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Summer Scavenger Hunt: Part 2

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When I traveled to Detroit last weekend, I had my traveling companions on the lookout for the scavenger hunt items I needed. We found a few, and they had a great idea for one of the items I thought would be the hardest. One of the things I love about this project is how easily my friends and traveling companions jump into the project helping me find just the right photo.

#16 on the list is "a sign in a language other than English. The first one we encountered was in Canada at a rest stop.

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But then when traveling on the People Mover in Detroit one evening on our way to the Fort St. Presbyterian Church,we found even better signs side by side.

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I thought #10, a photo bomb (someone found lurking in the background of a photo) would be another difficult find. But Betsy's niece popped her head into a photo I was taking of Matt and Tracy on Father's Day. I think Nadia was surprised to find out I was HAPPY to see her in the photo!

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I knew I'd have another entry for #2:  a garden gnome, since my mother-in-law discovered her neighbor's garden gnomes. Now I have some in a garden setting. (And they're a lot cuter than the ones I found at Wegmans.)

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I took some photos with my iPhone (the signs were also taken with my phone) of a public garden (#19) a few blocks from our house. I have them in my SmugMug album, but I'm sharing the beautiful public gardens at The George Eastman House here.

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And one of my favorites from the evening, taken as I walked back into the galleries. 

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You can find more information about Rinda's Summer Scavenger Hunt right here. It's never too late to join in. The hunt continues until the last day of summer. I've finally added Rinda's graphic to my sidebar with a link to all my Summer Scavenger Hunt photos in my Smug Mug album.

 

Sweet Pea

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One of my goals this year is to try to use all the stamps in my collection. Truthfully, it will probably take me more than a year, but I'm making progress. As soon as I saw the current challenge at Curtain Call, I knew I had the perfect stamp, and one that hasn't seen much use.

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Papertrey Ink had a series of stamps several years ago called Year of the Flower. I only purchased two of the twelve, but one of them was "Sweet Pea."

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I'm also entering the card into the Less Is More challlenge:  Watercolour. It's a relatively new challenge for me, but one I see frequently on my inspiration journeys around the internet. The cardstock base is a beautiful shimmer one from Papertrey Ink, but it's not showing up well in photographs. The sentiment is also from the Year of the Flower:  Sweet Pea, embossed in white on vellum and stitched down. 

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Usually I have a receipient in mind when I make a card, but this one originated with the challenge call. It's nice to have a few cards in the file when I need one but don't have the time to create one.

Happy Retirement

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It's that time of year, and two people I've worked with are retiring in June. The first is the program secretary at the Presbytery office. Jan has been a huge help to me during the six years I've served on Presbytery committees, and especially the three years I was chair of one of the committees. A group of us took her out to dinner a week or so ago, and I made this card for her.

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Embossing and then doing a watercolor wash is becoming a favorite (and quick to do) technique. This time I used Dylusion sprays. I dipped my brush into the spray and applied it to the watercolor paper. I love how bright (almost neon) they are. The sentiment is an old wooden stamp by PSX. It's been in my collection for a very long time. The assortment of sequins came in a kit, but I'm not sure which one. I'm entering this card in the Less Is More challenge:  Watercolour.

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The second card is for our Assistant Music Director at our church. I was on the hiring committe that chose Chris nineteen years ago! My original idea for this card didn't work out, but the end result is one of my favorites in quite some time. Totally CAS, but elegant.

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I almost didn't purchase the "Life is Beautiful" stamps and die from Papertrey Ink, but they are already a favorite. The sentiment is from a Papertrey set, "Congratulations," that I've never used before, but it was the perfect size and font.

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Here you can see the beautiful vellum, streaked with silver glitter from Cosmo Cricket's "Simple Surfaces" paper pack. The glittery enamel dots are from MME. The gold paper has been in my stash for a long time. This is the perfect card for the Fusion part of the CAS(E) this Sketch collaboration this week.

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I'm also entering both cards in the Simon Says Monday Challenge:  Anything Goes.

