Summer Reading

What a crazy week it's been! End-of-the-school year activities and parties for Shannon all week, plus a really busy week at work, have kept us all busy. I made a bunch of thank you cards for various tours and activities that Shannon's Daisy troop participated in recently, but I didn't get any pictures taken of them. It was one of those situations when we were practically crafting as we went out the door to a meeting or party.

The card to the right is for Shannon's teacher. This week on the Crafty Secrets' forum, Lori challenged us to use text on our project. This dear little sheep from CS's Booklovers set has started her summer reading list already.

The text background is a segment of Wind in the Willows from October Afternoon's Night Light collection. I cut the scalloped circle using a Nestabilities die in my Big Shot machine. I colored all of the images with Copic markers, and popped up the sheep with foam dimensionals.

Here's to a wonderfully relaxing summer vacation full of fun creative pursuits!

Supply Saturday

I love having a stash as much as the next crafter, but with a limited budget, I try to be discriminating about what kind of supplies I buy. When I'm considering new supplies, I look for things that are going to last, that are versatile, and that are compatible with my crafting style.

Almost every time I make a card, I reach for my watercolor crayons. I've had them for about two years, and I haven't even made a dent in them yet. They can be used with a number of techniques, and they provide soft, natural colors that complement the kind of images I like to use.

I use both Stampin' Up! Watercolor Wonder Crayons and Derwent Watercolor Crayons. Derwent's colors tend to be darker and more vibrant, and SU! are lighter and more muted.

Here's an image I painted tonight using watercolor crayons. I use a small-tipped watercolor brush and pick up the color directly from the crayon with the brush slightly damp. This bird and nest are from Crafty Secrets' Fairyland set. I stamped it with Palette Hybrid Burnt Umber ink on Neenah Paper cardstock.

Journey Home Card

This week I am the host of the Crafty Secrets Member Forum challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers. The theme is "There's No Place Like Home!" I created the card above as a sample for the challenge.

The images are from Crafty Secrets' Fairyland set. I stamped the images in Palette Hybrid Ink - Burnt Umber on Neenah cardstock, then colored them using Stampin' Up's Watercolor Wonder Crayons, water, and a small-tipped watercolor brush. I distressed the main image panel with a Heidi Swapp edge distresser. I punched the K&Company Wild Saffron paper with a Martha Stewart border punch and adhered it to the main panel. I handwrote the quote on a Heartwarming Journal note, tore the edges, and swiped them with Ranger Distress Ink. Then I added the heart clip with the seam tape ribbon.