My Favorite Things Shadow Box Card

I've seen many versions of shadow box cards on the internet, and I decided to do one for a Christmas card.  This card is for entry into the My Favorite Things 2018 Card Design Superstar contest.  This was truly a challenge for me because I unfortunately do not own any MFT character stamps (the horror!). I have die sets, word dies, and one stamp set with hand-lettered sentiments. 

I created the base structure of my card with navy blue cardstock and mounted a lighter blue shade to the front with the Merry and Bright sentiment from the MFT Hand-lettered Christmas stamp set. I shaded around the edges with Faded Jeans Distress Oxide ink.

Inside the card I used the MFT Scenic Snow Globe die set and added fine glitter for the snow effect.  The backdrop is white cardstock shaded using a blending tool and shaded with Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, and Faded Jeans Distress Oxide ink.  I used the Die-namics Elegant Rectangle for window openings, and cut a frame for each using the next larger die and the one used for the window.

Here's a closeup of the inside scene.  I had some MFT Frosty Ice Cubes, and decided to put a few around the snowman.  The "peace on earth" sentiment is also from the MFT Hand-lettered Christmas stamp set. 

This card was so much fun to create, and I can't wait to send it to someone for Christmas.  Good luck to all who enter the contest!

Simply Watercolor last day: Florals and Leaves

I couldn't wait to get to this part of the class!  First we practiced making leaves and experimenting with how the brushes naturally make leaf shapes by the way you press them onto the paper and fan them out.  It is so relaxing to just sit and play like this!

Then we practiced making flowers, or the suggestion of flowers...

Then I got a little more intent on making some flowers and really played with my brushes.  I'm loving how these turned out!

Simply Watercolor continued...with Landscapes and Nature

When I leave for work in the mornings, the sun is just beginning to rise.  I've snapped several pics of it, and can't believe how different each one looks due to clouds, the atmosphere, humidity, etc.  They're just beautiful, and it amazes me what an artist the God is!  So with this painting, my inspiration came from one of those sunrise pics.

My other painting for this section of the class is a galaxy sky.  This is my first attempt at one of these, and they sure are fun!

Online Card Classes Simply Watercolor - Patterns, Shading, & Simple Critters

I have fallen in love with watercolor lately, but until now had no experience with it.  So I decided to take some online classes.  Kristina Werner is the instructor for Simply Watercolor over at Online Card Classes, and I really enjoyed this class!  I also took Dawn Woleslagle's class prior to this one, Watercolor for Card Makers: Intermediate Techniques. 

These are my cards from day one of the class.  For the sake of time, I combined part of the first lesson with a lesson from day two on this card.  Kristina shows how to sketch simple animals and create watercolor patterns.  This was my first time sketching any animal.  He's a little quirky, but cute! I would never have attempted had it not been for her tips & tricks given in the class.  She really breaks it down into easy steps and takes the apprehension out of it.

Here are two more cards from day one focusing on color blending and shading.  These are great exercises to become accustomed to how your watercolors behave.  It varies with each brand of paints and the quality of your paper.  I used Kuretake Gansai Tambi paints.

Thanks for looking! 😉