Jelly Out of Your Donut

Hello friends, 

We all have bad days.  I love making cards that encourage and lift other up.  This sentiment made me laugh.  I hope it does the same to whomever gets this cards.  I made a batch of these to put out of my craft table.  Hopefully  everyone likes them.  

Copics used: 

Donut : E30

Frostine: RV04, RV02, RV00- glitter

Little Piggy

Hey there friends, 

Check out this guy.  How adorable is this pig?!  I know sunflowers are sometimes considered a fall flower, but I couldn't wait to get inky with this stencil set.  It is by a company call Miss Ink.  It is a really small company.  It will not be my last purchase.  I love all the detail they fit into the stencil set.     Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you have a great day! 

No copics today

Tie Dye Embossed Amsomeness

Hello, 

I hope you are feeling Groovy today because we are going to make a faux tie dye background.   This was really easy to create.  We used our distress inks to create a rainbow.   I knew that I wanted to use this 3D embossing folder.  it had a mosaic pattern.  It is not centered.  The focal point is centered in the middle top third of the card.  When I did my sponging I kept this in mind.  I started my red where I thought the center would fall and had the color radiate out from that point.  I purposely didn't try to make the pattern perfect.  I didn't mind the unevenness .   Once the pattern was full of color, I ran it through the 3D embossing folder.  I wish the camera could pick up the texture on the camera.  It is really impressive.  To finish it off, I added black diamond dots to some of the arches on in the pattern.  I did my best to keep it fun and simple.  What do you think?  I hope you give it a try!

No copics

It Sherbert Day

Hello all, 

I hope you all are enjoying your summer.  I can't believe how fast it is going.  July was a crazy busy month.  I hoped to catch up on a lot of projects.  I had a ton of fun, but my "to do" didn't see me much.  Oh well.  I guess I get another chance at it in August.    It is more important to focus on the now, right?! 

Fran ( a student) requested these.  She always sends her granddaughter ice cream cards to with money for ice cream in them each summer.  What a fun tradition.  It was a great excuse to ink up these stamp from Trinity stamps.  It was perfect timing because Taylored expressions just released a cone embossing folder.  I sponged a little brown ink on toffee paper. It looks just like an ice cream cone.  I almost took a bite to make sure it wasn't real.   I couldn't decide what sentiment I liked better.  What do you think? 

Copics used:

Brown (hat and spoon): E30, E31, E33, E35

Red: R37, R35, R32

Pink: R83, R81

Orange: YR07, YR04, YR02

Yellow: Y11, Y13, Y15

Green: G00, G02

Blue, B00, B01

Violet: V12, V15

Dark Brown shoes: E35, E37

Skin: E00, E000

 

Postage Collage- Stencil Version

Hey Hey!

About a year ago I created this card.   It is a year later and I'm still in love with the postage stamp concept. I'm so glad they released a stencil set.  I love the end result.  I can't wait to create more of both of these cards.  Do you have favorite style?

No copics today

Family Christmas Tree

Hello,  

Mama elephant has a series of Christmas tree stamps.  They have puppies, kitties and penguins all arranged into a tree for the season.  I must be a sucker, because I had to have them all.  This one might be my favorite.  It sort of feels like a family tree.  It has the whole bunch in there.  There are all 9 reindeer, elves, and Mrs. Clause and snowman (Frosty maybe?).     I'll add a sentiment before I send it.  I couldn't decide between O'Christmas Tree or Merry Christmas.  Which would you use? 

Copics used

Red: R39, R37, R35

Green; G46, G43, G40

Grey:C5, C3, C1

Background: W5

Black: W7, W9

Brown 1: E30, E31, E33

Brown 2: E35, E37, E39

Brown 3: E50, E51, E53

antlers: E40

Yellow: Y15, Y17

white gel pen

black glaze pen

 

Cardinal with Bow

Using one of my favorite techniques again... .  I rubbed white ink across an embossing folder.  It covers it with a light frosting of ink.  It kind of looks like snow.   The little cardinal is from My Favorite Things.  He has a little buddy that I put on another card that I put on a card that I will share tomorrow. 