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Zoom In, Zoom Out: Scenes from Detroit

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I spent three exhausting days in Detroit over the weekend. Went to bed WAY too late all three nights, and was on the go most of every day. The moderator election did not turn out the way we hoped, but the experience of attending the Presbyterian General Assembly was definitely a good one—and a learning experience as well. I got to know some members of my congregation much better, and met some really wonderful people from all over the country.

The first of the Zoom In, Zoom Out photos is another pick for Rinda's Summer Scavenger hunt:  an urban scene. This is the Ren Center in downtown Detroit. We were staying at the Marriot there.

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One way to get to the COLA Center from our hotel was to walk down Jefferson Ave. The first two shots above were taken on Jefferson Ave. The other way was along the river walk and the last photo above and the next two were taken along the river.

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You can join in at Helena's Zoom In, Zoom Out meme anytime, and you can check out the other photos right here.

We're going out to dinner with friends tonight and then to the Members Only party to see the new Lewis Hine exhibition at the George Eastman House. The opening parties are one of the perks of being a member. There are light refreshments, live music, and a chance to see the exhibits prior to the public opening. Although I have one set of photos for Rinda's scavenger hunt for a public garden, I'm hoping to get some good ones tonight at the George Eastman House gardens. The light should be perfect!

Happy Father’s Day

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Today is Father's Day in the US, and I know three of the greatest dads around. My husband, my son, and my son-in-law couldn't be more conscientious, loving, and devoted fathers. Watching them with their child(ren) is such a joy, and the love they give is returned in kind. I'll be home from Detroit in time to celebrate with Tracy at Matt and Betsy's house for dinner. 

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This one, needless to say, is for Tracy. Most of the products on the card are from the Simon Says April Card Kit. The stencil is from Crafter's Workshop. I added bright yellow acrylic paint to some transluscent embossing paste. Before I layered on the embossing paste, I did cut a circle mask to save the spot in the middle for the light bulb from "Watts Up" by Simon Says. None of the sentiments in the set were quite what I was looking for, but after searching through my collection I found the perfect one from an old Unity stamp set, "Shine On."

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A closer look at the dimension created with the embossing paste.

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I was excited to finally get out this cover plate die (Simple Stars) by Papertrey Ink for Matt's card. I colored the cardbase with Copic markers to create the ombre stripes behind the stars. The sentiment comes from an older Papertrey set "Star Prints."

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I added some glossy accents to accent the sentiment star.

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I used the Simple Stars cover plate to emboss the top portion of Adam's card. The sentiment is from WPlus9's "Super Star" set. It appears that set is no longer available so I'm glad I bought it when it was released several years ago. This might be the third Father's Day that it's seen action, and all three of the inside sentiments were stamped with the Happy Father's Day sentiment from that set.

All three cards use Simon Says "Sunshine" and "Lipstick Red" cardstocks as well as Papertrey Ink's Select White.

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads who make such a difference in their children's lives!

One Photo & Twenty Words

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I love Abi's meme "One Photo & Twenty Words" and have a fun photo for it. I'll try to get this linked up when I'm away, but I may not be able to manage it until I get home on Sunday.

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Just three months apart, but separated by 620 miles,
these two-year olds enjoy every minute of their time together.

 

 

 

2014 Summer Scavenger Hunt

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I've got a pretty good start on Rinda's Summer Scavenger Hunt this year. I'll have a link to a SmugMug gallery up next week sometime, but for now here are the ones I've found so far.

#1 A sign welcoming people to your home town.

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We live on the border of Brighton and the city of Rochester so this sign is just a short walk away from our house.

#2 A garden gnome

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I found these lively guys for sale at our local grocery store. I gave some thought to bringing one home, but decided against it. I'll have another offering for this in a week or so. My mother-in-law knew I was looking for one, and found one in a neighbor's yard.

#5 A rack of post cards

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These postcards were displayed  at Sauder's Amish Market when we were there Saturday.

#6 An urban stree scene

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Last night was my last photography class at the Community Darkroom, and we were sent out to take photos for the first 45 minutes of class. I didn't expect to have this one checked off until later.

#7 A rural landscape

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I knew I'd find a good prospect for this item on our trip to Ithaca on Saturday. I was hoping for black and white cows with a red barn, but was happy with the sheep and the blue silo.

#8 A tatoo on a person

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My daughter, Sarah, has wanted a tatoo for years. Frankly, I thought she'd given up on the idea, but that is what she wanted from Adam for Christmas last year. She worked with a tatoo artist in North Chicago to create the tatoo she wanted. The three large stars are for her three boys, Micah and Judah (the twins who did not survive), and Caleb. I knew what her plan was, but was surprised by the size of the tatoo, expecting it to be much smaller. When Rinda published her list, Sarah was here visiting and was willing to pose for a photo.

#17 A lamp post

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Another find thanks to my photography class. This light post is next to the Frederick Douglass-Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge. You can see the underside of the bridge in the background.

#18 A waterfall

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Ithaca is surrounded by gorges and waterfalls. This photograph was on Saturday's agenda.

I'll have my Zoom In, Zoom Out up tomorrow morning, and then I'm off to the Presbyterian Church's 221st General Assembly in Detroit. I'm going as an observer just for the weekend since the head of staff at my church is standing for Moderator of the Assembly. You can read about that here on one of Adam's posts.

Saturday Road Trip

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Saturday dawned clear and sunny, the perfect day for our road trip to Ithaca. We always start our day there at the Famer's Market. This year we bought a few plants, a loaf of sour dough bread, and some Rainbow Swiss Chard.

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Then we drove to the Cornell campus to the Johnson Art Museum. Much to our surprise (since it was reunion weekend), we had no trouble finding a place to park, and the museum was not overly crowded. 

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The museum has a nice collection of Ansel Adams photographs, but only a handful were on display this weekend. There's also an extensive collection of Asian art, but for me the architecture and the views are as good as any of the art.

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By the time we finished at the museum, it was time for lunch. One of our favorite places to eat when it's nice outside is the Boatyard Grill at the end of Cayuga Lake.

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We sat outside on the covered patio (none of my photos from there were particularly good), but my fish tacos were definitely good!

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While we were waiting for lunch, I glanced through a free Ithaca newspaper I picked up on the way in. We discovered the Cornell Plantation was having a plant sale, so instead of heading out of town, we went back to Cornell. The peonies in the Botanical Garden were stunning.

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I'd love one of these, but there weren't any peonies for sale. We did buy four varieties of day lilies in a variety of colors which Tracy planted among our peonies this afternoon.

Our first stop on the way home is a favorite in the spring, summer, and fall—the Cayuga Creamery. All their ice cream is homemade, and it is delicious! I had No Doze–coffee ice cream with espresso beans. Yum!

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Matt and Betsy gave us a gift certificate to the Hosmer Winery for Christmas so that was the next stop. We shared a tasting (too full to consider anything else!) and quickly decided on a wonderful 2011 Lemberger. We both like this red wine, but it's not easy to find a good one.

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We made one last stop at the Amish Market in Seneca Falls, and called it a day. And it was quite a good one! (I've got a few photos for Rinda's Summer Scavenger Hunt to share as well. Later.)

Something Simple: Two Anniversary Cards

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I sent off two anniversary cards the end of May. I'm entering the first one in Curtain Call's current challenge "Something Simple." 

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This card was made with the wonderful die (Simon Says) I won on Melissa's blog several months ago. I sprayed a piece of watercolor cardstock with Dylusions sprays and then added a spray or two of Sheer Shimmer Spritz.

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I cut a piece of the cardstock and put it behind the three die cut hearts. Sadly, I couldn't find any light that really showed the glimmer of the red watercolored piece. 

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I add three die cut hearts (Simon Says) cut from metallic gold paper and finally the sentiment from "Round and Round" by Papertrey Ink. The cardstock is a textured one from my stash—probably American Craft.

The second card is a total CASE of a card on Danielle Flander's blog so I won't be entering that in any challenge. It's such a great design, however, I thought I'd share it for those who don't follow Danielle's blog. She's a wonderful designer, not only of cards, but of scrapbook pages as well.

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The black die cut is Papertrey's Building Blocks coverplate, layered over Select White with another metallic gold die cut heart (Simon Says). The sentiment is the same as the first. 

We're off to Ithaca tomorrow for our annual spring trip to the Farmer's Market. We're hoping to visit the Johnson Museum on the Cornell campus as well, but just discovered it's reunion weekend there so we may not find anywhere to park! I'll be trying to finish my last assignment for my photography course, and maybe a few photos for Rinda's scavenger hunt.

