Walking in a Winter Wonderland...Not!

Brrrrr! Good morning!

I awoke this morning to a bone-chilling two...that's 2...degrees! As my friends from the North Pole might say, "It's not a fit day out for man nor beast!" I can't remember the last time we were so cold. I thank God that our furnace is still working. I do wish it could keep up a little better though. I had to give the munchkin (a.k.a. Winnie the mini-dachshund) a blankie, along with darling husband, of course. ;-)

While we're only expected to reach 29 degrees today, I'm looking forward to the coming week, which will attain upper 60s by Friday! Hoorah!

So, in keeping with the current situation, I'm posting a card I made a while back with a digital image from Angel's Landing. The original black-and-white illustration is the work of Judi Maddigan, and I produced the color and finished product. This is one of my all-time favorite cards!

I just love these sweet little penguin babies! They make my heart laugh! I colored them with Copic Sketch markers, and then fussy cut around the images and popped them up with some Stampin' Up dimensionals. I had some beautiful winter-themed designer paper for the background. I hope they make you laugh, too.

Well, my office is in a cold part of the house, and I'm about to seek out my own blanket. Thanks for visiting, and please come back again soon. 

You can view some additional cards in my Etsy shop (link above right), if you'd like to pay a visit. I have additional sets ready (including Valentine's Day) and will be posting them there soon.

Stay safe and warm!

Balloon Ride

Hello. Today's 6x6 card is the November digital stamp of the month by From the Heart Stamps. I am very grateful to Faith Skrdla for her monthly image - and the opportunity to get the next one free by simply doing what I love and posting a card with the image each month. What a deal!  Of course, I have also purchased a number of them. Still a deal.

At any rate, the November stamp of the month was a challenge because of the balloons. I found lots of good tutorials on YouTube by searching on "Copic translucent balloons" or "coloring translucent balloons."  Some will recommend starting with the back balloon and moving forward, and some will do the opposite.  If you try this technique, you may want to experiment on a scrap image before attempting your final piece. 

Here's a closer look at my coloring. I thought it came out rather well for a first try! You'll also see in this shot that I hand-stitched the card, a move I wouldn't necessarily recommend unless you're going for a more informal or rustic look. Nevertheless, I'm happy with my result.

 



The papers for this card are Bazzill textured French vanilla and My Mind's Eye Vanity Fair 6x6 paper pad. This is a combination I haven't tried before, and it produces a fairly feminine look.

I've also been trying to pay special attention to the inside of my cards. It adds just a little extra surprise when your recipient opens the card.

Well, that's it for today.  Time for more fun before our dear cousins head back to Michigan. Thanks for stopping by - and may God bless!

Get "Well"

My mother sent me an obituary from my hometown a few days ago. A "girl" I went to high school with passed away this week. It isn't the first time someone my age has died, and I suppose it's to be expected as I advance in years.

I hadn't seen my high school classmate in years - and didn't know she'd been sick. How sorry I am that life was so short for her - although who's to say?  Perhaps we assume that more years is better. Yet, sometimes we see (or hear of) people who do more living in 10 or 20 years than some of us will ever do in 90.  I hope she packed a lot of living into her 55 years.

As I read her final tribute, I began to ponder the "Get Well" cards I put in the mailbox just Monday morning. There were three of them. One was for cancer, one for a stroke, and the third was for a cousin hospitalized for days with severe bronchitis.  

It occurred to me today, though, that we probably should send out more of these than we do.  There are many more sicknesses than just those of the body, although there are plenty of those to go around. There are sicknesses of the mind, the spirit, the heart, the world, etc.  Do we send out enough cards to those who suffer from one of these? Why not?

It seems to me that the world has a serious lack of encouragement. Physical illnesses can generally be seen, but what about the others? That may be more difficult to detect.  What does it mean to us to "get well"?  Is the sentiment only for the body?  Would someone not physically ill understand if they received a get well card?

Today I'm featuring a get well card - in the traditional sense. This digital image is called "Drenched" and is sold by From the Heart Stamps. I truly enjoyed coloring this darling image with my Copic Sketch markers in primarily purple and gold colors. It isn't visible in this picture, but I used Glossy Accents to make the raindrops and water puddle shine.

 

The image is die cut using Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eight - and offset, with the left border trimmed. The purple Bazzill textured cardstock is punched with Fiskars' Sunburst border punch, which appears to be discontinued. The punch is used on the front of the card - and is repeated on the inside, using a staggered orientation to simulate the appearance of streaming water. I really enjoyed this effect!

