I love using stencils! They are so interesting and versatile. In watching Laura Beard's videos, the one technique that she demonstrated, which (for unknown reasons) I hadn't tried was the overlay technique. So I decided to give that a go!
My favorite way to work with watercolors is using the Brusho and Color Burst powdered watercolor products. Because they contain crystals in various shades, and some have a mica ingredient as well, they are unpredictable but beautiful. So the bottom layer that served for the overlay here is light yellows and oranges. As you can see, there are a few reds, browns and greenish hues that emerged as well. I used the Layered Kaleidoscope Stencils (A and B) here, with the first layer in light orange (Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide), and the second layer in a reddish orange (Crackling Campfire Distress Oxide). I kept the darker color more central.
I thought it would be more interesting to have the focal point of the card be slightly offset, so I cut the watercolor paper base to be a little less than 4 by 5 1/4 inches, and mounted it onto a red card base. I then die cut the Mid-Century Frame Die from a gold holographic cardstock and cut a circle of vellum for the center part of the die cut, and heat embossed the phrase "focus on the positive" (which is from the Delicate Tiles layering stamp set) in a cerulean color. I've learned that, when using vellum, if you put your adhesive covering the entire back of the piece, it doesn't show through, so I put the circle through my Xyron sticker maker. (Another sentiment that I considered using here was "You are my Sunshine" but I didn't have an Altenew stamp that said that, so I think the one I did use is also good for this card with a sunny, warm look.)
The vellum also serves to subdue the brighter red/orange color underneath. But you can still see the pattern of the kaleidoscope stencils. Additional embellishments are the lemon colored jewels on the sentiment area and the yellow/gold pearls that are at the points of the kaleidoscope pattern.
I enjoyed this technique and will definitely use it again! Thanks Laura, for the inspiration.
I like the artsy look you have got going on here! The colours look cool too. I would suggest taking a couple of extra shots of close-up photos in case one of them ends up being blurry as the one shared in the post. Or if you want to put focus on one point, make sure to tap that area so at least one point is in focus. This will show the scrumptious, inky textures! Thank you for submitting your work to the AECP assignment gallery.