A Cactus in the Desert

I had a little bit of a dilemma with today's card.

I was going to work on this on my trip, so I put my stamp, my MISTI, my Fadeout Ink and my watercolor into my suitcase and felt very organized.

However, I then attended the Artisan Expo - four days of classes and the opportunity to purchase art supplies at wholesale, which resulted in a 23 pound box I needed to ship home. SO, thinking I was being all smarty pants, I packed up everything I wouldn't need on the way home - extra clothes, books, etc. And, unfortunately, my ink and watercolor paper.

Which left me in quite the quandry when I sat down to work on this card today!

BUT - as I said - I had been in four days of art classes, and I was not going to be discouraged by limited supplies. I had bought some small, new to me watercolor paper pads today (the last day of the expo), so I just needed a way to stamp the beautiful Christmas Cactus image.

Since all I had was watercolor - watercolor won. I mixed up a few different puddles of a blue color - some with more water, some with less, and just Goldilocks'd it up until I found a mix that would cling to the rubber. Then I stamped it on watercolor paper and painted! I actually like how it sort of selectively stamped the image and how some lines had little puddles of paint. Very cool, and very unlike ink. It was a fun way to spend my last afternoon here. I omitted the sentiment, which is on the same stamp, so that I could use it for any occasion.

All the colors I used are Daniel Smith. After using other brands in my classes this week, I love my Daniel Smith even more! One of the biggest differences is the way the pigment comes off your brush in water. I can paint for HOURS without changing my water with Daniel Smith, and with other artist quality brands, one swish of the brush in my water container and the whole thing is murky and thick. That might not bother everyone, but it bothers me and keeps me from getting clean color when I paint. If you think you can't afford Daniel Smith - join my Daniel Smith split group. I split tubes amongst the group so everyone can afford as many colors as they want.

All that to say - this gorgeous Christmas cactus was extremely fun to paint. I love the scale - any time I can paint something that covers a card front, I'm happy. And I was bold and irreverent with the color, like I am with the rest of my life. :)

Christmas Cactus Cling Stamp [ TCH ] Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors [ BLIC ] Escoda Versatil Brushes, Travel Round... [ UTR | BLIC | INK ] Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper Blocks -... [ BLIC ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSW | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | SBC ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | ELH | CST | ART | SBC ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Stampin' Up! [ SUP ] Nesting Porcelain Bowls - BLICK art... [ BLIC ] My Favorite Watercolor Sketchbook [ UTR ]

This image is a new release today from Technique Junkies, and there's also this big poinsettia that is a similar style and I'm dying to watercolor.

You can use this discount code over there any time, not just today, so bookmark and come back!

I have learned all kinds of fun techniques this week that will fuel my videos in the coming months and next year, so stay tuned. I plan to write down detailed notes on my flights home.

Loveyameanitbye.