Water Color

Flourishing Phrases

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This particular project went through a few different phases.  This is how it started out, all about blue.  I had the ocean on my mind and gave it a try.  I had intended on using a new embossing folder after I water colored, but to be honest, I forgot once I got all this going.

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After I painted with all of the blue inks I have I did some detail work using my gold wink of stella.  I focused on some of the watermarks and edges of color.  The look it creates is really awesome.  It is tricky to know when to stop because it is so much fun.  Mission accomplished here for sure.

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The next step was to add a special tag.  This one got a bit out of control and went to a busy style that really isn’t my own.  However, I decided to leave it and see how it balanced out with the huge butterfly addition I had in mind.  I water colored large areas of paper to provide both my tag area as well as the butterflies.  It is much easier to paint whole sheets instead of small specific die cuts.

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When this butterfly combo came along I really began to wonder just what I was up to.  I think that is because I love decorative painted backgrounds so much I rarely cover them up. They are such great all occasion cards, but I pushed forward.  I did edge the butterflies with the wink of stella, which of course you cannot see in these photos.  It is there though, and it looks so pretty.  You can see it better in the lead featured image which is much more close up.  Basic pearls, gold metallic thread with a little more patience and this project was finally finished.  It measures 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 plus the butterfly hanging off the edge.  A custom envelope will definitely be in order here.

Have a creative day!

Moana

I am Much More Me When I’m With You

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

What do you do with a huge pineapple stamp?  Well, just about anything you want I guess.  I loved it, but probably had more questions than answers.  This is definitely one of those answers.  I asked my daughter to pick out a stamp from my stash of new product and give me a color.  She chose light green and this stamp.  Sometimes you just need a nudge in the right direction to get moving.

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Yesterday, and well into the evening, I spent my time helping a good friend with a wedding photo shoot.  You never know how much you are needed, but judging how tired I am today, it would have been so hard for her without me.  And of course we had an absolute blast.  We work nearly seamlessly together, another plus.  I thought this would suit us nicely.

I went with light water color washing using only two colors.  I wasn’t sure how they would blend in the middle, hoping it wouldn’t make some kind of brown.  It turned out great.  I opted for minimal distressing and one single stamping.  The leaves needed a bit, so I used my aqua painter to blend them a bit, but left the pineapple pattern alone.  I stamped it again on the inside, but more in the corner for more interest.  Good stuff there!

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The tags & labels framelit set fit perfectly around the sentiment and provided the perfect place for my favorite ribbon.  A few of the new enamel dots found there way as well.  The card front and inside panels were both layered with an additional piece of pear pizzazz card stock and the front was popped up with dimensionals.  There you go!

Have a creative day!

Moana

We’ll Weather This Together

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A project can go through several phases, and some can be unexpected.  The original vision kind of got lost somewhere along the way, had some confusion, but ended up reasonably pleasing.  These ladybugs though, too much love there.

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My daughters have a canvas in their bedroom that inspired this little card.  I was looking at it recently and thought of the new stamp and framelit set that could help me create my own version.  I pulled some of my favorite pastel colors for the background and started the process.  The more colors I use the longer it takes me to become satisfied with how they blend and flow together.  I went through this one three different times and then once more when I added in the yellow around my little bugs.

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I water colored on a scrap piece a mix of pool party and blushing bride.  The umbrella was then cut out and hit again with more blushing bride.  The clouds and raindrops were cut from areas that just had pool party.  And yes, I did glue all of those parts down, even those little drops.  I love the dimension the thick water color paper gives to them. Before I stamped my sentiment I added a touch of wink of stella to the clouds and raindrops.  All the pieces were layered together and put in place.  And before the blog had even been finished I was able to use it to brighten someones day.  Wonderful.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Artistically Asian

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

New stamps, new stamps, new stamps!  I love having new stamps!  This particular one caught my eye right away on my first browse through this seasons catalog.  I could easily get lost exploring the possibilities, there are so many.

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But, I am totally in the mood for water coloring, so what else would I turn to just now?  I thought some of the new in-colors combined with gold would compliment the Asian feel of the stamp set.  And, I absolutely agree with myself.  Good thing too…

Flirty flamingo is the card base and the main color I painted with.  These colors go so very well together.  I used a lot of water and kept the color light building the intensity but not overdoing it.  Experimenting with this kind of painting is really something you just need to sit down and do it.  I have learned some things that work better for me, and of course there are tons of very talented people online that generously share their techniques to learn from.

I did stamp over the floral image again with both flirty flamingo and gold encore ink.  I wasn’t looking for a particular effect, just more of the image itself.  Then I hit it pretty hard with the gold wink of stella brush pen.  I accented the image quite a bit then followed along some of the water mark lines.  They ended up giving me a bit of a mound for the plant to rest on and maybe an interesting mountain or two in the background?  That wasn’t the intention, but I keep seeing that when I look at it.  Judge for yourself.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Layering Love

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Summer is here and it seems like love is everywhere.  How fun is that!  I wanted to capture some of that carefree spirit that summer can bring and had a fun time giving it a try.

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I must admit, I have been enjoying my water coloring quite a bit, but it is still my favorite medium right now.  I thought I might use a die cut on this image and layer it, but I forgot about that until I started typing.  I was wondering why I left the image off center like that.  I then remembered my original plan.  Well, I am okay with how it turned out.

It began with stamping the sentiment in versamark ink and then embossing with white embossing powder.  The next step was to create some kind of heart over and around the words.  When that was done I stared at it for a while trying to decide on a background color. My oldest daughter suggested tempting turquoise since it felt like summer.  That went with my plans, so I went for it.  I kept the color the strongest in the corners and painted towards the heart.  I was trying to create a lighter area around the heart to make it look like it was floating a bit.  That worked pretty good.  Wish I could make a more balanced heart, guess that is why I love die cuts and punches so much.  They correct my work some…

In the end I was happy with the result.  I went ahead and did a touch of blending along the edge of the heart and the blue background.  This provided a bit of a border and gave some cool layering effects.  I went back around the lettering with a wink of stella brush which gave a bit of shadow, but also made the image appear almost blurred.  Interesting, but I still went with it.  I left it a single layer on the card base of watermelon wonder and there you go.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Country Livin’

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

There is something so calm about a nice long water coloring session.  When I found myself needing a break from putting away yet more wedding reception decorations I looked for this stamp set.  When I saw these boots. I knew I would love creating with it.  I was right.

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I honestly stamped just the boots in the lower right hand corner of the water color paper and started to layer color and distress it like crazy.  I can’t tell you how satisfying this card was to make.  I thought about putting a sentiment to it, but couldn’t find something that I thought worked well enough.  So I decided to leave it as an all occasion card.  I have adorable country girl friends that would enjoy this card just as much as any man.  And it is always great to have a great masculine card on hand, especially an all occasion one.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Thank You, Friend

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Did I take a few days off?  Well, not really.  My son recently got married and just last weekend we had a reception in our backyard to celebrate.  I thought I could keep things going, but I just had to get a bit more focused. Family always comes first.  Then you have the lovely friends that support and make everything come together.  I have several such friends and I couldn’t be more grateful.

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Could these two adorable friends be any more wonderful?  They come on one stamp and make the perfect pair.  I decided to put several of the new in-colors to work to show them off.  The elephant is painted in sweet sugarplum, the mouse in peekaboo peach and the ground painted in emerald envy.  The sky background needed something different, so I went with soft sky.  Yup, just what the card needed.  Nothing else was needed, no ribbon, no distressing or anything else.

I mounted the water color on a separate piece of sweet sugarplum cut to provide a narrow 1/8th inch border and then raised up on dimensionals.  This is just the type of card I would love to get, but even more, love to give.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Lots of Love

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I had this little treasure ready for yesterday, but never got to share it.  I guess that is what happens when you are this close to throwing a reception for your child. And yes, that would be today.  I was obviously thinking about them and how sweet they are together.

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This focal image is taken from a new host set called Love You Lots.  I am not usually one to go for whimsical images, but this set was way too cute.  I stamped these guys on water color paper and proceeded to take my time.  The background went through phases, several of them, then I finally just had to stop.  My girls were happy with how it turned out, but I am still a bit unsure.  Either way, here you go.

I wish I could just sit at my desk and water color my day away, but this household has a list of many last minute things to be done.  Some were pushed from other to do lists, but the day of the big event has things that can’t be done any earlier.  These are tasks of joy though, absolute joy.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Love, Love, Love…

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

When the new catalog comes out each year I do a quick scan for the super obvious favorites. Here is the first one that was an absolute must have.  To be honest, I focused so much on the adorable jars and lettering I didn’t notice just how huge the stamp set was.  Well, it is amazing.  Talk about options.  I could do a series just using this set and have tons of projects, all looking unique.

