More Fallidays Projects

 I have been stealing some time to try to do at least one of the challenges each day. And you know my memory is not as good as I would like it to be with directions or guide lines. So I kind of think of it as pirate creating. I do read the challenges and retain parts of the information and cross my fingers that the idea that comes to me after that will be accepted when I post them. Its kind of a hit and miss thing, sometimes I get really close and some times I miss a key detail.

 The main take away for me is that I am up here creating and nope I do not need much in the way of cards left for this year. a couple of Birthday cards for next month maybe some personalized Christmas tags for my family. but, with the samples I make all year I am good for personal needs and these are all just bonus cards. And that's OK it saves you when you do hit a I don't have a spark in you to create. 

 My son & his girlfriend have hatched Chicken eggs into Peeps last weekend and I knew I wanted to send a silly card for that, we've been getting progress text shots along the way. They've remodeled a shed into a fancy Chicken coop and all those things so. Vikki Jo has a Farm themed challenge and So, I had gotten out this MFT Gift box cover die to try to do some other challenge and I thought OK you could use that and use some Chicken papers so I did.

The Yellow paper that is the frame die is from the Whimsy Stamps CottageCore pack, the Red barn wood looking print is from the Carta Bella Farm to table pad and those little collage looking prints in the window holes are a piece of double sided paper ( one side is chicken wire) and the other side is a collage from the Authentique Homestead pad ( this is from like 2015) so, I'm looking the carta bella pad is from 2020 and the Whimsy pack is new like sometime during the summer of this year type "new" The Congratulations stamp I did I don't know how long ago but, I did ink the edges with some DOX scorched timber ink and those tiny black brads are from Recollections. The sheer ribbon is unknown the base is textured Bazzill. This one finished out at A6 in real life. 

 So around the same time that I was working on the Chicken card I had seen there is a do a colorful Halloween with a silhouette challenge and so, I picked up the drop piece of that Whimsy stamps paper and trimmed it to be a "frame" around the black cut frame of that same MFT gift box cover die. I knew I had some Halloween dies and I was excited about the idea of doing a silhouette. So, I opened the drawer that has the hanging file folder of loose black papers and I started with that dotted one in the top right corner and I thought. OK that's enough of that, and I gravitated to the other blacks that had a lot of yellow on them. I did put the cat diecut up on foam pop dots so he bumps out a little from the bustle of her dress and then I decided they needed spooky glowing eyes so I added some lime green liquid pearls where I thought the eyes could be. And a week ago or so I had cut and watercolored some of the candles that came in the same TH die set as the Mistletoe I used last week and thought she could be using one of those and then I added some stickles glitter glue to the flame part. That sentiment was stamped and diecut a long time ago and I really thought it was a MFT one. but, when I look at the photos of Halloween MFT stamp sets I have I am not seeing it, so if I steal some time I may go later after all these challenges are done and try to figure out stamps and details. but this one is also A6 in real life.

 This one was done yesterday afternoon, I had seen earlier in the week there is a collage challenge and there is also a Postage holiday collage challenge so, I opened the drawer that has tiny clear envelopes of postage I have done over time that was left overs and started poking around through them. Some of the process shots of that and maybe even stamp names are here in this blog post from last year. So the real canceled postage came off of envelopes I had sitting here and the good cheer is printed paper, it was on the table in that piece of milk glass I keep sentiments in and I don't remember what pack it fell out of anymore. I am pretty sure those postage frame dies are from IO and the button is I don't remember but, it was cut from a sheet that had been sprayed with ink a long time ago as well. the white and red lace is vintage, the fancy fiber (yarn) is unknown now and The red gingham & the kraft ish prints are from the Maja designs Traditional Christmas pack. This is 6" square in real life. And as many things that are layered on it, its a pretty flat design in real life as well. The center snowman postage is up on foam pop dots. That's about it from me, Its almost time to "wake up" so I will probably go start the coffee. Thanks for stopping by. 

