30 Days Coloring Challenge - Day #5

Watercolor painting with a touch of the vintage style.

Penny Black April in Paris Stamp Set + Camlin Artists Watercolours + Zigs

Love,

Nandini

30 Days Coloring Challenge - Day #4

Simple watercolor painting today. For more tags or bookmarks

STAMPlorations New Beginning Stamp Set + Camlin Artists Watercolours

Love,

Nandini

30 Days Coloring Challenge - Day #3

 My experiments with underpainting continue. I do need time of practice before I get good. 

I will convert these into tags or bookmarks.

Lil' Inker Inky Flowers Stamp Set + Camlin Artists Watercolours

Love,

Nandini

30 Days Coloring Challenge - Day #2

Hi! I used the Hero Arts Delicate Blossoms stamp set and the Camlin Artists Watercolours. This is my first attempt at the artsy watercolor technique. I tried to follow the video tutorial by Erum Tasnim. 

Love,

Nandini

Rainbow Card Challenge #32– Temptingly Teal…

Hi! Welcome to another month at the Rainbow Card Challenges. We have a beautiful mood board for you.

I pulled out my watercolors for this one.

I started with a piece of watercolor paper and did some ink smooshing with my watercolors. The secret to getting a good smooshed background is drying the colors between layers. 

Once I was happy with my background, I allowed the paper to dry completely and then ran it through the Monstera Leaves 3D embossing folder by Altenew. I had covered one side of the embossing folder with Versamark ink. I heat embossed that side with metallic gold embossing powder.

The sentiment is from the Seasonal Blooms stamp and dies set by Altenew. This is part of the new Craft Your Life kit. I used scraps of paper from the watercolor panel to assemble it.

Here is another look at the completed card.

I hope you liked my card and are inspired to create something beautiful! Please do check out the Rainbow Card Challenge blog for more inspiration. And don’t forget to link your cards to our gallery. I look forward to seeing your beautiful creations.

Entering this card in the following challenge:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge:

Love,

Nandini

Slim-line Card | Watercoloring with Dye Inks

Hi! I am here today with my very first slim-line card. Slim-line cards are such a hot trend right now! I really enjoyed working with different proportions for my card.

I started with a piece of watercolor paper measuring slightly more than 3” x 8”. I stamped the flowers from the Fresh Cut Roses stamp set by Mudra Craft Stamps with Versamark and heat embossed with Sea Foam embossing powder by Ranger. I smooshed Lemon Yellow and Tangerine Orange Mai inks on my mat with some water and pressed the watercolor paper over it.

Once the paper was dry, I used the Mai inks to watercolor the flowers. These were the inks I used – Flamingo Pink, Fuchsia Pink, Ruby Red, Lilac, and Ultra Violet. For the leaves, I used a mix of distress inks and watercolors.

The sentiment is from the Wishing You stamp set by MudraCraft Stamps. I stamped it with Versafine Black Onyx ink. I used a black marker to extend the lines across the width of the card.

To assemble the card, I cut a piece of foam slightly smaller than my water-colored panel and adhered the two together. To finish, I popped up the piece on a dark green card base measuring 3½” x 8½”. The card base is from the Paperum range by Mudra.

Here is another look at the finished card.

I had fun making this card and look forward to making more slim-line cards in the future.

Entering this card in the following challenges.

Mudra Craft Challenge #35:

Yes...Virginia September Show and Share:

Love,

Nandini

 

Review of the Itsy Bitsy Stamp & Die Set...

Hi! I am here today to review the new Clear Stamp and Coordinating Die Set by Itsy Bitsy. You can find my previous reviews here, here and here. 

Itsy Bitsy recently launched 3 stamp sets along with their coordinating die sets under their brand Little Birdie. I selected the set called Florence which has beautiful roses along with buds and leaves. 

This set has 9 stamps and 9 dies. The price is only 999/- which makes this set very reasonable. The images are perfect for different coloring mediums. I loke that these are plenty of leaves. So building a floral cluster is very easy. I was also lucky to try the other two sets during my demo at the Itsy Bitsy store in Panaji. I will share those cards at the end of this post.

For my first card, I created a window card with some simple coloring.

I started with a white card base and a white mat. The stamping was identical on both. I stamped the large flower first. Then masked it with masking paper and stamped rest of the cluster. I used alcohol markers to color the image. I die-cut the images from the mat with the coordinating dies. This created a window that fits perfectly over my flower cluster. 

To add more interest, I inked the mat with a blue die ink. To finish, I stamped the sentiment and popped up the panel on some foam tape. Here is another look at the card.

For my second card, I decided to use some of the beautiful papers that Itsy Bitsy has. I used the Pretty Pastels paper pack. I also pulled out some handmade papers out of the Assorted Textures Value Pack. I love these packs and have several of them.

Each pack has an assortment of papers, jute, fabric etc. These packs come in really handy while card making. Here is my card.

I started with three sheets from the Pretty Pastels paper pack. I used a pink polka dot paper for the flowers and two shades green plaid papers for the leaves. I stamped the images and then cut them out with the coordinating dies. I inked the die-cuts with dye inks to add some depth and interest.

The card base is a dark grey. I stamped the smaller flower randomly with grey ink to create a nice tone-on-tone background. I cut pink, teal and white papers using the Itsy Bitsy oval dies. I stamped the sentiment on the white oval with pink ink.

To finish, I arranged the flowers and leaves in a pleasing pattern and adhered them to the card. Here is the completed card.

For my final card, I decided to do some water coloring and inlay die-cutting.

I took a panel of Little Birdie Watercolor Paper. This is a professional-grade, cold-pressed 100% cotton paper. It is thick and I love that it is bright white. I stamped only the leaves with black ink and then colored them with shades of yellow and green. Once the paint was dry, I splattered the background with the diluted paints. I also added some splatters of black and white.