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I began by creating a background using marina mist ink on water color paper.  I have been using quite a bit of designer series paper lately and missed making some of my own.  I do feel better now.  After it was all painted and distressed I moved onto the jars.  I could hardly wait.

They were stamped in marina mist on whisper white paper then cut out using the matching framelit pieces.  I do love perfect little images all ready to go.  They were layered a bit, but you can still easily see that they all say love on the front.  I am still in wedding mode and the card reflects this.  I will be hanging dozens of mason jars below several of my trees today that will get candles and create a lovely look.  The couple is already so wonderful, I just want a beautiful evening for them and all of our friends.  Just two days away!

I did a tiny bit of stamping inside.  The small jar was used but stamped off once to give it a lighter look and allow me to write over it if needed.  Then, I stamped with silver encore ink a wrapped string to match the front.  I went back and added large basic rhinestones on the metallic thread and thought it was perfect.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Layering Love with Dapper Denim

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When I got done complaining that they were changing out the square framelit set with another one I was pleasantly surprised.  Coordinating scalloped squares, how very thoughtful!  This also helped me not be so sassy about the wonderful scallop circle punches being retired.  There are always adjustments when it comes to new catalogs, products and plenty of favorites retiring.

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The card front was stamped with the Brushstrokes background stamp using the new dapper denim in-color.  I then spritzed it with water until the ink started to move around, let it sit for a bit, dabbed it with a paper towel and then dried it with my heat tool.  All done!

A quick stamp, but a lovely one, cut out with a new framelit, echoed with some more dapper denim in a scalloped framelit and layered up on dimensionals.  Of course I had to use more of that new wonderful ruched ribbon.  Dangerous stuff there.  I can usually control my ribbon purchasing for me and my club ladies, but I don’t know about this time.

The inside was stamped with a bunch of tiny little anchors to fill opposing corners.  It is also part of the same stamp set, which has several fabulous sentiments to be enjoyed.  I think today is a wonderful stamping day.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Farewell Swallowtail

~ moanaj ~ 4 Comments

I have loved this stamp for so long.  It is sad to say that it will retire at the end of this month.  However, there is a stash of stash of retired stamps that I cannot part with.  This is definitely going to join those.  Other retired ones I sell off, but ones that are just too wonderful get to stay out with the current product.  Kind of like a wise old tree.

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The butterfly was stamped on a piece of masked water color paper in black stazon.  The color pallet was different, but intentional.  I picked colors that would create interesting blends with the idea that none of the original painting would  stay to true color.  A lot of blending went on here.  I painted coordinating sections first without blending.  After I added crushed curry I kept with that color and used it to begin blending the edges the color sections.  I just did that until I was happy.

The background was painted in mint macaron, darker to one side trying to create a bit of a shadow.  Distressing had to happen here and boy did it.  I flicked water, dabbed it up, and repeated that process again until I was satisfied.  Then the gold wink of stella pen went to work in a few areas.  Again, hard to see, but it is there.  Use your imagination, where would you have painted light lines of gold glitter?

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Bohemian Work of Art

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Rich colors and exciting patterns, that is the theme for today.  In between wedding reception planning I have managed to create this lovely due.  Now I get to add this to the collection of card sets and greeting cards I am donating for a cub scout fundraising event tonight.  I get to share my work and clean out my stash at the same time!  I call that a win.

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The card began with the chevron stamp from the Work of Art set.  I didn’t really pay too close attention, just stamped it four times down a piece of water color paper.  The color pallet came from the bohemian designer series paper set, only leaving out the yellow tone. The focus was on bermuda bay and I started there.  Color was layered, sponged off, added, and distressed a ton until I was satisfied.  Then I did something that was new for me.  I hi-lighted some of the distress areas with my gold wink of stella brush pen.  That was super fun and I had a hard time stopping.

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The gift bag was made from a whole sheet of designer series paper.  I went for a wide stocky bag instead of my usual tall slender ones.  It is nice to change things up a little bit here and there, don’t you think?  The ribbon I had in rich razzleberry was just long enough to go around the bag top.  I do love using up product that is retiring before it actually retires.  I am not often that lucky.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Brushstrokes Through a Garden In Bloom

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

The ‘Brushstrokes’ background stamp finally made its way into my collection and I am wondering why I waited so long.  This project reminds me of a summer picnic.  The red checked table cloth, I think we have all had one at one time or another.

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I stamped vertically and then horizontally with real red on water color paper.  I did tape it off first to give me the extra border I love so much.  The flowers and butterflies were stamped in black stazon and followed with the second step stamps to fill them in. Additional painting was done to sharpen the color some and touches of silver got in as well.

I used half a sheet of cardstock for the card base and couldn’t leave the other half just sitting there, so I made a tiny box to go along.  The black butterflies were stamped with the same set and I scored each panel measuring 7/8″ and topped it with a baby bow.  Adorable. Now another set can be added to the donation collection for Saturdays scouting fundraiser.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

 

Awesomely Artistic with Watermelon Wonder

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The weekends seem to get busier all of the time.  I guess that is what happens when you have a child getting married soon.  Errands and then some.  I wouldn’t have it any other way though.  I enjoyed some relaxing time yesterday afternoon finishing this gift set I actually started Friday night.  Talk about being busy.

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With my love of water color, you would have thought the card came first.  Not this time.  I started with this awesome designer series paper and made an adorable gift bag.  You would think I had tons of gifts to give all of the time with the amount of bags I make, not true though.  I just love to make them.  I do share them with others though, usually as a gift to use for others.  They all find happy homes, I promise.

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I did try something new with the card though.  The dragonflies were stamped in versamark on the water color paper, not new there.  I used iridescent ice on them, also not new. However, using them together as a resist for water coloring is new.  As color was applied the resist was pretty neat, not as clean as embossing powder, but still holding up.  I decided to add silver ink as well and then it changed even more.  The silver ink clung to the images more than the watermelon wonder ink did.  The look is fantastic, don’t you think? I added a little bit of silver metallic thread and five clear sequins to finish off the look.  Just divine.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Corner Garden Bliss

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

As another catalog year comes to a close I have to be brave and say goodbye to the things that I have loved so much.  This card has so much of that in it.  The stamp, and three of the colors.  A very sad farewell indeed.

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I masked a piece of water color paper and stamped the floral image in black stazon ink.  I have loved this stamp so much.  I do think it will stay with me even when it isn’t available to purchase.  The only color I wanted for the flower petals was blackberry bliss.  So, that meant some had more color than others and they all got special treatment to make them look unique but coordinated.

Before I painted the leafs and stems I applied the soft sky background.  I knew that mossy meadow would cover easily and I still wanted to allow it to blend out a bit.  It worked like a charm.  The flower centers were painted in hello honey and allowed to blend out a bit into the flower.  After the painting was done I  just stared at it wondering how I wanted to distress it.  I didn’t want splatters or spots, but didn’t want to leave it either.

I decided to use a spritzer and water.  Several sprays later I started to like what I was seeing. I did some sponging with a paper towel to lift off some color, then a neat thing happened. I took my damp, inky paper towel and sponged from the bottom to the top which brought a very light amount of blackberry bliss with it.  It looked pretty great so I went with it.  I bet I couldn’t recreate it though, but I will most certainly try.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Bermuda Bay Flourishes

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I was wondering how it would look to stamp on water color paper with one of my favorite stamps and then spritz it with some water.  Would I like the effect?  Would it keep enough of the images to be recognizable, or just turn into swirls of color.  It turned out somewhere in between and I like it.

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I stamped a few times with the largest flourish from the set and then a few more with the smallest one.  Then, I just spritzed about four times and watched the ink swirl a bit then dried it the rest of the way with my heat tool.  I think it will be a fun go to technique for background paper.

The butterfly punches were used to make a bunch of decorative elements for the card front and a couple for the inside.  All of the butterflies were raised up on dimensionals, sponged and curled some with a bone folder.  Pearls were used on all of the butterflies and the smallest pearls were placed all over the card front.  Those tiny details make the difference.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

City By the Bay

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Wouldn’t you love a view of the city like this?  Well, my view is a whole lot more country, but I would one day love to be able to enjoy one like this.  I might have to settle for occasional holiday trips, but it would still be wonderful.

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I put quite a bit of planning into this project.  I had to think backwards in order to keep the layers straight.  I embossed my whisper white piece with elegant dots and used the recessed side to make my ‘wall’.  I inked up my sponge and just pounced in here and there to create this look.  I kept going until it looked more like a textured wall than a piece of embossed paper.  The edges got sponged.

