Watercolor Weekend 1-21-2023

 Hello Ai fans!

It's a Watercolor Weekend and our Watercolor Design Team has
some amazing cards to share with you today!

From Karen's Valentine mailbox, to Diane's bunny and basket full of hearts to
Tricia's gorgeous winter scene you will love them all!

This week Karen is up first.

Hello Ai Watercolour fans!

I'm doing a simple scene today to show you how to make a Valentine by using the stamps you have.

I stamped the mailbox image from 5575 - Mailbox Birdhouse Set in Tombow #969/565 onto my Canson XL Watercolour Paper.  And used the same markers to add the bird from 5561 - Birds and Bugs Set.  I wanted to create a bunch of hearts spilling out of the mailbox, so with a pencil, I sketched the hearts, making them smaller as the floated away.  I also drew one tilted sideways in the bird's beak.  I used three of the blooms in 5008 - WC Flower set 3 coloured in #856/177 and stamped my flowers around the base of the wood stand.

After pulling out all of the colour with a damp brush, I used #761/856 to paint the hearts, keeping a lighter highlite area.  #993 was added to the flag, and shades of #969 were painted in streaks to suggest woodgrain on the base of the mailbox.  The sweet bird was painted with shades of #528, with a little #565 on the wing tips and as shadows.  With the two grasses in 5476 - WC Foliage Set 5, I added them under the flowers in #177/126, and blended them with my damp paintbrush.  I just lightly touched each bloom with my paintbrush to enliven the colour a little, but not enough to lose the definition of the petals.  A wash of #565 was added to the sky.  I hope you'll pull out some of your regular stamp sets and make them into something sweet for Valentine's Day!

Next up is Diane's sweet card.

Let’s get started. To create this card, I used the following Ai watercolor sets, Tombow markers, and dies:

⦁ 5521 – WC Animal Planters

⦁ 5574 – Door and Stocking Set

⦁ 4051 – Foliage Set 1

⦁ 4867 – Foliage Set 2

⦁ 5009 – WC Mini Flower Set

⦁ 5561 – Birds and Bugs Set

⦁ Tombow:  565, 969, 249, 177, 526, 725, 606, 856, 993, and N52

⦁ Art Impressions Dies: 5065 – Oval Doubled Stitched and 5344 – Envelope GHC

 

I began by inking the bunny planter stamp from #5521 with 969 then 565 but leaving off the area on the basket brim to save room for the bow. I stamped off on a scrap of watercolor paper before stamping onto my Canson XL watercolor paper. Next I inked the bow stamp from #5574 with 969 and 565 and stamped off before adding to the basket brim. Since the stamp is clear, it is easy to place. It fits perfectly! 

 For the hearts in the basket, I used the small heart die from #5344 as a template to draw around with a pencil. Working from front to back, I added the areas of the heart I wanted to show (left front, then behind it on the right and in the center behind the two in front). Once the hearts were drawn in, I lightly drew in the basket weave adding a slight curve to the lines to make it looked rounded. Now it was time to pull out some color from the stamped image with a damp #4 round brush to add shadows and depth.

 

Before adding color to the stamped image, I painted in the sky with a watery mix of 526. Next I stamped in the grass from #4051 using 177 and added water to pull out the blades of grass.

      Before adding the flowers and foliage to the basket, I cut out some heart masks from Post-It Labeling Tape to protect the hearts. For the flowers I chose the long stemmed flower bundle from #5009 and inked it with 177 for the stems and 606 for the petals. For the foliage, I used the leafy branch from #4867 in 177 and small leaf cluster from #5009 in 249. For the small pink heart-shaped flowers, I used the heart-shaped petals from #5009 in 725. Once all the flowers and foliage were in place, I then removed the masks and dabbed the flowers and foliage.

  I used 725, 606, and 856 to paint the hearts and 856 for the bow. For the basket weave and straps, I used 969. For the inside of the bunny’s ear and cheek I mixed 725 with a little 969 to tone down the color a bit. For the bee, I inked the stamp with N52. Next I used a black 01 Micron pen to go over the stripes. I pulled some color from the wings and added a touch of 526 near the base of the wings. For the body, I used 993 and the coordinating die to cut out the bee. To add back any detail that was missing, I used a brown #41 Twintone marker for the basket, straps, hearts, and bunny eye. For the bunny’s body and face, I used a gray #49 Twintone marker. As a final touch, I dotted in some white flowers to the basket and grass with Dr. Ph Martin’s Bleed Proof White. For the card, I die-cut the card front with an oval die from #5065 and adhered it with double-sided foam tape to the painting and then mounted it to a white A2 card base. Finally, I popped up the sweet little bee with foam tape and added it to the card to complete the scene.

This was a really fun card to make – the #5521 Watercolor Animal Planter Set is so versatile. Let your imagination run wild and create a sweet card for your special valentine! If you decide to give this one a go, please be sure to tag us on social media. We love to see your work! 

Last up we have a beautiful winter scene with a cardinal from Tricia.

Welcome Back watercolor fans! I hope you all are excited for all this weekends’ inspiration, I know I am. I am sharing my Winter Cardinal scene with you.  It only takes a couple of stamps to make this versatile project.  I think you could use this for any occasion as well.

 

I inked up the ladder image from the Harvest Scenes set (not inking the pumpkins or the top of the bird) with 969.  I did not stamp it off as I wanted it to be on the darker side. Using my positioner, I added the small water bucket from the Wishing Well set inked with 569 & 969.  I wiped off the top of the can and the right side to make room for the snow and pine bough.  Next, I pulled the color out of the lines and added some additional color from my palette. I added some 569 under the white areas to give the illusion of snow.

I drew the top of the cardinal with my pencil.  I added 856 to the bird and then using my black twintone I drew in his face and beak.  Next, I added the flowers and foliage and softened with my brush. I added some watered down blue to the sky. Lastly, I added some bleed proof white to the areas that I wanted snow.  And as always, sign and date.

 

Thanks for joining me today, I hope you have a creative weekend!

Thank you for joining us for another Watercolor Weekend!

Be sure to check out our newest challenge on the blog for your chance to win a free stamp set!

"Windows to the World"

Cards with windows on them.  It can be a WTTW set, a house or door with a window...a car, truck or plane.  Even just a window die.  If there's a window on it then it counts! Click the banner

to be taken to the challenge page.  You can always link to the challenge at the top of the page as well.

There's also a huge sale going on until tomorrow night 11:59 PM PST.

Get all of your Valentine stamps now so you have time to make your cards

before the big day! Click the photo to be taken to the sale.

Have a safe, fun, crafty weekend!