Sunday 8 June 2014

Snippet Sunday - A Bunch of Watercolour Cards

Hello and Happy Sunday to you,

I think I might have mentioned in a recent post that I have enrolled on an online class, Watercolor for Card Makers, and today I'd like to show you the results of my first attempts. They are not perfect, far from it, but I am having fun giving it a go. Fairly lengthy post follows.

Card #1 - the aim here is to paint with watercolours and then use a stencil/mask to create texture. And it did work but I didn't take into account how much the colours would fade once dry. I used AquaMarkers by scribbling on a tile and using water and paintbrush to lay down the colour. The result was disappointing.
Materials: scraps of watercolour card; AquaMarkers, Twilight Blue, Aquamarine; Royal Purple, Clear Scraps Chicken Wire Stencil; Spellbinders ribbon label die; greeting stamp from Stampin' Up's Wetland set; Memento Tuxedo Black; plum coloured Papermania Textured Card; aqua satin ribbon; white card base



Card #2 - for this attempt I used a mix of AquaMarker and distress inks in shades of pink for the painting technique and then sequin waste or punchinella for the texture - even less successful then the first! Another failure! However, I did think the depth of colour was better - not so washed out as in card #1 - so used it for the background to the stamping. Spotted the stamp in my local craft store, it made me smile and I just had to have it ... it's guaranteed to cheer a poorly person up :)
Materials: scrap of watercolour card; AquaMarker Rose Carmine; Ranger's Picked Raspberry and Spun Sugar distress inks; sequin waste/punchinella; stamp by Inkadinkado; VersaFine Vintage Sepia ink pad; scrap of chocolate brown card for matting; patterned paper - Create & Craft Summer Textures 6x6 pack; a square Kraft card base; enamel dots from My Mind's Eye, The Sweetest Thing Honey Love.





Card #3: by the time I got to this one I'd invested in a small set of Winsor & Newton paints and what a difference they made. The stencil used produced a better effect too - the texture is much more pronounced. I now have high hopes that with much more practice I might even do better in time! And in the process, I'm learning how to mix paints to produce different shades and how to water them down to get the desired intensity ... get me, I almost sound like an artist :)
Materials: scraps of watercolour card; Winsor & Newton watercolour paints - ultramarine, cadmium red hue, viridian hue; That Special Touch of Chevrons mask; American Crafts blue card for matting, card base and butterflies; Woodware small butterfly punch; Wild Rose Studio Kalahari Dreams patterned paper for background; Sheena's A Little Bit Sketchy Only Words From the Heart stamp; Bakers twine and gems to decorate.

I'm submitting card #3 to the Butterfly Challenge #8 which is bingo themed ... I've chosen the gems, butterflies and punches line.

Also, I'm skipping over to Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 128 - tons of scraps and snippets of watercolour card were used to make the toppers on these cards.

I should have made much more progress by now and had a lot more to show you but working with watercolour card and paints is proving to be quite testing. I've already mentioned one problem encountered, that is obtaining the intensity of colour I wanted ... I think I've got that sorted now ... but the other is that when you apply water to any card it has a tendency to warp, especially it would seem watercolour card! And I'm still working on how to overcome that wee problem by trying different drying techniques and adhesives ... I think there will be a lot more trial and error to follow!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend and having a wonderful time. We are off to visit a garden that is open under the National Garden Scheme this afternoon to see if I can pick up a few good ideas. I'll be taking my camera in the hope of snapping some pretty plant associations and anything else that I think would maybe look good in my own garden. All being well, and if the weather stays bright, I might even have some good photos to share with you too.

In the meantime take care and happy crafting,

11 comments:

Mrs A. said...

Hi Elizaabeth , I am taking that class too but have had to put it on hold for a bit . Your samples are just fine and I love the card you have produced for my bingo challenge. Thankyou for fluttering by . Keep up with the classes. Hugs Mrs A. (Butterfly challenge).

Sandra H said...

Hi Elizabeth l have to agree with Mrs A your cards are lovely and l'm sure your aware of the saying practice makes perfect ....they are perfect in everyway to me xx

scrappymo! said...

Hope you have a wonderful,informative time at the gardens...and get lots of good combo planting ideas!

Your watercolours look great. As you say it has a learning curve and look how much you have mastered already.

Carol L said...

What wonderful backgrounds you've created here! I love the colors!

Jackie said...

What a lovely selection of cards :o)
Jackie xx

Di said...

I love them all Elizabeth and good for you tackling water colouring in a proper way. I tend to just do my own thing and then wonder why it goes wrong :)

Hugs, Di xx

Sarn said...

Great effects here Elizabeth. Good on you for learning to watercolour properly.

Hugs, Sarn xxx

Alizabethy said...

Love the effects you have made with your watercolours

Darnell said...

Well, I think you are doing fantastically well on your watercolor journey, Elizabeth! Your card makes are very good and great job using the snippets!

I took that class, too, and loved it ... what I've done of it. Sadly, life interfered back at Day Five and I keep forgetting to bring it back up to the top of the list of things to do! Thanks for the reminder! I can't wait to see what else you create as your progress!! And I hope you had a brilliant time at the Garden!! Hugs, Darnell

Rebecca Hoy said...

Thanks for your lovely comments about my watercolour card, I think you've made a great start! Practice makes perfect! Rebecca x

Lynne said...

All your cards are fab, well done with the watercolouring. I subscribe to the Di school of watercolour which is why I just don`t do it lol.
Lynne xxx