No copics today

Noel

 Hey friends, 

Stencils have changed card making.  No doubt about it.  This is a new combination for me.  This is a set from Taylored Expressions.  You do all the stenciling first.  Then the last stencil you use a gel that when dry sticks to foil.  It adds just the right amount of shine to the card.  I love finished look!   The veins were added to the leaves with little stamps. TE thinks of everything.  I'm going to make more of these for sure!!

No copics today

Embossed White Flowers

Hello friends, 

This might be my new favorite technique.  Okay it is old, but with the new 3D embossing folders it is new.  They add a ton more interest to this look than the old 2D folders.   It is super simple to do.  You first emboss a piece of card stock.  Then LIGHTLY drag a white (or whatever color you like) stamp pad over your embossing.  Just the highest raised levels will pick up the color just giving it a whole new look.  

I finished this card off with a splash of florals.  

 

no copics today

First Rodeo

Hello friends, 

I got an odd one for you.  A student of mine requested this card.  I admit I scratched my head a bit, but then it all came together.   She was going to a Rodeo themed baby shower.  She wanted t make a Rodeo themed Baby card.  At first, I was at a total loss.  Then I remembered this stamp from Trinity stamps.  Yep... somehow it was so cute that it made it's way into my stash.  I paired it with an old Yeehaw stamp from Stampin Up and the Bandana stamp from Unity stamps.  

copics used:

Pink: RV10, RV11, RV13, RV14, RV17, RV19

Brown: E44, E43, E42, E41

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E13

White: C3, C1

Tan: E50, E51, E53, E55, E57

Yellow: Y15, 

stardust glitter

Retro Christmas

Hello!

I'm continuing on with my Christmas in July catch up party.  This card breaks from the traditional a bit.  I used some neon ink colors to create the ornaments on the tree. I think it gives the card a more retro look.  I also used yellow greens for the tree rather than the traditional earthy greens.  I finished the card off with lots of sparkle the star and with glitter stars on the tree.  I think will make more of these before Christmas. What do you think of the nontraditional take on the tree?

no copics today

A Very Merry Christmas

Hello again, 

Here is the second little cardinal from the My favorite Things die set.  They are so cute!     I used sentiments from a bunch of different stamp companies to build this sentiment on the card.  White space used to scare me, but I've grown more comfortable with it over time.  I hope you enjoy this set of cards.  

No copics today

JAWS- A celebration

Hello, 

I couldn't resist jumping in on all the celebration of JAWS.   Honestly, I've never seen the movie.  I love the water and I want to keep it that way.    I prefer to keep my sharks on cards and in scrapbooks!

We created this bubbly background with the new stencil by Spellbinders.  I love it.  I think it might be one of my "go to" stencils when I'm working on water scenes.   I used a few colors (blueprint sketch, mermaid lagoon and salty ocean) of distress inks to add layers.  I splattered with some black ink to add a bit of texture then added the sharks.    So far one of my favorite summer cards!  Thank you to Speilberg for the inspiration. 

Copics used:

Greys: C5, C3, C1

W5 for in the mouths

Orange: YR07, YR04, YR02

Yellow: Y17, Y15, Y13-  covered tube with glossy accents

Sweatest Season

YAY! It is July.  I'm going to be celebrating to be celebrating Christmas all month long.  Hopefully catching up on all the unfinished cards from last year and getting a head start on the cards for this year.  It is really hard for me to work Christmas cards in the middle in the summer.  Summer is the awesome and the last thing I want to think about is snow.    However,   Christmas is the biggest card sending holiday sending of the year.   It is just too big to cram into the three week span the calendar gives us.    Hopefully this helps inspire you to dig out your stamps and take this journey with me.    Together we can chip away at our Christmas Card lists! 

I started off with one of my favorite fun folds.  I love this little flappy card! It is perfect for using smaller images. 

copic used

Skin: Eoo

Red: R29, R24

Black: W8, W6

Green G43, G40

cookies: E30, E31, E33, E35, E37

white: C3, C1, C0

I am Your Father

 Hey friends, 

I didn't get a chance to share this last year, but this is the card that we made for Connor for Father's day last year.   He is a huge Star Wars fan so he got a kick out of it.   Darth Vader was hard to color.  Black things are always hard to not make them look like a black blob.. but I think he turned out okay in the end. 

