You're In My Thoughts

Happy Monday Friends,

I have a favorite to share with you today.  I really enjoyed making this card.  I'm not a huge fairy person, but the sweetness of some of these images just captures my heart.   What do you think?


I stamped the background with versamark to create a soft background.  It just adds a little texture and interest without distracting from the main image.

 I drew in the ground and flowers that are at her feet.  You can do it!  Use tiny flicks for the grass.   It is just a series of dots for the flowers.

 Don't be afraid to experiment with contrast and leave the edge of her dress white.

 I colored the flower twice.  I cut one out and used a pop dot to raise it up.

Copics used:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, R20
Pink: R20, R22, R35- I didn't get the contrast I was hoping for.. but I still liked the end result
Yellow: Y00, Y11, Y15, Y17
Hair: E99, YR24, E53, Y21,
Wings: B000, B00, B02- covered them in glitter
Red: R24, R29, R39
Dark Yellow: Y15, Y35, couple spots of brown E33
Grey: C3, C1,
Green: G46, G43, G40
Flowers: BV13, BV04 and RV13, R85

Bunnies, Bears and Puppies... Oh MY!

Hello all,

First I'd like to apologize. I have been busier than normal the last few weeks.  I took on a few projects that took a little longer than I had planned.  I'm glad to say that I've successfully completed them and I'm so excited to get back to my normal schedule.    This week to make up for my absence,we will have a whole week of posts!  I hope you have some time over this holiday week to color!

Today's card is part of the Card Lovers series this month.  I love this little cutie in the tea pot.  What is kind of animal do you think he is?  There was a little debate in classes this month.  Some thought he was a bunny, others thought he looked like a bear.   The company says he is a little puppy.  No matter....he is cute!

Copics used:

Tea Pot:  BV20, Bv23, BV25  and BV29 for edging
Green: G43, G46
Blue: B000, B00, B02, B05
Yellow: Y13, Y35
Puppy?: T5, T3, T2, T1, T0, R11
Grounding: BV31, BV34

I put a little glitter on the flower.

A little Bit of Fairy Dust

Hello all,

I finally finished the video!!!  I'm slowly learning how to navigate the software.   It is a process...and I'm sure I'll master it at some point.   I hope to start making tutorials on a regular basis.  It is still a long process.  It took me 30 minutes to color the image and 13 hours to produce the video.  At the moment, it just isn't practical to do this for every card....yet!

Enough of logistics....on to the fun stuff.  Recently, I was asked to make some cards that would put a smile on your face.  This could go in lots of different directions...and of course is different for everyone.   I stumbled across this image of Fairy making some fairy dust.  It was so unique... I had to give her a try.

She has been making people laugh ever since.   If this is not your type of humor... just leave the "puff" off the card.  It looks like the fairy is tasting the icing on the cake.

Here is the video that I made of coloring.  Remember is you are looking at this post via email then the video won't work.  You need to visit the blog to play the video. 

Copics used:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, R20

Hair: E99, YR24, Y21, E50

Green: YG03, YG06, YG09

Blue: B91, B95

Yellow: Y11, Y15

I added some lines in her eyes with B97.

Lost but Not Forgotten

Hello all,

Sorry for the lack of posts.  I haven't forgotten you.  I'm trying to make a video of the fairy card.   I spent 3 hours tonight fighting with my computer.  Sadly, I've made little progress. It is clear...that I'm more talented with copics than computers.  GRRRrrrr...  I hope to have it posted for you tomorrow.   If not, I'll post another card for you enjoyment.

Meanwhile... my puppy says hello.   She has collected all the bones in the house... made herself comfortable and is keeping me company.

Shades of Awesome

Hello stamping friends,

I love the skirt this little girl is wearing.  She looks so comfortable.

Copics used:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, E04, R20  or you can use an easier version E000, E00, E11
Hair: E42, E44, E47, E49
Red: R14, R24
Pink:RV11, RV13, RV14
Orange: YR02, YR012, YR04
Yellow: Y11, Y13, Y15
Green: YG03, YG06, YG09
Blue: BG11, BG13, BG15
Purple: BV00, BV02, BV04

Shirt: W2, W1, 0
Hat: E51, E53, E55, E57
Ground: N3, N1, N0, 0
I drew the pleats in the skit.  You can do the same or just leave it as the artist drew it.  I it will look great either way.

Aloha

Aloha Stampers,

I hope you are enjoying the sunshine.  I love summer!  I love wearing flip-flops, the smell of BBQ, long days and days on the lake.  This image from Mo Manning is perfect for a summer card.

I used my copics to color the small gems on the side of the photos.  It added just a touch of blue to the card. I like that it almost looks like water droplets.

Copics used:

Yellow: Y11, Y13, Y17
Green: G46
Pink: R20, R22, R32
Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04, R20-- if you want to do easy skin use E000, E00, E11
Hair: B41, T5, T7, T9
Pineapple: Y11, Y13, E31, E33, G40, G43, G46
Sands: various browns.

Birthday Mice

Hello friends,

I have a fun new image from House Mouse.  Love these little cuties.  It looks like Mama mouse is hosting a party for the little baby mice.  

As a side note,  you will notice I've added a watermark to the photos in this post.  Sadly, in the stamping world there have been some thieves stealing artwork from people/companies and submitting it as their own.   It has become a heated topic in the stamping community.   The stamp companies have asked all artists to start watermarking our work to help detour the thieves.   It is sad that it is even a problem.    I'll try to put the watermark in different spot on each photo, so as not to obstruct the coloring. 

Coloring these mice can be really challenging.  I start with my lightest colors and work towards my darker shades  I color this skin on this mouse first.  Don't forget the parts where the fur is thin and the skin will show through, like the belly.   Then I added E21.  I started at the edges of the mouse and worked my way towards the middle.  Blend together with skin areas.  With E23, I start giving the mouse shape.  Start adding shadows to areas that will be darker.  Like edges of arms and belly.  Again start at the edges of the mice and work your way in.  Repeat with E25.  When finished you should be able to see at least 3 different colors of fur.  E21 in spaces that are thinly covered with fur.  E25 in the areas covered thickly with fur.  E23 should be in the spaces between. 

I hope this helps!!

I made my own decorative paper for the bottom of the card.  I stamped stripes then stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment between the lines.

Copics used:
Skin for all mice: E00, E000, E93 (E11 will work too), R11 for cheeks
Mama Mouse: E21, E23, E25
Grey Mice: W1, W3, W5
Brown mouse: E31, E33, E35
Ice cream: R20, R22, R32, R35--just a tiny little bit  If you want an easier combo try R20, R21, R22
cone: Y21, Y23, YR23, E30, E31, W2--for shadows
Candles: BG10, BG13, BG15
Blue hats: B21, B24, B28
Ground: BV31, BV34
Flame: Y13, YR12--I drew this in.

Bright Daisies

Happy Friday,

Here is to a BRIGHT weekend!  

Copics used:

Yellow Flowers:  Y00, Y11, Y15, YR02, YR12 (very little)
I used the same colors on each flower but in different amounts.
Red Flowers: R05, R14, R24, R29
Center of Flowers and Stems: YG00, YG03, YG61, YG67 (very little).  small dots of E31 to add some texture

Double Trouble

Happy Hump Day!

 We are making some progress around out house this week.  We used to have a pond in our backyard,  it sounds really nice but it just bread mosquitos and it took a lot of work to maintain. Last summer, we decided to tear it out.   Connor and I were able to dismantle all the pond parts and dig up the tarp that kept the water from seeping into the ground.  It left a deep hole in our backyard. The hole sat all last summer...winter...spring.... We were not excited about the work required to fill it in.  We broke down and ended up paying two eager, strong men to fill in the pond and garden in our backyard.  As of today, it is mostly full!!   We will need to get some top soil to level it off... but there is no longer a huge hole in our yard!   I love progress!

Speaking of progress.... I feel like I'm making some of my own.  I'm always trying to push myself to be a better artist.  I read, practice, read some more... practice... well you get the idea.  It never ends.  I'm always inspired by other artists and it pushes me to keep growing.  I saw this idea to use this fairy image, but crop her off the side of the card.  I thought it was adorable.  I had to try it.  I made two versions of it.


The pink is the easier version, the purple is more complex copic combos.  Which one do you like better?

Copic colors for Pink

Pink: R20, R22, R32, R35
Skin: E000, E00, E11
Bag: E40, E42, E43, E44
Eyes: B04, B02
Hair: E40, E42, E43, E44, E47
Shadows on white: W1, W3
Glitter on the Wings

Colors for Purple:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, E04, R20
Bag: E40, E42, E43, E44
Purple: BV08, BV04, BV02, BV00
Hair: E40, E42, E43, E44, E47
Eyes: G24, G28
Shadows on white: W1, W3
Glitter on the Wings
 

Zoomin'

Hello friends!

Today's card was requested by a friend.  She needed a card for her son for his birthday.  He likes motorcycles.   She asked me if I had any motorcycle stamps.   I had precisely one.   I asked her if she minded if Snoopy was riding it!


There are two versions of this card.   I personally like the versions with the blue sky, but it was extremely difficult to sponge around all the details in the image.   I accidentally got a little blue sky on Snoopy and Woodstock in the process of sponging.  I tried to cover it up by adding some extra shadows.   I think I hid my mistake well.

 Copic used:

Red: R05, R08, R29
Yellow: Y13, Y15
Orange: YR02---used as bridge to blend colors.
Grey: W4, W6, W8
Tires: C2
Shadows on Snoopy: C1, C3

If you like you can sponge the sky blue... just take your time around the details.  I just used a cloud die cut to create the shapes.   I thought the bright white clouds were too much...to soften I lightly sponged with the blue.

If you know how to add clouds with copics, you could also try this...but the green ink is not copic safe. It could also blend with the colors on the bike.   So I didn't want to take the chance of ruining the card.