Category: Spring

Bunnies and Robin (3C) with Olo Markers

Published on by Rowhouse Greetings3 Comments

HEY FRIENDS! Today I have a familiar image with a bit of a twist. As you can see, I have used one of my favorite images from Colorado Craft Company — Anita Jeram’s Bunnies and Robin — but I set aside my trust Copic markers to check out the new kid to the alcohol marker neighborhood — OLO Markers. I’ve held off purchasing other alcohol markers as they came on the marker because I already had a full set of Copics and saw no reason to invest elsewhere. But I was curious about OLO Markers. Then my friend Jill Killeen raved about them and Jennifer Dove started using them at her Boot Camp so I decided to take the plunge and purchase a set directly from OLO.

As always, I’ve linked supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

OLO Markers

So first, let’s talk about these markers. OLO Markers is a system of 128 half markers which you can connect together using an OLO Connector Ring. Each half marker contains 2ml of ink and uses OLO’s patented free-flow ink technology to use over 90% of the ink in the marker. You can custom build your marker so that you can have a different color on each end or the same color on each end with different nibs (brush or chisel). When you need a refill, you simply purchase a new ink cartridge, remove the nib and empty cartridge, insert the new cartridge and get back to coloring. OLO explains this much better than I can so be sure that you check out their website for more information. And take a look at Jill’s blog post where she goes through the pros and cons of the markers.

So I purchased 128 brush markers which I combined using the collector ring to create 64 markers where each end is a different color brush marker. If you’re interested in these markers, you can either buy directly from the company or purchase marker collections from Simon Says Stamp which I have linked below in my supply list.

The price point is more affordable overall than Copic markers. So OLO Markers are a good alternative if you’ve wanted to take the leap to alcohol markers, but have been put off by the price of Copics.

Today’s Project

Rowhouse Greetings | Bunnies and Robbins by Colorado Craft Company

Featured Products

The first thing I did after receiving my markers was to purchase Sandy Allnock’s OLO Marker Hex Chart. Sandy’s Hex Charts arrange colors in visual order rather than numerical order so you can easily see blending colors. Sandy suggests that you create your selected hue by looking 2-5 spaces away from the initial color to locate a light and dark. For today’s project, I picked some combinations by relying on the OLO Color System and others by using the Hex Chart as Sandy suggested.

I stamped the image on Hammermill cardstock using Hero Arts Intense Black Ink and colored the image using the OLO Markers listed below. I trimmed the image layer using the Stitches of Love die set and then assembled the card as shown.

That’s all for me today!

Rowhouse Greetings | Nancy Sheads

Supplies

OLO Markers: CG1, CG3, CG5, RV0.1 (bunnies); WG1, WG3, WG5, OR2.0, OR2.3 (robin); RV0.1, RV0.2, RV0.4 (flowers); YG2.1, YG2.3, YG2.5, YG8.7, V4.3 (leaves, grass); O7.1, RG3, RG5, RG7 (tree)

Rowhouse Greetings | Anita Jeram Bunnies and Robin by Colorado Craft Company | Color Map

[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.]

Hyacinth Bulb in Glass by Power Poppy

Published on by Rowhouse Greetings3 Comments

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! I’m back today with a new card featuring the Hyacinth Bulb in Glass Digital Stamp by Power Poppy. As you can see, I’m finally moving away from holiday cards and starting to color spring flowers again.

Today’s project features:

  • Hyacinth Bulb in Glass Digital Stamp by Power Poppy
  • Azaleas Clear Stamp Set [sentiment – stamp set now RETIRED] by Power Poppy
  • Copic coloring (marker list shown below)
  • Additional basic supplies linked in thumbnails below.
Rowhouse Greetings | Hyacinth Bulb in Glass by Power Poppy

My style tends to be clean and simple although lately I’ve been experimenting with more complex designs. However, I wanted this image to be front and center without distraction so I stuck to a relatively simple layout.

Rowhouse Greetings | Hyacinth Bulb in Glass by Power Poppy

And be sure you take a look at the Power Poppy projects from my teammates in the Bloom Brigade!

Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan

That’s all for me today! Thanks for stopping by!

Rowhouse Greetings | Nancy Sheads

Supplies

COPICS: BV00, BV13, B69 (flower combo 1); B60, B63, B66 (flower combo 2); V12, V15, V17 (flower combo 3); V20, V22, V28 (flower combo 4); G20, G24, G28 (leaves); BV23, E21, E23, E27 (bulb); BG0000, BG10, B000 (glass); BV20, BV23 (shadow)

[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.]

Rowhouse Greetings | Bunny Friends by Penny Black Stamps

Bunny Friends by Penny Black

Published on by Rowhouse Greetings3 Comments

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! I actually had to look at the clock to be sure that it’s still morning. After so many weeks sheltering in place, not only do the days blur together, but the hours as well. It’s gray and rainy outside so I decided that a little spring cuteness was just the cure for a dreary day.

I have a soft spot for the critter images from Penny Black stamps and this one is one of my favorites. I’ve only been able to find it as a wood mounted stamp but I was able to easily remove the block so that I could use it in my Misti platform.

Rowhouse Greetings | Bunny Friends by Penny Black Stamps

The image is colored with Copic markers (see list below). For the pots, I underpainted the shadowed areas with a series of cool gray tones before applying the YR colors to give the pots more depth. For the bunnies, I blended from light to dark so that I could control the overall darkness and applied touches of R20 on the cheeks, ears, and paws to brighten the overall look. I used V20 to add shadows on the bunnies and around the pots.

For the grass, I flicked varying shades of YG markers and made of point of flicking over the base the pots even though it wasn’t on the image since grass would grow all around the pots, not just between or behind them. For the sky, I flicked varying shades of B and BG, darker around the pots and lighter as I worked my way up. I used colorless blender around the edges to fade the color into white.

Rowhouse Greetings | Bunny Friends by Penny Black Stamps

For the die cut sentiment, I blended Distress Ink in Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn on a scrap of white card stock and then ran it through my Big Shot using the Bloom die from Honey Bee Stamps. I cut two more and then stacked the layers together using my Xyron for added dimension. On the top, I applied two layers of Nuvo Crystal Glaze for shine and dimension. The additional sentiment is from the Bloom stamp set also by Honey Bee which I stamped with Versafine Clare ink.

Hope you found some inspiration. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you again soon!

Disclosure: Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) which were provided by a store or design team. 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.

Paper: Neenah Solar White 80# & 110#; Hammermill Color Copy Cover 100#
Stamps: Bunny Friends by Penny Black; Bloom by Honey Bee Stamps
Inks: Amalgam Ink in Obsidian by Gina K. Designs; Versafine in Nocturne by Tsukineko; Distress Inks in Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn by Ranger – Tim Holtz
Dies: Crimped Frames by The Greetery; Bloom by Honey Bee Stamps
Embellishments: Nuvo Crystal Glaze by Tonic Studios
Adhesives: Beacons 3-in-1 Advanced Glue; Xyron Create a Sticker Maker
Copics: E30, E31, E35, R20 (bunnies); C1 C3, C5, YR20, YR21, YR24, YR27, R20 (pots); C3, C5, W1, W3 (snails); YG03, YG63, YG67 (grass); B0000, B000, BG10, 0 (sky)

In Praise of Sunflowers Redux

Published on by Rowhouse Greetings7 Comments

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! I’m back today with another project using the In Praise of Sunflowers stamp set by Power Poppy. I’m still on hiatus from my Copic markers and have continue playing with Distress Ink watercoloring.

Rowhouse Greetings | In Praise of Sunflowers by Power Poppy

Like my last card, I started by stamping the image on watercolor paper using Verafine and immediately covered it with clear embossing powder. However, this time I did the coloring with an actual watercolor brush instead of a waterbrush. I have a handful of lovely Black Velvet brushes by Silver. These brushes are a blend of natural squirrel hair and black synthetic filament. They hold and carry the water and pigment beautifully and are much easier to work with than the nylon tipped waterbrushes. They are pricey, but well worth the investment if you enjoy watercoloring.

