While convalescing from foot surgery (for the next 6-8 weeks!), my creative time is taking place on the couch in the form of watercolor.  It was easy to pack a bag of watercolor supplies prior to surgery so that I could have something to do that fills my creative spirit.

Today's piece is in three parts because I wanted to show the evolution of a simple 5x7 watercolor (Strathmore) and my thoughts on each phase.  I call these "blob" flowers because they start out by using water only to "paint" a random flower shape and then drop in watercolor.  The water blob dictates the flower shape.

The first photo shows the five "blobs" of random flower shapes in various positions using a (#12 Wonder Forest) round brush.  I dropped in light to dark paint (Kuretaki Gansai Tambi) and (maybe) overworked them a little bit while they were still wet.  It's hard to wait for layers to dry sometimes!  Next, I lightly painted in the stems and leaves with a (#8 Wonder Forest) smaller round brush.

When it was dry, I began the (agony) of determining whether to ink, wash in the background, or splatter.  I decided to ink first with a dipping pen and (in hindsight), I could have used a smaller pointed dip pen.  I'm new to using a dip pen and actually love it!  I've been a diehard Micron pen user and finally pushed myself to try something new.  So glad I did!

Next, I had two thoughts with this second step.  Cut it down to A2 size (not an option living here on the couch) or splatter.  Splatter won and it was next a decision of what color to use.  Black would be very grounding and overall, not a bad choice.  I channeled CeeCee's Creations, who I've followed for years, and went with gold to add subtle highlights.  Now it feels finished.

Hope you enjoyed today's "Painting From the Couch" and thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

LYN​

Today I'm posting on two challenge sites:

Seize the Birthday #244 - No Stamping
Shopping Our Stash #SOS476 - She Sells Seashells

As someone who is currently laid up on the couch having had foot surgery, I had the brilliant idea prior to my surgery to pack a bag of watercolor supplies while I convalesced on the couch.  Much to my delight, the above challenges fit perfectly within my limited resources for card making! 

After I finished the piece, I decided to hand tear the edges for a distressed vibe.  Since I can't actually stamp a sentiment and finish the card with cardstock (my craft room is on the second floor and I can't get there on crutches), I simply laid it on some hard kraft board for purposes of posting. 

​I think the name of this shell is a shark eye and I was inspired by a YouTube video by Maria Raczynska.  I used Kuretaki Gansai Tambi watercolors.

My favorite cardmaking medium is watercolor and here's my design for this month's Anything Goes challenge:

I was excited to open a brand new stamp set from Reverse Confetti called Dog Days along with utilizing a really cool Distress inking technique that creates a watercolor appearance.

​Here's my cutie patootie card:

For the background, I laid a white cardstock panel under an acrylic block that was larger than the panel so I could see exactly where to swipe the Distress ink rows of Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean and Tea Die.  The acrylic block was then spritzed with water and flipped over and pressed onto the cardstock panel really well. The block was removed from the cardstock to reveal the watercolor-y results!

And that is how easy this watercolor technique is done with Distress inks!  I love how irregular the result is.  To add a little more texture to the sandy area, I smooshed a Distress Vintage Photo cube onto a kraft mat and lightly spritzed with water.  I grabbed a small-ish round brush and splattered just the sandy area.

I had so much fun painting the little dog (who doesn't love dog images?) and the surf board on watercolor paper (Strathmore).  Though you can't see it, I added black Wink of Stella (Zig) to his sun glasses for a fun reflection.  Starfish (Catherine Pooler) were stamped with Versafine ink and diecut and glittered with a Quicky Glue Pen (Tombow).  Diecut stitched circle (A Muse Studio) and Wonky (Simon Says Stamp) border added additional interest.  Sentiment was from my stash and stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

LYN 

This week's challenge over at Make the Cards Challenge:

​Today I used something old and something new!

  I have an Altenew 3D embossing folder that I've (never used) that I chose as the focal portion of the card.  I used black Core'dinations (American Crafts) cardstock.  The sanding was done using the Core'dinations sanding block.  I can't tell you how long it's been since I used this paper and sanding tool!  The sentiment is also old (Hero Arts) and was inked with Versafine Onyx Black, trimmed and mounted with Scotch 3M foam tape.

This was a very quick and easy card yet it has a nice elegance to it.  I'm imagining re-creating this card using other Core'dinations colors of cardstock!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

LYN

My post today is about practicing (or playing as I like to think of it) the art of watercolor.  Painting a piece that is worthy of your walls (or for gifting or for selling) takes time.  You need time to warm up, to sketch a design, to let layers dry, to set it aside and come back later or another day.  In other words, being impatient and wanting to just get it done is probably not the best way to start a session.