As I look forward to the arrival of 2014, I making a resolution to "get well." While I have several chronic ailments, and it would be nice to be rid of them, my meaning will extend far beyond the physical. I'd like to attend to my spiritual health, the love(s) in my life, my attitude, and more. I'd like to focus on what's really important to me so that the world, whatever that may be next year, won't beat me to a pulp!

How about you?  What do you resolve to do, be, or have in 2014? What are your dearest desires?

Hope to see you back here soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Printing on Die Cut Paper

Hello.

I was asked recently to create a card for our church's staff appreciation. The only direction I received from my Sunday School classmates was "make it big!"  So, I gave my imagination a little workout and decided to create a 12" x 12" card.  Not knowing precisely what it might look like, I made the trip over to Michael's to see what might strike my fancy.

Within about five minutes of entering the store, I knew precisely what I wanted to do. I found a beautiful, decorative designer paper for the base of the card - and then chose a lovely die cut paper upon which to print a verse of scripture. I purchased a piece of 12" x 12" chipboard to mount the card on, and purchased a couple of sheets of plain cardstock for signatures on the back. When I got home, I dusted off a display easel that I've had for many years.

Here's what my completed card looks like:

Now, after telling a dear friend what I was doing, she suggested I talk about printing on the die cut paper. It looks very delicate - and in fact it is a bit.  It's cardstock weight, but still, the odd shape and cut-outs presented a challenge not to tear or jam in my printer.  So, I pulled out my Scrapbook Adhesives brand repositionable E-Z Dots and rolled the tape onto the back edges of the die cut.  I then mounted it on a solid sheet of 12" x 12" paper, and put it in the printer. The "carrier" sheet did precisely what I wanted; it provided a standard piece of paper to go through the printer rollers.  The die cut stayed affixed to the carrier sheet and the verse printed beautifully on the intricate paper. Then I simply unmounted the die cut sheet and re-mounted it on my background paper.  Easy!  No tears; no smudges; no problem.

Here's a little video on how to print the verse on the die cut paper:

So, that's my tip for today.  I hope you give this a try the next time you want to print on a piece of intricate die cut paper.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you'll come again soon.  May God bless!

Birthday Flavors

Welcome!

It's been quite some time since my last post, and I feel just terrible that I've been absent so long. Summer is my busiest time of year at work, and I simply couldn't stop for any reason - not to mention that I felt like I didn't have a brain cell left by the time I got home!

Well, fall's arrived, and I'm already looking ahead with great anticipation toward the holiday season. It's always so much fun! Yes, I know it can be stressful, but honestly...we shouldn't let little irritations rob us of our joy.

Meanwhile, this is also "birthday season" in our family. The month of November alone has six birthdays and 2 anniversaries.  Whew!  That's a lot of cards!  And yes, I'm already busy getting them made. If I don't, I'll never make it.

Okay, so enough rambling. This summer I bought a new stamp set from Flourishes called Popsicles and Pinwheels.  It's a birthday set, and I'm having great fun with it. My favorite stamp from the set is a slice of birthday cake. The fun part is that I can use my Copic markers to color the birthday "boy" or "girl" their favorite flavor of cake, which naturally doesn't measure up to the real thing. Then I can surprise them with an actual cake (or cupcake) in the same flavor, and they're really excited!

The second positive to this stamp is that birthday cake is gender-neutral. I can simply change the paper colors and embellishments and make the cards masculine or feminine. Here are some examples:




My husband's favorite - red velvet cake with cream cheese icing

Don't like red velvet?  How about a little yellow cake with chocolate frosting:

Thick twine and dark cardstock are perfect for a male birthday
 

Don't see your favorite yet? How about a slice of strawberry cake with whipped cream?



A feminine birthday card complete with crocheted embroidery floss bow



Chocolate cake with dark chocolate icing. What do you think? A man's card - or a woman's?

 

My, my, my. I suppose it's a good thing all this yummy sweetness is made of paper. I feel my waistline expanding just looking at it! I hope you've enjoyed the versatility of this wonderful stamp set from Flourishes.org. 

 

Thanks for stopping by - and I hope to see you again soon.

Review: Copic Coloring Guide: Level 4: Fine Details

Have you ordered your Level 4 Copic Coloring Guide yet?  If you're serious about becoming a good Copic marker artist, and you don't consider yourself an expert already, then you really should buy this new edition! 

