Thursday, August 27, 2026

WATERSIDE RETREAT

Today's card was created using one of my favorite techniques -- water coloring.

I created this beach scene with watercolor paper, Water Painters and ink.  If you can "scribble", you can watercolor this scene, also.

Watch the video to see how I did it.  Yours will look different than mine, but it will still be beautiful.   I've never had two "paintings" look exactly the same.  That's part of the fun.  You'll see in the video that my 2nd card has its own vibe.

For today's card I used the two-piece chair.  I've gotten in the habit of using the Adirondack Chair from the Relaxing Waterside bundle so for today's card I wanted to get out of my rut and try this other chair.  I like it, but I think it looks a little more formal than the Adirondack.

In the video I used the Adirondack.  Which do you prefer?

My Seagulls were stamped with Smokey Slate ink.  You may need to stamp a couple of "test" birds -- I did.  My ink pad was pretty juicy, so the birds were darker than I wanted.  I tried stamping-off, but then they were too light.  So I ended up using a plastic spoon to push some ink on my ink pad away from one area so I could ink my stamp in that area.  Watch the video to see how I did that.  It's a good trick to use when you have a very juicy ink pad, or when you want a lighter image, but stamping-off makes it too light.

As I mention in the video leaving white space when you are "painting" a scene is also a tip.  It helps to provide depth to your "painting".  Remember, you can always add more ink, but it is not as easy to lighten the color and even more difficult to get back to white space.  Watch the video for more tips.

Don't forget to add a light color wash with Gray Granite below the seagull to "ground" it.  Unless your bird is flying, you don't want it to look like it is floating in space.

The inside sentiment is from the Banner Sayings Stamp Set.  

Use this link to download a FREE TUTORIAL with all the dimensional information and step-by-step directions.  But be sure to watch the video if you want to learn how I did the water coloring.

A list of the products used is shown below.

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Location: Commerce Township, MI, USA

Monday, August 24, 2026

LET'S GO FISHING AT THE WATERSIDE RETREAT

This week I am going to share cards made with the Waterside Retreat Suite Collection.

Before summer ends, I wanted to use this beautiful Product Suite at least one more time!


Today's birthday card is perfect for a fisherman in your life.  The Waterside Retreat Designer Series Paper (DSP) has several fun designs.  Today, I used the fish, water, and the seagull designs.


Dies and sentiments from the Scalloped Blooms Bundle were also used for the card.  Three layers of scalloped die cuts create a perfect place for our fish to swim around.  The seagulls are hovering above watching for anything that looks edible.  That's kind of what Seagulls do.

Since I live on a lake where seagulls love to sit on boat hoist canopies and make a huge stinky mess, I'm not a huge fan of seagulls.  But the paper kind on this card are pretty and since they won't make a mess, I'm "tolerating" them. 😁😁


The little anchor trinket from the Waterside Retreat Suite adds the perfect embellishment to provide the bit of "bling" to complete the card.



After trimming the first two layers of scalloped circle die cuts even with the left edge of the card, I saved the extra pieces and used them to carry the card-front them to the inside.  Another fussy cut fish from the DSP continues the theme.  The Misty Moonlight stamped sentiment is from the Scalloped Blooms stamp set.


A list of the products used is shown below.  Click on any image to learn more about a specific product or make a purchase.

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Location: Commerce Township, MI, USA

Thursday, August 20, 2026

CHEERS TO YOU

Today's card with the Summer Happiness Bundle is a bright & happy card made with a fun technique.

The watery background was made using the water mask from the Water & Dotted Lines Decorative Masks. However, when I look at the "water" mask I don't really see water -- I see an animal print, so I modified the appearance a bit by using a little trick.  I think it looks a little more like water now -- maybe.  At least I no longer see only an "animal print".

Watch this video to see how I did it.

What do you think?  Does it look like water or an animal print to you?

The three drink bottles were colored with Stampin' Blends.  I used the dark version of each blend to color the fruit slices and then colored all the liquid including the fruit again with the light Stampin' Blend.

It doesn't show in the photo, but a little Wink of Stella gives the drinks and the sun a little sparkle.

The sentiment was made with the Sweetly Sentimental Hot Foil Die.  If you are just starting with Hot Foiling I highly recommend this die.  It creates 12 different sentiments at once and you cut them out with a single die.  It's a great way to have a stash of sentiments on hand when you need a quick card, and it is a simple hot foil die cut use for beginners.  At least I found it easier than some of the others I have.

The sentiment on the inside of the card is from the Scalloped Blooms stamp set.  I wanted a medium-size Happy Birthday stamp, and this stamp set has several nicely sized sentiments in pretty fonts.  The strip at the bottom was a "leftover" from the technique sheet.

I always like to make a larger piece than I need so I have "leftovers" to use elsewhere.

Use this link to download a PDF Tutorial with step-by-step directions to create your own version of this card.

A list of the products I used is shown below.

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Location: Commerce Township, MI, USA
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