Category Archives: watercolor

Sweet Blessings

Posted on November 6, 2020 | Leave a comment

 

More watercolor die cuts from Papertrey to share. This is Feathered Friends 5 die. So sweet. The sentiment is from the set Leaves in Fall.

I painted my die-cut Feathered Friend 5 with Daniel Smith watercolors – love the Quin Gold, Quin Coral, and Quin Magenta. I buy my Daniel Smith colors in split collections, curated by Lydia. It’s an economical way to get a wide range of color. Look for her Facebook group, Daniel Smith Watercolor Split Group.

For paper, I prefer the Fabriano Aquarello Cold Press paper for watercolor. The colors shift and blend so beautifully!

Wishing you many sweet blessings today. Thanks for stopping by.

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Posted in Papertrey Ink, watercolor

Watercolor Die Cuts – My Splitcoast Falliday Fest Challenge

Posted on November 2, 2020 | Leave a comment

We kicked off another fun year of Falliday Fest challenges and tutorials at Splitcoaststampers this morning! So fun! I hope you’ll join us for great gift tutorials and challenges designed to help you get your holiday crafting out of the way!

This is my card for the challenge I am hosting! I used the Leaves in Fall foliage dies from Papertrey Ink. Love these big leaves – each one like a mini canvas!

My leaves are painted with Daniel Smith watercolor, spattered and dazzled. They are accented with clear drops from Taylored Expressions. Serene birthday wishes!

Join us all week for creative challenges and project ideas designed to help you knock the holiday crafting off of your to-do list early!

 

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Posted in Papertrey Ink, Splitcoast Challenges, Splitcoast Stuff, watercolor

Field Notes Restock Selling Fast

Posted on October 30, 2020 | Leave a comment

The Field Notes Kit from Taylored Expressions came back in stock this week, and there are just a few kits remaining! The whole idea behind these blooms was beautiful blooms that were easy to color, and large enough to stand alone on a card front! I love that stampers are loving this kit!

Last weekend, I spent some time coloring blooms to have ready for cards on demand! This peony bloom is colored with Polychromos Pencils and a little Gamsol to smooth things out. Love how these florals can take center stage for a clean and simple card with depth.

The background rectangle is brushed with the Frayed Rectangle stencil, and the sentiment is from the accompanying set, Field Notes – both included in the kit.


Here, I’ve used the Paint Flower bloom, embossed in gold, and watercolor for a peek-a-boo layer card. Gold embossing powder makes things instantly classy!


The Field Notes Kit is available while supplies last at Taylored Expressions, and includes all of the items shown here! Check it out HERE.

I hope your weekend plans bring you a lot of joy!

I’ve got lots of crafting in mind, and I can’t wait to get started!

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Posted in Taylored Expressions, watercolor

Picket Fence 2020 Creativation Release

Posted on January 18, 2020 | 3 comments

What!? What? I’ll tell you what!I’m thrilled to be guest designing for Picket Fence Studios to celebrate their Creativation release today! So many cute things in this release, and I have several projects to share with you today! If you like to color, you will LOVE these sweet new designs!

My first two cards feature Piper and Peach Checking the Post! I’ve stamped my images in Fade Out from Ink on 3 on to Taylored Expressions Sugar Cube paper and used the no-line watercolor technique with my Karin Brushmarker PRO pens.

Here’s a close up of card number 2 with the set Piper and Peach Checking the Post and the Loads of Mail background. I had so much fun with these images! The die cuts leave the perfect white edge in my opinion, and I used green Karin markers to color the clumps of grass separate before cutting. This could be an addicting watercolor technique for me!

Two weeks ago I set aside the weekend to work on my design projects for this release, and I had invited a few friends over to stamp – girls who live in fairly close proximity to me. Imagine my surprise when Laurie Willison showed up with Jill Hawkins tucked into her car! Jill lives a plane ride away, and I will never forget how special and magical it was to have someone fly in to surprise me for a weekend. #treasure #craftyfriendsarethebestfriends. Jill sat next to me that weekend, and she couldn’t resist playing with the Loads of Mail background stamp.  The image is embossed in white and watercolored with the Karin Brushmarkers and an aqua pen. The sentiment is from the fun new set, Absolutely. Seriously. Always.

