Whimsy Advent Event Here! Prize available! Plus: Copic Tip

Happy Sunday! I am so glad you stopped by today, because today is Day 20 of the December Advent Event over at Whimsy Stamps! Every day until the 24th, Whimsy is offering up a prize to someone who leaves a comment on the DT member's post who is hosting the contest for that day. Today, that hostess with the mostess is me (even though I'm not really a member of the DT)! So leave a comment here to be eligible for the daily prize giveaway which is the stamp I chose to use on my card today, "Very Present Helpers".
I will choose a random winner on Monday Dec 21, so check back here to see if you're the lucky one!

COPIC TIP: BLENDING FROM VERY DARK TO VERY LIGHT COLORS:

I stamped "Very Present Helpers" with Tsukeneko Tuxedo Black onto Gina K's Pure Luxury cardstock. Now, I love the markings of a Siamese cat, and it was a cinch to do with Copic markers.
I colored the cat's whitish areas using a combination of R000, E0000, YR00 and E30. Then I used some warm greys on the ears and paws: W1, 3, 5 and 7. At first the lines of demarcation between the light and dark fur was very distinct.
So, to get a really soft blend of the warm grey into the off-white fur, I gently brushed the tip of one of the light colors I was using for the whitish areas (R000) onto the tip of the grey (W3). My daughter saw this and she shrieked, "You just ruined your marker!" Ah, but no, darling daughter, I said. ! Not with Copics! You can do that and not worry, because as soon as you start to color with it, the dark color comes off the tip of the light marker! In fact it cleans off completely, leaving no stain! And that is why it is a perfect method for blending from a very light to a very dark color!
So once I had some grey on the tip of R000, I made tiny sweeping brush strokes starting in the grey area and working my way towards the line where the two colors met. I had to touch R000 to W3 several times per paw, and kept making brush strokes until I was happy with how it looked. Here is a close-up:



Perhaps the in the new year, I will have the time to do up a video showing this fun technique. I would like to try!
Here are the rest of the colors I used on this image:

gift: B66, 69 with silver stickles
bow: R81, 83 and blender pen for highlights
R21 inside the kitties ears and on the paw pads
Background: C0, 1, 2, 3 4, RV00, 10, 91, BV20, 45

I made the pink and white candy canes with Sculpey clay. I am happy as can be with modeling clay in my hands. It is fun stuff!
I thank Niki Estes for inspiring me to use ribbon on the corners like that! And I thank Deb (88 keys) from SCS for the ribbon, which she gave me a loooong time ago.
I hope to chat with you soon! Thanks for coming by, and God bless you!

Winner of my Christmas Candy!!

And the winner is....

"Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

88
Timestamp: 2009-12-14 12:59:54 UTC"

Ad number 88 was:

" Becky said...
I would love to win some high hope stamps, I do not own any yet so it would be great if I won :). Also, your card is just stunning, your coloring is fabulous.

December 12, 2009 7:23 PM"

Contact me with your mailing addy, Becky, and I'll get these stamps mailed to you! Congratulations!

Wags 'N Whiskers Blog Hop and new release!

I am really excited about my new illustrations for this release with Wags 'n Whiskers! You will be able to get a jump start on your Valentine cards with these stamps, but really I made them versatile enough to use all year round!
I am still catching up with drawing (our move to a new location really set me back, time-wise) and so unfortunately, I did not get time to make a card or to even color one of these new stamps :-(. But Nikki and Lacey put this picture together showing all eight new images! There is a great blog hop on today, and all the stamps are ready to ship immediately! They are high quality deeply etched red rubber, you won't be disappointed.
If you want a chance to win some for free, join in the blog hop starting here!
Don't forget to scroll down one post and join in my blog candy contest too! It's over tomorrow evening (Sunday). I've got lots of free rubber up for grabs!
Well, back to the ole' drawing board for me!

Want some Christmas Candy???

Hi Peeps!
Well I have been a busy beaver, setting up my new digs, and trying to keep up with illustration deadlines. On top of that, my dear Mom in law has been very ill with pneumonia. She is on the mend now, but she gave us all a real scare, and was in critical condition for about a week. Thankfully, she is recovering well from her illness now.
Needless to say I still have not had any crafting time, and I miss it so much! That is why I have pulled out an oldie but a goodie, from last year. I made this card last winter using one of the first illustrations I drew for High Hopes Stamps back in 2005.
From what I remember, I stamped the polar bear image on water color paper and used regular artist water colors to color it. Martha Stewart punches and Twinklets Diamond Dust on the snowflakes.
But the real reason for this post is to offer you some Christmas Blog Candy! I have had some extra High Hopes Stamps sitting on my desk just waiting to go to a good home!
I'm not going to make you do anything for this candy, other than to let me know you want it! Just comment on this post and your name will be entered into the draw. Just for fun and if you wish to share, tell me a favorite Christmas memory. I will choose a winner by random.org on Sunday Dec 13. Enter only once, please!

One of my favorite Christmas memories is the taste of my Mom's Christmas baking. She was phenom in the kitchen, and her lemon bread and mince meat pie were off the charts awesome!



These are the stamps I will be giving away. If you are the winner, don't forget to contact me with your mailing details! I will ship international. Good luck and have fun!

Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge #8: Touchy Feely

I've got the fun job of hosting this week's challenge, and I chose the theme, "Touchy Feely", meaning, I want you to add a lot of texture to your cards. Whatever gives your paper an added texture, like embossing, flower soft, sanding, fuzzy fibres, whatever you like to do, it's up to you!
This is a sneak peek at one of four new images illustrated by Yours Truly that will be available at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps starting tomorrow. Annie also has some new illustrations, and, Kim is introducing a new artist this month too! Check out all the Krafty Girls blogs to see the sneaks today (link on my sidebar) If you want to join in on the blog hop and have a chance at some yummy blog candy prizes, that's starts tomorrow too; that's Sunday Nov. 29. I won't be able to join in on the fun, unfortunately. We have a family emergency to deal with so I had to bow out. But be sure to start the hop at the Kraftin' Kimmie blog so you won't miss out!
For my porcupines "Bonnie and Clyde", who are awkwardly trying to kiss (tee-hee!) I added a variety of textures, like:

embossing with a Cuttlebug folder
flower soft on the grass
distressed edges
distressed paper - for the heart, I crumpled it to create wrinkles
embroidery thread
velvet ribbon
metal brads

I water colored Bonnie and Clyde using Twinkling H20's. After applying a thin wash of brown over their quills, I added some more quills using the same shade of paint, but much more thickly applied. You have to have a lot of paint on the brush and not much water. Plus you need a good water color brush that will come to a very fine point, making thin strokes like this possible. You don't need to spend a lot though; I get mine at the dollar store! They work good on grass and fur too.

I tried to apply the extra quills while the first layer of paint was still damp so that the lines would look softer. If you look at Bonnie, you can see that this worked out well, because the quill lines did fuzz up nicely. But by the time I got to Clyde, he had dried. (that rhymes). So the quill lines look more defined, without the softness. I probably should have dampened him up a bit first with a clean damp brush. Oh well, next time.




Thanks for stopping by, bless you!

CASE of Anna Wight

I'm really happy I finally got some crafting time in! I am pleased to use one of my new releases from Whimsy Stamps. I call it "N'ice Friends". One of my favorite winter memories is making snowmen in the front or backyard. I could do it for what seemed like hours, which it probably was, because afterward I would come in with mitts and socks sopping wet, and my cheeks and nose bright red! Mom would sometimes have a hot chocolate waiting for me. Oh what sweet memories!!!
I love the quality of Whimsy Stamps, they are top of the line. And right now they have an amazing card making contest going on, which runs right through til Dec. 12. They are offering first, second and third place prizes of generous gift certificates for Whimsy Stamps! Plus you will even get a chance to vote for your favorite cards and help to decide who wins! Go here to check out the contest guidelines.
I must confess this is again a CASE of a card artist I admire very much. I love the work of Anna Wight at Sassy n Sweet Notes. Have you seen her cards and her stamp illustrations? She is so amazing, and her water coloring has always blown my mind. In fact, I owe a lot of what I know to studying her cards for hours on my computer screen! For this card, I put Anna's card up on my screen and CASEd it pretty close to what it was, at least in the sketch and style of embellishing.
I used the following Copic markers to color:
Background: E0000, 000, 00
Snowman's body: B60, 63
Carrot nose: YR12, 15, 18
Branch arms: E41, 43, 44
Bird's body: FB2, B28
Beak: Y32, 35, 28
Scarf and hat: BV01, 13, 17, B41, 45, G21, 28

