I kept the card simple; making it a single layer card.  I used Strathmore Watercolor Paper and cut it down to 3.5″ x 8.5″, and simply inked up the line of pups on the slim line card card front with VersaFine Black Onyx Ink, which is safe for watercoloring. I then doodled on a rustic wooden fence with a Faber-Castell S Point Black PITT Artist Pen so that all the pups could look like they were jumping up over the fence from their yard into our garden to join in the party.

For watercoloring the scene, I used the following Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers with a Pentel Waterbrush:
Fence: Dark Brown (062), Mid Brown (065), Brown (060), Beige (072)
Golden Retreiver: Yellow (050), Beige (072)
Brown and White Pup (with my Bandito’s coloring): Light Brown (061), Brown (060), Beige (072), Light Grey (091)
Black and White Pup (with my Babaloo’s coloring): Beige (072), Light Grey (091), Dark Grey (095), Black (010)
Black Labrador: Light Blue (036), Dark Grey (095), Black (010)
Bulldog: Light Brown (061), Brown (060), Light Pink (026), Dark Brown (062), Dark Grey (095)
Tongues: Geranium (029), Wine Red (024), Dark Grey (095)
Sky: Light Blue (036)

I kept the inside card liner simple too. As if the dogs on the front were popping up to say, “Woofing You A happy Birthday”, I stamped the sentiment from the My Favorite Things Lucky Dog Stamp Set (retired). For an added “extra” I stamped out the little bulldog looking over his front paws on the bottom edge of the card liner to make it look like this pup was also peering in. The card base was cut from a navy blue card stock to nicely frame the card front.

CLICK on the picture below to watch the watercoloring process video:

Disclosure: Many of the supplies I’ve used for today’s project are linked. Some may be affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support toward the costs of running this blog!

This doggy birthday party card is being entered into the following challenges:
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes Challenge
Art Impressions Rustic Roundup Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Creatalicious Anything Goes with Optional Add Texture Challenge
Penny Black and More In the Garden Challenge
Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge
Crafty Gals Corner You’re the Man Challenge
Stamping Sensations All Creatures Great and Small Challenge
Crafts Galore Encore Anything Goes Challenge
MFT Birthday Party Challenge

I used Strathmore Bristol Paper and started with a Cloud background stamp from Katzelkraft (which is a French company). I wanted to create the look of a warm colorful summer night at dusk just before the stars come out at night so I inked up the stamp with Distress Markers in Pumice Stone and Worn Lipstick and positioned the pink clouds on the top two-thirds of the card. For the sky, I used Distress Marker ink in Salty Ocean and Tumbled Glass. To blend out the inks, I used a Pentel water brush, making sure to dab any excess water or ink that may have transferred onto the brush off onto a tissue. After the first layers of colors dried, I added touches of Distress Marker ink in Ripe Persimmon to the clouds to add some extra vibrancy.

To stamp out the adorable little baby bear riding on his papa bear’s back, I used My Favorite Things Hybrid Ink in Gravel Gray for a softer-than-black but visible waterproof stamping. Then I used a stamp block to scribble inks from Distress Markers in Hickory Smoke and applied the slightly watered down ink onto the bears with my water brush. After the first layer of color dried, I added more shading with a second and third application of Hickory Smoke for the shadows. I also used the fine point end of a Distress Marker in Vintage Photo to redefine the eyes and noses of the bears.

For the papa bear’s scarf, I used more Worn Lipstick and Ripe Persimmon to repeat the colors from the clouds. For the mantel on which the bear cub sits, I used more Salty Ocean and Tumbled Glass for the fringe and Wild Honey topped with some Gansai Tambi Blue Gold metallic watercolor for some shimmer. For the ground, I used Pumice Stone for a warm gray foundation.

Lastly for some shimmer and shine, I used more of the Gansai Tambi Blue Gold metallic watercolor for the star wand and added Light Gold metallic watercolor streaks emanating from the star. In the right light, it really does look like a magical star that the bear cub is holding up to light the way for his pop.

For the card base, I used some blue shimmery card stock from Simon Says Stamp. For the inside of the card, I used some persimmon colored card stock to coordinate with the colors of the clouds and papa bear’s scarf on the card front, and I simply stamped one of the sentiments from the Crafter’s Companion stamp set: “Wish upon a star”.

