Inspire Me Monday with Kathy Racoosin

Hello Friends! Welcome to another Inspire Me Monday. My name is Kathy Racoosin from The Daily Marker and I am super excited to share with you today. 

Today I hope to inspire you grab a pencil and alter one of your stamps for a new look literally drawing a few lines. I am inking up this beautiful Amaryllis Bliss. 

Even though this is a holiday flower I love the wide open spaces on the petals for watercoloring. Tombow markers are super easy to watercolor with and awesome for on the go watercoloring. 

Gina K. Designs amalgam ink is great for "no line" watercoloring plus the ink can be used for alcohol markers. 

This card is pretty tall and narrow measuring at a pretty solid 10 inches. 

The paper that I prefer is cold pressed and 140 lbs . I love the texture of cold pressed paper instead of the hot pressed that is smooth and no texture. 

Cut your watercolor paper to it's desired size. Draw two lines from the top of the flower. If your lines are crooked that can be even better ... more natural so don't worry about how your lines might look. 

Sketch a vase and stamp the sentiment inside the vase. Stamp a leaf onto your stem. 

Start watercoloring on one of the flowers that doesn't stand out as much. I like to think of it as a warm up. Be sure to leave some areas white without any color. 

Start with a first layer of color and once it's all dry add another layer color on top of the first layer. 

To make the smaller flowers stand out I used some dark grey on the parts of the flowers that touch the main center flower. 

You can see how intense the color can be when you add a second layer. When I travel and talk about my coloring tips this is my mantra. 

Don't worry about what direction the light is coming from because that is to stressful. If you create a darker area and a lighter area on each petal or stem etc. that will please the eye and your coloring will look great. I like to say that I am faking it because I really don't know where the light is coming from but, it looks pretty good because I have those light and dark areas. Does that make sense? I sure hope so! 

Let's bring back the joy of coloring or painting. Step outside of your comfort zone and draw a stem for a tall and dramatic card. Don't be afraid to add those dark areas because that will really enhance your coloring. 

Thanks for your visit today and have a great week! Hugs, Kathy Racoosin

Inspire Me Monday: Experimenting with Color!

Hello Friends, My name is Kathy Racoosin from The Daily Marker. I am in the middle of a 30-day coloring challenge and for me it's Day 18! If you are curious what the 30 Day coloring challenge is or if you have been watching from the sidelines, now is a good time to jump in and get your feet wet. You can read about The 30 Day Coloring Challenge HERE.

For me the challenge is time to experiment with my coloring and not only try different mediums but, to go out of my comfort zone. One of the great things about the challenge is to bring back the love of coloring and not have that pressure to finish a card. Many times during the course of the challenge, I might color a partial image. My mantra is to find some you time for 10 minutes a day.

With that said, I really went out of my comfort zone for today's post and thought I would share my process with your today.

These are the different phases of this painting! I completed the first one all the way on the left and then my twin sissy came over. I was going to coach her how to make bone broth and my spicy chicken vegetable soup. (I will have a photo recipe at the end)

So while I was instructing her, I started on the second clip in the photo. When I was "finished," she would have this weird expression lol so I would keep on adding color.

I began by stamping this beautiful illustration from Marcella in the Amaryllis Bliss Stamp Set.

After a little masking and another little bit of stamping, I was ready for paint.

Usually, I like to paint a blue background but I wanted to try something different. So, grey was my choice. I used a super thin multi-liner to darken the nooks and crannies. I also outlined the stamen so I wouldn't lose them once I started painting since the ink color is fairly light. 

I thought it would be fun to add some shading before I started adding the color.

Leaving white areas was an effort and purposeful on my part.

This is where the problems began. I should have used different colors on the flowers. Since I got the nose snub from my sissy, I kept on adding color. LOL!

I added an overlay of blue and purple and softened some of the white areas. Should I have stopped sooner? 

Something was still missing for me. Once the added black on top of the grey in the background, the colors popped more and I liked it better. My sister didn't like the background and my husband said maybe it's to much color haha!

The moral of the story is, I did enjoy the process until I added the 4th layer of color. By that time, I was in deep and invested a lot of time but, all in all, it was a great learning experience.

My favorite bloom is the one on the far right with the turquoise and the brown showing through. I would love to hear your honest opinion. Should I have stopped after the second layer? Would you ever consider adding grey or black to the background?

Thanks for letting me share and I hope you enjoy what you are coloring! Now, as promised, my recipe for Chicken Vegetable Soup! Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you join me in the final stretch of the 30 Day Coloring Challenge!

Hugs, 
Kathy 

Release Day and FREE SHIPPING!

It’s time, it’s time!! 

SIX brand new clear polymer stamp sets are available today — joyfully illustrated by hand by me, and proudly made in the USA by the attentive and caring folks. We care about getting the details crisp and clear for beautiful impressions with every stamp. I admit, I am wowed at the detail they achieve!

PLUS: Two sets have coordinating dies, also made by an amazing team in the USA, who supply us dies that are so well-done, they almost appear fussy cut. 

We’re offering FREE SHIPPING storewide on your entire purchase. Use code: HOLIDAY2018 when checking out! 
Shipping is US Postal Service First Class shipping, which arrives in the US in about 1-4 days.

International friends, GET $4 OFF your shipping fee with code HOLIDAY2018INT. 

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OK, friends, let’s check out the final set of our release.... I am completely enamored with these incredible flowers, and the Bloom Brigade has done nothing short of blowing me away with their cards. Take a look at Amaryllis Bliss:

Raised up on sturdy stalks or nestled into holiday mantels, Amaryllis are the scene-stealer of any display. These bulbs (Hippeastrum, to get all Latin about it) are typically forced into bloom in pots around Christmas, and they simply shimmer with a lush glow that makes everyone smile.

SHOP AMARYLLIS BLISS

I’ve drawn a trio of Amaryllis blooms which you can orient about your card multiple ways — as you’ll see from the Bloomies’ cards. To add a little more flair, I’m giving you three different foliage options: Cedar, Jasmine, and a duo of strappy Amaryllis leaves. Imagine how many ways you can switch things up with all of these fun pieces! 

AND: This set has coordinating dies to make the layering that much easier, as you crank out holiday cards like Willamina Wonka and the Cardmaking Factory.

Today the Bloomies are out in force sharing cards made with Amaryllis Bliss. Go soak up the beauty, then come back for a little shop-a-roo with free shipping.

Allison Cope

Christine Okken

Julie Koerber

Kathy Jones

Katie Sims

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker

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ARE YOU READY TO SEE MY NEW SETS?

Amaryllis Bliss

Christmas Corgis

Grandma’s Snowflakes

Let Your Heart Be Light

 

Snuggle Down

 

Through the Woods

 

Amaryllis Bliss Coordinating Dies

 

Grandma’s Snowflakes Coordinating Dies 

Thank you sooooo much for joining us this week! We have loved reading your comments so very much — it’s so sweet of you to leave love notes!

Enjoy shopping, and don’t forget to nab your free shipping. (Of course, when folks forget to use the code or can’t spot where to enter the code, I always issue a refund of the discount, so no fears!)