Forever....

 I am still here..!
...did not realize it had been this long since I posted, until I received an email this morning enquiring about my well being!  It felt nice to know that I was missed ...thanks so much for asking, it touched my heart!

Here is an anniversary card using this week's PTI - MIM # 138 -technique-inlaid die cuts . An easy and effective technique by Betsy!

I have used PTI Simply Jane die set for this card and the sentiment is  by PTI -Sending my love.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Forever....

Birch - watercolor

                     Birch-5x7- watercolor on Arches 140# cold press

Earlier this week I mentioned getting some books and trying new techniques and how some failed miserably and some were kind of ok,  So today I gave a shot at yet another technique  and I must say I was pretty pleased with it! In fact I was satisfied enough to share with my readers today.

I had always wanted to paint Birch trees, the white  of the trees and papery bark, is something I fell in love  with, the very first time I set my eyes on these trees.  I have given them a try in the past, and those were ok, but painting them using masking tape, was a technique which I had seen before used by many artists, but never really tried it for myself.

So I set to work and  here is the result...

 A closer look.....

                                                             church stamp by Clear dollar stamps

I have used a stamp for the church/house, the rest is sketched. After I completed this  painting , I thought of trying  another one and remembered to take some pictures along the way...

Here we go...
...tear some masking tape and adhere onto the paper, where you would like your trees to be..this saves the white of the trees.

Dampen paper and lay down colors...

 Wait until "COMPLETELY" dry and peel the tape..Do as I say and not what I do...my impatience to do the reveal, cost me some paper which is fixable on a sketch but not  what you want on your final painting!

 Add shadows on the trees

Darken your darks and add some details...

I think I could have gone darker on this one and might work on it some more..

Hope you liked it, I sure had some fun trying this out, the best part is when you peel the tape and it reveals the white trees!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Birch - watercolor

CAS-ual Fridays-Tags And Bags

Finally Friday!
 It's been a long week around here..or so it felt like!
....and am I glad we are getting closer to the weekend.

Time for a new challenge over at Cas-ual Fridays  and this week it's all about bags with a tag on it. We have changed tracks and moved onto something more  dimensional...no cards..but tags and bags!

 I got out some muslin from my quilting days and set to sew some pretty little bags. Every year around Christmas, my craft group hosts a  gift swap, and I usually take something crafty as my gift. This year I decided to sew these muslin bags to hold those gifts ...Stamped and colored and my gifts are ready!

This week's challenge is being sponsored by CAS-ual Fridays Stamps, so don't forget to play along!

I have used Inktense pencils to color the image, since they are more vibrant and once dry they are permanent.

And the tag is punched out of a scrap sheet of failed watercolor painting!
..and stamped with a sentiment.

Stamps- CAS-ual Fridays- Christmas Carols, Only you, Holly-The Crafts meow

Stop by the CFC blog for more inspiration !

Thanks for stopping by.

CAS-ual Fridays-Tags And Bags

Yasutomo Niji - Madhubani.- Indian Folk Art

                            

                                       Peacock and Fishes

Today, I want to introduce you'll to a very popular Indian folk art called Madhubani, which literally translates into Madhu-honey ...bani-forests. It's a very old rural art form which originated in a village by the same name in Northern India. These paintings are known for their  simplicity, line work and vibrant colors.

Here is how I approach this age old art  form...

                                   Tree Of Life-Ink and Watercolor

Fishes, peacocks and the tree of life are the most popular motifs and I have tried to use them in my illustrations, giving them my own unique touch.

                                The lady-Ink And Watercolor
The human figure is often a child like stick figure illustration, not much dimension is given, which makes it incredibly easy for a non artist to try. They merely represent their surroundings, especially the deities and the flora and fauna around them.

                            Fishes-Ink and watercolor
These paintings are done on handmade paper in a sketchbook using a dip pen and fluid ink. For stepped out pictures and supply list do stop by the Yasutomo blog, I promise you will not be dissappointed!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Disclaimer-      I do not have formal training in Madhubani art, but over the years this is what I have observed and thought of sharing with you'll today. This might not be the original way of painting, especially when it comes to colors and ink and certain motifs, so in no way am I claiming this to be an original, but, I enjoy doing it this way and hope to share what I know and inspire people to pick up their pens and start drawing!

Yasutomo Niji - Madhubani.- Indian Folk Art

Textured Stamping

 Today I attempted a technique shared by  PTI MIM #136 and this week Ashley has shown us such an easy but effective way of adding texture to our stamped image ... just moving the ink pad over it..yes it's that easy!
Here is my take ...

                     Stamps- Papertrey Ink -In The Meadow

 Just as she found this technique by accident, I found that using super wet distress inks can add further texture to the image!

 I inked the stamp and went over it vertically with the ink pad, but since I used distress inks, it beaded up on the image, such that when I stamped I saw that the vertical lines were a bit subtle, but the beads were more obvious. I loved the happy accident and let it be!

In fact when I stamped on copy paper, it worked just perfect, but on watercolor paper, it shows less...something to remember!

A closer look....

 Sharing with Simon Says stamp-Wednesday Challenge-Use a rubber or clear stamp

And before I let you go, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all my new readers, I hope you find something interesting to stay  awhile!
Thanks for stopping by!

Textured Stamping

Thankful

 Over the weekend, I got some books on watercolor techniques and had to give them a try... some were utter failure, some ok and  a couple of them got me  some  really interesting effects, but none that were good enough to be shared here. But I will keep at it and hopefully over the next week , I will have something successful to show!

