Power Of Hope & Free As A Bird

A peaceful scene created with the Power Of Hope and Free As A Bird stamp sets

This rather peaceful card is a variation of another card I made recently with the Power of Hope stamp set - Free during Sale-A-Bration (bundled with a 3D embossing folder) with a purchase of $180.

The little birds resting on the Cherry Blossom Tree are from the Free As A Bird stamp set and the greeting is from Good Morning Magnolia.

I stamped the images and greeting with Saddle Brown Stazon ink and then watercoloured with the following inks:
Blueberry Bushel, Petal Pink, Seaside Spray, Soft Sea Foam, Pear Pizzazz, Real Red, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso.

TIPS:

• I like to work out my composition on a scrap piece of paper before committing to my good cardstock.  I draw an outline the same size as my finished piece .
  
• Use watercolour paper - it's designed to handle the fluid and is, therefore, easier to work on and will give a better result.  I have a cupboard full of a variety of watercolour papers but, for cardmaking, my favourite is definitely the Fluid 100 (see product list below) as it a good quality weight, has a smooth enough finish to support clean stamped images and is sufficiently bright.
  
• Decide on colouring medium before commencing so that you can use an appropriate ink for stamping.  IE if you decide to watercolour, use a waterproof, solvent based ink such as the Stazon I have used.  If you're going to use alcohol inks for colouring, make sure you use a water-based ink for stamping - such as Memento Tuxedo Black or any of the Stampin' Up coloured inks.
  
• I painted the "grass" area with water and then painted with quite diluted green ink - starting with Soft Sea Foam and then gradually adding some Pear Pizzazz towards the bottom.  I added more pigment towards the bottom of the piece (the foreground) and for shadows since these areas are usually darker.
  
• To maintain a cohesive colour palette - if I used a colour in one place, I also used it somewhere else.  For example: the Early Espresso used for the lady's hair is also used for the deepest shade on the underside of the tree branch.  Petal Pink appears for skin and cherry blossoms; Real Red is used for the roof, belt, parasol and in the cherry blossoms.
  
• Unless you want them to bleed/blend one into the other, make sure adjoining areas are dry before painting.

Thank you for visiting.
'Til next time!
Stephanie

Product List - All available for purchase from my online store

Free As A Bird Cling Stamp Set

$38.00

Good Morning Magnolia Cling Stamp Set

$63.00

Power Of Hope Bundle

$0.00

Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper

$15.75

Real Red A4 Card Stock

$15.25

Saddle Brown Stazon Ink Pad

$17.50

Good Morning Magnolia Emboss Resist Watercolour Wash

A soft, feminine birthday card featuring the Good Morning Magnolia image and quick and easy watercolouring

Let's take a little break from Christmas cards to celebrate a friend's birthday!

I clear heat embossed the floral image on Watercolor Paper and then spritzed the whole sheet generously with water before using a damp brush to add a very light, and rough, wash of Blueberry Bushel ink.

With the piece still damp, I added more Blueberry Bushel ink onto the petals and Shaded Spruce ink onto the leaves and stem, creating some shadows with darker shades of ink.

I finished by picking up both Blueberry Bushel and Shaded Spruce ink on a wet brush to add some shading around the image.

The greeting from Beautiful Day is stamped with Blueberry Bushel ink.

I adhered the painted layer to the Shaded Spruce base card and then added a Blueberry Bushel frame which was a by-product of cutting a rectangle for a previous card.

Thank you for visiting.
'Til next time!
Stephanie

Product List - All products available for purchase in my online store

Good Morning Magnolia Cling Stamp Set

$63.00

Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper

$15.75

Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder

$10.50

Versamark Pad

$16.50

Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin' Pad

$13.00

Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad

$13.00

Stitched Rectangle Dies

$61.00

Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock

$15.25

Shaded Spruce A4 Cardstock

$15.25

Beautiful Day Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$37.00

Blended Seasons pink flowers, grey frame

I'm having lots of fun at the moment with the new, limited-time products: Blended Seasons stamp set and coordinating Stitched Seasons Framelits dies.  They're soooo versatile!!

I've kept this card basic and suitable for any occasion.  In upcoming posts I'll be sharing some Christmas cards that I made with these great products.

As they are limited-time only, they'll be available only from 1 - 31 August or while stocks last.  If you'd like to get them right now - join up and include them in your starter kit.

Limited-time Blended Seasons stamp set & coordinating Stitched Seasons dies
available only from 1-31 August 2018 or while stocks last 

The base card is Flirty Flamingo followed by Basic Gray and Smoky Slate layers with a frame cut from Basic Gray cardstock with two of the framelits.

I cut some of the leaf shapes from Shimmery White cardstock and gave them a quick watercolour with Mint Macaron ink.

The main floral image was stamped onto Shimmery White cardstock with Petal Pink ink and then watercoloured with Petal Pink, Flirty Flamngo and Merry Merlot inks with centres of Crushed Curry and Mango Melody and foliage in Mint Macaron and Shaded Spruce.

I fussy cut the floral image and adhered everything to the card front, finishing with a scattering of Share What you Love Artisan Pearls.

