HEY FRIENDS! Just a quick note tonight to show you the card I made earlier today featuring the Time to Celebrate and Super Day stamp sets by Penny Black. I’m still experimenting with my Tombow Dual Brush Pens, which I’ve been loving. I may even stop by Dick Blick’s tomorrow and pick up a few more to round out my colors!
This is another single layer card made from Canson XL Watercolor Paper that I cut to 4.25″ x 11″ to create a top folding card. The image and sentiments were stamped with Versafine Ink in Onyx Black. I applied some of the color directly with Tombow markers and then blended it out with a waterbrush. Since my creativity has been in a slump lately, this simple layout allows me to just color without putting a whole lot of thought into a layout.
HEY FRIENDS! As you know, my creativity has been in a bit of a slump lately. I have lots to work with so BUYING isn’t my issue, but USING certainly is! But on Saturday, I did a demo at The Paper Herald — a gem of a stationery store here in Baltimore owned by my friend Ashleigh — and that has sparked my creativity again. I pulled out my Tombow Dual Brush Markers and a waterbrush as well as assorted stamp sets from Colorado Craft Company. [Compensated affiliate links below].
For my first card, I used the Peas Forgive Me stamp set. You can see a somewhat awkward video of me coloring the image while I was at The Paper Herald. I even managed to stamp my hand with the Versafine ink pad! Be kind – it was my FIRST Solo Instagram live video. If you’re unable to see it below, try THIS LINK.
As you’ll see, I kept the layouts simple — both cards are just single layers made from Canson XL Watercolor Paper that I cut to 4.25″ x 11″ to create a top folding card. I stamped the images with Versafine Ink in Onyx Black. I love this ink because it’s perfect for detailed images and sentiments AND it’s waterproof. I applied some of the color directly with Tombow markers and then blended it out with a waterbrush. It all, it took 15-20 minutes per card to complete. And by keeping the layout so simple, I was able to complete the cards without a lot of fuss agonizing over the design.
That’s all for today!
Featured Supplies
[Compensated affiliate links used when possible. In addition, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Items marked with an asterisk (*) were provided by a store or the manufacturer. All other items were personally purchased.]
* Anita Jeram Peas Forgive Me | Colorado Craft Company [ 3C ]
Anita Jeram Happy Day | Colorado Craft Company [ 3C ]
HEY FRIENDS! It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. Lately, my creative flow has hit a roadblock so I decided to shift my focus. I’ve been occupied in my studio, spending time organizing my stash and pulling out stamps and dies that I no longer need. This way, I can make room for new products and hopefully inspire fresh ideas. I’m putting together some inexpensive destash boxes that I’ll be offering here on my blog (more on that in an upcoming post) but for now, I’m just working through all of the well loved and gently used supplies in my studio.
I’ve been adding things to my inventory system and making sure everything is well labeled so I know what I’ve got. I even did a bit of an overhaul of my blog and created a new logo using a hand-drawn image of my own rowhouse created by The Custom Art Boutique over on Etsy. Sometimes you have to take a step back so that you can move forward and that’s where I am right now.
One interesting aspect of this organizing process is stumbling upon stamps that I once purchased with excitement, intending to color them. However, I got distracted along the way and completely forgot about them. Like every other crafter, I then acquired new stamps that sparked a renewed interest, causing the earlier purchases to be neglected. Thankfully, I have only experienced a few moments of regret concerning my buying choices, and instead, I find myself wondering why I haven’t utilized certain stamps yet as I browse through my collection.
Today’s post showcases a digital image that perfectly captures the current mood. I have been fortunate to enjoy some warm and sunny days in Baltimore and I’ve been able to sit out and recharge my Vitamin D. This image by Lili of the Valley just seemed like the perfect image for today’s mood.
[Compensated affiliate links used when possible. In addition, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Items marked with an asterisk (*) were provided by a store or the manufacturer. All other items were personally purchased.]
Deckchair Dreaming Digital Stamp | Lili of the Valley [ LOTV ]
Nesting Rectangle Infinity Dies | Hero Arts [ SBC ]
This is a digital stamp so I printed the image on Bristol Smooth using my Canon printer. I use Microsoft Word to set up my image for printing and I have two videos showing how I do it, depending on which version of Word you are using.
Now, my Canon is an inkjet printer, but it seems to work with Copics. Not all inkjet printers do and for the most part, they don’t. I also have a Brother laser printer that I could have used, but it’s currently buried as I rearrange my studio. A laser printer is always a better choice when it comes to Copics.
The sentiment is from the I Love You More stamp set by MFT Stamps. That set is currently retired, but MFT often releases older stamps from the vault. So just keep an eye on their website. Also, I did use Versafine Clair to stamp the sentiment which is NOT Copic compatible, so I carefully added color to the sun and clouds, making sure that I did not touch the black ink lines.
HEY FRIENDS! Today I have another project from the latest Whimsy World release by Colorado Craft Company using the Bunny Life stamp set and coordinating dies. Colorado Craft Company is offering FREE SHIPPING on US orders and $10.00 FLAT RATE SHIPPING on March 9th & 10th. As always all orders over $75.00 receive FREE SHIPPING on US orders. So get your order in now and take advantage of the shipping discount.
Please note that there are a limited number of bundles so keep that in mind as well if you want the release packages. Affiliate links below.
[Compensated affiliate links used when possible. In addition, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Items marked with an asterisk (*) were provided by a store or the manufacturer. All other items were personally purchased.]
* Whimsy World – Bunny Life | Colorado Craft Company [ 3C ]
* Whimsy World – Bunny Life Coordinating Dies | Colorado Craft Company [ 3C ]
I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated by coloring the shed and it’s probably not my best effort. However, I think the concept is pretty good even if my execution could use some work. I wanted the wood to have some texture so I stamped the image onto Strathmore Bristol Smooth (300 Series). Why? Well, I needed a paper that could handle both Copics and colored pencils. While X-Press It or Hammermill could handle the Copics, neither paper is suitable for colored pencils. So I switched to Bristol since it’s smooth enough for Copics, but has enough tooth for colored pencil. I put down a base coat of W1 on the shed, adding W3 in the areas that I wanted to be a bit darker. I added BV20 to create shadows. Then I used Prismacolor pencils PC1052 (30% Warm Grey), PC1072 (50% French Grey), and PC1076 (90% French Grey) to draw in the lines to add texture. I got carried away with making my lines very straight and very consistent. But from a distance, you get the effect (I hope!).
HEY FRIENDS! I’m back today with another card featuring the Whimsy World Bunny Love release from Colorado Craft Company. No pre-sale this time, but the stamps, coordinating dies and bundles are in limited supply so if you want them, act fast. Once they sell out, you’ll have to wait until they’re back in stock. Please note that there are a limited number of bundles so keep that in mind as well if you want the release packages. Affiliate links below.
[Compensated affiliate links used when possible. In addition, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Items marked with an asterisk (*) were provided by a store or the manufacturer. All other items were personally purchased.]
* Whimsy World – Bunny Life | Colorado Craft Company [ 3C ]
* Whimsy World – Bunny Life Coordinating Dies | Colorado Craft Company [ 3C ]
* Whimsy World – Spring Background | Colorado Craft Company [ 3C ]
Stamp the grass image from the Bunny Life stamp set four times so that it will extend slightly beyond the central colored, die cut image. Color the grass with YG03. Color a grassy shadow below using YG03 and YG17. See photo for details.
Colorado Craft Company (3C) is doing two giveaways!You can enter to win as many times as you wish. Entries will end on March 10th at Midnight (ET). Winners will be announced on March 12th on the 3C Blog. Giveaway 1:3C will be giving away one clear stamp set per designer to a lucky winner drawn from all the comments left on our social media hangouts. Leave a comment, follow and like! Winners are chosen randomly. Giveaway 2:3C will also give away be giving away the entire release to one randomly chosen winner that has placed an order using your favorite designer’s affiliate links (HERE’S MINE!). When you visit their blogs you can then hit their links to the 3C shop to be entered.
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