Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Christmas Dreaming

 Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!  We did at our house.  It was so busy though.  We did lots of visiting, sleep-overs, eating and games.  I think I need a few days of nuthin to do to catch my breath!
I made this card for one of my daughters using the rubber image I illustrated for Whimsy Stamps called "Christmas Dreaming".  Again, I happily used the Make It Crafty Blending Card, which, in my opinion (and many others) is THE BEST paper to use with Copics.  Normally REDS are really hard to blend with each other and to remove with the blender pen.  But not with this paper!  The reds on the candy cane and wings were easy to do, compared to my past experiences with other paper brands.  See the shine on the candy cane? That was easy to achieve with the blender pen!  This paper lets you push the colour deep into the fibres, leaving that shiny look.  I am so impressed with it!!!
Here is my Copic colour list:
Candy Cane Red: R22, 24, 27, 29, 46, 89, C6, 8, Blender 0
Candy Cane White: C0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, E50, Blender 0
Flesh Tones: E000, 00, 04, 11. BV23, R21, 22
Hair: E31, 50, YR20, B93, Y28, Blender 0
Jumpsuit: G20, 21, 24, 28, W5
Striped Shirt and Stockings: 
Gold stripe: E50, 53, 55, 57
Yellow/Green stripe: YG91, 93, 95, 97
Blue Stripe: B91, 93, 95, 97
Red Stripe: R20, 24, 46
Wings: YR20, R220, 24, 46, 89, G20, 21, 24, N1, 3, Blender 0
I used the blender on the wings to remove some colour for vein lines and decorative dots.  Afterwards, I coloured up close to the veins just to emphasize them and to make the lines of demarcation more prominent.
Here is the whole card:
It fit nicely into one of the circle dies from Spellbinders Grand Nestabilities.  I used some Distress inks to sponge around the edges.  
Thanks for looking today and come back again soon!  

Friday, December 23, 2011

Cool Pony

Christmas is almost here!!  
I have another card to show you today in which I used Zoe's "Make It Crafty Blending Card".  I can't say enough great things about this paper.  It is a total DREAM to work with!  I recommend it for Copic beginners and experts alike.  I get zero compensation for saying that, I am not affiliated with Zoe's store (we are just good friends!).  But I am just in "paper love" with this stuff!! ha ha!

Before I go on with my card deets, I want to be a proud Mom and ask you to vote for my daughter Ashley!  She is in a contest in which the winner gets a recording contract! You can go take a listen to her song HERE and vote for her!!  It is for the MMG's top new song of 2011! She is in the TOP THREE!!  Woot woot!!  Please give her your support!! 
She has an album out and I have a link on the right side bar if you want to listen to snippets of the whole thing.  You can order a hard copy or buy it from iTunes!

I used my image for Whimsy that I called, "Cool Pony".  I wanted to draw a Shetland pony because since I was a young girl I have thought that they are the cutest breed of pony!  I love their shaggy mane and fetlocks and short little legs -- so cute!! ha ha
Copic Colours Used:
Skin: E00, 02, 11, 13, R20, 22
Red Coats: R24, 27, 29. 43, 46, 59, C8, 5
White Trim: BV20, 23, E50, Blender
Pony Mane: E50, 53, Y28, W6
Pony Body: E31, 34 35 37, 97
Pony Bow: YG61, 63, 67, W5, 6 (Smooch Glitter added)
Girl's Hat:  G21, 24, 28, 29
Boots: G94, 99, YG61, W5, Blender
Girl's Hair: E25, 29, W7
Pony Hooves: E21, 25, 227, 29
Ground: C1
I'm entering this card into the following challenges: 
Sundays With Crissy (my challenge blog!): Anything Goes!
Party Time Tuesdays: Use Ribbon
Craft Us Crazy: Christmas or Humourous
Charisma Cardz Challenge: Anything Goes
Truly Madly Crafty Challenges: Christmas Images And Colours
The Crazy Challenge: Christmas
My Time To Craft: Winter Pals
Critter Sketch Challenge: Let It Snow
Everybody Art: Anything Goes
Paper Playtime: Anything Goes

Edited to add: 
You don't want to miss this! Whimsy has their new magazine out and it is FREE!!! It is a beautifully laid out magazine with gorgeous creations from the DT AND Whimsy customers!  Plus my great friend is a featured artist and she has a great article to read.  You will love this! Go check it out! 
Merry Christmas all!!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Snowman and Penguin fun!

