Christmas Snowman by Lili of the Valley

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WELCOME BACK! How’s it going with making all those holiday cards? As usual, I’m way behind, but I’m working my way through my stash of stamps that I never got around to using. Since we live in such a small house, I have to purge belongings – including craft supplies – on a regular basis. So I tend to hold onto holiday stamps because my chances of reusing them is pretty good. Christmas cards really are my favorite to make, but I need to get moving on making holiday cards so that I’ll have enough to send out this year.

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS DAY 2019

Today’s Project

I have another simple card featuring a digital stamp – Christmas Snowman – by Lili of the Valley. If you like simple but cute images, take a look at their Etsy shop. LOTV formerly sold rubber stamps, but they stopped several months ago and have been making their images available in digital format on Etsy. If you don’t know how to use a digital stamp, take a look at this article by my Power Poppy teammate Julie Koerber for guidance.

Hmm . . . perhaps I should have prefaced that with ENABLER ALERT!

No video today since I colored this image before I got into the swing of recording. But the coloring is super simple and you can follow the shading in the illustration below if you need some help. See the supply list below for the Copic colors.

Rowhouse Greetings | Christmas Snowman by Lili of the Valley

Disclosure: Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) . I never share a product I do not like. All opinions are my own. Read more.

Where available I use compensated affiliate links, meaning that at no cost to you I receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I use this money to support my blog. If you like my projects, please consider supporting me by clicking through these links when you shop. Thanks so much! Read more.

Supplies

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Hammermill Digital Color Copy 100#; Frosty Friends Collection – Lost Mittens by Photo Play; Frosty Friends Collection – Build A Snowman by Photo Play
Stamps: Christmas Snowman by Lili of the Valley; Birdie Brown Greetings Galore by My Favorite Things
Ink: Versafine Clair in Blue Belle by Tsukineko
Dies: Small Stitched Rectangled Stackables by Lawn Fawn
Copics: W00, W0, W1 (snowman); C6, C9 (buttons); Y38, YR04, YR09 (carrot); BG000, BG01, BG02, BG07, C0, C1 (hat); BG000, BG01, BG02, BG07 (mittens); BG000, BG01, BG02, BG07, G43, G46, RV25, RV27 (scarf)

Introducing [the kitten still in need of a name]

Published on by Rowhouse Greetings7 Comments

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! Just a quick post today. As you know, my beloved cat Phebe passed away several weeks ago. We debated adopting another cat and initially decided against it since we still have two senior cats who might not take kindly to a new addition. But to be honest, I’ve been sad since she died and decided that adopting another cat would help fill the Phebe-sized hole in my heart.

We brought her home on Friday and since then, we’ve been trying out names. Many, many names. Here are a few of the names that we’ve considered in the past two days:

  • Gracie
  • Daisy
  • Mollie
  • Maggie
  • Maisie
  • Sadie
  • Katie
  • Pixie
  • Doodlebug
  • Poppy

Poppy is my husband’s favorite and is probably the name that we’ll end up with, but I’m still open to suggestions. Post in the comments if you have a favorite cat name for us to try out.

Moving on to Today’s Project

I just finished another card featuring an image from the Simple Joys stamp set by Power Poppy. I’ve included a short video to show how I colored the image. I focused on making the ornament appear round, underpainting with BV000 and BV00 before applying the final gold tones. Take a look at the video posted below and you’ll see how the coloring all came together.

Rowhouse Greetings | Simply Joys by Power Poppy

Hope you enjoyed today’s video! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfyQlOZMg1EhqH5jB51g7nw

Disclosure: Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) . I never share a product I do not like. All opinions are my own. Read more.

Where available I use compensated affiliate links, meaning that at no cost to you I receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I use this money to support my blog. If you like my projects, please consider supporting me by clicking through these links when you shop. Thanks so much! Read more.

Supplies

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Hammermill Color Copy Digital 100#; Plaid Patterns Merry & Bright 6×6 in. pack by My Favorite Things
Stamp: Simple Joys by Power Poppy
Ink: Amalgam Ink in Obsidian by Gina K. Designs
Dies: Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables by Lawn Fawn; Postage Stamp Rectangles by Elizabeth Craft Designs
Copics: BV000, BV00, Y21, Y26, Y28, C1, C3, C5 (ornament); G20, G21, G46 (leaves); BG0000, BG10, 0 (background)

Little Elf Tippi by Mo’s Digital Pencil

Published on by Rowhouse Greetings5 Comments

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! I’m back today with a new card and a new video featuring another digital stamp from Mo’s Digital Pencil. This time it’s Little Elf Tippi, also available as Beaming from Penny Black.

Rowhouse Greetings | Little Elf Tippi by Mo's Digital Pencil

In the video, I show my favorite technique for coloring alternating stripes like those on Tippi’s shirt and hat. This technique is great for coloring candy canes too.

Hope you enjoyed today’s video! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfyQlOZMg1EhqH5jB51g7nw

Disclosure: Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) . I never share a product I do not like. All opinions are my own. Read more.

Where available I use compensated affiliate links, meaning that at no cost to you I receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I use this money to support my blog. If you like my projects, please consider supporting me by clicking through these links when you shop. Thanks so much! Read more.

