ONLINE CARD CLASSES: MERRY MAKING DAY 1

Hi Everyone,
So excited for another Online Card Class and for day one I decided to try Jennifer McGuire's technique of embossing over embossing but without using the snow effect cause it didn't seem to work with me card (trust me, I tried and had to lop off the bottom of the card!).  

I used Ranger's Queen's Gold  embossing powder for the base layer I then stamped MFT's Garden Flourish with versamark and embossed with WOW vintage peacock.  It worked just the way Jennifer said and melted slightly into the gold.  Unfortunately, it was too subtle and a little to elegant to add the white snow embossing so I cut off the mess I made while trying that and made a square card.  I used Avery Elle's Seasons Greetings die and embossed with the same gold.  I cut 3 more layers and adhered them together.  The die comes with holly leaves and berries but I used red glitter stickles for the holly berries which don't show up well at all in the photo.  A little WOS on the leaves and that was it. 
Card stock base is MFT Elf Green.

PATTERNED PAPER AND FLORALS

Well I can't believe that it has been months since I have posted anything.  Really, the height of laziness.  Instagram continues to be my go to social media especially since I seem to only use my cell phone for photography.  I started this card for one of my daughters birthday but since we are up in Mammoth and I am so busy with outside sports and activities, it has taken me forever to finish.  I really wanted to enter it into the Simon Says Wednesday challenge, Patterned paper but, gosh darn, I didn't get it photographed in time and since I don't have my light box, finding a good spot to get the lighting just right was difficult (really, really difficult.  I took maybe 40 pics and I am still not happy.) 

 I used some old patterned paper from my Mammoth stash for the background and used the new TheTon geometric lattice coverplate die with another small patterned paper to layer over.  With Copic markers I colored the flowers from Simon Says More Spring Flowers.  The colors will be posted below, but you can see from those that the photo colors are not accurate.  I stamped MFT's Essential Sentiments on black and heat embossed with white.  I popped up the large flower with double layer of foam tape.  A dollop of pink(I know it doesn't look like it) of Nuvo crystal on the green flower and white pen highlights and the card was finally finished.  

COPIC SKETCH MARKERS USED:
RV10, RV55, RV66,RV69
BG10, BG13, B05
YG00,YG01,YG21,YG23,YG41,FYG1
G40,G43,G46

30 DAY COLORING CHALLENGE DAY 4: A LITTLE BIT OF COLORED PENCILS

I was hoping to post every day (hmmm) but tomorrow is a travel day up to Mammoth (about 5 hrs door to door) and it is at altitude (our house is at 7900') so probably won't be able to color or post tomorrow.  I worked on these two Mo Manning images (mostly Polychromos) and the little girl with the Corgi is done unless I put in a background (always makes me nervous) but the cute little Frenchie is just started.  I did the wings in metallic pencils and then blended with a blender pencil.  Will probably add a bit of Wink of Stella to the wings and might try to finish him tomorrow night when I get my supplies unpacked and if I don't collapse!  Can't wait to see the snow again since Mammoth has more since we were up in February.

 

30 D AY COLORING CHALLENGE DAY 3: WHEN THINGS GO WRONG...

I just love this stamp from Mama Elephant and was excited to finally have a chance to color it.  I stamped it on bristol board to use with the zig clean color brushes and also on Hammermill 100lb digital cover sheet (Amazon) for coloring with Copics.

The first photo is of the image stamped on the bristol and started with the zigs.  To get the ombre effect on the letters I applied the paint to the bottom of the letters and then pulled the color up with a water brush. Pretty much the same technique for the flowers and leaves, although the leaves have 2-3 colors.  I used wink of stella on the Hello.

 When I finished all the coloring I thought the images might look really vibrant against a black background and I really, really didn't want to fussy cut it.  So I took a black marker and colored all around the image but the strokes were visible and it wasn't a really dense black so I covered it with the Spectrum Noir Sparkle Black pen, which you can see below.  Hmmm

 It seems like a hot mess to me and I wish I had just cut it out.  On the picture below, you can see the image stamped on the Hammermill paper with Wplus9's Fairy Dust Ink pad for some no line Copic Coloring.  Hoping to finish that in a few days.

