Stampin’ Up! Watercolor Grateful Bunch

Mornin’, y’all!  It’s Saturday and I’ve got a cute little card to share with you today.  I was late getting started making a card so I needed something quick.  I’d had this little card in my head for a minute, so it seemed like a great time to implement it!

Quick.  Fast.  Easy.  Kind of the theme for today.  Along those lines – if you heard of an appliance that could make a dish in about an hour – one that usually takes 24 hours, you’d think that was a good deal, right?  Well, I’ve been hearing that electric pressure cookers could do just that.  Here in the Deatherage household, we eat a lot of beans.  Pinto Beans and Red Beans (and rice), specifically.  And those require me to think about them the night before, put the beans on to soak overnight and then get them in the crock pot first thing in the morning.

Enter….the Electric Pressure Cooker.  I succumbed to a QVC commercial and got one delivered.  Upon reading the included cook-book, lo and behold….a recipe for black beans.  30 minutes.  And the recipe said “1 pound dry black beans”.  No mention of soaking.  I was ecstatic.  So, I put my pintos on, using the called for amount of liquid.  Set for 30 min.

Thirty minutes later – crunchy beans.

Reset for another 30 minutes.

Still.  Crunchy.

30 more minutes.

Finally ended up with just-about-right-beans after 1 hour and 45 minutes of cooking.  A pretty significant improvement over 24 hours, sure.  But…worth the amount of real estate it takes up?  Maybe not.  So….it’s probably going to be on it’s way back to QVC. 😉

This little card, though – you really could get it done in 30 minutes!!  Just do a little quick watercolor, add a Grateful Bunch Flower and a sentiment from Happy Pants.  And you’ve got a little note card all ready to go.  Take a look-see:

I usually pile the Grateful Bunch flowers all over a card, but today I wanted to showcase the power of a single bloom! 🙂

I played with the TGIF Challenge #44, which was a Remix – where you go back and do a card from a previous TGIF challenge:

The challenge I selected was a color challenge, #41:

I used a panel of Shimmery White card stock, which works pretty well when you’re watercoloring.  The first thing I did was ink up the largest flower in the Grateful Bunch trio stamp with Versamark and stamp it on the top center of the panel.  Then I added a Versamark stem (well, it’s really a balloon string from Balloon Celebration!).  I sprinkled both with Black Stampin’ Emboss Powder and embossed it with my Heat Tool.

Then I used my Aqua Painter to lay down clear water across the entire panel.  Once it was wet, I picked up Blushing Bride ink from the lid of my stamp pad.  I just kept adding ink until I thought the color was the depth I wanted.  I made zero effort to make the color “smooth” – I wanted the variations and gradations of a watercolor wash.   Then I used my Heat Tool again to dry the ink.  Hint:  you can turn your panel over and heat the back to help reduce any warping that happens.  I SNAILd the panel to a piece of Blushing Bride card stock.

I stamped the same Grateful Bunch flower in Melon Mambo on a piece of Shimmery White card stock, and punched it out with the matching Blossom Bunch Punch.  Then I colored it in with Blushing Bride, using my Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush (the one that’s been refilled with water a time or two!).  I stuck it over the embossed flower with Stampin’ Dimensionals.  Then I added some Pearl Basic Jewels to the flower center.

I inked up just the word “Hi” from the Party Pants stamp set in Melon Mambo and stamped it at the bottom of the panel.

The embellishment on the side is a piece of the new White Metallics Glitter Tape (the newest Sale-A-Bration goody).  I laid a piece on my Silicone Craft Sheet and used a Sponge Dauber to color it with more Melon Mambo.  I stuck it on the card front and then layered on a piece of Melon Mambo 3/8″ Stitched Satin Ribbon, which I stuck down on the back with scotch tape.

On the inside, I inked just the “(that’s all)” with Melon Mambo ink and, using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, stamped it in the center of a Shimmery White card stock panel.  I stamped another Grateful Bunch Flower in Melon Mambo and colored it with Blushing Bride using my Clear Wink brush.  I SNAILd it to a Blushing Bride mat and then into my Rich Razzleberry card base.

I popped the front on with Stampin’ Dimensionals and that was it for the card!

For the envelope, I used a Medium Whisper White Envelope (it’s a little large for this tall-and-skinny card, but it’s okay) and added one more Grateful Bunch flower in Melon Mambo with my Blushing Bride coloring…

…and added a liner with a piece of Rich Razzleberry paper from the Brights Backgrounds DSP Stack, cut with my Envelope Liner Framelits.

Et Voila!  A simple-is-better kind of card (yes, I get the irony of me saying that!) for just about anyone on your list who might need a smile coming their way!  I hope that you’ll give it a try!

I’ve got just a couple spots left in the Online Host Club!  It’s an easy way for you to earn Host Benefits, get at least TWELVE Peppermint reward points and a free stamp set at the end – all while you’re gathering up your Stampin’ Up! goodies!  Let me know soon if you’re interested, okay?

TTFN

Mary

ONLINE HOST CLUB STARTING IN JUST 3 DAYS!

The Stamps-N-Lingers Online Host Club is a great way for you to garner Host benefits without even “doing” a workshop! We’re talking Stampin’ Rewards Dollars and access to exclusive Host sets (plus a few added bennies tossed in)! And it’s easy peasy….

• Each Club consists of 6 people who each commit to purchasing at least $25 in product each month for 6 consecutive months. Each month, one person will be the “host” of that month’s workshop – I’ll do a random draw of all your names at the beginning of the club period – that way everyone will know which month will be “theirs”!
• I’ll mail the host code to everyone on the first of each month and then everyone just applies that host code to their order by the 20th. Then the host and I will figure her order together at the end of the month.  Each month the host will have earned at least $15 in Host/Stampin’ Reward dollars!
• During your participation in the Online Club, I’ll be giving you DOUBLE Peppermint reward points! So – your $25 order will get you TWO peppermints each month, versus the normal one.  Order $50 and get four peppermints!  $75 – you’ll get six…By the end, you’re going to have at least TWELVE peppermint rewards point.  Remember that 16 gets you another $40 gift!
• At the end of the 6 months – I’ll give each participant the stamp set of their choice (up to $20) as a thank you for participating.
• You’ll get first dibs on the next club sign up opportunity!
• You’ll get Free Catalogs from me during your Host Club term
• Shipping will be free on your host month order!

Sound like something you want to be a part of? If it is – let me know ASAP! I’m planning to start the first Host Club on 1 March – that’s one week from today. So – don’t hesitate! Contact me right away at 678-360-1359 or by e-mail at stamps-n-lingers@comcast.net!

More information is available over on the Online Host Club page!

HOST CODE FOR 18 Feb – 29 Feb 16: J9VBU4KX

Use this host code when you order and receive a free gift from me! But, if your order is over $150, please don’t use this code (you’ll miss out on your own Stampin’ Rewards if you use it) but you’ll still get the free gift. The free gift for Feb is your choice of any item valued up to $8.00 in the brand new 2015-16 Annual Catalog or the 2015 Occasions Catalog.