Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Lord have Mercy!

I am so happy that I had some time to stamp so that I could play along in Mercy's great sketch challenge this week! When I started this card, I knew that it could only go 2 ways. It was going to either turn out gorgeous or like a rainbow puked on my cardstock lol! Thankfully, I love how this turned out and if I may be so bold (get it??? Bold???), I'm pretty sure that this is in the top 5 favorite cards of all time that I have created!

I can't take all the credit though ;) As I'm sure you might be able to tell, I was greatly inspired by Kim's amazing watercoloring skills as well as by her use of color and stitching. I have been a watercoloring fool all weekend and I am loving it!! I have been doing a lot of experimenting with using both SU inks and markers and the results are fabulous :) I have a new favorite way to color now! And of course we can't forget about Mercy's great sketch! This sketch was nice and simple and perfect to showcase these bright colors and fun images. These two aren't called Trendsetters for nothing ya know ;)

For each of the DP's, I cut to size, stitched, sponged edges, added a black and white mat then adhered to card base. All of the images are from the Make A Wish set and were stamped onto watercolor paper with versamark then heat embossed with black embossing powder. I did this at least 3 times for most of the images. I then colored the images using a paintbrush and SU inks & markers. The images were cut out (some were cut apart) and adhered back together using various thicknesses of dimensionals. The circle was die cut with a Nestability, I kept the white paper in the metal frame while I sponged the light blue so that the edges would stay nice and bright white before adhering to the black scallop circle. One final touch that I added after the card was completed, was to take the SU markers and run them along the edges of all of the cut images to give them a cleaner look. Obviously, it would have been way easier if I had thought of this before actually adhering them to the card lol!

I made this card  for my FIL's birthday. I can't even tell you how hard it was to let it leave my craft room but don't worry, it wasn't long before it came back :) Matt brought it back home after we left his parents so that he can build a frame for it. Isn't he so sweet? So for now, it is sitting in my light box, with all of the lights shining on it like a spotlight lol!!
03-15-10a
Side view of card-
03-15-10b

Card Recipe:
Stamps- Make A Wish (There She Goes)
Paper- Black, white, DP by Imaginisce, watercolor
Ink- VersaMark, Momento Tuxedo Black, Soft Sky, various SU inks for watercoloring
Accessories- Dimensionals, sewing machine, paint brush, sponge, black embossing powder, nestabilities, SU Markers

20 comments:

Kelli Hull said...

That is TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!!

Unknown said...

holy cow, woman...this is phenomenal! your watercoloring is spectacular, and i thought i used alot of dimensionals!?! LOL! love the textures and depth you've created....amazing job!

thanks for playing along with my sketch for this week....it is AWESOME!!!!

{{{hugs}}}
mercy

Unknown said...

Ummmmm Awesome is not the word I would use...In fact I can't speak cause my jaw is on the floor in amazement...OMGOODNESS Jess!! This HAS to be one of the best cards I have ever seen...And I have seen a LOT!! STUNNING stuff....WOW!! Xx

Anonymous said...

WOW!! I love the rich colors and it is a party on a card! Great job on the sketch- you totally rocked it!

Michele Lourenco said...

Jessica, wow this card is just outstanding. The colors, layering sketch WOW it's just beautiful

Holly aka Toy said...

Look at you, channeling your inner KIM! LOL Completely fabulous, my friend!

Anita said...

This is amazing! Your watercoloring is perfect.

Kim Teasdale said...

Whoa Jessica!!! My jaw hit the floor with this beauty! Who new that there was a SPECTACULAR water colour artist just bursting to come out! I hope to see more of that artiste come out armed with boxes of dimensionals watiting to pounce on some unsuspecting paper! The paper doesn't have a chance against you ;) Great stuff my friend! :)

sanjeet said...

love the textures and depth you've created....amazing job!
data entry work from home

Julie said...

Oh this is gorgeous, Jessica! Look at your watercoloring skillz! Amazing!!!

Theresa said...

Jessica,

Your card is FABULOUS!! Wow! I just love it. Too bad it won't be up for the WIR...How nice that it's going to be framed. All good works of art should be framed.

Excellent!!!

Meredith said...

WOW! This card is gorgeous!! Great coloring!

Judy McMullen said...

WOW! Totally awesome card! Love the vibrant, rich colors and all the dimension on this card. Outstanding!!!

Anonymous said...

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR HO! This is a spectacular card, I can hardly stand it! And it is watercoloured, are you kidding me!!! You are my hero!

Vicki Dutcher said...

STUNNING no doubt! Framed YOU BET~~ Excellent card!

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) said...

Oh my godness Jessica!!! Drop-dead-GORGEUS creation!!! I can definitely understand you placing it amongst your top 5 ever!! You're amazing girl!

Kim P said...

I cannot express how impressed and amazed I am by this work of ART! The watercoloring is wonderful, and I LOVED the RICH color palette! This is definitely worth to be framed...

...by the way, just how many dimensionals did you use????? *wink*

Unknown said...

Oh wow!! Jessica, your coloring is fabulous!! I admire Kim's coloring technique, too...you guys are both awesome!
Another wonderful sketch from Mercy!
I love how you used the sketch with fun and bright colors!

Gretchen said...

Holy Macaroni!! This is just soo pretty! I can see why your FIL wants to frame it!

Beth M said...

Wow, this is a work of art! I hope it gets framed!