Polar Bear's Christmas Tree

FINALLY got a jump on Christmas cards this year!  My first one of the year - I better get crackin' if I want to make one each for all my family and friends!  I have lots more to go - but it is a labour of love, and my FAVOURITE time of the year!! Wooohooo! Ain't nuthin' like making beautiful, fun, happy Christmas cards to celebrate everything Christmas! And there are SO many different ways to celebrate it, and so many colour palettes to choose from (not just red, gold and green as you can see)! 

I coloured this image using Copics first, but then a layer of coloured pencil on top.  I sometimes enjoy doing that because for one thing, alcohol colours tend to fade rather quickly (within a month or two, it has lost it's vibrancy).  Adding a layer of coloured pencils help it to retain the colour.  Also, I can get those really deep shadows that I'm aiming for that seem to elude me with Copics - I need to try using my greys to get those shadows deeper, and I will try that sometime (I've heard it works!).  

I've included a close up so you can see the colouring.  Links are posted below (I do get compensated if you use them to make a purchase, so thanks in advance if that's you!). 

Thanks for popping by! 

Polar Bear's Christmas Tree Rubber Cling Stamp:

The Polar Bear image is also available in digital: 

Polar Bear's Christmas Tree Digital

Believe Word And Shadow Die Set:

 

Mermaid Moments

This is for my purple loving daughter! I hope she likes it!  I used some of the characters from Mermaid Moments clear stamp set from Whimsy Stamps.  I coloured them with Copics first, then went over them with Prismacolour pencils.  The scales were done by using the clear ink blending Copic marker by just holding it down on the paper until the colour was pushed deep into the paper fibres.  It leaves behind a small area of lighter colour, which can show the effect of scales.  It's only about a second or two of holding it down on the page, and that's all it takes.  With the Prismacolour pencil, I intensified the contrast by colouring in a darker purple around each "scale". 

The images were fussy cut on the black illustration lines. To me, that is probably the hardest part of this whole process! I also like to go over any white spaces left behind with either a marker or with a Prismacolor pencil. You can see how I did that on the seahorse - I wasn't about to get bogged down with fussy cutting on those little dips of his fins, no way no how!  So I just matched the white space to the colour of the paper they were on, which, by the way, is a sheet from the Under The Sea Slimline Paper Pack at Whimsy Stamps.  Please use links below if you are interested in purchasing any of these stamps, dies, or the paper.  I do get compensated if you do, so thank you in advance!  It helps to keep me drawing more images for you! 

 Mermaid Moments Clear Stamps:

Birthday Word and Shadow Die Set:

Happy Large Word Die:

Slimline Paper Pack Under The Sea:

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Happy Crafting!