It's that time...sadly...time for the very last challenge in the new
Compendium of Curiosities III Challenge. It's bittersweet really. Please know that
the Curiosity Crew and I truly thank you for joining in on any of the challenges. You all are so so so inspiring! And, I would really like to thank Linda Ledbetter for hosting another great Compendium of Curiosities Challenge and asking me to join in, as well as Tim for taking the time to create the book, the techniques, the product...you name it! The crew of ladies really rocked all the projects as well, as I am sure you all agree, and I am glad to have been able to join them in this. I hope Tim makes number four! ;0)
Challenge number thirty-four...sniffle sniffle...is using the
Layering Stencil - Monoprint Technique! I know all of you love the stencils and have many in your stash. I hope we have a huge number of entries for this one...the last one...to go out with a bang. Please join in, and if you do, you can win some amazing fabulous prizes donated by the ever generous
Tim and Mario, and this last challenge's sponsor,
The Funkie Junkie Boutique!!! Thank you so much to both sponsors during the challenges for all of your generosity! You will have two weeks to complete this challenge and link it up to the CC3Challenge site, and you can carefully read all the rules
here. Please take the time to visit every member of the Curiosity Crew (See below.) for not only some painty and stenciled gorgeous projects, but for a chance to win some extra goodies!
I love this technique for creating backgrounds. When I thought about what I wanted to make, I knew I wanted to use the Flower Garden Stamps and make cards....(The cards that just kept on going and going!). Tim has so many stencils that compliment flowers and nature, so that made this technique a breeze. The rest of this project however, not so much.
Let's talk about these stamps first, as you are going to be here a while...(Grab a coke!). I am the kind of person who likes to know what things actually look like, and then I try to copy that when I am watercoloring...unless I am working abstract. While I LOVE flowers, I am not very good at the names of them. I wish I was. So when I purchased these stamps I knew a couple of the flower types, but some I didn't, so I have had to research them on google. It was very confusing sometimes, as a lot of flowers look alike. I wrote down the names of the types of flowers each one could be next to each stamp. If you see one I have wrong, or other types of flowers each could be, please let me know in the comments. I love to have lots of information on things, so I would love your help. AM I STRANGE??? YES, probably so! But, I thrive on details.
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| Anyway...I wanted a little more interest to the background so I added Tissue Tape to watercolor bases before I began the technique to four pieces first, then to another one, and finally to two more later. Sigh. |
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| Remember, I admitted that I made four of these before hand, and didn't like them so much, so I made another...again not liking it, and then made these two, but still not my favorite. However, I kept going with these two. |
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| Even though the backgrounds were ready to be layered on, I thought they might need a little more, so I stenciled in a few more flowers with Distress Ink, and something happened. I must have contaminated the blue ink pad from the Tumbled Glass with the Forrest Moss, because when I was stenciling on these Wildflowers, I made purple. Now, most of you know I am not a big purple user. I like purple, but just don't break it out often. I thought I was going to scrap these as well as the before mentioned five others, but I just stuck it out and just kept playing. So since I did that...stuck it out...I decided to stick it out with the others, so I grabbed the five I made first...from the trash... and kept playing with them as well. NO MISTAKES IN ART...right?!! Ugh! |
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| It took me hours to decide which flowers I would use. I searched google over and over looking for some that spoke to me. My neurotic self finally printed these yellow poppies, and now I knew how to color the flowers, BUT THEN I saw another color of poppy...purple. I did not even know poppies came in purple...barely knew they could be yellow as well. I've only seen red poppies. So I knew it was fate, and I had to make purple poppies too, and my purple mistake was not a mistake at all. So I stamped Buttercup and Violet poppies and used the matching Embossing Powder too, ala Wendy Vecchi. |
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| I worked lightest to darkest with the yellow family of Distress Markers and the Detailer Waterbrush. |
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| Then I added in bits of green to the center. I also used a white gel pen to add a few highlights. I then gave the centers a coating of Glossy Accents to make them pop. I really wanted the stamen to be seen. And after what seemed like hours I cut them out. Don't get me wrong. I really like how the flowers came out, but my goodness this project is going on and on, because I have issues! Obviously. |
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| Again lightest to darkest, so I started with Milled Lavender. To my surprise, again, I really got into coloring the purple flowers. I may have to rethink my love for purple. |
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| Love the blue stamen, so I used Faded Jeans to make mine. Glossy Accents again, cutting out, yada yada! |
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| I stamped the stem using Jet Black Archival from Ranger, onto each piece. I colored them in with the Distress Markers, and then gave the stems a coating of Glossy Accents as well. Then of course I thought the cards needed more, so I stenciled in the word Discover. Discovering that I am sort of nuts! |
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| I added marker to the craft sheet and picked it up with the waterbrush and tapped it over the card to make droplets of color...Fossilized Amber for the yellow poppies, and Seedless Preserves for the purple poppies. I think everything needs droplets! |
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| I distressed the edges of the watercolor paper, mounted them on cardstock, distressed those edges, and then sewed around them a few times....you know, because I thought it needed a little more. Then, I mounted those on Kraft Cardstock, but thought they needed a border or something. So I pondered and I pondered, and decided to add strips of burlap from Tim's Textured Surfaces. Of course that needed a sentiment, so it was the Sizzix Thinlets in Adventure Words Script to the rescue. And as you might have guessed, I thought it needed more...OH MY GOSH THESE CARDS WILL NEVER BE FINISHED...as you know I am a gaudy embellisher. So I added Remnant Rubs, and then Chit Chat words, framed out in matching colors to the flower...to really make the sentiment work for me. AND FINALLY, they were finished, and to my amazement I loved them, especially the flowers! And what I really loved, was the crazy journey I took to make them. I had real fun! I even discovered things about myself....stop laughing...that I don't mind digging in the trash to retrieve items previously made and not give up on them. I learned to keep pressing on and working hard until I reach something I am happy with. I learned that if I make mistakes along the way, I must learn from them and turn them into something beneficial, even if it takes a long time to accomplish. Eventually all my hard work will pay off, and I will have achieved my goals. ;0) |
Again, I want to thank Linda, Tim, Mario,
Inspiration Emporium, the Funkie Junkie, the Curiosity Crew, and ALL OF YOU for joining in, for commenting, and for supporting all of us! It has been a wonderful journey, and I hope you play along on this last challenge! And seriously, if you made it this far...to the bottom of this crazy post...then you are my true comrades in crafting, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking and putting up with me! You deserve a bag of chips to go with your Coke! You all are wonderful! Thank you!
I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!
