Geisha Hug

Hidy Ho, crafty peeps

As you can tell with this card, I'm really into Geishas right now. I have had a love affair with Asian art for a long time now. I even have an Asian art collection that houses Geisha dolls, Kokeshi dolls, silk tapestries, silk embroideries, pottery, hand-painted chopsticks, rice paper umbrellas, hand fans....a little bit of everything. If it's Asian, and pretty, I probably have at least one in my collection.

Today's project is actually a sympathy card I made for a dear friend who tragically lost her husband just after Thanksgiving. I cannot even imagine the pain and sorrow she must be feeling. My heart literally hurts when I think about the loss she is having to endure.

I wanted to send her a sympathy card...but not one that is bleak and gloomy--something beautiful. I wanted it be bright and colorful...yet reverent and calm.

Not an easy task.

How does one make a card that is calm, yet brightly colored. One that is serious, yet not bleak? One that is serene and beautiful and thoughtful and evokes emotions of caring?

Like this.

For this card, I used the lovely "Green Lady" stamp by A Day for Daisies. I just love her. She's so...timelessly beautiful. I colored her using my Spectrum Aquas on watercolor paper. I really do love my Spectrum Aquas. They are literally watercolor paints in marker form. I laid down a bit of color directly on the paper, then moved it around with a water brush to achieve the perfectly imperfect look of watercolor.

It doesn't just have the look of watercolor... it actually IS watercolor.

After it dried, I went over some of the areas with Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens. They, too, are watercolor pens...but they have micro glitter mixed into the pigment. They add a shimmer that can either be subtle or bold, depending on how much you add.

I did the background and accent pieces (coins, red band) the same way...scribbled on watercolor paper, then using a large flat paintbrush and water, moved the color around for a painterly effect. I stamped coins on yellow-washed paper and cut them out. I used a Chinese newsprint stamp on the blue background, and added a single, bold Chinese word stamp in the upper right corner. That symbol, by the way, is "Love".

Here is a closeup of my painting.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

• A Day For Daisies - #135 Add Watercolor
• Crafty Friends Challenges - #19 One for the Girls 
• Crafty Gals Corner - #48 Anything Goes 
• Suzy Bee's Blooming - #108 Anything Goes + use a die cut

Ingredients:

• Spectrum Aqua pens (Crafter's Companion) - colors used: Teal, Spice, Scarlet, Peach, Gold, Slate, Black.
• Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens (Crafter's Companion) - colors used: Blue Topaz, Solar Red, Moonlight, Crystal Clear
• Lacey Ovals Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)
• Chinese Newspaper stamp (Hero Arts)
• "Love" Kanji stamp (Stampabilities)
• Chinese coin stamps (A Stamp in the Hand)
• Memento ink (Tsukineko) - Tuxedo Black
• foam spacers

Thank you, as always, for wandering over to Left Field!