Pinkfresh Studio - Folk Mandala two ways

Happy Thursday, crafty friends! I hope this first week of 2019 is treating you well! I'm...busy. Lol! Getting ready for our upcoming stamp & die release at Pinkfresh Studio, and for Creativation at the same time...I sometimes look at my computer &/or crafting area with panic. It will all get done...it always does, but I'm going to have some long days in the next couple weeks!

 Before I get to my cards for today, I thought I would share this nice little coupon code from Simon Says Stamp. Gotta love $5 off $5!! Use code CRL952 upon checkout - code expires 1/7/19 at 11:59pm. :)

Today I wanted to share a couple of cards that I created during the October release using the Folk Mandala stamps and coordinating dies. I think this is such a pretty set, and there are so many great ways you can create with them! To start this card, I stamped & heat embossed the mandala to Arches watercolor paper in Brutus Monroe Gilded. I made sure to use my MISTI when stamping, as this watercolor is quite textured, and it takes a 2-3 times stamping to get a nice impression.

Next I colored in the mandala image using my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker set. I have the full set of 90, which I purchased on Amazon. This is their complete set of colors, and I really love having it! I utilize them as you would Copics quite often, and only blend with water if I feel like I got too much color in an area, or if I am creating a watercolor background. I used the following colors on my images (all linked individually below):

Pinks: pale pink, light pink, pink, dark pink

Purples: pale violet, light violet, purple

Leaves: persian green

I colored the florals & birds in pinks & purples, giving them an ombre gradient for shading. I did use a little bit of water & a size 2 watercolor brush when coloring the leafy areas, just to help blend out that bold green. 

Once dry, I cut the mandala out with its coordinating die, then mounted it to a matching block of Arches watercolor paper cut slightly smaller than an A2 card. I then mounted that entire panel to an A2 card base created from Bazzill candy hearts cardstock. I then used some of the Zig pinks & purples used above to create the watercolor background around the mandala.

Next I stamped & heat embossed the word proud to a strip of vellum in Gilded, then trimmed a banner edge to the left side of it. I adhered it to the lower right corner of the card, then finished the sentiment with Indigo Hills 2 mini puffy alphas. Finally, I accented with Lucy's Clear Iridescent Mix flat backed jewels to finish.

The second card is simpler, and utilizes both the outline & solid images, rather than coloring in with markers. I started by stamping all the solid images first in Catherine Pooler inks in the following colors: It's A Girl, Party Dress and Flirty Fuchsia (linked individually & in collections below). I highly suggest using a stamping platform because there is a bit of lining up when stamping these images, and I prefer a MISTI. Next I stamped & heat embossed the outline images in Avery Elle rose gold. I had to do this in sections, because I can be a little clumsy when it comes to embossing powder. So it is just better if I heat set the powder in installments so I don't accidentally mess up what I am doing.

With the folk mandala stamped, I proceeded to stamp the first part of the sentiment directly below it in onyx black Versafine. Then I stamped & heart embossed the word "soul" right next to it in this gorgeous embossing powder from WOW called Royal Crush. It matched my ink colors perfectly!

With all the stamping complete, I mounted the stamped panel to the front of an A2 card base made from Bazzill Basics sour grapes cardstock with a sheet of foam adhesive. I actually create my own full sheets of these foam adhesives just by cutting down sheets of white fun foam to 3.75x5, then covering each side in 2.5 inch Scor Tape. I've found this to be the most cost effective way (it's the perfect time to use that $5 off coupon to SSS!) to be able to apply a full foam sheet to the back of my cards, avoiding any weird warping or dents in my card fronts. 

Of course, my final step was accenting here & there with my signature iridescent jewels to finish.

Well, that is what I have for you today! I update my Crafty Sales page with the latest promos as I get them, so be sure to check it out throughout the week. Before you move along with your day, I wanted to invite you to follow me on social media. I hang out on Instagram a lot, and share my work in progress in my stories...along with REALLY cute photos of my dogs! :) And of course, I would love for you to subscribe to my YouTube Channel. My channel has been pretty quiet recently - but I just got my new lights dialed in, and my craft studio organization is almost complete! My goal is to add a new video every 2 weeks, and you can expect my first video during the second week of January!

INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | FACEBOOK

 

You are going to see a new option up there....Facebook. I go back & forth on this a lot, but I was looking through my personal FB page the other day...and it was cards for days. It doesn't leave room for what I want my personal FB to have on it - personal photos & such. So, I have created a FB page for Lea Lawson Creates again. I would love to have you join, and be sure to subscribe to notifications so you don't miss out on anything. I would like to make the page interactive, and a way that we can actually hang out...so if you have any ideas on that, I would appreciate it! 

I hope that you have a wonderful rest of your Thursday!

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