Wanderlust 2022: Watercolours – weeks 29-35

Posted on 28th September 2022 by perfectly4med

I’ve procrastinated a bit on my homework for this section as I and watercolours often do not get on well together. The lessons have been great on Wanderlust 2022, with each of the tutors carefully and patiently explaining the techniques they use so that they are, in the main, replicable. Here are my results from weeks 29-35…

Various mixed media techniques on papers other than watercolour paper have generally worked ok. I still haven’t fallen in love with watercolours as a medium, but am glad I have tried them. Oh, and buying decent tube watercolours made such a difference to the vibrancy of the colours over the student quality hard pan collections I normally use.

LIM DT: Friendship (for World Cardmaking Day)

Posted on 24th September 2022 by perfectly4med

Apparently, World Cardmaking Day is held every first Saturday of October and is dedicated to those that prefer to make cards rather than buy them. In honour of this, the latest challenge at Less is More is to make a CAS card on the theme of friendship. I made the following card, and I’m not sure I like it! I think that the blue shading around the top and bottom of the rose detracts from the clean and simple aesthetic.

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LIM DT: Use Vellum

Posted on 27th August 2022 by perfectly4med

The recipe challenge this week over at Less is More is to use vellum in your clean and simple card design/make. One of the trickiest things is to find a means of attaching it to the card without the glue showing as a darker area given its translucency. I’ve got around this by taping a fold-over flap to the inside of the card. I found the flower in a long-neglected box of Pergamano parchment craft. I mounted it on black to get the right contrast for the white of the stretched vellum. The sentiment is stamped in white pigment ink several times to get it opaque.

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AAA Cards DT: Small and few #221

Posted on 7th August 2022 by perfectly4med

A little challenge over at AAA Cards this fortnight, with the main theme being ‘small and few’. The optional twist is to add (lady)bugs to your clean and simple card design. Here’s my take on the theme:

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LIM DT: Butterflies

Posted on 30th July 2022 by perfectly4med

Over at Less is More, there’s a new theme challenge for your clean and simple cards/makes – ‘butterflies’. Clean and simple means minimal layers, and lots of blank space, drawing attention to the stamping/colouring/sentiment. Here’s my one layer take on the theme, using watercolour pencils and a bit of distress ink over a mask to get the blue band across the middle:

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AAA Cards DT: Along the edge #220

Posted on 24th July 2022 by perfectly4med

Challenge time again over at AAA Cards and the theme for the fortnight is ‘along the edge’ with the optional twist of ‘under the sea’. As always, the card should be clean and simple – minimum layers and embellishments and lots of empty/white space. Here’s my design team card for your inspiration:

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AAA Cards DT: 1/9th ± butterflies (#217)

Posted on 12th June 2022 by perfectly4med

The current challenge at AAA Cards blog is to use a rectangle just 1/9th of the card face. The optional twist is to add butterflies to your layout. The normal ratio of white space to an image on a clean and simple card is 2/3rds to 1/3rd, so reducing this again makes for an extremely clean card, though not necessarily simpler. Here’s my take on the theme:

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AAA Cards DT: No layers card (#215)

Posted on 15th May 2022 by perfectly4med

Another no layers card at AAA Cards in their latest challenge. There’s also the option of a ‘plant/grow/farm’ theme. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I don’t have any stamps featuring tractors or farmyard animals/birds, so went instead for another interpretation of ‘plant’ and featured a flower on my one layer card:

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LIM DT: Use a tag

Posted on 7th May 2022 by perfectly4med

It’s recipe time at Less is More, and your ingredient is ‘a tag’. Just make a clean and simple card featuring a tag, upload it to your blog and share the link over at the challenge blog. I’ve made this card for inspiration as part of the design team:

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AAA Cards DT: Along the edge + your country (#212)

Posted on 3rd April 2022 by perfectly4med

One theme that recurs regularly in clean and simple card making challenges is ‘along the edge’. You have four to choose from, but the elements on the card need to predominantly be arranged on the edge of the card blank. This leaves lots of white space on the card which can be daunting for some. This week’s theme over at AAA Cards also throws in the wild card of ‘your country’. With the design team being from all over the world, we’re sure to have some fabulous cards for your inspiration. Here’s mine: