A Blast!

One night I sat down to make a special card for a special person. No real occasion - just something to tell her how much fun I have when I'm with her. This is what I came up with:

As you can see, I used my Big Shot on the background... it made for some great polka-dots! I also used the new Eyelet Border punch - it was my first time using it and I really like it! I enjoy watercoloring, and this was no exception. I didn't get too fancy, except to add a little sparkle. Here's a closer look:

One thing I'm doing a lot more of these days is actually giving away the cards I make! Like many other crafters I know, sometimes it's hard for me to part with something I spent so much time and creative energy on. But oh, the joy of actually giving it away!! It's far more rewarding! Give it a try... dig out all those cards you have stashed up... take a picture of them if it helps you... and then GIVE THEM AWAY to the special people in your life!

Card Recipe:
Stamp Set: Pun Fun
Ink: Black StazOn
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Confetti White
Accessories: Whisper White Taffeta ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds
Tools: Eyelet Border punch, Big Shot, Texturz Plate, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Glue Pen

On This Special Day...

Every year, on this day, I think about a very special person. My high school sweetheart, Scott, was born this day 40 years ago. We dated for 7 years, kept each other out of a lot of trouble, and were just the best of friends. Although we took different directions in our lives after I moved to Texas, he and his family have always remained in my heart. Scott and I never kept in touch much after we both married our spouses, but I have always sent a Thanksgiving card to his parents to let them know that I still think about them all.

Unfortunately, Scott lost a battle with cancer and passed away when he was only 35. It was a heart-wrenching funeral for me... and even writing this brings tears to my eyes.



So once again, I will send the card. I will let them know how much they all mean to me... I hope Scott knows too.

Card Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Autumn Harvest, Best Yet
Ink: Black StazOn, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip Textured, Pumpkin Pie, Watercolor Paper
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Wide Grosgrain ribbon
Tools: Large Oval punch, 1/4" Circle punch, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Cutter Kit, Versamarker, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Loads of Love

My friends and I are wanting to thank some childcare workers who so lovingly care for our boys each week (between us we have 8 boys). My sweet 2-year old Maddox literally RUNS into their arms - and that says A LOT about the way these women nurture our boys. They are two dear, sweet ladies, and a true blessing in my life. What better way to express that than with a homemade card, and what better set to use than the old standby, Loads of Love?!

These adorable trucks were watercolored with an Aquapainter and the Watercolor Wonder Crayons - except for the hearts, where I used the Riding Hood Red ink pad lid. Remember what I said in this post about how the ink pad lids give you a more vibrant color? These cards are the perfect example... the trucks are a softer color coming from Watercolor Wonder Crayons, and the hearts are more vibrant, coming from the ink pad lid. I chose to keep the trucks softer, because I wanted to draw attention to the hearts. Oh, and don't forget that you can get a single Aquapainter this month for only $7.25 - that's a great savings, and one is really all you need. No minimum purchase, no limits, but only while supplies last.

I knew I wanted to put some ribbon on these cards, but I struggled with it because it was too much when laid across the whole card. I knew I just wanted a touch of ribbon... and voila! The perfect solution presented itself!

One of my favorite things about these cards are the fun new Clips Assortment that is in the current catalog (#112580, pg. 184, $6.95). These things are so stinkin' cute!! I love the little chunky paperclip - which is what I used on the cards above. It provided the perfect way to tie on just a touch of ribbon. Another one of my "gotta have" products!!

Thanks for visiting, friends... Have a blessed weekend!

Card Recipe:
Stamp Set: Loads of Love
Ink: Black StazOn, Riding Hood Red
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue, Watercolor Paper, Banbury DSP
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon, Clips Assortment
Tools: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Cutter Kit

Between Friends

I hope you liked all of my Christmas card designs! I had to keep them simple so they are easy to mass produce, but hopefully there's something there for everyone.

You will recognize the following two cards, as one of the Christmas cards is the same design. I actually made these two first, and liked them so much, I decided to add it to the Christmas line-up. The first one was for a dear friend of mine, and the second is for my neighbor's (and upline!) birthday. I used textured cardstock on these, whereas I didn't for the Christmas card, only because I can't buy textured cardstock in bulk.


Both of these flowers were colored with an Aquapainter and the ink pad lids. When you want a rich, vibrant look like this, it's always best to go with straight ink... the Watercolor Wonder Crayons are fabulous as well, but won't give you this strong of a color. I will also mention that you need to be mindful of what type of cardstock you are using when you use an Aquapainter. Watercolor paper is, of course, the best to use, but you can also get away with using Confetti papers as I've done here. It all depends on how much "play" you need. For these flowers, I only used one color, so I didn't need a lot of time to blend... therefore the Confetti paper provided enough time for me to get the varied shade. Oh, and ALWAYS use StazOn ink when you're going to be adding water! Otherwise, you won't be too pleased with the look... trust me!

The sentiments were inked with my Stampin' Write markers and punched with the Designer Label punch. I just love this new Best Yet Hostess Level I set! ...in my opinion, it's one of the best ones yet! :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend...

Card Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Wonderful You, Best Yet
Ink: Black StazOn, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Lavender Lace
Cardstock: Old Olive, Ruby Red, Lavender Lace, Confetti Cream
Accessories: Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon
Tools: Designer Label Punch, 1/8" Circle punch, Aquapainter

Cheers to Tiffany!

Okay, so I really like this set... that's become obvious! (See this post and this post to prove it.) And to think, I RARELY even drink! I think I just love the delicate lines of these drinks - they're really fun to watercolor! And maybe it's because I can be sort of a bartender of my own and make them whatever color I want to! Here's the birthday card I sent to my friend, Tiffany, over at My Crafty World:

Again, I don't normally use bright colors, but as you can see, I didn't let that stop me here! If I remember correctly (I really should write these recipes down before I mail the cards!), this is Summer Sun and Barely Banana paired up with Tempting Turquoise. Once again, I let the color of the drink pick my cardstock for me... isn't it fun?! And look how nicely the orange slice from Tart & Tangy acts as a lemon for the background! Here's a closer look at the drink:

Hmmm, so obviously this drink has some Blue Curacao in it, you think?! (okay, I admit, I had to Google that to get the name right. I don't drink, remember?!) I have no idea if you'd put a lemon on the side of it, or a cherry for that matter, but hey, this was MY creation. And the beauty of that is that I can add whatever I want to it!

So there, Tiffany, I designed this drink just for you! I'll even let you name it. Hope you had a dynamite birthday!

Drink Recipe (to the best of my recollection):
Stamp Sets: Cheers to You, Tart & Tangy, Heard from the Heart
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Black StazOn
Cardstock: Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise, Barely Banana, Confetti White
Accessories: Tempting Turquoise Narrow Grosgrain ribbon
Tools: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Horizontal Slot punch, Dimensionals

Cheers to You!

I recently completed this card for my swap group, and it's in the mail. We were asked to choose a set to use that is brand new, and I chose Cheers to You. I look forward to seeing all the fantastic creations I will receive in return!

I don't normally use bright colors, but I think they're growing on me... this is Green Galore and Gable Green paired up with Basic Gray. I chose them based on the color I used for the yummy margarita! And speaking of which, take a closer look at this detail:

The salt across the top of the glass is actually some Chunky Essentials! I just made a thin line of glue with my Tombow Adhesive and then sprinkled on some of the crystals. Quick and easy, and really made a difference.

Hmmm... who's in the mood for a margarita? :)

Drink Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Cheers to You, Classic Stripes Background
Ink: Versamark, Black StazOn
Cardstock: Green Galore, Basic Gray, Gable Green, Confetti White
Accessories: Chunky Essentials, Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon
Tools: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Photo Corners punch, Paper Piercer & Mat, Designer Label punch, Horizontal Slot punch, Tombow Adhesive

A Sorry Froggie

Happy September, everyone... Yes, it's the first of the month. And yes, that usually means a new batch of Stamp-a-Stack cards. But yes, this was a holiday weekend. And yes, I was out of town, again. So no, there are no Stamp-a-Stack cards to share this time. In fact, I am re-thinking my direction on Stamp-a-Stack and may not have them this month - at least not in the format you are used to. I'm still giving it some thought, so I will be letting you know the outcome as soon as I get it all figured out.

