Sunday Stamping #14 To Watercolor or Not to Watercolor

That is the question...I decided, after a futile attempt to watercolor this card that it just wasn't worth it. So, the answer is not to watercolor. Copic Markers to the rescue!

Before we get into my card, I want to give a big THANK YOU to Patricia Allison. She is the winner of the triangle turnabout stamp! Patricia is also a follower of my Facebook page and always has the kindest words to say about my work. I appreciate her so much, especially since she was the only one who took the time to comment on my post. I am so happy to send her some crafty goodies in the mail!

One of the great things about social media is that it allows me to share my passion for card making  along with meeting people who share in my passion. The unfortunate part of social media is that it is selective on the audience my work reaches on the interwebz. Honestly, it's frustrating to say the least. I have several followers to my Instagram and Facebook page but because I don't pay for advertising (I have in the past) my accounts get hardly any views.

I would love the opportunity to have my cards be seen by everyone who follows me and to share with other crafters but it's becoming more difficult due to the restrictions of these social platforms. I can't see the benefit of having giveaways unless there is participation. So, as of now, I've decided on a "wait and see" approach to future giveaways.

The card I made today features stamps from Unity Stamp Co. Their Facebook page, UNITY (show & tell) hosts bi monthly card challenges. This challenge was Christmas themed. I decided to participate this time because I've had this stamp for over a year now and have never used it! Isn't that awful? It's so cute but what I've found out is that it is time consuming to color.

Don't get me wrong, I love to color!  I am fortunate to have nearly every color medium at my fingertips but wouldn't you know, I reached for my distress inks in order to watercolor this one and what a mistake that was.

Distress inks are so much fun to watercolor with. They're formulated to react with water so why wouldn't you want to use them to watercolor a stamped image?  I'll tell you, when the image has so many details, especially within the image, it's not a good idea to watercolor unless you are blessed with the patience to allow each image to dry before moving on to the next. Even then, the water can reactivate the dry pigment and cause the colors to bleed into one another.  That's what happened here, along with ink on my fingers and then transferring the ink onto my card front. What a mess!  What was I thinking?

I decided to break out my much neglected Copic Markers and give them a try. I did all basic coloring, no blending. I'm a complete amateur when it comes to coloring with Copics. So, my advise is to always look at what you're stamping and consider the time and experience you have with a coloring medium before taking on the task. Experiment and embrace your faults but be realistic. Not everything works on the first try, no matter how much I WISH it would!

Happy stamping my friends!

I try my best to hyperlink any products I mention in my post to my online store. If you are interested in purchasing any of the product mentioned, just click on the highlighted areas in the post. 

If you are interested in joining my team of Naylor Made Stampers, please click here: jointhefun It's so much fun, the more the merrier!!!