Guess what? I’m back as hostess on the Crazy 4 Challenges blog this month! I love being hostess in the summer as I am a huge fan of everything summery, the ocean, beaches, flowers, even the outdoors if I could eliminate insects and creepies! So this week our challenge is to use woodgrain!
I just got a new woodgrain stamp from Stampin’ Up, the first I’ve bought in at least 5 years. So it was perfect for this challenge. I stamped it in Simon Says stamp Khaki ink on PTI kraft cardstock. It was the subtle but not too much so. The flowers are from Simon too, the Delicate Flowers stamp set. I stamped them in Antique Linen Distress ink on some hot press Arches watercolour paper. The ink was quite noticeable at first but melts into the watercolour as you paint. I know some people don’t like that and it might not be ideal for animals or people because you can end up washing away the face detail but for flowers and leaves it’s perfect.
I painted the images with Daniel Smith paints and a Black Velvet Silver Brush. Each petal was done separately using a wet-in-wet technique so I would get a deeper coloured edge to each petal. This happens naturally as the paint dries. I also added some deeper colour at the base of each petal while the paint was still wet. In the case of the pink flowers, I added two colours, one to the tops of the petals then dropping in another colour at the base. Sometimes the colours blended on their own and sometimes I helped them along a touch with my paintbrush. To save paint, it helps to use one for each colour and one for water. This way you aren’t constantly washing paint off your brush! It may not be much but I’m sure it adds up over time. The pale pink flower is my favourite. I love the soft blush shades I managed to achieve.
I added the Hero Arts sentiment with copper embossing powder. Then I decided I needed some more copper. So I tried a trick I’d seen on YouTube, I think it was Kristina Werner. I sprayed some water from my spray bottle into my hand then added embossing powder. It won’t stay on long enough to heat set, it will blow away. So heat it from underneath! It worked out perfectly! But I still wanted some copper drops in some other, specific places so I used a Versamark pen. I worried that they might look too perfect but they blended in well.
I hope you can join us over at the C4C blog this week. We also have a sad announcement over there about a team member who passed away. So sad.
Rebecca
My Crafts are Like a Box of Chocolates 