basic brown… basically beautiful

Brown. Pretty basic, right? A color we really take for granted.

Let’s take a second look at it. It’s soft, cozy, warm and comfortable. A true classic, brown really never goes out of style. Brown is also a dark neutral just like black but switching it out from black can give you a totally different look. When watercoloring, I love stamping in a dark brown ink, especially for a softer image or a more vintage look. Brown stitching goes with almost everything. Brown is far from boring.

Today I’m hosting another Ways to Use it Challenge and this time the challenge is brown. Use it predominantly in your project to play along and show us how you use this beautiful and most often overlooked color. Check out the challenge here.

the Art of Kindness

My son recently hung up a bird feeder outside our window and now from my desk I can watch the most beautiful little brown birds flying in and out all day long. They may not be colorful but they are oh so pretty.  A subtle beauty.

I recently ordered some (ok…most, I couldn’t resist) of the new Basic Grey Curio line. Beautiful soft browns and the darling chipboard bird just flew into my hands and had to be used first. It reminds me of my precious daily visitors that always make me smile.

I’ve stamped on a layer of vellum for a subtle look. The Hero Arts sentiment is stamped in Coffee Archival ink by Ranger and then masked and over stamped with a musical background in Sepia Archival ink.

Quick Tip: Heat set the Archival Inks when stamping on vellum for a permanent image.

Some of my favorite browns…

• Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink & Frayed Burlap Distress Ink by Ranger – for sponging edges
• Coffee and Sepia Archival Inks by Ranger – for stamping, heat set for permanence
• all things kraft
• twine
• cardboard and chipboard
• Coffee Shop Glimmer Mist – for spritzing and flicking ink over a project
• E35 Chamois, E33 Sand, E37 Sepia, E39 Leather, E31 Brick Beige – favorite browns in Copic Markers

Supply List: kraft cardstock by Bazzill, Curio 6×6 paper pad & Curio Chip Sticker Shapes by Basic Grey, So Artsy stamp set and Cling Music Background by Hero Arts, twine, Brushed Corduroy Distress ink by Ranger, Coffee and Sepia Archival Inks by Ranger, Leaf Trinket pins by Maya Road, vellum, sewing machine

Happy creating!