Watercolored Irises

Good morning!

This morning I thought I'd share two cards that I made recently with the Elegant Flowers stamp set that is included in the Floral Frenzy Kit which Gina has been featuring in her StampTV videos for several weeks now. I've seen the cards for a couple of the upcoming episodes and you are going to LOVE them!!

My first card is one that I made for Donna's Sketch challenge that is going on over at StampTV this week. I love the versatility of this sketch and was pleased to see how well the Labels 1 Nestability dies worked with her sketch. The papers are Emily's Rich and Shabby Digital papers - aren't they gorgeous? Since the papers are red, I decided to color the irises red too. Honestly, I'm a complete dummy when it comes to what flowers are supposed to look like - so, I usually make them up as they go, using the colors of my papers as my guide! lol!

I used Glossy cardstock to cut out the labels dies and stamped with Stazon ink so I didn't need to worry about smearing. For the main image, I watercolored with my Niji waterbrush and SU reinkers. Watercoloring on glossy paper is a really neat look - very shiny.

Next up, is another watercolored Iris card, but this time I used watercolor paper, SU markers, and my waterbrush. After I finished with the image, I applied several layers of UTEE and did the cracked glass technique...

I'm really not sure that I like the outcome. The original watercoloring was really vibrant with the deep burgandy and yellows together. It got a little muddy with the second and third layers of Embossing powders because I think the inks smeared a little. But, by that time it was too late to turn back - so I continued with a couple more layers of UTEE. After throwing it in the freezer for a few minutes, I pulled it out and gently bent the paper to get the cracks.

If you decide to do this technique and want to have it be a shape like this labels 1 cut out, do it before you apply all the layers of UTEE. You'll never get a good cut out if you try to go through the lacquered paper. I also sponged some yellow ink onto it before I started added versamark and embossing powders. I like the softness this added to the image.

Here's the full card... It seems a little busy to me, but I really wanted to add the tag and the Tim Holtz embellishments... lol!


Thanks for popping in to check on me today. Be sure to head over to StampTV to see Gina's new video she's sharing today!
Jessica