I love rainbows

I happened to come across this cute rainbow embossing folder for $1 at Michael's the other day, which inspired me to pull out my watercolors and perfect pearls to create this card:

​

Supplies:

• Watercolor paper
• Stardream Lagoon Metallic Cardstock (available online from LCI Paper)
• Craft Smart Embossing Folder: Rainbow
• Rainbow Stamp & Die set by Recollections
• Perfect Pearls: Confetti White
• Loew-Cornell/Simply Art Watercolor Paint Cakes
• Versamark Ink
• Ranger Super Fine White Embossing Powder
• Stitched Fishtail Banner die
• Simon Says Stamp You Wafer Die
• Gold Foiled Cardstock

I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the rainbows onto watercolor paper. (Hint: If you have trouble with the embossing folder cutting through your paper, make sure you are using a heavyweight paper. Also, experiment with your "sandwich"...here's what worked well for me (top to bottom):

1. Cutting Plate B
2. Embossing Folder
3. Cuttlebug Magnetic Cutting Mat (love this!!)
4. Spacer Plate (A)

This was my first time to experiment with perfect pearls! I put a tiny bit on my paint palette and spritzed it with a small amount of water, then mixed it with my paintbrush. I used this mixture to color the clouds. 

Next, I wet my paper with a paintbrush and water to prepare for watercoloring. Since I had some perfect pearl/water mixture left, I combined it with my water colors (on my paint palette) to make them shimmery. To do this, simply wet your brush, pick up whichever color watercolor you want to use, then put it on your paint palette or surface mat and mix with a dab of your perfect pearls mixture. Repeat for each color.

I cut my "you color my world" stamp to make the sentiment fit on one line, then I stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with super fine white embossing powder. The "you" is a lovely die by Simon Says Stamp. Normally I would have die cut some Heidi Swapp toner paper and foiled it gold myself, but I happened to have some gold foiled cardstock with Stick-it adhesive already adhered to it so I just went with that!

Go ahead and try that tool or technique you've never done before!