Stamp Class of the Month - Watercolour Techniques - Project 1

This year I am doing a Special Class of the Month for my customers and we started the year with a fun class on one of my favourite techniques - water-colour.

Stampin' Up!® has released some wonderful water colour pencils in the Occasions Catalogue, so I took advantage of that to indulge my love of teaching and water colouring.  This class (and all the special classes) are product based classes, so the participants receive the product they need to complete the projects, instruction on 3 great projects and a variety of techniques, all from the one class. 

Look at these gorgeous colours - and they all coordinate with Stampin' Up! card stock and inks. You get 12 lovely colours, plus white, and the pencils are smooth and easily applied to a number of different surfaces.

I used a variety of stamp sets for this class as I wanted to demonstrate how versatile all

 our stamps are and how the stamps from the Annual Catalogue work really well with this technique and product too. 

The first card we made used an old favourite set - Wetlands. You'll find this on page 133 of the Annual Catalogue

 I designed this as a card suitable for the males in our lives. The main focus of course, was the technique of using the w/c pencils to create a background. We used w/c paper as the base, stamped the images from Wetlands, using Archival Black ink and let that dry for a few seconds before applying the colour. I showed the class how to use the side of the pencil rather than the tip to get a softer more uneven effect, and then we spritzed the entire piece with water. For a smoother finish you can work back into the colour with an Aqua Painter.

You can see in the detail how the texture of the paper shows through, and you can enhance this using your Aqua Painter to soften some edges (like I did at the horizon). You can also spritz with more water and let a bit of serendipity occur.

I used Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry and Pacific Point for the sky. A combination of Pacific Point, Bermuda Bay and a touch of Melon Mambo in the water and Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie and Early Espresso for the sandy foreground

W/c paper is great for accepting water and allows you to work quickly and freely. 

I finished off the card by matting the stamped image with Basic Black. A few rounds of Linen Thread add to the rustic effect and the edges of the w/c paper have been distressed.

The base card is created by stamping one of the Timeless Textures stamps around the edges, using Crumb Cake ink on Crumb Cake card stock. I think it adds to the beachy effect. What do you think?  

I will blog separately about the other projects, so don't forget to come back to visit during the week. 

Meanwhile if you would like further information feel free to contact me.

 I cannot finish this post without offering each of you a fabulous opportunity to join Stampin' Up! during Sale-A-Bration. You get all the benefits of being a member of the SU family plus during SAB you can choose 2 additional free stamp sets of your choice. Depending on your choice this can be well over $100 of stamps for free and that is in addition to all the heavily discounted items you choose for your Starter Kit.

Do you like what you see and think you'd like to earn some extra income from stamping?  

If you are looking for a hobby, a part or full time job, working from home and at your own pace, AND you love craft, then you should consider doing what I do. It is fun and rewarding.

  See more information on my website or contact me with questions you may have. 
 

Shop on-line for products used in this project.
  Use Host code:  DQCN7KQ9

Crafty Tuesday Brayer Class

More fun with the brayer at Crafty Tuesday morning class today. Liz, one of my Stampin' Up! team members is moving to Cairns so she had the choice of what she wanted to do and Brayer techniques is what she chose.

I admit that I had a few "students" who were not happy during the early part of the class. I spent some time demonstrating using the brayer on Whisper White, Shimmer White and Glossy White card stock. Unfortunately Stampin' Up! no longer stocks the Glossy White (which happens to be my favourite base for brayering) but I wanted to show them the variety of finishes that could be achieved. 

I also wanted to stretch the creativity of the participants so challenged them to work "outside their comfort  zone" and try a variety of methods. As many of you know Brayering can be quite difficult and take a bit of practice, but by the end of the class we had some really great results.

I really like the effect achieved on this card using classic inks on Whisper White. Almost everyone tended to apply too much ink too quickly but this crafter used a lighter rolling motion and although she thought it was not good because it was not smooth, I soon convinced her to "see" various scenes in the colours. She added a couple of stamped images from "Wetlands" stamp set by Stampin' Up!, tied a piece of Linen Thread around it and matted on Black and White card. Lovely! I love the colours and balance achieved in this sample.

When the ladies got a bit heavy handed with the ink, I suggested they turn these samples (on the right above) into modern abstract cards that would be great for the men/boys in their lives. There are no better stamp sets to do this than Gorgeous Grunge and Work of Art stamp sets. You can find both of these in the Annual Catalogue - page 165. We actually used a very old Kaleidoscope stamp pad that I have had for  9 years as I purchased it when Stampin Up stocked this item. I wish they would bring these back too! But, by adding some Cherry Cobbler images and embossing with gold and white, an attractive abstract card has been achieved. Again the choice of mat and card base colours is important in the finished product.

 

These 3 images above are brayered onto Glossy White and you can see the difference in smoothness. It is much easier to get the colours to blend on the smooth surface of the Glossy White, and easier again if paler colours are used. 

 

By the end of the class everyone was looking into the brayered backgrounds, seeing different scenes or images. We all agreed the lower one is a face ( a little abstract but none the less - a face) Turn this sideways and you see a great mountain ranged or a rocky outcrop near the ocean - you just have to let your imagination run free, and I'm pleased to say I think everyone was doing that by the end of the class. 

Finally I have my example that I created on Whisper White.

You can see the build up of layers and variety of colours used. Also the combination of techniques:- brayer background; stamped images: heat embossed images. I really enjoy collage stamping and found this morning lots of fun and quite satisfying. Class went way over time but we all had a really good learning experience.

I hope you gain some inspiration from these samples and will give this a try. Experimenting is the basis of creativity - try something different - whether it be a combination of techniques, combining unusual colours and patterns or simply creating images and matting them in unusual ways.

Below is a list of many of the products used in these samples. If you would like to take advantage of the last few days of Sale A Bration and place an on-line order at my store, just use this code: 7VTN9W2P for the chance to win an ENVELOPE PUNCH BOARD. Make sure you leave your contact details in the order as everyone who participates this week will go in the draw. 

Orders close on Monday March 30. 

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