30 DAY COLORING CHALLENGE - SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT

I am very lucky to have my own craft room (small, but mine) but my husband really likes when we watch TV together at night so I took one of his, now unused, stainless steel surgical carts and turned it into a coloring cart.  I put most of my coloring mediums onto the cart (no ink pads, no Tim Holtz crayons etc) just stuff that I can sit in the living room at night and color while we watch TV. I can wheel it anywhere in the house or back into my craft room.  My Raskog cart from Ikea stays in my craft room and now holds miscellaneous papers, envelopes and foil.  If you like and find this useful I'd be so happy to hear from you.

EVERYTHING ON BOTTOM SHELF IS IN A PERFECTLY SIZED WINE BOX!

COPICS BEING USED ARE IN THE JAR TO THE RIGHT

 COPIC STORAGE:TJANDTHINGS ON ETSY

30 DAY COLORING CHALLENGE DAY 2

Day 2 - This is is one if the images I stamped in preparation for the challenge and it is embossed in gold.  I used Copics to color with a little bit of color pencil.  For the background I mixed a few drops of BV29 with about 15 drops of 0 blender solution into a tiny bottle and painted it on with a waterbrush filled with blender solution.  I didn't add any texture but left it very soft.  I went back over areas that I wanted darker.  As usual, I can't remember which stamp company this is from but will add it as soon as I find it (I am so disorganized at the moment).

this photo is a little washed out compared to original

30 DAY COLORING CHALLENGE

I have posted a lot about the 30 Day Coloring Challenge and it is finally here! Wouldn't you know it Day 1 has arrived and I have to go to work.  I want to share an image that I started (somehow I have quite a number of these) at Copic Boot Camp but never finished.  We were using this image (sorry, can't remember who designed it) in a lesson on watercolor backgrounds using Copic markers.  I did a little bit of the background and really wanted to finish it so it was a perfect size project for this first day of the challenge.  I used Copics for the flowers and then used colored pencils for additional details and white signo gel pen.  Very simple coloring and I am glad it is finally done and ready to be made into a card.  Please excuse bad phone photography.   Just found the stamp and it is Technique Tuesday's Morning Glory. Whew!

WATERCOLOR PENCIL BIRTHDAY CARD

I purchased this lovely Watercolor Card Kit by Sandi Pirrelli because the art work was so beautiful.  The kit comes with 12 watercolor cards, 12 blank envelopes, 1 foam dot sheet and 1 occasion cardstock sheet (small perforated sentiments).  The cards are 5 x 7 so there is lots of space to color or paint.  I realized when I felt the card stock that it wasn't really a high quality watercolor paper so I decided to use my new set of Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils  that I just received from Amazon.  I was interested in these because unlike my beloved Inktense pencils they are watercolor pigment and not ink however, whether it was the paper, the pencils or my technique but the blending was not as I hoped.  I will try the next card with the Inktense pencils and maybe one with my Copics(which I am the most comfortable with).  It is possible that the paper that these cards are printed on might hold up with real watercolors but it seems too lightweight for that.

After I finished with the coloring I decided that I wanted to cut the card in two and only use the colored front to make a more substantial card. I cut down the size so I could mount it with foam tape on PTI Autumn Rose card stock.  I embossed the Sentiment from Mama Elephant with Versamark Ink and embossed with Filagree Gold embossing powder on Bazzill 40lb vellum and adhered Simon Says gold sequins.  Oh, and I couldn't resist a little Wink of Stella Clear on the flowers!

BIRCH PRESS DIES BIRTHDAY CARD

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted anything since mid December.   Instagram is so easy it has made me lazy about blogging.  Here is a card I made with a Birch Press die, DAZZLE. These dies are amazing even though at first they seem really expensive but you get three full dies that can be used as stand alone or combined. I used a combination of silver glitter paper and silver mirror paper to create a special 18th birthday card.  The number is out of a PTI shimmer paper that looks flat in the photo but which really does shimmer.  The card is very simple but very elegant.  I think this would be great for a wedding card also.  Since making this card I broke down and ordered more of these dies and can't wait to play with them.

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