Hi Peeps!  Christmas is almost here and I am so excited!  Here is a card I made using my Snowman and Penguins digi stamp image.  I am happy with how this one turned out!
This was my first time using Zoe's paper from her store, "Make It Crafty".  The paper is one she discovered for Copic users and it is called, "Make It Crafty Blending Card".  I want to say ahead of my next statement, that I get zero compensation for plugging her product.  Now Copic lovers, hear me.... THIS PAPER IS THE BEST I HAVE EVER TRIED FOR BLENDING COPIC COLOURS!!!!!  It is a dream to work with -- I have NEVER seen the Blender pen work like this before -- oh the joy of seeing the effects with this paper -- if you have never tried it before, please go to her store and get some NOW!!! You will not be sorry!!  It is now my new staple to go with Copics.  I can't believe Zoe found this paper-- I always knew she was a sweet heart AND super smart AND super creative.  Well it seems she has reached genius level with the discovery of this paper!!! Oh I can't say enough about it.
sigh... I am in paper heaven now... ha ha ha ha
The die cuts are Ann's own Elegant Flourishes and I love using them! I painted the edges with a gold automotive paint loaned from hubby.  It actually works a lot better than the gold crafting paint I was using!  
I coloured the image with the following Copics:
Snow:
B0000, 21, 32, 34, 63
BV20
C0, 2, 3, 4, 5
YR30
RV21 on his cheeks
Blender 0
Sky:
B32, 21
Now you see the sky and the snow and how I kind of melded the two into each other in a unique way, with no line of demarcation?  That's the beauty of this paper from Make It Crafty.  I could not have done that with any other paper I use!  What a joy to work with this stuff!!
Branches:
E55, 57, 59
Hat on left penguin:
G24, 28, 29, C5
Red hat, mitt and scarf:
R24, 27, 29, 46, C6, 4
Ear muffs:
R43, 46, C6, 4
Penguin feet: E95, 97, 99, W5
Hat on right penguin:
G24, 28, 29, C5
Beaks:
YR21, 23, 24
White on Penguins:
E50, 51, 53, W2, 3
Black on Penguins:
N1, 2, 4, 6, 8, blender
I messed up the pink on the penguins' cheeks and so I blended it out and then went over it with a pink Prisma pencil crayon :-p .  I also used a grey Prisma pencil crayon to touch up the black parts of the penguin to get a smoother gradation. Here's your close-up:

I am entering this card in the following challenges: 
Also be sure to check out the new release at Whimsy! I have some new images there as well as all the Whimsy Artists!
Merry Christmas All!
Blessings and Peace!!



Thursday, December 1, 2011

Challenge card with Little Artist

Hello people, welcome to my blog today!  I made this card with my monthly challenge in mind, over at Sundays With Crissy. I wanted to make this an easy peasy challenge because I realize this time of the year can be a very busy time.  So if you do join in, feel free to create as your heart tells you, and enjoy the process! It's Anything Goes! 
On my card, I used "Little Artist", a digital image I did for Whimsy Stamps which was released last month.  I printed her on a light brown/grey pastel paper and coloured her with pencil crayons.  
I see so many cards these days where people have coloured the image with pencil crayons on Kraft paper.  I don't have any Kraft yet, so I thought the pastel paper I happened to have in my stash would do the trick.  I think it did ok.  I would like to try out the Kraft though, to see if it works any better.  Outside edges of the main image panel were painted with Copic White. Here is your close-up:
I made and printed the sentiment from my computer.  The die I used is a new Shapeology Die from Whimsy called Elegant Notables 1.  I just love it and will be using it often!  The swirly leafy die cuts are also from the Shapeology collection at Whimsy and are called Vines Die Set.  They are destined to see a lot of use too!  I just love the die sets that Ann comes up with for Whimsy.  
The flowers are also from Whimsy, from their Whimsy Buds collection.  They were white but I used my Copics to add a touch of pink to them. 
Pink and neutral DP layers are from Basic Grey.
Thank you so much for stopping by today!  I hope you will join us over at the challenge blog Sundays With Crissy.  
Be sure to check out what my DT has been up to all through the month of December.  They always come up with inspiring creations!
Aslo note that today is the digi release day over at Whimsy.  All the Whimsy artists have new digi's in the catalogue today.  I have four new digi's pictured below, all snowmen images.  Here is the link to my digital line at Whimsy Stamps:
*NEW Snowman Skating*NEW Snowman Angel*NEW Snowman Santa*NEW Snowman Top O' the Mornin'
And of course there is a mini bog hop on to showcase all the new digital images.  Go to the Whimsy Inspirations Blog for all the details and the links to the nine DT members who are showing off the newly released images in some pretty awesome creations!

Be blessed and know that you are loved!