Another very interesting point to this story is that after all three of these paintings were "finished," I ended up doodling them with my dip pen!  I've seen many professional artists use a dip pen (rather than a Micron pen) and I've been intrigued to try it myself.  Because I had a good attitude about practicing and playing, using my dip pen for the first time was a perfect scenario.

The other day, I felt like practicing painting flowers; specifically, roses (which I suck at) so I grabbed a reference from Pinterest and began practicing using Strathmore 5x7 watercolor paper.  The first piece is with the dreaded rose, which I ended up not being happy with.  Adding the doodling with my dip pen was just what it needed! 

​I painted a second piece and omitted the rose!  Since I was on a roll with my dip pen, I doodled this as well.  Both of these paintings will be made into cards in the near future.

The practice piece I painted today is in preparation for an upcoming art show.  My reference photo is of a spot on the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY.  The photo shows quite a few rocks (another dreaded difficult item to paint) but as I've learned along the way, I can paint (and interpret) a photo any way I want, which is exactly what I did.  This practice piece is 5x7 and I'll be attempting this again in a 9x12 size.

​Here's my reference photo:

And here's my interpretation:

I learned a lot by practicing (and playing) and now I have a plan for the larger piece!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

LYN

Today's sketch over at The Paper Players is one that I always enjoy, which is what prompted me to join in on the fun!  As I was posting my card I noticed the sketch has a framed panel around the card front that I didn't remember seeing originally.  That's the beauty of card challenges, it is up to ones own style and interpretation.

Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

I love black and white with any third color combination as they always looks great together!  However, the card design actually began with the daisy (Stampendous) as the focal point over the 2x5-1/2 inch black and white panel (Honey Bee The Bees Knees 6x6 pad).  The flower was stamped (Versafine Onyx Black) on watercolor paper (Canson) using a stamping platform (The Misti).  I freehand cut the stem and leaves from watercolor paper.  The fun began when I water colored all the pieces!  The painted and dry flower was then diecut.  Once the flower was mounted with foam mounting tape (Scotch 3M), I doodled the stem and leaves (No. 5 Micron Pen).  The sentiment (my stash) was stamped (Versafine Onyx Black) and diecut (ticket stubs Stampendous) with an additional larger diecut in black cardstock (FSJ) to ground the sentiment.  I am "so happy" with this sweet little card!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

LYN

I've been in a mood for card making and participating in card challenges recently.  Today I was inspired to participate in two challenges over at Seize the Birthday and Shopping Our Stash!  Seize the Birthday's challenge was to use specific colors of purples, blues and greens.  Shopping Our Stash's challenge was to use embellishments found in your stash. 

​Let's see how I interpreted both challenges in one card!

The entire card started with the little metal "wish" embellishment (Tim Holtz) as my inspiration.  Next, I dug out an old (never used!) Penny Black (Pop Pop Poppy) cling and then pawed through my Distress Ink Cubes for the desired color pallet.  I worked along taking the ink cube to the rubber and spritzing with water prior to stamping using The Misti (I made sure to grab two colors in each color for contrast) until I had the desired color of the image. 

I decided to add a vertical strip along the inside edge of the card for more interest.  To make the strip, I took a piece of scrap watercolor paper and, using the "smoosh technique" with Distress Inks, I individually smooshed each color using a Kraft mat (Tim Holtz) and drying with a heat tool in between color layers.  I cut the strip 1/2 x 5-1/2 inches and affixed to the inside edge.  I also cut the card front down to 3-3/4 x 5-1/2 inches to reveal the inside edge. 

Next I took a length of white seam binding and swiped Salty Ocean Distress Ink over the length of it and stuck it in a zip lock bag.  I gave it a few spritzes of water and worked it over with my fingers through the bag.  I dried it with a heat tool and rolled it up tight to really distress it.  The metal wish embellishment was threaded through the ribbon and tied on and wrapped in place.  Tiny gems added some sparkle to the sentiment.  The flower panel was affixed to the card front.  A quick splatter of Distress Ink filled in the background white space.

I'm entering into the following challenges:
Seize the Birthday:  #243 Color Challenge
Shopping Our Stash:  SOS475 - WTHeck Embellishments

Today I'm posting two cards to Make the Card Challenge #59 and they are so dissimilar, you'd think two different people made them!  I assure you, I made both designs and here's the back story ('cuz there's always a back story) about my card-making process!

