Penguin Holiday Squares

Christmas is coming! But you all knew that, right?  ;-D 

I LOVE everything Christmas, and I'm super excited about this set of stamps that was released last month.  It's called Penguin Holiday Squares.  This is just two of them - there's a third image in the set (along with sentiments) so go check it out HERE.  Plus, the sentiments it comes with are so versatile, not just to use with this set.  And I love the fonts Denise chose for them. (I draw the images, and she designs the sentiments!)

AND,

I also did the papers - yup! I designed them myself and you can get this set at Whimsy too! They're from a set called "Christmas So Soft".  I love love love using digital paper! It opens up a lot of space on the shelves by not having to store big bulky pads of paper.  Plus you don't have to "save" a sheet that you love for that "special occasion" (you know that occasion - the one that honestly never happens!) because you can reprint your favourite sheets over and over at will! No more fears of running out of your favourite one!

Also, the snowflake is an oldie but a goodie, still available at Whimsy HERE.

Here are the Copic markers I used:

Black: N1,3,5,7,9 100

Pom shades: BG90, 93, B000

Background: BG23 with B41 as a second layer on top

Penguin cheeks: 0 blender first, then R30

Penguin whites: YR30, E40, E70, Tiny bits of BV20 in the darkest places

Pink clothing: RV21, 91, 93, 95, 34, 32, and some RV0000 in the highlights

Beaks: YR30, 12, 14, 27, E74

So if you haven't started your Christmas cards yet, this set makes some really COOL cards! Hop on over to the Whimsy Store and check out all their new releases! There's something for everybody!

Stay cool!

Polar Friends and Winter's Magic Blue

Hello! Want to get a jump start on your winter/Christmas cards? Well, Whimsy has some new winter holiday images already out! And this card is showing one of them.  This is "Polar Friends" (the image is in red rubber) and I drew it with you in mind, thinking you might really enjoy tackling some skin tones, hair and fur! I know it's a challenge for some people, but you don't grow unless you challenge yourself! I will put the Copic list below so that you can see what colours I chose. 

The paper, well, I am just so proud of them, because I designed this set of papers too! I called this set "Winter's Magic Blue".  You can buy it, keep it stored in your computer and print it off at will. So convenient! So handy!

Here is your Copic List:

Skin: E0000, 000, RV91, 93, R30 blush

Eyes: B21, B000, N1, R20

Coat: E51, 53, 55, 57, E70, 71, 74

Blonde Hair: YR30, E40, 42, 43, tiny bit of 44

Fur cuff: N1,2,3,4, B000

Bear's nose: N3, 8

Sky background: B21, B000

Hat and Mitts: B21, 23, 24, 26, 29

Bear Fur: YR30, E40, BV20, 23, B000, BG72, E71

If nothing else, this post should help cool you off in the midst of these heat waves! 

Enjoy!

Crissy

Purr-Fect Picnic Cats

This is Purr-fect Picnic Cats , a red rubber image found at Whimsy Stamps. I also used some Whimsy digital paper found HERE

I coloured the image with Copics and touched up with coloured pencils. Thank you for looking, and I hope you are having a lovely summer!

Design Team Call for Whimsy!

There's still four days left to get your application in for the Digital Design Team at Whimsy Stamps! Specializing in promoting the digital goodies at Whimsy! If you are interested, please go to this link: DT CALL for WHIMSY STAMPS DIGITAL
closes at the end of July
HURRY!!

Penguin Campfire

Hi! I am still not into the swing of life-as-usual (yet!).  My pups are now seven months old, but still a handful, so my card making time is still taking a beating! But it won't be beat entirely, thanks to some early mornings (before the Cracken get released!) and some old fashioned grit and determination.  So here I am with another penguin card (oh, surprise, surprise ;-P) and this one is called Penguin Campfire.  I coloured it with Copics but I decided to blend out the sky colours with some coloured pencil atop the Copic layer (on the sky only).  White gel pen for the stars after everything was coloured. I love doing "glowing" scenes.  It really is not as hard as it looks.  You just have to add your yellow on first, where ever you want the image to glow, and then colour as per usual, but making your shadows a tad darker than you normally would.  It also helps a lot to have a really dark background. That is all you gotta do! This one was helped along by Copic because they have some flourescent shades that really already kind of glow.  And just an aside: when you want to colour fire, flames, for the most part, the whitest yellow should be coloured at the base of the flame, where it contacts the fuel (log, or whatever is on fire).  Then as the flame gets further and further from the source of the fuel, the flame darkens through orange to red. Most people colour fire the opposite way, with the whitish yellow at the top and work down to red at the bottom, but that's just not what a flame looks like IRL. So, ....   here's the Copic list: 

