Growth Part 2

Thanks for the lovely responses to my post titled, "Growth"  (one post below this one).  It was fun to take a look back at one of my first cards and to share it with you.  The first commenter, Angela suggested it would be cool to see how I do this same image now.  So I did just that!  Thanks for the suggestion, Angela!  There is a we bit of a difference :-D

Now I looked at what challenges would help inspire me to make this card, and I have included the following:

Creative Card Crew - "Going Dotty".  I put polka dots on the framing layer and on the sentiment tag.

Papertake Weekly - I used their sketch

Pile it On - "Furry Friends" (well that is obvious, lol)

and Stamp Something - they wanted us to doodle.  I doodled the polka dots with a couple of brown Copic markers

I used the following Copics on the High Hopes image,  Roasting Marshmallows:

Choppers Beaver: E41, 44, 47, then E21 all over as a general "wash"

Mudzie Moose: E70, 74, 77 on body, then E11 as a "wash" over that

Bear: E50, 53, 55. 57. 59, R81, 83

Tinks Skunk: C1, 4, 6 9, R81, 83, B41, Opaque White by Copic

Log: E11, 13, 15, 17, 19, E49, W4

Grass: G14, 21 24, 40, BG75, 78

Flames: Y17, R08, Y11

R81 and 83 on feet pads, inside ears and on marshmallow bag

Background: E50, R00, RV00

Thanks for taking a peek at what I did today!  Bless you!

Growth

Hi Peeps!

I have a little something different to share with you today, hope it interests you.

I get a lot of compliments on how I colour up an image - thank you very much to those who say so!  In fact thank you to all who have left nice comments!

But I have not always coloured the way I do today.  And I'm not speaking of my kindergarten days either!  For many years, I considered myself an artist because I loved to draw with a pencil or pen.  But even though I could always draw well, I did not know the first thing about colour and how to apply it, or what colours worked well together.  Most of my art was in black and white -- for years!

I started drawing images for High Hopes back in 2005.  These were large open images that begged for some colour to bring them to life.  I wanted to colour them up and make cards with them. But I was stumped!  I did not know what to do!

I struggled SO much for that first year or two.  I tried markers and coloured pencils and water colour paint. No matter what I tried, I struggled!

For the first year or more, this was my routine:  Stamp off an image one DOZEN times.  Start colouring the first one.  Chuck it out.  The second.  Chuck.  The third.  Chuck again.  I would be so unhappy with my colouring that usually the first ten or eleven would go to CHUCK!  And let me tell you, Chuck wasn't giving me any compliments for the job I did either! LOL

Now I am going to show you one of the first cards I ever made with one of the first images I ever drew for High Hopes Rubber Stamps.  (gulp, swallows pride) No, my grandchild did not colour this.  I did.  Keep in mind this was the copy I felt was good enough to make into a card.  All ten or twelve of my previous tries had gone to chuck.

Now I am not saying this is terrible.  I'm just saying, I have grown.  And we all do grow, as artists and card makers.  If you are constantly making cards, week after week, you cannot help but grow and improve your skills.  It is bound to happen, just for the sheer repetition and practice you are doing!

I am posting this because I want to encourage anybody who thinks they can't learn to colour well.  If a colour challenged artist like me can do it, so can you.  All it takes is the determination to keep colouring, ask questions, study your mentor's work, and keep your mind open to learn new things.

I used to go to the gallery of an artist who I thought could colour really well, click on one of their cards, and put it up nice and big on my computer screen.  Then I would stare at it and study it for a long time.  I would keep it up on my screen, and then go and try to mimic what I saw.  This exercise really helped me a lot!  There were two galleries that I studied more than anyone else's: Jerri Kay and Anna Wight.  You can see that even they have grown, if you go back to their galleries on SCS and look at what they did at first too.

I picked their brains about their art work on more than one occasion and made friends with them in the process.  And I am happy to say that they are still dear friends to me.  Hugs to you Anna and Jerri!! xo  I still bow in your general direction!! ;-)

If you have stayed with me til the end, bless you and thank you for taking the time to read my post.

I hope you were encouraged to keep growing as artists!

Hugs,

Crissy

Bubba Fish

Sorry about blinding everybody today ;-)

This is Bubba Fish and he is another one of my Squigglefly images. 

