Thursday, November 30, 2017

Be Merry in DieCember

Today is the first day of DieCember at Simon Says Stamp! It's a month dedicated to celebrating our love of die cutting. And by that I mean a month which gives me an excuse to SHOP. You know, for Christmas presents for myself! I love all things die cutting, and especially holiday dies, because you can really make your Christmas cards stand out with them. Also, usually by the time I get to making my Christmas cards, I need the simplicity of dies to help me actually get them done.

I send hundreds of Christmas cards, which means coloring a stamp image is not going to happen, nor is any detailed masking, scene making, etc.

My go-to Christmas card design is a dramatic background (because I can make full sheets and get multiple cards out of them) and a punch die or sentiment stamp.

For today's card, I used the Retro Flake Border die and cut the design into a piece of Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper I had trimmed down to match a 4 bar card. Several of those will be among the cards I send out this year - I love that size.

I watercolored this piece with three colors - Pthalo Blue Green Shade, Phthalo Turquoise and Quinacridone Pink as an underpainting - leaving each color in its own space, after misting the paper with water to ensure the colors ran.

After that was dry, I painted over the entire thing with Phthalo Blue Green shade, which turned the pink into purple, and the turquoise into a bluer mix. It greatly intensified the color and gave me the overall cool tones I wanted.

Then I die cut Merry with the Merry die from Concord & 9th out of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, as well as some extra snowflakes (I love that they look retro - like Jetsons' graphics, or jacks) and glued those all down. I wish you could see the sparkle.
Diecember card by Understand Blue
Simon Says Stamp RETRO FLAKE BORDER...
[ SSS ]
Merry Die - Concord & 9th
[ C&9 ]
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors
[ BLIC ]
Phthalo Blue Green Shade - Daniel...
[ BLIC | SSS | ELH | AMZUS | SBC ]
01767-5420 - Daniel Smith Extra Fine...
[ BLIC | ELH | AMZUS ]
01767-2190 - Daniel Smith Extra Fine...
[ BLIC | ELH | AMZUS | SSS ]
Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper by...
[ SUP ]
Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes...
[ SUP ]
Saunders Waterford Watercolor Blocks
[ BLIC | ELH | AMZUS ]
Silver Brush - Black Velvet, Round #2
[ BLIC | AMZUS ]
Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth
[ AMZUS ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSW | SBC | SSS ]
Sizzix BIG SHOT EXPRESS Gray and...
[ SSS | BMS | SBC ]
Sizzix Cutting Pad, Standard - Mint
[ ELH | SBC | SZZ ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC | AMZUS ]
Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP | SSS | ELH | MFT | BLIC | AMZUS ]

I glued that panel onto the 4 bar notecard, and boom! A quick and easy Christmas card that is still super eye-catching and fun.

Now that I have permission to shop DieCember, I'll extend the same permission to you. :)




Loveyameanitbye.

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Vacation Coloring

I love long holiday weekends, and all the unstructured extra time. This weekend we had two Thanksgivings, which were very fun and delicious, and then I had two days to catch up on blog posts and just do some noodling around.

One of my favorite noodling tools is Suzy's Watercolor Prints coloring cards. I love her art style, and I really love that they are card front size so I can take them with me when I go get my oil changed or I am somewhere where I have to wait.

Her Classical Christmas collection is out today and it's beautiful. So while we contemplated putting up our outdoor Christmas lights, I colored a few cards to get in the holiday spirit. Not that the pumpkin pie didn't do the trick!

I love the paper they are printed on, because it's good for several mediums as you'll see. First, I used my Ultimate Mixing Palette collection masterminded by Jane Blundell - and I really do love this limited palette. I was baffled by it until I bought her book with the mixing charts, and then I was blown away. I set up full pans of it in a magnetic tin and have been using those happily. I especially love my homemade Jane's Grey mix. All the watercolor is Daniel Smith, and the only colors I used here are Pyrrol Crimson, Quinacridone Gold, Quinacridone Rose, Phthalo Blue Green Shade, Phthalo Green Blue Shade and Jane's Grey
Watercolor Coloring cards by Understand Blue
Simon Says Stamp Suzy's CLASSICAL...
[ SSS ]
suzy's watercolor at Simon Says STAMP!
[ SSS ]
DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolors...
[ ELH | AMZUS ]
DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolors...
[ ELH | SSS | AMZUS ]
DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolors...
[ ELH | SSS | AMZUS ]
Daniel Smith PHTHALO GREEN BLUE SHADE...
[ SSS | ELH ]
Phthalo Blue Green Shade - Daniel...
[ BLIC | ELH | SSS ]
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors
[ BLIC ]
Stewart Superior Memories India Ink...
[ AMZUS ]
Fabriano Artistico 140 lb. Cold Press...
[ AMZUS ]
Silver Brush - Black Velvet, Round #2
[ BLIC | AMZUS ]
Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth
[ AMZUS ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSW | SBC | SSS ]
For a different look, I tried liquid watercolor on another card - I love that sweet angel!!
Oh Holy Night watercolor card by Understand Blue
Simon Says Stamp Suzy's CLASSICAL...
[ SSS ]
suzy's watercolor at Simon Says STAMP!
[ SSS ]
Dr. Ph. Martin's Radiant Concentrated...
[ BLIC | SSS | AMZUS ]
Fabriano Artistico 140 lb. Cold Press...
[ AMZUS ]
Silver Brush Black Velvet Series...
[ AMZUS ]
Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth
[ AMZUS ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSW | SBC | SSS ]
And just because they're watercolor cards doesn't mean you have to watercolor them! On the last one before I really had to get out of my pajamas and act like an adult, I used my beloved Polychromos. The cards have just enough tooth to add texture. 
Polychromos Christmas scene by Understand Blue
Simon Says Stamp Suzy's CLASSICAL...
[ SSS ]
suzy's watercolor at Simon Says STAMP!
[ SSS ]
Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencils and...
[ BLIC | SSS | AMZUS ]
Rhinestone Basic Jewels by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]
Silver Brush Black Velvet Series...
[ AMZUS ]
Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth
[ AMZUS ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSW | SBC | SSS ]
Because these are already card front sized I can just put them on a base and be done! Hard to see here, but I did add rhinestones to the center of each snowflake.

This last card is exactly what I'm going to be doing today - picking up two Christmas trees!

Before I go - I have some very awesome news. I am one of thirty people who donated a video to an awesome hurricane relief fundraiser at Online Card Classes. This bundle's profits will be donated (100% of after tax profit) to the people who really need help in the Caribbean and along the Gulf. I've seen all the videos, and they are an amazing bonus in addition to the donation - so head over to OCC and check it out! I give you permission to stay in your pajamas for all 30 videos!

Crafted Kindness Fundraiser for OCC


Loveyameanityouneedmorepiebye.
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