Dame Aguecheek

Have a little bit of wine, or maybe a little bit more. Wine to solve the wit. Wine to soothe the soul. Wine to elicit the truth. Wine to taste divine, or of the vine.

Challenges

Simply Less Is More: Drink Beverage + Single Layer + CAS
Art Impressions: Spring Fling (Lavender)
Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge: Chill Out
Tuesday Throwdown: Favourite Medium (Distress Ink with waterbrush on Watercolour cardstock)
 Penny's Paper-crafty: Anything Goes

Supplies

InLinkz.com

Putting It Together

The name I give to this card comes from the play Twelfth Night by Shakespeare. One of the comedy characters is Sir Andrew Aguecheek with his drinking buddy Sir Toby Belch. "O, had I but followed the arts!"

All cards need a base. For single layer cards, when the medium you use is watercolour, the card base needs to be watercolour cardstock. For this project, I used 140lb cold pressed cardstock cut into a strip 4 1/4" x 11" scored at 5 1/2" to make a top fold A2.

I did a dry fit layout with two of the stamps from the Art Impressions Wine Divas set, the Dame in her chair and a sentiment for the front.

Using the Misti, I stamped the image in light blue ink that doesn't bleed with watercolouring, Memento Summer Sky. Stamping in a light colour allows me to do a "no lines" painting.

For her skin, I first painted Antique Linen and then put in the lines with purplish Victorian Velvet.

I then went over the skin with Tattered Rose. The Antique Linen base gives the skin a slightly yellowed under tone. I later added in more shadowing with Victorian Velvet to match to the rest of the painting.

I painted her dress with Milled Lavender then added Perfect Pearls in Grape Fizz and Pearl. While the area is wet, the Perfect Pearls will adhere meld to the image giving it a pearly finish. Because I paint with water, to have certain colours sit on top and not bleed/blend where I don't want them, I will often paint an area with its 'base' then go on to work on another area. The chair, at this point, is painted with Tea Dye alone. The hair is Scattered Straw and Rusty Hinge blended with Wild Honey. Later I'll add more Rusty Hinge and Fossilized Amber. The wine has a base of Worn Lipstick.

The chair is Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, and Gathered Twigs. The wine is Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick, and Aged Mahogany. I added touches of white gel pen to her dress and head band. Her earrings are a base of Scattered Straw with Gold Perfect Pearls. I left it overnight and then decided I needed a few touch-ups.

In the touch-ups, I decided to show how I use Perfect Pearls in tiny places. First, I paint on the Distress Ink or water to make the area wet. Surrounding area should be as dry as possible. Then, using a brush with a narrow point, I dip the brush into the Perfect Pearls powder and apply on the wet area. Since Perfect Pearls is "fixed" (adheres) with water, this actually sticks it to the paint/ink/water.

I use a wadded/curled up piece of paper towel (shop towel shown) to smudge the Perfect Pearls even more into the wet.

And then, brush off any excess (mostly what's inthe dry area surrounding) with a dry soft brush. Ta-da! "Painting" small areas with Perfect Pearls. Many of the Perfect Pearls have a translucent quality (especially the Pearl) with a bit of pigment. When used over an area that's coloured, a thin application of Perfect Pearls can impart a pearly sheen. The pigmented ones will add a touch of their colour as well, of course.

And now, done :)
Touchups: red for her cheeks (to truly be an Aguecheek), outline the glass, outline for the earrings with a bit more gold as well, and flooring done in a loose watercolour wash (Tumbled Glass, Milled Lavender, and Worn Lipstick).

For the inside, I chose another sentiment from Wine Divas and paired it with the wine bottle and glass from a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps set Wine Me, Dine Me! because it fit so well and gives a nice detail to the inside. I stamped the bottle and glass in Rhubarb Stalk for a touch of winey colour.