Sunny Thoughts

My Favorite Things is having their third annual "Card Design Superstar" challenge. I created this card for their "Coloring Virtuoso" category.

I cut a panel of Strathmore Mixed Media paper to 4.25x5.5". I stamped the little girl from My Favorite Things' "Sunny Thoughts" set (sadly discontinued) in Hero Arts Charcoal ink onto my panel. I went ahead & masked her off so I could work on my background before I spent a lot of time coloring. That way, if the background went awry, I wouldn't have "wasted" my coloring time! :)

For the sky, I used the "Mini Cloud Edges" stencil and Stormy Sky Distress ink. I started towards the top of my panel with the inking, then gradually moved down, using different portions of the stencil so all my clouds didn't look identical. I did leave a bit of a gap in the inking towards the left side. I used painter's tape to mask off a section there, & inked a sun ray with Squeezed Lemonade & Mustard Seed Distress inks. I moved my tape, inked the next ray, and repeated one more time. I made sure the rays got down to the girl's umbrella.

I ink blended Shabby Shutters & Peeled Paint Distress inks for the foreground and middle ground. I decided to put a hedge of sorts behind the girl, so I made that a bit darker. I made quick strokes for grass blades with a green Inktense pencil, then went over them with a damp paintbrush, just to "set" the color. (Inktense pencils become permanent after water has been applied & dried.) I also added variation into the hedge with a couple other green Inktense pencils, using a water brush to pick up the color & apply it in a mottled fashion to my inked area, just to add some texture.

Finally, it was time to remove my mask & color the little girl. I used my Inktense pencils for that as well, picking up the color from the pencils with a damp paintbrush & applying it to the paper. (This is my preferred method for these pencils, since it gives me more control & I get get softer colors.) For her face, I wet the paper first with clean water, then dropped the color in, to get a smoother blend. On the white bands of the umbrella, I actually went in with a light, gradated wash of yellow, to make it look like the sun rays are shining through the material. After I had finished coloring her, I let the paper dry completely & added more grass blades in front of her boots. I set that color with a damp paintbrush to finish.

After letting the panel dry for several hours, I stamped a greeting from "Sunny Thoughts" in Versamark ink over the hedge portion. I heat embossed that with Recollections Snow embossing powder. I let that cool, then adhered my card front to a white A2 card base.