Colors from Nature

This is the year that I made a card making bucket list.

The list is quite lengthy...

and diverse.

One for the items on the list is..."Use bolder colors"

I'm happy to say that I have been doing that...

and it's been fun!

Typically...

I gravitate to soft colors..

colors that are gentle..and muted...and found in nature...

and when I create with those colors...

the color palette always seems to flow..and remain connected...

but...

I aways like to inject a dose...

a jolt...

 of color.

A color that pulls it all together...

I think that's why I truly love working what nature scenes..

florals...

and botanicals.

When I water colored this image...

the brightness of the flowers in the window boxes were the jolt of color

And each of these florals got a jolt from the surprise of the yellow bloom

and the bright pink blooms

When I chose to create a card with this beautiful "Sparrow"image

from Our Daily Bread Designs...

I knew, from the start, that there needed to be a jolt of color...

not a big...screaming...blinding jolt..

but a jolt...nonetheless.

And so...

this lovely bird has hints of red.

Without the red...

I think that the image would have been dull...

lifeless...

 The blues and grays hold their own beside the red...

ad the lander on the blooms complements the grays and blues beautifully...

yet...without the red...

this image would have been drab...

The print behind the colored bird image is a cream background

 that is covered with large, bold blooms and leaves...

No color

The blooms and leaves are grey...

I knew that this was the print that I wanted ti pair with this image....

No doubt about it..

So to pull the print and image together to create this card design

I highlighter the blooms in the background...

with the same colors that were used to color the bird.

In the end...

I was very happy with that choice. 

It contributed to the card....exactly as I had hoped it would.

And....

that little jolt of red...on the bird and along the edge of the card front

did exactly what they were supposed to do, as well.

There's a little glisten to the lavender colored blooms

(I gave them a light brushing over with Clear Wink of Stella)

I am still nurturing my relationship with alcohol markers...

if you know me...

and my card making 

you know 2 things...

My style is CAS ...100%...all the way

and..

you also know that I LOVE water coloring.

This being said...

While water coloring will always be my first love...

there is room in my heart for alcohol ink and markers.

Creating cards like this one...

reminds me that although I will always love what I love...

(water coloring)

That the opportunity to explore my own creativity 

by incorporating new techniques into my repertoire 

will always be of interest to me...

and will keep me growing...

as a card maker.

Card Loving friends...stay tuned...a "Bird Collection" will be coming to The Bellissima Card Shop soon!

Card making friends...a brief supply list of key supplies is posted below

Thanks for visiting!

Have a great Friday!

Michelle

Supply List: 

Stamp: Our Daily Bread Designs: "Sparrow"

Die: MFT Mini Scallop Rectangles

Color: Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers

Card stock: PTI, Stampin Up

Other: Wink of Stella (Clear)

Retiring the Paint Brushes for a Day or Two

If I had my way....

I'd water color all of the time...

Every card...

every day.

However...

I also have the desire to always expand my skills and card making repertoire...

so I put effort into consciously choosing to create cards that aren't water colored.

So..

I've retired the paint brushes for a few days..

and decided to get out my alcohol markers...

and take on a  challenge to...

blend blend blend....

I have a new collection of floral stamps from ODB (Our Daily Bread)

and thought that they'd be perfect for some color blending that wasn't water based.

The stamps have lots of dark line detail...

a style that I usually don't gravitate to...

But...as I mentioned...

I am focusing some (not all) of my card making adventures

on some new looks...and techniques 

So...out came the Spectrum Noir Alcohol markers...

the new stamps...

and the cards that I'll share today...

 are the end result...

I have numerous flower images from ODB...

My love of crocuses led me to  choose this one...

  See all of the dark detail and shading lines?

This is different for me...

I usually go for clean single line images.

So I was looking forward to inking this stamp up...

and giving it a test drive.

I had a few failed attempts at blending colors to give me the look I was going for...

But in the end...

I was happy with the two crocus cards that I created...

After I colored the images...

I put them through the ScanNCut 

(I love the white border option that the  ScanNCut offers...genius machine...genius!)

I used my current favorite die.....MFT Mini Scallop Rectangle

Got out some prints...

dimensionals...

My MISTI...

a few sequins...

and wha-la...

all of the elements came together nicely, I think.

I have always loved green and some shades of purple together..

so that's the color palette I chose for both crocus cards

The rectangle and the crocus image are both popped up on dimensionals

The print is a muted. soft swiss dot

not too loud...but visible

and a nice complement to the purple crocuses.

and...

a closeup...

so that you can see the details...

CAS (Clean and Simple) card making always makes me smile...

and this card....as well as the second card (below) are very CAS

so I'm smiling.

The second version also incorporates the green and purple color palette...

Dots sand plaids...

They never get old...

and they always bring a fresh bright look to a card.

So...this time...I went with plaid...

(and another CAS smile from me)

While I love to water color...

I can now say that I working with alcohol markers may be a close second...

and just as with water coloring...

I enjoy the magic that happens when blending colors.

Alcohol markers are very different than water coloring..

but the blending  and highlighting that I love when water coloring 

is also the beauty of alcohol marker coloring.

For me...

it's all about creating a new color palette....shading...and depth of color

by mixing single colors.

Water coloring bring that opportunity...and alcohol markers bring that opportunity as well...

Each in a very different way...

but also similar...in a way.

Will alcohol marker coloring move into first place for me...

nudging water coloring out of first place?

Never.

But it's a nice alternative...

an keeps my card repertoire fresh...and varied.

Card loving friends....Both of today's cards are available for purchase at The Bellissima Card Shop.

Card making friends...I've shared the supply info in the blog post ...(stamp and die info is noted above)

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle