Friday, February 13, 2015

Cancun Skies



Hola Amigos!  It’s been a crazy week here, and though I’ve been working on things in the background, I’ve not had much to show for you here.  One of things I have been doing is rehabing my leg after breaking it this fall.  Right now it’s either on the bike, elliptical or swimming most days.  I’m hopeful that when I see the specialist again in March I can avoid surgery.  

Today I’m all about warm Mexican climates in our Power Poppy Power & Spark Challenge!  Julie challenged us to use the sky as our inspiration and I’m using my all time favourite sunset photo, taken in Cancun a few years ago.  First here’s the card.  



I began by dabbing some reinkers onto a clear stamp block, blending slightly with a water brush, and then smooshing the clear block onto damp watercolour paper.  It runs and bleeds in a random way.  Which is sort of what you’re going for.  Then I added waterdrops and swishes of my waterbrush to lift off some of the colour in sections, patting it dry with a paper towel.  It gives such a nice washed out effect.  

Once that was completely dry I embossed this gorgeous splashy sentiment from Big Scripts in gold.  Can you tell that I REALLY love this set?  I also embossed some of the primroses from the Potted Primroses set onto some more watercolour paper, used the reinkers again to add some colour and then cut them out.  


Here’s the inspiration photo I took in Mexico.  Sigh....that would be amazing to be there again.  White sand, turquoise water....beautiful sunset.  It was dreamy, and one of our best family vacations.  


You can also see some gold “splatters” on the design, here I just randomly dabbed some versamark reinker onto the paper and embossed.  I’ve also wound some gold cording behind the primsroses for a little accent, and a wee bit of washi tape along the top.  

So we hope you can be inspired by the sky in your neck of the woods and create something for our Power & Sparks Challenge.  It’s a month long challenge with free Power Poppy stamps to win!  



Here’s the gang playing along today...


Christine Okken (you are here)
Cindy Lawrence
Julie Koerber
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker


See you back here in a few hours for my A Day for Daisies post.


10 comments:

KimCreate said...

So beautiful, Christene!

KarinsArtScrap said...

it's a wonderful card Christine great colours.
Gr Karin

Leslie Miller said...

Oh, my! Look at those colors! I love how you included the gold. It was a definite MUST based on the photo. I sure hope you don't have to have surgery, Christine. You should be in great shape by the time you see the doctor!

CherylQuilts said...

Oh, Christine, first of all, I am praying for you rehab! It's hard work, and I pray you won't need surgery in March.

And your card is gorgeous! You've really captured the feel of that magnificent Cancun sky! Wow! I definitely need to try this technique and get "fly" with it!! Beautiful colors, and I agree with Leslie about needing the gold! It's stunning! Hugs, and keep up the rehab!!

Maria Rodriguez. said...

Ahh!! sitting at that beach, under the sweet Cancun sun, sipping a nice cold drink, looking at that gorgeous sky.....Oh boy!!! that sounds so perfect right about NOW!! I wish I could just get away from this freezer that is Crown Point, IN. Looking at your sky photo really transported me to those warm beaches. And your card is a sweet reflection of those colors, thank you for sharing.

Stacy Morgan said...

That gold look awesome... The water coloring matches your skies perfect. Very cool card Christine.

Conniecrafter said...

Beautiful background, love the gold embossing against it

Tosha Leyendekker said...

What a super fun and cool card Christine!! Love the brilliant colors with the bold gold! Gorgeous!

Traci M said...

Such a pretty look, Christine...and the gold embossing really sets it off! Hope you are mending quickly!

Nazeema Calypso Thompson said...

Love the water colored background with the touch of gold. Beautiful and striking.