Since kids are back to school, I thought it would be fun to try to make a card with only (almost only) kid’s products. I’m using Crayola Watercolors and markers, plus miscellaneous other kid’s markers.
I started the project by using a House Mouse stamp called Fall Commuter that’s a retired stamp, but I found several on ebay and here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/ybmphvt4
I stamped it with Gray Archival ink from Stampin’ Up on Rubbernecker’s Felt Watercolor Paper,  link: http://tinyurl.com/yazcpfk7
I stamped the image with the rubber part of the stamp facing up, inking it face up, then placing the 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ piece of Rubbernecker watercolor paper on to it. I held it in place with one hand and rub it with the other to get a perfect image. I don’t get good results with a large rubber stamp if I stamp it any other way.
I cleaned the stamp with my homemade stamp cleanser (1 part baby shampoo from the Dollar Tree to 10 parts water in a spray bottle) and then if there’s still ink left behind, I use hand sanitizer from the Dollar Tree and make sure it’s wiped off well…use glycerin or a Versamark ink pad to hydrate rubber stamps and keep them from cracking.
I took a ceramic tile and a small container of water with a Loew Cornell paint brush in #5 and #10. I used the tile to scribble markers onto and to mix colors, and then wet them with the brush and painted them onto my image.
I began by coloring the mice with a gray Crayola marker scribbled onto the ceramic tile. I add a small amount of water to the marker with the brush, then painted the mice.
After the mice were finished, I used the green watercolor, mixed on the tile with a variety of marker colors to create an olive green, then painted several of the leaves with this mixture. I tried to do all of the smallest leaves, so they were the same, but the larger leaves, I wanted in a variety of fall colors. So I started with brown watercolor, and added an orange marker and some orange watercolor to create fall colored leaves. I added red to it to add highlights to my leaves. I wanted a more yellow leaf, so started with yellow watercolor and added it to a few of the brown leaves as a highlight.
I put orange and red watercolor together for a red highlight that stood out more than previous colors had. Next, it’s time to paint the background. I used a Crayola blue marker and a lot of water to create the look of sky…It takes a lot of marker, so I had to scribble it onto the tile several times.
I trimmed the image down so I had room to add a Corrugated orange background from DCWV, here’s the link:  http://tinyurl.com/y7tj4493
I used Lawn Fawn’s word bubble stamp set called Chit Chat and here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/ydyh6b5m to put a sentiment on the outside (that I fussy cut) and one on the inside, along with a bird that I painted blue . I stamped the images with the same Archival gray ink from Stampin’ Up, and the inside “thinking of you” that didn’t want to stamp, as it was the first time I’ve used it. I cleaned it with my stamp cleanser and that helped a little, then used a nail file to gently buff the surface. I still had a little problem with stamping it, so added the Crayola gray marker wherever it didn’t accept ink.
I cut the painted image down to 3 7/8″ x 5 1/8″ then offset it on the orange corrugated paper that was 4 1/8 x 5 3/8″ and adhered both to a white Recollections heavyweight card stock that was 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″across. I added the sentiment to the front of the card after fussy cutting it and using gray marker on the edges with foam squares under it…I colored the bird inside the card and stamped the back with my Stampanda stamp. I added some acrylic dots to the front of the card that I’d gotten at a stamp show.

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