Welcome Little One - Patterned Paper vs. DIY Patterns

Hey everybody :) 

For today's card, I wanted to challenge myself to use zero patterned paper while still creating a dynamic card. Not an easy feat since I love my paper a lot.

I'm a huge fangirl of pretty paper. So I knew this one would be a tad tougher. 

 But I also know that the one thing that always stumbles me up when working with patterned paper is color matching. I find it difficult and time consuming at times, especially when I'm working with only a single paper out of a collection. I also try and keep my crafting stash pretty minimal, so I don't always have the perfect match when it comes to embellies or other accents...

This results in many-a-stumped-moments.... 

(crickets)

So, I've found a way to remedy this situation, and that is by making my own paper! By selecting a base paper, and a few ink colors, watercolors, or markers, I can make sure that all the itty bitty pieces match perfectly and that the colors are consistent. And I love that I don't have to compromise on style!

Before starting this card, I pulled out my favorite Canson watercolor paper, my trusty water brushes, and my favorite inks for this technique (Distress inks in colors of Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry) and I got down to playing :)

TIP: When I'm not in the mood to make cards, I sometimes just doodle with my watercolors inside my paper pad, and then save the sheets for a later project. This way, I have perfectly coordinated doodles and patterns to use when I'm short on time. 

To make the above pattern, I used the widest of my water brushes to make bold strokes on my watercolor paper, in two different colors of yellow (Mustard Seed + Fossilized Amber), along with a soft pink shade (a blend of Spun Sugar and Picked Raspberry). I decided I liked the messy painted look, and that this was going to be my main paper.

To make coordinating colored paper, I then squeezed my waterbrush, releasing more water and diluting the pink color, to paint a piece of watercolor paper in a soft pink shade that I would later use for die-cutting.  Lastly, I painted another piece of watercolor paper with the yellow tone, and yet another piece of paper in a bright pink tone (using Picked Raspberry). I set all the papers aside to dry before die-cutting them.

Once dry, I used the different colors of paper to die-cut three medium sized stars and two large stars, using PTI's Seeing Stars die collection. 

At the top of the card, I added a little bit of washi tape. Just below, I added another piece of cardstock that I had stamped with a chevron background stamp with Viridian Archival ink. If you don't have a chevron stamp, a die such as this one or this lovely one would do the trick too.

Just atop that, I added an embossed sentiment, using PTI's Wonderful Words: Baby stamps with Ranger Super Fine Detail white embossing powder.

I used some older star stamps and some yellow ink to stamp a star pattern on a carstock base, and then used the Confetti Garlands die from PTI to cut out a sweet circle border. 

I added some leaves to the stars, stamped and cut using Rosie Posie stamps and dies, as well as a few other older stamps.

Just below that, I added a pom-pom trim, and two layered stars to the side. I used PTI's Monthly Moments: Journal Card #2 to cut a scalloped design out of my paint stroke pattern, and added a bit of the darker pink paper underneath, so that it would poke out under the scalloped bits.

At the bottom, I added another layered star, with a sentiment stamped on top. I used the  Monthly Moments: Journal Card #5  die to die-cut an adorable pattern of small stars onto the larger white star.

You'll also notice a very fine and soft pink border around the white star at the bottom. It's just a tad of shading with a Copic marker for a little extra dimension.

Lastly, I sprinkled on a mix of aqua, white, clear and pink sequins, along with a few of my favorite iridescent gems.

I love the way this card turned out and as a result, I'm almost sold on not having to buy another piece of pretty patterned paper again...Almost :)

Thanks for joining me today! Hope you're having a wonderful hump-day!

Ivana

p.s. Friends - I'm trying out a NEW supplies list that will be featured at the end of each post. I hope it will make shopping a little easier and allow you to quickly see products I've used on each project. Using this feature will not add any additional costs to your purchase, but it will go a long way in helping me maintain this little blog of mine. Your purchases through any of the AMAZON, BLITSY or SCRAPBOOK.COM links below will help me convert a small portion of your sales towards running this little blog and creating new, exciting content on an on-going basis. So if you like what you see here and you enjoy visiting my creative space, please consider using these links when you shop.

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