I don't usually do cards this bright, but the theme just seemed to call for it.  I coloured Bubba with Copics  in some very bright colours (no duh!) but since I did it some months ago, I don't have a list! Sorry! But the background water was really fun to do and is my favourite thing about this card!  After applying several shades of blue and turquoise, I then used the colourless blender to "pool" the colours (no pun intended).  This works really well when you have laid down a good thick layer of medium to dark shades.  I love how it gave me a nice water effect!  The tip for the water look is to vary the size of the pool you make with the blender pen.  Using the brush tip, if you push it down onto the paper and hold it still, when you lift it, you will see the rough outline of the brush tip which ends up looking like a petal shape.  But if while you are pushing the tip onto the paper, you roll it back and forth or go around in a circle, you will get different shapes.  That is what I did here.  And even for a few of these "pools"  I rubbed the tip of the blender over an area roughly the size of your pinkie nail.  (sorry, can't think of a better comparison at the mo) That way I was able to get some larger pools. 

Don your sunglasses, this is pretty bright!!!!

I got inspired by several challenges and here they are:

Fab n Funky - It's all in the technique.  They want us to use our fav. technique. Mine has to be using the blender pen with Copic markers to create interesting textures, such as I did for the water!

Creative Belli Blog: The sketch is from this blog, and they want us to add a clip.  Thus the star clips on the sentiment oval.

Pixie Cottage - They want us to use circles.  Well, the bubbles and polka dots are circles!

Stampin' Royalty - Glitter Happy!  Thankfully this time the glitter showed in my photo (on the bubbles!)

Be sure to check out my new challenge blog, Sundays with Crissy!  I'll have the first challenge on Sunday April 11th.  And I am going to need a Design Team to help me with it, so I am holding try outs!!  So if you are interested, click here for the application details! 

Snuzzle Love

I am happy to show you one of my more recent images released with Wags 'n Whiskers.  This one is called, "Snuzzle Love" and depicts Zoe with her famous bunny that she so lovingly took care of as a young child.  It is precious when our childrens imaginations allow them to make friends with a stuffed toy.  I hope I captured that innocent child-like love with this image I did for Nikki and Lacey. 

Here is a list of Copics used:

B41, 45, 60

BG11, 13, 75

R21, 81, 85, 0000

E50, 51, 53, 55, 57, 59

E00, 000, 11

E70, 71, 74, 77

Blender 0

 As usual, I did change my mind about her pants after I did them all in brown.  I went over them with the R80's to make them more pinkish maroon.

Some of the E50's were on the floor to make a wood like appearance. 

I got inspired by the following challenges today:

Friday Sketchers #94 was the sketch I used, and Claudia's sample card was my inspiration!

Stamp Something - distressing

Charisma Cardz Challenges - something for the kids

One Stop Craft Challenge - let it shine (hard to see, but I added stickles to the bunny's bows, plus the rhinestones add some shine too!)

Ooh La La - A button, a bow and some bling! 

Stampin n Scrappin - Flowers and stitching

Don't forget, I am looking for a Design Team for my new Challenge blog, Sundays With Crissy! Click the link for details on how to apply!

Design Team Call!! (with an exciting edit added!)

I am SO pumped, SO excited, I am just on the edge of my seat! I have TWO big announcements to make!! First one:
I have opened up a new CHALLENGE BLOG!!! And guess what I'm going to need???
A DESIGN TEAM!!!

I am going to run a bi-weekly challenge blog starting Sunday April 11th for all you crafters out there who would like to take part!  A new challenge will be posted every second Sunday. I will be offering up blog candy once a month too!   On the last Sunday of every month, I will choose a random winner from all the challenge participants of that month!

So what I need is a few crafters who would be willing to form a design team with me, to help with this fun and exciting venture!  Here's what I am looking for:

Crafters who
- have a blog and would be willing to use it to promote this challenge
- love to use my illustrated images in their projects
- are skilled at and love to colour (any medium)
- would be willing to do two projects per month for my challenge (could possibly combine with other DT work and/or other challenges)
- would be willing to take a turn at commenting on the posts links people leave
- would be willing to take turns hosting a challenge

As a DT member you would have your pick of any of my digital stamps - as many as you can use!

IF YOU WISH TO APPLY:

 Make a new project with one of my digi images and try to impress me with your colouring and crafting skills!  Then send me an e-mail.  Make sure your e-mail includes all of the following:

-  your reason for wanting to be on my design team

-  a link to your blog post displaying your new "try out" project

-  a wee bit about yourself (I'd like to get to know you!)

-  info on any other DT work you do if you happen to be on other teams

Please grab this blinkie for your blog too, and link it back either to this post or to my new blog, "Sundays with Crissy".   Ann Vento of Raindrop Echo Designs has been helping me with some of the graphics, and she is a dream to work with.  If you need any graphics, I highly recommend her!

