Note card

Baby It’s Cold Outside

/ Jodi / 42 Comments
Seymour Snowie - Watercolor Holiday Snowman with Cardinal - 4 1/4 x 5 1/2

Seymour Snowie – Watercolor Holiday Snowman with Cardinal – 4 1/4 x 5 1/2

Baby It’s Cold Outside…

I swear everything reminds me of some song.

No matter the discussion, I typically can break out into song about it…

or at least have a song running through my head at the same time.
(If you are anywhere nearby, you will likely hope it only runs through my head as carrying a tune is not one of my stronger talents!)

This time of year,
everything brings to mind a Christmas Carol.

It started snowing yesterday!
And turned C O L D!

I really can’t stay…. but Baby, it’s cold outside….
I’ve got to go away…. but Baby, it’s cold outside….

December snow is the best snow.  It is when most of us actually get excited to see snow – as opposed to March snow – when we are usually soooo over it!

So I was inspired to paint this chilly little guy – Seymour Snowie.

He is a holiday snowman, and he is chatting with his little friend Cameron the Cardinal.  I think they are so GLAD it’s cold outside!  At least Seymour is.

Wishing you cold, snowy fun outside, and warm comfort inside!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

(PS – I thought this might make a cute Holiday Greeting Card or Holiday Thank You Note, so I made these little cuties into cards for our McKinneyX2Designs ETSY shop.  You can check them out here!)

snowy-snowman-holiday-greeting-card

Winter Wonderland:  World Watercolor Group

And they call it Poppy Love

/ Jodi / 50 Comments

poppy watercolor original 4.25 x 5.5

Do you ever get an old song stuck in your head triggered by something  totally unrelated?

If you ask my family, they will tell you I can come up with a song for most any word, subject, discussion….

And to their dismay (as I truly have no musical talent!), I often break into random song most any time of day.

So ever since I painted this little poppy flower earlier this week, I’ve been walking around singing, Puppy Love (yep – 1972 Donny Osmond), but substituting “Poppy” for “Puppy.”  (I know – I have issues!)

And while we are on the subject, the 9-year old girl in me remembers Donny Osmond being much more swoon-worthy than the silly kid I see now when I watch the video on YouTube.

Oh well – I guess that is why they call it Puppy Love.

I thought this Poppy would make a beautiful greeting card, so that is just what I did.

poppy watercolor original print cards set of 4 1

And I called it “Poppy Love.”

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Lupines in Watercolor

/ Jodi / 39 Comments

lupine purple note card

Hubby asked if I could make a card for a friend the other day. 

lupine blue note card

I had seen some lupines done in a similar way with a stamp set to what I created here, but I wanted to try doing with watercolor in a variety of colors.

lupine pink note card

I wanted a torn look to the watercolor paper to give it just a little more personality, and I had fun trying different colors.  Hubby like the purple the best when I showed them all to him, so I added a “Thinking of You” sentiment and wrote a personal message inside.

lupine blue 2 note card

Also, after a bit of coaxing and prodding and urging, I decided to go ahead and open up an Etsy shop in case anyone would like to purchase some of my cards.  I have slowly started adding some of the things I have “in stock.”

I noticed many people sell prints of their watercolors, but I am featuring my original collection I have begun creating.

If you are looking for a special card, check out my ArtatLifeinBetween Etsy Shop.   I will continue to add and update.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Watercolor & Painted Petals Note Card

/ Jodi / 44 Comments

mini watercolor painted petals

I really enjoy trying new techniques in creating handmade cards, so when I saw a tutorial done by Jill Foster for Penny Black featuring water coloring combined with stamping to create these mini watercolor creations with a clean and simple white on white background, I couldn’t  wait to make one.

mini watercolor painted petals 1

The technique includes masking off watercolor paper to create the “frame” and then watercoloring the background.  I used some golds and greens from my Sakura Koi Water Color Pocket Field Sketch Box (actually the only watercolors I own right now).  After drying, I stamped the flowers on using StampinUp’s Painted Petals stamp set by coloring them with my Stampin’ Write Markers in Rose Red, Blackberry Bliss and Mossy Meadow and then gently spritzing the stamp with water to loosen the look before stamping.

mini watercolor painted petals 2

I then used those same marker colors and added a little water to them in my watercolor tray to randomly tap splatters all over from a paint brush.  The last step involved using a Penny Black Footnotes stamp with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in “tea dye,” which I smudged for the vintage imperfect look before stamping on the top edge and corner.

mini watercolor painted petals 3

Once dry, I simply removed the masking tape (blue painter’s low-tack tape is easier to remove and less likely to lift the paper too), put some dimensional adhesive tape on the back and adhered to a white card base.

mini watercolor painted petals 4

I loved this technique and plan to try it with other colors and stamps, and I can’t wait to share this card with somebody special.

Wishing you a wonderful day and week.  Spend some time doing things you enjoy with people you love.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

PS  I am submitting this card for a new challenge I just learned about at canyoucaseit.com where this week’s challenge is “Designer’s Choice.”

Designers-Choice-001

I won!  Thanks to the CYCI Designer Team for the great honor!

Winner-001