A Little Something Tropical

I came across a fun, brightly coloured illustration that inspired today's card (scroll down to see my inspiration)  It took me out of my comfort zone, using more orange and purple in today's card than I normally would.

I coloured my image from 5121 - WC Garden Shed Set in #969/565 and stamped it in the middle of my Canson XL Watercolor Paper.  Using my stamp positioner, I added the small boat from5057 - WC Boat Set and the trunk of the tree from 5120 - WC Palm Tree Set coloured in #623.  I sketched in the shoreline with #992, and used the small sprig in 5009 - WC Mini Flower Set to add the shrubbery in #126/177/993.  A wash of #443 was added to the sky, and painted in as the water.  Using all of the fronds in the Palm Tree set, I coloured them in #993/126/177, then used a damp brush to blend the colours.  I used my #933 marker directly on the paper to add the oranges that suggest coconuts, and darkened it further with my Chocolate Twintone marker.  #373 was painted on the hut, with #993/933 for the trim.  Flowering shrubs were added around the hut in #623/676/725, and $565 was painted on the boat and added as shadows throughout the scene.  I darkened up the water and sand with several colours, and used the grass from5372 - WC Mini Foliage in #177

The sentiment is from the Exclusive Daisy Set.  I used my sewing machine to stitch the panel to some contrasting cardstock, and mounted it onto my blue base with 3D foam adhesive.  The finished card is 5 1/2" square.  Be sure to check out the Ai blog on Saturday to see what Dot & Tricia have created!