Dream - Still Inspired by Watercolor for Card Makers

Even though the onlinecardclasses.com Watercolor for Card Makers class is officially over today with new content having ended last weekend and the galleries closing tonight, I'm still working through all the fun backgrounds I created and the inspiration just keeps coming.  When Lawn Fawn released their new products at Winter CHA back in January, I just had to have most of them.  There were a couple of sets where I wasn't sure I would get as much use.  One of them was the Dream set.  I could see it really being useful for art journaling or perhaps graduation cards, but since I don't do the first and I don't know many people still in school (and I have at least one graduation set already) I thought I would give it a pass.  But I've seen a couple of cute cards with it lately so it's been rattling around in the back of my mind.  Last week, I took a rare lunch break to walk downtown, oh, not because I really had the time to take a lunch break, but because my legs itched something fierce from this stupid rash that developed after a pedicure and I desperately needed hydro cortisone, so, of course, I had to do a little craft shopping too at Runaway Arts and Crafts since I was already in the area.  I found the Dream set and matching dies and decided that was my call to snap them up.

I have this background I made on the first night of class using the Impression Obsession Circle Fusion background stamp, some Versamark Ink, some clear embossing powder and then some watercolor over the stamped image.  I played around a lot with what to put over it and realized I really didn't want to cover it too much.  I had a Lawn Fawn banner from the Winter Gifts set sitting on desk and I realized it was about the right size for what I wanted.  So I stamped it up, then added some Old Paper Distress Ink to give it a little wear.  For the feathers, I colored them a little with Copics (B95 mostly) and then cut them out.  I added pop dots and some sequins to finish it off.

My First Attempt with Art Impressions

This last weekend I attended CKC in Portland for the sixth year in a row.  It's changed a bit since I first started, but one thing that never changes is the inspiration I find there.  I happened upon a booth in the vendor fair for Art Impressions.  I remembered that I had watched Kristina Werner make the cutest cat card using their stamps, so I just had to check them out.  They had some of the cutest whimsical stamps, but then I saw the most amazing demonstration of their watercolor stamps.  I stood there for the longest time with another group of crafters watching the owner, Bonnie Krebs, create such beautiful scenes with just a handful of stamps, markers, a little water, a brush and some watercolor paper.  I knew immediately I was going to have to try it myself.

I picked out a few stamps that I thought would be basic enough to get started but also versatile enough to let me be creative.  As I was purchasing my new stamps, I struck up a conversation with the owner's husband and learned that they live not to far from me and my favorite local art store, Runaway Arts and Crafts carries their products - no wonder the name was so familiar.  I'm sure I've walked by their stamps in that store a ton of times and never gave them a thought because I simply didn't know how to use them. 

So tonight, I pulled them out because I thought they may do well for the sympathy card I need to make for a co-worker.  I was so surprised how fun, easy and FAST it was to make the potted plant on this card.  I watched their You Tube video and then just followed the easy steps to make my own version.  Then it was just add a background with Fancy Pants paper from the 6x6 pad called Park Bench and a little ribbon.