When I read the challenge and saw the sketch layout, I immediately had several design ideas that I drew in my notebook.  I became absolutely fixated on the diagonal stripes and the sentiment placement over the stripes!  The first card turned out to be super easy and quick to make.  The second card was a very involved design and it surprised me that I went the Christmas in July route, which I rarely have the motivation in July to do!

Obviously, the first step of the watercolor stripe card was to paint the stripes!  I actually lightly drew one  pencil line for the first (orange) stripe.  Using a flat brush, I picked up paint and quickly painted a straight line free hand!  I decided to leave the tiniest space between each row (I did think about no spaces to allow the paint to blend, but I went with the safer choice).  Once dry, I found a nice and bold stamp (my stash, no manufacturer on acetate) that played well against the stripes (Versafine Onyx Black, The Misti).  The front panel was mounted on blue cardstock to pop the overall card and gems were added for interest (A Muse Studio).

Next up is the Christmas in July card that began with the diagonal woodgrain strips.  Prior to stamping the strips, I smooshed Distress Oxide inks (walnut stain, vintage photo) onto a piece of cardstock (FSJ Oatmeal Cookie) to add distress and then stamped the strips and cut out.  The card front was ink blended using Distress Oxide (Walnut Stain).  Basically, I was building the card from back to front over the woodgrain strips.  Diecut trees (Tim Holtz) on green cardstock (A Muse Studio) were layered next.  I used a gel pen to add .  Red crotchet thread (my stash) was wrapped around the card and tied in a bow.  The focal square box (same unknown manufacturer set) was also a scrap of smooshed inks with the sentiment glued on.  The diecut deer (Tim Holtz) was mounted with foam tape (Scotch 3M).  The final touch was a twig button that I hot glued onto the bow (my BIL made me actual twig buttons!)

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

LYN

Today I'm compiling watercolor cards that are inspired by my love of living in Florida, loving the ocean and loving watercolor.  Even though I also live in New York State, there's something about being in Florida that naturally inspires me to create ocean-themed cards and paintings.  I also love backgrounds and layering over whatever the background is, which is primarily how all of these card designs were created.  My favorite card is a failed watercolor that I chopped up to be incorporated into a background!

Diecut Watercolor
​(Memory Box Die, Reverse Confetti Sentiment, Stampendous Embossing Powder & Glitter, Quickie Glue Pen)

Birthday Watercolor Fish
​(Fun Stampers Journey, VersaMark Onyx Black Inkpad, Quickie Glue Pen, Stampendous Glitter)

Watercolor Background Shmoosh
​(A Muse Studio, Distress Inks, Quickie Glue Pen, Stampendous Glitter, VersaMark Onyx Black Inkpad)

Watercolor Background Recycle
​(Ellen Huston Stamp, VersaMark Onyx Black Inkpad, Quickie Glue Pen, Stampendous Glitter)

Mermaid Sparkle
​(Ellen Huston Stamp, VersaMark Onyx Black Inkpad, Quickie Glue Pen, Stampendous Glitter)

Products used on all cards:
Watercolor Paper (Canson), Card Bases (Hammermill Color, Copy, Cover), Stamping Platform (The Misti), Watercolor (various mediums from my stash), Distress Inks used on some backgrounds.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

LYN

​

Ever since I've been introduced to Cyanotype at The Hub on Canal by Judy Pickett, I have been out of my mind excited about this highly unexpected process that works with sunlight!  (Refer to my previous posts HERE and HERE.)  I have been particularly intrigued with wet cyanotype (vs. dry cyanotype) and today I had time to experiment further with it.  Here's the back story...

I have a guest room in Florida that needs something on the wall over the headboard and I thought the accent colors in the room would work beautifully with wet cyanotype; hence, my "vision."  The challenge with wet cyanotype is it's unbelievably inconsistent and you basically never know what your going to get. 

Well, I love a challenge and today was the day to test my vision!  I planned to create 3 prints that would play off each other and, as it turned out, 4 prints worked well together.

I wanted tropical natural plants for my prints but because I'm back in New York, I ended up buying really cool tropical dried florals at Hobby Lobby (with no idea if they would work!).  The other component I needed for the wet cyanotype process is ground Turmeric.  The water color papers were previously prepared ahead of time.

For the final result, the watercolor paper has to be rinsed under water to remove the photo solution and then allowed to dry.  The brown tones are the diluted turmeric!

I love how ghostly and layered these are!  Wish you could see these in person, they are gorgeous!  I can't wait to get them framed.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Lyn