Copics used:

Black: W10, W8, W6, W4, W2

White: E50, E51, E52, E55, E57

Skin: E000, E00, E11

Hair: E31, E33, E51

White Gel Pen

Cherry on Top

Greetings!  

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?  What a hard question.  It is all so good.  We have a local ice cream shop here that makes homemade cake batter ice cream and that might have to take the win.   

In this case I let the decorative paper pick the colors.  Since white ice cream isn't all that fun to stamp... I went with pink (cherry or strawberry).   For the most part this is a monochromatic card.  It is all in the pink/red family.  It was fun to create.  The stamp set made the stamping really easy.  The class is supposed to be layered stamping.  I wasn't able to get that to work.  However, I think it looks fine with just one layer.   I hope some of this sweet treat finds it way to you really soon.  It is (almost) summer after all!  

Happy Stamping friends, 

Chris

No copics today

More than black and white

Hello, 

This adorable cat is from Unity stamps.  I'm a dog person, but this stole my heart right away. I couldn't help but love this guy instantly.   I thought his marking reminded me to a grey tabby cat So I thought I would try to make a black/white card with a pop of color.  Those are always a challenge for me.  How do you only do a pop.    I technically used two colors.  The touches of pink and the green in her eyes.  Did I fail? Anyway. I think it is cute.  I'll have to keep working on just a pop. 

Copics used:

grey: C5, C3, C1, C0

Pink: R20, R11

Green: YG13, YG11

Orange You Sweet

Orange you so sweet!  I love this fruity stencil set by Waffle flower .  It could be also be lime or lemon.  Am I forgetting any other citrus fruit?   Of course You're so sweet was meant for the Orange.   

 

No copics today

Not your friend

Hello all, 

I have a silly card for you all.    The dog is from Katzlekraft stamps.  It is a small French company.  They just announced they are closing.  Go grab him and several other adorable animals before they are no longer available.   They will be missed. Katzlekraft has such a unique style.  

Copics used:

"White" : E53, E51, E50

Brown: E44, E43, E42, 

Red: R35, R32

Green: G46, G43, 

Black glaze pen and white gel pen

Old Fashioned Hello

Hello, 

Just a quick card for you today.  I love this old fashioned phone from Stampin up.  We used to have one hanging on the wall at the cottage.  My sister and I used to play with a lot as a kid.  I wonder if my child would know how to use it to call someone if he had to use one.  It would be so much fun to see him try.  

I picked a bright color because I wanted the phone to be the focal point and star of the card since it was so simple.  I love how the phone cord spells out "hey" and offers a simple greeting for the front. 

no copics today

Dragonfly

Hello friends, 

This card has become infamous.  I had no idea when I brought it to class what it would become.   This is a die set from Spellbinders.  It cuts the wing segments into five segments for each wing.    It seems straightforward until you have several people cutting them from many different colors.  It is easy to mix the pieces.  It turns into an odd jigsaw puzzle.    We had fun with it.  It has become a long running joke in our class.   

I've since learned that you can also color the bands in.  It is way easer than die cutting them.  We might try this again next year, but do the coloring method again next time.  

No copics today

Sending a Smile Your Way

Hello,  

Just a quick card to share today.  I found this card sketch on pinterest.  It is such a simple sketch.  I love that it make the butterfly the focal point.  It was however really hard to find paper in my stash that worked for this technique.   Most of Stampin up paper is double sided.  I don't have much Stampin up designer paper. I'm sure you could use anything, but part of the magic is the monochromatic theme going on here. 

If you were to try this, what would you do?  I really want to explore this sketch more.  Help me brainstorm.  

No copics today

Cow's it going?

 Cow's it going? 

Tiny stamps are challenge to use.  They don't take up much real-estate on a card.  I've been on a lookout for card sketches that lend themselves to using smaller stamps effectively.   I found this sketch on pinterest.   I liked the small boxes for featuring these small cows.    I can't wait to try this sketch with some other small stamps, but I liked how it worked with these little guys!  I hope you find the sketch useful. 

Copics used:

Black: W9, W7

Skin: E000' E00, E11

Red: Red 37,R35, R32

white gel pen

Mine! Mine! Mine!