Glow on front of penguin, his clothes, the log he sits on, top of the rocks around the fire: FY1

Fire: YR07, R05, R27, FY1

Penguin White: E40, YR30, E41, E71

Penguin Black: W1,2,3,5,7,8,10

Penguin Beak and feet: YR12, 14, 16, 27, BV20, E71

Hoodie: R20, 21, 22, BG90, 93, C2

Rocks: T1,3,5,7

Logs in fire: E43,44,W9

Log seat: E43,44,79, W5,7

Atmosphere above fire: Y00, 11, YR30, C00

Sky: B0000, BG0000, C00, B32, 45, 97 and then blended to the yellow above the fire using coloured pencils

Ground: E40, 41, 42, 43, 53, BG96, G21

Twigs, tree and grass in background: E87, 89, E40, BG90

Smoke: C1,2,3 plus some grey coloured pencils

Stars: white gel pen

This is a new digital image at Whimsy Stamps and can be found HERE. 

Also used on this card are a sheet from the digital pack "Old Glory" and a sheet from a pack called "Ahoy There". 

Thanks so much for stopping by and looking! I hope to be back ... soon!! 

Online Thievery

Putting this out there to educate you... a Whimsy stamp set design along with some dies were recently stolen and are for sale online.  If you find your favourite stamp or die selling for a lot less than at the company where they originated, they are most likely low quality knock-offs of illegally acquired designs. Please do not purchase them! You might have to pay a little more for designs that were made with integrity, but by buying from legitimate sites, you’re keeping your favourite companies and artists in business and receiving a higher quality product. Please do not support this thievery because that makes you a party to it.

If you can imagine thieves ambushing a truck full of baked goods (which they didn’t make and they didn’t buy the ingredients for and they didn’t pay staff to make) and then turning around and selling the stolen goods in their own store, at cheaper prices (making it appear more enticing)while claiming it was theirs, would you buy your bread from them? if you knew it was stolen from the honest, family-run bakery? just so you could save some money? Please be aware of this practice and help keep honest family-run businesses in business. We all loose when we support thieves; conversely, we all benefit from supporting honesty and integrity.

We wish to keep bringing you original high quality designs, but we can only do this with your support. You can help by educating yourself and your fellow crafting buddies. Please spread the word. Thank you.

Penguin Magic

There's a brand new release at Whimsy! This is Penguin Magic, one of my red rubber images for this June release.  I had a blast using my Leaf Foliage Die Set 1 and Leaf Foliage Die Set 2

for this card! I also loved using the gorgeous papers from the Starry Night Set - they are just so beautiful! Also used a sentiment from a previous set called Fairy and Unicorn Greetings.  I just love this beautiful sentiment, and there are more in the set, check it out!  I coloured Penguin Magic with the following Copics: 

Coat inner lining - R46, 39, 89

Coat and hat: W1, 2, 4. 6, 7, 8, 9, Blender 0, 110 special black

White of penguin - YR30, E40, 41, 70

Pink bunny ear: R30, 43, E04

Bunny fur: W0, 1, 2, 3

Beak and feet: YR30, 12, 24, E37

Penguin Black: C1, 2, 5, 7, 100

Top hat: N2, 3, 5, 100

Blush: zero blender plus R30

Ground: YG61, G94

There's lots of other yummy new stuff at Whimsy these days, I hope you go check it out!

Enjoy this blissful weather we're having!

Sale!!!

Don't miss this!!

Fairy and Unicorn Greetings

This is my new rubber image set for Whimsy Stamps called "Fairy and Unicorn Greetings".  I recorded myself colouring the body of the unicorn and you can view that video HERE.  I have two versions - that one is under five minutes, and I added a longer one HERE at just over 12 minutes for the die-hards LOL! 

Also used on this card: 

Paper: Starry Night

Die: Leaf Foliage 1

Copics for the unicorn body listed in the video. 

Thanks for looking!

