Inspiration: July 2019 Card Maps Sketch + Simon Says Stamp Monday (Let's Get Ready for Christmas)
As is the case every year, there is a lot of yummy patterned paper offered again this year, but I think the gold star might go to the Merry Little Christmas collection from Pebbles. Every single sheet of the 6" x 6" is absolutely scrumptious! Most of it as gold foil as well (and so do the stickers), which makes it extra special. I couldn't wait to play with those new papers. I don't know if this card highlights this beautiful collection as well as it should, but at least I dove in and created something to get started. I'll probably have more time in the upcoming days to do more with it.
The layout was inspired by a Card Maps sketch and the various pieces helped me showcase a mix of various patterns from the pack. I also liked that it had a sentiment banner, since one of the pages is a cut-apart that has "Merry Christmas" banners on it. I added the stitching detail with a white gel pen as it felt a little bare on the page. The carolers are a sticker from the Accent Sticker sheet.
What I want to rave about is the Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils from Faber-Castell I managed to score on sale during Labour Day weekend. I had signed up for the local art store emails so that I could specifically get a set when it would be on sale. I have said in the past that despite my best efforts, I had trouble loving the watercolor pencils I had on hand. They're from Stampin' Up!, but it's nothing against that company specifically - I had also purchased watercolor pencils of a similar quality in the past and the results were the same. The tip of the pencils is hard, the colour achieved is not that saturated, the pigment is hard to move around on the paper. Because of those results, I had turned to watercoloring with inks, learned to master the technique and given up on the pencils. The Faber-Castell ones had me curious, since I was so happy with my coloring pencils from the same company. After watching online videos where people compared the Albrecht Dürer pencils with other brands, I could tell they were nothing like the watercolor pencils I have previously owed.
So the pencils were delivered while I was short on time to sit down and stamp. I was still curious about this new acquisition, so I stamped a holly image from the nearest stamp set and picked random colors to try the pencils out. It only took a few strokes to decide that I love them. What a difference! Granted, they are pricey, but at least the results are there. If I can get such a pretty result from a quick first try, imagine once I've got a few hours of practice under my belt! I handcut this image and tried to add it to my ornament card at the time, but it was distracting rather than pleasing to the eye, so I left the image aside and today, it caught my eye while I was putting together the card. The colors and scale was working much better on this card.
Now, I can't wait to color a bigger image with the pencils.
Supplies
Stamps: Fêtes étincelantes (Christmas Gleaming - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Mint Macaron (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers and Accent Stickers: Merry Little Christmas (Pebbles)
Ink: Basic Black Archival Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Wonky Square Frames Dies (Avery Elle); Albrecht Dürer Watercolor Pencils (Faber-Castell);
Just Stitching Double Rectangles Dies (Lawn Fawn); Button (Autumn Leaves);
Stampin' Dimensionals, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope (Stampin' Up!)
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