Tag Archives: Spectrum Aqua

Luna Moth – Watercolor Wednesday #77

Posted on November 17, 2021 | 1 comment

It’s Watercolor Wednesday and this week Angie has us painting Luna Moths.  I was sure mine was going to be a disaster. I was so stressed out about painting this moth that I couldn’t begin to think of trying to draw a luna moth this morning, so I went to Google and found a coloring page.  I had the perfect sentiment that I bought a couple years ago from Polka Dot Orchard to go with the moth.  Isn’t it great?

I watched the video and it went so fast that I certainly couldn’t paint along with it, but I took one important thing away from it. As she was painting with white gouache, she said that people say using the white gouache with watercolor is cheating, but she doesn’t care as long as the painting comes out the way she wants. I took that advice and ran with it.  I always learn something on Watercolor Wednesday and this was the best lesson of all.  Here is my luna moth painted with watercolor markers, some white acrylic paint, and some white gel pen details added in to the wings.

I didn’t add nearly as many layers of color as the YouTube artist did, but I am actually very happy with my results.  I think I’ve found my lane on the Watercolor Highway.  This is another card that I’m going to have a hard time parting with.

I’m playing along with the following challenges today:

Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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Castle Hill Lighthouse – Watercolor Wednesday #65

Posted on August 25, 2021 | 2 comments

It’s Watercolor Wednesday!  And those three words are not as scary as they were a year ago.  I actually had a lot of fun with this particular challenge.  Loose sketching and painting has always been my thing.  I’ve always been the type to slap the paint on and hope for the best.  The video tutorial linked in the challenge had us sketching out a lighthouse scene with Sharpie and then coloring with simple watercolor washes.  I wanted to paint a Rhode Island lighthouse, because this card s going to this week’s Tea Party recipient, Tom, who is a former coworker of mine.  One of my other coworkers asked if I would make a card for her to send, and I thought a Rhode Island lighthouse would be great to remind him how much support he has over here in Southern New England.  Here is the reference photo that I used of Castle Hill Lighthouse in Newport, RI.  It’s about an hour from my house.  

As usual, I made two cards this morning, using my Spectrum Aqua markers scribbled on my Waffle Flower Crafts Water Media Mat.  I cut both papers to small squares and taped them down to some scrap paper.

I’ve used two different papers for my watercolor today.  I won several different kinds of Hahnemuhle paper from an Instagram giveaway hosted by Sandra at lifeimitatesdoodles.  Go follow her page–her work is amazing! I took a photo of each painting on top of each paper pad, so I could look back for future reference.

The Bamboo paper has more of a hotpress texture to it.  I like them both for different purposes, but today I found I had more luck with the Agave paper.  Here is the card that I made with the Bamboo paper:

I’m entering these cards in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge – Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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Linda’s Cup of Tea – Teapot Tuesday #667

Posted on May 4, 2021 | 2 comments

It’s Teapot Tuesday and today’s Tea Party is for Linda (Hotwheels). We’re sending some kind words and encouragement as we mark the second anniversary of her dear mother’s passing. Polly is our hostess and she has challenged us to make our cards with something that reminds us of our own mother. When I read that Linda and her mother liked tea, I knew I had to make a tea party card. I get my tea drinking habit from my mom. When I was growing up, she always had a cup of tea on the table while she sewed, and now so do I. Well, except I’m making cards instead of sewing. I wish I had picked up the sewing skills too.

This ended up being a combination of last week’s MIX Challenge to paper piece with mixed media backgrounds, because I was looking at these sweet Bo Bunny teacups and thinking they would look good paper-pieced. I had small strips of paper that I had used to soak up the watercolor from yesterday’s Technique Lovers Challenge.

I love the Fabriano Hot Press paper.  The pad that I have right now is 11 x 14.  I’m able to cut six card fronts out of each piece, and I’m left with two strips of 5.5 x 1.25.  I always soak up the remaining ink of my workspace with a scrap of paper and yesterday I decided that I should use those strips.  Lo and behold, those strips that I used to soak up the bird color made beautiful teacups.  To make it a truly mixed media card, I added gold Wink of Stella to the rims of the teacups, colored the flowers with metallic markers and added Stickles to the petals and flower centers.  Love that sparkle.

I’m also linking to this week’s Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge which is looking for Feminine cards.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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Baby, Yoda Best! – Ways to Use It Challenge #842

Posted on April 29, 2021 | 2 comments

Today’s Ways to Use It Challenge is to use washi tape.  Actually, I think the challenge may have just been to use tape, but that translates in my head to “use up some of that washi tape you’ve been collecting”.  I needed a card for my godson’s birthday, and, well, you’re never too old for Baby Yoda, am I right?  I bought this “Baby On Board” set from The Ink Road Stamps purely because I wanted to put hats on his head.  The party hat is from a Fiskars birthday set.  I printed the sentiment and stamped on Fabriano Hot Press paper, so I could watercolor him with my Spectrum Aqua markers:

So quick and easy.  I said that I bought this stamp set to put hats on Baby Yoda, and while that is true, I also couldn’t quite resist this image that I put on the inside of the card.  The sentiment is one of my favorites from the Power Poppy “Short Stacks” stamp set.

For the background, I dug through my little drawer of washi tape and picked out the most silver, metallic, space-age tapes that I have. I thought it would look the best randomly taped over a galaxy-type background. For this galaxy background, I grabbed a piece of blue cardstock and randomly sponged a few different blue and black Distress Oxide inks all over it. Then I smeared some black Stickles around the paper and finished with a splatter of white acrylic paint.

I’m entering this card into two “Anything Goes” challenges today:

Word Art Wednesday

Simon Says Stamp – Wednesday Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

 

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Lavender Fields – Watercolor Wednesday #45

Posted on April 7, 2021 | 5 comments

Today’s Watercolor Wednesday was really fun and easy.  We followed this video for how to watercolor a field of lavender.  It’s just the right amount of loose, random watercolor that’s right up my alley.  I set myself up like I usually do for Watercolor Wednesday, with two pieces of Fabriano Hot Press and my Spectrum Aqua Markers scribbled onto my Wendy Vecchi Make Art Stay-tion:

First steps were to wet the paper and paint a very loose background using the wet on wet technique.  The artist then sprinkled sea salt onto her paper.  I don’t have sea salt.  I tried kosher salt.  It didn’t make nearly as big a splash as hers did. I really should get some sea salt.

After it dried, we applied more defined grasses, stems, and flowers, as well as some splatters.  It was nice to see my lavender field form:

After I finished, and set my paintings aside to dry, I did my clean up routine.  I hate to waste the pretty colors left on my art station, so I spritz them with water and mop them up with some pieces of cardstock.  The layers upon layers of mopping up ink, or cleaning off stencils make interesting backgrounds that I keep in my background drawer for die cutting or other use on future cards.

I finished my card by lining the border with gold Wink of Stella and adding a bit of splatter with it.  And I added my sentiment by stamping the “Thinking of” from a Papertrey Ink sentiment and a Catherine Pooler die cut from black fun foam.

I’m entering this card in the Word Art Wednesday Weeks #485-#486 Anything Goes Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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