HLS March Watercolour Challenge - Welcome

It's time for our Happy Little Stampers March Watercolour Challenge.  This month our optional twist will be "Home".   There are so many possibilities, aren't there?

I decided to go with the twist.  I have a retired Stampin' Up! Hostess stamp set, Life's Adventure, which has the perfect image for this challenge.  It's a sweet sketch of an old fashioned house with all sorts of pretty trim, similar to houses which I've seen along the Oregon coast and also in areas along the ocean in Vancouver, BC.  With the hearts coming out of the chimney instead of smoke and all those details on the house, my fingers itched to begin watercolouring.

After stamping my image and letting it dry thoroughly, I used my Aqua Painter and several of my Stampin' Up! ink pads to begin colouring.  For the house, I layered the colours, making it easy to add shading that way.  For my background, I just gave it a "wash", adding a pale blue for the sky and pale sand colour to ground it.

I had centred the image on my Whisper White cardstock and it seemed a bit lost in all that white space and so I added a raised stitched frame set a-kilter.  That seemed the perfect "fix" and, once I had added a red matte and adhered the lot to my Whisper White base, I was happy with my creation.

I hope you'll check out the great cards over at the HLS March Watercolour Challenge post.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

I've also entered this card in the Addicted to Stamps and More #281 - Anything Goes Challenge

And into the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge Blog - Anything Goes

And finally into the City Crafter Challenge Blog Week 401 - Die Cuts