Watercoloring a Jacaranda Tree

 This week Suz is sharing this video seen here on YouTube doing a Jacaranda Tree that blooms with purple flowers by Leisa O'Brien So pretty. I did see that she started her sketch of the tree trunk with a watercolor pencil. So I did do that.

 And I did leave space for the blooms.

And I really like how this looks, this is just a black watercolor pencil & water.

So I used these two brushes to start adding splotchy blooms to the space between those branches.

 I did try adding some "grass" spots to the purple carpet of fallen blooms on the ground under the tree but, I really don't like how that turned out and I did keep adding more paint to this off and on last weekend.

I decided to tuck in some flying birds for fun. with the additional layers of paint. 

So, this has a few more shadow ( darker) blooms and this is where I stopped. and I realized I made this too big to fit on a card front unless I cut it down. So I am still thinking about that.  If you'd like to play along with us you can find this challenge here at SCS. I hope you are doing well and I appreciate that you took the time to visit.

 

Another Tree Card

 Good Morning & Welcome back. You may have seen that I had taken both of the practice tree panels out of that little bin on the table last week, adding more branches and snow to them as I knew one of the falliday's challenges was "snow" and one was "create a tree not using a tree product" so, I used the one on the printed paper for a tag for the Snow challenge and then realized the other would not really work for what she is asking for on the created A Holiday tree challenge so, I just finished this into a Christmas card and did not link it to any of the challenges. 

 This is A6 in real life, the trees are painted on Arches cold press watercolor paper with some Daniel Smith paints and some Windsor & Newton white gouache. the kraft "window" layer ( next to the painted panel is a Pretty pink Posh Mini story book #1 die, the 4 stitched frame pieces are a different ( generic ) die I seen on Amazon. These are kinda jury-rigged together on the back side with scotch tape. There is a layer of pop dots between the painted panel and the window frame. All those kraft pieces were inked on the edges with some DOX scorched timber. I seen it was a little crooked after it was glued down but, I have left it like this as the word is straight and its really you know I think if I pull it up, its going to fall apart ha. The Peace word is from the Tim Holtz handwritten holidays die set and that was done from a scrap of artist loft watercolor paper. the Stripe paper here is from the Echo Park Paper pad called baking Christmas Cheer. the base is some textured Bazzill and its A6 in real life. That's about it from me, I hope you are doing well & thanks for stopping by. 

A couple of Fallidays projects

 There is a falliday's line up of challenges happening now at Splitcoaststampers. 4 new challenges go live every morning and so, I have been reading along more than playing along but, I have a couple that are not two few or three fer cards now so I thought I would post them together and clear out my to be uploaded folder. 

This first one is the painted panel was a practice piece of doing these trees on that textured printed paper and I fished this out of the bin on the table to do 

 I ended up adding more paint to the trees and more snow spots, the larger one on the left I splattered some additional snow on it and the one on the right I ended up adding some stickles glitter glue to it. 

The Impression Obsession tag die here is one from Anna Wight and I had cut some of my scraps up a long time ago with it and then I found this top tan one and ( its flimsy printed paper) so, I found a second one of Kraft cardstock to glue to the back side here. That Merry was stamped with Versafine on Kraft and cut out with scissors a long time ago so, all I did here was ink the edges with some DOX scorched timber ink as that's whats on the edges of the tag pieces. The white yarn fiber came to me in a swap maybe 20 some odd years ago when people did that fiber swaps from balls of them they bought and the green burlap string is from May Arts. 

I could not sleep last night so, about 1 am ish I started on this one, the green textured base I think could be an Anna Griffin folder ( I have a bin of previously started things on the table) and I liked the color of that behind the little collage I started building and decided good enough. The kraft piece was run through a Spellbinders Herringbone folder and I had added some Daniel smith watercolors to the framed edge part of it when I first pressed it and set it aside so, when I seen that Joanne was hosting a wood fallidays challenge I had pulled that out totally intending to use it some how. 

