5.11.2016

Hero Arts 2016 Summer Catalog Blog Hop + VIDEO

Hey all and welcome! Today I'm participating in a fun blog hop, marking the launch of the new Hero Arts 2016 Summer catalog in the Hero Arts online store!

For my cards today, I used the new Road Trip stamp set, and went a little crazy with some quick and lazy watercoloring! 


This was so fun to make! To start with, I took a 4.25x5.5 watercolor cardstock panel (larger than I needed, but I like to start big so it's easier to trim down later) and stamped the mountains. The nice thing about the mountain stamp in this set is that, while it doesn't quite cover an A2 card the short way across, it's super easy to continue the mountain "border." I stamped the mountains using Weathered Wood - for the background mountains, I inked up with the same ink, but stamped off on some scratch paper before stamping onto the panel. This way I get a more faded look for those background mountains.


Then I colored the mountains with a mix of Zig Clean Color brushes and Weathered Wood, using a water brush to mix them. There was really no specific way of coloring them, just what I thought looked nice.

Here's another card, using the same concept, except a blue camper...


The trees were stamped haphazardly using a mix of Distress Inks (listed below) and water, to blend it out.
The sky and ground were colored using a mix of Zig Clean Color brushes and Distress Inks as well.


I topped off the campers with some gems, and stamped a sentiment from the Hello Gorgeous stamp set.

To see how really easy this card is to make (and some tips!), here's a video...


If you are having problems viewing this video, please try watching it HERE on YouTube.

Now, for the rest of the blog hop - be sure to visit everyone on the list and leave a comment. Hero Arts is giving away three $25 shopping sprees, drawn from comments left across all blogs in the hop. Please comment by Sunday, May 15 at 11:59pm PT and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week.

SUPPLIES


Cardstock: Canson
Stamps: Hero Arts Road Trip and Hello Gorgeous!
Ink: Hero Arts Charcoal, Distress Inks Old Paper, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles, Weathered Wood, Shabby Shutters and Chipped Sapphire
Other: Zig Clean Color brushes Light Gray, Gray Brown, Gray, Dark Gray, Beige, Green Gray and Dark Brown

Tools: water paintbrush, embossing gun

280 comments:

  1. LOVE it, the VW Van...swoon....

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  2. I absolutely LOVE your cards! The coloring is awesome, super awesome!

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  3. Gorgeous cards and awesome video.

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  4. Those are pretty cool campers. Love the scenery!

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  5. Great scene, you make it look so easy for use challenged water colorers, lol. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. I love this! It really makes me feel like I'm back out west on vacation (no mountains in Illinois, ah!). The watercoloring you did is incredible. Love this release!

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  7. :D how fun! luv the watercoloring!

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  8. Great job, I love watercoloring and yours is beautiful. Thanks

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  9. beautiful card, part of a really great release!

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  10. Love the beautiful background!

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  11. I love the new release. Your cards are awesome.

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  12. What a talent you are... Wonderful!

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  13. It looks like an old-time postcard! Beautiful

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  14. Awesome card and thank you for the thorough explanation. Great video.

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  15. Love the VW bus .... so fun. Great projects.

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  16. Such a cute idea. Great use of these stamps

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  17. Great card. Thanks for such a good video.

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  18. Love your mountain scenes! Thank you for the video, too!

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  19. Must get the VW van stamp set!!

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  20. i'm super excited for the stencils!

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  21. What a great way to use the new products! Jo x

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  22. I love what you did with the trees!

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  23. Cute cards. Amazing greenery/mountains.

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  24. Super cute card. I love the carpe diem sentiment. This is a great card for those who love to travel. I also love that you used zig clear color brush markers. They are great water color markers. :-)

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  25. I love your scene cards. Awesome travel set.

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  26. Your card was hand down my favorite of the whole hop!!! I LOVED how you used the mountains and the trees. Such a versatile stamp set. Of course I had to purchase it!! Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us. Hugs!!

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  27. Wonderful watercolor scenery effects. Thanks for sharing!

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  28. Beautiful creations!
    Mary Marin

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  29. Great cards, thanks for the video!

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  30. This is an awesome card and I love your video!

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  31. what lovely cards! thanks for the giveaway opportunity!

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  32. They are both awesome cards, but I really like the "Just Breathe". The forest you created just speaks to natural beauty and peace of nature. Great job!

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  33. I love the van and wonderful spring/summer feel to this. The van takes me back to those vintage days where everyone had one.

