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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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)
WELCOME BACK! Look at me! Two days in a row! And that’s because – you guessed it! – I have another card from the Fall Digital Blitz from Power Poppy. Before I forget, Marcella is offering a special sale on all in-stock stamps, dies and digital sets: $5 off if you spend $15 or more. Coupon code shown here is expires October 14th so don’t delay!
Today I’m featuring the Boo Cat and Pumpkins Digital Stamp Set, which includes the image seen here as well as additional images and sentiments. The cat and pumpkin image is also available in the Feeling Fall Stamp Set if digis are not your thing.
Once again I kept the design simple. I printed the image and sentiment on Hammermill paper and then trimmed it with the largest die in the LF Zig Zag set. How’s that for clean and simple?
And I’ve got something extra today. I’ve been thinking about adding video to my blog posts so here’s my first today. No audio instruction – I don’t have a suitable microphone – but you’ll be able to see the markers colors and some notes as I color.
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.
Supplies
Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Hammermill Digital Color Copy Stamps: Boo Cat and Pumpkins (*) by Power Poppy Dies: Zig Zag Rectangle Stackables by Lawn Fawn Copics: Y32, Y35, Y38, YR27, BG70, BG72, BG75, E04, E11, E50, E51, BV20 (pumpkins); BV20, E11 (cat); E04, E50, E51, E11 (ground)
GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! I’ve got quite a long blog post for you today so you better pull up a chair and grab a cup of your beverage of choice. I don’t often write tutorials, but today’s project was worth the extra effort.
Saturday was the first day in quite awhile that I didn’t have anything planned, so I spent the day on a project that I’ve been mulling about over the past few days. I’ve been inspired lately by the work of my student Jill Killeen who has been creating fun shadow boxes with Stamping Bella stamps.
As you know, I’ll be teaching a class at The Queen’s Ink on Tuesday, June 25th featuring the Oddball Queens from Stamping Bella. After I prepared the class samples, I realized that The Queen’s Ink now has its own exclusive line of washi tape which would have been perfect for the class cards. So I wanted to put together another project featuring the Oddball Queen of Hearts by Stamping Bella and the new washi tapes from The Queen’s Ink. I happened to have a RIBBA 9×9 frame from IKEA which is perfect for shadow boxes so my idea for this project started coming together. It was also the perfect opportunity try out some new crafting tools and products that I had recently purchased.
So here it is! I was going to apologize for the shadows, but after all, it IS a shadow box!
The full supply is shown below. I’ll tell you up front that the design evolved along the way with a lot of experimentation. As a result, I threw a lot of different products at it. But don’t let the extensive supply list scare you. We all know that the ancillary hobby to papercrafting is collecting papercraft supplies. So you probably already have a lot of the supplies in your stash or have products that you could easily substitute.
Before Starting….
Before I started, I cut my card stock and foam sheets (see supply list) as follows:
One 9 x 9 inch square from a 12 x 12 sheet of Graphic 45 Loveliest of Them All
One 6 x 6 inch square from a sheet of Bazzill Black Licorice card stock
One 5.75 x 5.75 inch square from a sheet of Neenah 80# card stock
One 5.75 x 5.75 inch square from a sheet of Darice White Foam Sheet
One 5.5 x 5.5 inch square from a sheet of Darice White Foam Sheet
The Background
I wanted to create the background by building up layers of colors and textures. I recently purchased some of the Picket Fence Studios Life Changing Blender Brushes so this seemed like a great opportunity to try them out. On a 5.75 x 5.75 inch sheet of white card stock, I started blending Distress Inks in Tea Dye, Tattered Rose, and Antique Linen. After the ink dried, I splattered the background with Nuvo Mica Mist in Nebula Blue, Fresh Pear, Antique Gold and Violet Lustra.
One of the new crafting tools in my stash is the Wendy Vecchi Make Art Stay-tion. I thought this would be perfect for stenciling since the magnets would hold the stencil in place without tape. I spread a thin layer of Tacky-When-Dry Gel Medium from The Crafters Workshop on portions the Tim Holtz Gradient Square Layering Stencil with a palette knife. Afterwards, I immediately cleaned the stencil and palette knife with water and set the background aside to dry.
