Stamp Off Watercolor Country Home

Greetings and welcome to another Friday Stamp Off

Challenge with Buffy, Susan and myself.

We look forward to sharing our latest Stampin' Up! creations.

This week, we are doing a technique challenge.

Watercolor Wash backgrounds are something that

I AM challenged by.   I get frustrated because my

samples never look like those that I see other

artists producing.

Let's just say that this challenge was kind of an experiment.
I made several watercolor wash backgrounds, including
this one using Granny Apple Green ink,
and then wondered if I could use the Stampin' Blends
over top.  In this example, I stamped
 the Country Home stamp set (on page 43
of the Holiday Mini) with Memento ink, after the 
watercolor paper wash background had dried. 

I colored the image with Blackberry Bliss, Granny Apple Green
and Crumb Cake Blends.  The Blends worked fairly well,
perhaps because there was a layer of ink already
laid down.  I will add that the Stampin' Blends dried
to a more muted tone.  The milk can had some 
Blackberry Bliss highlights, which are no longer visible.
The advantage of this technique is that you can color
as much or as little of the image as you want, since
the watercolor wash background shows through,
as evidenced by the leaves on the milk can.

I thank you for stopping by, and urge you to continue on
with our challenge, to see what Buffy and Susan have done
with their Watercolor Wash backgrounds!

Batty Trick or Tweet

The new Holiday catalog has some darling sets.

Trick or Tweet, on page 50 is so much fun to color

with your Stampin' Blends, because the images are

adorable.  I added a couple of bats from the

Spooky Bats Punch (p 51). 

I tend to prefer "cute" Halloween sets, so 

this one really fits the bill! 

Nature's Poem Leaves

Nature's Poem, on page 143, is a striking

and elegant set.  The coordinating Nature's Roots

Framelits on page 218 enable you to cut out the images.

In this example, I didn't use the coordinating

framelits, but cascaded the leaves, in different shades of 

green, down the side of the card.  It's safe to say that this

bundle works, whether you fussy cut, use the framelits,

or simply use the images as a card background.

Varied Vases Tripple

This is a card that I made for a past challenge,

and then ended up replacing with another.  I used the

images from Varied Vases on page 45, using a Pool Party

Stampin' Blend to add a bit more color.

I used the Stitched Shapes Framelits (p 220) to

cut out the focal images.

The Gorgeous Grape layer was run through the

Layered Leaves Textured Impressions Embossing 

Folder on page 222.

Serene Garden Dandelion Wishes

Here is another quick card, thanks

to the Stampin' Blends for your coloring pleasure.

This card uses the Serene Garden Stamp set on page 166

with the sentiment from Dandelion Wishes on page 118.

It is a single layer card, with a layered sentiment.

I like the Serene Garden images, because they can be

stamped in different directions/angles, and look

like it was meant to be!

Animal Outing with Stampin' Blends

Not to ignore the new Holiday catalog products,

but I still like to pull out my Animal Outing stamp

set (p 27) and the coordinating Animal Friends Thinlits,

on page 215.  It's a happy bundle because it 

allows coloring with the Stampin' Blends (p 205),

as well as creation of darling cards.  Honestly,

I smile every time I work with these images.