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  34. Wow, these are little works of art!

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  35. I really like your stamping style - gorgeous job! So glad you were on this blog hop!

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  36. Cute card! Love the road trip stamp set!

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  37. I just love the VW Bus. That would be an awesome camping trip.

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  38. Love it! Thanks for the watercolor tips.

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  39. Beautiful cards, loving that stamp set:-)

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  40. wow- just amazing watercoloring! love your campers & fun scenes! thank you for the chance to win!

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  41. Love your background don't think i am at that level of watercoloring yet

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  42. Love your cards!! Your water coloring is beautiful... I wish it were really as simple as you make it look. Thanks for all the helpful hints on your video. You've inspired me to give it a try.

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  43. I love the mountain and tree stamps!

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  44. Like the painted background scene for your travel trailer. Have a BEE-utiful day!
    Melissa
    "Sunshine HoneyBee"

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  45. I love how you watercolored the background! The trees are my favorite!

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  46. I LOVE YOUR CARD!!! Great new products.

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  47. Clare, you are tooooo good! When I first looked at the card I thought "How did she get that painted camper into the photo?" Nice girl!

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  48. I have wanted a V.W. Bus for years, so when I saw this stamp set I knew I had to have it! Love your detailed watercoloring. Great card!

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  49. Clare, so creative! The watercolors make the card look like a small painting. Really cute VW added - screams summer!

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  50. I love scenery cards.. You did an amazing job..

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  51. Beautiful cards! I wish I could paint like that.

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  52. I LOVE the look you got with the zig clean color brushes! Definitely looks like you have painted them the traditional watercolor way!

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  53. What a lovely serene camping scene. I just love the watercolored background.

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  54. Thanks for the video, it was very helpful for me in building a scene. I used to have one of those VW Buses. We spent some time traveling in Germany (Military assignment) as well as in the US, many years ago. Brings back memories.

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  55. What a cute card! And thanks for the reminder that basic sticky back foam adds dimension and safe mailing without the cost of specialty foam adhesive sheets! Thx for the inspiration and ideas!

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  56. What a cute card! And thanks for the reminder that basic sticky back foam adds dimension and safe mailing without the cost of specialty foam adhesive sheets! Thx for the inspiration and ideas!

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  57. Cute, cute card. Love that watercolor look. And the camper is so cute, too!

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  58. Thank you for the great ideas for water coloring that scene.

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  59. Love, love, love! This brings back some great summer memories. I may have just aged myself. ✌

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  60. These turned out great Claire!

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  61. These are little works of art! You did a great job!

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  62. VANTASTIC! lol How fun and fabulous! These are GREAT!!!

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  63. Wonderful cards and love the water colored look with the distress inks.

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  64. Goodness, I love these! Maybe because they bring back great memories of living in the PNW and having our big red VW Vanagon...*sniffle sniffle*

    And the sentiments are *perfect*! Very follow-your-bliss. Love

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  65. Love how you made the forest - very inspirational:)

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  66. Another must have stamp to use on my traveling albums. Love your water coloring video.

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  67. Great cards! Thanks for sharing them.

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  68. Oh my goodness! Your picture looked 3-D! Very impressive!

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  69. Beautiful sentiments. Love the cards.

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  70. Even though I follow a couple of blogs I didn't know yours Clare, I really like your style and this super fun card!

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  71. What beautiful calming cards.

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  72. Terrific greenery! Fun card.

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  73. WOW! I love the scene you created - those trees are gorgeous!!! And that van brings back some memories :) Great card!

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  74. Fantastic! Love the stamps and your cards.

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  75. It took cardmakers to get me to try watercolor again, and now I am loving it! I love how your trees kept some detail at the top, but kind of blended together at the bottoms. And the different shades of green really make them look more like the real thing! Thanks for the tips.

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  76. Love these cards!!! We have a camper so I'd love to take these stamps with me to create while camping!!!

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  77. I love your fun summer card! The pine trees are so realistic and gorgeous!
    Take Care!
    Michele

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  78. What a great stamp set for this scenery watercoloring!

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  79. Awesome card! You make watercoloring look very easy :-) Thank you for the video!

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  81. Super cute card, love the scene and the sentiment really says it all!

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  82. Super cute card, love the scene and the sentiment really says it all!

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  83. Your watercolor work is beautiful.

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  84. This is the first time I've watched a video from you. Love your color choice for the vehicles. Great cards.

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  85. Clare, you make this look so easy! I love the sentiment on the second card!

