Sweet November Stamps Guest Designing

 Hi Folks! Something different from me today - I was really honoured to be asked to do a guest designer spot at Sweet November Stamps.  The illustrator (and colourist extraordinaire) Amy Young has long been one of my absolute favourite artists out there, and she just continues to inspire me and lead the pack towards making scene cards.  I am just amazed at this woman's ability to (seemingly effortlessly) bring a scene together with her application of colour around an image.  Anyway, these are her brilliant images, some dancing snowmen and critters that come in a couple of clear sets that just hit the shelves.  I used two sets, "Frosty Feet" and "Drop It Like It's Cold", and I had so much fun creating this night time norther lights scene for them on a long card. I used Copics and then coloured pencil to create the scene and a whit gel pen for the stars in the sky as a final touch.  If you haven't seen her work or her shop yet, you are in for a real treat! So head on over to her store here: Sweet November Stamps and if you are can, please go watch some of her colouring videos which she generously puts on Facebook for free! Her site on FB is "Adventures in Coloring With Amy" and of course she also has her Sweet November Stamps group on FB too, where you can see how others create with her images. There's lots of free demo's on there too, by her talented design team members, so if you are new to her store, you have a ton of crafty entertaining and informative video watching ahead of you! 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Gnome Haunted Forest

 Halloween is just around the corner, and these little gnomes are getting scared! They are a red rubber stamp from Whimsy called "Gnome Haunted Forest".  I coloured the scene with Copic markers.  It was fun to make the dramatic lighting on the tree trunk and parts of the gnomes! I used the "Boo" sentiment from the "Penguin Spook Nite" set and stamped in white and then heat set with white embossing powder to make it stand out.  I then used one of the dies in the "Comic Speech Bubble" die set to cut out the sentiment - so perfect for this occasion! Background paper is from the digital pack, "Starry Night".  

Thanks so much for stopping by!

My Creative Scoop's new course!

 Mindy Baxter has another set of classes out for this fall! I partnered with her to draw the images that she is using for these classes. Didn't she colour them beautifully?! I just love her scene work! You can learn how to do all of these beautiful scenes if you sign up for her courses! The early bird price is only on for two more days, so get it while it's hot! Go here!

Gnome Birthdays

Hi there! Today I've got a gnome from my Gnome Birthdays clear set at Whimsy Stamps, hope you like him! I like how these gnome characters could go for either a male or a female recipient; that opens up the possibilities, doesn't it!? I decided to make this a tiny gnome who was having his cake outdoors amidst the tall (to him) mushrooms and grass.  The image is coloured with Copics and the scene hand drawn with Copics too.  I really enjoy doing scene cards these days; they are challenging but very rewarding too. 

The word "smile" is a die from Whimsy as well. 

Thanks so much for looking today!

 

Crittercorn: Panda

Hi all! This is the panda from the Crittercorns clear stamp set at Whimsy Stamps.  He was coloured with Copic markers.  I drew the flower separately on the front of the card and coloured that in with Copic markers. The background is a fun technique using the blender solution.  I coloured it in completely, then dropped tiny droplets of the blender solution all over to get this bokeh effect.  I fussy cut around the panda and adhered him to the daisy with two sided tape.  The sentiment is from the Yoga Animals set and die cut with a die from the Quick Strips set at Whimsy.  Thanks for looking! 

 

Crittercorn: Zebra

Hi folks! This is the zebra from the clear stamp set, "Crittercorns" that came out in July.  It also has a panda-corn and a bunny-corn.  The inspiration for this set came from my grand daughter, who told me all about the panda-corn first, which I had never heard of before, but of course I believed her after she told me about it's existence! So I just had to draw the panda corn, and then the zebra and bunny corn to go with it (didn't want the panda corn to be lonely, you know). 

I coloured this critter and scene using Copic markers. Striped paper is from the Fabulous Florals paper pack at Whimsy.  Thank you for looking! 

 

Bunnycorn

Hi folks! Here is Bunnycorn from the clear stamp image set called "Crittercorns".  I had fun creating this forest scene for it (I especially love drawing bark on trees!). Image and background was coloured with Copic markers. The black markings on the bunny reflect the actual markings on my grand daughter's real bunny, and the card went to her for her first birthday. Thanks so much for looking!  Here is your closeup:

 

Gnome

This is a gnome from my "Gnome Sweet Gnome" digital set at Whimsy Stamps. I printed him out on Hammermill 100 lb cover copy and coloured him with Copies, then fussy cut him and set him aside. Next I made the background by drawing the daisy very lightly in pencil and shading and colouring it with Copic markers.  The background behind the daisy is also Copic markers with blender solution to create the bokeh effect. It is really fun to do but you must be careful when you start dripping the solution close to the image - it can spread further than you think - so for the areas near the flower, I used the blender pen so that I would have good control over where the solution went. I used the Quick Strips die set for the sentiment.  Thanks so much for looking!

 

Fairy Dreams 2

Here's a second fairy from the set "Fairy Dreams", a new release at Whimsy Stamps. This one is in red rubber.  I drew the daisy for her to sit on and created the background with Copic markers (whole thing was coloured with Copics) and careful use of the blender solution to make the bokeh effect.  After covering the page with the alcohol marker (in this case B63 and bits of BG11 and B02) you carefully let drops of the blender solution fall on the page, and hope you don't get a drop that spreads too close to the image! I used the blender pen for those spots that are closer to the petals so that I had more control.  The background and fairy were separate, actually, so I fussy cut her and pasted her on once the daisy background was completed. I made the frame using Whimsy's Notched Squares die.  The sentiment came from Peruvian Lillies set, and the oval is a die in the Quick Strips set.  Here is your closeup:

Thanks so much for looking!

Fairy Dreams

 Does anyone else (besides me) want to BE her? Drifting peacefully on a calm, cool lake on a sunny day right about now?... ahhhh... She's from the new "Fairy Dreams", a rubber set with three fairies and sentiments to go with them. I coloured her and the scene with Copics. The paper is a sheet from "Fabulous Florals" paper pack. Purple sheet from "Chilly" paper pack. Below is your close-up and, thanks for looking!

Whimsy Weekend, freebies and a demo

Hi folks! Hey, guess what, Whimsy is putting on a virtual crafting weekend over on Facebook on this coming weekend, June 6 and 7!  I have a free image for ALL who attend, and I'm not the only Whimsy artist giving one away to ALL attendees! Along with the freebies, there's also many different  prizes with multiple ways to get in on the draws, so head on over to the page to find out more HERE
Yours Truly will be doing a live colouring video on Sunday morning at 10 AM ET,  in which I will colour the free image. Yes, you heard that right, there's a free image AND a free colouring demo taking place, but only for those who attend the event on Facebook.  Hope to see you there!

My Creative Scoop and Mindy Baxter special course

Mindy Baxter of My Creative Scoop is a fantastic colourist and teacher of Copic colouring.  She approached me not too long ago and requested I draw some images that she could use in an upcoming course (that's a whole course, not just a single class!).  It was an easy 'yes' from me because we share the same values of being helpful in the crafting community, not only towards our customers, but also towards our fellow business owners.  So I agreed to illustrate some exclusive images just for her. The images are pictured below, however, these are just sneak peeks - Mindy actually created some pretty awesome backgrounds for each image that will inspire you and allow you to complete a whole scene! Her course will teach you how to do it easily, step by step (talking from experience here, because I took one of her courses awhile back, trust me, she's easy to understand and very helpful!). It is available for a short time at a discount, so get in on it while you can. You gotta act quick to get the discount, so do not wait! Here is the link to find out more details: My Creative Scoop 

Thanks for visiting today!