The deadline for the call will be April 30.  Looking forward to seeing your creations! 

My SECOND big announcement!!:

I also have another exciting announcement to make!  Whimsy Stamps is planning to open up a brand new line of DIGITAL STAMP images in April!! Whoo-hooo!  and Yours Truly will be drawing some of them, as well as their other current contributing artists Katie Sowa, Denise and Kevin Lynn and Ann Vento of Raindrop Echo Designs!  We are teaming up to make a whole new digital line for Whimsy and I can hardly wait to show you what we have planned!  The release date is planned for April 12th and we'll have some sneak peeks leading up to that date.  And Denise has a really cool blog hop planned on the 12th to kick off the new line.  Of course there will be yummy blog candy up for grabs as well, so mark your calendars! You won't want to miss it!!

Ten Things, Ten Blogs

I got this award from Mary (thanks Mary!) and I just couldn't resist posting it! If you want a giggle for the day, go read what Mary wrote.  I had a good chuckle!

The rules to receive it are, list ten things about yourself people may not already know, and then pass it on to ten blogger friends.  Ok, so here goes! 

1) I love horses!  I think they are the most beautiful animal on the planet.  Which makes it really fun to be drawing the carousel series right now for Whimsy Stamps!

2) I love to paint full size paintings - though I don't get time to do that these days.

3) I sing, play the guitar, and write my own songs.  Again, not much time for that anymore, but I still love it!

4) My art room is a total mess most of the time.  I try to organize, but those skills don't come naturally to me!  That's probably why I have never posted pics of my art room.  Believe me, you wouldn't want to see it!!!

5) My feelings are hurt very easily, but I forgive just as easily! 

6) I am not afraid of getting older.  I see it as being that much closer to seeing the God I love face to face!

7) The minute I wake up, I start a conversation with God.  I start with "Good morning Lord, thanks for the good nights' sleep, and go from there.  He and I converse all day long.  

8) I love colouring now, but six years ago, I did not enjoy it!!!!!  I didn't know what I was doing and my first attempts at colouring stamped images looked like a child had done it!!!!  I used to stamp off an image ten or twelve times because it took me that many tries to get it right! The first nine or eleven would go into the garbage!  NO word of a lie!!!! 

9) My hubby Mike made a harp for me three years ago. It is my favourite instrument.  But I haven't had time to learn how to play it!  He is learning to though!

10) I am an American Idol addict!  I don't like any other show on tv.  Watching tv makes me feel like I'm wasting time that I could be using to create something, so I don't do much of it! (except on Tuesdays at eight and Wednesdays at nine!)

Ten bloggers (in no particular order) I have chosen for this award are:

Zoe - you should see her recent post - a pop up card that is extraordinary!

Denise

Bev

Kimmie

Melanie - you think I can colour??? Go see what Melanie can do!!!

Ann

Nikki

Lacey

Chris

Sarah

Enjoy visiting those blogs! They are well worth your time!

Winner of Name the Bunny contest!

Thanks to all who participated in the "Name the Bunny" contest that Holly held over the weekend!  It was hard to choose.  I had a list of ten favourites and then narrowed it down to two.  But the one that struck me the most was
"Rupert"
and it was suggested by Catherine Breakwell.
I can't say why, it just had a ring to it, and seemed to suit this little guy, who I think of as a boy bunny (probably because my daughter had two boy bunnies when she was growing up!).
Congratulations, Catherine!  Be sure to contact me at my e-mail addy so I can get an image to you!

Name the bunny contest!

Now I know I've shown you this bun just a post ago, but there's a wee little contest going on right now  so I had to show it again!   Dear sweet Holly came up with the idea for a "name the bunny contest" because this poor thing is nameless!  Let it not be so!  After I drew it, I was stumped for a name.  Right now it is "Bunny with Tulip".  I know... boring!  So why not hop over to Holly's blog, as she is running the contest, and tell her what you would like to name this bun! She is cooking up a wee prize for the winner, so what have you got to loose!  We'll announce the winner on Monday! Go see the cute card she made with it and give her your name suggestion in the comment section.  Here is the direct link to the contest post!   Enter as many names as you'd like!  And have fun!

Edited to add:

This is the prize package Holly is giving to the winner!

And I will also give the bunny image to the winner.  If they already have it, they can choose from any of my Squigglefly images for their prize from me! 

Happy naming!

Spring Stepping

Hi Precious Peeps!  I am having a blast colouring up my new images, and this one was particularly fun to colour with all the fresh spring colours.  We don't see any blooms yet where we live, but we will very soon, as the last of our snow is melting away! 

