Ice Cream Happy Day Stamped Background Card with Artiste Watercolour Pens #CTD452

Hi there!

Today I'm sharing a card I made for the Color Throwdown challenge this week:

This is a really cute card with those cartoony ice cream stamps and bright colour palette! Very summery, and I had a lot of fun creating it. I created this card with the Color Throwdown color palette for #CTD452:

Green, yellow, red and aqua. I was also testing out docrafts Artiste watercolour pens for the very first time :).

--- Supplies Used ---
# 220 gsm yellow linen card stock
# 160 gsm yellow card stock for envelope
# 300 gsm super smooth white card stock
# Martha Stewart 12" scoring board
# Tonic Studios Maxi paper guillotine
# docrafts Artiste watercolour pens (set of 36)
# 'Oh Happy Day' stamp set by Lia Griffith for Hero Arts
# Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink pad
# Acrylic block
# Pentel water brush pen
# Tape adhesive
# Foam pads
# Tonic Tim Holtz scissors

I made the UK A6 card base from yellow linen card stock and cut a panel of white card to be slightly smaller than this. I stamped images from the stamp set randomly on the background, starting with the larger images then filling in gaps with the sprinkles, cherries and droplets. Usually I'd stamp off the page, but with such cartoony images I likes the effect of mostly just stamping inside the edges.

To colour the background, I used the watercolour pens. In some areas, to achieve I lighter finish, I first scribbled some colour onto an acrylic block, then picked it up with the water brush and laid down some colour. For the graduated effect with a bolder colour, I laid the pen directly to the paper then blended this out with a water brush. I found the only colour that really wanted to move on the page was the red; the others only blended out a little, but it was possible to achieve a really soft look. I added a really light and uneven wash of aqua in the background to add interest and stop the card looking so stark.

For the sentiment, I went with 'Oh Happy Day!', cut a little banner and adhered this with foam pads to the front of the card. On the inside, I used 'Sweet!' and decorated with a couple of the stamped images. I'm giving this card to a friend who is going on a long-awaited holiday, so I thought the bright, summery theme was entirely appropriate!

For the envelope, I stamped some of the images in a random pattern, and finished off with an ice cream cone on the apex of the opening.

I hope you liked this card! Be sure to check out the Color Throwdown challenge blog, and take a look at my Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Google+ pages (links on the left). I have footage for this card and will edit and upload in the future; I'm afraid I'm very busy at the moment so these videos aren't going out that frequently. But check back soon, I have footage for three new posts :).

Thanks for reading all the way to the end!

Until next time,
Amy x