Just a Note: Three Challenges

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Yesterday I received an email saying a gentleman who serves with me on a Presbytery committee had been admitted to the hospital. I wanted to get a card and note off to him.

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This card actually fits three current challenges, although I didn't start out to meet the requirements of any of them. The first is one I've never entered before, "The Card Concept." There's an inspiration piece and in addition, you need to identify your card by type. This card fits the "Clean and Layering" category, and includes the following color challenge:

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The CAS-ual Friday challenge is to create a masculine card with the following catch: no kraft cardstock, and you must use some ribbon.

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And finally, the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge is to create a masculine or Father's Day card.

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I started out with the cute Savvy die cut typewriter which was  already in my die cut basket. I pulled out an Avery tag, and used some Tim Holtz Distress Ink with a Crafter's Workshop stencil to createsone interest on the tag. The sentiment on the tag was stamped with Papertrey Ink's "Just The Ticket." When I looked through my patterned paper I found the perfect match for that from Pink Paislee's "Vintage Vogue" collection. After tying on some gray grosgrain ribbon, I layed the tag on the patterned paper and realized I needed some plain cardstock between it and the patterned paper. I hand cut a larger tag with Simon Says "Smoke Gray" cardstock, and adhered it all to a Rustic White cardbase (Papertrey Ink). Since the sentiment wasn't stamped perfectly in the center, adding the yellow enamel dot emphasized the sentiment, and was the final color needed for the Card Concept challenge. I hope it cheers up my friend, Ben.

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Week 23

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Sarah and Caleb left yesterday afternoon, and our house feels very empty and quiet this morning. Life with a two-year old is certainly a change for two empty nesters, but do we ever enjoy having them here! We spent a lot of time with Matt, Betsy, and Skylar over the weekend, and I'll be back with photos later this week. The party at Shadow Lake was fantastic: perfect weather, beautiful setting, tons of happy people! I took my camera, but didn't take any photos at the party. Too busy having a good time. Fortunately there was a professional photographer there so I'll eventually have lots of photos.

I'm nearing the end of an eight week course called "Beyond Your DSLR" at our local Community Darkroom. I've really enjoyed it, and will be back to post more about it when it's over. This week's assignment was to choose a subject and take ten photos of it. I'll share just four of them here (I actually took a lot more than 10), for this week's Zoom In, Zoom Out. This is the Frederick Douglass-Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge that crosses the Genesee River. Much of the walkway in this area is lined with parks and restaurants.

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I totally forgot there is no railing or fence along this walkway on the Genesee River. Fortunately, Sarah and Tracy were able to monitor Caleb's movements while I got my photos! 

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For an earlier assignment, we were instructed to use Raw + JPeg and set our cameras to Monochrome. When you upload the photos you get a black and white image as well as a color image. I'll be using this setting frequently.

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I'm off to see what I can do to organize myself for the rest of the week. My list of projects seems endless, and like Rinda, I'm getting ready to try some block scheduling as outlined here by Ali Edwards. I'm hoping it will help me get to some projects that just don't get the attention they need.

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Week 22

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I'm popping in to post my Zoom In, Zoom Out, but it's probably my last post for a week, and it will be awhile before I catch up with all of you as well.  Sarah and Caleb arrive tomorrow for five days. When Matt and Betsy got married in December it was a very small, immediate family, event. They knew then they'd want to have a party for the extended family and friends and it's this Saturday. My brother and niece are arriving on Saturday morning, so we'll have a full house for the weekend. I'm excited to have family here and to see some friends we haven't seen in quite some time.

Last weekend was busy too. We spent all day Saturday and Sunday (and evening) helping Matt and Betsy move into their new house. It's a great house, with lots of room for a growing family, but the best part of all is the fabulous new yard. The house needs some updating (mostly painting), but the yard is perfect just the way it is.

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Skylar is already enjoying it!

Then on Monday we got our vegetables planted at the community garden. I'm hoping this is a more successful year. Last year the torrential rains caused root rot, and we got less than half the yield we usually get.

