Watercolor Out of This World

I have been quite remiss in posting on my blog lately as several things have taken priority over typing up a blog post. I am going to try to get back in the swing of things here and since I have LOTS of cards and projects that I have made in the last few months that I have not blogged about, I think I can even work ahead a bit :) My blog has always been about inspiration and less about sales (although I sure wouldn't stop anyone from ordering from me, lol), but I would like to get into sharing more of me here. So, that is my mission this month!

I am completely in love with all things watercolor and I just can't get enough of this stuff! I made this card, and a whole pile of others with the same technique that I will share later, all the way back in October (I think). The sentiment is not SU, but one of my other favorite stamp companies and I have had it for a few years. It fit perfectly with the World Map BG though.

1. To make this panel, I just stamped the World Map image in Versamark on watercolor paper, then embossed with White embossing powder and heat set. 
2. Then I taped the panel down with Painter's Tape on a piece of MDF board that I had left over from a shelf building project. I keep it on hand for just this technique :) I used my Aqua-painter to add the inks over the map to create the ocean, greenery, and desert impressions. 
3. Then I spritzed it with a mix of Pearl Perfect Pearls and water. 
4. Air dry, then trim down to 3¾"x5", add some Gold Baker's Twine, and mount on a Natural White card base with dimensionals. 

The rest is pretty self-explanatory.

 I don't know if you can see the shimmer here, but it turned out really pretty, and still masculine.

On the inside, I masked off a small section and stamped the map image in Soft Suede and then sponged with the blue and green inks.

• Stamps: World Map BG (SU), Boy Basics: Out of This World (PTI), Boutique Borders: Mother (PTI)
• Ink: Island Indigo, Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake, Versamark
• Paper: Naturals White, Watercolor, Crumb Cake,Whisper White
• Other: Big Shot with Ovals framelit and Boutique Borders: Mother die (PTI), Embossing Buddy, White Detail embossing powder, Heat Tool, Gold Baker's Twine, Occasions Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Piercer and Mat, dimensionals, Signo white gel pen, sponges

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

A little story about where this card ended up. At Christmas time this year, I had all the cards I needed made and all of the envelopes addressed, but I was having a heck of a time picking which card should go to whom. That can be a problem when almost all of the cards you make are only in multiples of 1-3! So I took a box of cards that was Christmas cards in the front, and a variety of cards in the back that I was just storing in the same box, and asked everyone to pick the Christmas card they would like this year. I added a message and our family photo right then and there. My sister, who rarely speaks to me other than to ask for money or be otherwise unpleasant, asked to look at the box. And proceeded to snag between 10-15 of the cards out of the back! So I admit this upset me a little bit as some of those cards were my current favorites and honestly, I wasn't done petting them yet! You all know what I mean :) AND there have been years between times that I have spoken to my sister at all. She does not allow me to have her contact info and calls me collect when she does call. She has Borderline Personality Disorder, which makes her a difficult person to have a relationship with, and I refuse to play her games. Yes, I am a bit stubborn too. I never said she is the only one ever in the wrong :) But don't tell her I said that ;) But she is my sister, and I still love her and wish we could get along. So this incident, at Christmas, reminded me that I need to let go, and just be happy that I could share some of my passion with my sister, and bring her some joy. At last, a positive interaction, for the first time in over 10 years! She kept going on about how beautiful the cards are, and how artistic they were. I can honestly say she has not spoken so well to me since I moved out when I was 18 and she was 13. AND she wanted to have pictures taken as a family.

 This is Nikki and me. She kept telling me to smile bigger. I don't have a big, gorgeous, toothy grin like she does though, lol! This is it! And Eric's wife is from the Phillipines, as in moved to Minnesota from there a couple of years ago, and they keep their home between 75-80 degrees. SO hot! My house is between 65-70 degrees! My hair had been up in a ponytail and I had taken the sweater off until the camera came out. Thus the flushed and dewy complexions, and the messy hair :)

Here I am with my Mom and all of the siblings I grew up with (Eric, Kirk, Nikki, Mom, and me from back left to front). I say it that way because I have several steps and a half brother that I did not grow up with, but that is a whole other story. And yes, Eric and Nikki were adopted, lol! Cuz we look so much alike, right :) Nikki lived in an orphanage in Seoul, Korea from birth until 3 years of age and suffered from malnutrition during that time. When she arrived in our home, she weighed 21 pounds. The damage caused to her early childhood psychological, emotional, and physical development have caused or contributed to the BPD, I am sure. And while I get frustrated with the reality of interacting with her, I have to remind myself that she can't be enjoying it either, and that it isn't easy to live a life that way. So, buck up Tanya! And love thy sister!

 OK, if you stuck it out through the whole post, wow! And thank you :)