Saturday Sketch 809 - Using Watercolor Pencils

While I'm awaiting my Holiday Catalog pre-order, I've been digging into my retired stash.  This past Thursday, I made a Double Panel Gate Fold card and used Garden Impressions Designer Series Paper.  Well, for this week's Saturday Sketch, I used the Lilypad Lake stamp set.  However, I used my Watercolor Pencils to color the images.  These are SUCH a fun product and they get overlooked quite a bit.  Check out the video to see how I colored the images, then check back next week to see how I used them to make ocean and sunset backgrounds.

Splitcoaststampers Card Sketch 809 - Pin it!

A fantastic feature of the Watercolor Pencils is the ability to add soft color or intense color.  It's a matter of layers and pressure upon application.  Color lightly and use a single layer of color for a soft look.  Color more heavily and apply more than one layer of color (letting each layer dry before progressing to the next one) for a more intense look.

There are 2 assortments of Watercolor Pencils in my store, both containing genuine Stampin' Up! colors.  HUGE plus because it means your project's colors will coordinate which means your project looks more polished.  That's a great benefit if you don't feel confident in your design skills yet or if you love a seamless look.  Or if you are an impatient crafter and want to skip to the good stuff - creating! - without fussing over color details.

I've stuffed all kinds of extras into this post for you - a video, a written tutorial, and a pinnable color inspiration graphic!

Watch the video to see how to make this

Grab the written tutorial for today's card

This week's color inspiration graphic

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Clean and Simple Card with Magnolia Blooms

Who likes an "easy" button every now and then?  I do!  Most of the time, my motto is "more is more" when it comes to papercrafting.  You will never see me hoarding pretty Designer Series Paper or embellishments - I love to pile and layer them on!  

But sometimes there isn't time or energy to create a more detailed project.  Or maybe you're new to stamping and need a beautifully simple card to get yourself started.  I made one just for those times!

The Magnolia Blooms set is found in the Beginner Brochure on pages 8 & 9.  This brochure was designed for someone new to stamping, as it features all-inclusive kits, but there are also experienced stampers who enjoy kits for other reasons (easy to travel with, projects already designed for you).

This card is so easy, it requires just a few steps!

• Fold a 5-1/2"x8-1/2" piece of Crumb Cake cardstock in half.
• Stamp images and sentiment from Magnolia Blooms set in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.
• Color in images with Watercolor Pencils in Whisper White, Old Olive, and Daffodil Delight.

That's it!  I made a tutorial for you to download (you can save it or print it to add to an idea binder).

See 2 more Magnolia Blooms cards plus a tutorial here.

Magnolia Blooms set

If you want even more mileage from this set, get the all-inclusive kit and you can make 10 additional cards with envelopes.

To make the kit cards shown directly above:

• Magnolia Lane Cards Bundle

To also make my featured card add:

• Crumb Cake cardstock
• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad
• Watercolor Pencils

All of this earns you a FREE Level 1 Sale-A-Bration item!  My suggestion:

• Sending You Thoughts set

If you'd like the Magnolia Blooms card from today, contact me at nicole@thejoyfulstamper.com and I'll include it in a free catalog package!  I hope you enjoy these tutorials and tips.  My goal is to help you have a fantastic stamping experience.  

Magnolia Blooms and an SCS Sketch Challenge

It's a happy, happy day!  My sweet neighbor, who delivers treat bags for every holiday to every kid in our small neighborhood, gave ME one, too!  And it had my absolute favorite candy in it - Reese's Fast Breaks!  Emma, my oldest girl, has a mild peanut allergy and she always gave me her Reese's Cups and Fast Breaks from her trick-or-treat bag.  She stopped going out 3 years ago and that was a sad day for me.  Now Caitlin and Alaina have decided to stop going so I won't even be able to sneak some out of their bags while they're at school!

On to the stamping....

This card makes my heart go pitter-pat.  The Crumb Cake, the sponging of Soft Suede ink, the layers, the vintage feel of it.....oh my!  

I had my Watercolor Pencils out from my last project and thought it would look so pretty to use the white pencil on Crumb Cake cardstock.  Then I thought of the Magnolia Blooms stamp set and couldn't wait to get started!

Some tips:

• Coloring in a circular motion is best with these pencils.
• Apply light pressure when coloring.  We don't want to indent our cardstock with the pencil tips.
• You can use the Watercolor Pencils just to color, without using water.
• Add a light layer of color and build on more until you get the look you want.  It's easy to add color, but very difficult to take it away, so be patient and enjoy the process!  

This is the sketch on which I based my card.  I bet you can think of a few ideas for this layout!  Why not post your creations in the thread for this challenge?

When I was finished with my card, I felt like it needed something more (my motto with cardmaking and scrapbooking is "more is more" ha!).  Digging through my stash, I found Clear Epoxy Droplets - perfecto!  Never underestimate the power of a simple embellishment.  

I made a tutorial for you!  Click below to get a printable pdf with step-by-step instructions, photo, measurements, and a supply list with links to my online store.

I hope you enjoy the projects and both the printable and photo tutorials I post regularly on this blog.  If you would like any supplies for your crafting sessions, shop my online store 24/7.  I appreciate your business (and your feedback on what you like to see)!

Gather Together and Watercolor Pencils

What an amazing past four days we've had!  I've mentioned our love for the sport of cross country running.  Both our daughters in high school and college had important meets Thursday and Friday and we were fortunate enough to see them.  While the high school girls team did not make it to the state championships, the boys team did so we are heading to Hershey!  Our college-age daughter ran a personal best and held her team position so that she gets to race in the Regionals meet in a few weeks (that is a meet that qualifies people for NCAA Nationals).  It was an exciting couple of days with lots of time outside in the sunshine and cool weather.  It definitely felt and looked like fall.

My card for you today also definitely looks and feels like fall.  I envisioned lots and lots of watercolored pumpkins, so I got out my watercolor pencils and Aquapainter to go along with my Gather Together stamp set.

I wanted a soft, slightly blurred look so I stamped the pumpkins in Pumpkin Pie ink.  Because this ink is dye-based, it will bleed when water is added to it.  After stamping the pumpkins, I used a Pumpkin Pie watercolor pencil to color them.  I like to use a light touch and go in circular motions when using watercolor pencils.  I find this avoids indentations in the paper and coloring lines.  It also makes it easier to get the depth of color I want - it's easier to add color than to take it away!

After coloring the pumpkins, I used a damp Aquapainter to go over them.  The colors of the watercolor pencils and the ink from the stamped images began to soften and blend beautifully!  I used a Dark Soft Suede Stampin' Blend marker to color the pumpkin stems.

Other Gather Together card details:

• The pumpkins were die-cut with the Gathered Leaved dies and adhered using Stampin' Dimensionals.  The dimensionals let me layer and tuck card elements, which I love!
• The leaves were die-cut from Come To Gather DSP, also using the Gathered Leaves dies.
• The wheat bundles were stamped in Crushed Curry ink on Crumb Cake cardstock and cut with Paper Snips.
• The sentiment was stamped in Night of Navy ink on a strip of Crumb Cake cardstock.  The right edge of the strip was folded around the Come To Gather DSP and Champagne Foil layers.
• A strand of Linen Thread was tucked amid the card elements using Glue Dots.

The Gather Together set used for today's card is the one used for my October ordering gift.  Use Host Code GZU4ASKR when you order with me and you'll receive two card kits plus their tutorials as my gift to you (a $10 value).  Shop now and don't forget to add the Host Code if your order is under $150.  If your order is over $150, you''ll still receive the card kits and tutorial PLUS you'll get Stampin' Rewards (free Stampin' Up! product of your choice).