The following is a process video for creating this card:

This card is being entered into the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Little Critters Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Furry Friends Challenge
Card Mania Life is Colorful Challenge
Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Creatalicious Anything Goes with Optional Use Stencils Challenge
Not Just Cards One for the Boys Anything Goes Challenge
MarkerPOP Starry Nights Challenge

MFT Color Challenge #70

I basically used all the same colors (listed below), but the super dark hair was a result of my not realizing that even a little moisture on the Bristol paper between layers of coloring created a very heavy coating of color (it was as if the moisture melted the color pencil onto the paper). Once the first streak happened, I had to “fix” it with a more intense coloring by touching my water brush directly onto my color pencils before each stroke of hair coloring. This wasn’t the soft look I wanted for my Prim card, but I kept going and knew I could “re-use” this image some other time.

Watercolor pencil colors used:
Hair: Prima 120 and 64 (this is a light blue that I thought would add a nice shiny look to the black hair)
Skin: Prima 05 and 09 with 25 for blush
Dress: Derwent Inktense Poppy Red (0400), Tangerine (0300) and Sun Yellow (0200)
Dog: Prima 86, 89, 102 with 120 for eye and nose
Grass: Derwent Inktense Apple Green (1400) and Teal Green (1300)

Given that the image came out so intense in color, the soft watercolored sky I had planned was not going to do it justice. So I decided to play with some Ken Oliver Color Burst in Indigo. I carefully wet down with a water brush the background areas where I wanted to catch the pigment particles and then sprinkled pigment powder lightly as needed (these indigo pigment particles are super intense so a little bit goes a long way). Then I masked off the little girl and pup by just holding a post it note generally over them and sprayed water to release the pigment particles and let them do their magic. To get into the nooks and crannies (like between the girl and dog) and soften certain areas, I did lead some of the pigment around with a wet paintbrush, but basically I tried to keep the tie dyed look for the sky, keeping a couple areas mostly white to give the impression of clouds. I love the unexpected movement and colors that develop from this technique with Color Burst powders, and I think the color intensity matched the little girl and pup image nicely.

Then I cased this card design from the super talented Heather Hoffman’s card HERE (I fell in love with it instantly). I got to use lots of scraps from my scrap box, added a little visual softness with a vellum layer, and machine stitched the assembly at the top with some wonky lines to add some interest. I also used a couple of snippets of pink flat back pearl trim, taking care to space out the trim so that the pearls ended at the corners or edges of the paper without overhanging bits of thread and being careful to turn the bottom right corner at a sharp right angle by using a second string of pearls and spacing it to meet the first evenly spaced out. As a finishing touch, I added a handful of pink and purple sequins.

This card is being entered into the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Powder Power Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes Challenge
Not Just Cards Anything Goes Challenge
Just Keep Crafting Anything Goes Challenge
Crafty Gals Corner Anything Goes Challenge
Craft Your Passion Anything Goes Challenge

This is my first attempt at watercoloring a girl image (not just critters which I think are more forgiving and have fewer details), so I was nervous, but I knew that (1) I wanted to push myself craft-wise, (2) the soft watercolor look is perfect for Prim style projects, and (3) the friend this was going to would appreciate the love that I was going to put into this card. So I took a deep breath and cut down some Strathmore Bristol paper (this is great for watercoloring and has a smoother finish than most watercolor paper) and pulled out my Prima watercolor pencils and Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils.

To get the softest look possible, I decided to try no line watercoloring (if you’re going to go for it, you may as go all the way, right?!). I did a second generation stamping onto the paper using Ranger Archival Ink in Sepia and it gave me a pale but clear image. Then I took my time and started layering in the following colors (it took about 3 applications to build up the color intensity I wanted), making sure to let each prior layer dry before adding the next so that I didn’t get too dark, which can happen if you touch watercolor pencils to wet surfaces:

Hair: Prima 120 and 64 (this is a light blue that I thought would add a nice shiny look to the black hair)
Skin: Prima 05 and 09 with 25 for blush
Dress: Derwent Inktense Poppy Red (0400), Tangerine (0300) and Sun Yellow (0200)
Dog: Prima 86, 89, 102 with 120 for eye and nose
Sky: Prima 64 and 71 with Derwent Inktense Fuschia (0700) for interest in clouds
Grass: Prima 44 and 47 with Derwent Inktense Apple Green (1400) and Teal Green (1300) for deeper, richer colors to give enough visual weight to support the little girl and dog

Then I used the largest die from the My Favorite Things Die-Namics Cross-Stitched Rectangle STAX to cut down the little painted scene. I think the cross-stitched look adds a nice homespun feel. To add texture and softness, I backed this with a paper doily that I cut in half and attached askew to the lower left and upper right sides of the scene. Then I backed that with a piece of vellum to add another layer without adding too much visual clutter. I matted the whole assembly with a yellow scribbly patterned paper from the Amy Tangerine Sketchbook paper collection that I thought grounded the whole thing and echoed the yellow from the little girl’s sleeves. Finally, I took everything to my sewing machine and sewed three wonky lines close to the top of the scene. I love the look of real stitching on cards (but it takes a really special project to motivate me to get down and unpack my sewing machine), and this addition I think adds a great Prim finishing touch and echoes the yellow scribbly patterned paper too.  I added double sided foam adhesive to the back of everything all assembled and put it on a pale blue handmade paper card base.

