{Spotlight Project} Highlighting Marigolds

Hi, peeps! I love the marigold image in The Birds and The Blooms, the current release for STAMP Club members. Rather than colour in the image, I thought I'd colour in the background instead to highlight the flowers.

I stamped the lowest image first onto hot pressed watercolour paper, then stamped two more images, masking as I went along. This is the first time I've used hot pressed, and I prefer it to cold pressed because it has a much smoother texture and finish.

I masked all three flowers and taped the watercolour paper down to a wooden art board. Well, it's a chopping board really but don't tell anyone - it never saw the kitchen so it doesn't smell of food ;)  I painted the area around the flowers with water and sprinkled on some yellow and orange Brusho powders.

The surrounding areas were covered with scrap papers (it's amazing how far the tiniest spritzes of colour will travel!) then I spritzed the paper with water. You only need a tiny sprinkle of Brush to get a lot of colour.

I should really have used masking fluid instead of paper masks because they got really soggy, but I just peeled them off quickly before any of the spritzed colour had chance to soak through.

Then I smooshed some Peeled Paint Distress Ink onto an acrylic block, loaded up a wet paintbrush and splattered it over the watercolour paper.

To finish the card off, I adhered a strip of patterned paper down the side of a folded card and trimmed the watercolour panel to fit. When the mood takes me, I save strips of patterned paper and keep some out on the desk in a little plastic cup. It was either going to be the polka-dotty piece or the yellow/orange weave piece that you can see in the cup. The dotty piece worked better because it picked out the orange, whereas the weave piece fought with the orange to pick out the yellow so the balance wasn't right. The sentiment is also from The Birds and The Blooms set.

Stamps Shirley used in today's project:

  

The Birds and the Blooms is the June/July 2015 set in the STAMPlorations stamp club! We've got lots of perks, including free worldwide shipping, a free 4" by 6" stamp set sent every 3rd shipment (or immediately after signing up for the semi-annual subscription) and choice of 2 ARTplorations stencils ($10 value) in every stamp club package mailed out to subscribers! For more info and to sign up, click here.


Prize alert! Leave a comment in this post for an entry to our Spotlight Projects random drawing for June. We'll pick ONE (1) commenter to win a $10 gift certificate or her choice of 1 ARTplorations stencil. We'll announce the winner on the first week of July!