Supplies

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Hammermill Digital Color Copy 100#
Stamps: Little Elf Tippi by Mo’s Digital Pencil (also available as a clear stamp as Beaming by Penny Black); Christmas Sentiments by Penny Black
Die: Zig Zag Rectangle by Lawn Fawn
Embellishments: White Gel Pen by Sakura
Copics: E000, E00, E11, E21, R21 (skin); BV00, BV02, R24, R37, R59 (hat, shirt & stockings); BV00, BV02, BG11, BG32, BG72 (overalls & shoes); Y38 (star); Y38, BG32, R37, BV02 (lights); BV0000, BV000 (background)

Rowhouse Greetings | Little Elf Kippa by Mo's Digital Pencil

Little Elf Kippa by Mo’s Digital Pencil

Published on by Rowhouse Greetings5 Comments

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! I’m on a roll right now coloring holiday images. I found that the best way to keep moving along is to keep the layout simple so here’s another where the image takes center stage.

I’ve long been a fan of Mo Manning and it just isn’t holiday card making season until I’ve colored one of her elves. This is one of her latest images – Little Elf Kippa – which is available as a digital stamp from her website. If digital images aren’t your cup of tea, the image is also available as Bauble Balance from Penny Black.

Rowhouse Greetings | Little Elf Kippa by Mo's Digital Pencil

I found that the best way to have highlights on the ornaments was to draw them in first and color around them. I don’t usually make circular highlights, but I saw that’s how the artist had them and it really was much easier so did the same thing.

Rowhouse Greetings | Little Elf Kippa by Mo's Digital Pencil

I used BV02 and BV04 to accentuate the curvature of the ornament. I could have added a fourth marker to any of the colors combinations used for the ornament, but using the BV markers added some depth without adding an even deeper color. I doubt I would have gotten the same effect with a deeper color – afterall, the shadow of a red object is a muddy gray color, not a darker shade of red. When we buy markers, we all tend to pick the pretty ones, but this is where investing in some of the muddy colors (which seems like most of the BV markers) really pays off.

That’s it for today! I have a few more Mo Manning images coming up next so stay tuned!

Disclosure: Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) . I never share a product I do not like. All opinions are my own. Read more.

Where available I use compensated affiliate links, meaning that at no cost to you I receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I use this money to support my blog. If you like my projects, please consider supporting me by clicking through these links when you shop. Thanks so much! Read more.

Supplies

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Hammermill Digital Color Copy 100#
Stamps: Little Elf Kippa by Mo’s Digital Pencil; Sweetest Moments by Penny Black
Ink: Versafine in Onyx Black by Tsukineko
Dies: Zig Zag Rectangles by Lawn Fawn
Copics: E000, E00, E11, E21, R21 (skin); BV04 (hair); BG11, BG32, BG72, BG75 (overalls); R24, R37, R59, BV02, BV04 (shirt, patch & hat); Y26 (buttons); BG11, BG32, BG72, BV02, BV04 (teal ornament); Y21, Y26, Y28, BV02, BV04 (gold ornament); R24, R37, R59 (red ornament); BV02, BV04 (ornament hooks); BV0000, BV000, 0 (background)

Rowhouse Greetings | Katie and Bear by Mo's Digital Pencil

Katie and Bear by Mo’s Digital Pencil

Published on by Rowhouse Greetings5 Comments

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! I’m back today with a card that had me coloring outside my comfort zone. I don’t usually create background scenes — mainly because I can’t draw — so I usually depend upon stencils or ink blending for my backgrounds. However, when I saw the Katie and Bear digital stamp by Mo’s Digital Pencil, I knew that I wanted to create some sort of night sky.

Before coloring the image, I checked out a couple of tutorials. For the night sky, I took a look at this card by Mindy over at My Creative Scoop. On Mindy’s card, she was coloring a lantern reflected against the night sky. I followed her colors, but created a moon in the night sky as my light source. I had to adjust slightly because my Y00 marker had cracked and dried out so I substituted Y000.

For coloring figures in a night scene, I followed the suggestions in this post by Sandy Allnock. I colored blocked my figures as she suggested. However, when I started to color the shadows, I wasn’t daring enough to go as dark as W9 for the shading, so I substituted C6.

Rowhouse Greetings | Katie and Bear by Mo's Digital Pencil

When coloring a night sky, it’s really important that your markers are full. Coloring a background like this requires a lot of ink to saturate the paper and blend the colors. If your markers are dry, you won’t be able to get enough ink down on the paper to blend and the results will be streaky.

That’s it for today! Thanks for stopping by and see you soon.

Disclosure: Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) . I never share a product I do not like. All opinions are my own. Read more.

Where available I use compensated affiliate links, meaning that at no cost to you I receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I use this money to support my blog. If you like my projects, please consider supporting me by clicking through these links when you shop. Thanks so much! Read more.

Supplies

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Hammermill Digital Color Copy 100#
Stamps: Katie and Bear by Mo’s Digital Pencil (also available as a clear stamp as Sweet Sledder from Penny Black); Cozy Cupfuls by Power Poppy (for sentiment)
Inks: Versamark in Onyx Black by Tsukineko
Embellishments: Gel pens in white and silver glitter by Sakura
Copics: Y000, Y11, B00, B21, B99, BG05, BG07, BG09 (sky); E53 (skin); YR27 (hair); R35, YG45 (clothing); YR27 (sled); C3, C6 (shadows); W0, W1, W3 (snow)