Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Time!

Hi everyone.. I have the cutest Sassy Cheryl image to show you today. Our challenge hostess, Tracy, has called for distressing this week... and that's always a nice change from clean and simple cards, don't you think?

I LOVE snowmen with personality and this little guy fits the bill.  He's perfect for a distressed, vintage look with that top hat he's sporting. And I had just the miniatures to go with this image.... borrowed from my miniature general store. Those are tiny Christmas packages on the rocker... just not the best photo to display them.

Starting with a card base of Neenah solar white paper, I antiqued the card, designer papers and image with Tim Holtz' Tea Dye. My snowman friend was colored with Prismacolor pencils.. my fav!

This week the Design Team at Sassy Cheryl's challenge will be picking their top three favorites entries. The lucky three will get this special blinkie for their blog. So join us for a fun week.

'Til next time, happy coloring.. have fun.. and be safe in all you do.
Ciao for now!

Thinking of You

Sometimes when I see an image I have a distinct idea of how I'll progress with it to make a card or 3-D item. This was one of those projects.

I knew when I saw this Sassy Cheryl digital stamp that I wanted to create an antiqued look using tea dye ink. It's a style I'd like to do more often but it takes just the right image for this look.

After coloring my image with prisma pencils, I sponged Tim Holtz' tea dye ink over the cardstock, with more concentration on the edges. It softened the colors and gave it an aged look.

This little clothespin teddy bear was part of my inspiration.. she's been with me for over 25 years and she has that tea-dye look too. Working on this shabby-chic, distressed look is a style I promised myself I would work on this year as one of my goals. What do you think?

Thanks so much for stopping by..'til next time, be safe in all you do.

Christmas Can Last Forever

Don’t you just love the Christmas season? It's my next favorite holiday to Thanksgiving and I love all the prep of baking, meal planning and selecting special gifts for friends and family. (If someone would jump in and do all the package wrapping I’d be happy). But it sure creeps up and is over so quickly after all the excitement, prep, planning and hustle and bustle. I love how people become more gentle and appreciative… almost the same as we saw after 9-11.

So, if I told you that I'm getting a jump start on Christmas cards for 2010 would you believe me??

This card is for three challenges... and I amazed myself getting this accomplished. My followers know that I am in total awe of others that make one item for several challenges…. they are much, much more talented and patient than this meager effort of mine.

First, the Copic challenge this week is to color an image of pine... got it.
Second.. the DareU2DigiStamp challenge is to make a Christmas card...either late or for Christmas 2010…..check!
And third... to create a card using any one of the layouts from the 147 available at CPS from the CPS Year In Review – Right-on sister!

So I selected layout #12 from CPS.... clean, simple and not too complicated. I often find that I like the image to be the focal point and not have things too busy.
 

This pine cone digital image is a creation of Christine Dark from Sketchin’ Stamper. I love her work, especially with botanicals. She does a fantastic job.

And yes… I’m really working on cards for Christmas 2010. Hope you like this… but most importantly, I appreciate you stopping by and taking some time from your busy holiday season. Stay well and be safe in all you do.




Details: Pinecone from Sketchin’ Stamper, Snowflake embossing folder from Cuttlebug, SU Wild Wasabi and Neenah White cardstock, Copic markers, Stickles Frosted Lace, pop dots, cranberry eyelet and ribbon – misc.

Mercy's Sketch Challenge #51

Hi everyone.. I hope you are staying dry and warm in your neck of the woods.. the weather looks a little challenging for us here smack dab in the center of the US over the next few days. That means lots of time for me in the Wired Angel's Craft Grotto working on projects. It might also be a good time to head to the mall because so many others don't dare go out in this weather!

Every Tuesday is Mercy's Sketch Challenge, and although I only participated once recently, I do have good intentions every week as I really like Mercy's style. Life just seems to get in the way of well-meaning plans. That never happens to you, right??!

I used this digital image from Sketching Stamper earlier this week when I colored it with Copic markers for another project, but I had to try this using Prisma and Lyra pencils this time. I really love the classic look of this image... a Della Robbia look.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting. I hope you have a terrific day. Be safe in all you do.

Design Team Farewell!

Today is my last day with the design team at KLM Designs. Being part of Katy and Sue's team has been a great experience -- the chance to work with a very talented group of ladies. I can't thank everyone enough for all of the inspiration they have been.

This is the Harvest image from KLM.. I colored it with copics, used SU designer paper and a stripe that I had in my scrap bin. The raffia was simply tied to look like a corn stalk... thought something different than a bow would be fun for this card.

The sentiment is SU... and it's appropriate for this posting.. I'm sending a big 'thank you' to Katy and Sue for asking me to be part of their charter group! They have become wonderful friends.

Thanks for stopping by... enjoy your day!

Baby, sweet baby

This is Michael, a sweet little angel from the shop at Mo's Digital Pencil.

 

 

 

And here’s a close up of the colored image.

 

 

 

I colored this with Copic markers and added a bit of Sakura Gelly Roll Clear Star to his halo and wings. The sentiment was created in MSWord with Lucinda Calligraphy font and ribbon is from Martha Stewart.

