Monday, December 30, 2013

Sandy Snowman in Winter

Hello friends,

I learned a really cool trick this month.  Snowman stamps have been limited.  Snowman are white and the paper is white....therefore stamps usually consist of outlines to create the snowman shape.  Recently, Stampin Up created a semi-solid image of a snowman.  It picks up the colored ink.  How cool?  This adds a whole new dimension to snowman.    At first my mind jumped to inking up the snowman in white and stamping it on Navy blue card stock.   I almost went that route, but was inspired to try something new.    A fellow stamper suggested to ink the snowman up in Sahara Sand ink ( light brown).  Then stamp it on scrap paper, then on white card stock.  This creates a soft brown.  I love the look it gave this card.

The cut the dove tails with my scissors out of the patterned paper.   Another fast, cute card for the holidays.




Copics:  None used.  Surprising I know!!

Friday, December 27, 2013

Snowflake Holiday Blessings

Hello friends,

 I hope you are recovering from your family celebrations.  Connor and I had a great visit with my family.  It was great to see everyone.  I feel so blessed that my Aunts and Uncles and cousins come from all over to meet at my Grandma's house every year.  Sadly it is often the only time we see each other, but we make the most of it.   This year we played lot of games, ranging from cards (Nertz) to Catch Phrase to  Movie Trivia games.   We created a lot of great memories to last us until next year.
Connor and I arrived safely at his parents house today.  It will be nice to spend a few days with his parents before returning to the quiet of Corning.   I can't wait to catch up with all of you to see how you sent your holiday.

Today's card is another quick one.  We all needed a some quick cards this month, and these snowflakes were perfect to create an elegant looking card.    Snowflakes are so beautiful!


Copics:  None used for this card.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

He is Here! Santa is Here!

Merry Christmas all!

I hope you are enjoying time with your families and eating lots of sweets.  I'm going to have to put in a few extra zumba hours next week to make up for all of the Christmas Cookies!!    

Merry Christmas Friends!!   I hope your day is filled with Joy!
Chris O'Malley





Copic used:
Skin: E000, E00, E01, E02, E11, E13, R11, R00
Beard: W3, W1, W0
Red: R24, R29, R39
Glasses: Green Glitter pen.  You can use G24, G28 and it would be similar.
Eyes: E31

I finished this off by putting glitter on the brim of his hat and the ball on his hat.  LOVE they way it sparkles!!

Merry Christmas!!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Sweet Holiday Wishes

Hello All,


 I'm so happy to share today's card with you.  It has been on my "To Make List" for a long long time.   The gingerbread house is an ancient Stampin Up stamp set.   I think I have had it for almost 13 years.  It was current back in 2000.  Magnolia released "Tilda Gingerbread" several years ago and I immediately thought of pairing them together.   However,  as I'm sure you can relate.... life gets busy.   I love when ideas get out of my head and come to life.

 This card is a little tricky because Tilda is actually taller than the Gingerbread house.   To create the illusion that she is standing in front of the house, I masked Tilda then stamped the house behind her.  

 Little Details:  I used a Stardust glitter pen to add some sparkle to the gumdrops.  I tried to mimic the sugar the covers them.   On the snow that covers the roof and chimney, I added white flock.  It is a lot of fun to touch, but doesn't show up very well in any of the photos.

 Copics for the house: (Tilda colors are below)

House: E31, E33, E35, E37
Roof: E47, E49
Red: R24, R29
Pink: RV10, RV11, RV13
Yellow: Y11, Y13, Y15
Green: YG11, YG13, YG17
Dark Green: G43, G46
Purple: BV11, BV13
Ground: W3, W1, W0

Tilda:
Basket: E30, E31, E33
cookies: random browns
Shoes: W2, W4, W5, W6, W8(small highlights)
Shirt: W3, W1, W0, 0
Skin: E000, E00, E11, E13  white gel pen on cheeks
Hair: Y21, E50, E51, E31
Brown: E47, E49, E59  I needed to do a lot of little adjustments with this.  Added color slowly, you can always add more, but you can't take it off.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Beary Nice Tree

Hello Friends,

Only two more days left to Christmas.   However, the weather has been more like summer.  We have had a break in the weather.  All the snow has melted and turned to mud.  Perfect weather to take the dogs for a walk!!   We happened upon upon Connor's elementary school.   They had a great time playing on the slide!   Not your typical Christmas activities, but enjoying ourselves nonetheless.   Check out the card below... the last of the Bears for a while.  I love this series of stamps.  This one might be my favorite!



To help us get back into the Christmas Spirit.  I stamped the flourish in Garden Green ink on Garden Green paper.  The bear stamp is from Lili of the Valley.  His name is James.   He is so so cute!!


Copic Used:
Brown: E30, E31, E33, E35, E37
Red: R24, R27, R39
Gold: Y00, Y17, Y26
Green: G43, G46 accented with G82, G84, G99 (maybe a few others)
Ground: any shade you want your carpet to be

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Baby, It is cold outside

This is the second card in a series of three.  This cute little girl makes a second appearance with her friend the snowman today.   I stamped the inside with the sentiment "Friendship Never Melts Away".  

I used another Impression Obsession stamp to create the background. I love these stamps!!  I used punches/dies to create snowflake and button.




Copics used:

Blue: B12, B14, B16
Red: R24, R29
Purple: BV11, BV13
Grey: W1, W3
Grey: C1, C3
Skin: E000, E00, E11, E13

Monday, December 16, 2013

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Happy Monday,

 Today is the last Senior Center class of 2013.  I can't believe that I have been teaching there every Monday for 2 years!  I'm so glad to have these wonderful ladies in my life.  I'm looking forward to stamping with you in 2014!