Here's why:

Earlier editions of the Copic Coloring Guide, while very good, were geared more toward the mechanics of using Copic markers for specific applications.  Level 1 focused almost entirely on learning the Copic numbering system, how to blend color, and other basic functions. Level 2 looked at coloring nature, and Level 3 was all about people.  All of them offered marvelous tips for improving an artist's coloring techniques. If you're new to Copic markers, they're a good place to start!

For the more advanced crafter, this 4th edition is taking us to a whole new level, with specific tips on how to reach "artist level" with our coloring. In fact, it goes beyond Copic coloring into how to use Multiliner pens and other mediums (Hmmm...should that be media?  Don't know.) to achieve more advanced results.

Here are some examples of what you'll find in this guide:

There's a huge emphasis on light and light sources. The authors, Colleen Schaan and Marianne Walker, begin with basic terminology you'll see throughout, and then provide tips on how to check images for contrast (the difference between light and dark values).  They offer step-by-step instructions on how to conduct a value study on an image - and provide illustrations of three different studies conducted on a single image, with the light source in a different place for each one. This provides a good visual of how the process works. They carry this idea throughout the book.

Once you have a good idea about how light works and affects your images, then you'll go on a visual journey that explains about shadows, undertones (and underpainting techniques), highlights, textures, surfaces, and more. Each page offers exercises for the artist to experiment with, and a bonus CD provides digital files of all the illustrations.

Once you have these basics in your head, you'll find another section of the book devoted to even more specialized topics.  Want to mix your own Copic colors?  The book will show you how. Want to enhance your stamped images with additional graphics, artistic shading or textures?  No problem. Ever wished you could place an image inside a scenic background on your card?  You can learn how here.

Well...I suppose I'm starting to sound like the book's personal salesperson.  Perhaps I am, but I really do like it that much.  If I can offer one bit of critical feedback, I would wish to know more about using the Copic airbrushing system.  There's a page or two devoted to airbrushing, but it doesn't really get into technique very much.

The final bit of good news is that the authors used a lot of familiar artists in the Copic world to create special projects for the book. You'll find projects from great Copic artists like Cindy Lawrence (whose card is on the front cover), Michele Boyer, Lori Craig, Melanie Holtz, Jennifer Dove (who made the card on the back cover), Jane Allen, Kathy Jones, Sharon Harnist, Debbie Olson, and of course, the authors themselves.

Each coloring project features a photo, step-by-step instructions, list of materials, and best of all, the maker and name of each stamped image. That's great, as I am particularly fond of a few of these stamps!

As you can see, I love the new Copic Coloring Guide, Level 4, Fine Details. In fairness, I should tell you that I was a blog hop winner for a free, autographed copy of this guide. One copy was given from each person writing for the hop, and I won the copy from Lori Craig at Split Coast Stampers. Thanks, Lori! Nevertheless, I can also say that I had the book on pre-order before winning a free copy, and my "win" did not affect my review of the book.

You can find this book at online shops like Annie's Attic (the publisher), Amazon, etc. For a quick find, look for ISBN 978-1-59635-575-0. Hope you enjoy it as much as I am!

Thanks for visiting.  Please stop by again soon! 

Crafting Pair

How fortunate I have been this past week to have my dearest friend with me to celebrate Independence Day - and crafting. We had three full days to complete both scrapbooking and card making projects. We might have done more, but we also went craft shopping and enjoyed my husband's 4th of July band concert in the park!

Lisa and I completed these scrapbooking and card making projects in just three days!

Lisa brought these beautiful red, white, and blue flowers from her garden at home

Tar River Community Band performed at the Farmville Town Commons in an evening concert on the 4th of July

Lisa and I have been great enablers over time. I got her into scrapbooking many years ago when I was a Creative Memories consultant.  Then, she became a Stampin' Up demonstrator and got me into card making.  Somewhere along the way, we switched!  This weekend reminded me, though, how much I love to put scrapbook pages together and capture slices of everyday life.  Over the next week or so, I'll be highlighting some of these projects in more detail.

For now, though, I'd like to talk about what makes these crafting events so special. First, I get to spend quality, one-on-one time with my best friend of many years. We talk and catch up on what's going on in our lives while we work. Sometimes we say nothing at all, and that's just as relaxing.