 

I knew when I first saw this image that I had to make a doorknob tag. I think this would make the perfect topper for a baby shower gift.

Thanks for stopping by… enjoy your day.

More Mo Inspiration

Hello everyone... 'hope you are enjoying your Wednesday. It's pretty damp here in the KC area. Lots of rain this week and more thunderstorms on the way. But a great time to be inside and catching up on crafting projects.

If you have been a follower of Mo's Digital Pencil, you know who this is... it's Mummu and she's just one of the favorite characters of Mo's viewers! Mummu can be found in all sorts of scenarios, knitting, riding her bike, and even hanging laundry... (I finally found a perfect card for using a miniature clothespin).






And my final card for this post is entitled "Harvest Dance".


All can be found at Mo's online digital store where there are new sketches available every day… can you believe that? What’s a stamper to do??

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day, stay dry, and be safe in all you do.

More from Mo’s Digital Pencil

I always had a fondness for reading bedtime stories to my sons when they were tots. I love the quiet time and watching their expressions…wide-eyed then slowly drifting off to sleep. There were many times when I intentionally left out a few words or skipped a page to do a ‘sleepiness’ check.. but they always caught me and I was busted!! These are special memories that still make me smile.

Remember the story of Little Red Riding Hood… her grandmother eaten whole by the wolf? Wow…that’s enough to give a little kid night horrors…

This card is made using one of the Red Riding Hood images from Mo’s Digital Pencil. .. so in keeping with a “Grimm’s Fairy Tale” version. I’m sending it to a friend of mine out West who has the worst luck with guys… so it reads “Once upon a time”… I think she’ll get a huge chuckle out of it.

This is little Bella and Bronte from Mo’s collection. I scaled the digital stamp down in size, used watercolor paper and colored with Doc Martin’s ph watercolors.. new art stuff I’ve added to my stash, and so much fun to use.

and here’s a closeup

This is another rendition of Bronte waiting for his treat. This is a fry box made using a Sizzix die and it holds doggie biscuits. Perfect little gift to bring to a friend’s pup. This is one of my projects for the craft fair at AppleFest in Weston, MO this October.

Thanks for stopping by today… enjoy your day, and be safe in all you do.

Digi Days

I’ve been busy with some projects that I wanted to show you. These are some of the latest sketches from a new company in the digital stamp world… Mo’s Digital Pencil. If you haven’t tried digitals you should check them out. But beware.. they are addictive! This is an opportunity for instant gratification…No waiting for the UPS man to show up!

This little baby is part of the “Bunch of Babies” set. I used Prisma pencils, Nestabilities die to emboss the circle around the little guy, SU corner and slot punch, misc designer paper, white cardstock. Ribbon is from Michael’s and diaper pin from Creative Impressions, the sentiment is computer generated.

This image was inspired by a character in one of Mo Manning’s children’s book “The Aunts Go Marching”.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your day, have a few laughs along the way, and be safe in all you do.

Meet “The Boyz!!"

Hello everyone in blog land. I hope you are having a terrific and crafty day. I’ve got three cards to show you today.

All were made using images from one of the newest sets called “Boys On The Go” from Mo's Digital Pencil and they are terrific for making cards and 3-D items for the little munchkins in your life.

Maurie’s (aka “Mo”) images are amazing and fun to work with. There’s a new freebie she is graciously offering over at her blog, so stop by, download the freebie, and take a minute to vote on your favorite type of images and then check out her Etsy shop where there are new items every day.

For all of these cards I used Copic markers, white linen paper and Nestabilities.

The third card is made with a center opening which is hidden by the image popped up on the Nestibilities diecut.

I hope you are enjoying your day. Thanks for stopping by, have a few laughs along the way, and be safe in all you do.

Details: 80# white linen cardstock, 80# red linen cardstock, Designer Paper: DCWV “Nana’s Kids”, Copic Markers, Nestabilities, SU mat pack, brads from Oriental Trading, Sentiment: “You Rock” from My Favorite Things, Sentiment: “Hey There Sport!” is computer-generated.

Thinking of You

I needed some cards for friends and family that are going through some difficult times and these two images from KLM Digital Designs were just perfect for my projects. I colored the birdhouse with Copic markers, and resized the image to make some larger flowers, then cut out  for decoration.

This second card is also an image from KLM. I love the clean, crisp look of this card. This calming image reminded me of this sentiment from St. Francis that I had in my collection of stamps, and it’s perfect for the recipient…. but you can use the sentiments that come with KLM’s digital images. There’s often several to chose from.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.. enjoy your day, have a few laughs and be safe in all you do.

 

Details:

Card 1: Birdhouse image from KLM Digital Designs, SU Soft Sky and Baja Breeze cardstock, white cardstock, Nestabilities Rectangle die, sentiment from SU, Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Card 2: Lighthouse image from KLM Digital Designs, SU Soft Suede cardstock, white cardstock, SU mat pack for piercing, Prisma pencils, Gamsol, Sentiment from Inkadinkado.

Time Out To Salute…

Hello everyone in blog land. I hope that your day is going well and you are enjoying summer.

