3x3 Cards

Oh my badness – It’s Friday already! I can hardly believe this week has flown by so fast. It seems like my days are turning into nights and my nights into days. I haven’t even finished decorating for the holidays, let alone shop! This Santa really is bad –

I have to ask myself what the heck have I been doing all week. Hardly getting any stamping done, the laundry isn’t done and the house if a wreck – where have I been? If you know, tell me – cause I absolutely have no idea! Hmmm I might be on a – yep, that must be it.

In my need to stamp, I was puttering around in the forums on Splitcoast last night, and I decided to stalk Jen70, the Limited Supply Challenge Hostess. Well, as I was pulling up her profile, she was posting today’s challenge – sneaky! At least I could see the challenge before I went to bed and actually woke up this morning with an idea!

It’s been some time since I’ve actually water colored – you know with a brush, water and ink. I’ve become so addicted to my Copic Markers, that I don’t reach for anything else. So, today I decided too actually watercolor! For coloring today, I used Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Reinkers. The colors of these inks are so vibrant and so versatile. You can find these inks (along with all other Tim Holtz Products) and the images used today at Rubbernecker Stamp’s new website. If you haven’t been to the new site yet, you need to! There is so much there that I haven’t even seen all the categories yet.

Moving on, here’s my little 3×3 card that I did for today’s Limited Supply Challenge on Splitcoast.

When I think of little 3×3 cards (which I dearly love to make), gift cards, little “just because” notes and fun come to mind. To start this card today I took a 4″ square piece of watercolor paper, soaked it with water and place one drop of Mustard Seed reinker in the center. As the ink was bleeding out, I loaded a brush with water and completely saturated the paper, allowing the ink to become a color wash. While the ink was well, I took a piece of paper towel and blotted up some color. When the paper was dry, I still wanted a lighter look. I held the watercolor paper under running water and then blotted again to remove more color. Really ingenious – well, I think so! Now that I had the look I was after, I stamped stars in the background. The image was inked with Mustard Seed Distress Ink, stamped off once and then stamped on the watercolor paper. The sentiment was stamped on the panel then with Faded Jeans Distress Ink. I also used this ink to sponge the edges of the panel after I had distressed it. The moon image, was also stamped on watercolor paper and colored with the reinkers. Once the image had dried, I trimmed it out and raised it on double layers of mounting tape.

Stamps: 88-13 Sleeping Moon and 88-05 Wishing Upon a Star Text from Rubbernecker Stamp Company

Paper: Canson 140 lb. Cold Pressed Watercolor, Prism Iced Yellow and Nautical Blue Medium

Ink: Tim Holtz Faded Jeans, Mustard Seed, Worn Lipstick and Tattered Rose Reinkers, Stazon Black

Accessories: Ribbon, Scissors for Distressing, Tsukineko Sponge Dauber, Mounting Tape

Yesterday I had a number of emails and PMs wanting to know where I found the coasters that I used for the tile/coaster project. Well girls, I’ve had these for about 5 years now stuck back in my china cabinet. I found them at a Christmas Outlet store here in Jeff, Santa’s Depot. I haven’t been in the store this year and can’t tell you if they still have them or not. I bought them with the hopes of making a holiday decoration for my little plate holder, and have just never gotten around to it. I really believe that their initial use might have been as pillar candle holders.