On real snow, depending on the time of day, it can look warm gold to light amber at times in the bright sun, with very cool shadows from blue to violet. So I tried to remember that when choosing my colors for the snowman. That's why I put the very light E0000 to E00 in the background, and reached for B60 and 63 for the shadows. You can't see in the photo, but I put a single layer of E0000 all over the snowman where ever there was no shadow.



Well, I'm still not quite set up yet with a craft area, but I'm getting there. Perhaps I'll even dare to take a photo and show you my new digs in the coming days! Maybe, if I get brave enough!
Bless you!

Links to contests and challenges

There's always lots going on with the companies I design stamps for. I figured if I don't have time to make cards these days, I can at least post some links to the challenges and contests they are holding so you can have a chance for some fun and prizes.
Here are the links for the contests currently running:

Whimsy Holiday Contest is on, with huge prizes available to be won. It runs from now til Dec 12th. Check it out here!

Weekly challenge at Squigglefly: Christmas card, using non-traditional colors. Sounds fun!

Weekly challenge at Wags 'N Whiskers: Buttons Galore. Just use buttons to embellish your project!

Weekly challenge at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps: Merry Christmas, Happy Winter. All you have to do is make either a Christmas or a Winter theme card. That's simple enough!

And for the company I used to draw for, here is the weekly challenge at High Hopes: Santa. Just make a card using one of their Santa stamps!

Have fun with the contests and challenges!

A Reolocation

Hi Precious Peeps!
Right now it feels like my life is a deck of cards that is being shuffled! I'm in the midst of a relocation, which means I have zero time for making cards or blogging. We have moved to a city about five hours drive south of where we were. It will be awhile before I have a crafting area again. Work comes first. I can still draw, and that I am doing! You'll see what I've been up to in a couple of weeks!
In the meantime, I will be working on getting a new craft area set up so that I can get back into cards. I really miss it. A girl can't be all work and no play!
Just thinking of you, and wanted to say hello!
Hugs,
Crissy

EDITED TO ADD:
Wow, what a kind and uplifting response! Thank you blogging friends, for your words of support and for praying too! Wow, you are overwhelming me with your kindness! XO

On The Tenth Day of Christmas...

On the tenth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Ten Lords a leaping



In case you landed here randomly, you have come into the middle of a blog hop for Whimsy Stamps! If you have come here from Vicki's blog, you're right on track!
We are "singing" the Twelve Days of Christmas on this hop, so each person's post begins with a verse from the song. We hope you'll really be in the mood for Christmas by the time you reach the end! Denise will be your last stop with some details on how you can enter to win all four of my debut release stamps, along with some other surprises. (btw, the quality of these stamps is top of the line, deeply etched red rubber!)

Now for my card:
This is "Jolly Puppy Kisses" which I drew for my new release with Whimsy. I just love to draw Santa! Every time I do, it just puts me in a really good mood!
I colored Santa with the following Copics. I broke it down into sections so that you can see how I rendered each area:

WHITES:
Beard and eyebrows: W00, 1, 3, 5, E70
Trim on suit and hat: BV20, C5, E50
Mittens: E30, E70
I used all these colors sparingly, and left a lot of the white space, well, as white space, with no colors added. White is difficult to render because it really reflects a lot of what is around it. Yet it has shadows on it too that you have to choose a color for. I wanted the white of his beard to look different from the white of his fur trim and mitts too, so I chose different color sets for each of those white areas.

Skin: E00, 01, 04, 11, R02, 81, 83
Boots and Belt: C0, 4, 5, 7, 9
Belt Buckle: Y28 and Stickles
Red suit: R35, 37, 39, 89
Stocking: G28, B12, C4 for shadows
Pup: E53, 55, 15, 18
Background and ground: R0000, 000, 00, B0000, 93, 60

I have discovered that by using the lightest shades, in this case R0000 and B0000 for the background, I can make it look like softly sponged edges! I'm really happy Copic came out with those very light colors!

