Hello, and welcome back for Watercolor Weekend!
Hello, my Ai watercolor friends and
fans! I have two watercolor cards to share with you today. First up is a St.
Patrick’s Day Gnome card. My bonus card is a sweet little Z-fold Birthday card.
St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Card:
I
know not everyone celebrates St. Patrick’s Day, but I like to think everyone
feels a little Irish on March 17th. Plus, it’s the perfect excuse to pull out
one of my favorite sets (5785 – Gnomes Set) and create an adorable St.
Patrick’s Day gnome. For this card, I’m also using the newly released 6158 –
Story Tile Template Die.
For
this painting, I started by preparing a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper.
Using the Storybook Tile Template Die itself—not the die‑cut—I lightly
traced the interior of each section with a pencil. This leaves a clean white
border around each painted panel once everything is finished.
Next,
I stamped each gnome into its section using a stamp platform and N79 ink. I
sketched the pile of gold inside the planter pot with a pencil, then used a
large oval die to trace a smooth curve for the rainbow rising from the pot of
gold. I used Post-it tape to mask each section to maintain the white border
around the paintings.
Section
1
- Gnome: 195, 177 (hat and clothing), 850, 942 (hands and nose), 977 (shoes), 933, 925 (beard). All gnomes will be painted with these same colors.
- Rainbow: 856, 933, 025, 195, 476, 606 (used also in Section 4)
- Sky: 555 (all sections)
Section
2
Mask the gnome and stamp leaf from 5795 – Berries in 177, and drooping flower from 5794 – Whimsical Flowers inked in 177 (stem), 025 (flowers).
- Gnome’s belt: 025
- Leaf and flower stem: 177, a touch of 195 for highlights
- Flower: 025
- Grass: 177 (4051 – WC Foliage Set 1, small grass)
- Tiny white flowers: Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White
Section
3
Mask
the gnome’s foot and stamp vine from 5794 in 177.
- Vine: 177, a touch of 195 for highlights
- Grass: 177 (4051 – WC Foliage Set 1, small grass)
- Tiny white flowers: Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White
Section
4
- Rainbow: same as Section 1
- Planter pot: N25
- Gold: Winsor Newton Ink 14ml – Gold Paint, Brown TwinTone marker
- Grass: 177 (4051 – WC Foliage Set 1, small grass)
- Tiny White Flowers: Dr. Ph Martin’s Bleed Proof White
Section
5
Ink
vines (177), flower (933) from 5794 and stamp into section.
- Vines: 177, a touch of 195 for highlights
- Flower: 933 (petals), 025, 026 (center)
Section
6
Mask
the gnome and stamp the mushroom inked in 969. Stamp vines from 5794 in 177.
- Gnome’s belt: 025
- Mushroom cap: 025, 026
- Dots on mushroom cap: Dr. Ph Martin’s Bleed Proof White, 565 for shading
- Underside of mushroom and stem: 977, Brown TwinTone marker
- Vines: 177, a touch of 195 for highlights
- Grass: 177 (4051 – WC Foliage Set 1, small grass)
Next, I die cut the frame (6158 – Story Tile Template Die) from patterned paper, erased the pencil lines and adhered the painting and frame onto an A2 card base.
I
used fonts from my computer in coordinating shades of orange and green to
create the sentiment for the inside of the card. To finish the interior panel,
I adhered a half‑inch strip of patterned paper along the bottom edge of the
white mat.
This
card is ready to send to a friend to wish them a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! PSA –
Don’t forget to wear green. Legend has it that wearing green on the holiday prevents
a leprechaun’s pinch or from a pesky friend - lol!
Bonus
Card: Z-fold Birthday Card
For
this A2 fun fold birthday card, I chose a birthday cake image from the recently
released 6178 – Birthday Wishes set. The set was designed to coordinate with
the Story Tile Template Die, but all the images work great on their own too!
Frame for finished painting
5591
– Journal Rectangle Frames Die Set watercolor mat decorated with the Daisy
Bunch stamp from 4052 – WC Flower Set 1 and the small vine from 4051 – WC
Foliage Set 1
- Daisy bunches: 743 and 565
- Vines: 177
- Happy Birthday: 6039 – Just for Her Set, black ink
- Foam tape for mounting
Painting
The
image was inked in N52.
- Cake: candles (403), flames (025, 933), candle glow (025) icing (743, Fuchsia TwinTone, Dr. Ph. Martin’s), cake (977, Brown TwinTone)
- Pedestal: 403 and 565 for shadows
- Planter: shaded with 565 and also for the stripes
- Flowers and foliage: 4051 small vine (177), 4052 daisy bunch (565), 5009 single flower (743, 177)
- Tiny white flowers: Dr. Ph Martin’s Bleed Proof White, Chrome Yellow TwinTone marker for centers.
- Grass: 177 (4051 – WC Foliage Set 1, small grass)
- Sky: 555
Purple
Card Base
- 8 ½ x 5 ½, scored and folded at 2 ⅛ and 4 ¼
- Front panel strip: 2 x 5 ¼
- Interior sentiment inked in purple: Dessert pedestal (6180 – Dear Friend), sentiment (5735 – Birthday Sentiment Set)
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s cards and found a little
inspiration along the way. That’s all for now—thank you so much for stopping by
for Watercolor Weekend. Until next time, Happy Painting!
