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!