Penguin's Bunch of Bunnies (and new Puppies~!~)

Hi Peeps! Can't chat long... I am typing as the puppies are asleep, but they won't be for long, lol! Yes, we have a couple of new pups, American Cocker Spaniels, Freckles and Dot! I will show you a photo of them too!
On my card I used Penguin's Bunch of Bunnies, a new rubber image I did for Whimsy! Also on the card are papers from my set of digital papers that I created! I think they are pretty, even if I do say so myself... also used are words from a chipboard set by MIC, and sold through Whimsy Stamps too.  I also stamped some party hats from a couple other Whimsy sets ...
Wish I could hang around, but puppies are calling!

Gift Horse

Hi People! Here is a card I made using "Gift Horse", my rubber image at Whimsy Stamps! Instead of using the party hat, I made a Santa hat and turned it into a Christmas Card for my niece.  She loved it! 

I coloured the image with a combination of Copics followed by coloured pencils. The snowy background was drawn on with a white gel pen. The beautiful neutral background paper is by Tracy Wray at Whimsy stamps, from the pre-printed pack, "Christmas Cheer". 

I have entered a couple of challenges with this card.  Firstly, the Whimsy Inspires Challenge, which is a monthly challenge.  It is always Anything Goes, as long as you have a Whimsy image, or, Whimsy Paper, or Whimsy Die on your card, you are free to enter! And, there's always a 15$ Gift Voucher for the store to one randomly chosen winner at the end of the month long challenge.  So, don't hesitate to join! The best part is, you don't have to spend a cent! You can get a free Whimsy image or paper download to print off and use at home, by visiting HERE! and so you are all set to join in! No excuses! lol

The second challenge is from SCS, the Ways To Use It challenge, and this week it is "Let's Circle Around" (to use circles on your card). 

Thanks for looking!

Penguin and Snowman birthday card

Happy 2018 Precious People!

Believe it or not, this is not a Christmas card, but a birthday card for my son-in-law, whose birthday is on Boxing Day.  He is very appreciative of my art, and is an artist himself, so, I decided to do a card for him that he could actually frame if he wanted to; thus, it is a one layer card with no add-ons; it's just images and colour!

I used my Winter Scene in combination with an image that was available for one of Kit And Clowder's colouring classes (a website dedicated to teaching colouring of digital images!)  It is a redux of an older digital image from a few years ago, Snowman and Penguins. 

I coloured the image with mixed media - Copics, Coloured Pencil and a white gel pen for the snowflakes on Snowman's hat.  After laying down a layer of Copics, I went over parts of it with Prismacolour Pencils.  The parts I put a pencil layer on were the snow in the foreground, the snow on the tree on the right, the penguin whites parts, the snowman white parts, the snowman's hat and scarf, and the two blue/green hats and scarf, and the ear muffs.  Other than those parts, the sky, the distant hills and the snow on the trees on the left, as well as the striped scarf, are just Copics.  The reason for adding the coloured pencils are several: I feel I have a slight advantage with coloured pencils in that I can control where the colour goes, and control the blend a lot easier.  Also, if you use some of the medium or dark shades of Copics, like I had, the paper tends to get saturated quickly, and so it becomes impossible to deepen some of the shadows without getting ink pooling on the surface.  Switching to coloured pencil at that point gives me the option of deepening shadows successfully.  I was happy with the sky and the distant hills and the mid ground trees, and that is why they didn't get any added coloured pencils on top. 

This type of colouring is very time consuming, and so it is not a type of project that one can do for every card, if you tend to want to make a lot of cards.  But it is very rewarding to see the end results!

Here is a list of the colours used: 

Copics: 

Sky: Y0000, BG90, B14, 91, W0, C1, 0 Blender

Ground and Snowman: Y0000, BG70, B60, BG000, B32, 41, BV23

Snowman's scarf and hat: E21, 23, 25, 29, 49, R56, RV17, 14, and the white gel pen for the snowflake design

Blue/green hat, scarf and mitt on L penguin: BG11, 23, 72, 75, B14

Green hat top R penguin: G40, 43, 46, B14

Hood on penguin: E53, 55, 57, RV17

Fur Trim: W1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Green Mitt: YG25, G40, 43, 46

Feet and beaks: YR61, E95, 97, 99

Penguin White: YR30, BV20, 0000, 000, 23

Penguin Black: N0, 1, 5, 10, Y0000

Branch arms: E21, 08, 19

Prismacolour pencils used to enhance the underlay of Copics: 

929, 928, 994, 1078, 914, 927, 938, 1006, 105, 1027, 943, 1079, 912, 992, 920, 907, 103, 1024, 1103, 1086, 1087