Simon Says Stamp -- Rays of Sunshine (February, 2016)

So, earlier this week I had a snow day.  A bit of cabin fever.  My beloved was traveling so it's just me and the kittens (the cats, that is),  the snow, and a snow shovel.  The weather was cruddy.  It was Monday.  And, Simon Says Stamp posts a "Rays of Sunshine" challenge focusing on Dina Wakley products.  Great!  Except I don't have many things that are Dina Wakley -- not because I don't like her but I'm still building my fortress of craftroom greatness.

I did a search for Dina Wakley stuff and found a video that she did in December about watercoloring with her acrylic paints.  Of Dina Wakley stuff I have her paints and only a few stamps.  So, I figured what the heck.  Give it a try.

I'm a rule follower.  A color-in-the-lines kinda gal.  Outside the lines sends me into fits.  While I appreciate those who do color outside the lines, it is just not something I can get my brain to do.  So, as it was dark, cold, windy, and snowy, I forged ahead.  I grabbed a stamp from Penny Black that I've been wanting to use since I got it back in early December.  I focused in on the bird as there is this fabulous blue winter bird that we see here.  He usually takes off around spring-time but in the winter he is this amazing splash of color on the leafless tree branches.

Since the idea was Rays of Sunshine, I also remembered that I had a couple of great wafer dies from my Simon  Says Stamp monthly kits that had "hello" and "sunshine."  Awesome start!!!

Here is my first watercolor with acrylic paints.  My rays of sunshine are those that peak around when it's cold in the spring reminding you that winer (the berries) is almost over but spring (the crocus) is on it's way.

The process for this piece is after the photo.

I grabbed my steno pad sized Strathmore Watercolor paper.  I then took out all of the acrylic paints from Dina Wakley (the only ones I have).  I put dabs of each --  color with the exception of the metallic, black, and white on my craft sheet.  I sprayed some water by them as well.  I then started to mix the colors to see what I would get.  I didn't really focus on the "mix this color with that and you get this" philosophy.  That would have been too smart!  So I played around with colors and combinations.  I used Ruby, Sky, Night, Blackberry Violet, Lapis, Tangerine, Umber, Lemon, Magenta, and Lime.  Unfortunately, in the photo you can't see that I also used snow paste to create a snow effect on the berries, leaves, and ground, was well as the pottery.  In real life it looks so much better.

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