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When we bought our house nearly 29 years ago, we discovered a peony tree in our back yard. It's in the lower yard, and hard to see from the house or the patio. A few years ago when Matt was living with us, he picked one and put it in a bowl. Ever since we've brought them in to enjoy for a week or so while they bloom. The blossoms are huge and so beautiful.

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You can check out Helena's kelpies and other links for the Zoom In, Zoom Out meme right here.

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Here's hoping all is well with you. See you next week!

May Papertrey Ink Blog Hop Challenge

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Not that any month seems to drag along any more, but May has really flown by. We spent all day yesterday helping Matt and Betsy move to a new (to them) house just five houses away from their previous home. They're expecting #2 in November (!!!!) and this house has quite a bit more room, and a fabulous, huge, fenced-in yard. They're going to love it there. We'll be back there again today helping them get settled. When I got home last night, I had time to play around with some watercolor techniques and a new stamp and die set from Papertrey Ink.

This month's blog hop challenge was a color challenge: Aqua and Melon.

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My first card meets the challenge with both colors. 

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I love this new butterfly set, "A Beautiful Life." The darkest of the butterflies was die cut from a piece of Bristol paper on which I did a watercolor wash with some Peerless watercolors. The other two butterflies were stamped after coating them with Gelatoes and spraying them with water. Then I die cut the stamped images which were amazingly easy to line up. The sentiment is also from the same set stamped in Aqua Mist.

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I decided the butterflies were a bold enough statement that they didn't need any other embellishment.

My second card is my favorite, and although I tried adding some melon accents I really like it better without them. So here it is, even though it really doesn't meet the challenge.

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I stamped the butterfly image with Aqua Mist on a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor paper, and then "bled" the ink around the image much the way Betsy Veldman did here. Then I added a butterfly die cut from dotted vellum, and a die cut from an aqua watercolor wash with Peerless watercolors. This time a few white sequins seemed in order.

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Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! 

Watercolor for Card Makers & A Challenge

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Today is the last day participants in the Online Card Class can post their work to the galleries. Today I found time to finish two cards I had already started and create a third one. Each one uses a different medium for the watercolor.  I've taken several of the Online Card Classes and loved them all, but this one rates an A+. Each lesson was loaded with content and inspiration, and the techniques varied from beginner to very advanced. I'll be working on the techniques for weeks to come, but I'm already more comfortable with many of the watercolor mediums now than I was when we began. One thing I've learned (which is not easy for me) is that you cannot hurry watercolor. It takes time!

All three cards qualify for the new CAS-ology Challenge: Flowers, so I'll be linking them up there.

Week 96 - Flower

My first card is based on a lesson for Day 2. Jennifer McGuire demonstrated how to use art masking fluid (or rubber cement) to seal the stamped image. Once it dried, it was easy to add a water color wash over it.

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After the watercolor dries, you can easily rub the masking fluid off the stamped image. I added a die cut from Simon Says and put the watercolor panel on a card of Raspberry Fizz (PTI) and added some thin pieces of black card stock to set it off.

On Day 4, Shari Carroll used Gelatoes directly on a stamp. She used a red rubber stamp, so I wasn't sure how it would work on a clear acrylic stamp, but my test sample came out just as I hoped, so it ended up on the card! My purple Gelato is one of the metallic ones, and so the flower has a subtle sheen to it.

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The stamp is from a rather neglected set by Papertrey Ink called "Life." I do believe this class will breathe new life into some of my older, less used stamp sets. The sentiment came from "Winter Hills," also by Papertrey. Here you can see the subtle shine of the Gelato.

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The last card was based on another of Jennifer McGuire's cards on Day 6 where she watercolored a white embossed stamped image. She used some Sparkle mist as her water, but I didn't feel the tulips were a great subject for that, so I stuck to water. This one took a lot of time. It was very difficult to see the white embossing on the watercolor paper. I taped it down on a clipboard and by tilting the clipboard to the light was able to get it watercolored. I used Tim Holtz Distress Markers for this one.

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I do love these soft colors, and it was worth the time it took. 

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The tulips are from Friendship Jar Spring Fillers, and the sentiment is from "Wishes Come True," both Papertrey Ink sets.