Technique Tuesday - Quick & Easy Summery Card

Cool Colors For Summer Cards
I love to use cool colors when I make cards in the summer.  Cool colors on the color wheel make you feel relaxed, refreshed, and well, cool!  These colors are blues, greens, and purples.  They work well for summer cards, also.  
Today's technique card is quick and easy, and just a little bit different in design than the typical card.  

 

This card is simply three pieces of card stock....the blue card base, the green top, and the white panel where I stamped my image.   The blue card base is actually the back of the card.  The green piece was cut a little smaller than the blue piece, then I scored the green piece about 1/2" from the top, ripped the bottom to create a torn edge, then added three mini brads along the top.  Finally, I secured the piece to the blue card stock base.

The image was stamped with India Ink black pad, then watercolored.  To keep my daisy white, I added some blue paint around the outside of the petals.  The wave of sea green color under the phrase makes it pop.  I added the wide ribbon for fun, then added the stamped panel with foam tape.  

Easy, fun card, which uses only minimal pieces and embellishments!  Great for those quick notes.

The next picture shows the inside of the card (the inside is on the blue card base):

  For the inside sentiment, I added a piece of yellow patterned paper, on which I stamped the words.  I stamped the flower on scrap card stock, colored, and cut it out and adhered it.

That's it today.....keeping it simple, but still pretty and fun!

Enjoy your week, and be sure to get outside to catch some rays!!

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Watercolor with Distress Inks

Hi!  I'm back from Florida, and believe me when I say, I will NEVER move to Florida.  I honestly don't know how anyone can stand to live there.  It was HOT, HOT, HOT.  Suffocating and stifling.  So happy to be home, where although it is warm, it's not as bad, and we have lots of cool breaks, too.

I just returned Friday, and went to Buffalo for the weekend to see our granddaughter, Keeley, at her dance recital.  Returned Monday morning, and went right to work.  Then I started my new job today, and feeling extremely overwhelmed!!  Juggling two jobs right now, until my merchandising job phases out at the end of this week.  Trying to learn all the details of my new job is stressful, but I'm sure I'll catch on.  I am now working Monday thru Friday as our church's parish secretary/administrative assistant.  The timing of this opening was perfect!  I'm so grateful and thank God this came along.

So, for Technique Tuesday this week, I'm borrowing a technique from Hero Arts website.  It's called watercolor with distress inks.

 

This card is by Shari Carroll.  Isn't it just so lovely?  The full directions, including a video, can be found HERE at the Hero Arts website.  

I'm hoping to be back to "normal" by next week, and have a couple of techniques I can't wait to share with you.  

Blessings,

lynda

Technique Tuesday - Colored Card Stock with Bleach and Marker

Embossing, Bleach, and Marker Combine to Make Unique Card
Continuing on with last week's bleach-on-black idea, I thought I'd show bleach used on a colored card stock (blue), with the addition of marker for highlight and drama.

On this card, I stamped and embossed the flower image three times with black embossing.  This is the same image, just tilted at different angles, so it looks different.

On the top flower, I applied bleach with a small paint brush on the entire flower and leaf.  Then, I simply added an outline of blue marker around the outside of the flower, and green outline around the leaf and stem.  The line of marker around the bleached-out image makes it "pop," don't you think?  It almost looks 3-D.

On the second flower, I did just the opposite.  I colored the flower and leaf with marker, then I drew an outline of bleach around the outside with a paint brush with bleach on it.  This makes the colored image more dramatic, and makes it pop, as well.

The third flower was left uncolored, and I added a few strokes of blue and green marker along the inside border of the image.  Then I bleached out the background of the square the flower is on by painting the background with a brush with bleach.
After coloring/bleaching/drying the pieces, I simply trimmed them, leaving a scant border.  Then I arranged them on my stamped background.

I love the three entirely different looks I achieved with the bleach.  Combining them on one card is fun, as well. 

That's it for tonight.  Hope you'll get out some bleach and give it a try on your cards!

Oh, and a quick note.....I will be in Florida next week from Sunday AM until Friday.  I am visiting my aunt.  There will be no Technique Tuesday.  I will post when I return.

Blessings,
lynda