Check out this cute little Hedgehog...





Copics used:

Skin: E000, E00, E11
Grey: T5, T7, T9
Wood: E71, E74
Red: R17, R24, R29, R39
Sky: B00, 0
Ground: W3, W1
Green: G43, G36

I finished it off with Glitter.  I also used T9 to color over the Ho Ho Ho stamp.  I wanted it to be the same color as the hedgehog.  It is a subtle little detail, most will never notice.

I used multi-liner to faux stitch around the edge of the white.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

O' Christmas Tree

Hello Friends,

Connor and I finished putting up our tree.  I found this idea for a tree-mobile on Pinterest. We made it by hanging 105 Christmas ornaments from fishing line.   It was fairly easy to do, it just took a little time.  Hopefully we will be able to take it down in January and use it again next year.


Inspired by all the decorating, I made these tree cards. I love the clean and simple style.  I made one with traditional colors and the other with shades of neon paper.   Which one do you like better?



Okay, put your sunglasses on.. time for BRIGHT take on a Christmas Card!!


Copics: NONE!

All I want for Christmas is YOU

HO! HO! HO!  I hope you are enjoying your Saturday.   I love this Santa Stamp from Stampin Up.  It is only here for a short period of time.  I'll miss him when he returns to the North Pole.  He is so cute!    This card is part of the Card Lover's Class in December.   If you are interested in attending, send me a note. I'll get you the info.



Copics:  None.  I know...shocking... but no coloring!!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Gentle Season Filled with Happiness

Dear friends,

It has been awhile since I've used my House Mouse stamps.  There are so many cute Christmas images, I can't pass up the opportunity to use them.    I picked this one, because I was inspired by a fellow stamper.   She did a amazing job of shading green and red together. I had never tried this before and wanted to give it a shot.





Copics used:

Red: R02, R05, R14, R17, R24, R29, R39
Green: YG61, YG63, YG67
Sky: B00, B000
Skin of Mice: E50, E51, E93
Fur of mouse 1: E21, E23, E25
Fur of mouse 2: E53, E35, E57
Flame: YR12, Y13, Y11

Please keep in mind that the blending red and green is difficult.  You can do it, just take your time. It is good to challenge yourself.  It is how we grow as artists.

If you are just getting started and this looks too intimidating. You can also simplify your reds to make this a little easier.   Try R17, R24, R29 or R24, R27, R29.  You could also make some leaves totally green and others red.

Happy Coloring,
Chris

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Walking the Dog

Hello Stampers,

BRRRrrr.... It is cold out there.  I'm a dog person, so this image captured my heart right away.   The last thing I want to do is walk our pups in this weather.   Stay Warm Friends!!!

I stamped the background with a snowflake background stamp from Impression Obsession.  I love the soft look that it creates.





Copics used:

Pink: R00, R01, R02
Ivory: E50, E51, E53
Dog: E30, E31, E33
Skin: E000, E00, E11

I finished the card off with some glitter.   If you are in my card club, I a few pieces of paper a little bigger than they needed to be this time around.  This allows you to create the illusion that the girl is walking off the matte.  Just be aware you might need to trim the grey paper a little.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Traditional Polka Dots

It has been awhile since I made a traditional Christmas card.  I'm really embracing the non-traditional this year.   Today, I put away the pinks, blues and purples and grabbed RED.   I love this cutie.   

I have been playing around with texture.  I have found that I love Polka Dots.  Okay...so the art term is pointillism.  Who cares...they are a bunch of dots and I LOVE THEM.   It is such an easy, subtle technique that creates interest.  Check out all my dots!!






Copics used:
Red: R24, R29, R39, R59
White on coat: C1, C3, C4
Orange: Y12, Y16
Skin: E000, E00, E11, E13
Black: N3, N5, N7, N9-  Warm Greys or Tonal Greys would also work
Green: G43, G46, G85
Bag: E41, E42, E43, E44
Ground: W0, W1, W3, 
Hair: Y23, YR14, E39, E29, E33, E49-- this is a complicated blend.
 You can do an easier blend of  Y23, E31, E33, E35  or leave out Y23 for an even easier blend.



Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Getting into the Swing of Winter

Dear Stampers,

To help you get over Hump Day this week, I thought we could go for a swing!   I love this swing style of card.  I can't wait to make a bunch more of these...

This card look really complicated to make, but they are really simple.  The background is stamped with a snowflake background (my new favorite background stamp).  I love the soft look.  I used dies to cut the circle and scalloped circles.  I also used a die to cut the card base.  If you would like to know more about this die send me a note.   The snowflake is a punch from EK.





this is what the card looks like open

Just to give you an idea of the movement this card makes
Copics:

Pink: R20, R21, R22
Snow: B00
Bird: B01, B02, B26
Skin: E00, E000, E11
Wood: E71, E74, E77

I added glitter to the snow.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Deer Winter

Hello friends,

I can't believe that it is December 3rd already!  Christmas is going to be here before I know it.  In all the craziness of the season, I thought we could use a peaceful moment.  This winter scene is so peaceful and calm.






Copics used:

Deer: E30, E31, E33, E35, E37, E39  I added W1 and W3 for shadows
Trees: E40, E41, E43, E44
Grass: E13, E15
Snow: B00, B01
Sky: B000, B21, B41, B45--I didn't airbrush, I colored by hand. I thought creating a mask for this would have been a nightmare.
Sun: Y13, Y15, Y17, Y19

I finished it off with some glitter and ribbon.  I cut a small piece of ribbon and tied a double knot on top of the original knot to give a bit more interest.