The following is a video share of this card:

This card is being entered into the following challenges:
MFT Superstar Card Design Challenge – 3rd entry (prior entires are #145 and #371)
MarkerPOP For the Girls Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Gift It Challenge
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes Challenge
Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge
Addicted to Stamps Make Your Mark Challenge
Creatalicious Anything Goes Challenge
Just Keep on Creating Anything Goes Challenge
Craft Your Passion Anything Goes Challenge

This started out as just some marker coloring play, but in the end the scrap I was coloring up was just large enough to eek out a CAS ATC (Artist Trading Card 2.5″ x 3.5″). The following are the colors I used to color up the adorable pups on this Art Impressions “Dog Stackers” stamp (top to bottom):

Chihuahua (top): Mid Brown – 065 with Light Pink (in ears) – 026
Mutt: Dark Gray – 095
Terrier: Beige – 072
Pomeranian: Bright Yellow – 052
Dachshund: Dark Brown – 062
Golden Mix: Oatmeal – 064 with Geranium Red (on tongue) – 029
Cocker Mix: Dark Brown – 065 and Beige – 072
I used Black – 010 for all the noses, eyes and the insides of mouths

The water coloring is a bit rough on this highly textured water color paper and my fat Pentel waterbrush, but I thought that added to the painterly look (or at least that’s what I’m telling myself LOL). To finish up the simple scene, I grounded the dogs by adding a floor (bear in mind I didn’t do the whole stack of dogs since my water color paper scrap was too small) and doodled some double lines and dots to frame out the image.

The following is a process video of coloring up this adorable doggy stamp (one of my new favorites!):

This ATC is being entered into the following challenges:
Art Impressions 29 Again Anything Goes Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Create a Scene Challenge
CASology Rough Challenge
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes Challenge
Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Crafty Gals Corner Monochromatic Challenge
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes Challenge
MFT Camp Create Coloring Challenge

I first used Ken Oliver Color bursts in Indigo, Merlot, Terre Verde and Yellow Ochre on water color paper to create a kind of rainbow tie dye effect to represent the LGBT community’s philosophy of diversity and inclusion. I then die cut the word “PEACE” using the Lawn Fawn “Cole’s ABCs” die set. Using a fuse tool I sealed up part of a project life pocket page that I filled with gold sequins and seed beads to make a shaker element that I glued onto the back of the PEACE opening with Beacon Zip Dry glue (which is great for nonporous surfaces like plastic sleeves).

To represent the innocents I colored up three of the angels from the Mama Elephant “Love from Above” stamp set with the following Copic colors: Skin: E000, E00, R30; Blonde: E53, E55, Y21; Brown Hair: E53, E55, E57; Strawberry blonde: E53, E55, YR12; Heart: R81, 83, 85; Angel clothes and wings: C0, C2 with 2 coats of clear Wink of Stella on the wings for lots of shimmer. I fussy cut them out and inked the edges with black ink to eliminate the distraction of the white edge of the cut paper.

To help the gold sequins show up, I backed the opening with a scrap of shimmery white Shimmerz paper from DCWV. Then to help the gold sequins pop and still be cohesive on the card, I backed the watercolored card front onto chunky gold glitter card stock from Recollections. Lastly to add a little extra dimension and interest to the angel wings, I popped them up with a bits of Glue Dots. The inside of the card is simply lined with another scrap of pale pink Shimmerz paper and stamped with a sentiment from The Greeting Farm “Magical Friends” stamp set that reads, “Hope Today is All Rainbows.”

The following is a process video showing how I created this card start to finish:

This card is being entered into the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Add Some Shimmer Challenge
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Craft Your Passion Anything Goes Challenge
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes Challenge
Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge
Crafty Gals Corner Sparkle and Shine Challenge
Virginia’s View Make It Colorful Challenge

MFT Camp Create – Spectacular Shakers (there is also water coloring, die cutting and glitter on this card, but I only entered it into this day’s challenge because I didn’t know what the rules were on multiple submissions. I was so proud of myself for incorporating 4 of the 5 camp lessons. Thanks so much for the motivation and inspiration!!!)