Friday Favorites: Watercolor Pencils

When the new Occasions Catalog came out Stampin' Up demos around the world rejoiced with the addition of the Watercolor Pencils!  They color like a dream and are available in Stampin' Up's true colors.

Whether you just color out right with them on the fabulous Inside the Lines DSP from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure, or use the Blender Pens or Aqua Painters to water color a stamped image, they are amazing and a must have for all!  Let's have a look at what some of our designers created with these amazing pencils!

Cathy Autrey - Maine Mountain Stamper

Tobe Buffenbarger - The Craft Sea

Jennifer Gregorsky - Jenny G Paper Crafts

Breelin Renwick ~ Craft-somnia Momma

Cheryl Hamilton - Create With Cheryl

Kim Ryden - Stamping with Kim

Technique Tuesday ~ Watercolor and acrylic blocks

Good Morning Happy Stampers!

We are so glad you stopped by today!  We have a super fun technique to share with you today and we are so excited to share!

Watercolor and Acrylic Blocks

Okay:  so there are multiple ways to do this so follow along and check out the two ways we're showing you today!

With Re-inkers:

 Grab the biggest block you have to cover the size of paper you are looking to watercolor.  You want your block to be BIGGER than your paper;

Randomly add your favorite colors in little drops all over the block (don't forget to not wear white while doing this technique!)  After you have your ink spots where you want them, spritz water from a spray bottle onto the ink (I may have gotten a little heavy handed with the reinkers, but its okay...keep reading!)

 THIS WILL BE MESSY!!  you will have a LOT of ink/water on your block.  Don't worry.  You can make use of this!   You can take any flat/smooth stamp you have and use your block as an ink pad.  Here I just stamped off onto my grid paper (see the 4 square type stamped images?)  but you wont waste them like I did....USE THEM!! :)

 after you stamp a few times your block will look like this  Then you'll want to lay down the paper you are using for the background.  Lay the paper face down.  Gently run your fingers along the paper to soak up all that watercolor goodness.  Your paper WILL CURL a little bit if you are using anything other than Watercolor paper.  Don't worry.  It's going to flatten out when it dries.
  You should be able to get a few different pieces of paper out of this if your paper is smaller like mine.  To maximize your ink, after each piece of paper, spritz again with water to get the ink to spread again and to lighten the ink concentration.

  Here is the last one.  How fun and light is that?!!  (notice my block is now pretty devoid of ink)  I was able to get 4 stamped images and 3 watercolored pieces of cardstock out of that ONE mix of ink/water!!  

Now....I know you want to RUN out and try this, but check out a less messy, more subtle way to do this with markers!

color your block with markers.  I made these striped on purpose.  You can use all one color, or make any sort of pattern you'd like!

spritz with water (I may have accidentally spritzed this with Stampin' Mist, hence the bubbles...its all good though, cuz it totally works and I like the bubbles!!)

  Lay your paper down on the block and rub very gently.  This is so much fun!!

Make sure you let your paper dry before stamping over top of it.  I used Staz-on or you can use the new Archival Black ink by Stampin' Up! to be 100% sure it won't bleed into your image if you're in a hurry.

Once you get this amazing technique down, the possibilities are endless!!

Here are the cards I made using these pieces!

Check out what our amazing Design Team created using this fun and funky watercolor technique!

Pamela Wu - Stinky Tofu

Kathy Alt ~ Kathy's Stamping World

Sara Grafton ~ Craft Break

 

Melissa Stout ~ The Stamp Doc

Jennifer Gregorsky - Jenny G Paper Crafts

Wonderful Watercolor

Hello stampin' friends!  It's Watercolor Wednesday and our awesome designers are showcasing an array of watercolor styles to INKspire you!

 



Pamela Wu - Stinky Tofu

Jennifer Campbell- Happy 2 Scrap 4 Life

Leanne Johnson - Literally My Joy

Sara Grafton- Craft Break

Breelin Renwick ~ Craft-somnia Momma

Kathy Alt ~ Kathy's Stamping World

Jennifer Gregorsky ~ Jenny G Paper Crafts

We hope these have all INKspired you today!  Don't forget to leave each of our designers some love by clicking on the link below each picture.

Happy Stamping!

Technique Tuesday!! ~ Watercolor Stamping

It's time for another Technique Tuesday!  This time we are focusing on the technique of Watercolor Stamping!  Take a few minutes and check out our tutorial and fun projects below!

Getting Started...

Supplies Needed:

*Ink Pads and Reinkers

*Aqua Painters

*Stamp

*Whisper White Cardstock

Step 1: Put a few drops of reinker in the lid of each ink pad you are using.  Squeeze a good amount of water in your Aqua Painter and then run your brush tip through the ink to pick some up.

