Watercoloring and Spotlighting

One of the big perks of attending a Stampin' Up! event such as Leadership is getting NEW, sneak peek stamp sets that no one has seen before. I have been waiting for the right moment to break this one out and it seems like I've been swamped with Valentine's Day and birthday cards. So finally, I get to use and show off the Everything Eleanor stamp set which will be featured in the 2012-2013 Catalogue. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it, especially swirly brocade. The flowers are gorgeous and there's few other super beautiful stamps I haven't used on this card.

My inspiration for this card was the Friday Mashup Challenge. We were challenged to use penguins on our card, use the spotlighting technique, or mash it up and do both. Well, I don't have any penguins and I really wanted to use my new stamp set so I did the spotlighting technique. I did cheat a bit and included the sweet little bird stamped in pool party. I guess he's 'spotlighted', too ;)

From the Mini stamp set Loving Thoughts, I thought the 'dream' sentiment fit this card perfectly.

Tips & Tricks:

*For added dimension, I used Crystal Effects to give my flowers a dewy look, and also to make my sweet little bird (can you tell I love that little guy?)

*I've had a few people tell me that this stamp set looks 'old'. Well, it's only as old as you want it to be. Add some modern, fresh colors and I think this set is as young as you want it to be.
*I water colored the flowers with classic ink and my Aquapainters. I started with some Wisteria Wonder throughout the flower, concentrating it in the center. I added some Perfect Plum, mainly in the center and the inner petals. I then added some Elegant Eggpalnt mainly to the center a few of the outer petals to give the illusion of shadows and natural shading.
*When watercoloring, make sure to stamp your image in Staz On. It's alcohol based and won't run when you are watercoloring.

Did you love this card? Come and make it and THIS waterfall card at a Stamping Technique Class this Sunday February 19th. It's going to be tonnes of fun and I hope you can join me!

Stay tuned for more sneak peeks in the coming weeks - so so fun :) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!