In the meantime, a good friend of mine needed my help. Her adorable little boy uncharacteristically bit one of his little friends. She wanted to send the little girl a card, and she admitted that I've ruined her from store-bought cards (yippee!!!)... but she didn't have the right supplies to make a cute little apology card herself, so I stepped in. This is what I made for her to send:

This is using one of our new sets, called A Flower For All Seasons. It has 4 cute little stamps, and I thought this was the perfect one for a little boy to send to a little girl, what with that cute little frog and all! I watercolored it with my Aquapainter and beloved Watercolor Wonder Crayons. Here is a closer look:

I normally don't use retired items in the cards I show you, but I must confess that I did use part of a sentiment from Unfrogettable ... "sorry" about that! The full recipe is below. A simple card for a very specific occasion... isn't it nice to be able to whip something up for circumstances like this?! A homemade card is often times the best way to sum up your feelings when a spoken apology just doesn't seem like enough.

Recipe for an Apology:
Stamp Sets: A Flower For All Seasons, Unfrogettable (retired)
Ink: Black StazOn
Cardstock: Apricot Appeal, Textured Pumpkin Pie, Confetti White
Accessories: Certainly Celery Wide Grosgrain ribbon
Tools: Scallop Edge punch, 1/16" Circle punch, Small Oval punch, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter

The Set I HAD to Have!

As soon as I turned the page in the catalog to the new Under the Stars set, I gasped and knew I HAD to have it! It was first on my list... so you'll be seeing more. (Edited to add: How could I forget to mention that this set is currently 15% off?! This is through September 30th - see this post for details. Thanks, Tabitha, for reminding me!) Here's the first thing I made with it:

This is a gate fold, where it opens from both directions. I think you normally see it vertical, but I did mine horizontal. The bear is only attached at the top and he comes down to rest on the bottom fold. You'll notice that I used the sentiment from Wild About You, which I thought was appropriate! And oh, those skeeters with the spray... just TOO CUTE!! Here is the inside with space for another sentiment or a hand-written note:

Brent Steele, Stampin' Up!'s VP of Creative Services, created a fabulous card for us at convention using this set - he had the bear's arms flapping up and down with a pull tab like in a children's book. He was swatting at all those skeeters! Perhaps I can duplicate it someday.

Thanks for visiting!

Card Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Under the Stars, Wild About You
Ink: More Mustard, Black StazOn
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Naturals Ivory, More Mustard
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Wide Grosgrain ribbon, Vintage brads
Tools: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Large Oval punch

Cheers to Mark!

My brother, Mark, just got a great new job and I wanted to send him a card to congratulate him. Nothing suits the occasion better than a nice, cold mug of beer!!

This card was made with a couple new things - the Classic Stripes background stamp and the new Cheers to You stamp set! Love it! Not only can you make masculine cards like this, you also have some girl-y martini glasses, tropical drink glasses, and some elegant champaign glasses! I can see this for invitations for girls night out, luaus, wedding cards, New Years cards, and more! What a fun set. Just knew I had to have it!

If you notice the old Print Pattern in the background on the Night of Navy, it's only because I stamped like 50 of those a while back for a project that never panned out... I'm still trying to use them up!

Card Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Classic Stripes background, Cheers to You
Ink: Black StazOn, Versamark, Night of Navy
Cardstock: Night of Navy, More Mustard, Bordering Blue, Confetti White
Accessories: Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, More Mustard Narrow Grosgrain ribbon
Tools: Designer Label Punch, Photo Corners Punch, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Stamping Sponge

July Ribbon Share

I don't think I've posted this information here on my blog yet... my July Ribbon Share is in full swing! I've got several groups already full, but I don't want to leave anyone out! It was mentioned in my latest Stamp Link Newsletter, but if you don't subscribe, then you wouldn't know. You can subscribe by following the link down in the left sidebar, by the way.

