Steampunk Fairy

Stamp: Meredith Dillman's "Steampunk Fairy" sheet 5 plate 99

For today's card I used the other half of Meredith Dillman's plate 99. I just love her Steampunk images! I wanted some leather looking flowers, so I punched some flowers out of natural cardstock and stained them with the new Tim Holtz Distress Stain in Vintage Photo. I then used a black pen to draw some detail in and edged the flowers with a darker ink. I bent them slightly by pinching each petal.

Altered Moon Mermaid

Stamp: "Moon Mermaid" -Meredith Dillman's sheet 5 plate 99

I love this artsy mermaid by Meredith Dillman! For today's project, I used the new mega sized bottle caps from Maya Road. The new bottle caps are over 3.5 inches wide. Love! I cut an old plastic Prima flower cylinder in half and glued my colored image on. I used the large bottle cap as a base.

I used nearly all of the new Copic colors on the image. I drew up a quick reference chart for those of you wondering about the latest Copic color additions. The colors with the asterisks are new. The others are just for comparison. I tried to make sure the colors were as accurate as possible, but there may be variations. This is just to give you a rough idea.

New Copic Colors (click to enlarge)

Elaine Cox's Bear Collection

Stamps: Elaine Cox Teddy Bear Collection

Sheet #16 Plate 102

As soon soon as I saw these cuties, I was in love! As the Japanese would say, "KAWAII"!

And, coloring these little bears just makes you happy! For today's card I used some leftover cardboard cut into 3 pieces to create a trifold with my cropadile, some eyelets and some bits of dyed seam binding.

I love making this style of card, because it can be left standing up for display. Tip: Make sure you leave enough slack in the ties so that the card can fold up.

A Little Mermaid Tutorial Surprise.

Stamp: Elaine Cox's Little Seahorses Mermaid

Sheet 6 plate 48

Hello everyone!! Wow, it feels like ages since I've posted. I've missed everyone! And, now I'm back and loving all the new artists and team members! Such amazing talent.

Since I haven't done one in so very long, I decided I would have a surprise mini tutorial for you today with one of my all time favs by Elaine Cox....

Cardstock: Neenah Classic Crest Natural White

Copic Markers: listed

{click on photos for a larger view}

For the little flowers I used a teeny bit of BV02 & V05 in the very center and then went over it with the Colorless Blender to have them bleed out slightly to give them a soft watercolor appearance.

I used small little horizontal strokes with E35 to give the Seahorse some patterns.

G20 Wax White, is one of my favs. It brightens up your greens without being too bright or too washed out.

E50, E51 and E42 continue to be my fav fast skin combo.

Too keep things from being to flat, I like to use shadows like E71 blended out with E70. You can see where I used this technique on her hair where it frames the back of her head. And for around her eyes I used BV02 blended out with BV000. The key with this is to have a very light hand. For her eyes I used E30 and E33. Leave some of the E30 showing for highlight.

I added a touch of E35 at the very top of her irises...where they meet the top of her eyelid. This gives them more depth.

For my finished card I added some Lemon Ice Stickles to some random strands of her hair. The background is colored in with a light wash of G20 and I outlined her with E71 so that she didn't blend into the background too much.

Thanks for stopping by!! Please let me now if you have any questions.

Little Red Riding Hood

Stamps: Ching Chou Kuik's "Little Red Riding Hood" sheet 23, Plate 65

I just adore Ching Chou Kuik's whimsical version of Little Red Riding Hood! For today's cards I used some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and Glimmer Screens for backgrounds. These are the scraps I have left over from other projects. When you use the glimmer mist screens (think opposite of a stencil), you spray over them to create a pattern. When you spray over them, the glimmer mist collects on top of the screen...so always have a sheet of cardstock handy to flip the screen over on to. So, all that glimmery goodness never goes to waste. I then added some washi tape and Tim Holtz tissue tape and some black and white baker's twine.

Copic Markers:

Top card: E0000, E00, E11, E33, E35, E40, E42, E51, E70, RV000, BG10

Bottom card: R20, R22, R24, R25, R37, E11, E19 E30, E33, E35, E50, E51, E71, E74, E77, B00, B02, B06, BV31, RV02

A Trio of Fairy Muses

Stamps: Meredith Dillman's "Japanese Fairy", "Peacock Fairy", & "Blue Fairy" Plate #76

For today's card I used the beautiful fairy images from one of the new Sweet Pea artists, Meredith Dillman. I love the anime feel to these, so I decided to use some vivid colors combined with the Copic Fluorescents. I then cut them into 1.5 x 3.5 inch panels. They are outlined with my favorite Platinum Stickles. The background paper is the Fairy Flora line from Prima.

Steampunk Fantasy

Stamp: Meredith Dillman Sheet #87

Shipping November 29 *Available for pre-sale!

