2024 Intentions by Tricia

Happy 2024 everyone! I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year. I am continuing on my quest for balance in my life. Here are 3 of my 2024 intentions that happened quite by chance. What types of things are you looking to bring into your life in 2024?  

I am hoping to slow down and enjoy the process in everything I do.  I hope to capture the wonder of the world around me, breathe with intention and find peace and balance. With that said...onto the cards! I have 3 of them to share with you today.

Card 1 - Wonder

I have always loved the Northern Lights.  For this one, I wanted it to be simple but powerful with all of its awe. This card only utilizes one stamp set (for the painting not the words), 5826 - WC Large Tree Set 2.  If you are intimated by the mountains, you can use the Mountain set to assist you, but I urge you to step out of your comfort zone. I started out by tracing the box from my stitched square die a little smaller than the paper. I wanted it to look like a polaroid picture originally. Also, sometimes something smaller is less intimidating.  Do you see a theme starting?

Let's get going.  Using the birch tree stamps, I inked them up with 969 and 569, stamped them off and stamped into the bottom right corner of the square. I varied the height and went between the large and small stamps. I stopped just shy of the middle of the box.

Using 606 (very watered down) on my palette, I watercolor sketched in the snow in the background.  This allows me to position the mountains and piles of snow where I want them before putting down darker color. Remember snow is white but it is made up of lots of colors (blues, purples, yellows)...so like we say, play with it and find the 'wonder' in your process. Try making it not look like snow and it may just look like snow...lol.

I started layering in different brown and blue mixtures for the mountains. I continued to add color slowly to the snow and mountains until I was happy. Then I let it dry completely.  Dry times will vary depending on how much water you used, but it should be relatively quick. Using some post-it tape, I masked off the birch trees and stamped in the evergreen trees inked with 249. I added a small amount of water to the birch trees (just the sides and the notches), then to the evergreen trees.

For the Northern Lights, I used 173 and slowly built up the color from pale to deeper.  I allowed some places to dry faster than others creating controlled blooms. It was more of a wet in wet technique followed by some darker details. I used some 969 and 569 mixture to create the night sky. This was also layered.  I find that I get deeper more interesting shades when I layer vs just doing a dark wash. Once this was all dry, I added some green to the snow, bleed proof white to some of the trees and as stars and stamped in WONDER using the small alphabet stamp set (perfect size!). I signed and dated.

Card 2 - Breathe

I have to be honest, this one almost ended up in the circular file. I have learned now that it is just my brain sending me the wrong messages. I am trying, and will continue to try this year, to breathe through it and find my flow. Here's how this one went down.

I started with the Rugged Tree Stamp.  I don't see this beautiful tree enough. I thought I could give it some love, artistic style. Again, because I was in a flow state of mind I am not sure exactly how I did this one but I can give you the gist of it. I inked the Tree up with 969 and 569 to just below the top. I did not stamp this off as I wanted all of the colors.  Experiment here with different browns and blues to see what you can do to the tree. 

Next, I inked up the small foliage (or something) from the Large Tree Set 2 with 969 and stamped it next to the Tree and behind the tree. From my palette I mixed up several different colors to add to the forest and stream/road/trail. Once it was dry, I added additional colors to the snow and forest. I inked up the evergreen trees from the Snow Globe set with 249 and stamped them several times along the tree line. I also used the small foliage inked with 969 as trees in the forest along with just the top of the evergreen trees to create depth. 

Lastly, I added clean water to the sky and dropped in blue (making sure to avoid the tree).  Don't go too high. I came in to darken any areas and add details; once I was happy with it I signed and dated.  Oh yeah, I wrote the word 'BREATHE' once the sky dried.

Card 3 - Peace

This one was the most fun and easy one.  I love wet in wet and this one is playful. To start off, I took some 1/4 in washi tape (don't quote me, I think) and blocked off the windows. Next I inked the Rugged Tree with 969 and 569, wiping some of the branches away (by doing this each time to different parts of the stamp, it makes it look different each time you stamp it-so you can S T R E T C H it...lol) and stamping some straight, some slanted, some I masked off until I was happy with the amount and placement of the trees.

Next, I pulled some of the color from the sides of the tree into the center (you can experiment with different looks depending on how much water you use). Once they dried, I added clean water between the trees and dropped in reds, yellows and oranges.  I tried not to fuss with them and let them dry naturally. I added some brown/blue to the bottom of the trees.

I removed the washi tape and painted in the wood window frames (hint: make sure the wood grain you are painting is parallel to the floor/walls - left and right wood grain goes up and down, top and bottom wood grain goes left to right). Using layers will help create a wood look. I added the 'PEACE' with an acrylic paint pen (would not do this again). I signed and dated.

These cards were not only fun to make but also intentional. I hope you will set your intentions this year and also hope they will include some time for you. We all need self care and self love. Words are powerful, be careful what you say to yourself.

"If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it."  - Muhammad Ali 

Thank you for spending a bit of your Sunday with me, I hope you have a wonderful day!

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