HEY FRIENDS! Had an hour or so in the studio this morning before I had to get on with the day. This stamp set has been sitting on my desk for quite awhile waiting to be noticed. So today was the day! This is one of the many images from the Snowman Hugs stamp set by Penny Black. Copic markers are listed below as well as another video. Enjoy!
[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.]
HEY FRIENDS! I’ve not really been in the mood to make cards. To be honest, I have quite a collection of cards on hand so I don’t really need more. But I would like to color so I went back through my stash, pulled out a couple of favorite images, and started coloring. Here I’m featuring the Oddball Super Hero by Stamping Bella.
[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.]
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.
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.
[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.]
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.
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!).
[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.]
HEY FRIENDS! I splurged this past weekend and added to my stash with a few purchases at Goldenhill Papercrafts in Clifton, Virginia. Not that I need any more supplies! But I couldn’t resist this sweet stamp by Stamping Bella – Bundle Girl with Lily of the Valley. It’s been awhile since I used X-Press It Blending Card and I’d forgotten how easily it blends Copic ink. I suspect that I’ll be pulling it out more often.
Cardbase: For a top fold card, cut a piece of Neenah cardstock to 4.25″ x 11″ and score at 5.5″. For a side fold card, cut a piece of Neenah cardstock to 5.5″ x 8.5″ and score at 4.25″.
Background: Cut a piece of coordinating design paper to 4.25″ x 5.5″ and adhere to the cardbase. I used a sheet from the Colorful Canvas Paper Pad. Cut a piece of Limelight cardstock using the third largest die in the Postage Edge Rectangles set. Cut a piece of Audrey Blue cardstock to 3.5″ x 4.75″
Image Layer: Cut a piece of X-Press It Blending Card using the 4th largest die in the Postage Edge Rectangles set. Stamp the image using Hero Arts Intense Black Ink.
Coloring: Color the image from the Bundle Girl Lily of the Valley stamp set using Copic markers. See list above.
Sentiment: Stamp the sentiment as shown using the “Hello” sentiment from the Stylish Ovals Birthday Wishes stamp set using Versafine Clare in Nocturne. Or – use a sentiment from your stash!
[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.]
