Time Out by Moonbeam Meadown

Moonbeam Meadow must be my favorite collection from Crafter's Companion. I've had these images for awhile now and have been debating whether to color it with alcohol markers, colored pencils or watercolor. Since I've been playing a lot with my Faber Castell Gelatos lately, I thought I'd do a pure gelato watercolor technique on one version.

The image I used is Time Out, and it aptly fits what I've been feeling lately. How I wish I have the luxury of time to just sit back and relax, and idle the day away.

Here are the materials I used:

Cardstock - Close to My Heart Juniper color cardstock
Background Paper - Jillibean Soup
Colors using mix of  Faber Castell Gelatos:
Blues - Cotton Candy, Boysenberry, Blueberry
Greens - Gree Tea, Lime, Iced Pear
Purples - Metallic Grape, Lavender
Red - Red Cherry
Browns - Chocolate, Butterscotch
Oval Dies - Silhouette Die Cut
Round Sentiment Die - My Favorite Things Stitched Circle STAX

Lastly, I brushed the red mushroom cap with Wink of Stella Red and White brushes.

My second version uses Derwent Inktense Pencils.

Background Paper - My Mind's Eye
Dies - Simon Says Stamp Postage Dies
Derwent Inktense Colors Used:
Reds - Poppy Red, Chilli Red
Purples - Thistle
Blues - Iris Blue, Lagoon, Navy Blue
Browns - Willow, Baked Earth
Greens - Hooker's Green, Apple Green
Mushroom Stem - Neurtral Gray, White

And last but not the least, I brushed the red mushroom cap with Wink of Stella Clear.

Paper Garden Just Because

I've been coloring too much lately and thought I'd take a break and make a card out of Close to My Heart's stamp of the month set. I love this Paper Garden set. I think it has this vintage look to it, and you can stamp it with so much color or just go monotone or give it a bit of a muted tone. Either way it's such a pretty stamp.

I've recently bought more Faber Castell Gelatos and have been using it partly as watercolor in my coloring craze. I love how versatile these Gelatos are, and they are perfect for backgrounds. You get to mix and match as many color combos as you like, make it as vibrant or as subtle as you like. So the background is a mix of Lemon and Butterscotch gelatos.

I stamped the flower with Versamark ink, heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. And then I used Jacquard Pearl Ex Pigment Powder to paint over the stems, leaves and flower. I love the way it turned out! You can't see the shimmer in the photo, but I swear it's there. I just love how it turned out! Lastly I embellished with a few gold sequins.

Hope you guys like it too! If you're interested in this stamp set, here's what it looks like. Remember it's only available for this month of September! Grab it while you still can! 

S1509 Paper Garden

Don't you just love it? I'm really a sucker for floral stamps...

Enjoy!

Faber-Castell Gelatos

So I've owned a few Gelatos for awhile now, and lately have been playing with it with my daughter. She loves the colors, the way she uses the stick to brush colors on her paper. It got me to looking at how much colors I actually own vs. what I still miss. If you know me, you know I'm just a regular crafter-hoarder right? So I started to make a spreadsheet of just how many colors Gelatos have, and which sets to buy in order to complete the colors.

 I didn't realize they have so much!!!! Goodness!

If I'm not mistaken there are actually 53 colors so far. I marked in yellow the ones I have, it looks like I have a lot but not really, it's just that these colors repeat themselves in multiple sets. Personally I thought that's a bit sneaky, forcing you to buy a whole set of 4 just to get the 1 color that's only there but not on the other sets. To date I have not found these colors being sold individually. Only the Double Scoops are sold individually, and they don't come in all colors.

I still have some on order. When I the latest colors I just bought, I will make a swatch for it. I love my gelatos. I'm thinking of a lot of projects to do with it, I just need the time!

September Stamp of the Month

This month's stamp of the month is focused on Family, and the images are fitting for making scrapbook pages. However since I do not have the time for that, I made a quick card instead.

I embossed the background paper using Cricut Cuttlebug, and colored them using Faber Castell Gelatos. I love my Gelatos and I love this technique. I spritzed enough water and rubbed them to sort of blend the colors subtlety but making sure the distinction is still there. I stamped the word "Love" and cut each letters. I wanted it to be the focus of the card, and love how bold the letters seem to be in rich black ink. I stamped the heart image using Indian Corn Blue color. I really love how it stands out.

 Here's an image of this month's Stamp of the Month - Family is Forever. Get yours now for only $5 with a qualifying purchase of $50.

S1409 Family is Forever