Simply Sketched Watercolor

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Today is my 52nd Mojo Monday challenge!  Wow – that’s enough to fill up a WHOLE year!  Now, it is over the course of not quite two, but still…quite a few.  To say I love this challenge is an understatement.

For today’s challenge, I pulled out my watercolor pencils, aqua painter and was a little creative with my background.  There are so many techniques in this one card, that I had to just film a video for our VIP Community.  Below are the steps in a nutshell.  Enjoy!

Today’s Mojo sketch and my interpretation:

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Creative Steps –

  • I watercolored this image from Simply Sketched.  I pulled color from some Faber Castell Watercolor Pencils with my Aqua Painter in a unique way, rather than color directly on my paper.  We have a watercolor class on this and many other techniques here if you’re interested in watercolor.

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  • I wanted to keep the watercolor as the star, so I lightly sponged every background piece. 
  • To keep the card light, fun and neutral, I chose Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Old Olive and Primrose Petals by Stampin’ Up!.
  • The flower was cut using the spring garden framelits, then sponged and bent up at the edges. 

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  • The greeting was placed on a banner, made with a hexagon punch (see this video for tips on how) and is from the set Lots of Thanks
  • I wanted a subtle background, so I stamped argyle using the Argle Embossing Folder and some Crumb Cake ink.
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I love how it turned out.  There’s just the right amount of pop with color to compliment the watercolored piece.

Here’s to another 52 Mojo Mondays! Smile

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A Watercolored Poinsettia

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It’s no secret that you’ve seen lots of watercolor projects at The Creative Grove lately.  To say I’ve fallen in with this medium is putting it mildly!  Today I wanted to share with you a project I made a few days ago, because I just needed a little something fun, light and creative in my day.

We all have them – days that are bogged down with work and stuff that isn’t so much fun.  Lately, mine have been filled with the other side of running a creative classroom and blog – the business end: building websites, connecting them, creating digital images and making sure all the SEO is in place.  If you told me a few years ago that I’d be doing that on a regular basis – I probably would have laughed.  Well, I’ve become quite proficient at it!

We just finished up our latest class – Watercolor Techniques that Wow! a few weeks ago.  The feedback was through the roof.  I had so much fun putting the class together for you, that I guess it really showed.  One of the things I love about our classes here at the Grove is that you don’t have to have anything in particular that we use.  Just use what you have.  Colors, mediums, stamps, etc…  The goal is for you to have fun – play with what you have and above all – learn something new.

That’s why I’m SO excited to announce our latest educational venture – our VIP Community!

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This isn’t just any old class – it’s a course.  So what’s the difference?  It’s a monthly course where you learn something new every two weeks.  There are two levels – one that builds as you go, and one that is all access from the get-go.  To learn more about it click here.

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Bet you thought I forgot about the watercolored Poinsettia card! Smile  Like I was telling you, I was smack dab in the middle of building web pages and I couldn’t see straight or think clearly.  I decided I needed to clear my head, so I whipped out some watercolor paper, clear embossing powder, my two aqua painters, a paint palette and some watercolor pencils.  A little while later…I had this:

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To really see exactly how I colored this flower in layer after layer after layer creating depth and dimension, you’ll have to watch my three videos on it in the resource section of our Watercolor Class, or on Project #6 – click here to read about what to expect.

That’s the cool thing about that class, it’s loaded with step by step resource videos explaining techniques before you even get to the project videos!  For example, I show you how to make your own shades of colors – I didn’t have a green pencil this shade – I created my own!  I hope you love this card – I can’t stop looking at it – it’s so much prettier than the photographs even show.

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To learn seven different techniques with watercolors, brushes, inks and so much more, click here.  I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

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Looking to learn something new?  Join us in class – here are just a few:

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