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Monday, April 1, 2024

Failed Experiments make Beautiful Cards


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Never give up on your experiments - I'll prove why today. 

I was doing a live and doing a technique I love - nature printing. If you are on Patreon, you can access the replay here

I did it two ways - with colored acrylic ink on watercolor paper, and the second way was with this stunning light gold ink on this black velvety cardstock. Normally, I don't recommend things that I consider to be very expensive if something similar works, but never in my life have I used cardstock this luxurious, so I'm sharing it. It's the blackest of black, it's water friendly and it literally feels like velvet - it's an incredible surface. So, since it's so special, I decided I would do a nature print with the gold ink on black. I didn't thin it out like I did the other inks, and so it didn't capture the level of detail I wanted - but even as abstract shapes on that silky paper - it was STUNNING. So I cut it into cardfronts and saved it for a rainy day, which arrived in the form of this beautiful koi image

I stamped it in white ink, and colored just one of the fish with my favorite colored pencils. I did sort of a yin yang thing, leaving the other one white. The gold ink moves in and out of both images, which is kind of fun. The die for the koi lets you cut them out separately, but I like the way the image looks with both of them. Such a zen feel and so elegant. 




If you like zen but more whimsical - then these yoga sheep are for you! I couldn't decide which sheep was my favorite, so I used them all - outlining each one with an OLO marker. 

How cute are their little legs??



PS I accidentally sneak peeked last month with this stencil - OOPS. It's available now and it's one of the most fun, mod layering stencils. Go look at the colorful samples on the website to see how the layers work together - I had fun doing it in several greys.


Hope you had a great long weekend - it was nice to have Friday off! Because I had a little extra time, I'll be back tomorrow!

Loveyameanitbye.

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9 comments:

  1. I love each card! The koi fish is so beautiful. The yoga sheep are fun and I absolutely love the little lady bug on the grey stenciled background.

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  2. OMG! Love the yin yang design! You colored the koi beautifully! WOW! You just proved it! Failed experiments do make beautiful cards! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Oh my GOSH!!! As I looked at each of your cards I was amazed. I can't believe how creative you are. I LOVE the fish! What a gorgeous, artsy look. INCREDIBLE. And then the fun and funny sheep doing yoga. I LOVE how the limey green shows through. This sheep is just too much! I LOVE IT. And then.....the cute lady bug. AND the sentiment! AND the grey background flowers!!!!! I'm glad that you didn't insist on us telling our favorite. How can a person choose among these? I LOVE the flower stencil, and they greys are incredible. I just don't think of these sorts of options, so I'm glad that you do....I am clapping inside--bravo!

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  4. Love the cards and the koi is just wonderful!!!

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  5. I checked out the color samples. They are creative and a good reference to go by. My favorite are the sheep. They are fluffy and fun. [Bunny]

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  6. These are all beautiful! I LOVE the koi one!! There was no fail here!

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  7. LOVE the Koi card! Also love the way you stamped the sheep, left them white and outlined them in color - brilliant! And a B&W stencil background is perfect for this card.

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  8. Wonderful cards! I love the elegant koi fish card! The Namaste sheep are so fun, and I am loving the awesome stencil set too! Great release!

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  9. Wow your Koi card absolutely stunning. It looks like you painted it on velvet. I am going to try that card stock. It would be cool to reproduce that technique on a larger scale with several fish for a picture on the wall. I also love the paper behind the card in the shot. I love your clean and simple Zen Sheep. I saw Jessica use the Deco flower stencil in colors, but it looks really neat in a monotone too. I always look forward to your videos and blog. I appreciate all the things I learn from you.

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