Watercoloring a World of Heart

Hello everyone. Koren here again with another super simple card project. Today I am playing with the Neat & Tangled Origami Map stamp set. I have always loved prints of world maps, they have  an amazing effect on me. I will stop and stare at a map and think about all of the places that I have been, or want to visit some day, and how these places were discovered. I also like to see where my friends live that are so far away, the maps somehow make them feel closer. One way to share love with those people is to send them a handmade card to let them know that you are thinking of them, no matter how far the distance between you. 

I started with a piece of Ranger watercolor paper cut to 3 1/2 by 4 3/4. I loaded it into my stamp positioner along with the map image from the Origami Map stamp set.  I stamped it onto the panel, trying to align the map as best I could in the center of the panel. I inked it up with Nuvo Clear Mark embossing ink and heat embossed it with Ranger White embossing powder.  

To add the color I used Jane Davenport’s Colorsticks by Spellbinders. These watercolors come in a container much like a lipstick. I simply added a bit of color to my glass mat and sprayed it with water. I used my Nuvo paint brush in size 9 to mix the color on my mat and bring it to my paper. I used a rainbow of color. If you search watercolor map on google. you will be sure to find some amazing inspiration for this look. I took some inspiration from a photo that I saw and tried to replicate similar areas of color. This doesn’t really matter because these watercolors blend nicely together, no matter where you put them. I just wanted to make sure that I used them all while still keeping the individual continents generally represented on the map.  I think it turned out great. 

I added some white craft foam to the back of this panel using Nuvo Maxi Tape Runner adhesive. Then I affixed it to a Simon Says Stamp Fog card base the same way. 

For a sentiment, I stamped the “ my world is brighter because of you” in the same clear embossing ink and heat embossed it as well. I stamped it onto a Lawn Fawn black licorice cardstock and used my Fiskars wire guide paper trimmer to trim it down into a strip. I popped it up onto the panel using Scotch 3M foam adhesive. 

To add a touch of personalization, I cut two tiny hearts from the Little Bits die set also by Neat & Tangled. I cut them from Stampin’ Up! Poppy Parade cardstock and adhered them using Nuvo Deluxe Liquid adhesive.  I placed one where I live on the east coast of the United States and the other right in the middle of Austrailia. 

I hope you enjoyed my card project for today and I hope I inspired you to create your own world of heart. Don’t pay any attention to the fact that I don’t know enough about Austrailia to have placed the heart in an inhabitable part of that great country. I’m just pretending my friends live in the dessert in the bush like Crocodile Dundee. Don’t eat Vegemite, it’s terrible, no matter what they tell you. 

Koren