Layers of ink: SSS United We Craft Blog Party

Hello friends! I am so happy to be a part of the Simon Says Stamp United We Craft Blog Party. This is a difficult time in the world and I can't think of any previous historical event that has affected so many all over the world, in such a short span of time. One week, most things are normal, and the next week, few things are normal. It's a hard thing to deal with and its important to try to keep the hope up. This blog hop is a part of that. With 99 participants from all over the world, we hope to spread some joy and happiness. United we craft.

In the blog hop, we will be using earlier Simon Says Stamp exclusive products. You can find them all here in the shop. Shipping times are delayed at the moment, but you can still order, or add items to your wish list.

You can join us in this crusade by sharing your creative moments using #SSSUnitedWeCraft. Use the hashtag to share photos of what you create and who you create with in person or virtually.

I made two projects, an art journal page and three watercolor cards. They are pretty different from each other and all the techniques can be used for other types of projects too.

Layers of ink - Always Hope Seascape Art Journal Page Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

The art journal page is a double spread in my large Dylusions journal (16.5 x 11.5 in). I think many of us at times feel like a little boat on a pretty rough and unknown sea, which is the feeling I wanted to convey here, but in combination with the ever so important sense of hope. To create the latter, I added both hopeful sentiments and quite a lot of anchors, a traditional symbol of hope.

Start by coating the page with gesso. When dry, add a piece of masking tape or Dina Wakley's Blank Media tape at the top, to form the horizon line.

Layers of ink - Always Hope Seascape Art Journal Page Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson. Paint with Distress Paint.

Paint with four shades of blue Distress Paints, making it darker towards the front, for a sense of perspective. Mist heavily with water. You need to have a couple of paper towels at hand, so that you can catch the water going to the edge and towards the center. But apart from that, let the page dry on its own for dramatic results.

Layers of ink - Always Hope Seascape Art Journal Page Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson. Paint the sky.

Remove the masking tape. The sky was painted without adding water, since I wanted it to have a more solid look. All I did was to remove some of the paint with a paper towel to create rough clouds or movement.

Layers of ink - Always Hope Seascape Art Journal Page Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson. Stamp anchors.

Stamp with the Simon Says Stamp Anchors Background stamp, using white paint. Always clean your stamp immediately after using it with paint.

For added texture, I used Tim Holtz Translucent Grit Paste together with a dots stencil. Apply through the stencil with a palette knife.

When dry, dry-brush white paint on top of the dots, but don't cover them completely. This gives textures, while the background still shows through. I used the same technique on my Crocus Layout from earlier this week.

Layers of ink - Always Hope Seascape Art Journal Page Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson. Stamp the background.

Stamp here and there with the SSS You Matter Background stamp.

Layers of ink - Always Hope Seascape Art Journal Page Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson. Add mica flakes.

For some bling, add dots or lines of SSS glue to the page and sprinkle Tim's Mica Flakes on top.

Layers of ink - Always Hope Seascape Art Journal Page Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson. Die cut anchors.

The anchors were die cut from a piece of watercolor paper. It was a piece of paper where I had tested some brown and blue watercolor mixes and didn't look like much. Use these type of pieces for die cutting since it will give you unexpected results.

Layers of ink - Always Hope Seascape Art Journal Page Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson. Stamp with Your Light.

The ship, compass and sentiments from Your Light were stamped on a piece of heavystock paper that had been inked with Antique Linen and Pumice Stone Distress Ink. Color with colored pencils and ink the edges.

The ship has a trail of mica behind it.

Here's a closer look at the mica.

The title was die cut from the same watercolor paper as the anchors, using the SSS Archie Jr Solid die.

I really like the sentiments on the Your Light stamp set.

A little bit of yellow was added to both the compass and the boat, also as a sign of hope.

The anchors were glued to the background.

The stamped anchors almost gives a ghost like appearance, which I like. Don't worry if the stamping isn't perfect, it is not meant to be.

Here's another look at the translucent grit-paste dots.

Layers of ink - Watercolor cards tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I also made three spring-time cards with encouraging messages. Coloring images, without thinking too much about perfection, is a great activity to do if you need just a bit of creativity. It is also fun for kids. Cut up some paper and stamp images on them so that they are ready when you feel like coloring. And if you don't feel like doing anything creative, try to do it anyway, even if it is just for a short while.

Layers of ink - Watercolor cards tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson. Border-less watercoloring.

I did border-less coloring on these, but you can also stamp them with black ink. If you want edges that disappear almost completely, stamp with Antique Linen instead. I used Pumice Stone, since I like the way it creates a shadow, and almost looks like a pencil sketch. I used the Spring Gnomes and Lifting Hearts sets. They were stamped on watercolor paper, about 4x4 in.

Watercolor the images loosely, dropping in darker shades of color for shading. If you don't have watercolor paint, you can also use Distress Ink. Smear it on a craft sheet, mist with water and pick up with a paint brush.

Layers of ink - Watercolor cards tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson. Add shading and grass.

Add more shading and some thin lines. The gnomes were also given grass to stand on.

Layers of ink - Watercolor Spring Gnome Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I wanted to stitch around these, but I couldn't find my white thread, so instead I just added a staple in each corner. The sentiment comes from the Uplifting Thoughts set, one of my all time favorite sentiment sets. You can vary the colors of the gnomes in so many ways. For another example of the Spring Gnomes check out my Gnome Home canvas.

Here you can see the I colored it loosely. Leave some of the paper white, for highlights.

I used both wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry watercoloring on these, you can see the difference where there is smooth blending and where there is more of an edge. Both are great techniques.

Layers of ink - Balloon and Bunny Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

This bunny is so cute and balloons makes everyone happier. Add a few pearls to the cards for embellishments. The sentiment also comes from the Lifting Hearts set and was stamped with Hickory Smoke Archival Ink.

Layers of ink - Balloon and Bunny Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson. Watercolor balloons.

I used the same pink color for all the balloons, just varying the amount of water, and there is a tiny bit of blue in the mix for the balloon at the back.

Layers of ink - Balloon and Bunny Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson. Watercolor bunny.

If you look closely at the bunny, you can clearly see the difference between the smooth edge of the wet-on-wet (such as on her forehead) and the harsher edges of the wet-on-dry, such as the shading at on her back.

Finally, the pink gnome with braids. The sentiment comes from the You Got This set and I only stamped a part of a sentiment.

Watercolor sometimes behaves unpredictably, which is part of the fun. I particularly like how some of the pink bled into the shadow, which wasn't planned.

Don't miss all the wonderful inspiration in this blog party and join us in crafting together, even though we are apart. You can find a full list of all the participants on the Simon Says Stamp Store Blog.

Don’t forget to share YOUR creative moments with family and friends using #SSSUnitedWeCraft.

Here's a list with all the participants. Pretty amazing, isn't it.

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog today!

Happy crafting and stay safe!

Anna-Karin

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