Did someone say cake? 

Seagulls (well at least cartoon ones) have such personality.   My favorite seagull is Scuttle from the Little Mermaid.  He gets everything wrong, but he is so lovable.   These guys are more of the Little Nemo variety where they are scavenging for food.  Mine! Mine! Mine!   

To make the sand I sponged kraft card stock with various shades of brown ink then used a stamp that was just a bunch of dots to stamps brown ink on top to add texture.  It worked really well.  I hope you feel inspired.  Have a Gull-Tastic Day!

No copics used

Pew, Pew, Pew

 This might be my favorite of the 3 cards in my Star Wars series.  Probably because it was the most unexpected.  I don't think much about the storm troopers.   It is the sentiment that makes it to amazing. The weapons they shoot make the "Pew" sound.   They never hit anything.  Do they ever do target practice?   Anyway... on the inside it says. "I'm always missing you".  I just think that is the sweetest thing!   I love it.  

I hope you enjoyed this series.  Thank you for the encouragement to do this series.  

Copics used:

White: C5, C3, C2, C1

Black: C6 C8, C10

Happy Star Wars Day

 Happy Star Wars Day! 

You could pick any character to wish May the 4th be with you... but I couldn't resist using YODA.  He is just so lovable!   Do you have a favorite Star Wars character?     This is Day 2 of 3 of Star Wars Series.  

Copics used

Green: YG45, YG41, R20

Brown: E13, E15, E17

The Resistance - Leia

 Hey friends, 

Last May the girls in class asked to make May the 4th (Star Wars Day) cards.  It has been on my list for a long time.  I appreciated the push to get these stamps out.      This is Day 1 of 3 of my card share. 

Copic used:

White: C3, C1

Skin: E000, E00

Hair: E47, E44, E43

Crazy Eight Stencil Class Akron 2025

 Hello friends. 

Thank you so much for joining me for class today.  It was pleasure to meet you.   I love these quad stencils.  I love that you are making a set of coordinating cards to help refill your card box or to give them as a gift.    You can buy the ones we used at Taylored Expressions.  I would appreciate it,  if you told them I sent you.  Just write you took Chris O'Malley's class in Akron.  It might help us get a discount next year!

1. Remember to fill in the four tiny boxes on the edge of the stencils for perfect alignment.   On some stencils it really matters and the only way to get good placement. 

2. Remember to blend in circles and in both directions

3. When you are done blending trip 1/4 inch off each side of your paper.  Then cut at 4 inch and then at 5.25 inches.  You should end up with four panels.  

4. When I finish my panels off into cards.  I personally like to keep them simple.  Look for places to anchor your sentiments, so they are not just floating.   I love using tags, or vellum circles to help the sentiment stand out from a busy background.  

Sending A Smile Akron 2025

 Hello friends. 

Thank you so much for joining me for class today.  It was pleasure to meet you.   Below is all the photos.  If you have questions,  let me know I can get you the copic colors or other information that you need. 

The topic of paper was popular today.  Here is the link to the correct type of paper.  Neenah makes several kinds of paper and it can be confusing.  This is the paper that I use to color with copics.  I also use it for pencils...but you plan to do a lot of layering you should invest in specialized paper.  

The second question that I got asked what the cheapest place to buy copics.  Click here.

This is a good source for gamsol. 

Key points from class:

Remember that you will probably have to modify your stamps to make it work.  I try to figure out where the natural break is in the stamp.  If it leaves a weird gap,  use a small stamp to balance your sentiment. 

Design tip- try to make the outside of the card look innocent...so they are surprised when they see the inside.  I also try to keep the card simple.  Focus on the joke don't get distracted with other things.

Look for silly critters to compliment your snarky stamps.  They make it the easiest to make cards. 

Great companies to look for snarky stamps are 

1. Technique Junkies- (sadly closing)

2. Art Impressions - Girlfriend line is hilarious

3. Riley and Company

4. Ink Road- (partially closed)

5. Stamping Bella- oddballs are great for characters. 

6. Whimsy Stamps- great mix of serious and goofy stamps

Here are photos of the cards.   There might be slight variations of course depending on what class section you were in.. but they were all very similar.