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Thursday 6 January 2022

Rhapsody in blue... and grey

Hello, crafting friends!
 
I am delighted to have been invited to join in the fun at Seize the Birthday as Guest Designer for the months of January and February! We're kicking off with a fabulous colour duo:


I was instantly inspired by these wintery colours and a gorgeous new-to-me stamp set, Big and Bold Get Well by Colorado Craft Co.
 
 
The set features a massive hydrangea head which I stamped off the top and bottom of a thick card base using Stampin' Up's Smoky Slate ink. The flowers were coloured using the loose watercolour technique which is basically splashing a load of diluted ink around in an arty way! It's worth mentioning that I find the Smoky Slate ink incredibly stable when I'm watercolouring; I don't use a huge amount of water but there's no blurring.


When the card was dry I left it under a pile of heavy books to flatten. When I retrieved it, I added centres to the flowers with a dark grey pencil and made a light and dark grey sentiment by mixing and matching a couple of sets.


And now it's over to you! Do hop over to the Seize The Birthday blog to check out all the amazing samples the talented team has made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool there too so that you can upload your own creation. Have fun!

CHALLENGES
I was really inspired by the first CAS Mix Up challenge of the year, chosen by Jenny who invites us to use loose watercolouring on our cards; I'm also playing along at Happy Little Stampers Watercolour challenge where Anything Watercolour Goes; I'm sharing at Darnell's NBUS challenge, the place to show off your Never Before Used Schtuff, and joining in at Time Out Challenges where the theme is New - I've enjoyed using my new stamp set.


AND IN OTHER NEWS
Eva is missing her family so I'm spending more time with her training. One new thing I'm doing is giving her a lead to carry when she's out on a walk - in a safe place obviously. She is rather inclined to greet 'her public' and most people pet her when she does this as she radiates friendliness. 
 

When she has her lead in her mouth though, she seems to believe she's on duty and walks past people - still wagging, but with the air of being far too busy to stop and say hello! When we come to the end of the safe area, I ask her to sit and she gives me the lead back. She loves this new game!

Sending hugs,

25 comments:

  1. Lovely card Vicky!!! I have yet to achieve watercoloring success so I need to give your messy version a try. It's gorgeous. Thanks for hanging with us at STB!

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  2. Beautiful card Vicky. Love the big blooms with the loose watercoloring technique. Glad to have you joining us as our Party Guest at STB.

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  3. Eva looks so proud of herself,she's a gorgeous dog,a beautiful card and sentiment in lovely soft colours,your stamp could be used for many occasions

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  4. Vicky, thank you for inspiring us with this amazing watercolor hydrangea birthday card! It is stunning and I can't wait to see more from you in the next two months!

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  5. Wonderful card Vicky, the loose watercolouring looks perfect for this gorgeous flower. Eva does radiate friendliness and if I could pat her through the screen I would! She looks so proud carrying her lead :) Thankyou for being our party guest at STB, Cathy x

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  6. That’s a gorgeous card using loose watercolours.

    Love the pic of Eva being on duty!!!

    Xxx

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  7. Beautifully watercolored Vicky! Those big and bold stamps are fun to play with aren't they, and I love your design. Congrats on your guest designer spot!

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  8. Gorgeous soft loosely watercolored stamped hydrangea, Vicky. We are on the same wave length. I just ordered a different hydrangea stamp set and matching die cut hydrangea blooms. I maybe CASE'ing you in the near future:-) So fun sharing...

    I LOVE your cute photo of Eva so proud of her new job:-) Really precious...I would pet her and tell her good girl as she passed me by....Thank you also for your sweet beautifully stamped Christmas spray, Vicky and your sweet message inside. I have loved becoming friends this past year and look forward to 2022. Love and Hugs...Nancy

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  9. Oh, Eva, what a good, good girl you are ~ and so pretty! That's an awesome photo of her walking proudly with her leash!

    Congratulations on your gig at STB! I love hydrangeas, so your design is my new favorite for 2022 and I suspect it will remain so for quite a while! Thank you for inspiring everyone at STB and NBUS! Happy New Year! Hugs, Darnell

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  10. Your card is just BEAUTIFUL, and Eva is just ADORABLE!! Xxx

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  11. Oh wow, my absolutly favourite flowers!!! And with the loose watercolor technique they become a very special eye-catcher.
    Eva is great !! My dog would just look at me and say: Wear the leash alone! But Eva and Kaito have something in common. Kaito must also greet everyone, whether human or dog. Fortunately, most of them are friendly to him.

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  12. Gorgeous use of the colors. Welcome to Guesting at STB.

    ps - Eva is awesome!!

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  13. We are so lucky to have you with us the next two months! I always enjoy your work and Eva's shenanigans too! She is such a doll! Such a pretty Birthday card...wink wink! ;)

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  14. What beautiful hydrangeas, Vicky! I love the soft blue watery color and that sentiment is AMAZING! Thanks so much for sharing this with us at CAS Mix Up!

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  15. Happy New Year! Congrats on being Surprise Guest. They are such a friendly team. Your card is very beautiful! I love the grey ink and the expertly Loose Water-colouring!!! Thanks for joining us at CAS Mix Up:)

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  16. It's such a lovely, charming card, Vicky! I love the soft coloring of the hydranges, and how beautifully you've mixed the sentiments - fantastic! Thank you for the gorgeous inspiration at Seize the Birthday challenge and for joining the Happy Little Stampers Watercolor challenge as well.

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  17. Love your card, Vicki! I’m a great fan of sloshing watercolours around. Great to have you as our Surprise Party Guest đŸ¥³

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  18. OH! what a beautiful card Vicky, I love the hydrangea head top and bottom. As for Eva? isn't she a clever girl.
    Faith x

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  19. This is beautiful, Vicky, Jo x

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  20. This is lovely, so soft with the loose colouring and I always love grey. I like the design, great way to use big stamps and perfect placement of sentiment. And please come and train Bubbles! x

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  21. Wow... what a beautiful card! Your coloring is superb and I like the design with the flowers on top and bottom. Thanks for playing with us at Time Out Challenges!
    - Shauna

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  22. Vicky, I love the soft colours you've used. So pretty! Thanks for playing along with us at Time Out Challenges!

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  23. So great to have you join us. This is such a beautiful card - I love how the flowers frame the sentiment.

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  24. Your card is beautiful, what a gorgeous image. Great job with the loose watercolouring technique. Thank you for sharing at CAS Mix Up!

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I'd love to know what you think. Do leave me a comment - it always makes my day! Vicky x


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