Yesterday was a wet, grey Autumn day around here. The grey skies enhanced the fall colors and amidst all those colors,was this potted jasmine in my garden, all white still blooming it's head off! It's leaves are turning yellowish brown, but it's still attempting to bud!  Taking these colors as my inspiration, I started to sketch and as always looked for ways to incorporate a stamp into the scene. I decided on using the floral stamp by  Clearly Besotted for my painting.

 I was recently asked by a reader, how I paint around the stamped image, to answer ...I just go around the image with a damp brush and lay my colors. I hope that helps Julia!

 Also sharing with Clearly Besotted challenge-Color Inspiration-Autumn theme

and Simon Says Stamp- use a rubber stamp/clear stamp

 stamps-Clearly Besotted, PTI-Thank You Inside and Out


 Thanks so much for stopping by!

Thankful

CAS-ual Fridays- In Stiches

Happy Friday !
and welcome back to this week's CAS-ual Fridays post. We are talking stitches this week, real or faux, stitch them in!
Here is my super clean take on the theme!

This week's prize is being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp.

a closer look at the hand drawn needle and thread....

Sorry about low picture quality, it was taken in the night !

Don't forget to check out what the rest of the DT have in store for you ..see you at the Gallery!

CAS-ual Fridays- In Stiches

Layered Emboss Resist -Take 2

I totally forgot to hit publish for this post and I had asked you'll to standby...anyone still standing?

This is my second attempt at layered emboss resist. As I mentioned in my last post , I loved this technique so much,  got quite a few done for the holidays. In fact I have 10 of them all ready to be mailed to a card drive. This technique was shared on PTI MIM#135.

 stamps- PTI-In the meadow, stylish sentiments -holiday

Sharing with Simon Says Stamp -Use a clear or rubber stamp-no digis!
..have never been able to use a digi successfully..huge sizing issues, not too good with photo editing!

After all the long, picture heavy posts this week, I shall keep this one short! Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Layered Emboss Resist -Take 2

Arnold Grummer Contest Winner!

I have always loved the look, feel and texture of handmade paper. So when Arnold Grummer had a card contest in August, I decided to throw my hat in!

 We were asked to put an Owl on our project, which, to me, was THE most difficult part of the contest! Am not a huge fan of the Owl, in fact I avoid anything Owl related,stamps, images..you get the idea!

But I so wanted to be a part of this contest, I have been papermaking for almost a decade now and Arnold Grummer papermaking kit was the very reason I started making my own handmade paper. We used to live in  SC then, and I remember picking up this box of paper making supplies at an  A C Moore craft store.  His kit made this entire process so easy and simplified. I caught on to it and never let go!

 Every Summer I gather flowers and leaves from our garden, dry them in this lovely wooden flower press, handcrafted by my brother and make them a part of my paper. I embed each sheet with botanicals and seeds and cast each one individually. It is this simple, repetitive process  that I find extremely calming and relaxing...almost meditative!

So, coming back to my winning card....  I decided to cast a thicker paper and used some cotton linters and  painted directly on the paper and  since I had just been chosen to be on the Yasutomo Niji Design team, I decided to do something oriental..and tried my hand at Chinese Brush painting  and sent it off, happy that I had done my best!


And one fine afternoon, I received a happy mail from Kim over at Arnold Grummer's !
....and today it was announced officially in their October Newsletter and on their website, so I thought of sharing my project here too.

I had sent a mini tutorial as part of my submission..here it is...

The colors and brushes are by Yasutomo and paper making supplies by Arnold Grummer

......notice those petals and seeds....

That was a long post! still there?

You can stop by their website for the announcement and supply list.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Arnold Grummer Contest Winner!

Layered Emboss Resist

 Happy Monday everyone, hope you'll had a wonderful weekend! I spent most of mine watching some interesting movies, and 'Gravity' was among them..Loved It!! Don't miss it !

Last night, I dug out some of my old textile designing tools and played with them ..my ruling pen and my favorite dip pen! I have an antique dip pen and some lovely nibs to go with it. I wonder why I stopped using them, I used to sketch a lot with it..hmmn... I guess it's the micron's fault, they are so much more convenient and portable, they pushed my precious dip pens deep  into my drawer! I also got my Parker fountain pen out, which unfortunately had dried up so bad, that the inner aeromatic ink sac had disintegrated!

So coming soon you will be seeing a project I did using these pens, but for today am playing along Papertrey Ink's MIM#135- layered emboss resist. I loved this technique so much I got quite a few done while my supplies were out..here is my first one....
 

                  Stamps-PTI-Stylish Sentiments-Holiday, In the Meadow

 I stamped the sentiment first, then inked it using Distress ink-wild honey, then stamped the image using Versamark and then embossed with glossy embossing powder. Finally did a once over using Distress walnut ink. As  I have said before, nothing is done unless a brush is used, so went over the lower part with a wet brush!

 A closer look.....

 Will be back with another one soon..standby!

Layered Emboss Resist

CAS-ual Fridays-chevron

It's Friday and we have a brand new challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays!
........we are talking chevrons and sequins this week, and I know a lot of card makers out there simply love their sequins..me.. not so much! I rarely ever use any embellies on my cards, so It did take me a while to get this one done!

This challenge really had me thinking for quite a while, until I  finally decided to pull out my pattern paper and  do some good ole'stamping and call it done!
..but no..every single time I looked at  it, I felt as though something was missing, of course something was missing, I had not used a paint brush nor done any coloring!

So I grabbed my  Prismas and added some shading and suddenly everything looked and felt so much better..I heaved a sigh of relief!

A closer look at the shading..subtle but enough to add depth...

stamps-Wplus9-folk art florals

Thanks so much for stopping by.

CAS-ual Fridays-chevron