Watercolor Cut-Outs

 Introducing... watercolor flower cut outs in my shop!

I took the small flower sketches I had made over the years from outings to gardens and my backyard, and cut them out! These are so cute to use on handmade cards or even collages or scrapbooks!

Wildflower Cut Outs

The Fruits of Spring Cleaning

It's Spring! Time for some upheaval and cleaning.  I'm of the opinion that a little upheaval now and then is healthy for you.

Spring cleaning for me means going through old paintings in my art cupboard.  I collect so many experiments that most of them end up getting recycled into tags or cards. Here are some of the fun cut-outs my latest studio spring cleaning produced.  My favorite pieces are the pineapples!

After much cutting, paper punching and gluing, I created quite the stack of cards. I'm all set for this year now!

Watercolor and Washi Tape Tags and Cards

Last week I was sifting through old watercolor paintings and decided to go on a card and gift-tag-making spree!  I had to put some of my new washi tape to good use!

Some of these designs were from watercolor stamping experiments.  Others are some old watercolor cut-outs. I just added some fun floral details with pens.  I'm all set for gift giving this year!

Watercolor Cutout Cards

Thanks for all the suggestions for ways to use my watercolor cut-outs! I ended up making fun cards with them.

Now I've got my birthday card needs covered for a while :)

Watercolor Card Designs

My latest card creations designed with ....... yep, watercolors!

I scored a new feather stamp at Michaels for $1...... I love finding stuff like that for so super cheap.  I slathered some watercolors on it and pressed it to the paper to make the design.  It's really easy, you just have to make sure to not use watery paint.  Keep it nice and thick and it turns out looking almost like ink.  Cool!

And these cards are decorated with butterflies punched out of old watercolor reject paintings.  Ones that were not going to get sold or hung up in my house.  So why not recycle them as birthday cards?  

And lastly, a fun stripey watercolor card design inspired by my watercolor header designs.  This one makes me happy :)

Scribbled Heart Valentine's Cards

One of my favorite holidays is approaching!  Hooray for Valentine's Day and all the love shared because of it!

I'm sure I've already written about how much I love home made cards, but I'll write it again.... they're awesome!  They may not look as professional, but there's more care that's gone into them.  

I posted a fun Watercolor Resist Card Idea last year, but I didn't want to make the same cards again.  So I came up with Scribbled Heart Cards instead.  This is another one you can do with the kiddos!

Scribbled Heart Cards Tutorial

Materials:
Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter or Stencil
Crayons, Pens, Markers, Colored Pencils- whatever you like!
Paper

Step 1:  Lay a cookie cutter or stencil down on top of some paper and hold it down tightly with your hands.  You don't want it moving for the next step.

Step 2:  Using a crayon, marker, pen, or colored pencil, scribble around inside of the cookie cutter.  Fill in the entire space.  You can even get crazy and use several different colors on the same heart.

Step 3:  Remove the cookie cutter to see your awesome scribbled heart!  Add a fun Valentine's message and other embellishments if desired. 

Happy Card Making!

Watercolor and Washi Tape Thank You Note Cards

Sometimes I'm a little behind the craft trends.  Like this time.  I finally got my first Washi Tape just a few weeks ago.   I've always wanted some, but wasn't quite sure what I would use it for.  I've come across quite a few washi-tape-embellished items..... phones, jars, and yes...even shoes...ha!

I played it safe and used the pretty tape on mini- thank-you-note-cards to send to my lovely Etsy customers. I'm lovin' the watercolor/washi tape combination.  What do you think?

What's the strangest thing you've seen washi tape used on?  I'd love to know!

Printing with Recycled Styrofoam

Alright folks... ready to make some more art with me?!!  I promise you it won't cost much.  This simple art project uses recycled materials!

Recycled Styrofoam Prints Tutorial

Materials:

Styrofoam- you can use a take-out box or other food packaging

Scissors

Ballpoint Pen

Corrugated Cardboard or Wooden Block

Tacky Glue

Acrylic Craft Paints

Foam Brush or Paint Brush

Paper

Step 1:  Cut out a section of Styrofoam with scissors and make your print design by pressing into the Styrofoam with a ballpoint pen.

Don't be intimidated by making a design.  Even if you don't draw you can make a simple design with lines. Heck, you could even scribble on this and it would still be cool :)

Step 2:  Apply Tacky Glue to the back of your Styrofoam design block and glue it to a piece of cardboard or a wooden block.  Set your foam block under some heavy books to dry for about 10 minutes.

Step 3:  Apply acrylic craft paint to your foam design block with a foam brush or paint brush.

Step 4:  Place your painted foam block face down on paper and press it down to transfer the paint to your paper.  Remove the block to see the print you created!

All that's left to do is experiment with more designs and colors.  You can try painting multiple colors on your block to make some more interesting prints.

Happy printmaking!

A Few Fun Cards

Here are some cards I've made over the last few months.....

I don't think I'll ever get tired of butterflies or flowers or stamping with watercolors! 

This one was an experiment with colored pencils.  It's different from what I normally go for, but I like it :)

Watercolor Resist Valentine's Cards

Last week my son and I experimented with watercolors and crayons to make some crayon resist Valentine's Cards!  They may look a bit amateur- ish, but they were fun to make!  Plus, nothing beats a home made Valentine's card :)

Here's a simple tutorial I put together for you:


Materials:
white card stock or watercolor paper
white crayon
watercolor paints
paint brush

Step 1:  Draw a design or write a Valentine's message on the front of a folded piece of white card stock or watercolor paper.  This is kinda hard to do because you can't see very well what you are drawing or writing.

Step 2: Load up some watercolor paints on a paintbrush and paint over the area you just drew on with with crayon to see your design come to life!

Step 3:  Let the paint dry and add any other embellishments you like.