WITHOUT COFFEE

Black and a natural white + hints of copper . . . I’ve been on a neutral kick lately, not sure why, really—just that I keep gravitating towards it.

Clear embossed the cups and coffee makers/pots from A Breve Note all over black card stock and then filled in any gaps with the coffee beans to make this background—LOVE!!! —it’s such a chic look! This black card stock is quite loverly—a nice rich black and 100# weight.

The copper embossing powder I happened to have for the sentiment and the cup looks so good with that Rose-Gold Washi Tape •heart palps•

To-Go Cup was heat embossed onto watercolor paper and watercolored with Clean Color Real Brush Markers + a Pentel Aquash. By the way, if you haven’t seen it, my favorite way to use these markers is demonstrated in the video on this blog post: Neon Watercolor

The Clean Color Markers come in sets (there’s a nice variety of different sized sets), but you can also get the colors individually from Ellen’s, which I love because then I can easily replace the colors I use the most frequently, without having to buy a whole new set.

I know, I know—another messy thread nest. What can I say? When I like something, I use it until I’m sick of it . . . Even tho it’s been a number of years, I am still not sick of messy thread nests, thank you very much. •hair flip•

Such a clean, simple and satisfying card to make . . . •happy sigh•

Cheers!

LADYBUG COLOR POP

I loved the “highlight” idea in these cards by Therese Calvird and it was one of the first things I wanted to try with the Mondo Gerbera Daisy when it arrived. I love the simplicity!

Although the flower is an open line design, I didn’t want to color it (the whole point of the design is to take a small aspect and highlight it with color) so to soften the starkness of the black and white a bit and add just a smidge of texture, I added a few fine spatters of black acrylic paint.

Then I cheated. •insert shocked eyeballs•

Therese uses a straight edge paper trimmer to cut out a panel in the center; I grabbed my Hero Arts Infinity Rectangle Dies. •sheepish grin• Mounted the outer “frame” to my base card, and then 3D mounted the center panel.

Sweet li’l ladybug was stamped onto a scrap of white card stock and colored in with pencil. After she was popped up on the card front, I gave her a nice coating of Glossy Accents, and Bob’s yer Uncle! •fist pump•

In other news, my “Meet the Maker” page over on the Ellen Hutson website very recently published—you can check it out HERE. •chinkle•

Cheers and hope you have a fab day!

TOO PEOPLEY

Sweet little latté art bear is gazing right up from my coffee cup today! Can you relate to the sentiment? I’m very much a home-body and usually avoid crowds. LOL!

Cup and sentiment were stamped with Brilliance Graphite Black because:

  1. It’s bleedproof when dry

  2. It will dry on non-porous surfaces like vellum quite nicely

The little bear was stamped with Versafine Clair in Pinecone; in hindsight, I think I did that because I wanted him to have a brown edge where the watercolored “coffee” butted up against. All the watercoloring was done using my Peerless Watercolors; like Brilliance, once it is dry, Versafine Clair ink is bleed proof when using water-based coloring mediums.

Used my mini score board to create some embossed accent lines 1/2” from the long edge and the short edge of the card front, just for some additional interest.

The speech bubble was die cut twice so I could stamp and layer them together and have the hearts showing through the vellum, onto which the sentiment was stamped, using this little trick:

  • Stamp sentiment on vellum speech bubble die cut and set aside to dry (or speed set with heat gun)

  • Stamp hearts on white speech bubble die cut; mask off the little tail with a scrap of Post It Note then send face down through Xyron machine (I have a 2.5” Xyron from years ago and use it when the little 1.5” X machine is too narrow for an item). This will apply adhesive everywhere but the tail of the die cut; discard the mask after you retrieve the bubble from the Xyron machine.

  • Layer the vellum speech bubble over the white speech bubble; it should adhere nicely across all areas, minus the tail area. See?! •grin•

  • Apply foam tape to the back of the whole thing, then lift the tail portion so you can slip the edge of the coffee cup in, sandwiching it between the white card stock and the vellum. The white card stock is hidden behind the cup and the vellum sits on top, looking like a “steamy” speech bubble and none of the adhesive shows! See?! •monkey clapping•

Little things, people. Little things like that are what really get me excited when I’m makin’ a card… •chinkle•

Cheers!

BEAR GRILLS

Bear is from All Inside and has two previous accessory sets prior to this one called Bear Ware and Bear Ware 2

Truly, I had no idea of the phenomenon that dressing up Bear would become. My original intention was for him to convey the visual concept of a “hug”, especially holding the heart in that set—the set that started it all. That was all. Umm, that was supposed to be all.

And then, somehow, the idea to give him a few more treasures to hold crept in (Bear Ware). Then, it seemed Bear needed to be outfitted for fall and winter, as well… (Bear Ware 2)

And, now we’ve come around to spring and summer, in Bear Ware 3. I must admit the Weber is due to my Mister’s fondness for BBQing anything and everything that can possibly be grilled… Many of you may already be aware of my secret dinner weapon: Keep the fridge stocked with meats at all times and he will do the cookin’! Heh, heh, heh…! •fist pump•

Bear and his accoutrements were stamped with bleed-proof black ink onto watercolor paper, watercolored with Clean Color Real Brush Markers and a waterbrush, before die cutting, trimming the Weber lid and then subsequently mounting everything to a white card base I’d already prepped with a sentiment and a hand-drawn horizon line.

Smoke is actually steam borrowed from a Breve Note. It’s hard to see in the photos, but the grill, the hot dog and Bear’s nose were given a high gloss sheen using Glossy Accents.

Thanks for stopping by today! Cheers!

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NEON WATERCOLOR

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I have a quick video tutorial for achieve neon watercolor effects for ya’ today—I shared a sneak peek of the Mondo Gerbera Daisy on Instagram and was asked how I did it.

I tried to shoot and film this multiple ways, but suffice it to say, it is very difficult to capture the beautiful, eye-popping color you get by mixing in fluorescent/neon hues—I hope you’ll take my word for it that is much more stunning in real life than can be photographed…

See Carly’s video for her fabulous shaped floral cards HERE.

Fluorescent Clean Color Real Brush Markers are absolutely fantastic for this look—you can use all neon colors (I’ve listed them all in the supplies so it’s easier for you to find them), but on a large scale floral like this one, I personally prefer to have a hint of neon mixed in with regular colors. Colors specific to this project are marked with an “ * “ in the supplies.

TIPS:

  • Heat embossed images give these markers a place for color to “sit” until you’re ready to blend it out with a water brush.

  • When working with mid-darker Clean Color Markers, keep in mind that a little color goes a long way; don’t fill in your image, but apply color close to/hugging the embossing lines—you can always add more after your first layer is dry.

  • Pale/pastel colors may need multiple applications of color in the same area if you plan to blend out with water.

  • Before applying fluorescent colors, I recommend allowing your base colors to dry; adding to wet paint may diffuse the color right away and diminish the intensity.

Happy neon watercoloring and thanks for stopping by today!