polka dot balloons...

Hello my wonderful friends!


It's time for another Unity hop!
(and sale!)


(Whooo's Having a Birthday, Dots for Sure)

This ADORABLE owl is one of the FREE stamps you can get with your purchase this weekend! Isn't he SO sweet? LOVE.

Speaking of animals...

I was recently listening in as a friend of mine told a little kid a story...
 One day, some explorers went into the cave.  They went all the way to the back of the cave, and it was VERY dark. They couldn't see anything! Then they hear a deep, heavy breathing.... Then some grunts... then a ROAR! And a huge bear chased the explorers away... (this, of course, was complete with tickles as the explorers ran away)

Well, an hour or so later, I went to close up the chicken coop for the night... I walked out into the yard, far away from the house lights... Even with my flashlight, it was dark... As I'm moving farther away from the house, I start hearing some heavy breathing... Then some grunts...

So, I'm usually not jumpy when I walk in the yard alone at night, but I'll be honest, that made me nervous. I kept thinking about that story with the bear... then, when I talked sense into myself (After all, it really isn't likely to have a bear in the area) I started thinking it was a cougar.. I KNOW they are in the area.... 

I'm happy to say, I survived.
 (I guess I should also admit that it was most likely only a deer I heard...)

I think should just stay in my art studio after dark... You know, just to be safe. LOL!

(Spread Your Wings, Thanks Above and Beyond)

 I'm SERIOUSLY loving the script/polka dot background stamp in this months KOTM! Isn't it AMAZING? I love how if you stamp it off on the edge, it feathers itself in, and looks FANTASTIC. Super easy way to get a single layer card look like it has more layers!

(Who we Have Matters)

I've decided I'm kinda, really LOVING the new Abandoned Coral Distress Ink... I wasn't so sure about it when I saw it online, but once I had it in my hand.... Yup. GORGEOUS!  For this card, I kept things simple.. I used Distress Markers to ink up the stamp, than a water brush to pull some of the color from the outside edges into the center...giving a super simple and beautiful watercolor effect.

I love watercolor... So many awesome things you can do with just water and pigment!

So, for today's tutorial, I thought I would share a fun little trick for getting patterns with watercolors... See that cute balloon the owl is holding in the first card I shared? It's just a plain old balloon... But I wanted something a little funner....

Step 1: Color the part of the image you want the pattern in with Distress Markers, or any water colors. Nice open images work fabulously for this! (this also works if you apply the ink in a nice thick layer with a blending foam... Like I did for the pink strips)

Step 2: Spritz a background stamp with water... you don't want it dripping, just damp.
(I highly suggest cleaning the stamp before doing this... any residual ink on the stamp could transfer to your project...And yes, that wisdom comes from experience. LOL!)

Step 3: Press watered background stamp onto your colored image and give it a second or two... this lets the water react with the ink...
*TIP: If you have already colored other parts of the image, be sure to mask them off with something that won't allow water through... acetate is perfect for that.

Step 4: Remove the stamp and press the image with a paper towel... This will remove the extra moisture, and lift up the wet ink.... this leaves behind a fabulous ghosted pattern! (You can change the look of the pattern by adding more or less water to your stamp... the more water, the less crisp the results...

(You can see I had a little too much water on the upper part of the image making some of the dots blur together... Personally, I kinda like the distressed, non perfect look!)

That's all for me today! Have a FABULOUS weekend, take some time to be crafty, and simply enjoy yourself!

Don't forget---
 Leave a comment on EACH blog in the hop (including the Unity blog) for your chance to win.  The winners will be announced Monday on the Unity blog.

Enjoy!





Comments

  1. Love em all! Thanks for the tutorial! :) Gotta try this.

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  2. wow--love this! i really must try to be more adventurous in my crafting.

    Your little adventure outside had me thinking of a few times I scared myself when outside, at night, and we live in the country. came face to face one time with a baby--I have no idea who was more scared--me or the deer. I screamed so loud, the next county must have heard. geez!lol

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  3. Thanks for the tutorial. You always make everything sound so easy. Lovely cards. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  4. Hi Kassi, I too am liking that background stamp...and thanks for sharing your technique too. Such pretty cards !!

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  5. its always safe to stay in the art studio, be it day or night ;) thanks so much for sharing this technique.. I love the one you have created...

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  6. I like how you angled the ribbons over the corners of the card. Very pretty.
    the other cards are wonderful too.
    Love the colors.
    thanks for sharing.

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  7. Beautiful cards. Love the colors used on the owl card. Thanks for the step by step ... I will have to try that.

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  8. Very cute cards! LOVE the owl with the spotted balloon! ♥

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  9. I always go got un-perfect :) Great tutorial and cute cute card.

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  10. LOL. A funny story Kassi. When you live out in the country you never know what's in the back yard. Last year my husband, son & I were out on our back doorstep talking as our son was leaving and believe it or not, a bear WAS walking up the edge of our lawn!
    TRUE STORY!
    Anywho, your cards are great. I love the stamps you've used!

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  11. Wonderful cards. I like how you made the polka dot balloons. I also enjoyed your bear story.

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  12. Love your watercolor and texture technique on the balloon! Wonderful effect!!!

    Loved your bear story, too. Reminded me of when we moved into this house and the outhouse served as our facilities. One night my adult son tromped out to the back and came back in a minute later saying there was something watching him from the berm behind the outhouse. He could see the eyeshine.

    I went out there to see and sure enough...two glowing eyes, unblinkingly watching us. I called our dog over thinking that if it were a deer, the dog would smell it and go after it. No response from the dog or from the eyes. They merely shifted a slight bit, but never blinked.

    At this point, my son and I were thoroughly spooked and thinking cougar. They are all over the place here. I told him to go use the bathroom at the church down the road and I would call our friendly neighborhood cougar hunter for advice.

    We never did find out for sure what had been watching us, but our friend guessed it was a doe with a fawn. She was reluctant to leave the fawn or draw attention to themselves, so stood there frozen. The next day my son tromped up on the berm and did see deer droppings, but no fawn. Spooked us plenty, I'll tell you. Ha!
    <3 J

    jwoolbright at gmail dot com
    HerPeacefulGarden.blogspot.com

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  13. Pretty showcase and cool tutorial for distress ink, Kassi. :)

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  14. Great technique. Thanks for sharing. Fabulous!!!

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  15. your card are awesome thanks for sharing!

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  16. I kind of adore your polka dot balloon. :-) Both of your cards are great and I'm loving all the polka dots, they're fun!

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  17. Ha! Your imagination was running away with you, maybe there was an animal, maybe not; just to be sure, stay in your studio and create. That's a much better choice!

    Love your happy cards and the tutorial!

    Hugs, Carmen L

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  18. Love all your cards! Thx for the mini tutorial ❤️

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  19. I LOVE all your cards! That polka background looks fabulous stamped off the side of your card. Thank you for the fun tip for the ghosted image, love it!
    Happy Friday!
    Shanna :)

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  20. Wonderful cards! Thanks for the awesome tutorial! I need to give this technique a try!

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  21. Lovely cards,amazing tutorial.Thanks for sharing.

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  22. great cards and interesting tutorial. Thanks for sharing!

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  23. Wonderful cards, love the colors, the coloring is wonderful too. TFS.

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  24. Your cards are wonderful. Thanks for sharing them and the great watercolor tips.
    Crafty hugs,
    Dawn
    DesignsByDragonfly.blogspot

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