A Plague

Hello friends, 

Unity stamps has done it again.  This little guy is funny.  I love the expression on his face.   He sparked quiet the debate in class.  Is he a cricket? a cockroach? grasshopper?  Well, I couldn't let it go...so we did some googling and he is a grasshopper/locust.  When grasshoppers are in a group we call them locusts.  They famously caused a plague in the Bible.    Anyway,  this guy has had enough and he is organizing his own plague.   Can you relate?

Copics used:

Green: Y67, YG63, YG61

Ground: W5, W3, W2

Easter Pup

Hello and welcome to day 4 of Easter card series,

I have no idea what type of dog this is, but he is cute.  My favorite part is the ladybug on his rabbit ear.

Copics used:
Dog:E30, E31, E33, W3, W1,
Green: G43, G40
Ears: C3, C1, R30
Ladybug: R35

Hello Butterfly

Howdy friends,

I wanted to play with a background stamp today.  I have a bunch of them and sadly they do not get used as much as they should.  They are so pretty and versatile.  I just don't think to use them.   This rose background had a lot of detail so I thought it would look nice embossed.  I sponged some blue ink in the center of each rose.  I was just going to put the Hello sentiment on the front... but it just wasn't enough.  I played around for a while but this butterfly was perfect.  This card will not fit in a standard envelope, but it is fine with me!

 No copics today!!

Rose Garden

Happy Monday!

I wanted to play with a new color combination.  We all have our favorite combos we grab when coloring.  Usually when want purple, I go right for the BV's.  I thought it was time to use some V's.  I really liked how they turned out.  They have a much richer feel to them.  I love the look!

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E13, R20

Blue: BG01, BG02, BG05, BG07, BG09

Green: YG61, YG63, YG67, G99, G20

Purple: V09, V06, V04, V01, V000

Hair: Y32, Y21, E31, E13

Red: R24, R29

Gray: W8, W6

White gel pen

Birthday Bee

Happy Tuesday!

Today is an exciting day.  Connor (my hubby) has recently been licensed to teach Zumba.  He has been working very hard to learn songs and choreography.   Snap Fitness (our local gym) has asked him to teach twice a week.  I'm so proud of him!  His first class is tonight.  He is probably a little nervous, but I know he will do great!   If you live in the area... come and Zumba tonight!

Today's card is one of my favorites.  I have been in love with bees lately.  They are just so darn cute!  I saw this stamp and had to have it.

Copics used

Grass: G40, G43, G46
Black: 100, N8, N6, N4
Yellow: Y13, Y15, Y38
Blue Green: BG10, BG11, BG13, BG15
Fire: Y13, YR14

I put Clear Stickles on the bee's wings, cupcake and grass, and candle flame.

Butterflies and Marigolds

Hello Stampers,

Northwoods is one of my favorite companies.  They specialize in scenes.  Their images tend to be very detailed and a challenge to color.   This images is part of a limited edition collection they released earlier this year.  

I wanted to show you how neat these images look colored with Copics.  It is beautiful!!
Each butterfly is cut out an adhered in with a pop dot.  Love the look.

I used a glitter gel pen to add some sparkle to the flowers

A special note to my copic friends.  This card is a bit tricky to color.  It has a lot of advanced blending incorporated into the flowers.  You can do it!!  Just take your time and don't over saturate the paper. 

Copics used:

Flowers: Y13, Y15, YR12, YR31, YR16

Green: YG03, YG05, YG09

Butterfly 1: Y11, Y13, Y15

Butterfly 2: RV91, RV93, RV95

Butterfly 3: B000, B00, BV00

Sky Shading: BV31

Hang In There

Hello Stampers!

The week has flown by... I'm looking forward to my Card Lover's Class tomorrow night.  We will be making this cute little lady bug card.  I love this image!   I embossed the panel using large spots on the left hand side of the card. 

Copic:
Red: R29, R24
Grey: C3, C0
Yellow: Y15
Blue; B00, B01
Green: YG05, YG09

Time for me to Bug off! (ha ha)
Chris

Where Flowers Bloom...

...so does hope.

What a wonderful sentiment.   It paired perfectly with this stamp from Whipper Snapper Designs.

I love the way the bunny is looking up.  Either he is hungry or he had made friends with the little lady bug. 

  After coloring the image with copic markers, I added glitter to the flower petals.   

I hope you enjoyed today's card.

Butterfly Wishes

I love this card.  It was part of our Card Lover's class this month.  The butterfly is from SU's Wonderful Wings Stamp Set.   I love the way it flies of the page.   The sentiment is also from SU.