Crafty Squad – Laurie Willison, Jen Shults, me, Jill Hawkins, Nichol Spohr, and Caren Bartholomew

Here’s a picture from our impromptu stamping weekend! I’m truly grateful for the beautiful people in my life because of stamps and ink.

I’ll be back in the morning with more of my favorites from this release! Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

I hope the weekend brings you time for stamping and relaxation!

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Posted in Karin, watercolor

This is My Happy Face

Posted on January 16, 2020 | Leave a comment

Am I right? I do get accused of a having a grumpy face sometimes, to which I say, “if I’m grumpy, you’ll know it!” LOL None-the-less, I love Big Grumpy at Taylored Expressionsand his ! So much that the new Big Grumpy Valentine sayings arrived on my doorstep this week – can’t wait to make a few loving cards with those. LOL

A week or so ago, I found a YouTube watercolor tutorial done by Jessie Banks through a mutual Facebook group. I loved the layered, dreamy look of her vibrant color, and knew I wanted to give it a try!

[youtube]https://youtu.be/9fr5X2MGInI[/youtube]

Isn’t that video fun to watch? (Please leave Jessie some YouTube love and a thumbs up!) Trust me, it was even more fun to paint!!

Like Jessie, I masked my images with masking fluid. I love this Moltow Masking Fluid Pen, and unlike others I have bought and tried through the years, this one doesn’t gum up on me between uses. I didn’t cover my entire image with masking fluid – just about a 1/2″ border to keep him clean.  You can see on the left side of the sign that I got thin coverage in a few spots, but I was really pleased overall. Lifted clean after sitting on my watercolor paper for several days.

The background was painted with Daniel Smith Watercolors that I purchase from my dealer, Lydia Fiedler’s Watercolor Split Group on Facebook in convenient half-pan splits! It’s a great way to purchase beautifully curated collections of top-quality, beautifully granulating color. Above is the mixing chart created with my Janes Split from Lydia. Look at all of the color created with 15-16 colors! Gorgeous color in a tiny palette!

Big Grumpy and the sign were colored with a fairly new watercolor, the Karin Brushmarker PRO from Marker Universe. I love the vibrant color and fluid ink flow from these pens. You can use the color straight from the nib for watercolor or hand-lettering or create a palette. They blend beautifully straight from the nib with a watercolor brush, but I do prefer to paint with the grays from a palette I just scribble on a piece of plastic or acetate.

For the white gauche step, I used  Winsor Newton white gouache. love the rich, opaque look. If I’m being super lazy, I use the liquid Dr. Ph Martins Hydrus in a bottle. It’s great for quick and easy splatter.

Can’t wait to try this technique again and improve my “clouds”, but overall I love how this turned out. Let me know if you try it!

I’ve been busy prepping for a guest release spot that I’ll share on Saturday, so stop back by! Have a fabulous Thursday!

 

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Posted in Daniel Smith, Karin, Taylored Expressions, watercolor

a Winter Noel and a Taylored Expressions Blog Hop

Posted on December 10, 2019 | 4 comments

Welcome to the Taylored Expressions Blender Brushes Blog Hop! Christmas crafting is among my favorite of favorite activities, and I the addition of this Layer It Cardinal die in the fall release made me smile. Like many families, the cardinal was a special sign to my grandma, and now I think of her every time I see one.

I used my blender brushes and the Taylored Expressions masking stencils to create this soft blue background with Confetti Cake and Gumball TE Premium Inks. Before I lifted the mask, I gave it a spritz with Liquid Shimmer mixed with water in spritzer – I love the Nuvo Spritzer – even, fine mist. LOVE. I’ve been using my extra to spritz my Christmas Cactus plants… time to order more! lol

Next, I cut the Layer It Cardinal die and the Pine Clippings die from watercolor cardstock and painted them with TE Liquid Watercolors. I mixed a little pink with Cherry POP for a cooler red, and these are a series of layers of color to build depth. After painting, the pine boughs are splattered with a bit of liquid white watercolor for snow. So easy!