Second, we use each other's tools and supplies. Lisa brings new papers and inks, as well as stamps and tools I may not have. Then she checks out what I have that she hasn't used before. She also makes good use of my Big Shot and dies. Each of us stamps or cuts a supply for later use.

Next, we try out new techniques together. We either try something totally new for both of us, or one teaches the other how to do something specific. This week, I showed Lisa how to make an easy easel card, she showed me how to lay out some scrapbook pages, and we learned the brayer together. We both walked away with some new skills in our toolbox.

Meanwhile, my wonderful husband supported our fun by cooking for us and taking a few photographs here and there. God bless him!  We were able to leave our work in a dedicated crafting space, so no worries there either.

Crafting together this way is always a really enjoyable experience. We set aside time for it - and then follow through. It's a stress-free experience, and we both end up with lots of finished (or well underway) projects in a short amount of time. What could be better?

If you haven't tried crafting with someone dear to you, I highly recommend it. I'm already looking forward to the next time we get together.

Thanks for dropping by today, and I hope to see you again soon with some new scrapbook and card projects. May God bless and keep you!

A Rose Blooms in Summer

One of my favorite stamp sets is Fifth Avenue Floral from Stampin' Up. My favorite stamp from the set is a beautiful rose. It's taken me quite some time to figure out how to color it with Copic markers, but I'm getting better now, I think.

I thought it might be interesting to see the progression of how I colored the rose to make this colorful birthday card. I hope you enjoy seeing it come together.

 

 

Here is the uncolored stamped image:

 

 

The uncolored image provides very little dimension. If we've seen a rose, we know of course that it has a number of layers and delicate textures. In order to start providing some of that dimension, I began the coloring process by underpainting the image with a neutral gray color (Copic N2).

 

 

 

 

Already, it seems the rose has become multi-layered. The underpainting provides just enough contrast to start showing layers - and also serves to provide some guidance about where shadows will fall in the finished image. In this case, the light source is assumed to be coming from the front right of the image. All shadowing should be consistent with that light source.

 

 

 

Now the rose is a beautiful pink (R81 and R85). Areas that were previously underpainted in gray have now been accented in a dark pink color. Some blending of color has been done, but dark areas continue to be dark. The rose continues to have dimension, but it is once again unclear where the light source is. Additional work is needed to restore a sense of light.

 

 

The final bit of "coloring" is shown in the image above. Actually, this effect was achieved by using the colorless blender marker (0) to move color around on the rose petals. Some people erroneously believe that the colorless blender marker removes color from an image; this is not true. The colorless blender simply moves color away from the marker tip to surrounding bits of the image. It is then important to do further blending to avoid dark lines where the ink has moved.

 

Finally, one last technique was used to bring dimension to the rose. The final image is actually two roses that were colored identically and then cut apart. The center and outer edges of the rose were cut from image 1, and then the middle section of the rose is from image 2. The pieces were then re-assembled using foam dimensionals to pop each piece up from the surface of the card.

 

The card uses Bazzill cardstock, Spellbinders ticket die-cut in two sizes, Mister Huey honeydew misting spray, and Heidi Swapp's 6x6 lattice spray stencil. Finally, the birthday greeting is from SU!'s Itty Bitty Banners. 

 

I hope you enjoyed this brief explanation of how this lovely rose bloomed this summer. Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for some scrapbooking fun!

 

A Sea Turtle for Summer

Isn't nature amazing?!?  Today I'm sharing a new image I picked up from...you know where...From the Heart Stamps. I know, I know, I'm like a broken record! I do own lots of other stamps, I promise, and one of these days soon I'm going to post a number of cards from them. For today, though, I have this new digital stamp of a sea turtle.  I had such great fun with this one.

Now before you start thinking that my coloring is all wrong, or really weird, take a look at my inspiration photo for this one. I simply did a quick Google search on "sea turtle image," and this is what I found. Isn't it a beauty?!  My thanks to GulfMex.org for posting it.

Image found at http://www.gulfmex.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SEA-TU1.jpg on June 25, 2013

We have such a wonderful, colorful world, and reality is almost always more interesting than fiction! Sometimes when I'm coloring an image I like to see what a creature, or flower, or something else, actually looks like.  So, I run a quick search on the Web and find tons of choices. I usually print out my favorite and then attempt to copy it from real life.

Of course, my choices are always limited by my Copic marker inventory. For this image, the turtle shell is E07 and YR07 (brights), E19 (accent), and E40 (base). The head, neck and fins are E50 (base), Y32, YR21, and YR15.

This image also has a sandbucket and shovel (YR02, YR07, Y18, Y35, B24, and B26). The ocean water and accent color in the fan shell are BG000 and BG10. The starfish has various earth tones from the E colors of Copic Sketch markers.

Finally, I employed a few different colors for the sand.  My base is E42 (sand white), with spots of E40 and E51.  I finished it off with the Atyou Spica Glitter Pen in clear color. It made the sand look like little specks of shiny gold! I hope you can see a bit of shine in the sandbucket and in the sand between the bucket and the mama turtle.

Enjoy! And stay tuned for more cards and scrapbooking treasures over the next few weeks. We're gonna get scrappy around my house! Thanks for stopping by.

There are Always Flowers

This Friday marks a turning point in my life: my boss is retiring. Now, I don't know that she would want her name or photo posted on a blog, so I'm not including them.  She has a really unique name, so it wouldn't be fair. Still, I want to pay a short tribute to her, even though she'll probably never see it. It doesn't matter; she doesn't seek praise. She does what she does to be true to herself.

Some people might be glad to see a boss retire, but not me - not this one. I dearly love my boss. She's been my mentor, my inspiration, my source of knowledge, and in many ways my friend for the 2 1/2 years I've had my job. I know that a new leader is coming in, and I have the greatest respect for what she'll bring. I'm not worried about leadership; I'm simply sad to say farewell to my dear friend.

You may wonder what makes her so memorable for me. So, this is what I can say. "L" is always even-tempered; I have rarely seen her flustered. She always has a kind word to say, and for her the glass is always half-full. Most of the time, it's all-full. She meets frustration on my part with a simple phrase, "Calm down." Then when my spirit is quiet, we tackle challenges together. (I find this somewhat funny, as I always thought I was calm!)

"L" has been preparing me for her retirement for the length of my service in my job. She was fulfilling her own commitment before retiring and has stayed on long after most would have departed.  She has maintained her integrity and done her work faithfully for a long time. She is beloved by many - and sought out for her counsel constantly. Her shoes will be hard to fill.

Because of who "L" is, I made a special easel card for her staff to sign. It carries a quote from Henri Matisse: "There are always flowers for those who want to see them."  She liked that sentiment! And the flowers I get to see today are that we have promised to see each other and have lunch from time to time. While I'll miss her day-to-day, it isn't goodbye forever!  Praise God!

 

The flowers are dogwoods from Hero Arts. This is a single stamped image. The card is an easel card made from several different card stocks, including Bazzill and Neenah Classic Crest. The dogwoods are colored with Copic markers in pink and green. Coloring was super simple, as the shading for the flowers and leaves is already stamped from the image; there's no guesswork about where to shade.

 

The design for the easel part of the card came from a Split Coast Stampers tutorial by Beate Johns. I made my card a standard 5.5 inches wide, rather than the 4 1/4" she used. All other measurements were the same. This easel was super simple!

 

Thanks for reading my tribute to "L" and please join me again for a really fun card!



Happy Father's Day

I am truly blessed to still have my father with me this year. He's had some tough times with health in the last few years, but he's 84 and always finds a way to laugh and appreciate a bit of humor. That's why I'm hoping he'll enjoy this cute digi from From the Heart Stamps. It's called Necktie Banner and this is my first card with it.

 



 



Now, I don't remember that Dad had any particularly ugly ties when I was growing up - and these are pretty tacky. In fact, I remember Dad having very good taste when it came to ties.  Some of those trendy polyester suits, though...well, let's just say I'm glad that fashion has departed from our culture. One of these card ties might have fit in very nicely at that point. :-/

 

Anyway, I completed the look on the inside of the card with a simple wish:

 

 

 

 

Here's how I made the card:

I used American Crafts wave-colored card stock, added designer paper from Lily Bee Design Buttercup 6x6 Tiny Tablet, and colored with Copic markers. Colors include B24, B26, Y13, Y18, YR02, YR07, G21, G24, R21, R24, and C1. I used Ranger Distress Ink in Broken China for the edges of the image, and finally popped up the design with Stampin' Dimensionals.  And that was it!  I hope you like it.

 

Meanwhile, for all you fathers out there, young and old, may your children honor you this day (and every other) for all that you do for them. May you all be good dads and give your children the best future you can. God bless you for all you do!

 

Thanks for stopping by today and please come again soon.

 

Triple Treat Border Punch

Hi. It's been very rainy here lately, which is really great for growing things of all sorts, but it does tend to dampen the spirit a bit.  Still, instead of letting the blah weather get me down, I decided to turn it to practical use!

Today I turned my Fiskars Sunburst border punch into a triple treat by using it three times to achieve a new look for a card. This whimsical image, titled "Drenched" is once again by From the Heart Stamps. I can't seem to get away from these adorable digitals!

I printed my image on Neenah Classic Crest solar white cardstock and colored it with Copic Sketch markers in primarily purple and yellow shades. I die cut it using Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eight. And although it's difficult to tell from this photo, I used Glossy Accents on the raindrops and water puddle for some shine.

On the inside, I repeated the Fiskars sunburst borders twice. I tried lining up the punches exactly, but decided the result was too formal for this image. This offset punch pattern reminded me a bit of a running stream of water between the yellow and white papers.

And that's it! I hope you like the look of my triple treat punch. Thanks for visiting, and please join me again soon. 

Using a Digital Stamp for Copic Coloring - Inks and Papers

Hi. Welcome to today's post.

Today I'm wrapping up the project that I previewed last Friday: Humble Anneke. This sweet little girl just melted my heart when I first saw her. Anneke is a digital stamp by From the Heart Stamps.

For those who haven't tried a digital stamp, it's important to remember that the type of printer ink makes a difference in how your colored image turns out. Apparently laser printers are best when printing digital stamps for use with Copic markers - but I have an inkjet. I've successfully printed digital images and avoided any bleed-out of the image, but I've also had a few that weren't so successful. I've been told that either heat-setting the image, or letting it dry for a day or two, may help with this issue. Either way, I recommend giving it a try when you have time to test your papers and inks. (I have printed my images thus far on Neenah Classic Crest solar white card stock. The preferred "Blending Card by X-Press It" used by many Copic artists may work better. I haven't yet tried it for digital images, but can attest to its wondrous results for coloring!) 

I started the coloring process on Anneke with her hair. As you can see, her hair is long and wavy. Wavy hair is a bit more complex than straight hair – and requires a different technique. Each strand of hair should be colored separately. Strands that appear to be part of an outer layer will catch light and should be highlighted. Likewise, hair that curves outward will catch light. Artists typically use Copic marker numbers ending in 0-3 for highlights.  For this image, my highlight (base, or undertone) color is E31. The midtone is E35, and the darkest color is E37. This is a natural blending family.

After laying down a base of E31, I used a flicking method (from the crown down and from the tips up) to establish the dark colors with E37. Finally, I did minimal blending with the E35 midtone.

For Anneke’s skin, I chose E000, E21, E04, and BV000.  Yes, that’s right, there’s a blue-violet in there!  Why?  Because blue and violet are complementary colors to yellow and orange, the tone of most people's skin. The blue-violet helps to calm down the stark contrast in the shading.

Now, you may be thinking at this point that her skin still has some really serious contrast happening. That's true, and this is one of the scariest things about coloring with Copic markers until you get used to the idea of it. Most beginning artists over-blend and really tone down a lot of contrast. (And by the way, I definitely consider myself a beginning artist.) The hope, though, is that the greater contrast will add depth and beauty to the image.

The final steps were to finish Anneke's clothing and accessories. I chose two complementary colors: blue-violet and yellow. At long last, she became the focal point of this lovely card. I used Bazzill card stock, Spellbinders Nestabilities picot edge circles for the white background, Simon Says Stamps "You" set for the sentiment, and Mark Richards Crystal Stickers colored with Copic BV13 for embellishment. I hope you like my final result.
 

 
Thanks for visiting, and please stop by again for a brand new topic.  Happy Friday!

Using Masks to Test Color Options

Hi. Today's tip is really simple - but ultimately very useful.

Last Friday, I introduced you to Humble Anneke. As I worked to complete my project with Anneke, I had to make some decisions. One of them was about color.

I started with Anneke's hair and skin, and then progressed to her clothing. I knew I wanted a blue-violet "apron," as well as a contrasting yellow color. But when it came time to decide whether to use white for the main color and add yellow polka dots, or use a yellow base with white dots, or some other combination, I just couldn't decide.

Now, after you've spent a tremendous amount of time coloring, you don't want to mess something up and be unsatisfied with it! After a few minutes, the perfect solution came to me: test out the combinations before adding them to the actual image!

