ArtUnwound

I don’t really have much to share this week, as it’s been pretty busy. I did get a couple of cards done but they were not for any classes. Both were commissions. One was a wedding card for a friends daughter. Her criteria for the card was “bees and vintage”. Below is what I came up with.

The card was created using some digital papers I purchased on Etsy. I split the image because I wanted a gatefold card with a belly band. I also inked all the edges with a combination of Distress Oxide Tea Dye and Vintage Photo.

The belly band was a piece of white textured cardstock that I inked with the same combination of inks. The bees are a Hero Arts stamp and die set called “Beelieve” and the sentiment is from Creative Expressions “Mini Expressions Duo – Happy Anniversary”.

For the inside I used some different pages from the same digital paper pack I bought on Etsy, again splitting the image that made up the two wings. The sentiment was one I found online and typed up in Word. I used my Waffle Flower stitched rectangle die to cut it out.

My friend/client was very pleased with the final result, as was I.

The second card I created this week was for another acquaintance. The only instruction was “hummingbirds”. Here I used a Spellbinders die set created with Bibi Cameron.

The background was some patterned paper I found in my stash. All the flowers and hummingbirds were cut out of white cardstock and hand coloured using various Distress Oxides. When blending the hummingbirds, it’s important to have the green next to the blue, not the purple or you can end up with a brown tone that doesn’t lend itself well to the hummingbirds.

While you can’t see it in the pictures, the hummingbirds are iridescent. I used Folk Art Dragonfly glaze in Violet-Blue-Green shift over the entire surface once I completed the colouring. Because Distress Oxides are water reactive, you have to be careful not to overbrush it or it will muddy the colours.

The lilies were all spattered with water and then with black and white posca pens once dry. The biggest challenge was making sure the lilies looked somewhat realistic and had good shading and dimension.

Once again, I was please with the result but since I have not been able to deliver to the client, I don’t know how he will feel about it.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for this week. Please reach out if you need more info on my process (I have to remember to take process pictures!) Have a wonderful week and a happy Independence Day to my American friends and followers.

See you next week!