Something fun to share today is the TE Holiday Gift Guide! So, just go ahead and hand your significant other or kids the link… For every $100 they spend, you’ll get a $20 voucher to be used in January… oh who am I kidding!? Just order what you want! LOL

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I know the rest of the hop team has lots of pretty paper goodness today, please check them out:

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Posted in Christmas, Taylored Expressions, watercolor

ConGRADulations!

Posted on April 4, 2019 | 3 comments

I am thrilled to share a few projects today celebrating the first product release of designer, Heather Nichols for Taylored Expressions! Welcome!

Heather, Taylor and I have been stamping friends for many years, meeting each other at Splitcoaststampers close to 15 years ago! I probably had a little shriek-fest when I learned Heather had  joined the TE team.

The card above features Heather’s new set, The Tassel with The Tassel die. The stars are stamped in Sugar Cube on Cherry Pop cardstock. The mortar board and “celebrate” are stamped in Cherry Pop on Sugar Cube cardstock. My favorite element is the Banner Year die in black cardstock with white Banner Year die cut numbers. A fun, clean design that is easy to customize to nearly any school color combination!

The second card I want to share with you features Heather’s new Feather stamps and sentiments. I’ve always known Heather as her Splitcoast user name, Pine Feather – or Pine for short, so it was no surprise that she’d have this beautiful collection in her inaugural release!

This card features Simply Stamped Feathers and coordinating dies in Salt Water Taffy, Peaches and Cream and Toffee. The sentiment is from the new Wild and Free, and don’t you just love the feather stenciled in the background?

My favorite element of this card is the Shade Tree cutting plate in Toffee cardstock. I cut the trunk off of the tree and turned the die cut on it’s side. Love that vine look up the left side of the card.

Today, I’m very happy  to have completed many cards in April for all of the graduations I have coming up! My daughters are a junior in high school and a freshman in college, so we have a lot of family friends graduating this year. I love that I can easily match the cards to school themes. I made this card for our friend Taylor who will be attending Missouri Valley College next year!

The above card feature Heather’s new stamps The Tassle and Star Fall Background with The Tassle die in Candy Corn and Jelly Donut. I added some silver metallic stars, but after adding the photos, I see they appear black.  oops.

Another new stamp from this release is the Grid Background stamp! I have wanted a grid stamp like this for about a year, and I was so happy to see this one in Taylor’s new release. Here I stamped the grid in clear embossing ink and heat embossed with white. I used the square to watercolor, and I love how it turned out! The sentiment is the Thanks die cut from black cardstock and Thanks background mixed media die cut from vellum.

Super fun way to do mindless watercolor and turn them into little works of heart!

One last card to share today featuring The Tassel and Star Fall Background. So fast and fun in a Pineapple and Oreo combination. This one is in honor of my Alma Mater, the Wichita State University Shockers!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog  today! I do have two more projects to share tomorrow. It’s a close call, but they may be my favorites! I hope you’ll stop back by!

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Posted in Taylored Expressions, watercolor

Thinking of You – WINNERS

Posted on January 10, 2019 | 4 comments

Thank you so much for the many wonderful ideas and comments you left as part of my Seasons Givings Blog Hop! I loved reading through your answers. And, thank you for your patience with me in announcing the winners today – below in  this post! .

As a thank you for all, I wanted to share this Thinking of You watercolor hydrangea image from Taylored Expressions.

I’m in love with my Daniel Smith watercolor. Artist grade watercolor is an investment, and I’ve loved learning about each of these pigments.  I’m traveling in the next few weeks, and this palette is perfect for home or away!