So, I pulled out my brand new, unopened Copic bleedproof marker pad and used a multiliner pen to trace the appropriate part of the image. I repeated this a couple of times. I colored the images with different color combinations and then fussy-cut them out. I placed the pieces on the image one at a time and chose my favorite one. Then I colored the actual image with my choice.

Testing color options using masks



Final color choice after testing

If you don't happen to have a Copic bleedproof marker pad, don't worry. You could just as easily use vellum to trace or stamp your image, then color and cut it out. Take care though; vellum may have some bleed through, and if you're tracing on your original image, you could ruin it.

My final color choice was slightly different from both masks. I ended up using a very pale yellow (Yellow Fluorite, Y0000) base, with darker yellow polka dots, sash, and bows (Y23, Y32, and Y35).

I also attempted to draw in a cast shadow to ground Anneke on the card stock, but had a bit of a mishap there. So, I ended up fussy-cutting her, too. As you might imagine, cutting out Anneke changed my idea for the card, so please be patient with me as I move toward a completed card. I'll post it just as soon as it's complete.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you find today's tip helpful, and I hope you'll join me again soon to wrap up this project. Peace!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hello. Mother's Day has arrived once again, and I continue to be blessed to have my dear Mom in my life on this very special day. Mom, if you're reading, Happy Mother's Day, and I pray you have many more!

I also wish all other mothers a blessed day, as well.  I can't think of a more important job in this world than the one you have. You all are to be commended for pouring your heart and hands into your children's future. May they honor you in return now and in the years to come.

Finally, for those women who nurture their spouses, their pets, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, friends, or anyone else, your role is important, too! Please continue to offer your special brand of love, and you will surely be blessed.

Today I offer this card featuring a digital stamp called "Gathering Hearts." It's offered for download by From the Heart Stamps. It's a wonderful image to use with Copic markers. I promise to offer a coloring video in the near future, but for today I'll simply tell you the Copic colors I used for the various elements.

Hair:  E11, E18, E19
Skin:  E00, E11, BV00
Flower in Hair: Y11, Y19
Hearts: R29, R39, 0 Colorless Blender (careful: Reds bleed very easily!)
Dress: BG11, BG15
Pail: C1, C5
Shoes: C1 (shading only)
Grass: YG17, YG25

For anyone who wants a closer look:

This image is colored on Neenah Classic Crest solar white cardstock and mounted on American Crafts woven cardstock in robin's egg blue. The die cut is Spellbinders Nestabilities Decorative Labels Eight.

Thanks for visiting. Have a wonderful day - and may God bless!

Copic Coloring Guide: Level 3: People

Happy Friday! Thanks for joining me.

Today I want to share a Friday favorite! Several weeks ago, I purchased the Copic Coloring Guide: Level 3: People by Colleen Schaan and Marianne Walker. (I also own Level 1, but I'll save that for another time.) I must say that Colleen and Marianne have really outdone themselves with this book.

I am truly astounded at how much I've learned - and so quickly, too. With a focus on "people" one might expect to learn about skin, hair, and faces - and not much else. Not so! Those topics are covered in great detail, but there are so many additional helpful hints along the way that I will keep the book handy at all times as a reference.

I won't give away too much content here, as that would be unfair to the authors, but I can share a few favorite tidbits such as:

• Always "light" a featured image from the face to give it importance; i.e. the face should be highlighted and the back in shadow - unless there is a specific artistic reason to do otherwise.
• Skin tones change as people age. Babies and toddlers are the purest and have a pinker tone. Older people are more "pasty."  Oh my!  Sounds terrible, doesn't it? Well, don't worry. We older folks are still beautiful!
• Don't use a colorless blender on a face; it can leave the image looking splotchy.
• Most people color clothing/fabric in solid colors. Much clothing is patterned. Use advanced techniques to add patterns to clothing. (I'll feature this in a coming post.)

Finally, the Copic Coloring Guide has numerous colored card samples. All materials are listed. I have already discovered a number of new sources for digital stamps, which I find fascinating - and less expensive than other types of stamps.

Today's image is a work in progress. This is "Humble Anneke" by From the Heart Stamps. (See link at right.) I'm using stepped images, and today I have the hair complete. Here's a little preview of an upcoming post.

 

 

Thanks for visiting. Please join me again to see how Humble Anneke turns out.  May God bless!