Dew Drop Inn - Through the Craftroom door, watercolour, stencil, inside shadow box

This week's sponsor for the Through the Craftroom Door's blog challenge is Pattie's Creations. The random draw prize is 3 images.

I am an Artist and Internet Technology Specialist. I have created my very own character and her best friend, her name is Pattieboop and her best friend is a very petite CAT named Allie. I love to draw and create my own digital images to use while crafting. My digital images that you find here are mine and I want to start sharing them with you. I am applying a small fee for my images and I know you will just love them.

My project is a square card with an inside shadow box that folds flat for mailing. I coloured the adorable Dew Drop Inn with Nuvo watercolour pencils and embellished it with die cuts from Hero Arts and CC Designs, stamps from Hero Arts, and stencils from Elizabeth Craft Designs, Stencil Girl, and FolkArt.

Putting It Together

A few days ago, I watched a video from Jennifer McGuire with an inside shadow box card that folds flat for mailing. That idea stuck in my head and inspired the layout of this card.

I took the image with me to my day job (I do software testing on router products) so I could colour at lunch. I decided to use the Nuvo watercolour pencils because I like their creaminess. I use a brush holder that rolls up to store my pencils for travel and colouring outside of the craftroom. I also have a pouch with a few supplies, like water brushes and wet wipe along with reading glasses, pencil sharpener, pre-printed or stamped images, mist bottle, and other small items. Both the brush roll and the pouch fit into my purse or, when I'm flying, a carry-on bag.

I printed the Dew Drop Inn on student grade watercolour paper because my printer was deciding to be finicky and didn't want to print on the heavier watercolour paper. The biggest difference is that the paper doesn't handle a high amount of water but otherwise, it's similar to its heavier counterpart.

 For the top of the mushroom, I used purple and pink. I start with the darkest colour in the areas of shade. I add in the lighter colour on top of and beside the dark colour leaving a lot of area without any colour.

I blend the colours and 'move' the pigment into the lighter coloured areas. I also use the water brush to 'lift' some of the colour from the lightest areas.

For the base of the mushroom, I used browns. To add texture, I added the lighter pencil with small flicks. I used red on the door because.. well, I like red doors.

I finished up the mushroom while at my day job and then packed it to carry home.

At home, the colours look softer in the images because I use my phone camera at the day job and a Cannon camera with 'daylight' lamps at home.

I had decided to do clouds similar to those in the May Kit & Clowder lessons. I used an Elizabeth Craft Designs stencil and traced around the cloud edges with a dark blue and aqua blue pencil over the dark and extending inward.

I moved the stencil around from side to side and flipped it to get different cloud shapes.

I then used a very wet water brush to sweep up from each cloud line.

The waterbrush sweeps soften the lines and have a gradation of colour as the shading of sky between the clouds.

Since I made the sky side to side, I decided to extend the ground using the texture of the paper with the pencils. I mix the ground colours, a couple greens and heather, because grass is very rarely a uniform single colour.

Done with the Dew Drop Inn, I started to create the card. Jennifer McGuire's inside shadow box is an A2. My image was a bit too big with a frame for an A2, so I decided to modify the dimensions to make a 5 1/2" square card. I started with two strips 5 1/2" x 11". On one, I scored at 1/2", 5 1/2", and 6". I later trimmed 1/4" off the longest side, so I should have started with a 5 1/2" x 10 3/4" with the same scores noted above.

For the second strip, I scored at 5 1/2" (which is the same score for a standard 5 1/2" square base) and then trimmed 1/2" from one side. If you want to do all the trimming before scoring, start with a 5 1/2" x 10 1/2" strip and score at 5 1/2".

I folded the scores and smoothed them with bone folder.

I trimmed a 5 1/4" square from Core'dinations cardstock and die cut an oval. I used the Stampin' Up Layered Leaves embossing folder to give the frame a leafy dimension to give it a feel of looking through the forest at the mushroom house.

I dry fit the oval frame with the Dew Drop Inn to see how it fit.

To get the oval cut on the card base in the right spot, I put the frame in place, fit the die in, and then traced the inner edge of the die.

 I could then match up the inner edge of the die to the tracing without the frame there and cut the hole exactly where needed.

I dry fit the Dew Drop Inn with the shadow box. I realised later I had it flipped. The short tab should be on the left, to go on the inside of the card fold, with the closed fold of the shadow box on the right, the outside edge of the card.

I decided the frame needed a bit more so I die cut leaves from the May My Monthly Hero from Hero Arts from vellum. I used various g waxes adn rubs from Prima Art Academy, Nuvo Mousse, and Viva Decor. Later, I did the same with mushrooms die cut from a CC Designs set.

I used Zig glue pen to attach the vellum leaves to the top of the frame and the mushrooms (pictured below) to the bottom. I had also adhered the Inn to the correct location, with the short tab to the left.

I used double-sided adhesive for the flap to secure the shadow box into the card.

I fit the tab into the fold of the card and then folded the front flap over it, pressing down on the adhesive.

With the card open, the shadowbox pops up.

For the front of the card, I used a Stencil Girl stencil with Distress Oxides dabbed on with a blender tool on a panel of lightweight watercolour paper. I used Purple tape to hold both in place.

With the stencil off and the oxides still a little damp, I brushed on Confetti White Perfect Pearls to give the stencilling a subtle sparkle.

The palette I used with the Stencil Girl stencil.

I covered the front of the card with the stencilled panel. But something about it just didn't quite fit in with the rest of the card. It was pretty but.. not the same feel.

I finished the card on Saturday (and posted it to the forum for addition on the challenge blog) because I had a planned trip to a local scrap store on Sunday that was hosting a 'reduce, reuse, recycle' sale (basically a car boot or rummage sale). At the sale, I picked up lots of stuff and even a few items from the store, too. One of those was a pack of small stencils with the perfect addition for the card but I didn't have time to craft on Sunday.

After I dinner on Monday, I cut a new 5 1/2" square panel from lightweight watercolour paper and anchored the FolkArt stencil with Purple Tape which I also used as masking for the edges. I used blending tools, the new stick-like ones for small places, with Distress Oxides.

For such a small stencil, I used a lot of colours. Like the other stencil, I brushed the still slightly damp ink with Perfect Pearls for a subtle sparkle. I also stamped on another sentiment from the My Monthly Hero set.

I carefully removed the original card face so I can use it later and add the new one instead.

This front fits so much better.

Inside, before adding in the shadowbox, I stamped on the left side which is also where one would add a handwritten personal sentiment. I used stamps from the May My Monthly Hero kit.

Come join us on the Through the Craftroom Door blog challenge for your chance to win 3 images from Pattie's Creations!

Challenges

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Frame It
Happy Little Stampers with Dies: Anything Goes
Crafting From the Heart: Anything Goes
Crafty Friends: Anything Goes
Happy Little Stampers Watercolouring: Anything Goes
A Bit More Time to Craft: Anything Goes