Winnie the Pooh Watercolor

Winnie the Pooh Watercolor 
Created by Sophia Vida

Sorry I’ve been away for a while but I’ve been dealing with family matters which are still ongoing unfortunately. Although everything has been hectic, I’ve still managed to create some art but not as much as I would like. One of the reasons I love creating art is that it gives you a chance to escape life for a little. When you focus on creating your art, the outside world ceases to exist at least for a little while. For some, this can be a real life saver. For me, it helps me to keep my sanity, lol.

A few weeks ago I saw the new Christopher Robin Movie. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about a non-animated Winnie the Pooh, but it was well made and I love it! I was inspired by one of the scenes from the movie with Winnie and his balloon and created this cute little painting.

I used Arches, 140lb Hot Pressed 7×10″ block. The hot pressed paper has a smooth finish, unlike cold pressed which has bumps and ridges.  I become very fond of using blocks of paper because it keeps your painting from buckling, especially when you’re using a lot of water like I did for the background.

I started by lightly sketching my image and then began painting using Caran D’Ache Neocolor Crayons. I didn’t color directly on the paper but instead, wet my brush and picked up color from crayon. This allowed me to have more control of the color saturation. I left the edges very loose for a more dreamy look.

Once I was happy with my painting I let it fully dry and used a Micron .005 Pen to outline the images. I used more of a sketchy line instead of a solid line to soften the painting. I used a 2B sketch pencil and a blending stump for a little shading.

This is probably one of the few paintings where I didn’t add any bling with Stickles. It took a lot of restraint but I think I’ll be okay, lol.

Last I lightly drew a wavey line at the bottom and added my quote from the Movie and Voila! I had a new one of a kind work of art!

I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by!

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Published in Just Cards Volume 50 – Summer 2018

Published in Just Cards Volume 50 – Summer 2018

I’m so excited to share some really fabulous news with you! I was published in “Just Cards” Magazine, Volume 50, Summer 2018. I created a Valentine’s Day Card called “With Love.” This was a mixed media card made with my favorite medium, watercolors. The complete instructions and photo can be found on page 95.

It is such a great honor to have my card in this magazine. I’m totally thrilled!!! A big thank you to the Editor for including my work in this issue.

Make sure to stop by your local bookstore and check it out!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Watercolor Happy Birthday Card

 

Watercolor Birthday Card
Created by Sophia Vida

I made this card using a cute stamp I bought at a craft show a few years ago. I stamped the image on 140 lb, cold press, watercolor paper using gray, Staz-On ink. Once that dried I added color to the image with watercolor markers and used a Niji water brush to spread the paint.

I then wet the edges around the image with water and let it sit for a minute before carefully tearing them.  The blue/green background was made from a hand wipe I previously used to clean up some paints from my work area. It looked really cool so I flattened it, let it dry and figured I could use it one day and I did!

I used Aleene’s tacky glue to adhere the background and image onto the premade card.  I also added a little Stardust Stickles to the edges of the background for a little bling. Last, I printed a birthday tag from my computer,  distressed the edges and adhered it to the card. And Voila! I had a unique and cute birthday card!

Hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Valentine’s Day Cards Mixed Media

“Valentine’s Day Cards – Mixed Media”
Created by Sophia Vida

 

I was inspired by a pin I saw on Pinterest so I started this project with a watercolor wash on a 9″ x 12″ piece of 140 lb, cold press watercolor paper. Once that was dry, I added more color by distressing different areas with Distress Inks in Fired Brick, Mustard Seed, Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade. Next, I used a stencil with Walnut Distress Ink. I also stamped several Valentine’s images with Memento Rich Cocoa Dye Ink.

I let everything dry well and traced a few different sized hearts onto my paper with a Dark Brown Sharpie Marker. I wanted the hearts to be semi-transparent so I painted them with FolkArt Metallic White Pearl Paint mixed with FolkArt Floating Medium. I used this same technique with the leaves in my journal that I blogged about here: Mixed Media Art Journal – Take 4. Then I added highlights and trimmed off the top edge from the spiral pad and cut the remaining paper into 4 equal parts.

 

For the next step, I created tags on the computer that I punched and distressed. I had bought these small 1.75″ red satin hearts on clearance last year and was thrilled to put them to good use.

I adhered my watercolor backgrounds to 4 cards measuring 4.5″ x 6.25″. The last step was to glue the tags and hearts to the fronts of the cards and  Voila! I had 4 unique Valentine’s Day Cards!

Enjoy!

Supplies Use:

• Strathmore 9″ x 12″ Watercolor Paper, 140 lb, Cold Press
• Assorted Watercolor Paints: Fuchsia, Yellow, Red, Orange
• Distress Inks: Fired Brick, Mustard Seed, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Walnut
• Memento Rich Cocoa Dye Ink
• FolkArt Metallic White Pearl Paint
• FolkArt Floating Medium
• Dark Brown Sharpie Fine Point Marker
• Assorted Valentine’s Day Rubber Stamps
• Stencil of your choice
• Tag Punch
• 4 Red Satin Hearts – 1.75″
• 4 Pre-made Cards with envelopes: 4.5″ x 6.25″
• Dry Adhesive
• Watercolor brush

Alcohol Ink Coffee Filter Cards

 

 

Alcohol Ink Coffee Filter Cards
Created by Sophia Vida

I found this wonderful little book at the craft store “Creative Colors for Paper Arts with Markers & Alcohol Inks” by Barbara Buechley, Jen Del Muro, Donna Goss, Paula Phillips. It’s a 27 page book filled with beautiful inspirational ideas.

