Bella Carta at Art 'n Soul

Art 'n Soul's Inspiration Station this month features the new powdered watercolor dyes from Magenta. It's easy to work with and gives you wonderful color explosion to your projects.

First up this month is a lovely card from Pam Nelson . . .

by Pam Nelson

All of the Inspiration Station cards are at Art 'n Soul for you to view and see up close. Be sure to look for them!

An order came in from Ranger and everyone was all over it! It includes the latest Distress Ink Color of the Month for July, Blueprint Sketch, AND the long-awaited dies from the Tim Holtz Sizzix line. See what's being featured . . .

And the 'special order' we were able to obtain from the Carson Stamp Show arrived, courtesy of Helene. These are the newly-released stamps to go with the Bird Crazy stamps that we've been selling at Art 'n Soul. The new release includes accessories to 'dress' your Crazy Bird with, as well as quotes and expressions. Tim Holtz cannot believe how 'crazy' everyone has gone over the Bird Crazy line and is quite thankful.

All of these items have a limited quantity, so please come into the store as quickly as you can! Pam will be at Art 'n Soul all day (Friday) to help you out.

Also at Art 'n Soul to start the weekend (Friday) -- Play Day with the new Nuance from Magenta. Both Carolyn and Dianne will be there between 11:00 and 2:00. Later in the afternoon, Art 'n Soul's Zentangle Club meets. Please call the store for more information . . . 360.357.6820.

The "Technique of the Week" in the weekly email from Art 'n Soul features a very simple way to make a card very quickly using Magenta's Nuance and the peel-off stickers.

by Debbie Gaetz

I've always loved playing with the Peel-Off Stickers over the years. I decided to mix the peel-off stickers with Magenta's new powdered watercolors, Nuance. It's a very quick card design to make and very, very easy.

Apply the peel-off sticker to a piece of watercolor card stock; don't burnish the sticker down as we sometimes have in the past. Make sure the sticker is completely adhered by lightly pressing with your fingers.

Spray the card stock with water. Tap the colors of Nuance you want to use onto the card stock. With a wet brush, swish the colors around until you are satisfied. (In this instance, after this step, I took a wad of paper towel and dabbed the card stock to lightly dry it. I shook the lighter of the two colors in spots, and then blended them out with a wet but not "dripping wet" brush to get the 'watercolor brush stroke' look.) Dry with a heat tool.

With watercolor brush markers, color the flowers. Use a glitter pen for the centers of the flower heads. Using Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black, stamp the sentiment onto the side of the card panel.

Once everything is dry, pick up the peel-off sticker so it leaves you with lines the color of the watercolor card stock. Mount the panel onto mirrir card stock and So Silk, and then onto a white A2-sized base card.

SUPPLIES:

140 lb. hot press watercolor card stock (you can use cold press); Mirrircard in Pink; Skin card stock in Absynthe; 110# Conqueror card stock in Diamond White for base card
Elizabeth Craft Designs Peel-Off Sticker ECD 2534
Magenta Nuance colors: Turquoise; Grass Green; Jade
Akashiya Sai brush markers in purple, orange, pink, hot pink, light green, dark green. (I saw these compared to the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers that we've all raved about; since I wasn't able to immediately purchase the Zig's, I ordered the Sai. They only come in 20 colors but I like them very much; they seem to be a little wetter than the Zig's. That being said, my Zig's have since arrived and I love them both!)
Hero Arts "Each Moment" sentiment stamp F5579

Please give this 'quick and easy' technique a try. It's perfect for those last-minute cards you need to make and want a watercolor look.

So as I said, I love both the Akashiya Sai and Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers. Before the Zig's arrived, I used the Sai's to color a page from one of my 'stress-relieving' adult coloring books. It's not totally finished but I wanted to share that when they say 'stress relieving', they really mean it.

colored by Debbie Gaetz

On the Magenta blog, Mariette has made another beautiful card featuring the new stencil designs by Marie Lune.

by Marietta van Leeuwen, Design Team Magenta

Click on this link for the details:

http://www.magentastyle.com/2015/07/marie-lune-design-stencils-pochoirs-de.html

Also from Magenta, Bianca uses the new stencil designs for this gorgeous card . . .

by Bianca van Noort, Design Team Magenta

Click on this link for her posting:

http://www.magentastyle.com/2015/07/dream-rever.html

Over on the Memory Box blog, Pam Sparks has made a stunning holiday card to feature a new die from their recent holiday release.

by Pam Sparks for Memory Box

Click on this link for her detailed information:

http://davebrethauer.typepad.com/outsidethebox/2015/07/blog-blitz-day-four.html

I think I'm going to have to add this die to my wish list! Of course, after I saw this card, I deduced I want to add this Memory Box die to my wish list as well!

by Anne Thompson for Memory Box

Click on this link for the details:

http://davebrethauer.typepad.com/outsidethebox/2015/07/holiday-2015-blog-blitz-this-week.html

Marika is a Guest Designer on the Penny Black blog for this posting. It's one of the most beautiful Christmas cards I've seen in its subtle design.