CAS Monday: Watercolored Wish Big

Welcome to another CAS Monday! 

I have decided that I really want to perfect that watercolor splotch look for my background.  Today's card used a pre-folded watercolor base. I taped off the edges and gave the paper a good soaking! I think that is the key to really creating a nice watercolored look.  I experimented with turquoise, blue and purples to achieve this look. One think you really need to do is walk away from the card. It's not a quick process.  first add a color, swirl it in the water, let the water puddle up and then add more color.  Walk away and let it dry.  Add a second color and repeat the same process.  For a deeper color, do not add as much water.  Push the colors around with your brush. Don't be afraid to let them bleed together.  

The image and sentiment are from Keep Calm which has so many mix and match sentiments. I love the wish big sentiment with the cupcake from the set!  I wanted it to look simple, but with a hint of bling, so I added some stickler to the candle and the cupcake wrapper. 

What do you think? Is this a technique that you have tried before?  What is your favorite color combination?

all items from Gina K. Designs unless otherwise noted


stamp set: Keep Calm

March 2015 Inspiration Blog Hop: Day 2

The Cast and Crew for Gina K Designs welcomes you to another fabulous Inspiration Blog Hop! Gina, along with the Cast and Crew, will inspire you with many beautiful ideas! And as you hop through their blogs, make sure to leave a comment on each of them because we will choose a few random comments and those stampers will each win a grab bag of Gina K. Designs products! To see the full list of winners check the Big News Forum at StampTV a few days after the hops.

Did I mention yesterday that I have been obsessed with watercoloring lately?

This set proves worthy of watercoloring!

First - this mothers day card - embossed in white with some watercoloring:

This second card features a watercolor panel, offset on an ivory base.  Super simple black flowers from the set. 

Ready for more awesome creations?! Just click on the links below for more from the Illustrators and Design Team!!

Gina K

Melanie Muenchinger – Illustrator of Triple Play Frame

Beth Silaika <= me

Cathy Tidwell

Karen Hightower

Kendra Wietstock
Laurie Schmidlin

Lee Murphy

Sean Fetterman

Tricia Traxler

all items from Gina K. Designs unless otherwise noted

Remembering Gina K. Favorites Mini Hop: with bonus video

Last week during the mini hop, I promised a video on a watercoloring technique which I have been using with success on recent projects. While I love the cards I see on pinterest with all the bells and whistles, layers and eye catching baubles, I really have a hard time re-creating those in my craft room.  I wanted to get back to the basics of stamping and just create with what I have!  I have a small fortune invested in stamping products, but today's creations will allow you to keep your stamping budget within reason! 

I grabbed one neglected item from my stamping closet - a watercolor brush - to create this technique.  You can use a regular brush or one with the fancy reservoir with water - it doesn't really matter!  There are other items which you need, but certainly can find either in your stampers stash or in your kitchen (reusable craft sheet (Ranger makes one), or even parchment paper, wax paper or large acrylic block). You will also need a spritzing bottle!  You can buy a mini mister (they come in 3 packs) or use an old bottle of hairspray (cleaned out of course). You may want to grab your heat gun, just to speed up the drying process!

Here are some of the projects I created with this technique I call watercolor smash.  For this card I used two colors of pink Gina K. inks and one red.  I also used Gina K. white ink.  The images were stamped on watercolor paper and adhered to a base of Gina K. ivory!

  

The best thing about this technique: you do not need to use watercolor paper! I used Gina K. ivory and white paper on these projects! 

The final project was done with ocean mist and turquoise sea!

Here is the video I made showing how to use your Gina K. image stamps to create this watercolor look! Also, be sure to check out the Spectrum Noir tutorial from Kendra!

Let's see what other projects the design team has in store!

Beth Silaika <you are here>

Cathy Tidwell

Debbie Corbari

Karen Hightower

Kendra Wietstock *Spectrum Noir tutorial*

Tricia Traxler

all items from Gina K. Designs unless otherwise noted

All projects use the Gina K. Fleur De Lis for both images and for sentiments
All projects use Gina K. paper (first project uses a piece of watercolor paper, which is available in most craft stores by the multi-pack). 
All projects use Gina K. inks 
Extra items - sequins, black pearls and crystal gems