In the meantime, I covered a couple of scraps of white card stock with the new washi tapes exclusive to the Queen’s Ink — Crowns, Let Them Eat Cake, Lavender Baroque, Queen of Hearts, and Harlequin. I used the Hearts die and the Small Stitched Circle Stackable die from Lawn Fawn to cut the cardstock into shapes. Later on, I only used the die cut circles so I’ll save the hearts for another project.
And now – the fun part! True to it’s name, the gel medium is tacky when dry so I started to lay down gold, silver, and copper gilding flakes on the stenciled area. Once the stenciled area was covered, I rubbed lightly to adhere the flakes to the gel medium and remove any excess. I was going to take a photo midway, but to be honest I was up to my elbows in gilding flakes so I can only show the end result. Difficult to photograph, but lots of texture and shine.
Putting It Together
I was running out of room in my work space so I started arranging and adhering all of the layers for the full background. I decided that the lower right corner of the background needed something extra so I stamped an image from Carabelle Studios’ Stains & Seams stamp set with Archival Ink in Jet Black.
Next:
I glued the pre-cut 5.5 inch square foam sheets to the back of the white cardstock (top layer).
I glued the pre-cut 5.75 inch square foam sheet to the back of the black cardstock (middle layer).
I stamped the sentiment in Versafine along the bottom of the 9 x 9 design paper square. I covered the ink with clear embossing powder and heat set the image (bottom layer).
I lined up the bottom layer on my Wendy Vecchi Make Art Stay-tion and held the paper in place with the magnets.
Using the magnetic ruler, I lined up and centered the three layers. Once they were in place, I glued the layers together.
I placed foam adhesive squares on the back of the die cut washi tape circles and arranged them on the top layer.
At this point, the background is complete as shown below. Time to start the Copic coloring!
Copic Coloring
To start, stamp the image on Hammermill Digital Color Copy (or any Copic compatible paper) with Amalgam Ink in Jet Black by Gina K. Designs. I’m providing only basic instructions here for coloring, but if you need additional help, take a look at the video by Elaine Hughes (AKA Marker Geek) for coloring this stamp. I was guided in part by her color selection so you will see many of the same markers.
Skin
Working from dark to light, add depth and shading to the face (E04, E11, E01, E000)
Base coat the eye lids with BV31. Deepen the corners with BV34.
With BV31, draw a line under the lid to create a shadow across the eye.
Use BV31 to deepen the shadows around the eyes and the hairline.
Hair & Crown
For the hair, start with C7 to color the shadows at the base of the curls.
Work from dark to light (C5, C3, C1) to blend out each section of hair. Be sure that you do not lose the highlights.
For the crown, work from dark to light (Y19, Y15, Y02)
Base coat the heart with R24. Add R46 if you want to deepen the color.
Clothing
Starting with the folds in the dress, work from dark to light (R59, R46, R24) concentrating the R59 in the shadows and folds in the dress. Blend out with R46 and R24.
If you want additional depth, add C5 to the deepest areas and blend out from dark to light as necessary with the R markers.
For the center of the dress, work dark to light (Y19, Y15, Y02). Do the same with the binding (C7, C5, C3).
Base coat the hearts with R24. Add R46 if you want to deepend the color.
Bringing It On Home!
Once the coloring was complete, I used my Brother Scan N Cut to cut out the image. If you prefer, you could fussy cut the image. As an alternative, coordinating dies are available from Stamping Bella (see links below). Once the image was cut, I added foam adhesive squares to the back and adhered it to the background. After adding some sequins and jewels for extra bling, I framed the finished piece.
That’s it for today – hope you found a some inspiration. And be sure you check out Jill’s blog and send her a little love!
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.
