A Rainbow of Congratulations!

Hi Everyone,

I'm Betsy from Caring Heart Cards.  On the blog today I will show you how I created this beautiful Rainbow Congratulations card that is part of #thedailymarker30day color challenge hosted by Kathy Rac!

 Supplies that I used for making this card are:

• Kaleidoscopes Traditional Colouring Pad by Hunkydory (available on Amazon)
• Prima Watercolor Confections:  Tropicals
• A pre-printed card base or you can make your self one using black & white patterned paper
• Black fine line marker
• Black peel-offs (Love From Lizi or Paper Wishes - called Dazzles)or thin strip black paper for edging
• Black enamel dots or Nuvo drops for accent
• Paintbrushes:  I used a #2 and a #6 round
• A palette for your paint...I use a plastic palette from Watercolor Impressions
• Paper towel for blotting, a cup of clean water and a tissue
• Scissors suitable for fussycutting
• Glue and foam tape

 I started out by placing the colors I was using onto the palette.  That way I could load my brush more easily than taking the paint directly from the pan.  The colors I used were: #13, #16, #17, #19, #21, #22, #23.  I began in the bigger mandala in the yellow/orange sections.  First I gently wet the area...one area at a time.  I didn't make a huge puddle on the paper.  I don't think this paper is meant for water media.  It will take it, but it can't take a lot.  So, the area was more than damp, but not flooded.  I gently dropped in some of the yellow #21 from my brush near the pointed tops and then dropped in the #19 at the bottom.  To get the look I wanted to achieve I didn't mix it together at all.  I only made sure that the entire area had paint on it.  That way, when the paint dried, I would have hard and soft edges.  When wetting the area with clean water it's sometimes very hard to tell if you've reached all the edges.  I gently coaxed the paint to the edges and then just left it to dry.  It's very hard not to play with it and move it around, but the idea is to get a painterly effect.  

There were several places that I used only one color.  It was on the border piece on the blue scalloped edge and the orange border above it.  Other than that I used 2 colors.  I paired #21& #19, #22 & #23, #16 & 21, #16 & #13.  Between each section I rinsed out my brush thoroughly and started with clean water.  The paper towel should be used for blotting your brush and keep the tissue handy in case you get too much water or paint in an area and have to blot it out.

 This process takes a little time, but the results are worth it.  Unless you are painting one of the 2 single color borders, do not paint areas that are right beside each other, otherwise you run the risk of the 2 areas bleeding into one another.  Wait until the area is completely dry before painting the one right next to it.

After the painting was done and dried I trimmed up the border and filled in the little diamond shaped area with the fine line black marker. I also trimmed the sentiment piece and the middle piece of the mandala.  I left the white edge as it was on the bigger part of the mandala.  I foam taped the center section of the mandala and also the sentiment.  Then I added black peel-offs to the bottom of the border strip and the bottom of the sentiment.  I also added a black enamel dot in the center of the mandala.  And that's it!

I think you could do some very nice variations of this card...adding more small mandalas or maybe one of the big ones, a different sentiment or a different color scheme.

I hope I have inspired you to create your own version of my Rainbow Congratulations card!

Until next time - happy paper crafting!!!!!

Betsy