Hi readers! Happy Sunday to you! We have an amazing card to share with you today, dreamed up by non other than the awesome Lisa Spangler! Enjoy!

Hey, hi, and hello! I’m so happy to be here today!  I’ve got a ton of ideas to share with you so let’s get started. Here’s my card + envelope:

I made it for my husband, Jason. I already gave it to him so it’s okay if he reads this post, LOL! :)

To get started, I actually made the envelope first. It’s a Hero Arts celadon envelope that I lined with some old map paper – saved from back before I had a phone with GPS.  (Showing my age, HA!) I had it in my car but just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it. Then I decided to hang onto it and do something crafty with it.

I just love this green color, it reminds me of an old school ledger. I used the Hero Arts envelope liner template to make the liner, lickety-split. Then it was on to the card.

As soon as I saw the BasicGrey Second City Map Background I had the idea to color it in different sections – with daubers! I love how the pastel dauber colors have white in them – of course you can mix in white watercolor paint with regular watercolors to get the same look – but this is so much easier.

First I stamped the Map Background with white pigment ink on watercolor paper and then heat embossed it with white powder.

Then I tapped some daubers into a watercolor palette. I like using these because it’s white so you can see the true color that you’re working with, but you can tap the daubers onto any non-porous surface.

I ended up adding a few taps of the regular colors along with the pastel colors in the wells just to add more richness to the mix. Here are my combos:

• pastel pink + ultra pink
• pastel mint + green hills
• pastel yellow + lemon yellow, and
• tide pool all by itself

Then I used a waterbrush to pick up color and paint away. This is something fun you can do while watching your favorite show or while listening to music. Just don’t think too much and paint away!

To finish up the card, I stamped the sentiment with black ink and then underlined parts of it with thin washi – you know me, I love my washi!

It still needed a little something, so I broke out my Studio Calico Hearts and Arrows wood veneer. But, it didn’t pop enough as-is, so I decided to color it – with a charcoal dauber.

I just swiped it on and that was that. The dauber dries super fast on the wood. Love that.

To finish up the card I added some Hero Arts black and silver décor here and there. They are kind of like enamel dots, but flatter. And you get a ton in a pack.

Thanks so much for joining me today! I also want to thank Simon Says Stamp for having me, and for being such an awesome company with truly awesome people. Hope you all have a great day! xo

Lisa

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