January Leading Lady Greta Hess | Take Two

Our January Leading Lady Greta Hess is back for her sensational second performance!  If you missed her smashing debut you must see it...CLICK HERE.   Greta is-oh-so clever with her coloring on her awesome cards today!

Ladies and gentlemen, Greta...

Thanks for all the positive comments on my initial Leading Lady post.  I'm so appreciative of your support.  Now it's time for Take 2.

This week I wanted to show you some ways to add color without the traditional art of coloring, since that's not one of my talents.  I often use solid images, but I'm not restricted to them.  Here are some cards with open images & techniques anyone can do.

First up is a card using the adorable snowman from Snowy Holiday with Evelin T Designs. 

Using a couple solid circles from Scenery: Dotty, I stamped 3 times, overlapping the circles, with Distress Inks weathered wood & faded jeans on a watercolor panel.  Then I spritzed to make the ink run.  I used my heat tool before repeating the process & adding splatters.  When it was completely dry, I stamped the snowman in Delicata Sapphire Blue several times using a stamp positioner.  Then I stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist.  The gray ink didn't really change the blue, but just made the image a bit crisper.

I added Shimmer Pico Embellisher to parts of  the snowman for clear sparkly dimension.  The sentiment is from The Big, the Bold & the Happy & I added a few clear sequins. Next is a fun Valentine's Day card using a die from Essentials: Tilda Cutaways that makes an opening for a gift card.

I began by white embossing Mini Scenery: Bed of Roses on Bristol paper so I could color with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers.  They are great for a messy watercolor technique that doesn't require staying in the lines or adding shadows--perfect for me!  I used 3 purple markers & a blue gray, mixing with a little water.  After it dried I cut out the gc holder & then spritzed with shimmer spray.

The white embossed sentiment strip made with words from The Big, the Bold & the Happy was mounted with foam tape.  The background is done with white dye ink & Scenery: Pennsylvania Polka Creative Screenings.  I didn't want the actual gift card to detract, so I covered the back of it with a scrap of Bristol paper colored with the blue gray Zig & dry embossed with little dots. My last card is another example of messy watercoloring.  This time I stamped a beautiful leaf image from In Bloom: Renee's Leaves across the top of a white panel in Distress Inks pine needles & evergreen bough. 

Then I "stamped" the ink pads on a flat palette, added water & picked up the color with a small brush to paint the leaves--again not staying in the lines.  When it was dry, I stamped in a darker blue green dye ink for more definition & then in Delicata Silvery Shimmer purposely not lining up the stamp.  The sentiment from In a Word: Thanks was stamped in dark gray ink to match the mat.  I left off embellishments, but did add some silver splatters. Hope I've given you some inspiration, even if you do traditional coloring.  Remember to leave a comment on my first post to be in the running for a $30 Winnie & Walter gift card.

Check the Take 2 post on my blog to see how you can get another entry into the drawing.  I'll be back next Saturday for more fun with wonderful Winnie & Walter products!