We embossed the background using a folder.  Remember that you should stamp before you emboss to get the best results.

Copics used:

Yellow: Y11, Y13, Y15
Orange: YR02, YR04, YR07

When I started coloring, my strokes either started at the body of the butterfly or at the edge of the wings.  I used the feathering technique to get the colors to blend.

Have a wonderful day!
Chris

Heard You Caught a Bug...

I don't make a lot of "Get Well" cards, but lately I've needed a bunch of them.  Here is the first of many....

I love how it turned out.  The main imaged is a stamp by Whipper Snapper Designs.   I have had the stamp for a long time and it had been collecting dust.  I'm glad to see that inked up and on a card.


The inside of the card reads "Since when Have you been an Entomologist?"  I think it is funny, but as my husband pointed it out the humor is lost on some people.  I don't where I purchased the sentiment stamps.

Supply List
Paper: white, Going Gray, So Saffron, Pool Party (I will be so sad to see this color retire)
Stamp: Whipper Snapper Designs
Embossing folder: unknown
Colored with copics

Going Buggy Student Cards

Hello Stampers!

This post is long overdue.  I apologize.  You did a great job with June's "Going Buggy" Challenge.  I'm so proud of your projects.  

Donna, You have a gift with color.  You always do an amazing job selecting patterns and colors that work well together.  This card is a great example of that!    

created by Sandi

Sandi, your book turned out great.  It might be hard to tell from the photo, but she stitched on the image on the front of the card.  Very Nice!

created by Marsha

Marsha, I love your passion for card making.   I love the way you cut the flowers out on this card. Keep up the great work!


Louise also made beautiful card next time we will have to get a picture before she sends it. 

July's challenge is to use glitter.  Make a card and add some sparkle!  I can't wait to see your creations.

Happy Creating,
Chris

Home is Where My Honey Bee

I have loved being part of the "Don't Bug Me" Challenge.  I hope you found some inspiration along the way.

My last card was a team effort between my husband and me.  I told him I wanted a bee hive shaped card.  He went to work on the computer and made a template.  He wants me to add that he was inspired by postings on the internet.  He never stops surprising me.

I used Honey Tilda to decorate the hive. Her wings have yellow stickles on them.  I sponged ink around each layer of the hive to give some depth to the hive.  The grass was created with the Martha Stewart Grass Punch. 

Copics Used:
Black: T8, T7, T6, T5, T4, T3, T2
Yellow: Y19, Y17, Y15
Red: R29

I hope you all enjoyed the "Don't Bug Me" Challenge.
Chris

My first Easel Card

Today marks the third week of the "Don't Bug Me" Challenge.  Time to dust off and ink up those bug stamps!

My third card uses Tilda with a Straw Hat.  This has long been one of my favorite Tilda Stamps.  The butterfly is small but cute!  I know easel cards have been around for years, but I just hadn't tried my hand at it.  This is my end result. 

I love the look of clean and simple cards!

Here are the materials you need to recreate it.
Stamps:  Tilda with Straw Hat,  sentiment from Stampin Up
Copics:

Hair: E25, E35, E33, E31
Boots and Hat: E55, E53, E51, E50
Dress: W3, W2, W1, W0, 0
Pinks: R83, R81, R56
Butterfly: Y19, YR07

You Make My Heart Flutter

Good Morning Stampers!

I have another Bug card for you!

 I used Tilda Flip Flop from the summer release.  I paired it with Magnolia's Bridge Deck stamp from an earlier release. This card is easy to recreate.  I masked Tilda to give her the appearance of sitting on the dock.

Supplies List:
Browns: E37, E35, E34, E33, E31, E23, E21,
Skin:, E00, E000, E11, E01
Gray: N3, N2, N1
Green: G85, G82, G17
Red: R29, R27, R24
Blue: B02, B01, B00, B000
Glitter was added to the butterflies

Delight in Life

Hello Friends!

This month's challenge is "Going Buggy".  Make a card that has a ladybug, butterfly, bee, grasshopper, dragonfly, caterpillar, etc... You can use anything else you want.  Let your imagine fly away.   There is no charge to participate in the challenge.  Just email me a picture of your card (I can help with this, if needed).   At the end of the month, I will share all of your creations!  

I have posted some inspiration for you.  This has been one of my favorite new cards.    The flowers were created with an embossing folder by Cuddlebug.  The stamps are from a retired Stampin Up set called "Delight in Life".  All paper is from Stampin Up.  The red gemstones can be purchased at any of the major craft stores.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to BUG me (ha ha).  I can't wait to see what you create!