Seeds of Faith with Joyclair Stamps

I have a bible journalling page for you today for Joyclair Stamps, using the Seeds of Faith stamp set.

I created this page to coincide with the verse from Matthew 17:20.

"He said to them, "Because of your little faith.  For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain 'move from here to there', and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.""

This is one of four bible journalling stamp sets from Joyclair Stamps this month and there will be more every month.  Check their blog soon to see more wonderful inspiration from the team!

Spring Medley with Quick Creations :)

It's coming, can you smell it ?  LOL!  I am so excited for Spring, and when Noelle at Quick Creations asked me to create with this image, I couldn't pass it up!  This is "Spring Medley" by A Random Fan.

Squeal!  I had fun with this one :)  I colored her using my Copics  and Prismacolor Premiere Pencils in the following colors:

Skin:  E00

PC927, 939, 1029

Hair: Y32

PC940, 1082, 946

Clothes: G00

PC920, 1006, 907, 938

Flowers: YG03, R81, Y11

PC1033, 929, 930, 911, 908

Shoes: R81

PC929, 930

To complete this project, I used paper from the Echo Park "Spring" collection, and a sentiment stamp and die from Mt Creative Time.

Noelle is always getting fun and new stuff in her shop at Quick Creations, worthy of a look-see!

See you soon!

A new challenge and some Love with Paper Nest Dolls

It's challenge time over at the Paper Nest Dolls :)
And I have created a card with the sweetest PND image, called "Love is in the Air".

I colored her using my Copics and Prismacolor Premiere pencils in the following colors:

Skin: E00
PC927, 939, 1029
Hair: E13
PC1082, 946, 948, 935
Clothes: R11, R22
PC1092, 1031, 1081, 938

I completed this project using paper from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found - Blush collection, Spellbinders Decorative Accents Label Forty die, Spellbinders Shapeabilities Foliage Flourish die set, and Lala Land Crafts Hanging Hearts and Love Word Die set.

You can find this fun rubber stamp image in the online shop at Paper Nest Dolls :)  And don't forget to join in our new challenge :)  It's always Anything Goes :)

See you soon!

Watercolor Trees with Sweet Stamps LLC

Hello everyone, it's challenge time over at the Sweet Stamps Blog!  And, yes, I have continued my watercolor theme for the month, and created this card using  the  Tree #1 stamp from Sweet Stamps and my Shades Dye Ink to watercolor the trees :)

I stamped the trees three times, and I didn't bother to mask them because I knew the overlapping wouldn't be seen through the color.  I used Shades Dye Ink in Tank, Palm Grove, Duchess Rose and French Roast to create the greenerie on the trees, alternating between colors and layers to create shadows and depth.  Then I used French Roast and Brownie to create the tree trunks.  The ground was created using Palm Grove and Tank, and for the sky I had to break out my Cotman watercolors as I don't have a good Shades Dye Ink in Blue yet ;)  The sentiment is from the Framed Handwritten Words stamp set SS4406.

I will confess, lol, I created this card, and the next couple of cards all at the same time.  As I've mentioned before, the drying time between layers of watercolors can be tedious, so why not create more than one at a time?

And yes, I am just learning to paint with watercolor, and although I am thoroughly enjoying the journey, there are lessons to be learned with every venture.  Here are my lessons this week.  Don't create muddy colors :P  Some colors when you put them close together or on top of each other, create a color that closely resembles mud, hence the brownish trees, lol.  Try as I might to change them back to green again, it wasn't happening, lol,  Lesson learned.  Another lesson?  Sometimes Dye inks are not the best to watercolor with lol.  They are not as transparent as real watercolor paint, so they don't layer the same.  And your finished piece may not have the effect that you were hoping for.  Lesson learned , again, lol.

All in all, after I completed this piece, I came to realize that it is what it is, and I enjoyed the journey, so why not enjoy the finished product?  Everyone else seems to enjoy the outcome of this card, so why shouldn't I?  I will try not to be my worst critic any more, ya right...but I can try lol.