In any case, I'm doing the other 8 colors of Narrow Grosgrain. This includes Basic Black, Very Vanilla, More Mustard, Pretty in Pink, Bravo Burgundy, Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, and Mellow Moss. You will receive approximately 3 yards of each color for a total of $12.00. If you are interested in participating, I'll need to know by July 20th! Anyone in the US can participate - demonstrator or not. Contact me right away and I'll send over an invoice.

Now for a card using one of these colors. I made this one before my Scottish guests arrived... I'm still just trying to get caught up!

I watercolored this beautiful butterfly with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aquapainter using mostly Elegant Eggplant. The image comes from Touch of Nature which is going to retire in a couple weeks. The sentiment was colored with Stampin' Write Markers so I could make the "One" part stand out. Of course, those Rhinestone Brads are attention-getters all on their own!

Recipe:
Stamps Sets: Touch of Nature, One of a Kind
Ink: Black StazOn, Basic Black & Elegant Eggplant Stampin' Write Markers
Cardstock: Old Olive, Basic Black, Bali Breeze DSP, Watercolor Paper
Accessories: Basic Black Narrow Grosgrain ribbon, Ice Rhinestone Circle brads
Tools: Large Oval punch, Cutter Kit, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter

Touch of Nature

I'm back! How did y'all enjoy your eScape day?! Wow... how liberating that was! As much as I wish life were simple and slow, forcing myself to go without my electronic devices was very difficult! Darn them for inventing them in the first place, I say! Ah well, such is life in the 21st century.

In any case, I did spend some time working on some cards. I can't wait to show you those, but first, I'll show you this one I made earlier in the week.

This uses another retiring set, Touch of Nature, and the sentiment comes from Summer by the Sea. I watercolored the bird - I was aiming for a robin... did I do okay?

Maybe I have my birds mixed up, but I was thinking that robins have these rich colored tummies? In any case, I'm pleased with how it turned out... call it whatever kind of bird you want!

Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Touch of Nature, Summer by the Sea
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Black StazOn
Cardstock: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Confetti Cream, Afternoon Tea DSP
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Twill Ribbon, Aquapainter, Watercolor Wonder Crayons

Happy Fathers Day

I hope everyone had a glorious Father's Day! We sure did... the weather was beautiful (HOT, but beautiful), and we were all together. Just me and all my boys (Michael included)! Here is the card I gave to Michael today:

Oh, it felt so good to do some watercoloring! And this is absolutely one of my favorite sets to watercolor... it's called Summer By the Sea, and although it's not currently in the catalog, it IS still available. It costs $28.95 and includes 6 gorgeous stamps. Here's a close-up of the watercoloring:

Now, one of the other stamps I used on this card is the Flannel Plaid background stamp - a wonderful one to use on masculine cards. But I must mention that it is one of the stamps included on the Retiring List that was just posted today. I will be posting that list in just a little bit... but for now, let me give you the full recipe for this card:

Stamp Sets: Summer by the Sea, Flannel Plaid
Ink: Night of Navy Craft, Brocade Blue Classic, Black StazOn
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Bravo Burgundy, Brocade Blue, Watercolor Paper
Accessories: Linen Thread, Bravo Burgundy Eyelets, Clear Embossing Powder
Tools Used: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Crop-a-Dile, Mat Pack & Paper Piercer, Heat Tool, Stamping Sponge, Cutter Kit

Now I will post the retirement list... stay tuned!

Embrace Life

I've been working on those 20 homemade cards I'm committed to sending out in June (read this post for an explanation!)... and here's one that I made for our friends in Mexico whom we stayed with last weekend.

This card uses the Embrace Life stamp set. I had never used it before this card, but I like it!! My friend is partial to blues and browns, so I tend to use those colors when I make a card for her. I watercolored the flower with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aquapainter... seems like it's been awhile since I've done that, so it was nice to get them back out. Everything else is pretty self-explanatory, so I'll just leave you with the recipe!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Sets: Embrace Life, Artfully Asian (for the sentiment)
Ink: Versamark, Bordering Blue, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Confetti White, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Bordering Blue
Accessories: Ruby Red brads, Chocolate Chip Twill Ribbon, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Stamping Sponge, Ruby Red Stampin' Write Marker

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!!