I drew this carousel horse for Whimsy Stamps to celebrate spring, and so I named her, "Spring Stepping".  She comes in a set, complete with a matching accessory image of new spring leaves, and a couple of cute little sayings.  I have used the entire set on this card. 

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Ooh La La Creations Challenge Blog - #49 Anything Goes

Stampin B's - Challenge #49  Spring or Easter

Moxie Fab World - they have a photo for you to be inspired by and my lovely friend Carolyn King chose it! Hi Carolyn! Waving!! xx

Paper Sundaes - A multi-fold Spring or Easter card

Cute Daisy May Challenge - Anything Goes

Here you can see the extra fold I gave it, with the little card on the front of the main card.  The little loops of the bow keep this part closed:

Inside the little card on the front:

Inside the main card:

I don't usually go all out on the inside of a card, but this one is for someone really special and I wanted to take the extra care and time to do it up right!

Here is a list of the Copics I used on the image:

Background: 

G20, 42, 43, W00, 1, 3, 4, 5

Horse's white body:

W1, 3. 4

Horse's main and tail:

E40, 42, 43, 44, 47, 49

Flowers/leaves: 

YG17, G07, 40, R20, 21, 22 24

Butterfly, Saddle and Bridle: 

BG11, 13, 15, YG17, G40

Center of lilies, top and bottom of image:

YR01

Thanks for coming by for a visit today! God bless you!

Squigglefly New Release: Bunny with Tulip

I have a new release at Squigglefly Digital Stamps this week! 

This is "Bunny with Tulip" (I know, not a really catchy name ;-p).  I printed it on Manga Drawing Pad paper and coloured with the following Copics:

On bunny's fur:

E50, C2, BV20, R00, R0000, R20

On tulip:

R00, 20, 22, 24 29, 39

G40, 10, YG13, 17

In Background dots:

G40, 20, W000, 0, 1, 3, 4, 5

I am entering it into a handful of challenges as well:

Copic Creations - pick your fav. Copic Technique.  Mine would have to be "fur"

Papertake Weekly - that is where I got the sketch for this card

Cute Card Thursday - Celebrations.  This card celebrates Spring!

Stamp Something - they want you to use the colours cream and green

Challenge Up Your Life - use a flower on your creation

As usual (for me as of late) lots of Spellbinders dies.  Sorry I don't always keep the labels so I don't know what they are called. 

I also used a couple of rubber stamps on this card, from the Spring Stepping set that I just released with Whimsy Stamps.  The swirly leaves were designed by Yours Truly for Whimsy and is included in the Spring Stepping set. And I must say that I really enjoy using it as a decorative flourish.  And although I did not design the cute little saying, "Happy Spring," I love how small it is.  You can fit it anywhere on your creation!

Thanks so much for visiting today, and God bless you!

A Spin On The Merry-Go-Round!

If you have landed here from DENISE'S BLOG, you are right on track for the hop.

I'm excited to show one of my new release carousel horses for Whimsy Stamps today!  This image is a Mom with her baby, and I call it, "Proud Momma."  Of course, if you have been following the personal reports on my blog, you know I recently became a Grandmother for the first time.   So you can probably guess who I made this card for! ;-)


  I hope you take the time to go through the hop and check out all the Whimsy DT blogs, because they have made some pretty awesome creations!   Then be sure to go to the Whimsy Home Page where you will be able to enter into the draw to win some blog candy!  One randomly chosen person will receive all three of the carousel horse sets plus some lovely Prima Flowers and some bling from the Whimsy store!   You have until Wed. March 17 at noon to enter!

More good news: Whimsy Stamps will be offering a special promotion from noon EST on Sunday until noon EST on Monday. The first 25 orders placed at Whimsy, regardless of total, will receive free shipping. Shipping will be charged at checkout, but if your order was one of the first 25 orders in that 24 hour period, you will receive a shipping credit. This is a one day only special promotion during our new release!

I am really happy to tell you that "Wings of Hope," my carousel image that Whimsy sold last month to raise money for the people of Haiti is now available IN RUBBER!   And comes complete with its' own set of accessory images to go with it.  AND, Denise of Whimsy Stamps is going donate $1.00 from the sale of this stamp set to the American Red Cross, so it will continue to raise funds for the people of Haiti.  I am so thankful she is doing this! 

I want to thank everyone for their generous support too.  In case you haven't heard, Whimsy collected over $1,200.00 for Haiti through the sales of Wings of Hope, and that is all because of your thoughtfulness and care.  So thank you SO much for buying that image and for spreading the word to your friends!  I was so pleased about the outcome!

