Saturday, September 10, 2016

September Leading Lady Carson Riutta | Take Two

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Our September Leading Lady, Carson Riutta, is back for her sensational second performance!  If you missed her smashing debut you must see it...CLICK HERE.  Carson's dramatic flair is in full evidence with her brilliantly bold projects today!

Ladies and gentlemen, Carson.... 

Quick and easy watercolor cards by Carson Riutta, Winnie and Walter September Leading Lady Take 2

Hello again, my Winnie & Walter friends!  I'm so happy to be back sharing another design and technique with you today.  But first I have a confession to make.  I love watercolor, but I often do not have the patience or skill to create those gorgeous watercolor florals that you see everywhere these days.  So I've come up with a quick and dirty way to create a similar look that anyone can pull off without leaving your chair to clean a brush or freshen your water.
 Quick and easy watercolor cards by Carson Riutta, Winnie and Walter September Leading Lady Take 2, stamping

Instead of classic watercolors, I use my Distress Stains for this technique.  I use a long acrylic block as my paint palette, a water mister, a paint brush and some baby wipes.  All of these supplies are within reach of my craft desk, which is key for me to watercolor.  If I have to go get a glass of water and some paper towels from the kitchen, then the process is over before I've even begun, yes, I'm really that lazy!  

Quick and easy watercolor cards by Carson Riutta, Winnie and Walter September Leading Lady Take 2, watercolor wash


I start by stamping my floral images from the stunning In Bloom: Addie's Garden stamp set in a waterproof black ink onto watercolor paper.  I love my Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink.  Then I squeeze some Distress Stain onto my acrylic block, spritz the stain with water to tone down the colors a bit and then I sloppily paint a lighter layer of color over my stamped images.  This "sloppy" technique only works if you're going to be cutting your images out with a die or scissors, once you are done painting.  

Quick and easy watercolor cards by Carson Riutta, Winnie and Walter September Leading Lady Take 2, watercolor highlights

Next, you want to grab some darker color stain (less watered down) and paint it around your image while the first layer is still wet.  I chose to add paint along the stamped lines for the leaves and the roses while I added the color to the center of the daffodil.  As you can see, I did this rather quickly and without much precision.  This technique is so forgiving that you really can't mess it up.  Your results will be striking and bold no matter how precise you are while painting.
Quick and easy watercolor cards by Carson Riutta, Winnie and Walter September Leading Lady Take 2, watercolor highlights closeup

Once your florals are dry, die-cut them with the matching InBloom: Addie's Garden Cutaways and marvel at your gorgeous work!  Then find a way to use them on a cute card.  I love to play around with unusual card shapes and circle enclosure cards are some of my absolute favorites.  If you're adding a circle card to a gift, you can hole punch it and tie the card to the gift with ribbon for a super cute look!

Quick and easy watercolor cards by Carson Riutta, Winnie and Walter September Leading Lady Take 2, PlayQuick and easy watercolor cards by Carson Riutta, Winnie and Walter September Leading Lady Take 2, Shine


Thank you so much for stopping by today.  Don't forget to click over to my blog, Pineandplum.com, and leave a comment for a chance to win a $30 Winnie & Walter gift card! Winners will be announced at the end of the month, and remember if you comment on all of my Leading Lady posts over on my blog you can earn an extra entry for the drawing!

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Happy Crafting!

Carson


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15 comments:

  1. Ohh these are Gorgeous ..loved your trick to watercolor !

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  2. WOW - your flowers and leaves are STUNNING and your cards BOLD & BEAUTIFUL!!!
    THANK YOU for sharing your Distress Stain watercolouring ... I NEED to try this NOW :)

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  3. Have to give this a try! Great effect! These turned out beautifully!

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  5. Beautiful colors against the black and white background.

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  6. so pretty! Love how the colors just POP

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  7. This is absolutely stunning! Definitely going to give this technique a go! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  8. Wow!!, amazing projects! Love the colors!

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  9. So stunning! Love the contrast between the vibrant flowers and the black & white card base... the circular shape make them look even better!

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  10. Fantastic cards! Carson's stile is smashing!

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  11. Gorgeous cards! I had to chuckle about you not wanting to get up to go get water or anything when you make your cards. My problem is I get up to go get the water or whatever I need and then see that I forgot to put the laundry in the dryer, etc., and 30 or so minutes later I finally get back to the crafting :)

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