A Butterfly in the Window

I love butterflies... I decided to make a card with a striking butterfly, so I pulled out an older set - Touch of Nature - to see what I could do with it. Here's what came about:

The base card is Blush Blossom, with a layer of Ruby Red on top that has been randomly stamped using Versamark ink and a stamp from the same set. The sentiment comes from it too, and was stamped with Basic Black. I sponged the edges of the Ruby Red to age it a bit.

The butterfly is stamped onto a piece of Confetti Cream cardstock using black StazOn ink and then watercolored using the ink pad lids and a Watercolor Brush. I used very little water on this one because I wanted a vibrant look. This photo doesn't do it justice - I wish you could see him in real life... the colors are Ruby Red, More Mustard (the combination of which turns to a gorgeous orange), and Close to Cocoa for his body. I sponged the edges of this piece, too, and added some More Mustard Grosgrain ribbon to draw out the yellow in the butterfly.

Then I mounted him on the inside of the card with Dimensionals so he could pop up through a window that was cut slightly larger than he is. I wish I could say this was easy to do, and that I could give you a couple sentences with dimensions, etc... but the truth is, I just had to play with it until it worked! I know I held the Ruby Red on top of the card base and punched the window using my 1 1/4" Square Punch (much easier than using an xacto knife), but I had to play with it a bit to get the size just right. Then I trimmed the Blush Blossom piece a bit more so that it was framed with Ruby Red from the inside.

Just a fun card I enjoyed messing around with! For those of you here in the states, enjoy the 3-day weekend!

Inspired by a Dragonfly

I told you I'd show you that old card that I used as inspiration for one of this month's Stamp-a-Stack cards... here it is:

Again, I do not remember where I originally saw this (I made this over a year ago, I think), but it is very much CASEd! This gorgeous dragonfly came from the now retired Measure of a Life set. (I still have a brand new one available if anyone's interested! You can see the details here.) The background stamps were Linen and French Script (both also retired). The colors here are Basic Black, Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, and Confetti Cream. I watercolored the dragonfly with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aquapainter, and then sponged the whole cream piece with some Chocolate Chip ink. There's a few pieces from Hodgepodge Hardware, along with some ivory Organdy ribbon (also retired).

It may have mostly retired products, but this was one of those cards I just couldn't ever give away. It's one of my favorites.

A Week of Pun Fun - Day 3

Oh, isn't this fun? It's PUN Fun! :) Here is my 3rd card made using this wonderful set...

This one is for your best girlfriends... the ones you like to hang out at Starbucks with. I'm not even a coffee drinker and I still had fun making this. I love the combination of blues and browns, and I knew immediately that's the combo I would use for this one.

The base is Bordering Blue, sponged and stamped with the Sanded background using Bordering Blue ink. Then there's a layer of Chocolate Chip and some Berry Bliss DSP. The little teacup (or coffee cup in this case) was stamped with black StazOn ink onto Watercolor paper and colored using Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aquapainter. Then I started playing around with a Ruby Red piece from my Word Window punch and look what it turned out to be! A kiss and a hug, which is quite fitting for this sentiment! I made them stand out more with a White Gel Pen and then finished the card off with a little Button and some Linen Thread.

Hope you like it! And for all my loyal readers out there... I love you a latte!

PS: Have I convinced you yet?! Well you're gonna flip over tomorrow's card! It's my personal favorite so far. Remember that on Saturday I will announce an extra bonus for anyone who purchases this set from me! And also don't forget that when you purchase this set you will receive the coordinating Sweet Stars Jumbo Wheel for FREE!

Angels Among Us

I write this post with a heavy heart. My dear friend, Angela, told me today about a friend of hers who recently lost her 2-year old son, Nate, in a tragic accident. Angela's sister, Lisa Bearnson, wrote about it in her blog - read it here.

...If ever I wanted to make a homemade card, now is the time. As a fellow mom of 3 boys, my heart breaks for Nadine and her family. With a heavy heart and tears in my eyes, I set to work immediately. This is the card I will be sending to Nadine.