As to my card, I coloured Proud Momma with Twinkling H20's.  They are a water based craft paint that act just like watercolours.  Except that they have crushed mica dust in them, to add some shimmer. Of course the camera doesn't pick that up well. 

When the paint was dry, I sponged Versamark clear ink all over the image, and heat embossed with Ultra Thick Embossing Powder.  I did this a couple of times until there was a nice thick gloss over the entire image. 

I used an EK Success punch for the frame, and distressed it with ink and by crushing and rolling it in my hands.  Lots of distressing on the back layer as well.

I have entered this card into two challenges:
Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #74 - Anything Goes
Paper Cuts Challenge #32 - Anything Goes

Your next stop on the Merry-Go-Round is as STACEY'S BLOG, so hop on over there! Thanks for your visit today!

Kraftin' Kimmie Blog Hop New Release!

Today Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps is releasing their new March images!  There are 4 new Fairy images (designed by Yours Truly), 4 new Dancing Girls from Annie Rodrigue, and 2 adorable new Cindy and Mindy images from Jean Grant.   They are also releasing one of Annie’s fabulous paintings as a stamp....it’s Angry Ballerina!  You’ll get to check out all the new stamps throughout this fabulous blog hop. 

If you want to start from the beginning, just head over to the Kraftin’ Kimmie Challenge Blog.  As you hop from blog to blog, be sure to leave a comment at each and every stop because some lucky stampers will win stamps from the new release!  And when you’re done hoppin’, be sure to head over to the Kraftin’ Kimmie store, because ALL the new images are now available!  Also, each and every order placed on Sunday, March 14^th and Monday March 15^th is eligible to be entered into a draw to win a 5x7 print of Annie’s original painting of Angry Ballerina!


If you have arrived here from Jeanne's blog, you are right on track.  Next stop on the hop:  Donna

I coloured  Gwendolyn  with the following Copics:


On blonde hair:  E50, 44, and &28


Background: E40, 41


Dress: Her dress started out green.  Then I changed my mind and wanted to make it more turquoise, so I added the blues overtop the greens.  


G20, 21, 24 28, 29


B000, 41


FB2


BG10, 72, 75


Skin: E000, 11, R21 for blush and lips


Horse:  C1, 2, 3 ,5, 9, 10


Bridle/Reins/Sash: I also started with a red sash and felt like changing it to a more pink sash.  The RV, FRV and V were added on top later:


R24, 27, 29, 35, 37
then
V04, 
RV 21, 23
FRV1


I used a Cuttlebug frame and cut out two of them, and put them together for the frame around the main image.  
Spellbinder dies for the corners and middle tabs.
EK Success punch for the bottom turquoise layer.
I used a gold craft paint, "Splendid Gold" by Decoart, found at Michael's, and just loosely splotched on the paint on all the cut out dies, the main image panel, and the ends of the petals of the Prima flower.  It dried really fast and I was happy with the outcome. 


I entered this card in a couple of challenges today:


- Incy Wincy Designs: Challenge 32, which is to have a horse in your creation, and
- Flutter By Wednesdays:  This is an open challenge, but as always on this challenge blog, your creation must include something with wings, ie. butterflies, fairies, birdies, etc.


 I have a lot of releases going on this weekend.  Besides this one for Kraftin' Kimmie, I also have another release of carousel horses for Whimsy, and a handful of images I did for Squigglefly!  My next post will display one of my new Whimsy carousel horses, so stay tuned!  Thanks for stopping by! 

New Squigglefly Release!

I have a couple of new images up on the Squigglefly site today!  This is one of them, and I call it "Lion Hugs".  
I coloured it with the following Copic markers:

On the Lion:

E30 all over the lion, then added E31, 42, 43, 44,  with E49 in the deepest shadows.
E04 and 49 on its' nose.
Touches here and there of Y28 and 32, as well as a bit of YR20

For the Lamb:

I wanted to make the lamb white, but even white things can have fairly deep shadows, and so I used a combination of some warm and cool colours and some greys as well.  Also the strokes I used were totally different from the lion.  Whereas with the lion, I used a flicking motion for his mane to get long fur like texture, for the lamb's wool, I just pressed the brush tip of the maker onto the paper to make various sized dots for a woolly look.
E0000, and E70 along the bottom of his chin and in deep shadows
B41
YR000
R20 in the ear
BV23
W4
C0, 1, 3
I used the 0 blender all over lambie to soften the colours and blend them slightly

Background:

B41, 45
BV23

Thanks for coming by for a visit today!