Social Media - watercolour pencil, embossing, embossing resist

"Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' in the future..." While spending time on social media, time spirals out and away. Time passes...

My card features a digital image from The Paper Shelter coloured with Prima watercolour pencils, an embossed image by Visible Image with a Distress Ink background, and sentiments from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps.

Putting It Together

When I was looking through my small stack of images I have printed or stamped waiting to be coloured, the idea for this card popped into my head. We all love social media, but it really does spiral our time away if we lose ourselves in it.

I coloured the image while at my day job during lunch. I used Prima watercolour pencils and waterbrush.

At home, I fussy cut the image with a narrow margin.

I dry fit the coloured image on a 4" x 5 1/4" Bristol panel with the stamp from Visible Image.

Since my mental image had the time spiral going over the image, I gave that a try to see what it might obscure or distort.

I used removable adhesive on the image to temporarily adhere it to the pane and then used Versamark to stamp the time spiral on both. I used a pencil to trace some of the edges of the image so I could place it again in the exact same spot. Using the Misti, I was able to double stamp both the image and the background. I stamped the background spiral both with the image in place and with it off.

I double embossed the spiral on the image with clear and pearl. I double embossed the spiral on the background with silver. The stamping on the image shows up silvery when the light hits it just right but is nearly entirely transparent otherwise. Exactly how I saw it in my imagination.

For the background, I used a Clarity brush and Distress ink to colour the background. I used Wild Honey in the centre and worked outwards with Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge, and Vintage Photo. Or rather I thought it was Vintage Photo when I started using it, but somehow the tops on my Vintage Photo and Pumice Stone minis got swapped. When the brush swipes weren't as warm a brown as I thought they should be, I checked the bottom and discovered it was Pumice Stone. It was a nice accident since I never would have grabbed the Pumice Stone intentionally but I rather like the depth it added. As Bob said, "There are no mistakes, just happy little accidents."

I used a blender tool to add a bit more Rusty Hinge to the outer edges. The Clarity brush is a softer blend, so when I want a stronger edge, I switch to the blender tool.

The Distress palette of my finished background. I chose these colours as a nod to Autumn.

I dry fit the image with the background to make sure they still looked good together.

I stamped a sentiment on the background with black archival ink then added both the background and the image to a white cardbase.

For the inside, I originally stamped a cheeky sentiment which fit with the Social Media Consuming Time theme but wasn't really card-like. I also stamped a Dylusions border. After leaving that overnight I reconsidered the inside and redid it using a panel to cover the original.

For the inside, I used the blender tool to add Rusty Hinge to the edges then stamped a sentiment and time-y border with Clay coloured ink. Time Passes... Friendship Remains.

Supplies

Challenges

Outlawz Saturday Paper a la Mode: Time or Clock
Creative Moments: Fall Colours
Addicted to Stamps and More: Make Your Mark
Crafting From the Heart: Anything Goes
Penny's Paper-Crafty: Anything Goes

And now for the song running through my head: