Power Of Hope & Free As A Bird

Friday, 10 January 2020

Power Of Hope & Free As A Bird

A peaceful scene created with the Power Of Hope and Free As A Bird stamp sets

This rather peaceful card is a variation of another card I made recently with the Power of Hope stamp set - Free during Sale-A-Bration (bundled with a 3D embossing folder) with a purchase of $180.

The little birds resting on the Cherry Blossom Tree are from the Free As A Bird stamp set and the greeting is from Good Morning Magnolia.

I stamped the images and greeting with Saddle Brown Stazon ink and then watercoloured with the following inks:
Blueberry Bushel, Petal Pink, Seaside Spray, Soft Sea Foam, Pear Pizzazz, Real Red, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso.

TIPS:

I like to work out my composition on a scrap piece of paper before committing to my good cardstock. I draw an outline the same size as my finished piece .
Use watercolour paper - it's designed to handle the fluid and is, therefore, easier to work on and will give a better result. I have a cupboard full of a variety of watercolour papers but, for cardmaking, my favourite is definitely the Fluid 100 (see product list below) as it a good quality weight, has a smooth enough finish to support clean stamped images and is sufficiently bright.
Decide on colouring medium before commencing so that you can use an appropriate ink for stamping. IE if you decide to watercolour, use a waterproof, solvent based ink such as the Stazon I have used. If you're going to use alcohol inks for colouring, make sure you use a water-based ink for stamping - such as Memento Tuxedo Black or any of the Stampin' Up coloured inks.
I painted the "grass" area with water and then painted with quite diluted green ink - starting with Soft Sea Foam and then gradually adding some Pear Pizzazz towards the bottom. I added more pigment towards the bottom of the piece (the foreground) and for shadows since these areas are usually darker.
To maintain a cohesive colour palette - if I used a colour in one place, I also used it somewhere else. For example: the Early Espresso used for the lady's hair is also used for the deepest shade on the underside of the tree branch. Petal Pink appears for skin and cherry blossoms; Real Red is used for the roof, belt, parasol and in the cherry blossoms.
Unless you want them to bleed/blend one into the other, make sure adjoining areas are dry before painting.