The small palette is available here. It’s approximately 5″ x 3″ size. The description says that it holds 12 half pans, but I’ve removed the metal grid and found holds 21 half pans. It folds up sleek and fits into a small cosmetic bag with these wonderful travel brushes from Escoda. I use a fun tack putty to hold the pans to the tins, but some people prefer to glue magnets to the bottom of each half pan.

One thing about purchasing watercolor is the quality brands are sold in tube form, and can be squirted to palette or dried and cured in a pan that is reactivated with misted or brushed water. I choose to get more bang for my buck by purchasing cured 1/2 pans from my friend Lydia. Let me know in the comments if you’d like more info for her Facebook group dedicated to collections of Daniel Smith!

This Hydrangea Big Blooms from Taylored Expressions was stamped with clear distress ink and embossed with Taylored Expressions Diamond embossing powder on Arches 140# cold press watercolor paper . There are many sizes of watercolor sheets available, and I prefer the pad with a green label.  Hydrandgea was then watercolored with Quinacridone Purple, Sap Green and Quinacridone Gold – all Daniel Smith. I love the vibrant color! Once the flower and leaves dried after watercolor, I cut with the Hydrangea Big Blooms matching dies.  The cutting plate underneath is Quilted Backdrop – a favorite from Lawn Fawn.

Now on to my winners! YAY! LOVED, LOVED all of your comments and aspirations for the new year! Make sure you are devoting time daily (if you can!) or weekly to your dreams!

Drum roll, please…. Winner of The Ton package – Heather Mills! 

Winner of the Casual Fridays and coffee sets is Neeta Rancourt!

Congratulations to both of my winners! I have emailed both of you at the email registered with your comments! Thank you so much!

Thank you again to all of you for hopping along with Seasons Givings! I love this hop, and I wish you all the best in your creative pursuits of the new year! I’m participating in a wonderful Carolyn Gavin  31-day watercolor challenge (meaning you have a prompt and work at your own speed!)  right now that I love at CreativeBug – so I hope to be back soon to share some sketches!

Happy New Year! 

 

4 Comments

Posted in Taylored Expressions, Uncategorized, watercolor

Friend Always

Posted on January 3, 2018 | 4 comments

FullSizeRender (8)Falliday Fest Lori Craig

Hello! If you are here for my Seasons Giving post and giveaway, it can be found HERE!

A watercolor to share for the new year – this was a panel that was given to me at a retreat… so, I’m not even sure where it came from.

I did love the quick work of the finished card. I used the Femme Frames from Mama Elephant to put this together – that has been a fun go-to die collection for fast and polished cards. Here, I added a few sequins for bling. So easy.

The watercolors I used are here are Windsor Cotman – tubes from Michaels. They have been great for me to use for on-the-go watercolor practicing. I’ve been adding to my watercolor supply and have loved dabbling here and there.

I hope your New Year is off to a fabulous start! Thanks for stopping by!

 

4 Comments

Posted in watercolor

Every Sunrise…

Posted on April 25, 2017 | Leave a comment

FullSizeRender (3)Falliday Fest Lori Craig

A quick watercolor share today. I’ve been watercoloring a lot lately… on paper, in a sketchbook… of course that means collecting watercolors, too. I’m loving it because I can grab my little watercolor/sketch roll and go – that seems to be standard mode of operation these days.

On this card, I am using Reverse Confetti Rose Garden and Rose Garden Confetti Cuts. I loved this sentiment from Forever in our Hearts. All of my sentiments, images and embossing texture were embossed with Princess Gold Embossing Powder. I love the tone of the gold on this one. So soft and pretty, sparkly, but not brassy. I like to wet the inside of my embossed image with a clear water brush and drop color into the flower petals. Such a fun, easy and forgiving technique.

I’m updating the Copic class page on my sidebar today! Lots of fun locations coming up soon – including Anaheim for me to teach our new workshop classes: hand lettering, coloring animals and landscapes. Come and see us! Can’t wait!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Posted in Reverse Confetti, watercolor