Cut 'n Paste

Inspired by Rebecca Sower, mini collage cards

There are so many wonderful artists who have inspired me, but one of my all time favorites is Rebecca Sower. I have known Rebecca for years, going back to our paper crafting/scrapbooking days  - she even taught at my La Dolce Vita Tuscany, Italy Retreats two years ago.

At the beginning of April Rebecca embarked upon a 100 day project of making art work with birds. Her talented hand, keen eye and fresh colour palette make it a pleasure to log onto Instagram each day to see her latest addition to the project. Here's a little peek from her IG wall... If you don't already follow her, definitely go check it out, she's amazing!

Having been inspired by her collage pieces, a few weeks ago I decided to make some greeting cards inspired by them. And, man were they ever fun to make!

I dug deep into my box of patterned paper scraps to mix and match designs and colours and recreate Rebecca's signature farmhouse fresh colour schemes.

The little birds were stamped from a really old Stampin' Up! set, that had been long forgotten in the back of my storage cabinet. But I brought them out of purgatory to be given new life with watercolours.

Finally, I made one more card to mail to Rebecca, letting her know how much she inspires me and cheering her on in her 100 day project. Now that she's received it, I can finally share this post :)

SUPPLY LISTS FOR THE THREE CARDS:
Stamps: Natural Beauty by Stampin' Up!, All Inside by Ellen Hutson, Encouraging Greetings by Pretty Pink Posh
Dies: Lovely Little Border by Heffy Doodle
Inks: Potting Soil Archival ink by Ranger, Twilight by Cathrine Pooler
Distress ink markers for RED bird: Festive Berries, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Wild honey, Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn by Ranger
Distress ink markers for BLUE bird: Peacock Feathers, Evergreen Bough, Broken China, Tea Dye, Wild honey, Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn by Ranger
Cardstock: Solar White by Neenah (as my card base), Peony by Hero Arts, Ranger Watercolor paper
Patterned paper: Vintage Bliss by Simple Stories, Stella & Rose by My Mind's Eye, Little Adventurer by Pink Paislee, Open Book by American Crafts, DIY Home by Jen Hadfield
Other: Watercolor brushes, MISTI Stamp positioner (large or small, either will work for cards), Non-Stick Craft Sheet by Ranger, sewing machine and white thread, acrylic paint in turquoise and clementine, vintage ledger paper, circle punch, a scrap of turquoise cardstock

Hello Panda, faux epoxy die cut DIY

Happy Friday! This cheeky little bear is popping by to say hello and wish you a fantastic weekend. It's a long weekend where I live so my husband and I are looking forward to an extra day before he goes back into the office on Tuesday.

Today's card was made for a friend who has two little ones, so I wanted to send a card that the kids might enjoy looking at too - I think this adorable stamp hit the mark. It's an oldie from Concord & 9th which I pulled out of my cupboard to play with again. My first go 'round with the stamp I stamped a bear, however, this time I decided to make a cute little panda and he's SOOOOO cute!

One of the interesting techniques on today's card is the faux epoxy greeting with the "hello" die cut. To do this, I die cut 4 of the greetings with pink cardstock and glued them together. Once the glue was dry, I applied a thick coat of Glossy Accents to the top of the letters and allowed it to dry completely. Once dry, I then glued it to the card. Honestly, if you were taking a look at the card, you would be hard pressed to know that this was not a pre-made embellishment - it looks that good. It's a dead easy technique to do, just takes a little time as you need to allow the Glossy Accents to dry completely before using. But, it provides a lot of bang for the buck, so I'd encourage you to give it a try sometime.

Thanks for your visit today!

SUPPLY LIST:
Stamps: Hi there bear by Concord & 9th
Die: Big Scripty Hello by Ellen Hutson
Ink: Midnight, Rose Petals, It's a Girl, Eucalyptus by Catherine Pooler
Black ink: Catherine Pooler Midnight
Cardstock: Solar White by Neenah, Peony and Azalea by Hero Arts, Ebony by Essentials by Ellen 
Other: Die Cutting machine, scrap of chipboard, Glossy Accents by Ranger, buttons, unknown dotted patterned paper.