If you want to continue on with the hop, your next stop is Lisa's blog!
Have fun hopping, and singing the Twelve Days of Christmas with the Whimsy DT Choir! ;-D

CASE of Jeanne Streiff

This is a shameless CASE of a card from one of my fav. all time card artists! Check out what Jeanne did with Maxwell HERE. Of course, as usual, I could not do it as simply as she did... I just had to add a snowflake, or two, or twenty! LOL I find Jeanne's cards simple and uncluttered, yet so stunning! But when I try to do it, I think, "I could add this... and that... and the other thing... and before you know it, I have crossed the line from simple to complex! Oh well, I tried. I just couldn't help myself with the snowflakes... and the Diamond Dust...
:-)


This is Maxwell Snowboarding, and he is from this month's release over at Kraftin Kimmie Stamps. When you purchase him, Kimmie throws in the saying, "Snow much fun!" at no additional charge.
I colored Maxwell with Copics, and sponged Bahama Blue ink by Memento around the outer edges while the image was still in the Spellbinders Die. That creates a nice crisp white edge around the outside of the panel that I love.
I put some MS sparkle in the Polar White Flower Soft snow I had added under the leaf. But don't do it like I did! I first adhered the Polar White. When that was dry, I ran the FS glue all over the "snow" to try and put a layer of glue down on top of it... it picked up a lot of the Polar Soft which clumped on the nozzle, really badly! I was able to pull it off, no problem, but it removed a lot of the snow! I think next time I should just put the snow and glitter on at the same time and not try to apply the glitter afterwards!! Anyway, it still looks "cool", pun intended. ;-D
Thanks for stopping by today peeps! You're a blessing to me!

PS
Mike and I are in the midst of relocating to another town. In the interim, til we're settled and have internet access in the new place, I might have some days where I can't get online. Because of that, and because I have been getting a lot of spam comments lately, I had to turn on "word verification" for comments. This is only temporary though, and I'll go back to "comment moderation" once we're settled. Thanks for your patience!

Butterfly Caller

I bought this irresistible gorgeous digital image called, "Butterfly Caller" from a good friend and fellow illustrator Chris Dark. Although we have never met in person, we have met online and help encourage one another in our business ventures. Chris means so much to me, and is so kind and supportive. I sure would love to meet her face to face!
I love her fairies and this beautiful Butterfly Caller; they are so whimsical and enchanting. I was so pleased to actually get time to color this one up! I hope Chris is happy with what I did with her art work! Hi Chris! Waving!
Sometimes people ask me if I like to use other images, other than what I draw myself. The answer is yes of course! There are so many images I adore and would love to use. My personal favorite stamp artist, if I had to narrow it down to one, would be Shelly Commisky who draws for Whipper Snapper. Other favorites include Chris Dark (of course!) Mo of "Mo's Digital Pencil", Anna Wight, also of "Whipper Snapper", anything that comes out of Elizabeth Bell's pen, Magnolia, Bildmalarna, Hanglar and Stanglar, Kettos of Stamping Bella, Gorguss Girls, Inky Antics, and more.
The fact is, I have many stamps I designed that I haven't had time to ink up and color myself! Yet I feel very strongly that I have a responsibility to use the images I draw. One of the reasons I feel that is because it helps advertise the stamps and helps the companies I draw for to succeed.
I guess you could say that the reason you don't see me post much from other stamp illustrators is because I simply don't have time. I'm not complainin', just explainin'!
That's why I am so excited about this post! I actually found the extra hours to make a card from one of my favorite artists in the business, my dear friend Chris Dark!!!!!
Here's a close up of Chris's beautiful fairy with my Copic coloring and sponged ink (around the edges and into the background):



God bless you, and thanks for looking and for reading, and don't forget to go see Chris's marvelous art work at her site HERE!

Announcement: New Drawing Gig!

I have been keeping this a secret for awhile now, but today the news is going public... I am so happy and excited to tell you that Denise Lynn of Whimsy Stamps has asked me to come on board her team as an illustrator. I already have done some images for them and they will be released in the very near future. I am so blessed to be on the Whimsy Team, and so excited about the new line of stamps coming!
You'll get to see soon!
Check out their company blog and their challenge blog.
Bless you!