Ducks, Dinosaurs and Butterflies

I must say, my opinion of Summer Starfruit is beginning to change a bit.  I wasn't enamoured with it when I first saw it, but as I'm working with it, it's growing on me! 

The sketch for the duck card is from Create with Connie and Mary.  I decided I wanted to use the "Cherish Friendship" set because it's been neglected - and then I wanted to find an idea for colouring the duck.  Stampin' Connection (a website available to Stampin'Up! Demonstrators with loads of ideas and inspiration) came to the rescue and I took some inspiration from Sandy Mathis who had bleached the duck last June.  

So - I used the same Crumb Cake paper, stamped the image with Black Staz-On and then took an aqua painter dipped in bleach to colour in the duck.  Once I die cut the image with one of the Apothecary Accents Framelits, I took a sponge dauber with bleach to go around the edges and added some Cajun Craze after that.

The "gingham" piece is Very Vanilla put through the Stripes embossing folder in two directions - the embossing folder was brayered with Crumb Cake first each time.

Since I had the brayer out, I decided it was time for me to try out one of Michelle Zindorf's tutorials.  

I've cased her card pretty much exactly as she created it - except I need a WHOLE BUNCH of practice using the brayer so that I don't end up with straight lines.  

I learned two things making this card - 

1 - if you're real quick, you can add (clear) embossing powder to Classic Ink.

2 - In order to keep the dinosaurs' "true" colours while you brayer the background, you colour him with VersaMark Pen and add clear embossing powder so that he becomes a embossing resist.  Duh!!!  Fantastic idea.

Since I was on a role, I cased another of Michelle's cards.  I saw this card a couple of weeks ago, and thought it would be a good tutorial to start with.  She gives such fantastic, step by step, instructions.  The images were coloured with the AquaPainter using ink from the lid of the Ink Pad.  I think what I learned most - which I need more practise with - is the use of different colours to produce shading.  Next I'll have to create something of my own using the new things I've learned.

So - it was a productive afternoon - on top of doing 3 loads of laundry - and folding it....on the SAME day...WOW!

Hope your day has been filled with inspiration.  Thanks for stopping by!

Joan

Life's a Bowl of Cherries - Enjoy!

I wasn't sure I would use this little bowl of cherries from the new "Cherish Friendship" set, but when I saw the Color Challenge from Splitcoast this past week: Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy  and Crumb Cake, it just seemed to make sense to use it.  So I pulled out the water colour paper and gave them a try.

The clean and simple look is what the  4 Crafty Chicks  are looking for this week.  I seem to be able to keep it simple as long as the main piece has texture.  I just have this strong aversion to flat paper on my cards - maybe that's why I like dimensionals so much too.  I have raised the square with the cherries and the small vanilla oval with "Enjoy".

Well, I'm off to sort cards today, and do some hemming.  I going to do the hemming first so I that it actually gets done!

Have a great day!  Thanks for the visit!
Joan