Wandering Watercolour Wonder

Hi makers! Today's ICAD was born out of a session in using yet-to-be used products purchased months ago and trying out a combination watercolouring experimentation all with challenge parameters in mind. Keeping up with my participation in  Kathy Raccosin's the Daily Marker 30 Day Color Challenge & ICAD2020, I once again incorporated them both. Wanting a vintage theme with watercolours to play along with A Vintage Journey's Watercolour Wonders proved to be an interesting challenge. I have done the shabby thing with my 'Find Joy' ICAD so trying something simply vintage had me thinking of Tim Holtz products. This reminded me that I had yet to use the new Tim's products that I had ordered from Simon Says Stamp in March due to the nuttiness that became online teaching. I had ordered the Botanical Collage Tissue Paper and the World Traveler stamp set. As I looked at each product, an idea began to form.

I started with an index card that had been used to clean up an excess of Broken China Distress Spray Stain from my craft mat during some previous crafting session. I try not to waste medium, so whenever possible, I transfer excess either on to index cards (knowing that I will use then each year during Daisy Yellow's 60 Day ICAD) or on an art journal page. I had used the 'drag through and then pat it down' technique letting it dry a bit before patting it in some more until all the ink was sopped up into the card. The Broken China blue would provide a sky background feel for the botanical elements to come.

Next, I stamped the World Traveler definition text along the right side border to match up the border distress pattern in the stamp design using Jet Black Archival ink and a stamp positioning tool. After wetting the area around my desired images on the botanical tissue image areas with a water brush, they were easy to tear away from the whole piece. I used Tim Holtz Collage Medium to adhere them to the card and then used clear gesso over top so to provide tooth for watercolouring to come. Once that was dry, I coloured the berries with Seedless Preserves and the leaves with Peeled Paint by smooching ink onto my craft mat and then using a waterbrush to add the colour. I added some splatters of each colour and then set it a side to dry. While it was drying, I fussy cut out the robin from Tim Holtz patterned paper. After hitting the card with a heat tool just to ensure the watercolour was dry, I used the collage medium to adhere the bird rightside down to image transfer it. Once it was thoroughly dry, I spritzed the bir back with water and began rubbing the paper away. Once the image transfer was revealed, I felt it was too translucent and that even with adding watercolour, it would not pop enough. Then, I remembered that I was intrigued by Kathy Raccossin watercolouring with Distress Oxides and thought that might work. And it did! It turned out that painting with Oxides has a gauche like coverage. Only thing I found was that the painting looked too flat and I am limited in Oxide colours so I took out my Inktense watercolour pencilcrayons and added outlining and details with them which really worked. I am so pleased with how the bird turned out.

While it was drying, I stamped the 'NOT ALL WHO WONDER ARE LOST' in Archival ink and then heat embossed it with clear emboss powder. Deciding it was too long, I cut the quote apart. Once the bird was dry, I distress blended the border edges of the card with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink, knowing that Opaque Crackle Paste takes on the distress colour that it is placed over. And, it didn't disappoint, as I stenciled the crackle paste on with the Blossoms stencil in three areas creating a visual triangle and then scraped on more with a palette knife to edge the entire card. Once it at over night and did its crackle thing, I adhered the quote to complete it.

Supplies: index card (Staples), Tim Holtz Broken China Distress Spray Stain, Tim Holtz Peeled Paint, Seedless Preserves & Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks, Tim Holtz Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain & Fired Brick Distress Oxide Ink, Distress Collage Medium, Jet Black Archival ink, Opaque Crackle Paste (Ranger), Tim Holtz World Traveler stamp set & Blossoms Stencil (Stampers Anonymous), Tim Holtz Idea-ology Botanical Tissue Paper & patterned paper (Advantus), Tan, Baked Earth, Bark & Chilli Red Inktense watercolour pencil crayons (Derwent), Clear emboss powder (Simon Says Stamp), Clear gesso (Liquitex)

I think it has an old style illustration feel to it. I am really pleased with how it all turned out plus I learnt some new ways in which to use the Distress Oxides so all in all a successful crafting experience.


TTFN,