Watercolor Peonies with The Ton

Happy Saturday, friends! I hope that you are having a wonderful weekend so far. I wanted to pop in today, because I had a moment this morning to create a couple of cards. I don't often create "just because", but it was so nice to use this beautiful piece that I watercolored in Effie's class at {stamp} JunkieFest 2019. This was a 3 day stamping event that I did some work at for Pinkfresh Studio, but also personally took some classes. It is organized by the founders of Stamp Junkies, which is a fantastic Facebook group for those that love stamping. If you haven't joined, I highly recommend it!

I took Effie's (owner of The Ton clear stamps) 4 hour class, and then proceeded to use about 2 other hours in a different class to finish it. Granted, I was also watching Effie at times while she taught and also chatting with the wonderful ladies at my table. I am super comfortable with watercolor, but I really LOVED learning this technique with Effie, and using a product by Ken Oliver called Color Burst. I've never used them before, and they were quite fun! When I got home, I added some titanium white splatters to the watercolor piece, which just tends to be part of my style.

I'm never going to be able to explain in my own words this fun watercolor technique, so I highly suggest subscribing and watching all the videos on The Ton's YouTube channel. Effie does a wonderful job in her videos, and you will learn far more there than you will here. Lol! I'm just going to share the pretty final pieces!

The floral image is from the Peony Dreams Cluster stamp set, and is quite large. I stamped & heat embossed it in Brutus Monroe Gilded embossing powder to a 6x6 block of Arches cold pressed watercolor paper. I highly suggest using a MISTI stamping platform when using this paper, as it is quite textured. I typically stamp it 3 times to make sure I get a good impression.

I'm an A2 sized card girl, so I ended up trimming it down to fit. That meant I trimmed off a chunk of time spent, and I just couldn't let it go to waste. So I fussy cut the remaining section, then created the card below. I did a mix of stamping & heat embossing for the sentiment from the You've Got This stamp set to a scrap of matching Arches watercolor paper. I adhered it to the middle of an A2 card base created from Bazzill Basic Candy Heart cardstock, then framed it in DCWV glitter paper using the Pretty Frames die. Both the sentiment & diecut set are from Pinkfresh Studio. I don't get to mix manufacturers very often, so it is fun when I do! 

This card is definitely the star of the show, with the big floral element and Effie's watercolor technique. As I mentioned above, I used Ken Oliver Color Burst for the first time, and I used the Caribbean Brights set. I shop mostly at three places, and I could only find them on Amazon. Speaking of Amazon, I also wanted to share a water brush set that I purchased at the last minute. It is this Ohuhu 6 pack, and considering it's $10 price point...I was skeptical. But I LOVE them. I had yet to find a water brush that I actually liked, and these ones hit the mark. And I love that you get all the different sizes & styles in this 6 pack.

I kept the focus on the watercolor peony on this card, just embossing the sentiment from the Large Peony 4 stamp set to a strip of vellum, then attaching to the bottom. I accented with some Studio Katia Iridescent Cones that I received in my super generous swag bag from the JunkieFest 2019 event. I can't seem to find them anywhere for purchase, but you could easily switch them out with a jewel or gem you have on hand. I also accented the first card with some Essentials: Jewels mix from Pinkfresh Studio. 

 I also added some shimmer to the floral piece using a Tonic Aqua Shimmer pen. This is another touch that just lends to my style, and could definitely be left off if you don't love glitter. Although, it is very subtle, but gives the card some beautiful shine in different light.

That is all I have for you today! I wanted to invite you to follow me on social media if you'd like. I would love to be crafty friends!

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Have a great rest of your holiday weekend!

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