Dreaming of Spring by Gennette Houghton

 

Hello, and Welcome, to Watercolor Weekend!  Technically, it is Spring, but the weather says otherwise. It’s coming, but the tug-of-war continues, we call these the yo-yo months, it is enough to drive one batty when you just want warmth and sun! (Yes, yes, I know…..I will be complaining of it being too warm soon enough!  LOL!) I can not tell you how happy it makes me to create colorful creations right now, I may enjoy a good snowman, but I do love when things start coming back to life! 

Daffodils are usually one of our first flowers to show up here, there is something about that pop of bright sunny yellow after months of gray days.  The irony of them getting covered in snow is not lost on me.  The 6106 Spring Keepsake Set was a big hit for the frog alone, he is cute isn’t he! I started out with a piece of watercolor paper and stamped in the frog with Distress Ink Pumice Stone after stamping off once.  I created a mask and covered him, and then using a stamp positioner I stamped in the pot like I did the frog.  I then masked the pot and stamped in the flowers.   Starting with the frog, I used 126 as the base color, adding in 177 especially around the edges and shadowed areas.  N15 for the pupils, with a touch of 565 along the edges of the white. This really helps the eyes to pop! For the tulips I used 725 and shaded with 676 for more dimension.  The daffodils I started with 025 and then used 026 for some depth, with 947 for shading.  I added a couple of dots of 969 right in the centers.  The stems and leaves I used 126 as the base and contoured with 177.  For some of the areas farther back I also used a bit of 249.  I added some 969 inside the pot, darkening the back edge for dimension.  For the pot itself I used 636, darkening the sides and leaving a highlight in the middle which helps make the pot look rounded.  I also added a stripe with the same color.  The sky I used 526, and put a light wash of 969 for the ground.  Using my favorite grass from 5826 WC Large Tree Set 2, I masked off the frog again to place the grass behind him and on the other side of the pot using 177 with two small spots of 969 towards the bottom and then used a damp brush to soften.  Bleed Proof White was used for the little flowers.  I added a bit more 969 for the shadows at the base of the pot and frog.  5064 Circle Double Stitched Die, 2^nd from the largest, was used to cut the image out. I then matted this with silver cardstock using dies from my stash, and then backed this with a dark purple solid cardstock, cut out from the 2^nd largest 6045 Scalloped Circle Dies.  I matted my card base with paper from the 6010 Basic Pink Paper Pack.  Before attaching my image, I stamped in the sentiment in the bottom corner with Versafine Clair in Nocturne.  I then added my image to finish off the card.  I still can’t get over how cute this frog is!!  Ah, Spring, I am waiting for you!

 For my 2^nd card I used 6177 Garden Friends from the new Story Tile Series. There are currently 3 other sets in this line, and boy are they good ones! I made a card using the 6179 Cottage Charm, and kept that one pretty simple, you haven’t seen this one yet, but it is coming. I did, however, learn a valuable lesson making that card. Not thinking, I traced my openings using the die on my watercolor paper with the cut side up. I figured out pretty fast my mistake when I cut out the template. (Opps!) This time I made a template for tracing with heavy cardstock that I now keep with the die and use that instead.  The beautiful thing about these sets is that you can mix and match to create different versions. 6158 Story Tile Template Die can be used with any number of sets as well.  I am so looking forward to what Art Impressions has in store for this series! With the foliage and flower sets there are so many things you can do to change the look of this set, your only limitations are your imagination.  Bonnie, however, made some beautiful samples that are on the stamp cards to get you started.  After cutting down my watercolor paper to 4 ¼ x 5 ½, I used my cut out template to trace the openings with a pencil. I then used the stamp positioner to stamp my images where I wanted those, using Distress Ink Pumice Stone, and stamping off once. Here are the other sets I used throughout this project.

5126 Foliage 4 – small vine

4051 Foliage Set 1 – small grass, large foliage

5826 Large Tree Set 2 – grass

5418 Bible Foliage Set 2 – dots

5009 Mini Flower – 4 flowers

5074 Bible Flower Set  – daisy bunch

 Tombow colors used: 565, 969, 312, 947, 025, 026, 177, 676, 555, 526, 126, 249, N15. Also Bleed Proof White. 

I used paper from 5835 Mini Paper Pack for the Story Tile Template and adhered it to my watercolor paper after erasing the pencil lines. Mounting this on my card base. (This time in the right orientation!!) Thank you for joining me, I hope you enjoyed my cards, until next time!  Create….Share….Inspire!