I just love anything Steampunk! For today's card I used the newest Meredith Dillman sheet, which features two beautiful Steampunk inspired images. You will LOVE the fun Steampunk detail on these. The paper is the newest Cosmo Circa 1934 line and the die cut gears are Tim Holtz Alterations embossed with the Tim Holtz embossing folders. These stamps would look wonderful with the Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante line, too!

Copics:

Hair: E70, E71, E74, E77, E79

Metal gear: E30, Y26, Y28 accents BG11, BG15

Top: E41, E42, E07, E08, E49

Have a Merry, Jeweled Christmas

*NEW* Ching-Chou Kuik's "Jeweled" Sheet 27, Plate 86 *Shipping Now*



It's almost that time of year again! Wow, this year has really flown by. If I don't start working on Christmas cards now, I'll never get them done. For today's card, I used one of Ching-Chou Kuik's newest images, "Jeweled". She has some fabulous hair for coloring!! Her candy cane colored hair is done in Copics: R35, R37, R59, E40, W3, W00. For the background I used one of the festive and vintage Collage stamps from the Holiday Collage Sheet, Plate 56.

One of my favorite holiday embellishments is glittered buttons. I used some Glossy Accents and Martha Stewart red glitter to bring some boring buttons to life.

'Poise and Splash' and 'Bella's Paradise'

Here are samples of two new Linda Biggs's designs made by Randi Wall

'Poise and Splash':

'Bella's Paradise':

Both of these images can be found on Plate #81, Linda Biggs's sheet #1

Happy Shimmery Halloween

Stamp: Elaine Cox -"Twilight Halloween"



I just love these larger Elaine Cox Halloween witches! So much great detail. For my card today, I colored with Copics. I spent quite a bit of time coloring and then decided I didn't like it. But, I had already invested so much time in it, I decided I'd alter it somehow....so, I sprayed Coffee Shop glimmer mist all over it!! Glimmer mist makes everything better! ;o) I made the polka dots on the butterfly with the walnut stain Distress Stickles. And, I used more of that addictive Tim Holtz Tissue Tape in Hobgoblin.



Copic Markers: Cape/Hat: W7, W6, W3, E70, E71, RV00; Skin: E51, E42; Hair: W3, E40, B60, G000, BV31; Dress: E40, B41, W3; Tree: E35, E33, E74, RV06; Background: V09, RV06, B00

Vintage Mad Tea Party

Stamp: Elaine Cox "Mad Tea Party", Plate #35

For my card today, I focused on coloring just the center of the image. I then used B0000 & B00 to color from the edges toward the middle. This is a great for creating 'softer' colored images and also an easy technique to cut down on coloring time. This would also work good with monochromatic and sepia tones to create a more vintage feel.
I also used some of the new Tim Holtz tissue tapes (LOVE these!!) from the Hobgoblin & Tidings sets. It is hard to see in the photo, but I made some faux vintage seam binding, by sprinkling some bleach on black seam binding. You have to have a very light hand with the bleach, rinse immediately and let air dry.

Seahorses & a Sea of Gold

Stamp: Ching-Chou Kuik's "The Seahorse"

For my card I used the latest from Ching-Chou's circular collection, 'The Seahorse' with some of the new Crate Paper 'Restoration' line. Okay, maybe it is not a sea of gold, but this Copic combo is one of my favorites for a warm, golden background. I mixed Y32 and a little bit of YR85. That bright pink is one of Copic's fluorescent markers, FRV1. Love this color! Her hair is mostly BG0000 & B00, with a little bit of BG01, YG11, YG03 and some random Stickles in Icicle. The shadowy outline was done with E70 which is a great option when you need something more subtle than a grey.

Collage Fairy Sparkles

Stamp: "Holiday Collage Sheet Plate 56"

The Holiday Collage sheet is full of gorgeous details. And, there is such a great vintage-ness to them. I love using them simply stamped in black or sepia Versafine ink on kraft. I used some of the new Fairy Flora line from Prima. And, combined it with some complementary fairy colored glimmer mist.

Sparkle Supplies: Glimmer Mist {Patina, Cosmo, Peach Delight, Lemongrass, Moonlight}, Stickles {Platinum}, Versamark Dazzle {Champagne}& the new Prima Screens and Prima butterflies and pebbles.

The Moth of Many Colors

Stamp: Ching Chou Kuik's "The Moth"

Paper: Crate Paper - "Restoration"

I absolutely LOVE these new circular Ching Chou Kuik images!! Such fun to color and so easy to create with. The shape is just a perfect touch for cards and really turns the image into the focal point.

Whimsical Holiday Mermaid

Stamp: Ching Chou Kuik's "It's My Birthday", Plate 20

One of my favorite Ching-Chou Kuik images is from the very first CCK release. It is called "It's My Birthday", and there are so many possibilities with this image. Here, I turned her into a holiday card. I thought the hanging stars looked a lot like holiday ornaments!

