Challenge #8 Inspiration with Lindsey

Hi, there!  I'm so happy to be sharing another card I made using Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #8 as inspiration.  The most intimidating element for me on the board was "color".  Coloring certainly isn't a strong point for me, and I usually avoid it.  However, I purchased some Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers a couple months ago when I found them on a sale that I couldn't resist, and I decided that it was about time I get over my fear and try them out.  The elements I chose to work with on this particular card come from the middle row: holiday, color, and die-cut negatives.

I started my card by die-cutting a branch of leaves (from PTI's Turning a New Leaf dies) twice out of a panel of watercolor paper.  Instead of inking up my stamps, I used my Zig markers to color them.  It creates a light blotchy look, but that's okay because you are going back in and coloring the images directly on the paper as well and blending with a water brush. (Marika Rahtu gives an excellent tutorial here using a much more detailed version of this method.) 

The florals on my card are images from PTI's Brushed Blooms set.  Since this set already stamps with a watercolor look to it, it really helps simplify watercoloring for a beginner like myself.  I finished off my card with a sentiment from an old WPlus9 set, Mother's Day Bouquet.  I purposely left the sentiment uneven looking, hoping that it would give a look of being hand-painted.

This card has a wonderful amount of dimension to it that is hard to capture in photos.  The large leaves were stamped in the negative die-cut space and the other images in the floral spray are popped up at varying heights. It's almost like there is a real bouquet tucked inside the card, which I love.  

Well, that's it for me today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I am having so much fun being challenged by the Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge boards.  I sure hope that you'll give them a try and join us for Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge #8!