Watercolour Pencil Hues of Happiness for As You See It Challenge #274

I've had both assortments of watercolour pencils for years now and I rarely use them. I think it's because I've had low expectations of what my colouring will end up looking like when I do. I've never admired the sketchy look they seem to create. But looking at the beautiful open blooms of the Happiness Abounds stamp set that is part of the Hues of Happiness Suite, I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore that medium a bit more and see if I could get some results I would be "Happier" with.

I used it for a Mother's Day card for my Design Team sample for As You See It Challenge #274 which is a Fill in the Blank Challenge:

I would fill in the blank with: The best thing about mothers is Unconditional Love!

Here's a closer look at my card using watercolour pencils:

• I used So Saffron cardstock as my card base and on that I layered a piece of the Hues of Happiness Designer Series Paper.
• Using the Blossoming Happiness Dies (part of the Happiness Abounds bundle) I die cut the perforated edge of a piece of Basic White cardstock and ripped the other edge. The sentiment from the Happiness Abounds set was stamped on the bottom edge using Memento ink.
• On a piece of Shimmery White cardstock I stamped various roses and the single flower and 6 sprigs of foliage (3 of each design) in Memento Ink. Since I would be using water to blend the watercolour pencil, I had to be careful of the Memento ink bleeding, but since this stamp set is a photopolymer one, I didn't want to use the waterproof StazOn ink because I wouldn't be able to clean it off with StazOn Cleaner, since it can damage photopolymer stamps.
• I added the colour I wanted in a few scribbles to each of the flowers, then used a water painter to blend the colour throughout the image. I was as careful as I could to avoid the lines so I could avoid bleeding the ink.
• I let the images dry for a few hours. Then I added more water colour pencil to the areas that would be shadowed. This time I coloured in darkly and radiated from the core outwards. I blended again with a water painter and was really pleased with the results. This second step made all the difference!
• I arranged the flowers on the piece of Basic White as shown and adhered them with a mixture of glue dots and Stampin' Dimensionals to create vertical dimension, tucking in the leaves and some vellum sprigs here and there.
• The vellum sprigs were die cut using the Ranunculus Dies and the Layering Designs vellum sheets.
• The second sentiment is from the Flowering Tulips stamp set and is stamped in Melon Mambo. I fussy cut around it so you could still see the flowers underneath and mounted it with a combination of a glue dot and a dimensional. 
• Finally I added some Glossy Dots in Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo and Pool Party.

I hope you'll give the watercolour pencils another try!

If you live in Canada, and don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator,  I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the right side bar at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in Canada by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the top menu or clicking on any of products below from my Online Store.

Product List

Happiness Abounds Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [159238] $32.00	Happiness Abounds Bundle (English) [158824] $68.25	Flowering Tulips Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [157672] $32.00	Hues Of Happiness 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [158822] $16.50	Vellum 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Layering Designs [157764] $13.50
Shimmery White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [101910] $13.75	So Saffron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [105118] $12.75	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276] $14.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $8.25	Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad [147051] $11.00
Watercolor Pencils [141709] $22.00	Watercolor Pencils Assortment 2 [149014] $17.00	Glossy Dots Assortment [158827] $11.00	Water Painters [151298] $18.00	Blossoming Happiness Dies [158823] $44.00
Ranunculus Dies [157976] $44.00	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $170.00	Multipurpose Liquid Glue [110755] $5.50	Mini Glue Dots [103683] $7.25	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $6.00

Home to Roost for The Paper Players

I'm really having fun playing with my new toys from the Occasions Catalogue, but my biggest beef is simply not having enough time to get to them all!! Yesterday afternoon I picked out my new background stamp, Crackle Paint, and Home to Roost with the handsome rooster on it (which is a Sale-A-Bration reward, free with a $60 purchase*). I wanted to play along with The Paper Players' latest challenge:
*before tax and shipping

In my head, I was thinking about some antique plates that one of my aunts had, with roosters on them. They were so old that the glaze had crazed and yellowed, but the rooster still looked pretty alpha male, ready to take on any and every predator that threatened the henhouse!

None of these photos really captures the plates my aunt had, but kind of give you the idea of what was in my head. Here's how my card turned out:

• I chose the Grapefruit Grove Gingham Gala 6" x 6" Designer Series Paper pattern with the smaller checks for the background, but I sponged the edges and the sides with Soft Suede ink to match the card base cardstock and to antique it a bit.
• On a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock, I stamped the Crackle Paint background stamp in Soft Suede ink and sponged the edges in the same ink to add to the distressed look.
• On watercolour paper, I stamped the rooster image from Home to Roost in StazOn ink. I used Watercolour Pencils to colour in the image and a Blender Pen to even out the pencil strokes and blend the colours a bit. The colours I used were Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, and Bermuda Bay, with Crushed Curry for the background.
• I stamped and fussy cut a mask for the the rooster, then masked it while I stamped the grasses image several times over it with Crumb Cake ink. When the mask is removed, the grasses look to be behind the rooster.
• The Rooster is die cut with the Stitched Shapes circles and backed with a scallop circle from the Layering Circles dies in Soft Suede.
• The sentiment is from the same stamp set and is stamped in Tranquil Tide on a strip of Very Vanilla, trimmed to fit and sponged with the Soft Suede as well.
• The ribbon is the 5/8" Burlap Ribbon and the twine bow is made from the Nature's Twine from the Annual Catalogue.

You still have some time to get in on my Suite Shares from the the Occasions Catalogue. What are Suite Shares? With Suite Shares, I offer you a half share of all the paper, ribbon and embellishments that are part of one particular suite in the new Occasions Catalogue. That way you get enough to work with, all the products coordinate, you only choose the suites you really like and you have the option of adding the stamp set and tool bundle to your share and earn Sale-A-Bration rewards and a special treat from me, if you do. The shares themselves are very affordable, so you can afford to do more than one if you would like to.
For more details and how to sign up for the shares, click here: Suite Shares!

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 products used to make this card today.


Product List

Home To Roost Cling Stamp Set** [149736] $0.00	Crackle Paint Cling Stamp Set [148752] $22.00	Crackle Paint Wood-Mount Stamp Set [148755] $27.00	Watercolor Paper [122959] $6.75	Gingham Gala 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [148554] $15.00
Soft Suede 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [115318] $11.50	Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [101650] $13.25	Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad [101406] $12.00	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [147115] $10.25	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [147116] $10.25
Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin' Pad [147146] $10.25	Watercolor Pencils [141709] $22.00	Watercolor Pencils Assortment 2 [149014] $17.00	Blender Pens [102845] $16.25	Stamping Sponges [141337] $4.75
5/8" (1.6 Cm) Burlap Ribbon [141487] $9.50	Nature's Twine [146342] $12.25	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies [145372] $41.00	Layering Circle Framelits Dies [141705] $48.00	Big Shot [143263] $150.00
Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755] $5.50	SNAIL Permanent Adhesive [104332] $9.50	Glue Dots [103683] $7.25	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $5.50

**Sale-A-Bration Reward - free with a purchase of $60*

*before tax and shipping