Over the Garden Wall by Gennette Houghton

 

Hello, and Welcome to Watercolor Weekend! Spring fever hit me early this year, we have had one of the coldest winters ever. Unfortunately for us, winter tends to hang its claws in. So I am dreaming of warm days and no more snow!  

For my first card I used the 5817 Potting Garden Shed, I stamped it on my watercolor paper in Distress Ink, Pumice Stone, after stamping off once. 5063 Rectangle A2 Double Stitch Dies, using the 3^rd largest to trace out a frame around the Potting Shed for a guide. After dealing with the back and forth of snow and what becomes a mud fest, I wanted strong colors.  So starting with the roof I mixed N15 in with 856, which makes the red more of a burgundy color. I also used this on the door.  For the main part I added some washes of 947 and 565 for the shadows.  For the glass on the door I used 526 and shaded the top and one side with 565.  I then put in the sky with 526 and a wash on the ground of 177, darkening this color around the pot, shed, and watering can.  528 for the birds, along with adding 025 and 026 for the beaks, and a black micron for the eyes and legs.  I started with the bottom left pot and used post-it tape to mask the side guideline and the pot. 4051 Foliage Set 1 with the large foliage, turned so I was using one of the short ends in 126 and filled in the area I wanted covered.  I then colored just a small portion of this stamp and added 177 in different areas. Using a damp brush, I softened these 2 colors together.  856 mixed with 969 for the pot creating a darker terracotta pot, leaving a highlight in the center and darkening the sides.  For the hanging basket, I shaded the sides with 565, I also left the mask on the side just in case.  I then used 4052 Flower Set 1, the daisy bunch, in 905, coloring only a couple of the flowers in 885 and adding that in areas to create more of a definition, also softening this with a damp brush.  For the watering can, I used a mix of 565 and 969, and then added a touch of 249. 947 is great for creating rust, I just continue adding layers until I am happy with it.  For the pot on the right, I shaded this as well with 565, and added stripes in 528.  The daisy bunch was also used for this one, but with 025, a couple in 026, and some in 993. Before adding the foliage I softened this with a damp brush and then used 5126 Foliage Set 4, small vines, in 177 to add in some greenery, lightly touching these with a damp brush.  The leafy branch from the same set, up in both corners after taping them off, with 126 and a line drawn through with 177, which gives a two-toned look on the leaves. I touched each of the leaves with a damp brush.  I then added some grass at the base of the image after taping off by the guide lines, with the grass from 5826 Large Tree Set 2.  This is, by far, my favorite grass stamp, and I like to use 177 with just a touch of 969 in 2 spots at the base of the stamp.  Once softened with a damp brush, to me anyway, gives a more natural look to the grass.  Using the dots from 5418 Bible Foliage Set 2, I added some dots in 177 throughout the scene. Bleed Proof White was added in with each of the florals. I matted my card base with paper from 5873 Mini Birthday Paper Pack and cut out my image with the same die I used for my guidelines. I matted the image with a solid green cardstock and mounted it onto the card base. 

For my 2^nd card I used 6112 Pumpkin Parade. I always look at sets to see if something can be used in a different way, and the bunny in this set with her witches costume gave me the Lord of the Rings vibe. I was talking with my son about it and he said it reminded him of Over the Garden Wall, a 2014 animated Mini TV Series, so I ran with it. So, I turned the little rabbit and owl into little adventurers traveling down a forest path. I found the perfect paper in the 6072 Father’s Day Paper Pack, and the dies I used are from my stash. When I inked the stamps, I just left off the lantern faces on both of them.  For the Rabbit I used N57, N49, N79, 772, 856. The hat, cape, and shirt I used 027, 249, 947 and the basket 969, 947. The Owl I used 947, 879. 879 was a little duller than I wanted so I glazed over this with Marvy 108 Black Cherry.  For the beak and talons I used, 025, 026.  I then used the flowers, mushrooms, bee, and butterfly from 5935 Fairytale Houses Set.  For the flower heads I used, 526, 676, 725, and 565. The centers, 055, 025, 026. The leaves and stems, 126, 177.  The mushrooms, 992, 969, 856, 837, and Bleed Proof White was used.  The bee 055, 026, N15, 526, 565. The butterfly, 025, 985, 856, 679, N15.  I cut a slit in both of the baskets for the flowers, and the Rabbit, bee, and butterfly are popped up with foam tape.

Thank you for joining me today, until next time! Create….Share….Inspire!