There are so many sources for inspiration for stamping!  Recently, we received the current copy of “Our State“, a magazine that celebrates the beautiful state of North Carolina.  A specific mountain scene photograph caught my eye.  I decided to try to replicate the picture with the fabulous Waterfront stamp set.  Below is the card and the photograph from the magazine.

If you don’t have the Waterfront stamp set in your collection, you really need it!  There are infinite ways to use this set.  And, the process of creating with this stamp set is just a lot of fun.

Here are the steps that I used to create this card:

• Use painter’s tape to adhere a piece of Watercolor Paper (4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″) to a piece of chip board.  Be sure to get some of the tackiness off the tape before you tack down the watercolor paper.  You don’t want to tear your work when you remove the tape.
• Stamp the first stage of the mountains with Soft Suede and the two stamps pictured below.  The stamps are from the Waterfront stamp set.  It is the only set used to create this card.

• With your Aqua Painter and just a little bit of water in your brush, “paint” the first layer mountain scene.  Don’t overthink the “painting”!

• Add a few more mountains with Soft Suede, and “paint” them with your Aqua Painter.

• As you get to the foreground of the mountains, stamp with two colors of ink.  The mountain on the left is inked in Soft Suede.  The mountain on the right is inked with Early Espresso.  The two colors will start to give more dimension and depth to your piece.

• After you have “painted” the two mountains that you just added, put a few more mountains in the foreground with Early Espresso ink.

• The next section to tackle is the sunset behind the mountains.  Figure out where you want your sun to be, and be sure to leave that area blank.  You only want the Watercolor Paper to show as the sun.  Pumpkin Pie ink is added as the orange color of the sunset and then “painted”.  You can see that the sun is defined more as layers of Peekaboo Peach ink are added.

• Crushed Curry ink is added with the Aqua Painter.  A clear block is a great palette for the ink.  Just stamp directly onto your clear block.  Pickup some of the ink with your Aqua Painter and add the color directly to your work.  To add interest, vary the intensity of the Crushed Curry by brushing off some color before you go to the Watercolor Paper.

• The sky is added from the top of the picture first.  The ink color is the beautiful Tranquil Tide.  Stamp off before you add the Tranquil Tide.  This will put less ink on the Watercolor Paper and allow you to create a cloudy feel when you “paint”.  Again, don’t overthink the sky portion.  Less “painting” will serve you well.

• As you work down the upper part of the sky to the yellows and oranges that are just over the mountains, start to blend some of the blues with the oranges and yellows.  And, blend in some oranges and yellows with the blue.  Again, this is done by creating a palette with your clear blocks and adding colors with your Aqua Painter.  Go light with the colors.

• You may also want to add some wispy colors over your sun.  Do this sparingly.  There is just a little yellow added over the sun on the card.
• The last piece to work on is the area for the trees.  Ink only the upper portion of the tree stamp.  Don’t ink the trunks.  The trees are stamped with three colors – Soft Suede, Early Espresso, and Basic Black (in that order).  Some of the tree images are slightly “painted” to give a blurred effect.

• The final card panel is cut to 3 1/2″ x 4 3/4″.  “Love never gives up”, from the Waterfront stamp set, is stamped in the upper right section using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
• The card base is a piece of Thick Whisper White cardstock, cut to 4 1/4″ x 11″ and scored at 5 1/2″ on the 11″ side to form a top-folding card.  The frame piece is Crumb Cake cardstock cut to 4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″.  The frame piece is adhered directly to the card base.  The watercolor piece is adhered using dimensionals.

I encourage you to find inspiration for a scene to recreate with the Waterfront stamp set.  Just allow yourself to experiment with these stamps, inks, and your aqua painter.  You will have a great time “painting”!

Below are the main products that I used to create this card.  If you click on any picture, you’ll go to my on-line store.

Happy stamping!
Laurie

Watercolor Paper [122959] $5.00	Waterfront Photopolymer Stamp Set [146386] $17.00	Aqua Painters [103954] $17.00
Soft Suede Classic Stampin’ Pad [126978] $6.50	Early Espresso Classic Stampin’ Pad [126974] $6.50	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin’ Pad [126945] $6.50
Peekaboo Peach Classic Stampin’ Pad [141398] $6.50	Crushed Curry Classic Stampin’ Pad [131173] $6.50	Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin’ Pad [144085] $6.50
Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931] $7.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $6.00	Whisper White 8-1/2″ X 11″ Thick Cardstock [140272] $7.00
Crumb Cake 8-1/2″ X 11″ Card Stock [120953] $8.00	Stampin’ Dimensionals [104430] $4.00

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