Supplies
Paper: Hammermill Digital Color Copy 100#; Bazzill Cardstock in Licorice Twist; Princess Collection Loveliest of All by Graphic 45 Stamp: Oddball Queen of Hearts by Stamping Bella; Stains & Seams by Carabelle Studios Inks: Amalgam Ink in Jet Black by Gina K. Designs; Archival Ink in Jet Black by Ranger; Versafine in Onyx Black by Tsukineko; Distress Inks in Tea Dye, Antique Linen, and Tattered Rose Stencil: Gradient Square Layering Stencil by Stampers Anonymous / Tim Holtz Washi Tapes: Washi tape in Crowns, Let Them Eat Cake, Lavender Baroque, Queen of Hearts, and Harlequin by The Queen’s Ink Dies: Small Stitched Circle Stackables by Lawn Fawn Embellishments: Nuvo Mica Mist by Tonic Studios in Fresh Pear, Nebula Blue, Violet Lustra, and Antique Gold; Nuvo Gilding Flakes by Tonic Studios in Radiant Gold, Silver Bullion, and Sunkissed Copper; Nuvo Fine Detail Embossing Powder in Clear by Tonic Studios; Sequins in Not So Heavy Metal by 28 Lilac Lane; Wink of Stella in Clear by Zig; miscellaneous enamel dots. Adhesives: Tacky-When-Dry Gel Medium by The Crafters Workshop; Therm O Web White Adhesive Foam Squares by Gina K. Designs; 3-in-1 Craft Glue by Beacon Frame: RIBBA 9 x 9 frame available from IKEA Tools: Life Changing Blending Brushes by Picket Fence Studios; Wendy Vecchi Make Art Stay-tion by Ranger; Misti Stamping Tool by My Sweet Petunia; Brother Scan N Cut Copics: E000, E01, E04, BV31, BV34 (skin); C1, C3, C5, C7 (hair); Y02, Y15, Y19, R24, R46 (crown); R24, R46, R59 C5, Y02, Y15, Y19 (dress)
GOOD EVENING FRIENDS! It’s been a beautiful day here in Maryland – temperatures in the 60s, a slight breeze, and lots of sunshine. The windows are wide open and the cats have been sunning themselves all day during their numerous naps. I stopped at a nursery earlier today and looked longingly at the spring flowers, but decided to hold off. I suspect that it’s still too soon to plant the flower boxes in front of the house, but the pansies were really tempting.
I’ve been working on organizing my craft supplies. When you live in a small house built before the invention of closets, organization is a serious challenge. I stopped at Dick Blick this afternoon and purchased a couple of Artbin containers for my Distress Inks, so for the moment they are suitably contained. But I put organization aside for awhile because I really wanted to get in some crafting time today. I’m a participant in the Altenew Educator Certification Program, but I’ve fallen behind for any number of reasons. So this afternoon, I turned off the phone, cleared off a spot on the dining room table, and got to work on a card to complete the Easy Ink Blending Techniques Class.
To create my card, I started with a panel of Neenah 80# cardstock and using my Misti, I stamped the floral image from the You Make Me Happy stamp set in a pale ink. I did this so that I would know where the embossed image would ultimately be placed. I also stamped the floral image a second time on masking paper and fussy cut the image. I placed the mask over the stamped image.
Using Purple Tape, I masked off the edges of the cardstock so that I could create an central focal point. Using the grid on my craft mat, I was able to make sure that the margins on each side were equal and the lines were straight.
Next I started ink blending the background, starting with the lighter colors first. In the bottom left corner, I blended Twisted Citron first and then added Tumbled Glass from the opposite corner. I deepened each corner with Mowed Lawn and Salty Ocean.
I removed all the masking for the initial reveal. I placed the panel back into my Misti and restamped the image with Versamark. I covered the ink with gold embossing powder and heat set the image. Then I stamped the sentiment from the Wish Big stamp set with Versafine in Onyx Black. I quickly covered the ink with clear embossing powder and heat set the sentiment.
Prior to assembling my card, I cut the panel with the a die from the Postal Stamp Rectangles set by Elizabeth Craft Designs. I glued a piece of craft foam to the back of the panel to dimension before adhering it to a panel of design paper and the card base. As a finishing touch, I scattered some sequins in a slightly studied and somewhat random manner. I’m still working on the random thing!
Hope you got 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.
Supplies
Paper: Neenah Solar White 80# & 110# Stamps: You Make Me Happy by Altenew; Wish Big by Altenew Inks: Versamark by Tsukineko; Distress Inks in Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron, Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean Dies: Postage Stamp Rectangles by Elizabeth Craft Designs Embellishments: Super Fine Embossing Power in Gold by Ranger; Fine Detail Embossing Powder in Clear by Nuvo; Sequins in Not So Heavy Metal by 28 Lilac Lane.