The tree was cut from watercolor paper a while back ( Its a Tim Holtz die) and I have been adding layers of paint to it for a few months now I'd guess. I had gotten a pad of Simple Stories Simple Vintage Evergreen Memories pad ( this year Christmas paper in the mail this last week) and I had seen this deer print in it and knew I wanted to use it some how. I have trimmed the edges down a little bit its one of those sheets that has 4 different prints on that 6X8 sheet size. The sentiment here I stamped I don't remember how long ago and I just thought it worked with these pieces. I did after it was all glued together add more white gouache to the snow on the tree branches and in a few spots where there was some bokeh looking snow over the deer. ( not every spot just some of them) That's about it so far from me, its supposed to freeze here tonight and possibly snow ( slightly ) very early in the AM tomorrow so, the cleaning up the garden calls. I hope you are doing well & thanks for stopping by. 
 

Inspired by {Pacha Soap}

 This week Kia is sharing the Pacha Soap site and Pinterest boards for the Inspiration destination & I happened across this leaf shaped Soap bar and remembered that Susan has an "Holly & Mistletoe" challenge at Splitcoaststampers for the Fallidays event and I thought OK you could combine them.

I started out cutting some scrap watercolor papers with the Tim Holtz Sizzix Vault set called Winter Candle light dies and started adding some Daniel Smith watercolors to them. There is a bit of Windsor & Newton White Gouache on the berries. ( not all of them but some of them) 

 So when the paint dried ( I added another layer of paint to the bits and pieces) and glued them onto a piece of White Neenah that I had run through a Spellbinders Ornate Molded Frame folder a while back that happened to be in the bin on the table. 

 

I used a paint brush to add a few more stems between the die cut pieces. 

I added a sentiment from the Waltzing Mouse Season of Love Tags Stamps set below the sprigs with some Versafine ink and then trimmed the framed panel a little bit so that the front cover of the Card front in the same card stock could peek out behind it.  I have been debating adding some glitter glue to the berries but so far have resisted that urge. That's about it from me so far, I still have a few more things drip drying with paint on them that will hopefully become finished Falliday's projects but, I am pretty tickled that I did get 2 done so far since it opened this week. I hope you are also doing well & If you'd like to play along with us you can find this challenge here at SCS. Thanks for stopping by. 

 

 

Watercoloring a Weeping Willow Tree

 This week Ann is sharing this video tutorial on doing a dry brush style weeping willow tree seen here on YouTube by Olga Koelsch called easy watercolor weeping willow. So, I watched the part where she did the background then walked away to let it dry, and I did try a simple sketch.

And the thing is I am using a water soluble pencil for these sketches so, I knew doing the background I was going to have to remember where the lines were for the tree. so, I did not do that many of them.

 

I think of these tutorials like a memory game, what do you remember. well this is what I remembered and when I turned the video back on where I had stopped and she starts in on the tree trunk I realized. I had totally spaced having a horizon line haha.

So I added in a slight green tinted line to the horizon. maybe its far away bushes and such... I didn't try to make it into any thing. 

 

I went back and started watching the video and started in with some squiggly branches and a trunk and some leaves. I did consider going outside to look at the colors of mine. I bought a stick Weeping willow tree for 10.00 about what 18 years ago? maybe less, its a pretty big tree they grow quick with enough water so, mine ( I think without looking) the end branches tend to lean a little more on the green side so, I thought lets just wing it.

I decided the branches needed to kiss towards the ground more, remembered the "shadow" part. I don't really remember any of the colors of paints she may have mentioned and mine are a mix mostly of what ever was close by in the palette. And this is where I stopped. This is some Arches cold press with Daniel Smith paints and I did all of it with just the one brush. I am trying to decided what else I want to add to this scene, mine is a hiding spot for all the birds that think they are being so stealthy while they stalk my process of refilling the bird feeders in my yard ha ha. ( so my tree tends to have quite a bit of noise coming through the leaves ) That's about it from me, I hope you are doing well. If you'd like to play along with us you can find this challenge here at Splitcoaststampers. Thanks for stopping by.