One of my favorites was the coffee filter cards by Barbara Beuchley. Since I love working with watercolors, Barbara’s technique gave me the same look. I had fun experimenting with color combinations and using Ranger liquid alcohol inks as well as alcohol ink markers. The results were bold, vibrant colors that really popped!

The blending solution for alcohol ink can get pricey, especially when you use a lot. So to blend the colors, I used rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and it worked beautifully. To accent the inks I used puff paints and Angel Glimmer Mist. I printed different birthday fonts on my computer which I punched with a tag punch. Last, I distressed the edges of the 4″ x 8″ card and tag with Ranger Tea Dye Ink and that was it!

Below are a few images of other designs I created. These cards are great for birthdays or pretty much any occasion. Hope you enjoy!!

 

Simply Elegant Birthday Card

Simply Elegant Birthday Card
(Created by Sophia Vida)

Sometimes I get so caught up in the creative process that I burn a fuse trying  to decide where to start. So I referred to one of my favorite books “Card Sketches for Paper Crafters” by Leisure Arts. This is such a fantastic book filled with over 145 card sketches and over 500 projects to fuel your creativity.

I found a sketch designed by Stephanie Halinski on page 46 and just loved it. There are several variations shown in the book using this design. I used one of the alternate layouts for this card because of the writing on the birthday cardstock. The possibilities for a single sketch are endless. This is one of the many reasons I refer to this book again and again. Plus this is a great card you can make with minimal supplies. Enjoy!!

For this card you will need:

– Cardstock: Blue Bell by Core’dinations, Happy Birthday Cream Green by DCWV
– Light Lavender Ribbon by Berwick Offray
– 1 Silver buckle by Favorite Findings (a pendant or button will also work)
– Glue Dots
– Aleene’s Tacky Glue

1. Cut a 5″ x 10″ rectangle from Blue Bell cardstock. Fold in half. This will be your card base.
2. Cut a 5″ circle from the Happy Birthday cardstock. Then cut the circle in half.
3. Adhere half of the circle to the top and bottom edges of the card base.
4. Cut 5″ of ribbon. Adhere to center of card in between the two semi-circles.
5. Cut 4″ of ribbon and attach the buckle through the center. Trim edges as desired. Adhere to center of ribbon in step 4. Voila! You have a beautiful, elegant card that was a cinch to make.

Thanks for looking and have lots of fun making this Simply Elegant Birthday Card!!

For those interested, this is the book “Card Sketches for Paper Crafters” by Leisure Arts that was the inspiration for this card:

For more Crafting Tips and Techniques visit our main website at Just4Crafters.com

Martha Stewart Stamp Around Page Butterfly Card

Martha Stewart Stamp Around the Page Butterfly Card
(Created by Sophia Vida)

I purchased a Martha Stewart Stamp Around the Page Starter Kit at my craft store. The kit includes a stamp base, clear mounting block, butterflies, fern and floral branch design templates, 6 stamps consisting of 3 corner and 3 border stamps for each design.

I wasn’t sure how this would work and I wanted to make a quick card so I copied Martha’s example on the cover of the box.  Once the card was done, I added a few embellishments and that was it! It was super easy and quick.

What makes this so fantastic is there are so many things you can create using the 3 designs included in this kit (additional designs are sold separately). Plus not only can you make gorgeous cards but you can create fabulous scrapbook pages too!

For this card you will need:

– Cardstock: White and Pink
– Color Box Pigment Ink: Pink and Lime Green
– Stardust Stickles
– 10 Small Pearls
– Scissors
– Foam Squares
– Glue Stick
– Martha Stewart Stamp Around the Page Starter Kit

    

1. Cut a 8″ x 6″ rectangle from the white cardstock. Fold in half (This will be the base of your card). Note: you can use different sized cards but you must keep the dimensions in 2″ increments. For example 6″ x 6″, 4″ x 8″ or 10″ x 12.”
2. Follow package instructions and stamp corners with flowers using the lime ink on the base of your card from step 1. Continue to by stamping the borders.
3. Following package instructions stamp corners with butterflies using the pink ink on the base of your card from step 1. Continue to stamp borders. Your butterflies should line up perfectly in the empty spaces left by the flower stamps.
4. On a scrap piece of white cardstock stamp the butterfly border with the pink ink. Cut out 2 of the butterflies.
5. Cut a 1.25″ x 2.5″ rectangle from the pink cardstock.
6. Cut a 1″ x 2.25″ rectangle from the white cardstock. Glue the white rectangle onto pink rectangle from step 5. Use foam squares to adhere the 2 butterflies in the center of layered rectangle. Next, glue this to the center of the card.
7. Adhere 5 small pearls to the top left and bottom right corners of the rectangle. Accent the butterflies on the border with Stardust Stickles. Let dry. Voila! You have a beautiful handmade card.

Thanks for looking and have lots of fun making this Martha Steward Stamp Around the Page Butterfly Card!