Reflection Technique

You know it's been a busy week when you're searching through your photos to find something to post on your blog that hasn't already been posted! Whew!! I feel like I've been running at top speed all week and I haven't managed to sit down to create anything in days! However, I did manage to find this lovely little creation that I made months ago when I had toyed with holding a landscape-themed class at Wholly Scrap. (Note to self - get that class scheduled!) This landscape was created following a Michelle Zindorf tutorial. If you've never been to her site you must check it out! Michelle is an extremely talented artist and she's been sweet enough to share tutorials on how to recreate her techniques on your own. She provided detailed instructions and photos. And as difficult as some of the cards look, the techniques are easy to follow and duplicate. The only change for me? Michelle is the queen of the brayer and honestly, I can never get my brayering to look like hers so I just use sponges for my coloring. This look was created by first sponging color onto the top of the card, using an ink pad and the direct to paper technique (behind the trees) to create a kind of forest look, and a piece of paper to create the line between the sky, water, and tree line. The trees, from Gina K set, were stamped in black over the skyline. I then set to work on the water section by covering the entire tree/sky area first. Color was sponged on and then the trees were stamped again but in a pale gray color so it looks like a reflection. Here's something else that Michelle does that panicked me the first time I did it...she adds black ink to the card edges. It seems so dark at first but after you get all the black on the edges, it's beautiful! The dark edge makes the entire piece pop! I finished by using a white gel pen to create movement in the water. A sentiment was also added on top of the water. Hop on over to Michelle's blog and check out all of her awesome work!! Enjoy (I hope to be back tomorrow with some more photos from my Week in the Life project!!)