Friday, August 12, 2011

Sail Away

Edited to add: I had a question about what kind of watercolor crayons I used.  Funny thing, that.  I am a total newbie at this, but I'll tell you what I've experienced so far.  Just a few weeks ago I purchased a small, cheap Staedtler set to see whether I liked them and if I would use them.  12 colors, mostly primary.  They are fun, and I figured I could get by for the near future with that.  When I went to Donna Downey's, however, she had Caran d'Ache Neocolor IIs in her shop, by the set, and *individually*!  I couldn't resist buying a few luscious shades individually (rust, coral, turquoise, olive... stuff like that).  So... the comparison:  both have beautiful, vivid colors.  Both are easy for me to work with.  However.... the Neocolors are definitely creamier, and blend more readily than the Staedtlers (that is, it doesn't take much "scrubbing" to have them blend beautifully).  If you have access to individual Neocolors, I'd say buy a couple.  (Although this is not "cost efficient" compared to the sets, it makes sense if you are unsure about what you want or how much you'll use them.  This way you've only invested a few bucks.  Try getting a few colors that are not in the smaller sets, that way you won't have overlap if you decide to invest in a set.)  But if you don't have Neocolors nearby and you want to try out watercolor crayons for the first time, the less expensive versions are still very nice, too.  So that's the long answer, LOL! Hope that helps.

Happy Friday. :)  Today I have a little clean and simple card featuring images from a brand new plate from Rogue Redhead Designs called "Beach Babes."  I decided that this little boat image, border design, and sentiment would go along perfectly over at the Less Is More Challenge, which this week is to use the colors of your nation's flag.  A little send-off to summer with the Red White and Blue.  I wanted to play with some new watercolor crayons I purchased, so I stamped the boat a bit off-center and filled in the sea and sky with crayons.  The boat is paper pieced, with a little crayon color added.  I scratched out some splashing waves with an Xacto knife.  The greek key border is embossed in dark blue, the sentiment stamped in a deep red.  The hardest part about this card was photographing it!  You can click for a larger view.... something went wonky in my photo processing efforts and I think I've ended up with a bit of a blurry image in the regular sized version.  I've also been having trouble uploading images to blogger again..... anyone?

I've got a few more pics of projects from my classes with Donna Downey.  Here are a few album pages from the Heart and Soul class......
Masking, glimmer misting, inking..... fun stuff.  Here's to a happy weekend for all! :)

22 comments:

Larisa said...

The seal card is what I love a lot!! Great idea!!

Sasha said...

WOW! Your cards are beautiful! Love your LIM card your colouring with the crayons is fabulous!

The Sparkly Fairy said...

A beautiful card!

Susan said...

Gorgeous card!!! Love the coloring!

Unknown said...

Absolutely beautiful Jean.

Viv said...

Beautiful card, just love you watercolouring too. The second card is lovely also:O) Viv xx

Viv said...

Sorry I meant album!....such pretty hearts too:O) Viv xx

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful card! Love the water and sky coloring. May I ask which watercolor crayons you used?
Thanks for sharing.

Dorothy C.

Ana Márquez said...

Great works! :-)

Chrissie said...

This is a superb card... I just love it.
Thanks so much for joining in our challenge this time!
Chrissie
Lady LIM
"Less is More"

Daniele said...

ohhhh so special
hugs

Mandi said...

Fantastic card, wonderful colouring
Thanks so much
Mandi
Diva LIM
"Less is More"

veronica said...

thanks for the nice comment on my blog - yours is a lovely card, quite different, and a beautiful effect too. Think we will stick with the great minds, as the other version is fools seldom differ!

Netty said...

Loving this LIM card and your wonderful album Jean. Enjoy the weekend, Annette x

Terry said...

Incredible album and love that watercoloring! Beautiful!

Unknown said...

Your card looks wonderful. I love the watercolor in the background.. and your mini album also looks great.. Donna's class looks like it was a lot of fun..
Hope you have a great weekend.

Hugs, Linda

Zue said...

It was lovely to read all about you in Craft Stamper. The work you submitted was gorgeous as ever. I love your Sail Away card too.
Best wishes
Sue xx

Anonymous said...

Your beautiful card looks just like a painting! Totally gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

You might also like Stampin Up water color crayons, they come in all there current colors.

trisha too said...

These are both lovely, Jean!

Sugar Lump Studios said...

I love the sail boat card and how you made the sky behind the image. The heart book is sooo sweet! beautiful projects!

Lynn Stevens said...

Your heart book is just gorgeous, must have been an awesome class!
hugs Lynn

p.s. different watercolors do make a differece don't they!