With the arrival of new images in our store that are just begging to be watercolored I would like to share one of the products that we carry in our store that will help you achieve exquisite results! I have long been a huge fan of the Arturo line of stationary products.
Arturo Stationery is made by Cartiere Magnani in Italy. Cartiere Magnani has been in business for more than 600 years. Among their customers have been many of Europe's reigning families and governments. Napoleon Bonaparte selected this mill to produce a special watermarked paper for the annoucement of his wedding with Maria Luisa D' Austria. The original mould is still held at the mill.
So what does this all mean - well, to me it means that this is a VERY high quality line of papers that when used makes me feel like royalty. Arturo is produced on cylinder moulds, these 100% high alpha cellulose papers have a rich, subtle texture obtained by using Magnani's exclusive "Corona" felt. They are wonderful for invitations, annoucements, handmade greeting cards and social correspondence! These cards have soft deckle edges on all sides. The side-folded cards have an embossed center line for ease in folding and can easily be torn to produce a simulated deckle edge.
Once again I planned on sharing a YouTube video showing how it is that I watercolor. Once again I didn't do it right - LOL! Being a complete novice I didn't realize that I needed to delete all previous video attempts - this video production was barely started when I ran out of space. I didn't realize this until the end of course. I am totally excited about a video that Debbie has created for the CLASSroom. Her attempt at sharing her skills are much better than mine Ü SO please watch for her video to go live tomorrow! She will share how it is that she floats the color in and around this same image.
The photo above shows a close-up picture of the Single Arturo cards. They are available in our store in two sizes and two colors - Soft White and White. The small size is approximately 2 1/2" x 3 3/4" in size and the large size is approximately 5 1/8" x 3 1/3" in size. Hopefully this photo will make it easier for you to see the detail of this fabulous paper.
Even though these cards are not specifically designed as a watercolor medium they are ideal and work beautifully with stamped images. The deckled edge adds an elegance to the finished image that cannot be obtained with other materials.
I prefer to use Palette ink when stamping and watercoloring. If I plan on adding Copic marker work to it as well, then I stamp using Brilliance ink. Be certain to heat set the Brilliance ink when using it. The Palette ink does not need to be heat set if you wait a few minutes for it to dry, but if you want to begin working on your project immediately I recommend a quick shot of heat for it as well.
This is where my video left off - LOL! Can you please envision my watercoloring these gorgeous love birds? I promise I will continue to make my attempts at making videos for this blog, but... please be patient with me - LOL!
After completing the watercolor process I allowed the surface to dry and then placed a mask over the birds. Using the Aged Sheet Music Scrapblock I added a soft pattern to the surrounding surface.
I LOVE how Cindy always finishes the inside of her cards. Rather than using the words as shown, I covered the last word "flutters" with painters tape and inked my stamp.
This allowed me to then remove the tape and stamp only a portion of the phrase. This type of masking is so quick and easy. I then used my little heart notes to finish my phrase - so now it reads "you make my heart... sing." Yes, you do need to read between the notes for the last word, but I thought it was a fun way to place the notes on both the interior and exterior of my project. A little paper and extra ribbon and I now had a completed interior to my card. Thank you Cindy for sharing this wonderful method with all those of us in the stamping world!!!
A little sewing and some pretty ribbon and my project is complete. I know that boy birds are always more colorful and prettier than girl birds, but not this time - LOL! I had to make a cute little pink girl bird and an oh so masculine brown bird (with just a hint of pink to tie them together.) Yes, once a goofy girl, always a goofy girl! Be certain to visit again tomorrow to view Debbie's awesome video!!!
