Monday, May 3, 2021

Creative Watercolor Media - AECP Level 2

 Happy Monday, crafty friends!  I don't know about you, but I am not ready for it to be Monday!  

Today, I am bringing you not one, but two cards for my most recent AECP course - Creative Watercolor Media.  I am not kidding when I say that I was dreadimg this class, and I dragged my heels all the way through it.  Watercoloring is a HUGE struggle for me, but I pulled my bootstraps up, and powered through.  I am SO glad I did!  I learned a lot, and FINALLY feel like I had a few wins with my watercoloring.  

For my project submission, I made a mini slimline card using several of the lessons in the course.  I began by prepping a piece of watercolor paper with my powder tool so that I could emboss my image and not have a mess of embossing powder all over.  Using an embossed image really helped me stay in the lines with the watercolors.  
I smooshed several green ink pads onto my pallette and picked the lightest ink up with a water brush that was mostly dry.   I painted a simple wash over each of the leaves to give them a base.  I then came behind with the midtone and added some depth, and then blended it out with just a bit of water.  Lastly, I added some shadows using the darkest shade of green, again blending with a bit of water.  I love how the leaves nearly glow!  I found that starting at one point on the page and rotating through the leaves allowed the previous layer a bit of time to dry, which prevented me from making a muddy, wet mess, which is what usually happens.  
Next, I moved on to the flowers and followed the exact same process, just changing up the color family I used. 
Once I was happy with my image, I set it aside to dry and moved on to my card panel.  My card base is 3 1/2" x 6", so I cut a panel at 3 3/8" x 5 5/8".  Using the darkest teal ink, I applied ink directly to the edges of the panel and set it aside to dry.  I die-cut my image using the coordinating die and adhered it to the panel using foam tape.  I heat embossed my sentiment on a strip of vellum and adhered it to the center of my card.  I finished up by adhering the panel to my card base,, trimming off any overhang with my scissors, and placing down gold sequins.  
I am so happy with how this card turned out!  I am thankful that I powered through the class and didn't give up!
My second card is actually the first card I made for this class. It didn't turn out quite as I expected, but it is growing on me. 
For this card, I stamped several images on watercolor paper and painted them with liquid watercolors, again starting with a basic wash, and then adding several layers to add shading.  My first attempt was a miserable failure as I broke the rules and used the wrong ink.  Lesson learned.  I just wasn't thinking and picked up my Memento pad out of habit.  Once my images were dry, I die-cut them using the coordinating dies.  
Next, I trimmed a piece of patterned paper to 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 and die cut a square.  I realized that I needed something to ground my critters, so I watercolored a strip in greens and die-cut the blades of grass.  I adhered the grass pieces to the back of the patterned paper and adhered the panel to my card base.   
I then arranged my images and glued them down.  I heat embossed my sentiment and attached with some foam tape and finished up with some black rhinestones.
Even though I really struggled with this class, I am so thankful that I persevered.  
Products Used:
Both cards: 
  • Recollections 110# Card Stock: White, Black
  • Arches 300gsm/140# Cold Press Watercolor Paper
  • Versamark Watermark Ink Pad
Card 1:
  • Altenew Bouquet of Love Stamps and Dies
  • Altenew Crisp Dye Ink:  Wisteria, Hydrangea, Ultramarine, Warm Sunshine, Autumn Blaze, Dew Drops, Aqualicious, Teal Caves, Limeade, Lime,  Fresh Leaf, Baby Pink, Fuschia, Magenta
  • Vellum
  • Stampin' Up Gold Embossing Powder
  • Simon Says Stamp Gold Sequins
Card 2:
  • Altenew Hug Me Stamps and Dies
  • Stampin' Up Layering Squares Dies
  • Honey Bee Stamps Horizon Slimline Dies
  • Altenew Pastel Dreams Paper Pack
  • Altenew Pigment Ink:  Obsidian
  • PinkFresh Liquid Watercolors:  Pink, Orange, Yellow, Light Green, Emerald, Blue, Purple
  • Wow! Embossing Powder:  Opaque Bright White
  • Honey Bee Stamps Black Rhinestones

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Happy stamping!  

2 comments:

  1. I love both of these! Your water coloring is great, and the choice of the vellum was perfect! I love that it is a slimline card too! The animals are absolutely adorable :)

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  2. What are you talking about?! These are fabulous cards, Kim!! You did such a great job! I love both the looks, they are incredible!
    Thank you for submitting your wonderful work to the AECP assignment gallery.

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