365 Cards Challenge An Image Using Water Color Pencils

I recently stumbled in the 365 Cards Blog. Daily, the gals there put up a new and different challenge...what a job that is! :o) Challenge Day 6 was to make a card using this sketch...

I looked at the sketch and immediately thought gift card holder, alas, the more I played, the less of a gift card holder I came up with. I shall make one using this sketch at some point, but for now, this is the card I made.

Normally, I would have heat embossed the image before I water colored. Last night, I had a conversation with a good friend and very experienced artist, who suggested that for fine detail images and water coloring it is best to stamp the image in a lighter color rather than heat embossing. He asserted that the EP could "muddy" the fine details. I was anxious to try his suggestion so I pulled out one of my all time favorite Close To My Heart stamps called "Enjoy Every Moment." It is featured in the current Idea Book. I stamped the image in Desert Sand ink and then proceeded to water color. It did work well. The medium colored Desert Sand allows the details of the flowers and leaves to show through the water coloring without the worry of it cracking. I was thrilled! The Close To My Heart inks also did not bleed when touched with water...even better! :o)

The pattern paper is from a Paper Packet called Miracles (another all time favorite of mine) and the card stock is Colonial White, Sweet Leaf and Crystal Blue. I've been making these fun stick pins with jewelry head pins and seed pearls. I thought the bow needed just a touch of something extra to finish off the card. What do you think?

Don't be afraid to give water coloring a try. It is a wonderful pastel soft way to color your spring images. BTW - a shout out and thank you to the ladies at 365 Cards for mentioning my "white space rose card" this morning on their blog. For Now, Happy Crafting!