Hello my fabulous friends!
Kassi here
I've had lots of birthday cards to make lately, because there are a bunch of birthdays in my family right near the beginning of the year. When I sat down to work on this card, I knew I wanted something colorful but simple (I have some lovers of CAS designs in my family)... and the rainbow Altelier inks sitting on my shelf became my inspiration!
Let's take a look at how I made this card, and I'll throw in a few little tips along the way!
Paper: Strathmore Bristol Smooth; Georgia Pacific Black
Stamps: Inkon3 Magic Dragons, Oh Deer
Coloring: Inkon3 Atelier inks
Other: Hemtique hemp cord
Step 1: Stamp a row of 5 candles using Fadeout ink. I wanted my candles to be a little playful and tilted randomly, but still in a nice straight line, so I used my MISTI to help line up the candles exactly how I wanted them.
Since there is only one candle stamp, I suggest starting with the MIDDLE candle, and centering that on your panel, then working out from there. That will ensure your completed row is centered nicely.
Step 2: While you can pick up color directly from the Atelier ink pad to watercolor with, I don't like doing that, so I create a little palette for myself by rubbing each pad I want to use onto a piece of glass (from a cheap picture frame).
By working from my palette instead of the pads themselves, I have a lot more control over my water to ink ratio (which will determine how light or dark the ink is when I paint with it) and also allows me to easily mix colors to create new colors.
Step 3: Watercolor your candles. You can use a water brush for this if you want, but I prefer a regular paint brush (again because I have more control over how much water is on the brush). I started with the darkest color at the bottom of each candle, and added a more water as I went up the candles so they are lightest near the flame.
Step 4: Don't forget the glow! I like to do a very light circle of yellow (add lots of water to the yellow ink) around each flame for the glow. Because this is no line coloring, though, and you don't have any black line defining your flame, you'll want to leave a THIN white halo around the flame when you create the glow. It will define the flames without being distracting.
Step 5: Add in the details! I used a 0.1 Copic multiliner for the wick (it's water proof, so great for working with watercolors), and some Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleedproof white for the stripes. I like this white ink because it won't reactivate the watercolors you are drawing over, so you lines will remain white instead of picking up any of the underlying color.
Step 6: Stamp your sentiment using Blackout ink.
If none of the sentiment are perfect for your project, remember you can mix and match... For this card, I liked the sentiment 'have a magical day' from Magic Dragons, but I wanted it to be more birthday specific, so I put a little piece of tape over the word 'day' on the stamp, inked up the stamp, then removed the tape... this allowed me to stamp JUST 'have a magical'. I then used part of another sentiment from Oh Deer for the word 'birthday'. Don't be afraid to mix and match!
Step 7: Finishing touches.... I wanted to keep it simple, so I mounted my stamped panel on a black card, and added a small twine bow. Quick and easy!
Be sure to check back often for more amazing inspiration!
hugs
Love this idea Kassi!!!
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