I had the opportunity to visit my oldest son for “Family Weekend” which happened to follow a very significant event…the successful completion of Army Boot Camp. Completing Boot Camp signifies officially becoming a ‘soldier’… and the ceremony includes soldiers removing their camouflage caps and donning the Army black beret for the first time.

To mark this event, I made a card using “Time Out To Salute” from Mo Manning’s digital collection. Mo also has different hats for our armed forces (and rumor has it that there will be hats for firemen, policemen, etc. in the near future).

 

This card was a huge hit. The hats are adhered with Velcro so they are interchangeable.

And here’s a picture of my personal Patriot in his new beret.

Thanks for stopping by… enjoy your day, have a laugh or two, and be safe in all you do.

 

Details: White linen, SU Kraft and red linen paper, Copic Markers, Velcro, Sentiment: MFT, SU ticket corner punch.

Coloring with Prismacolor Pencils

Hello stampers.. and welcome to my first tutorial. Because so many of you have so kindly asked and left me so many wonderful comments, I’ll be showing you how I use Prisma and Lyra pencils to color my images.

For this tutorial, I’m using an image from Mo’s Digital Pencil. This type of sketch is ideal for coloring, blending, and shading.

I printed this image onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, 80# weight paper. Sometimes I use the same manufacturer’s white linen cardstock which gives a textured look to the coloring, but it’s entirely up to you.

To get the most out of this tutorial, why don’t you grab this image and follow along… that will give you a really good feel for what I do when I’m coloring.



Supplies you will need:





An image for coloring



Gamsol (or odorless mineral spirits, aka OMS)



Tortillons and/or blending stumps (see this link for more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortillon)



Sanford’s Prismacolor Pencils (these are wax-based pencils.. watercolor pencils will not work with this technique) or Lyra Polycolor pencils.



Lyra Skin Tones Polycolor pencils.





oh… and a glass of wine (makes the blending go smoothly!!)





It’s important to determine the direction of your light source when coloring an image. In this image, I’ve decided that my light source is coming from the lower right-hand side… just about where the small pumpkin is on the right.



Begin by lightly coloring pumpkins using various shades of orange. Notice that I made the pumpkins on the left a bit darker by simply loading more of the color I used on that one. I did that because it’s farthest away from the light source. Then, take a sip of wine.



For the pumpkins, I’ve used the following Prisma pencils:


Orange PC918


Vermillion Clair PC921


Orange Mineral PC1033


Pumpkin Orange PC1032


Crimson Red PC924


Spanish Orange PC1003





and now I’ve blended them using a tortillion dipped in Gamsol. This may look ‘yellow’, but it’s just the quality of the photo.. the pumpkins are really done in different shades of orange as indicated above.







Here I’ve added color to his sweater, jeans, shoes, face and the pumpkin he’s holding.. I used Electric Blue PC1040 for his jeans, Limepeel, PC1005 for the sweater, Beige Sienna PC1080 for his sneakers and Lyra 93432 from their Skin Tone collection.





and then blended everything.





If you were to stop at this point you’d have a lovely picture.. but no depth.. Now the fun begins. I’ve now added another layer of color around the areas that will be darker and some Magenta to the tops of the stripes on his sweater.







and then blended them to remove any indication of pencil lines… then a sip of wine.









Now I’ve added a darker green (Moss Green PC1097) to some areas of the sweater on the left side, added deeper shades of orange and Carmine Red PC926 to areas of the pumpkins, and Denim Blue PC1101 to edges of the jeans.







I’ve added some blush to his cheeks and blended everything.






Did some more blending on his face after loading a bit more Peach PC939 on his cheeks.. and blended again.







This is just a lighter version of the photo above and also shows where I very lightly added some Chartreuse PC989 around the boy and pumpkins…







and then blended it moving away from the image.



The final image (better photo)

…here I’ve cropped the photo.





I have found that coloring with pencils can give me some of the best shading and highlighting. Even though I own about 300 Copic markers, I still elect to use this coloring technique for most of my coloring.





Some hints:

• Reserve a tortillon or blending stump for every color that you use.. one for light greens, one for dark greens, one for light skin tones, one for darker skin tones. It prevents bleeding of previous colors that might still be left on the stump. They are inexpensive and well worth having many on hand.

• Hold the blending tortillons on an angle – about 15 degrees or so when blending so you are using the side of the stump, not the point.

• Don’t over-sharpen pencils.. I prefer not to have a sharp point to lay color. The pencils have very soft lead and will tend to break if you over-sharpen.

• Don’t forget that ‘white’ is a color… and leaving some areas white or VERY light help to create depth in your work.

• Remember that there are many shades of a color that you can create…for example.. pumpkins range from medium/dark yellow shades to dark orange-red shades.. so use colors to lighten and darken your work. For example.. use some dark yellows in the pumpkin in the lighter areas… and lay bits of red for the darkest areas. Don’t forget to blend out the pencil lines.

I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial. For me, coloring is a fantastic stress reducer, a great focal point for your card-making projects and very satisfying when it comes out right!!

Once you try this method of coloring I would love to hear about the comments you get on your work, so please drop me a line. If you need more information just let me know.

Enjoy your day…. make sure to have a few laughs along the way, and be safe in all you do.