This week's TGIF Challenges sketch challenge gave me an excuse to play with some new Stampin' Up! products. These were at the top of my new Annual Catalog wish list: Soft Pastels Assortment (#154585) and Plenty of Patterns Decorative Masks (#155553).
One of the best pieces of advice I've gotten from artists in various mediums is not to be afraid of experimenting and using up supplies. Nothing is wasted when you are learning how products work and you will make happy discoveries that inform your work. So my first step was to play: to see how the pastels worked with different coloring tools and mediums and with the masks. It was a fun morning and I learned what would give me the best outcome for my project idea:
I love how this card came out and especially love the happy Poppy Parade and Granny Apple Green color combo!
To start my card, I watercolored on a light layer of Balmy Blue ink for the background and then let it dry completely. I ended up using Embossing Paste (#141979) with the mask because it was easier to get the pastel color evenly on the flowers. I filled the entire piece of Shimmery White card stock with the flowers on the mask and then colored every other row to create the stripes in my background. I used Shimmery White card stock because it can stand up to moisture better than Basic White.
To use the pastels, I shaved a bit of the color from the stick onto a clear block, using the mini spatula on the Take Your Pick tool (#144107). Then I used a barely moist water painter (##151298) to slightly dampen the pastel grains and and paint the flowers (being sure to wipe the painter off regularly while painting). I kept the mask on the card stock while I was coloring to help keep the images well defined. (It made clean up a bit harder, but I thought it was worth it!).
The greeting is from the new Biggest Wish stamp set (#155052). It was stamped on Basic White card stock and die cut using a Stitched Rectangles die (#151820). This was layered over a scalloped frame die cut using a die from the new Scalloped Contours die set (#155560). A piece of Faux Linen ribbon (from Flowers for Every Season ribbon combo pack, #153620) colored with the Poppy Parade Light Stampin' Blends (Combo pack, #154958) completes the card.
Head over to the TGIF Challenges Blog to get lots of inspiration for using this sketch:
Have a great time playing with your new products today!
--Sara Nell
Beautiful and what a cool idea to use pastels this way!!!
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