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  86. adorable. Makes me want to jump in the van and go.

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  87. So cute and love your coloring. Great stamps. Thanks for sharing.

    Linda D.

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  88. So cute and love your coloring. Great stamps. Thanks for sharing.

    Linda D.

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  89. So cute and love your coloring. Great stamps. Thanks for sharing.

    Linda D.

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  90. So cute and love your coloring. Great stamps. Thanks for sharing.

    Linda D.

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  91. This was so much fun to watch you create! I love how this scene turned out!

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  92. your scenes are so realistic!

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  94. These are amazing! Love how you water colored them!

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  95. Love the colors you selected. Very inspiring!

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  96. Lovely watercoloring. Love the stamps. Especially the van.

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  97. Awesome cards, thanks for sharing!

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  98. Your cards are amazing. You made the watercoloring look so easy.

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  99. Your card is so much fun - great watercoloring and love the van!!!

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  100. Just love love your card and the fun loving VW Van. Would love to own that stamp set. Super fun card! You did an awesome job!

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  101. Just love love your card and the fun loving VW Van. Would love to own that stamp set. Super fun card! You did an awesome job!

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  102. Just love love your card and the fun loving VW Van. Would love to own that stamp set. Super fun card! You did an awesome job!

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  103. Very nice cards, natural looking.

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  104. Gorgeous, at first I thought they were photographs!

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  105. Love your cards! Great sentiments too!

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  106. Very cute and your backgrounds are amazing. Very creative. thx.

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  107. The stamps keep getting better and better and the cards are inspiring.

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  108. Love these cool travel cards. The VW bus makes it a really retro statement.

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  109. Amazing cards!!!

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  110. The stamps keep getting better and better and the cards are inspiring.

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  111. Cool card. Love the VW Van stamp. Thank you for sharing and making the video and being part of this giveaway

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  112. Your water coloring is amazing!! Thanks for sharing!

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  113. Love these cards. Looks like my husbands red Volkswagen bus.

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  114. Great card! I had a green bus many years ago!

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  115. Lovely water coloring. Stunning cards.

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  116. I always thougth that watercoloring was hard, but i think i will give it a try again, love your cards :)

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  117. So much fun! Thanks for sharing!

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  118. What a crazy fun card! I loved the camping scene and the watercolor touches in the nature filled background!

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  119. Wow I feel like I am there!!

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  120. Wow! This brings back some memories.

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  121. Wow, reminds me of my old camping days!

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  122. I love your mountain scene. HA just keeps coming out with more and more stamps that I love.

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  123. Oh what an awesome card :) love the watercolor look!

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  124. Beautiful scene- i can almost smell the pines and freash air!

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  125. I love the soft watercolor effect.

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  126. Just love your warercolored cards. Such à Unique way.

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  127. Beautiful little works of art!!

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  128. Clare, you did a super job on your cards! Thanks so much for sharing with us and for participating in this fun hop.

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  129. Love the one "Just Breathe". I need to hear that more. Great job on the cards.

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  130. Enjoyed the video, very clear explanations. Loved the watercoloring and how you layered the trees and mountains. TFS

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  131. Beautiful mountain scene, love the van-makes me feel like I am going on an adventure.

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  132. Thanks for the video. Your card is wonderful and so were the tips.

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  133. I adore your card and your gorgeous watercolor!!!

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  134. Takes me back to my youth! I love it. Your water coloring is beautiful.

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  135. The background is amazing - great video!

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  136. Gorgeous watercolors. Great tips, Fantastic cards. Thanks for sharing.

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  137. Amazing card. Love the trees

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  138. Awesome cards. Love the backgrounds!

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  139. This is so perfect for so many people

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  140. aw, the memories of camping in our red VW camper van in the 70's! Beautiful watercoloring!

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  141. Perfect card for summer months of camping and vacationing. Love the camper van! Great job on trees, too!

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  142. what a great idea for a little watercolour painting! Wouldn't it make great postcards? love your sweet little paintings =)

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  143. Great use of watercolors to create mood.

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  144. Fun cards and
    great coloring.
    Carla from Utah

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  145. Very cute cards! I love the sentiment. Thank you for sharing!

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  146. I really enjoyed watching your video. Your watercolor technique & results are great. You are more of an artist than you give yourself credit for. Thanks for sharing your talent with us. Jil

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  147. WOW!!! What great cards and such fabulous watercoloring!!!

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Thank you so much for taking time to leave me a comment - it is always much appreciated. :)