The background color is a vintage, patina-like color I achieved by layering my Copics in G21 and B00.

Candy Colored Butterfly Mermaid

Stamp: Ching Chou Kuik's "Light of Beautitude", Plate 54

An Alice in Wonderland inspired card featuring a candy pink background I created by blending several layers of Copics in RV14, RV04 & RV02 leaving the edges of the image very light. I then used Rock Candy Stickles to edge the image and sprinkled it with additional chunky clear Martha Stewart glitter. The embossed background was created with a Tim Holtz Alterations embossing folder. I inked the embossed cardstock with Brilliance Pearlescent Purple and Platinum Planet.

A Little Polka Dotted Unicorn

Stamp: -Elaine Cox's "Little Black Unicorn" Sheet #55

I absolutely adore this little unicorn image by Elaine Cox! So many possibilities. Reminds me of my old My Little Pony collection. I gave my little unicorn some pink polka dots.

The background is a Tim Holtz embossing folder. I used Brilliance Pearlescent Purple and Colorbox Peony ink. The strip of charcoal paper, I stamped with bleach.

Bleaching tip:

Bleach stamping is so much fun! Pour a tiny bit of bleach onto a folded napkin placed on a plate. You must use fresh bleach (after it's been sitting out in the air awhile it isn't as strong). And stamp onto the napkin, making sure you have a coat of bleach on your stamp. Then, stamp onto dark cardstock. Hold the stamp there for a few seconds. Sometimes it takes a while for the bleach to work it's magic. Also, some cardstocks work better than others (something to do with the core of the cardstock), so experiment.

Always immediately rinse your stamp off. Do not let the bleach sit on your stamp. If you are concerned about ruining your stamps, then set aside some old stamps you don't use much for "bleaching use only".

Have fun!

A Very Sparkly Mad Tea Party

Stamp: Ching-Chou Kuik's "Mad Tea Party"

Ching-Chou Kuik's FAC images are so beautifully detailed and you can use them with so many mediums. Here, I simply stamped the image and then sprayed it with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in: Sweet Clover, Patina, Peach Delight, and Pink Bubblegum. To get those heavy blobs of color, I spray close to the paper, about an inch or two away from the paper. Once the image was dry, I edged it with Versamagic in Jumbo Java. The background is embossed with one of the new Tim Holtz Alterations embossing folders. And, wow, are black roses difficult to photograph!

Alice in Red...and Pink.

Stamp: Elaine Cox "Croquet Game", Plate #35

My favorite costume in the new Alice movie is Alice's red dress! I also stamped a little heart on her dress, but I got carried away with my flowers and didn't realize I covered it up. The background is one of the new Tim Holtz embossing folders. Love them! And I embossed and sprayed pink card stock with some Apricot and Strawberry Shortcake Chalkboard Glimmer Mist.

Can you believe it's Summer already?!? Here's a Summer inspired ATC. This Elaine Cox mermaid cutie is one of my favs. I just love that little frog!

Stamp: Elaine Cox "Little River Mermaid", Plate #34

The chunky glitter on her tail is one of my all time favs: Ice Stickles in Coffee

Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Notecard & Copic tutorial

Stamp: Ching-Chou Kuik's "Dark Royalty", Plate #21

This is a tutorial for some fast note cards. It is fun to use this layout, with several different images and create a notecard set for gifting! The nice thing is you don't have to color the entire image. Also, you can use other shaped punches. While I was at it, I thought I'd throw a mini Copic hair tutorial in as well.

TUTORIAL:

{Click any pics for a larger view}

First, select a punch. Here, I am using the Marvy Heart Mega (pink) punch.

I use a punched piece of card stock to decide my heart placement....

I then take my punched out heart shape and trace around the area I want to color. I leave a little extra space...

Now, I'm ready to color.

The first color I laid down was V15, a medium purple.....

Next, I blended out the V15 with V12, be careful not to go over your V15 too much, else you will lighten up your V15....

Next I filled in the white areas with BV0000 and BV000....

Go back with your V15 and V12 and add back in some darker/shaded areas. If you compare the picture above and the picture below, you will see it is darker around her roots, around the nape of her neck, etc...

You all know how much I love to add crazy colors to the hair. Here I added some YG03...

With a very light hand, I then blended out the edges of YG03 with YG21...

My favorite skin combo is E50 & E51. Here you can see where I laid down the two colors. I will then go back over with E50 again to blend them....

Here is the end result...

I also added some Sakura Gelly Roll in Clear Stardust to the hair.

Now you need to trim off the bottom, so it will fit in your punch. Punch out. And, you are ready to finish your card!

Have fun! Feel free to ask questions in the comments!