Legends whisper of a Captain who set sail to find the ancient God, Kanaloa. He was the greatest of titans and played the world’s ley lines like a harp, his many arms manipulating time to his will.
Haunted by the passing of his true love, the desperate Captain mapped a course for the darkest depths, determined to use the power of time to bring his beloved back. The Captain never returned.Some say he found his true love. Others say he died trying.
To this day, legend tempts each adventuring fool to seek the Captain’s map of power but you’ve found a better, easier way. Here, Linda will show you how to create your own!
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Simon Says Stamp – Weekly Challenge
Besides creating the map for Del Bello’s Designs, I decided to throw the map in for this week’s weekly challenge at Simon Says Stamp, “Make Your Own Backdrop.” The backdrop is the showpiece in my latest make where I turn bright white paper into an ancient map using the awesome Distress Ink Sprays from Tim Holtz combined with fantastic Lavinia Stamps and a Sweet Poppy Stencil. If you love to create like I do then check out the weekly Challenges at Simon Says Stamp and be sure to “Like”, “Subscribe”, and “Comment” for the Del Bello’s Video above!
Join me as I show you new ways to bring light to your art! The past is rich with beautiful history we can blend with current tools to illuminate your creativity! Watch now or on YouTube where you’ll find all the supplies listed in the details. Enjoy!
In just a few short hours, you can learn how to create these beautiful cards using basic Gouache Painting techniques taught by Altenew’s Certified Educator Linda Fields!
Gouache Painted Flowers Workshop Live by Altenew Certified Educator Linda Fields
Did you miss the live workshop Saturday? Maybe you couldn’t make it or maybe you were there but didn’t take notes? Don’t worry! I’ve got you covered! And there’s nothing saying I can’t do this live again if enough people ask. A shout out to Bridget Cassey who hosted our zoom meetup place and a big thank you to everyone who attended – it was great seeing all you and your beautiful cards!
Gouache Painted Flowers Workshop by Linda Fields – Look for for Future Workshop Events!
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Altenew Gouache Paint Set
A2 Card Set
In time, you’ll learn I always have different card sets ready to go when I’m ready to create. I have 3 favorites: A2, Slimline, and 5×7. You get the most bang for buck when you cut A2 cards from your 8.5″x11″paper real estate (see photos). I use only Neenah Heavy Cover Stock at 110 lb / 297 gsm for all my card bases. Simply cut your paper (portrait) in half so you get 2 card bases (4.25″x11″). Crease at the 5.5″ mid-way point and fold for a crisp, professional card.
If you’re going to use a lot of water then opt for watercolor paper in either cold or hot press. No matter paper you choose, I recommend a 9″x12″ pad. You can get four 4″x5.25″ card fronts from one sheet and still have some scrap left over for crafting. Use the heaviest black card stock you can find and cut it 1/8″ square smaller than the A2 folded card base. A black mat is my default color choice because of the clean, very finished look I get when I’m done.
Make a Card to Give a Card
Stamp Flowers – Using the Misti Stamping tool, place your flowers on the card front and grab with the tool lid. Use waterproof ink to stamp flowers on the paper. Repeat as needed.
Stamp Sentiment – Remove card front then place, ink, and stamp a sentiment on scrap cut to size.
Paint – Choose 2 contrasting colors of gouache for the petals, another 2 for the leaves and stem. You need very little paint. Remember, you can always add but you can’t always take away. Going light to dark is easiest by just adding more and more water to get lighter shades. Feel free to mix colors too. You want three shades light to darkest. Keep the darkest shades towards the stem and the mid tones between the lightest and darkest colors. I used only 2 shades of green for the leaves. Use a fine, detail brush and add water as needed to blend when painting. The less water used, the more brilliant your color will be. Have fun and experiment, add mica powders for a beautiful shimmer!
Details – Now for the two must-have tools in your arsenal… a fine tip, black drawing pen and a mechanical pencil. Use the pen to draw in tiny details, redo painted over stamped lines, and connect broken details to correct and add interest.
Shadow – Use your pencil in the darkest parts of your flowers to add depth.
Splatter – Now that your done painting, pick a color to thin with water and splatter with the fan brush. I used green for the card front and the petal color for the sentiment piece.
Emboss – Use your embossing ink pad at a 45 degree angle to get your edges sticky. I like to do one section at a time. Pour on a generous amount of powder, tap off excess then heat with the gun until melted. Repeat until all sides and corners for the card front and sentiment piece are done.
Enamel Dots – I put one (darkest color) in each corner to give a hammered in kind of look.
Accents – You’re going to have some negative space on your card so fill some of it with interest by adding a few circlets of metallic thread in gold or silver. Keep them secured to the back of your sentiment piece using foam tape.
Final Touches – Use foam tape to attach your card front to the mat and use double sided tape or glue to attach the mat to the card front before adding the sentiment last. Congratulations! You made a beautiful card to keep and frame or give to that special someone.
My Favorite Things
As promised, I am adding this last bit for those who asked, “What are you using to hold your phone while doing this workshop?” Great question! Introducing the Portable Creator Box & Light Standwith Remote Control! I easily spent hundreds of dollars on typical filming equipment but they didn’t fit my workbench, or couldn’t handle the weight, and fell during live workshops or filming! Just when I thought I couldn’t get a break, I found this foldable, portable, heavy weight stand. Five stars aren’t enough! See for yourself! This is the device you’ve been waiting for.