I trimmed the panel and a green handmade paper with Little Birdie Rectangular Dies. These nested dies are a great addition to your stash as they are made to fit a standard A2 size card. I die-cut the leaves from the watercolored panel with the coordinating dies. I took a black card base and adhered the green handmade paper and the water-colored panel to it. I popped up the leaves and added them to the panel. This creates a lovely 3-dimensional background. Here is a look at the angled panel.

This card is now ready. I can either use it without a sentiment. Or just add a suitable one whenever I want to send the card. Here is another look at the card.

I hope you found my review helpful. I would definitely recommend these sets to crafters who like coloring and, like me, don’t like fussy cutting. At 999/- per set they are priced very well and each set has loads of options to create beautiful designs. Here are my three cards together.

I got the opportunity to use the other two sets as well during one of the demos that I do at the Itsy Bitsy store in Panjim. These demos are held every Saturday, with different techniques covered every week. You can contact your nearest store for more details. Here are the cards I made during the demo.

With the Florence set, using Song of the Sea pattern paper pack and some stenciling.

Masking and sentiment stamping. I colored the flower with the Little Birdie alcohol markers.

With the Bloom Vista set, some simple water-coloring and inking.

With the Florenza set, using the Song of the Sea pattern paper pack and partial die-cutting.

Stamp and die sets are great for creating twofer cards. The first card with an inked background.

Second card with a splattered background.

Both cards together.

I hope you will give these great sets a try.  You can buy them at any of the Itsy Bitsy stores. Or order online from the website here.

Love,

Nandini

Rainbow Card Challenge - Especially Emerald...

Hi! I am here today with the March challenge at the Rainbow Card Challenge. Every month we have a monochromatic or rainbow-colored photo inspiration. Here is this month's pic.

Green is one of my favorite colors and I was very inspired by the beautiful graphic. I decided to use one of my favorite techniques - emboss resist.

I took a piece of watercolor paper and stamped the beautiful Bundles of Blossoms background stamp by My Favorite Things with Versamark ink. I heat embossed it with white embossing powder. Then I used various shades of green and yellow watercolors by Camlin to get an ombre look. Here is a close-up.

Since the background looks so striking, I decided to keep the rest of the card very simple. I die-cut the letters 'H' and 'I' several times and layered them to create a large sentiment. I added a smaller sentiment by heat embossing on a scrap of black paper.

To finish, I trimmed the panel and a black mat and adhered both to a kraft card base. Here is another look at the completed card.

I am very happy with the look of this card! I hope you find it inspiring and look forward to your creations in our gallery. Please do visit the  Rainbow Card Challenge for more inspiration and to link your cards to the gallery.  

Entering this card in the following challenge.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes:

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #239 - Use Inks/Paints:

Cut It Up Challenge #194:

Love,
Nandini

Rainbow Card Challenge - Regal Rainbow...

Hi! I can't believe it is already December. The year seems to have flown past really quickly! I am here today with the final challenge for 2019 at the Rainbow Card Challenge. Here is the inspiration pic.

Rainbows always bring a smile to our faces! There are so many different ways of interpreting this challenge, I am really looking forward to checking out our gallery.

For my inspiration, I went with simple watercoloring combined with die-cutting.

I started with a piece of watercolor card and used the Kokoyu Camlin Artist Watercolors to make a simple rainbow background. Once the paper was dry, I die-cut it using the Banana Leaf Card Front die by Spellbinders. I adhered the die-cut to a dark brown card base. 

I die-cut the frame out of the same paper and covered it with Versamark. I used Ranger's Metallic Copper embossing powder for the heat embossing. The sentiment was die cut with the Tag Talk dies by My Favorite Things. To make the sentiment pop more, I inlaid the background under the tag. Here is a closer look at the sentiment.

I popped up the frame and the sentiment with foam tape and adhered it to the card. To finish, I added some clear jewels from my stash. Here is another look at the completed card.

I am very pleased with this card. I hope you find it inspiring and look forward to your creations in our gallery. Please do visit the  Rainbow Card Challenge for more inspiration and to link your cards to the gallery.

Entering this card in the following challenges.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes:

Just Us Girls #516:

Love,
Nandini

More Partial Die-Cutting...

Hi. I am back with another card using the partial die-cutting technique. This time around I used a word die to create a floating die-cut panel on the card. The original post and video are again by Jennifer Mcguire and you can check it out here.

I started with a panel of watercolour paper that I cut to fit the front of my A2 sized card. I used the watercolour paper by Little Birdie. I love this paper as it is a bright white and very thick and sturdy. The die is Simply Hello by Altenew. I placed the die on the white panel and die-cut it such that the top and bottom were still attached. I used my craft knife to carefully trimmed away the rest of the paper.

I took a grey card base and stamped the flower sprigs from the Beautiful Day stamp set with grey ink to add some texture to the background. I also die cut the Simply Hello die several times out of black cardstock and layered them together. The white panel was popped up with foam tape. I added the layered die-cuts under the 'hello' word, slightly offset to create a shadow and give stability to the word.

Here is a closer look at the panel.

The bloom is from The Japanese Mum stamp set by Altenew. This is my first stamp set from the build a flower series and I absolutely love it! I stamped and heat embossed the outline with silver embossing powder and coloured it with Camlin Artist Watercolors.  I stamped the leaves and berries from The Beautiful Day And Peony Bouquet stamp sets in grey and yellow and die-cut them with the coordinating dies. I splattered some diluted yellow ink on the white panel and then arranged tye die-cuts over it. Here is a closer look.

Here is another look at the completed card.

I am very happy with the way this card turned out.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

HLS October Watercolour Challenge:

Just Add Ink #477:

Love,
Nandini