DOStamper Stars Challenge - Sketch Pad DSC #299

Good evening!  The last few weeks we have been treated to some cooler weather, with a few hot days mixed in.  The leaves are turning and starting to fall.  The smell of leaves, fire and harvest are in the air.  So, after coming in from a golden evening playing outside with my daughter, I was in the mood to make something fall.  I used the sketch below, but turned it on its side and I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I have the perfect recipient in mind, too!

The colors I used are Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, and Old Olive.  I used the new Buffalo Check background stamp and the Falling for Leaves stamp set and accented it with a simple strip of Braided Linen Trim.   I watercolored with my ink refills and an Aquapainter on our watercolor paper.  That was so relaxing!!!  You have to try it if you haven't.  To give it a little dimension I heat embossed the leaf image.  That also helped keep the ink in place -though there are a few places where it escaped.  And that's okay.  I was going for a rustic look anyway!  Happy stamping!!!

Another Thank You, Watercolor & Sequins

Hello!  I'm glad you've found me!  Today, I chose to participate in the Thursday challenge with my fellow STARS teammates.  Originally, my goal was to watercolor the full face of a card using the reds, pinks, yellows and greens in the image below -- I thought I could use ink refills as watercolors, and use a swirling motion to create pretty rose-like images and then stamp a lovely feminine greeting on it for Mother's Day.  But sometimes, the best laid plans fail.  No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get it look right.  With three attempts now in the trash, I decided to switch modes and use different colors and attempt swirls, rather than roses and I love the affect.  It might be hard to see how I got from the image below to the image above but trust me, it's the evolved result of several trials and errors.  I still want to try for the roses at some point, but I needed to take a break from that endeavor as frustration set in.  As far supplies go, you'll be pleased to know they are probably already in your craft stash, but most are readily available from Stampin' Up! if you find yourself "in need".  I used my Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, and Bermuda Bay ink refills, our Aqua Painters, our watercolor paper and some hoarded sequins (non-SU!).  The sentiment is from the "Another Thank You" set, which is retiring on May 22nd, so you may want to get it now, while you still can.  It comes with several other "thank you" related sentiments, but this bold image is what drew me to this set originally.  Thanks for stopping by!  Please check out the beautiful cards my teammates made by following the links below and have a great day!

• Michelle Harrington - you are here
• Debbie Sollinger  
• Connie Plaumann  
• Joan Weidling
• Angela O'Neill
• Dawn Olchefske
• Miriam Bollinger  
• Judy Strickling
• Sharon Bennett 
• Dawn Thomas
• Jan Carlson