Circles and Mischief by Gennette Houghton

 

Welcome to Watercolor Weekend! I am so glad you are here!!  5981 My Joy Set is perfect for this time of year, nothing like a beautiful bloom to brighten the day!  I really love how my first card came out, it almost has a vintage touch to it.  The inspiration for this card came from an image I found on Pintrest, created by Kerry Parkinson, click her name to head over to Kerry's Papercraft blog to see her card.

I took some watercolor paper, and the 4 smallest circles from 5064 Circle Double Stitched Dies. Tracing the inside, I did 2 of each, except for the smallest one, and made sure I left enough room to die cut them out.  I used N49 on all of the stamps, except for the grasses, and stamped off once. I used two of the flowers and the butterflies from the My Joy Set, the butterflies I inked only half for each circle.  I also took the bee from 5925 Honey Bee Set. I have a small handful of the Marvy markers and I decided to use the 108 Black Cherry on the flowers, it is a lovely deep purple. I started off with a light wash on the petals, and then darkened where the petals overlap and towards the center. For the centers of the flowers I used 025, 026, and 947. I go over the entire center with the 025, then use the 026 and paint a “C” towards the edge and then use the 947 to darken the very edge of the centers. For the leaves and stems I used 177, darkening under the blooms and the bottom sides of the leaves. For the backgrounds of all of the circles I used 098, and added in a touch of N57.  The butterflies, antennae and bodies, and the bee’s antennae, I used a black micron.  The butterflies were painted with 025 and 026 for the shaded areas. On the bee I started out with the yellows, 055 first, and then 026 to shade the sides. I then used N15 for the black areas. The wings were shaded with 565 before I added the N15 on the body. After painting the background I then put in the foliage with 177 by hand, you could also mask off the bee and use a stamp if you wish.  For the last two circles I started with the backgrounds first. The largest out of the two I used 5476 Foliage Set 5 with 177 and the Marvy 108, stamping it multiple times and added a touch of water to the flowers. The smallest circle, I used just part of the stamp in 177 from 4867 Foliage Set 2. 

Before die cutting my circles I splattered some of the 108, Bleed Proof White, and some gold paint. After it was totally dried, I then die cut all of the circles. I matted my card base with another piece of watercolor paper that I used a script background stamp, and added in some washes of 098 and 108 to help it tie in.  Starting with the 2^nd to smallest and a double layer of foam tape, I placed these first. The 2 largest circles I used a single layer of foam tape and placed them next. The circles with the butterflies were glued to the page directly, and the smallest circle also has a double layer of foam tape.  I think this has to be one of my favorite cards I have made.

For my 2^nd card I created a cute scene, and I think most cat owners will agree with me on their crazy antics. I started off by stamping the larger cat that is from 4873 WC Cats Set in 565/969 and stamping off twice, on watercolor paper.  I then masked the cat off and then stamped in the small cat from the 5991 Dwelling Animal Set 1 in N49 stamping off once and used the stamp positioner to place it where I wanted it. After also masking off the small cat, I used the stamp positioner again to place in the large jar from 5921 Glass Container Set in 565/969 after stamping off twice.  Leaving the two cats masked, I then stamped in the tall skinny jar from the same set in 565/969 after stamping off twice.  I then masked that jar to place the flower from 5827 Hydrangea Set in 772 for the flower and 177 for the stem. 

Removing the masks I then started pulling the color out from each image. I used a black micron on both cats for the eyes, nose and mouth. I colored the large cat with N65, N75, and a touch of N55. The smaller cat I used N79, N57, N49, and 772 for the ear.  On the thinner jar I used 990 and 992, with 565 for the water drop, and some dots with 992 on the jar for some texture.  Making sure to add the color going into the larger container lightly so that it is seen behind the larger container.  For the Hydrangea I added more 177 to the stem, and a combination of 772, 565, and 676 on the flower.  I then used a pencil and ruler to add in the wall boards and a kneaded eraser to lighten the lines but not remove them behind the jar.   I then took some 565 to give dimension to the boards, keeping it light behind the jar.  On the large container I gave the appearance of glass by using 565 and adding some 969 in the bottom to match the counter that was also done in 969, along with a touch of 565 under the water drop.  I then cut my image out with a die from 5768 Decorative Journal Page 1 Set, which I think framed this nicely, and put my card together. 

Thank you for joining me today, and I hope you enjoyed my cards!  Until next time, Create….Share….Inspire!