Living My Dream: Simon Says Stamp Die-Cember Blog Hop Day 2

Hello blog hoppers - I guess you probably know by now that we are on day 2 of the Simon Says Stamp Die-cember Blog Hop and you are about half way through. I decided to overwhelm you with photos today, so I hope you make it through my blog post! Die-cember is really about the Dies as the term says, but there are also some other products in this release including my new set of holiday watercolor cards called Tis The Season. You can find the entire Die-cember release HERE and here is an image of my watercolor cards:

I've colored and decorated all 12 cards to show you today. You are about to be overwhelmed with photos as I decided to show you two photos of each one! At the end of this blog post, I'll tell you some of the details I use and link you to the products I use on each. I would LOVE TO HEAR which one is your favorite in the comments! I'm torn between the tree and the elf.

CARD 1:

Holiday 12

Holiday 12 close up

CARD 2:

Holiday 10

Holiday 10 closeup

CARD 3:

Holiday 9

Holiday 9 closeup

CARD 4:

Holiday 7

Holiday 7 close up

CARD 5:

Holiday 6

Holiday 6 close up

CARD 6:

Holiday 8

Holiday 8 close up

CARD 7:

Holiday 5

Holiday 5 close up

CARD 8:

Holiday 4

Holiday 4 close up

CARD 9:

Holiday 3

Holiday 3 close up

CARD 10:

Holiday 2

Holiday 2 close up

CARD 11:

Holiday 1

Holiday 1 close up

CARD 12:

Holiday 11

Holiday 11 close up

Did you make it this far? I hope so because the good news is Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 gift certificate to one person on each blog of the blog hop yesterday and today - so leave a comment to be eligible to win! The next stop on the blog hop is:

Lisa Addesa

And now for the products and details/tips I use on my watercolor cards. They are all printed on Ranger Watercolor Paper which is meant to be for watercolor, but they are printed on the backside, so it is flat not bumpy (hot press instead of cold press texture). This means you can use a number of coloring mediums on them including colored pencils, Copic markers, or any other coloring medium you enjoy. For my cards, I used a mixture (on every card) of Copic Markers, Daniel Smith Watercolors, Kasier Craft Gel Pens and Glitter Pens, and Tonic Nuvo Drops. Here are some tips when coloring:

I use a mix of watercolors and Copic markers on many of these. I like using Copics for details and watercolors for backgrounds.
I always use the KC Glitter Pens over areas for shading and details - they have a fine tip so they are perfect for small areas. I couldn't color without them (best $10 I ever spent, oh except for a set of my watercolor cards haha). (Note: how about a gift of watercolor cards with the glitter pens - $20!)
I use the Uniball pens in White, Gold, and Silver for details as well (there is a similar silver in the set by KC)
For backgrounds, I usually wet the entire area and then apply paint only to the areas right around the image so it runs into the background and gets lighter as it goes
I use Pretty Pink Posh sequins on quite a few of the cards - I used the Marshmallow Confetti Mix as snow on the ground for the house card
I often use a Copic marker - N2 - to add shadows to the letters so they stand out more
Use Tonic Nuvo Drops over areas on the cards like the star on the tree (silver) or the berries (red) or rudolph's nose (red and white) - they are perfect to add dimension to any area no matter how big!
For the gingerbread boy, I used white tonic nuvo drops on each scallop and then a white uniball for the frosting details