Next week, another watercolor card, with a different watercolor medium.  But in the meantime, why not come and join us on the Sweet Stamps blog for one of our monthly challenges?  This week the theme is Anything Goes!  Doesn't that just open up a whole realm of possibilities :)

JoyClair New Release Blog Hop :)

Hello everyone, it's time for another new release Blog Hop for Joyclair Stamps!  Remember in order to be in the running for a prize, you must leave a comment on all of the blogs in the hop.  I am sure you will find some stunning inspiration from this fabulous team, so don't skip any along the way!

I have created a bible-journaling page and a card for this hop today :)

I created this bible journaling page using the stamps set Lion and the Lamb.  I chose to match it with the verse from Proverbs 28:1.

"The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion."

This card was created using the Funny Foods stamp set.  Such a fun and simple set, but it makes me smile and I hope it does for you too :)

Remember, you must follow these rules to be able to win the prize:

1. Be a follower and leave a comment!
2. Follow us on Facebook and share about the release with your friends!  (leave another comment)
3. Follow Joy Clair on Twitter and tweet about our release, use @JoyClairStamps! (leave another comment)
4. Follow Joy Clair on Instagram and repost about our release! Use #joyclairstamps and #jccolorbyfaith (leave another comment)
5. Follow Joy Clair on Pinterest. Pin your favorite pin!

You have until Monday, March 7th, at 5pm EST to leave your comment below for your chance to win the entire release.

The lineup for the Blog Hop is here:

JC Blog

Crystal T.

Martha

Jessica

Dawn

Cornelia

Alicia

Steph

Monica

Donna

Crystal R.

Leah  **You are Here**

LeeAnn

Penny Have fun!

A Monochromatic Challenge at Crafty Ribbons!

This weeks new challenge is up over at the Crafty Ribbons Challenge blog, and the theme is monochromatic.  I have created this multi-layered tag in browns/bronze with some fun ribbons too :)

To complete this tag, I water colored and die cut and had some fun with the following ribbons from Crafty Ribbons :)

Vintage Butterfllies - French Latte
Vintage Butterflies - Bikes Latte
Vintage Butterflies - Birds Latte
Handmade Ribbon - Cream

You can find all of these fabulous ribbons in the Crafty Ribbons online store.  And don't forget, this post marks the start of a new challenge over on the Crafty Ribbons Challenge Blog!  The theme this challenge is Monochromatic!

Watercolor Poppies with Sweet Stamps LLC

Hello everyone, I hope your March is great and snow starts to melt :)  For Sweet Stamps, I have started this month with watercolor, and I think I may just continue that theme throughout the month.  I am learning how to watercolor, and I'm really enjoying it.  I have been an acrylic painter for years, so I'm no stranger to a brush, but it is a task to learn a new medium.  I find myself attempting to make acrylic rules  work for watercolor lol, and that's not how it's supposed to be done, lol.

For this project, I made two cards, essentially identical, except for the colors.

I stamped the image using Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen, so the lines were barely visible.  Then I painted them with my Cotman watercolors.  The background is dry embossed using my Cuttlebug.  The floral image is Poppies ATC 1007 by Sweet Stamps, and the sentiment is Beautiful Day 919 from Sweet Stamps.

This image is so versatile, and poppies come in all kinds of colors, not just the red that we see all the time, and associate with poppies :)  So why  not go out of my comfort zone and try a blue one too?

There are two lessons I learned while creating these cards: one is that when painting watercolor images, there is a lot of waiting time, so creating more than one card at a time is very beneficial, and efficient!  The second lesson is that I should have painted a background before starting to paint the focal image.  After the image was painted, I decided I wanted a background, but was worried about ruining the flowers that I had already painted.  Lessons learned lol.

Come back and visit often for more Sweet Stamps inspiration, and you can visit the Sweet Stamps blog for tons more inspiration from the rest of the talented design team!  Visit the shop for tons of great stamps and other papercrafting tools and stamps :)