This time I also used a mixture of Distress Ink pads and reinkers. I smushed the ink pads on my craft mat and picked up the color with a wet brush. But where possible, I substituted the Distress Ink Reinkers in place of the ink pads. I placed a single drop of ink on my craft mat and watered it down as desired. Since the ink is concentrated, I could get a better range of shades than with the ink pads. I prefer using the reinkers, but I don’t have all the colors so I had to make do with the ink pads as needed.

Rowhouse Greetings | In Praise of Sunflowers by Power Poppy

In a couple of places, I accidentally colored outside the line. When that happened, I applied water with a clean brush and then blotted the area with a paper towel. The water reactivated the ink and could be easily removed.

I created the background stripe pattern using Versafine ink and a stencil from Wendi Vecchi. Again, I immediately covered the ink with clear embossing powder and heat set it. I matched it with a yellow gingham design paper from My Favorite Things.

Rowhouse Greetings | In Praise of Sunflowers by Power Poppy

But wait! There’s more! It’s Fun Friday over at Power Poppy so be sure you stop by my teammates to see what they’ve created. And as always – don’t forget to stop by the Power Poppy blog.

Barbara Campbell
Broni Holcombe
Christine Okken
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan

Disclosure: Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) which were provided by a store or design team. 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.

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Distress Watercolor Cardstock by Ranger; Tiny Check Paper Pad by My Favorite Things
Stamp: In Praise of Sunflowers by Power Poppy
Inks: Versafine Clare in Nocturne by Tsukineko; Distress Inks in Mustard Seed, Carved Pumpkin (petals); Tea Dye, Walnut Stain (flower centers); Bundled Sage, Shabby Shutters, Forest Moss (leaves)
Stencil: Dots and Stripes Borders by Stampers Anonymous – Wendi Vecchi
Embellishments: Nuvo Fine Detail Embossing Powder in Crystal Clear by Tonic Studios

Rowhouse Greetings | Blue Poppies Perfectly Clear Stamps by Stampendous

March Demo Day – Photo Scraps

Published on by Rowhouse GreetingsLeave a comment

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! As you may already know, this month’s Demo Day event at Photo Scraps has been cancelled. However, you can still get your Demo Day fix! The store is remaining open as long as they are allowed and are limiting the number of people in the store at a time to 10 or less. Tracy and the gang are also offering curbside service so you can call the store in advance and they will pull your order and deliver it to your car. See the Photo Scraps announcement for details.

Photo Scraps
1213 Liberty Road | Eldersburg, MD 21784
phone: 410-549-5187 | web:  http://photoscrapsblog.blogspot.com/

For this month, I had three cards featuring the Blue Poppies and the Bunch of Blossoms stamps sets by Stampendous. Since I can be there with you in person, I’ve created a series of videos to show you how to color the images and instructions for completing the cards

CARD 1

To complete the card:

  • Adhere the patterned card stock to the card base.
  • The kit contains two white card stock rectangles. On the larger piece (i.e. the one WITHOUT the sentiment), color a 1/4″ border along all four sides using the B24 marker. Once complete, center and glue the smaller rectangle with the sentiment on top. This will create the blue border behind the sentiment layer.
  • Glue the combined layers to the front of the card.
  • Fussy cut the image. On the back, place foam dimensional squares. Adhere to front of card.

CARD 2

To complete the card:

  • Adhere the patterned card stock to the card base.
  • Place foam dimensional squares on the back of the image. Adhere to the larger white rectangle.
  • Adhere to front of card.

CARD 3

To complete the card:

  • Adhere the patterned card stock to the card base.
  • On the white rectangle card stock, color a 1/4″ border along all four sides using the R22 marker.
  • Place foam dimensional squares on the back of the image. Adhere to the larger rectangle. This will create the peach border behind the sentiment layer.
  • Adhere the combined layer to the front of the card.