Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Using Twinkling Paper in a CAS Layout: Part One

Painting an image with Twinkling H2Os (or any watercolor) like I did for yesterday's card is tons of fun but time-consuming. And 'cause y'all know I'm a quick-and-easy stamper at heart, I wanted to show how you can create shimmery paper and use it to make a variety of quick CAS cards. [Note that this technique would work with regular watercolor paints, reinkers, etc.]

I started with a watercolor paper block of Arches hot-press paper. Blocks are sealed on all four sides so all the pages are attached to each other. This means the paper wrinkles less than it would if it were a loose sheet. I use a butter knife to cut the paper off the block after it's totally dry.

Hot-press paper is smooth; cold press is textured. Hot press is MUCH easier to stamp on later, so I mostly use it.

First, I painted plain water on the area I wanted to paint. Then, I started with one color on one side, and while it was still wet, I painted the other color on the other, blending them together in the middle. As you can see on the red/gold side, I got some blooming of the paint, which isn't terribly pretty, but I just worked around that section when I started using the paper.


The two cards I'm sharing today are very minimalist...the CAS-est of the three days of Twinkling Paper I have planned. I used a 3/4" square punch to punch three squares of twinkling paper and stamped a single, small sentiment on the third square. Very shimmery. Very graphic. Very minimalist. *happy sigh*


The cool colors of the lavender and blue are so soft and required a clean, smooth, white base of PTI cardstock. You'll see the red/gold paper above shown on a card tomorrow, but below, I used squares punched from cold-press cardstock treated the same was as above. I used the same cold-press watercolor paper for the card base.


The close-up shows the texture. For stamping a small outline stamp like this, the cold press is okay. But these were scraps saved from a botched attempt to use the cold press with a large block stamp. Ick. Very splotchy and ugly, even though I used a stamping mat and lots of pressure. After salvaging the unstamped areas with a punch, I felt so much better about myself.


Aren't small square punches absolutely the BEST!?!?

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: Palette Noir and Dark Chocolate
paper: PTI white, Cold Press and Hot Press watercolor paper
accessories: Twinkling H20s, square punch

16 comments:

  1. Yes! I Love love love them(square punches)and the circular ones. It's a shame you don't like the paint bloom, I think it makes the paper more interesting. Love the CAS cards that you've made:0) xx

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  2. mustavecoffee, the paint bloom WOULD be interesting, especially if you did lots of them on purpose. But I'm a teeny tiny bit OCD and wanted a smooth blend for all the cards I had in mind.

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  3. Susan, thank you so much for doing all this for us. I love how it looks originally, and I LOVE how it looks in small squares. I love the color combos you chose, and using different CS for each. These make lovely cards, they're different, and original pieces of art! And yes, I love the small square punches!

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  4. Neat idea and pretty interesting results. I need to get some twinklers and I don't have any punches that small. Hmmm-I am getting a list a mile long-what to choose- as I can't have it all!

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  5. yes, small square blocks are the best!! I love your twinkling paper!!!! One of my favorite products :-)

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  6. Hi Susan, you are of course absolutely right, I have been a follower long enough now I should have known.
    You make me smile on a daily basis! Thanks:0) xx

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  7. You make me thankful for the internet:)

    I have always enjoyed stamping but felt that most cards had too much going on (too much embellishing) and as I am not creative rarely came up with designs on my own; then I stumbled onto your blog, just my style and just what I needed for inspiration.

    Thank-you for sharing your ideas and tips, you always inspire me.

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  8. I just wanted you to know how much I enjoy your blog. Honesty, Creativity and Inspiration. Thank you for all that I have learned and was inspired to do! Debbie

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  9. OMG these cards are CAS perfection! I love doing a watercolor wash as you've done here and using punches or die shapes to create a focal poing for a card!

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  10. Perfect and beautiful cards. You inspire me daily and have made me try clean and simple when that hasn't always been my style. I like variety but am very taken with CAS. I cased your card today and put it on my blog with credit to you. I also put your blog on the sidebar so my friends can find you.
    Thanks for sharing what you do.
    Holly
    www.eastyart.blogspot.com if you'd like a peek :)

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  11. Beautiful cards. I'm wondering, how do you fold the PTI paper w/o getting a crack in the fold??? I love the weight of their white cs, but it always cracks on me, even with scoring first. Thanks.

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  12. This is my kind of card, I love the watercoloured paper, love the squares and love the single word.
    Perfect

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  13. How do you decide on your color choices? They always look so great together.

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  14. More really beautifully simple cards, love how you get something so simple to look glorious

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment!