Some cute Christmas Cards

While we were on our Door County Retreat we took a class using the Northwoods Stamps and watercolor markers by Tombow. I am hoping some of these are in my stocking on Christmas morning. If you have never taken a class by them, it is fantastic! I had so much fun even though I am not crazy about cards.

 I think this one is my favorite. I absolutely adore snowmen. One cool aspect of these cards is the purple/grey color around the edges to make the object pop. They also use a blend of clear and black embossing powder when they heat the cards. This keeps the marker from running together.

 The elf clothes are super cute. I was surprised to learn how to use yellow underneath to make the green pop more. The little Doodlebug clothespins are the perfect finish.

 This card is exceptionally special in that it is two layers. We colored the page underneath and then did the window frame. There is mounting foam between the two layers to give the great dimension. The watercolor markers are very precise for coloring and the water on the brush allows for the blending with the small spaces.

Finally we have the flower vase. I wasn't wild about the colors as I couldn't figure out how to the colors for the hydrangea in comparison to the roses. I love the red for Christmas.

This was a phenomenal class! I would highly recommend it to anyone who was interested. I can't wait to play with these markers more in the future.

Projects from our Door County Retreat

While we were on our girls weekend in Door County we took two card classes. One was focused on stenciling and the other was watercoloring techniques. The first class was using Dreamweavers Stencils. The stencils were a cool metal type and very durable. The paste was easy to work with a very easy to move around. We did four different cards in the class. We learned a lot but the timing was lesson that ideal. There was a little too much to do, with less than adequate supplies to go around. 

The first card was the flower techique. We used stipple brushes and ink underneath. Then we put clear modeling paste on top to give the card dimension. Finally we finished with clear glitter. 

The next card is the pumpkins. We did a black paste underneath the pumpkins and then a crackle on top. We didn't get to finish this is class, so we had to use our own ink later to complete the project. I used two Tim Holtz inks to finish my project. The "autumn" phrase is made with Versa Mark and Pearl EX Pigment Powders.

This third card is one of my favorites. Using a wet modeling paste (I think it was glossy but the supplies were moved around way too much, we really didn't have time to take in all the information). then we put the Pearl Ex Powders on top and heated them. Turns out you use Swiffer pads to take off the excess powder.

 Finally, the final card is the poinsettia. We used a white modeling paste with the stencil and then let it dry. After the paste dried we used ink and a stipple brush to ink the poinsettia. Finally we used glitter to finish off the card!

Overall we learned a lot while taking this class. Not sure I would take something by these teachers, as we were rushed through the material and didn't finish. But I had a lot of fun trying some new techniques.

Back after a little break

Finally back to the blogging world after an unexpected break this fall. After a crazy semester of graduate school my scrapping was put on the back burner. I sadly don't even remember when I finished my Atlanta album but I never was able to show the final pages. I've stayed busy and had a few scrappy outings. I wanted to highlight a little bit of my fall!

We checked out the beautiful fall colors in Door County! These pages eventually coming.

I also went with my scrappy friends Rita and Karen to a retreat in Sturgeon Bay for a little art weekend. It was held at the beautiful Bridgeport Resort.

 This is the beautiful Batmobile Yacht from Palmer Johnson's out for a spin in the channel.

I took the first place prize in the contest using Oscar's new paperline specific to Door County! Coming up next week I will share the projects from our crop.