Pages

6.17.2013

10 ladies, 10 embellishments :)


Good morning!  Today I'm thrilled to share that I have made it to the top 10 in the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol competition!

It's only fitting that the challenge this round is to create a card with exactly 10 embellishments. 10 embellishments?? What's a clean and simple girl to do?  I'm lucky if even just one embellishment lands on my card.

To keep true to my style, I went small.  Enamel dots are all the rage, so after a stop at Ink About It (my LSS), I came home with these:

Yep! Just the thing I needed!  

Take a look at my card, then I'll give you the step-by-step:

This card might look a bit familiar.  A while back, I made a card with a hand-painted, watercolored Boston skyline.  I received so many "how'd you do that?" questions, so I CASEd myself and this time around took pics along the way.  Let's get started!

  • Step 1: Get some inspiration
I thought to myself, "what cities have the best skylines?" - so I hopped onto Google and typed, "cities with the best skylines" lol.  First result? Shanghai!
  • Step 2: Sketch
I like to paint on bristol, but of course you could use watercolor paper too.  I'd advise against regular cardstock, because it won't hold up well to the watercolor.

Finished Sketch (can you even see it? hehe)

  • Step 3: Paint
I use watercolors to lay down some basic color.  I call this "the Ugly Phase."  It's my least favorite part of painting....I think to myself, "this is never going to look good!"
Ugly indeed.
  • Step 4: Start sketching
I use a Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen (size XS) or a Sakura Pigma Micron Pen (size 01) to sketch.   What I LOVE about this step is that it makes the "Ugly Phase" look better, plus you can go fast and not worry about being perfect.  (One day, I'll show you my "real" paintings- the ones where I obsess over the details, hehe) 


Finished, and whimsically sketchy. Delightful!

  • Step 5:  Add more
This is the part where I usually realize that I didn't add enough paint, and I'll go back and add some more.



  • Step 6:  Splatter!
To add splatter, you need to get your paint reaaaaally wet. Then take your juicy brush, hold it over your project, and tap it with your other hand.  You can kind of control where it lands, but to be safe, get all other important things away from your workspace!





After assembling my card, I adhered the row of 10 enamel dots, which lead your eye from the yellow card base peeking out on the side to the sentiment.

To help keep them aligned, I placed a ruler along the bottom edge of the card and used my Xacto knife to push the dots against it.


The finished card:

Well, it's now time for you to go vote.  Please go HERE to check out the entries, then vote for your favorite! If you think you want to vote for mine, then you can find a direct link to my entry on the side bar to the right.

So glad you could drop on by! :)












16 comments:

  1. Your watercoloring is amazing, and I love the splatter you added.

    ReplyDelete
  2. HELLO FABULOUS!! Way to keep true to your style:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love how you've used the embellishments and wow - that skyline is AWESOME! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, this is an amazing work of art! Good luck and congratulations on making it so far!!! Well-deserved, for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your artwork is so beautiful. I so admire your work. I wish I had a portion of your talent. Congrats for making it to this level in the Idol Contest. Wishing you the best.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You are so talented! This is gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  7. WOW!!! Jennifer you rocks!!!! I loveee it!! your card so awesome, artsy and fantastic!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful card, Jennifer! You are so talented. Thank you for sharing the step-by-step pictures for your process--it's great to see. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  9. You are a true artist!! Wow, love that Shanghai skyline and water-coloring! Good luck on this round, Jen! (you will make it!!)!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing your technique. I am going to have to try using bristol for watercolor. Love how you lined up the dots with a ruler. Good luck to you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You are amazing and so very talented. Your sketch is incredible, and all of the step by step photos in the world wouldn't allow me to make something presentable, let alone worthy of framing. Brilliant work, Jennifer, and good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jennifer, this just blew my mind. I've never been to Shanghai, but it looks like an amazing city. I loved that you shared your process in coming up with this. It adds a great touch and gives us a window into who Jennifer Rzasa is!! Brilliant design, and winner for sure!! Wishing you luck!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jen.....this is just a fabulous card and unbelievably creative!! You have MAD talent girl!! I love that you shard the process of making this as I would have had no idea how you did it!!!!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave me a comment!

If you ask a question, please make sure that you leave your email address, or that I can view it in your profile so I can respond :)

(note: I have disabled anonymous commenting due to the 20+ spam comments I have been receiving each day. Please email me at ourchangeofart@gmail.com if this is a problem for you- I wasn't sure how many people would be unable to comment if I did this)