Time Lapse Watercolour Succulent card

Today I'm up on the Ellen Hutson blog sharing the instructions for these two simple and beautiful watercolour cards - and for those who prefer to watch the process, there is a timelapse video for painting the bucket and leaves. So, check it out here!

No line Watercolour flowers - Pumice Stone Distress ink for the win!

Happy Friday friends. The weather is gorgeous here in Vancouver, and I am revelling in the promise of a beautiful weekend.

For today's card, I grabbed some patterned paper from long discontinued collections, stamps from ages ago, and created an any occasion card that is soft and romantic. I absolutely LOVE how the watercolour flowers turned out. I decided to paint them using the no-line watercolour technique, and I purposely added the yellow centres while the grey watercolour was still wet so that the colours would flow together... Be still my heart!

I also realized through this project that Pumice Stone Distress ink is perfect to colour flowers that I want to read as white/cream... because, as they age, that colour of flower often turns grey/brown. This particular shade of grey looked fantastic and is one I'll be reaching for again and again.

I hope that wherever you are you have a great weekend - perhaps with a bit of creative time mixed in.

SUPPLY LIST:
Stamps: Natural Beauty by Stampin' Up!, Avignon by 7gypsies
Dies: Lovely Little Border by Heffy Doodle
Inks: Twilight by Cathrine Pooler
Distress ink markers: Pumice Stone, Wild honey, Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn by Ranger
Cardstock: Solar White by Neenah (as my card base), Mustard by Hero Arts, Ranger Watercolor paper
Patterned paper: Vintage Bliss by Simple Stories, Follow your Heart by My Mind's Eye
Other: Watercolor brushes, MISTI Stamp positioner (large or small, either will work for cards),  Die Cutting machine, Water Mist bottle Ranger or Hero Arts, sewing machine and white thread

I'm here for you, watercolour with Distress Markers

Here's the next in my cards for friends series that I've been enjoying making. This project often entails deep dives into my stash of stamps, papers and supplies and the joy I've found in unearthing sets that haven't receive much recent play has been immeasurable. 

Today's card features an old Hostess stamp set from Stampin' Up! (2009, if I recall correctly), and I combined it with sentiments from the very new (2020) Beary Good Friends stamp set by Avery Elle. I think that these sentiments are perfect for our current world and the combo of cursive and printing is beautiful.

To stamp, I coloured directly onto the markers using Distress markers, then lightly spritzed them with water from a spray bottle (holding it about 8-10 inches away, and moving my hand as I spritzed so that the water spray didn't concentrate in one area of the stamp. I sprayed approximately 3 times.) After spraying the water, I stamped directly onto watercolour paper. Then, using a watercolour brush I gently filled in the bird with a bit of watercolour made from mixing Tumbled Glass Distress ink with a little water.

The card itself is a little patchwork of coordinating patterned papers and cardstocks - it was a treat to page through all my old 6x6 pads to find just the right ones to combine!

I hope you have a great week, friends.

SUPPLY LIST:
Stamps: Beary good friends by Avery Elle, Asian Artistry by Stampin' Up!
Inks: Emboss it Clear Embossing ink by Ranger
Embossing Powder: White by Ranger
Distress ink markers: Bundled Sage, Pumice Stone, Frayed Burlap, Spiced Marmalade, Tumbled Glass, Evergreen Bough, Shabby Shutters, Black Soot by Ranger
Cardstock: Solar White by Neenah (as my card base), Nautical by Hero Arts, Ranger Watercolor paper, teal - similar to Candy Necklace by Bazzill
Patterned paper: Fresh Cut by Basic Grey, Welcome Neighbour by Stampin' Up!, Modern Graphics by Ellen Hutson
Other: Vellum by Ellen Hutson, Watercolor brushes, MISTI Stamp positioner (large or small, either will work for cards),  Die Cutting machine, Water Mist bottle Ranger or Hero Arts, sewing machine and white thread, Stampin' Up! Scalloped border punch.