Hello, and welcome back for Watercolor Weekend!
Hello, my
Ai Watercolor friends and fans! I hope you’re enjoying the long weekend and
taking a moment to remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Today I’m sharing two cards—one with a patriotic theme and the other perfect
for the guys in your life.
Remember
& Honor Card:
In honor of
Memorial Day, I created a patriotic quilt‑block card. I love quilting, though I
haven’t had much time for it lately. While scrolling through Pinterest, a red,
white, and blue pinwheel pattern caught my eye and inspired today’s design.
Colors and Supplies Used
Paper: Canson XL Watercolor Paper
Brush: No. 4 round brush
Stamps:
· 4052 – WC Flower Set 1
· 5937 – My Trust Set
Tombow Dual Brush Pens: 528, 856
Dies:
· 5061 – Square Double
Stitched Dies
· 5063 – Rectangle A2 Double
Stitched Dies
Other: Foam squares, Fiskars Fingertip Precision Knife, ruler
The
image above on the left shows the quilt pattern and the number of red, white,
and blue squares needed to complete the design. To create my own patterned
paper, I stamped the daisy bunch from 4052 – WC Flower Set 1 using Tombow 856
and 528, then softened each flower with a damp brush to give it a watercolor
look. For the white dotted paper, I used the multiple‑dots stamp from 5937 – My
Trust Set, first in 856 and then again in 528. No water was added to the dotted
pattern.
Next, I used the smallest square die from 5061 – Square
Double Stitched Dies to die-cut 4 red, 4 blue, and 8 white squares. Each square
was then carefully cut on the diagonal with a Fiskars Fingertip Precision Knife
and a ruler to create the triangle pieces. Just like real quilting, accuracy is
everything—clean cuts make the final block line up beautifully.
I cut a 3" x 3" square of white cardstock as my
base and began assembling the quilt block, following the pinwheel pattern and
adhering each triangle in place. Once the block was complete, I matted it with
blue cardstock.
For the card base, I layered blue cardstock and a panel of
red embossed cardstock. I created the “Remember & Honor” sentiment on my
computer, matted it with blue cardstock, and added a 1⅛" x 4¼" strip
of the dotted paper beneath the quilt block for balance. Both the sentiment and
the quilt block were attached with foam squares for dimension.
Inside the card, I added a stitched 4" x 5¼" panel
and trimmed it with coordinating red and blue cardstock strips.
I had so much fun “quilting” this card—and I didn’t even have
to pull out my sewing machine, lol. While this design made a lovely Memorial
Day card, it would also be perfect for the 4th of July or Veterans Day. And if
you switch up the colors and sentiment, it becomes a pretty card for any crafty
friend.
A Reel
Great Guy Card:
Masculine
cards are always a bit of a challenge for me, but with the help of two
fantastic stamp sets: 4900 – Reel Great Guys Set and 6065 – Lakehouse
Foundation, plus the always‑amazing 6158 – Story Tile Template Die; I was able
to create this fun and fabulous “guy card.”
I began by
die‑cutting a piece of Canson XL Watercolor Paper using the 6158 – Story Tile
Template Die. All images were inked and stamped in N79. I started with the
bucket of fish and the dog floating in a tube from 4900 – Reel Great Guys Set.
For the fisherman scene, I selectively stamped the house and mountains from
6065 – Lakehouse Foundation, masking where needed to build the background.
To complete the lower left opening, I dropped the
stamp slightly to include the rocky shoreline. Then I shifted the stamp to
continue the mountains and aligned the rocky shoreline into the bottom right
opening. (You’ll notice in the photo that I stamped the fish into the bottom
left window—I ended up restamping, fussy cutting, and popping it up with foam
squares later, so that first stamping wasn’t necessary.)
On a separate piece of watercolor paper, I
partially stamped the fisherman in the boat, omitting the second fisherman and
the far end of the boat. I also restamped the jumping fish. In hindsight, I
should have stamped these on Canson XL Mix Media Paper since I planned to fussy
cut them—but I didn’t, which meant cutting thick watercolor paper with scissors
and a Fiskars Fingertip Precision Knife. Lesson learned!
Tombow Dual Brush Pens:
- 555 – sky and water
- 025, 985 – tube
- 177 – hills, grass, foliage (4051 – WC Foliage Set 1, Teeny Tiny
Grass)
- 850, 910 – face and arms
- 228 – fishing vest, fish body, tail, fin
- 026 – fishing shirt, hat, fish fins
- 977, 969 – boat
- 977 (light wash) – dog’s belly
- 969 – dog’s body
- 856 – cheeks, fish bellies, tongue
- 947 – rod handle, roofs, chimney
- N25 – rod
- 228, 026 – house
- 565, 969 – bucket, mountains, rocks
- 565 – shadows
Other Coloring Supplies:
- Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White – white flowers, window frames
- Tombow TwinTone Pens – navy, gray, black
Paper & Dies:
- Frame Paper: 6072 – Father’s Day Paper Pack
- Dies: 6158 – Story Tile Template Die
- Other: Foam squares, black Micron pen
Once the painting was finished, I fussy cut the
fish and fisherman. I die‑cut a second frame from the 6072 – Father’s Day Paper
Pack and adhered it to an A2 kraft card base. I glued all the tiles into place,
then added foam squares behind the fish and fisherman so they appear to pop
right out of the scene!
To finish the inside, I added a white panel trimmed
with a coordinating strip of patterned paper.
Thank you so much for joining me today! I had such
a great time creating both of these cards — from the patriotic quilt block
inspired by a Pinterest pinwheel pattern to the fun, outdoorsy “Reel Great Guy”
scene. I hope they spark ideas for your own weekend crafting. Wishing you a
meaningful Memorial Day and a creative week ahead. Until next time, Happy
Painting!
