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jessica frost-ballas

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Christmas in July: Watercoloring with Hero Arts!

23 Jul

Good morning!  It’s hard to believe we’re almost at the end of July and I haven’t really made any headway on my Christmas cards yet.  Eeek!  I’m usually happy if I’ve got thirty done by July…and I have three.  Oops.  Anyway, I thought I’d share this fun slimline watercolor card I created using the Hero Arts Polar Greetings bears I watercolored during the last coloring challenge!

Peace Love and Joy by Jessica Frost-Ballas for Hero Arts

So I’ve always kinda had a thing for polar bears.  As a kid I loved stuffed bears but I was totally uninterested in brown bears or black bears…Give me a polar bear or nothing at all! 😉  So when Hero Arts released this adorable set a few years ago it immediately became one of my favorite holiday sets and one that I reach for regularly!

To start I stamped the three bears and the scarf onto Arches cold pressed watercolor paper with versafine and heat-embossed them with clear embossing powder.  Then I watercolored them using Daniel Smith watercolors.  It’s always great practice for me to color something that’s supposed to be light grey or white in color.  Years ago I’d love using a daisy or polar bear on cards because I didn’t think I had to do anything, it was already good to go.  Ha, the things you learn…

After I was done watercoloring the bears I let them dry and then die-cut them with the coordinating dies.

Peace Love and Joy by Jessica Frost-Ballas for Hero Arts

Next I taped a longer panel of watercolor paper to a hard board and masked off the bottom.  I watercolored an icy cold winter night sky of blues and greys and allowed it to fade off to the side.  Once it was dry I splattered the sky with white gouache to create snow.  I stamped the sentiment from Polar Greetings with versafine and heat-embossed it with clear embossing powder.  Then I masked off the top and added a strong wash of dark blue-ish black across the bottom to resemble water.  I tore a second piece of watercolor paper to get a rough edge to create an iceberg for my bears.  I adhered that on the watercolor background and then added my bears.  Finally I added a little spectrum noir clear sparkle to the bears to finish my card.

And that’s it!  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Interested in the products I used?  To make them easy for you to find, I have listed them below. (Affiliate disclosure can be found here). Your purchases help keep my blog running and I thank you for the support!

 

 
Hero Arts POLAR GREETINGS CLEAR STAMP…
[ SSS ]
Hero Arts Clear Stamps POLAR…
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Hero Arts Frame Cuts Dies POLAR…
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Daniel Smith BLUES Hand Poured…
[ SSS ]
Daniel Smith ULTIMATE MIXING Hand…
[ SSS ]
Daniel Smith COLORS OF INSPIRATION…
[ SSS ]
Winsor Newton PERMANENT WHITE 14ml…
[ SSS ]
Arches COLD PRESSED WATERCOLOR PAD…
[ SSS ]
Silver BLACK VELVET Brush Size 2…
[ SSS ]
Silver BLACK VELVET Brush Size 4…
[ SSS ]
Silver BLACK VELVET Brush Size 6…
[ SSS ]
Silver BLACK VELVET Brush Size 8…
[ SSS ]
Silver BLACK VELVET Brush Size 10…
[ SSS ]
Inkadinkado EMBOSSING MAGIC Powder…
[ SSS ]
Tsukineko VersaFine ONYX BLACK Ink…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp EMBOSSING POWDER…
[ SSS ]
Precision Heat Embossing Tool Gun…
[ SSS ]
Crafter’s Companion CLEAR OVERLAY…
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3M Scotch PINK ATG ADVANCED TAPE…
[ SSS ]
MINI MISTI PRECISION STAMPER Stamping…
[ SSS ]
MISTI PRECISION STAMPER Stamping Tool…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Tonic MAXI GUILLOTINE…
[ SSS ]
Crafter’s Companion GEMINI JUNIOR…
[ SSS ]
 

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Comments:
3 Comments
Categories:
card-making, crafting, design team, hero arts

« The Daily Marker Coloring Challenge: Week 3 and 4 (+Christmas in July SALE!!)
Simon Says Stamp Believe In You Release (+VIDEO!) »

Comments

  1. Tara Prince says

    July 23, 2019 at 8:15 am

    Adorable bears!

    Reply
  2. trainwithmeghan says

    July 23, 2019 at 9:55 am

    Awwww darling polar bears and scene!

    Reply
  3. Terrie D. says

    July 25, 2019 at 11:25 am

    What a great card! I love these adorable bears and the wonderful winter scene you created. 🙂

    Reply

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Jessica About Me Photo
Hi, I'm Jess! Thanks for visiting my blog where I share my adventures in cardmaking and papercrafting! I hope I can inspire you to craft with a little extra sparkle!

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I design for several companies because I truly love their products! Anything I recommend on my blog is something that I genuinely love and regularly use. I do not get paid for product reviews and I will never recommend a product that I do not like or would not use.

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