Thank you for visiting.
'Til next time!
Stephanie

Product List - All available in my online store (Except for Limited-time products - available from 1 to 31 August 2018 only)

Flirty Flamingo A4 Cardstock

$14.75

Basic Gray A4 Card Stock

$14.75

Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate

$14.75

Petal Pink Classic Stampin' Pad

$13.00

Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad

$11.50

Merry Merlot Classic Stampin' Pad

$13.00

Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad

$13.00

Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad

$13.00

Share What You Love Artisan Pearls

$10.50

Big Shot

$159.00

Serene Garden on Watercolour Background

This card is entered into the Crazy Crafters Team Highlights.  Click here to see all the projects and vote for your favourites.

Like many "crafty" people, at various times I've tried quite an array of arts and crafts and sometimes those different craft worlds seem to collide.  For instance, the gorgeous images in the Serene Garden stamp set very much remind me of my ceramics and porcelain painting days!

The simple colour palette and stylised flowers are reminiscent of blue & white pottery

So, I pulled out a background I'd watercoloured a while ago and my new Blueberry Bushel ink to create a little bit of an homage to traditional blue and white china.  I stamped and then watercoloured with the same ink colour.  TIP:  Since it can be a little difficult to obtain a clear stamped image on watercolour paper, I used my Stamparatus so that I could keep stamping in the same place until I was satisfied with the stamped image. 

I used a ruler and a marker to extend the lines at the edges of the image.  I also used the marker to join the flower to the stem.  I'm sure I'm odd but the "floating flower" bothered me in this project.

Just love the combination of Blueberry Bushel and Coastal Cabana!

 I adhered the stamped layer to a piece of Blueberry Bushel cardstock.  Before adhering my decorative layer to the card, I used one of the Petal Pair embossing folders on the right side of the card base.

Did you notice the diamond pattern down the left side?  That's me maximising my use of the Delightfully Detailed Laser Cut paper!  I'd already used the strip of laser cut diamonds in this card and decided to use the leftover "blank" as a stencil.  TIP:  I taped the strip down at each end and used a piece of scrap paper to protect my card underneath and the rest of the "mask" from the ink.

Maximising the use of the Delightfully Detailed Laser Cut paper - it works as a stencil too!

Inside the card, I stamped another image from the stamp set and watercoloured with Blueberry Bushel, Coastal Cabana and Bermuda Bay inks.

Another beautiful image from the Serene Garden stamp set decorates the inside of the card

Thank you for visiting.
'Til next time!
Stephanie

Product List - all products used in this project are available in my online store

Serene Garden Photopolymer Stamp Set

$30.00

Delightfully Detailed Laser-Cut Specialty Paper

$24.25

Stamparatus

$85.00

Petal Pair Textured Impressions Embossing Folders

$16.00

Blueberry Bushel A4 Cardstock

$14.75

Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana

$11.95

Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin' Pad

$13.00

Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad

$13.00

Crazy Crafters Blog Hop with Guest Stamper: Nadine Weiner

Welcome to the Crazy Crafters' Blog Hop with our Special Guest stamper, Nadine Weiner - we are thrilled to have Nadine join us this month and so excited to CASE (Copy And Selectively Edit) any project that has been created by her.

Whether you are starting the blog hop here at my blog, Stephanie Fischer - The Crafty Thinker, or have come from the person before me, be sure to click on the person listed under me further down the page to continue your journey through the blog hop.

I was like a kid in a candy shop while looking through Nadine's work to choose a project to CASE - she has a great eye for design and is very talented - but eventually I chose the card above.

So this is my version - although I've changed a few things the basic design is there.

The beautiful Birthday Blooms stamp set is set to retire on 31 May 2018

This is my fond and sad farewell to the beautiful Birthday Blooms stamp set - it's been a firm favourite of mine and I'll always love it!  

I stamped the image onto a piece of Whisper White card with Peakaboo Peach ink and then watercoloured with Peakaboo Peach, Tangerine Tango, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green and Mint Macaron inks.  I also used a touch of Tuxedo Black ink for the centre of the flower.

The base card is Tangerine Tango with layers of Tranquil Tide, Peakaboo Peach and finally Eastern Palace Designer Series Paper.  I added a couple of strips of Naturally Eclectic Designer Series Paper before adhering the fussy cut flower.

Retiring products that I used:
Birthday Blooms stamp set
Eastern Palace Designer Series Paper
Naturally Eclectic Designer Series Paper
Tangerine Tango cardstock
Peakaboo Peach cardstock
Tangering Tango ink
Wild Wasabi ink
Peakaboo Peach ink

Thanks for following our blog hop.  Remember that currently you are at my blog - Stephanie Fischer - so click on the next name in the list to ensure that you don't miss out on seeing any of the blogs and the amazing inspiration that they contain.

Thanks for visiting.

'Til next time!

Stephanie

Current Product List - all available in my online store

Birthday Blooms Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$33.00

Naturally Eclectic Designer Series Paper

$19.25

Eastern Palace Specialty Designer Series Paper

$21.00

Tangerine Tango A4 Card Stock

$14.00

Tranquil Tide A4 Cardstock

$14.00

Peekaboo Peach A4 Cardstock

$14.00