International Art and Soul Challenge 26

Our challenge this fortnight is to incorporate some texture into your project. It can be a card, or pretty much anything you like so long as it's got some texture.

I decided to start with an embossed background and see where that took me. This is the result.

 Before embossing, I used my new Creative Expression Chalk Cloud inks to shade a piece of Clarity card. Then I took some textured watercolour card, and stamped the arrangement (stamps were magazine freebies.) I had to mask the bunch of flowers before stamping the stalks. then I used the same inks to watercolour the image. The only exception is that I had used the Subtle Sage green ink in the background, but when I used it to watercolour, it was hardly any different from the blue shade, so I added another layer of colour - this time using Sweet Apple. I ran a black marker around the watercolour paper and grey mat, before completing with some grosgrain ribbon and a crochet flower from my stash.

The colours are a lot more subtle than I usually go for, and watercolour techniques are definitely not my strong point! I do find that the ink doesn't seem to blend as well as I've seen demonstrated. I used Clarity card because a shiny card is recommended and that's what I've got. I definitely need to spend some more time using these inks. I'm not sure how long they'll last. I bought several at Ally Pally in September, and one of them was obviously dried out when I opened it. My credit card receipt was from Creative Expressions, so I emailed them.It took a very long time for them to get back to me - something I experienced once before when my Ally Pally tickets didn't turn up on time. The did eventually get in touch and sent a replacement, but I was disappointed with the fact that it took several weeks, and definitely made me less inclined to want to play with the inks.

I look forward to seeing your seeing what you come up with!