North Woods Stack

I have to admit that I totally CASE'd one of my favorite artists' cards, the amazing Miss Anna Wight! I love her simple yet stunning cards. She wow's me everytime!
I wanted a simple masculine style of card for my FIL who turns 80 this month! I hope he likes it!!
I watercolored the image using Twinkling H20's, and sponged Vintage Photo Distress Ink along the edges for a cool effect.
I made the bg paper myself and I love how it turned out! I used canvas paper and just swiped it with various dye ink pads. When the ink was dry, I used a bottle top to "stamp" circles all over it with an off-white colored acrylic paint. In other words, I just had fun! No rhyme or reason. Just random color and random dots. Sometimes I gotta let the inner child out to play!!
You can find this High Hopes Stamp at Bunny Zoe's Crafts in England, Scrappin' Great Deals in Canada, among other stores that carry HH's (check out the list on the right side bar).
Thanks for looking today!

Checking in...

Hello Precious People!
I have been kind of MIA as of late. Summer is always a busy time what with traveling and making the most of sunny days. We went to Ottawa recently where my son Nik and his wife Alla reside. I got to see her growing "baby bump"... YEEEHAAAAW! I'm gonna be "GRANNY CRISSY" in a few months!!!!!
Also, I have a few creative projects "in the works" that I am so excited about, but for now it's a secret (shhhhhhhh!!!) and I can't share them just yet!
I am hoping I'll have time soon to make some more cards and videos to share with you.
In the meantime, God bless you and enjoy what's left of summer!
Hugs to all,
Crissy

Stackable Santa

I love this Stackable Santa that I drew for High Hopes while I was still working for them! I stamped him on 140 lb. cold press water color paper by Canson using Versafine Onyx Black ink. I colored him with Twinkling H20 paints (which I LOVE).
I added Stickles on his belt buckle and clear Spica glitter on the ribbon of the gifts (doesn't show at all in the photo).
I did the sketch myself (I'm sketch challenged usually) and I think its all right!
I hand printed the saying on the Spellbinders tag.
I know for sure you can find this Santa here or here and I have put a new link box on my sidebar (under my profile) with all the (known to me) places where you can order High Hopes Stamps.


Have a great day and God bless you!

Copic Video Tutorial: An Irish Hat!

Well here's another video on Copic techniques I hope you will enjoy! I always have a great time doing these demos!
Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
Bless you!

Announcement: Leaving High Hopes

I want to announce to all who are interested that I have ended my contract with High Hopes Stamps and will no longer be illustrating for them. It was not an easy decision to make, as I have been with them since spring, 2005. I really don't want to stop sharing my stamp illustrations with you, and I hope I can continue in some form.

I do not know what Tina and Bethany have planned, so I would kindly ask that you direct any questions about High Hopes to them at their e-mail address here: highhopesstamps@gmail.com and speak to Bethany.

I have the highest regard for the High Hopes family and have enjoyed the time we shared working together. Drawing for them these four years has given me so many things that I treasure; new friendships, insights into the stamping business, and growth as an artist and a leader. For that I will always be grateful.

Thanks to you too, my readers who started off as fans of High Hopes and became my friends! I still plan to do tutorials and share how-to techniques, as I love to do that for you. I know there is a bright future ahead of me in art and I really wish to continue illustrating stamp designs so that I can keep on sharing new images with you.
Chat soon!

Crissy

Personal Favorite

I did this card just for the pure fun of it! This "American Cowthic" stamp is my personal favorite at the moment and I couldn't help but use it again. You can find it here or here, depending on which side of the pond you live! For a more complete list of stores to order from, go to the HH blog and check the sidebar.
I water colored the image with Twinkling H20's.
The background paisley design was done using Spellbinders Impressabilities. I saturated it with White Craft Ink by SU! and then laid it onto the textured brown cs. Then I took my brayer and brayered overtop of it firmly. I like the effect; it doesn't give a perfect impression, like rubber would, so it looks kind of distressed. And the texture of the paper made it appear like cloth. I think it is cool!
To get the shape of the main image panel, I just drew a curved line at the top and bottom of the image and used scissors to cut along the line I drew. Nothing fancy, nor perfect, but that's what I like; imperfections!
I distressed all the edges with brown dye ink as well as a metal ruler.
I used a hot glue gun to adhere the sides of the scrolls that contain the raffia. Glue dots just wouldn't have been strong enough to hold them.
I made the button with Sculpey.
Here is a close-up if you like:



Thanks for looking today, and God bless you!

HHC42 Go For The Gold!

Today's challenge is brought to us by our lovely Diva Jeanne! She wants us to use gold somewhere on our card/project. That's easy enough! I used lots of gold: gold brads, gold twine, gold polka dot paper and gold metallic paper. Why not join in the challenge?! You could get lucky and win some blog candy. Check out Jeanne's card on the High Hopes Blog to see which stamps are up for grabs this week. Make sure you post a link to your project on the comment section of the HH blog to get your name entered into the draw!
I stamped Leaping Juliette and the birthday cake in Versafine Onyx Black ink onto 140 lb cold press water color paper by Canson and water colored the images with Twinkling H20's.
I made my bg papers myself! The gold polka dot paper was some tissue paper that I saved. I crinkled it up and placed it overtop freezer paper and ironed it on. The freezer paper has a plastic coating that melts when you iron it so the paper will stick to it.
The purple background page is water color paper that I blotched with several shades of rose and blue to make purple. Then I sprinkled it with salt and splattered it with more purple. It was a fun mess to make!
The gold peeking out on the right side is actually gold wrapping paper that I crinkled and glued onto a piece of scrap cardstock with a glue stick. All home made stuff today!
This is a birthday card for my grown daughter who loves everything purple. In fact, when asked what she wanted for her birthday all she said was "anything purple". Ok so you're getting a card. Just kidding!! ha ha



Thanks for visiting my blog today! You have a blessed day!

Something different: InStyle Stamps

Mary Giemza, hostess of Copic Creations asked me to join their lovely Design Team this week! It is an amazing blog, with blog candy offered with every challenge! Lots of great companies are sponsoring; go have a look-see if you wish!
I had to turn down Mary's kind and gracious offer, because there is just enough on my plate right now, but any more would be too much to handle, so I won't be joining the team permanently. However, I was able to do this one card as a guest for challenge number nine, sponsored by InStyle stamps! For this challenge, we are showing how to color eyes Anime style.
The cute cowboy from InStyle Stamps is named Tommy. The boot and saying are from High Hopes Stamps. I used Spellbinders Impressabilities for the paisley bg paper! I love how it worked! I just inked it up with White Kraft Ink and laid it down on the brown cs. Then I took my big brayer and rolled it overtop (with a sheet of printer paper overtop). I used white embossing powder on it and heat set. The impression is not perfect, but I think that adds to it rather than takes away.
I would love to get a Crop-a-dile and some eyelets, but until then, I use my paper drill and gold embossing powder to "fake" it. That's how I did the belt holes! I gave the belt and buckle that leather look by smushing and rolling and crunching the cardstock with my hands until it was very wrinkly. Then I brushed brown dye inks overtop randomly. The faux stitching on the belt is made with a piercing tool and a white gel pen. It took a long time to make this buckle and belt, but I love how it turned out!
Tommy is colored with the following Copics:
Eyes: G05, 02, 00
Skin: E000, 00 11, R20
Hat band: E15, 39,97
Hair: YR21,E15,39
Tongue: R20, 85,89
Bandana: R17,27,59
Blender pen used throughout except on face and hair.



God bless and thanks for looking!

I did an oopsie

Some of you may have gotten a sneakie peekie at a blog post I was preparing for over a week from now! Oh well, if you did, you know what the challenge is going to be way ahead of time. Boo for me, yay for you! ha ha
I laugh at myself.
I meant to press "post options" so I could post date the post... but instead, I hit "publish post". The deed was done. There was no retreiving it. So, I just deleted the guts of it... not sure how to delete the rest.
Anyway, that's why you see these two empty posts. Not sure how I got two of them either. I'm having a great day with computers... it all started this AM when my hubby left to work in town (he usually works from home) . Of course I waited til he was gone before I booted up, and lo and behold my mouse wouldnt work!! Every other day it works, but the minute he left to travel forty five minutes away, it stops working. Anyhow, he got me going by troubleshooting over the phone at lunch hour. He told me to yell at it... said that's what he does... ha ha
But that's the way it's been going for me today with machines... ah well, some days are diamond...

HHC41, Sparkle and Shine!

This week's challenge is hosted by our fab diva Nikki! She wants our projects to sparkle and shine. Fun! I did two cards but alas, the photo does not show the sparkle very well :-( though I shot them from many different angles and lighting conditions. Oh well, take it from me, they do sparkle and shine! ;-)
If you join in the challenge, link up a photo of your creation onto the High Hopes blog so that your name will be entered into the draw to win two free High Hopes Stamps!
I stamped Three Pane Christmas using Memento Tuxedo Black ink by Tsukeneko onto Manga Drawing Pad paper, and colored it using Copic markers. Sorry I don't have the color list for this one. Must have forgot to write them down.






I stamped Tom's Plea as well as Sm. Hat in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Manga Drawing Pad by Canson and colored him with Copics. Here is the list:

Ground: E33, C5, 7
Beak and legs: YR12, 24, 31, 68, E97
Floppy beak thingy: R05, 08, E97
Rest of his body: E50, 53, 42, 44
Tail feathers: B21, 24, 95, YG67, BG93, E35
Santa Hat: R27, 46, B12

I used lots of Acrylic Glitter Glaze on both cards, as well as Stickles and Diamond Dust for lots of glitter.



Thanks for looking today! God bless you!

Video Tutorial: Coloring Santa's Face

Well the response was wonderful for my first video tutorial, and so I have done another one for you. This time I demonstrate how I use Copic markers. I concentrate on how I do Caucasian skin tones, white hair, and a red Santa hat. I list the marker colors as I use them.
Now after I had finished the video and got ready to make the card, I saw a few areas that needed tweaking. I added a bit more grey in the white trim of the hat and blended it some more. I also added a small shadow to the left side of his nose with E11, and pumped up the red of his cheeks with more R20. To finish it off, I dotted white highlights on his cheeks and nose with a white gel pen.



I had stamped Santa Portrait in Memento Tuxedo Black by Tsukeneko onto Manga Drawing Pad paper by Canson. This is my personal favorite combo of ink and paper for stamping and coloring with Copic markers.
Circles were cut with Spellbinders large circle templates. I sponged Tea Dye Distress ink onto the edges while it was still in the die. The snowflakes are actually buttons that I altered to use on the card. They sparkle irl!
This image is also popular to use on Christmas ornaments as well as cards. I would like to make an ornament sometime! I think that would be cool if I could think of a way to have the ornament on a card that you could remove to use on a tree! If I could figure out how that is! lol



Inge shared the "ho ho ho" paper with me last year, thanks Inge, waving!!
I hope the video was helpful.
Thanks for looking!
It is my prayer that you would know the peace of God today! Many blessings!