just begging to be utilized!  I decided to do another watercolor crayon look that is totally different for my Crafter's Companion post today!



I stamped the flowers and leaves, doing quite a bit of masking as I went a long, from the Paint Fusion - Lilacs set.  I love how you have the freedom to create your own arrangement with this stamp set!  Actually, this stamp set has a great step by step paint tutorial on the package, as well.  I haven't tried that yet, as this is the first time I broke this one open, but it seems kind of neat to me!



I used VersaFine ink to stamp, as I knew I'd be using the watercolor crayons and it is permanent and won't run with the water application.  I applies several shades to my image to give it more depth.  I like how it turned out.  The sentiment is stamped on wood veneer and trimmed into a simple banner for the bottom of the card!

Be sure to check out the Crafter's Companion Facebook Page for more inspiration!

Have a Happy!