Shaker cards

Hi all!
With a busy start to a new job, I've not had much time for cardmaking, but a challenge on Virginia's View Challenge got me into the craft room, and busy.
I've made a watercolour shaker card using the Mama Elephant Peek a Frame die, and some bright blue fun foam. I'm really hoping to get some white, but that's all they had at my little country town.
I painted a panel using distress inks and a paintbrush, then cut the window and foam using the die, and scissors. The acetate is a piece left over from doing up a doll's house with my dad.
I then raided my daughter's seed bead stash and my own sequins, and filled the six windows. This was my first attempt at a shaker card, and I like the result, although I can already see places where I can make things easier for myself.
Hope you enjoy it too.

Outline stamps

Just one card today, made with clearly besotted's fresh flowers. I inked the stamp with distress markers, and stamped before painting over it with water to spread the ink. Again, this was a technique from online card classes' stretch your stamps class.
To construct the card, I made a watercolour swatch in matching colours, and stamped a sentiment from Simon Says Stamp's handwritten borders. I love these soft colours, and I love how quickly and easily this card came together.

Colour me stamps

I absolutely love this stamp from Clearly Besotted, and to tell you the truth I love all flower stamps. All of my cards would have flowers on them if it weren't for having so many men in my life (wow, that sounds bad; I meant husband, sons, father etc....).

So I really am enjoying colouring them these past few days.

Here's one that I attempted to do without edges, only to decide that I really like the edges and fill them I again later! I coloured this with distress inks as paints.

I also had a go at the reverse painting technique where I painted out the inside of the flower to lighten it. I did this on a piece of watercolour stained paper that I had waiting for a card, and Altenew's Magnolias for her stamp.

The online cardmaking classes certainly are getting me going with ideas. I can't wait to branch out with my own ideas that this is giving me, but I want to keep up with the class ideas first. There will be time for my own cards later.

Letter and sentiment stamps

The last two lessons of stretch your stamps have been exploring different ways to use alphabets and sentiment stamps. Hurdle number one was to get brave and use scissors on stamps, and cut them into pieces. Very scary indeed, but it did make them a lot easier to use.

I've enjoyed playing, and have come up with the following cards. 

For my family, I made a full set of these to hide under pillows tonight. After stamping the letters in Simon says Stamp inks in Dark Chocolate and Soft Navy, I blended the soft Navy ink in from the sides, leaving the message white.

Lacking pretty much everything to make one of the cards, I came up with this alternative, by cutting out my own stencils. I'm pleased with this one. The stamp is My Favourite Things 'pretty poppies', chopped into pieces.

Finally, a card that I'm glad I ran past my children for comment. I chose letters for the tree the I thought looked a bit branchy and leafy, and they were Y, R, O and S. When the kids looked at the card, they wanted to know why the tree said   'Sorry'. So I hastily added some 8 and P stamps, and now the card isn't quite so apologetic! The grass is made from T, I and 1 stamps as well as !.

The trunk is hand painted with watercolour paints.

Watercolour cards

I've recently done a watercolour card making class. I signed up thanks to a random comment by a friend about the class, and I'm so happy to have rediscovered my love of making cards. I've rediscovered it to such an extent that friends may get cards for as little as sneezing, such is my stash.
I've loved playing with watercolour paints, and especially the distress inks and markers. Here are some of the cards I've been making.