Friday, October 31, 2014

Frankenstein

Happy Halloween!!!

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays.  I love seeing all the kids dressed up in costumes.   It is just a stress-free night of celebration.   A student asked to make this Frankenstein card.  With a little help from Connor we were able to put this together.

There a lot of little details that I like about this card.  We cut the card base down a little to allow for the hair to hang off the edges.  I think it added a little more realism to the card.  We sponged around the edges to nose, eyes and face to add depth.  My absolute favorite was adding white gel pen to his eyes.  It just gave him life.

I hope you had a spooky day!



No copics!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Fragrant Garden

Happy Throw-back Thursday,

Hello all,  We made this card way back in April as part of the Card Lover's class.  It has one of my favorites from the Spring.  We used chalk to create a "sunset" pattern on the back panel.  Then used a die to cut a flower.  This allows the black paper to show through.   It is such a simple technique that creates beautiful look.



No Copics Today!

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Going Nuts

Hello Friends,

This little squirrel is a problem solver.   He stacked up the acorns in order to share his beautiful flower with the raccoon that stole his heart.  It is NUTS, I know!   Okay...enough non-sense.  Here is the card.

This card is a little harder to make than it appears at first.  First I colored the acorns,  and critters.  Then I cut them out.  I had a die for the squirrel, so I used it.  Now that I see the card all finished, I think I should of fussy cut the squirrel too to get rid of the white border.

I also used a black pen to extend the tree to the top of the card.  The stamp wasn't big enough to stretch the length of the card.



  copics used:
Acorn: E11,E13, E15, E17, E19, E27, 100
Squirrel: C7, C5, C3, C1, R11
Raccoon: W9, W7, W5, W3, R11 white gel pen for eyes
Tree: E31, E33, E35
Leaves: G43, G46
heart R24, R29

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Penguin Helpers

Hello Stampers,


This week of marathon cards continues....  this card is a little outside of my normal.  I'm not big on bold backgrounds on cards.  I like the all the focus to be on the main image.   I love all the blues on this card and I guess it all works together.  

This card was a little tricky too.  I noticed the penguins were missing bellies.  Hopefully you can't tell from the photo, but I drew in the lines to make bellies on the penguins.  The artists just left them plain. The biologist in me...just couldn't let it go...so out came my black multi-liner.  I hope you like their white bellies.





Penguin: T9, T7, T5, T3, T1, 0, R20
Snowman: B000, B00
Dark Blue: B32, B34, B37, B39
light Blue: B91, B93,
Orange: Y17, YR12, YR14
Gray: C3, C1
Snowman hat: W7, W5, W3

I finished the card off with drops of perfect pearl for snowflakes.  Glitter would also be very pretty.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Fa-BOO-Lous

Happy Monday!

Our neighborhood was full of Halloween activities today.  We took the dogs for a walk and we could see little kids running around in costumes in the park. They were adorable.  They had a great day for celebrations.

Connor and I spent most of Saturday raking leaves.  Oh my...was there a lot of leaves.  I don't know where they all came from.  Our trees still is full of leaves.  Do they multiply as they fall to the ground?   I'm not a huge fan of yard work but our dogs make this job enjoyable.  They run and chase each other, wrestle, burry themselves, and repeat for hours.  Their antics are hilarious....and make the time go by faster.



This photo is just silly.  Not sure what is going on here.




I have a short video for you today.  I wanted to show you these new paper sequins.  They are not as nice as real sequins, but they can be made to match the color of the card.   That is a huge positive. What do you think?




Here is the video:  Remember if you are watching this in email, the video will not play.  You need to go to the blog or you tube to watch.




Copic used:
Purple: BV000, BV00, BV01, BV02, BV04, BV08
Ghost: C3, C1, 0, R11
Ground: W3, W1, 0
Pumpkin: YR16, YR14, YR12, E74, G46, G43
Star: Y00, Y17

I sprayed this paper sequin with a little glitter.  I hoped it would add some shine.  It added a little, but not enough to justify the drying time.



Saturday, October 25, 2014

Gently Falling Leaves

Happy Fall ya'll,

Each month, I try to make one elegant card that fits the theme of the month.  I created this card by mixing textures.  


Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Laughing Nuts

Hello all,

The count down has begun.  In seven days, Connor and I leave on our trip.  Don't worry, we won't miss a beat here at Purple Lake Stamps.  I have been working overtime to make sure everything goes smoothly while I'm away.

Today's card has an error on it.  I didn't even notice the mistake until a student pointed it out in class. Read the sentiment on the card and see if you catch it.   I had to call the company and they are sending me a new stamp.   I'm not sure how to fix the error on this card.  Any ideas?




Copics used:
Purple: V12, V15, V17
Dark Blue: B32, B34, B37, B39
Pink: R81, R83, R85, R89
Gray pants: C5, C3, C1, 
"White" Shirt: C2, C1, 0
Yellow: Y11, Y13
Blonde Hair: Y21, E31, E33- brown multi-liner
Brown Hair: E21, E23, E25, E27
Skin: E000, E00, E11, E13, R20
Ground: BV20, BV23, BV25




Monday, October 20, 2014

Harvest Tilda

Happy Monday,

I'm looking forward to seeing my Monday crew today.  They have been working very hard learning copic skills this last few weeks.  I'm bringing some more challenges for them this week!

This card has been on my "to make" list for years.  I have colored this Tilda before,  but I used blacks and oranges to make her look like a witch.  This time I wanted to pick blues that really complimented the oranges to get a really warm fall or Thanksgiving card.   What do you think?






Copics:

Blue: B91, B93, B95, B97
Orange: YR12, YR14, YR15, YR18-- W3
Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20
Stem and leaves: E77, G40, G43, G46
Grays: W3, W1, W0, 0
Hat and shoes: E21, E23, E25, E27--W3
Hair: Y21, E35, E39

I put a little glitter on the small pumpkins

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Falling for You

Hello,

This card was inspired by the view outside from my stamping table.  We have a huge maple tree in our backyard.  The leaves have been slowly turning all month.  They seemed determined to hang on.  Most of the other trees on our street have given up and surrendered to winter.  I admire the determination of the maple tree.  I wish we could hang on to summer for little longer.



Friday, October 17, 2014

Simple Thanks

Happy Friday all,

I needed a really quick and simple Thank you card.  I try to have a bunch of these made up to so I can just grab them when I need them.  

I hope you all have a great weekend.  Connor and I are still scrambling to get ready for our trip.  We have hotels and most of our activities booked.  It is time to start thinking about packing.   It is starting to feel real!



Wednesday, October 15, 2014

MUMMY


Hello all, 

I have another card favorite to share with you.  I love this Mummy card.  It is fairly simple to make, but there are a few tricks that can make it even easier.  The first thing you have to accept is that every card is going to be unique.  Check out the four I made below. They are all a little different.


 Here are some close ups of the individual cards.


inside of card

I made a quick video showing how I made one of the Mummy cards.  Thanks for your patience as I learn to make this videos.  As a reminder, if you are reading this in your email it will not play.  Please go to the blog or you tube to see the movie.




 Happy Halloween!


Monday, October 13, 2014

Ugly Sweater Season is Coming!

Happy Monday,

Have you ever heard of an Ugly Sweater Christmas Party?  They are becoming more and more popular.  Connor and I were invited to our first one a few years ago.  We had a great time. We just received an invitation to go to one this year ( I can't believe the Christmas madness is already starting!).  

Some people buy ugly sweaters at Goodwill or other second-hand stores.  You can also make your own. We just received an invitation to go to one this year ( I can't believe it!).  Below are some pictures from a past party.   Our outfits were ugly, but our friends take the cake!  How embarrassing, they showed up to the party wearing the same sweater!  Connor and I are going to have to work a little harder this year if we are going to keep up with them.



I love that stamps are keeping up with Popular Culture.  They released this stamp set to help us celebrate Ugly Sweater Christmas Season!

It was harder than I thought to make her sweater Ugly.  I still wanted to incorporate red and green, but needed something that clashes with those colors.  The color combo I settled on is one that I use to create "gold".  I just added more Y26 than I normally would.   Play with it until you find something that works for you.




Copics used:
Red: R14, R24, R29, R39
Green: G20, G21, G24, G28
Yellow: Y00, Y17, Y26--Yuck!!
Black: N9, N7, N5,
Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20
Purple: BV04, BV02, BV00, BV000
Shadows: N3, N1, 0
I used an exact-knife to cut a little slit by her arm.  You can slip the sentiment in this slot.  I love the look of it.  I can't wait to try this technique on a few other cards!

What Does the Fox Say?

Hello all,

My Mom celebrated a birthday a little while ago.  I wanted to make her a special card.  At Christmas last year, my cousins and I exposed my Mom to the song "What does the Fox Say?".   As you probably know the song is completely ridiculous and also a huge hit.  When my mom hears the song, she laughs.  I couldn't be there on her birthday.. but I thought I could at least share a laugh with her.

Hopefully, this will add a smile to your day!




inside of the card

Copics used:
Fox: E07, E09, E19, E79
Gray: W3, W1, 0
Green: G12, G16