Love Is In the Air by Gennette Houghton

 

Hello, and Welcome to Watercolor Weekend! Valentine’s Day is next weekend and I have a couple of cards today perfect for the occasion. February is usually one of our coldest months, but I decided to go with a warmer scene this year. I decided I wanted to use both 5054 WC Little Boys, and 5053 WC Little Girls. These sets are great for so many occasions and are a great add to your stamp collection.

 For my first card I chose the two that are standing. I first took my 5063 Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies and used the 3^rd largest to trace for a guide. Since I wanted to make sure they were positioned the way I wanted, I used the stamp positioner for both, inking both in Distress Ink Lost Shadow. For the skin tones I used 850, 910, and for the shadowed areas a touch of 912.  I started with the skin first so that I wasn’t risking other colors bleeding into the area.  Once that was done, I started with the little girl’s hair. I started with 990 as a base to help tone down the yellow, I then added some 025 and darkened areas with 026. For the bands in her hair I used 725.  Next I did the skirt with N52, I love this gray as it has a hint of blue to it.  I then went over the shirt lightly with 725, adding a touch more in the shaded areas, and then used the same color to add tiny little dots for texture.  I also used 725 on the hat, making it a bit darker than the shirt.  For the boy, I decided I wanted to leave his shirt white, so I used N52 for some shading and contours. I then painted the pants with 565, and added a bit of detail to the pocket with the same color.  For the hair I started with 947 and then added some 969. 856 was used on the hat. N52 and 565 was used on his shoes.  

A light wash of 177 for the ground, going darker at the base of the feet and out at an angle for a shadow. I then used 526 for the sky, staying within my guidelines I already penciled in.  I painted the grass in the background with 228, just to give a hint of being there, and then masked off the edges with post-it tape. 5826 WC Large Tree Set 2 for the grass in the foreground with a mix of 126 and 177.  Softened lightly with a damp brush.  I then used Bleed Proof White for what was supposed to be a cloud, but I got a little too precise with it trying to get it to show up on a lighter background, but it doesn’t look to bad.  With the edges still masked I used 5126 WC Foliage Set 4, I inked the leaf branch in two colors, first with 126 and then brought a line up through the stamp with 177. For the very edge I did the same with 177 and 249. I find this gives a more organic look to the leaves.  Adding a touch of water to soften and bring out the colors. I removed the post-it tape and erased my pencil lines. Using the same die I used for the guidelines I then cut my image out.   I matted the image with gold and pink card stock and matted my card base with paper from 5741 Valentines Paper Pack and finished the card.

 For my second card, I used the same boy and girl sets, this time with the ones that are sitting.  I used the same die as in the first card in a horizontal position for my guidelines, and used the stamp positioner to place both the boy and girl where I wanted them.  The skin tones are the same as the first two, 850, 910, and a touch of 912. For the boy I used 992 and 969 for the hair, 312 for the shirt, and 969 for his pants.  The girl I used 947 for the hair, 905 and N52 for the shirt, and 565 for her pants.  I then used a wash of 177 for the ground, darkening it under and behind the kids. For the water I used 565 first and then added a bit of 526 to brighten some of the areas.  I darkened the area right next to the shore with more 565 to give contrast between the two.  After masking off the sides, 5424 WC Pond Set was used for the cattails. I first stamped in the leaves using 177 and stamped twice each time. I then added the cattails using 177 and 969. 5826 WC Large Tree Set 2 for the grass, inked in 177 and a touch of 969 right at the base of the stamp in two small spots. 

I used this at the base of the cattails and in each of the bottom corners. I then used a damp brush to soften all of the foliage and blended out a bit at the base of each.   Bleed Proof White was used to add a bit of highlights in the water and then created tiny heart flowers in the grass.  Removing the post-it tape, I erased the lines and used the same die to cut out the image.  The image was matted with gold and dark brown cardstock, and matted the card base with paper from 5835 Mini Paper Pack, completing my second card.  Thank you so much for joining me today, I hope you enjoyed my cards and that I inspired you to give these sets a try. Until next time, Create….Share….Inspire!