Step 2: Apply the ink and water mixture to your stamp using your Aqua Painter.  If you are using more than one color, apply the colors from light to dark.

Step 3: Stamp on Whisper White Cardstock.

I tried a few different paper types when making the layout below and Whisper White cardstock even won out over Watercolor Paper for this technique.

Here are some fun examples of the Watercolor Stamping Technique in action from our Design Team Members...

Kim Ryden ~ Stamping with Kim

Eva Bussom - Eva's cards and things 

Donna Smit ~ Organized Chaos

Wendy Cranford - Luvin' Stampin'

Thank you for stopping by today!  We can't wait to see you back here tomorrow!

Watercolor Wednesday

It's Watercolor Wednesday here at SSInkspiration!

  We've all come a long way since our pre-school days of painting with the bright little trays of watercolor paints!  From Watercolor Paper and Aqua Painters to stamped images that have a watercolor effect, Stampin' Up! has you covered for all of your watercolor needs!

Check out some of the fancy work of our Design Team!

Kim Ryden ~ Stamping with Kim

Jennifer Campbell- Happy 2 Scrap 4 Life

Erica Bass ~ Stamping Starlette

 

Darcy Johnson ~ Dj's Stampin' Place

 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Be sure to stop back by tomorrow for our Holiday Catalog Showcase!!! 

Quick and Easy Watercolor Wonder Cards

Good morning, it's Diana.  I don't know about you but I'm constantly on the go, between work, school, kids activities, stamping events, and race training I don't really have much time to sit still and just be.  I have also made a goal this year to work on actually sending out cards to friends and family for occasions, and just because to help spread the joy and love but am frequently rushed for time.  So I was really excited when I saw the new Watercolor Wonder suite of products in this years Occasions catalog, I knew they would be perfect for making quick and easy cards for any occasion that are absolutely stunning, using the Watercolor Wonder Designer Note cards as the base.  These note cards are perfect since they come as a set with envelopes with the cardbases already designed and just waiting to be accessorized.  I was able to make all these cards in a snap and for each of the cards I used products from the Watercolor Wonder Product Suite a the key elements and have listed the items used in each card below.

Stamp Set(s):  Happy Watercolor, Remembering Your Birthday
Cardstock:  Smoky Slate, Island Indigo
Ink:  Tangerine Tango, Island Indigo
Accessories:  Ovals Collection Framelits, Fancy Fans Embossing Folder, Mini Metallic Clothespins, Silver Baker's Twine

Stamp Set(s):  Happy Watercolor, Million & One
Cardstock:  Tangerine Tango
Ink:  Tangerine Tango, Island Indigo
Accessories:  Pearls, Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die

Stamp Set(s):  Happy Watercolor
Cardstock: Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper
Ink:  Smoky Slate, Island Indigo, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight
Accessories:  Rhinestones, Ovals Collection Framelits, Decorative Dots Embossing Folder, Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

I have to say, I really like how these note cards turned out and they would make an equally great gift and since there note cards come in a set of 20 you could make a huge supply of cards and gifts in little time, perfect for those of us on the go.  Don't forget Sale-a-bration is ending at the end of the month so you only have a few more days to take advantage of this sale and you can purchase the products used in these samples and be on your way to earning FREE product.  Ask me how I can help you save!

Have a great day and enjoy!

Watercolor Wednesday

Didn't you love to paint with water colors when you were younger?  It was always a special treat when the teacher brought out those colorful little trays of paint, a tiny cup of water and a paint brush.  This spring, Stampin' Up! has brought those memories back to us!  From the beautiful Watercolor Wonder Designer Notecards & Envelopes and the Watercolor Wonder DSP, to stamp sets like Happy Watercolor and Life in the Forest (and a million other stamps sets that are just begging to be watercolored!), we can all feel like we're back in school with our paint and paint brushes.

Take a look at these gorgeous creations from some of our Design Team!

Jenn Campbell ~  Happy2Scrap4Life

Erica Bass ~ Stamping Starlette

Pam Steckman ~ Stampin' in the Sun

Tonya Ball~ Stampin With Tonya

Cynthia Richards ~ Ink a Doodle Creations

Breelin Renwick ~ Craft-somnia Momma



Melissa Cochran ~ Crazy Paper Freak

Shellie Grindy ~ Craft Smashup

Darcy Johnson ~ Dj's Stampin' Place

Kim Ryden ~ Stamping with Kim

Be sure to visit each individual blog for more details on all of these INKspiring creations!  And don't forget to leave us some love...we all love to hear what you think of our work!