Perfect Peacock One Layer Card

I don't know about you, but the phrase "One Layer Card" sends shivers of fear up my spine! I just don't get why you would want to make one! So when As You See It Challenges challenged the Design Team to do just that, I was pretty skeptical about my ability to create a card on just one layer! But I had a chance to work on it in the creative atmosphere of our one day retreat last weekend, and I'm ridiculously excited to show you what I came up with. It's my favourite card of the whole weekend, and maybe one of my favourite all time cards! Here's As You See It Challenge #090:

And my take on the theme using Crumb Cake cardstock, the Perfect Peacock stamp and the Whitewash Technique:

• Of all the watercoloring techniques I've used, this is the one from which I consistently get great results. It involves embossing the image in White Stampin' Emboss Powder on a medium dark background and then painting inside the whole image with Whisper White Craft Ink using an Aqua Painter. Once that is dry, you use Stampin' Write Markers to apply colour and a Blender Pen to extend the colour and mix it with the White Craft ink to get perfectly blended colour. It was the perfect technique for the complexity of this image.
• As detailed as this looks, it really wasn't too difficult and it didn't take me hours to do it. That's the beauty of the layer of White Craft ink and the use of the Blender Pens. You just need to lay down a small bit of colour using Stampin' Write markers and the Blender pens extend the colour to fill the space and the white craft ink fills in what's left and naturally blends from dark to light.
• This beautiful stamp, Perfect Peacock, has been carried over into the new 2015-16 Annual Catalogue and will be available for the next year at least. The sentiment is from the stamp set, Work of Art and it was embossed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder as well!
• A few Rhinestone Basic Jewels add the requisite sparkle to the final product.

We're expecting some hot temperatures this weekend and into next week, in the 30 degree range (Celsius) which is in the 90s for my American friends! And my new catalogue order should be here today sometime! So excited!! I'm looking forward to a great weekend and I hope you are too! See you Monday with some more new stuff!

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the Stampin' Up! products used to make this card today!

Product List

Perfect Peacock Wood-Mount Stamp Set [133830]	Work Of Art Clear-Mount Stamp Set [134114]	Work Of Art Wood-Mount Stamp Set [134111]	Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953]	Versamark Pad [102283]
White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132]	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad [101731]	Regals Stampin' Write Markers [131262]	Subtles Stampin' Write Markers [131263]	Brights Stampin' Write Markers [131259]
Aqua Painters [103954]	Blender Pens [102845]	Embossing Buddy [103083]	Heat Tool [129053]	Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments [119246]