The hearth and home thinlit of the window was used twice.  Once to create the hole in the wall and again to make the window frame.  I glued the white one to the tip top taupe one with tombo liquid glue and nestled it back into place with the card front.  That way it looked raised up without a lot of fuss.

The skyline was created with the calling all heroes set.  It was stamped with black stazon onto water color paper.  The texture of the paper made it look really neat.  I went to work on the water line and then moved up to the sunset.  The windows were colored in with gold wink of stella, even though you can’t tell as much, they do sparkle.  That was centered in the window and got a heavy dose of dimensionals.  I am sure I could have worked it out easier if I had thought a bit more, but sometimes a creative journey takes a few extra turns.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Sandlot Inspired Card

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

What sandlot do you think I am referring to?  Well, the awesome kids movie about baseball and friendship of course.  This movie was just watched in the P.E. classes at the school I work at and I thought of a card to go with it.  New for me, a movie inspired card.  It was sure a lot of fun to create.

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The card base and the fence is made from soft suede.  I stamped the hardwood image in early espresso and sponged the planks as well.  I also punched out a knot in the wood with the 1/4″ hand held punch to make a spot for a peephole.  So cute!  The grass is from a strip of garden green, snipped with the fringe scissors and sponged with early espresso as well.

The light paper is water color as well as the tiny little baseball in the grass.  It was a bit tricky to get the fence in the right place to let the boys peek over, but I did okay.  The interesting part was stamping an image to let a boy peek through the hold in the fence.  I think it would have been easier to just draw with a pen instead of trying to adjust my stamp, but I ended up having to do both anyway.

I glued the grass in place with tombo and placed the baseball in the grass with half a dimensional.  I did water color the ball a bit and sponge it too.  I had to hold it with tweezers during the sponging, such a small piece.  I totally had to fussy cut that one out. The 1/2″ circle punch was just too big, bummer.  I did some water coloring with soft sky on the background, pink pirouette on their faces and used markers to color in the rest.  It was a bit of work, but it turned out great.  I think it would be a great card to give along with the movie, don’t you think?

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Beautiful Ride for Newlyweds

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It may be hard to tell, but there are an absolute ton of colors going on here.  I had a blast working on this set.  When I finally finished I was a bit surprised to see how late it got, but it was worth it for sure.  I love making wedding cards just for special people in your life. This one is no different.

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I worked the colors to create a sunrise look and I think it turned out really nice.  I was having a chocolate craving last night, so I settled for chocolate chip paper.  Not quite delicious, but it still worked out.  That led me to marina mist for the car color. From there everything else just came together.

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I wanted a gift bag to go along with the card to give the gift card something to go in.  I think I will put a tiny selection of rich chocolates around it, wouldn’t you like to get a treat too? Opening gifts can be exhausting for a newlywed couple, so they deserve a sugar boost along the way.

The details in this set are really busy and probably hard to notice.  I think a project like this should look simple even if you know better.  Not everyone knows how much work goes into a tiny work of art like this, but that doesn’t stop me from sharing them.  Just a few more weeks and this card will find its way to the deserving adorable couple.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

June Weddings and a Sheltering Tree

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Planning a wedding and the receptions to follow can be an exciting time, although very stressful.  Wanting everything to be wonderful, people to be happy, and a general feeling of love in the air.  Sometimes things, or even people, get in the way.  Everyone needs someone to shelter them from stress and frustration.  That is this tree this morning.

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I am fortunate enough to have a son getting married this June to an absolutely wonderful woman.  It couldn’t be more wonderful.  The way this card looks is how I am attempting to transform my yard.  There will be other things too, really awesome stuff. but this look is all around.  My brain is full of wedding ideas these days.  No escaping it.

I stamped the tree base in black stazon and the leaves in mossy meadow.  The night sky is painted with night of navy.  I also painted the grass in mossy meadow.  I stamped sparkly flowers from the same set in versamark and added white embossing powder.  I added touches of daffodil delight around the ‘flowers’ to give them a bit of a glow.  They will be sparkly lights after all, and candles a plenty.  Wheeee!  There goes the wedding brain again.

I used tombo to glue the painting on another piece of night of navy card stock that has just a 1/8th” border.  Then that combination was layered onto a card base also in night of navy with plenty of dimensionals.  I left any sentiment off as well as additional embellishments. I couldn’t decide on any, so there you have it.

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Have a creative day!

Moana