Monster love!

Hi everyone! 

 I'm here today to share a little Valentine's day inspiration.  Or maybe just a card to share a little love.

For today's card, I started by stamping this cute monster from "Be Mine Monster" on watercolor paper.  Then I used my favorite coloring medium, Derwent Inktense pencils, and a water brush to color in the image.  These pencils are a bit tricky to get used to but the colors are amazing (kind of like bold watercolors).  Inktense pencils are ink based, permanent color.  You must work quickly with these, or you'll end with spots that won't blend in.  For this monster, I colored along the edges of the monster and heart (dry coloring).  Then I used the water brush to wet the center of the heart and monster where there was no color, moving towards the outer, colored edge.  Once the colored edge was wet, I was able to move the color slightly back towards the center, leaving a darker edge and a lighter center.  After the monster dried, I cut the image using a stitched, rectangle die.

I cut a scalloped edge matt, tag and tiny heart from the same dark grey cardstock.  I darkened the edges around the tag and heart for a little depth.  I've found glue and a heavy book to work nicely to flatten watercolor paper when the paper gets a bit "wrinkled" from all the water usage.  Once dry, I added a couple silver gems just to add a little shine.  I choice not to add a sentiment to this card, making it usable for Valentine's Day or just because.

I hope you feel some inspiration with this monster.  Thank you for reading and have fun spreading the love.