To Boldly Go Where No Ink Has Gone Before

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I was watching House the other night, and they were using the paddles to restart someone's heart. 

As I had been working on this shocking color combo that day, I was thinking that creatively I do the paddle thing all the time. I shock myself out of a rut with something super off the wall, like an unexpected color combo. I also do it by using a medium I haven't used in a while, and I'm doing both of those today.

First up - the shocking ink combo.

I labored under a brief delusion as a child that I could grow Bells of Ireland. My mother indulged me and bought me the seeds - and I did make it work, despite our completely inappropriate climate, and they did live long enough to product beautiful green flowers, which have occupied a part of my brain ever since. I have a gardening rule that I do not plant annuals, so I have not tried them here, but if you want to see them and try them yourself, you can see what they look like here. (There are two different varities on that site - I tend to like the pixie version.)

That's what inspired my shock paddle color combo today. I thought that this stunning layering floral bundle deserved something out of the ordinary in terms of color, so I brought my A game, layering Sprout, Oceanside and Eggplant for this bright and happy flower. The sentiment and die are from this sentiment builder set - and there are oodles of fun sentiment banner and strip dies out as well today. I like mix and match sentiment builders because I want to be able to speak in my own voice on my cards.

My second shock paddle card today reaches into a medium I literally have not used in 20+ years, and I don't even think is made anymore. Twinkling H20s were one of the very first sort of artsy medium I purchased when I started stamping in earnest in the late 1900s. Maybe that's why I hung onto them all this time - I'm not usually nostalgic about things, but this is some early stamping career nostalgia for sure. 

So I pulled those out for this stunning, layering hummingbird die and stamp bundle. You've probably seen samples with striking cardstock combos for this, but I just wanted shimmery watercolored birds and flowers.

If you look closely - you can see the texture on the black paper - it's a soft, cotton rag handmade watercolor paper that I just love. And my photo doesn't do the sparkle justice! After I made my little scene - and yes, I know hummingbirds don't feed at night - this is a card - I decided I liked the drama of it too much for a sentiment, so I just left it. I hope whoever I send it to pats that soft, black watercolor paper.

Now speaking of paper - I have some super exciting news! You can still register for my handmade journal class, which is so much freaking fun! AND, you can now buy pre-cut and scored inserts for them in two different papers - one for watercolor and one for mixed media in two different sort of standard journal sizes! SQUEE! So in addition to the card bases, fronts and stamp pocket bundles, you can make your journals in half the time! 

So here are some of the supplies I used today. I hope you have a great weekend - and to my Pokemon Go! friends - happy community day! Loveyameanitbye.

Painted Peony Bundle [ C&9 ] Eclectic Garden Bundle [ C&9 ] Big On You Bundle [ C&9 ] Shizen Black Watercolor Paper | BLICK... [ BLIC ] Understand Blue Bundles Specials for... [ CTC ] Understand Blue Card Making Bundle #3... [ CTC ] Understand Blue Card Making Bundle #1... [ CTC ] Understand Blue Card Making Bundle #2... [ CTC ] My Sweet Petunia [ MSP ] Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 [ SSS ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for... [ BRG ] Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC [ ELH | SSS ] Crafter's Companion GEMINI... [ SSS ] Scor-Pal MINI SCOR-BUDDY Scoring... [ SSS ] Storage Envelopes, Medium 25pk,... [ ELH ] CheckOutStore Stamp & Die Clear... [ CHC ] Extra Large -50 pk, Avery Elle Stamp... [ ELH ] Mermaid tidy towel case and glue... [ ETS ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | CST ] Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies [ ART ]

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