Art Impressions Blog: The Love of Whimsy by Gennette Houghton

Welcome to Watercolor Weekend! One of the best pieces of advice I had ever heard when I first started making cards was “Find Your Style”. That is one of the things I love most about Art Impression Stamps, the watercolor line is so versatile, even better when you can also use their regular line up as well. Your only limit is your imagination.

I love the new 5935 Fairytale Houses set, both of my cards today feature this set. For my first card I used the cluster of mushrooms, set in a wreath of foliage and branches. I used the 5064 Circle Double Stitched die set and used the 2^nd to largest as my guide, tracing the inside with a pencil. Stamping the mushrooms in 565/969 and stamping off once, leaving room below for the branches and foliage and masked them off. I then used the larger branch from set 4964 Branches set with 027, creating an overlapping wreath around the inside of my pencil guide. (Tip: stamp end to end, then stamp in-between.) I then used the large foliage from 4051 Foliage set 1, to create a bed of moss, first using 126 with a portion of the stamp and then separately adding 177 to add more texture and blending with water. (Tip: If you use too much water, after it’s dry you can stamp back over to add detail back in.) Unmasking the mushrooms I first pulled the color out of the lines and then used 992 and 969 on the stems, and 885 on the cap with Bleed Proof White for the spots. I added a little more foliage with 177 over the base of the stems. Using the smaller branch with 969 I stamped around the circle adding just a touch more texture, dabbing the bare branch area with some water to soften it just a bit adding a touch of 177 here and there very lightly. Finishing off with 526 for the sky and some BP White in the mossy area. Using the same die from the beginning to cut the circle out and erased the pencil line. The card is layered with paper from the 5832 Gnome Paper Pack.

Using the same set, 5935 Fairytale Houses for my 2^nd card, I chose the boot. I love this boot, its whimsy with a country vibe and right up my alley!!

Since the main part of this boot was going to be brown, I just stamped it in 969 and stamped off once. I used the 4^th largest die from 5063 Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies and traced inside with a pencil to frame in the boot, masking the sides with Post-it tape. Pulling the color out in the shaded areas and adding more 969 to the boot area. For the roof and doors I used 373 and added in shingles and additional texture. For the windows I used 526 and 565 for the shadows on the windows and doors. The patches on the boot were colored with 025 and a touch of 026. The bottom of the boot I used N25. The black Micron is perfect for adding in those little details for the ironwork and the boot lace holes. At this point I added in the sky with 526. I created a mask and covered the boot so I could add the foliage in. 4051 Foliage Set 1, the large foliage is so useful for different things and excellent for texture. I used 126 first and then added in some 177 with just a small portion of the stamp and blended it with water. I then chose a branch from 4964 Branches Set, colored it with 947. The vine from Foliage Set 1, in 249 for the leaves and softened it with water. Once dry I added in Bleed Proof White for the flowers with a touch of 026 in the centers. For the ground in the more shaded areas I used 249, blending out with some 177 as it came forward. 969 was used for the paths to the doors. The grass from 5826 Large Tree Set 2 is my favorite and the one I go to the most. When I use this stamp I like to color it with 177 and in just 2 spots I add a small touch of 969, I then stamped in the 2 front corners to complete the scene pulling the color out lightly to finish. Using the same die I used for my guide, die cut and erased the pencil lines. The card is matted with 5939 Fairy Garden PP, it was absolutely perfect for my image. I used a solid green cardstock to create the banner with the decorative edge die from 5543 Journal Template Die Set and heat embossed the sentiment from 5797 Little Things Sentiment Set.