I used the Summer by the Sea stamp set again - remember it is not in the current catalog, but it is not retired. I stamped it onto Watercolor paper with StazOn ink and colored it using Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aquapainter. The edges were roughed up using the Cutter kit. Here is a closer look:

The base card is Chocolate Chip, and the layer of Kraft on top is stamped with the Sanded background stamp and sponged using Close to Cocoa ink. The sentiment comes from Close as a Memory, stamped in Not Quite Navy ink. Some Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain ribbon and a few pieces from my Hodgepodge Hardware finish it off, along with a small flower from my Pretties Kit.

I encourage you to do what we do best... send a hug in an envelope to someone who could really use it.

Loads of Easter Wishes

I'm HOME! Wow... what a wonderful trip - despite all the illnesses. It's good to be home. Anyone want to help with the laundry? :o)

Here's another card we made at my Watercolor Wonder Club class. I'm going to show you two versions, but we made the first one. Both cards were made with the Loads of Love and Loads of Love Accessories stamp sets, and I taught the ladies in the club how to use the Stamp-a-ma-jig so their images would be perfectly lined up. (I can teach you how to use it too! Visit this tutorial.) They were stamped with black StazOn ink onto Watercolor paper and then colored with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aquapainter. The edges were then roughed up with the Cutter Kit.

This first one is the one we made in class and it's done on Brocade Blue cardstock with a layer of So Saffron on top. The Saffron cardstock was wheeled with the Rough Texture jumbo wheel using So Saffron ink. The sentiment on this card was stamped with Night of Navy ink, but I think Brocade Blue would've looked better. I added a layer of roughed up Brocade Blue behind the truck on this one because I cut the Watercolor Paper a tad too short and it needed something to help it take up the excess space. I finished this one off with some of that gorgeous Brocade Blue wide grosgrain ribbon.

This is another version of the same card using Ruby Red and More Mustard. The eggs in the back of this truck were colored with Stampin' Write markers instead of Watercolor Wonder Crayons. I used the Tag punches for the sentiment (stamped in Wild Wasabi) and tied it to some Wild Wasabi double stitched ribbon using Linen Thread.

I can't believe it is almost Easter!

Oh, by the way, I just added a new tutorial to the list at left. It's on how to make those Treat Boxes I made for Valentine's Day (see this post). You can view the tutorial here. Enjoy!

Watercoloring on Vellum

Aloha once again! I am pleased to report that things are much better by way of our health - thank you for your prayers and well wishes. There's nothing worse than being on a beautiful vacation when someone in the family is sick... except when your mother calls and says she's on the way to the emergency room with your baby. Yes, on Thursday Mom had to take baby Maddox in because he could not keep anything down and had been throwing up for almost 5 days. Needless to say, I was wracked with worry, hating that I was this far away from him. But the outcome could not have been better. Much to everyone's amazement, he was NOT dehydrated and they did not have to run an IV. Praise God! They said it was excess mucus causing the vomiting. Medication has cleared that up and I am happy to say he has been steadily improving. My middle son is better, too. So all is well here in paradise. :o)

Enough of that... thanks for hanging with me. Here's another card we did at my Watercolor Wonder class.

This one is a beautiful technique called Stained Glass where you watercolor on Vellum cardstock. Simply stamp the image onto the vellum using black StazOn ink, give it a few seconds to dry, then turn it over and watercolor on the back! You can use Stampin' Write markers, but I used the Watercolor Wonder Crayons - the Soft Subtle family. To really let the colors stand out, I mounted the vellum onto a piece of Naturals White using Silver brads.

This stamp set, called Summer by the Sea, is not currently in the catalog, but it is still available for purchase (#104243 $28.95). It is one of those beautiful sets that just begs to be watercolored! The base card here is Almost Amethyst (edges sponged), along with a touch of Mellow Moss. I used Vanilla Grosgrain ribbon, which matches very well with the Barely Banana in the girl's dress. Check out that darling little flower slide on the ribbon! It comes from the NEW Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware set that is in the current mini catalog! The sentiment comes from the same stamp set using Almost Amethyst ink and punched with the 1-3/8" and 1-1/4" Circle Punches.

Well, my time here in Paradise is almost over... so I best go enjoy what we have left! The next time I post will more than likely be from Dallas once again... and I think we'll miss all the snow they've had!

Mahalo!