Dance Dance Dance

Yep, you guessed it.  I'm working on my dance recital book..lol.  I had finished a layout just before the OCC class started and never posted it, so I thought I would share with you now. 

 

This layout was all stash stuff.  I just happened to have some teal paper that matched the girls outfits. I knew I wanted to keep it relatively simply so I used only one sheet of random, loose black and white patterned paper.  I stamped the flourishes using the CTMH stamp set Swirls Around (retired) and the date with Glamour Lowercase stamp set.  I sprinkled some sequins, cut some flowers, punched some flowers,  tucked in some tulle, and that was it. 

In an earlier post I had mentioned that in my attempt to keep my books caught up, I had decided to scrap the portraits and then use StudioJ for the on stage/ action photos.   Here's another example.  This was from the same recital as the costumes from the portraits above.

 

If you have ever tried to take pictures of dancing children on a stage, then you understand my pain when you go back to find all your pictures have strange lighting and focal points.  And because of that, I probably wouldn't have printed all the pictures out.  But with StudioJ you can plug them in and see if they work or not for that size, color, etc.   It saves a lot of time and money in the printing department.

Here's another one from that recital.

 

If you haven't tried StudioJ I definitely recommend giving it a spin.  It's free to create.  There is nothing to download or to buy until you want to purchase your finished layout.  And to make it a more perfect time, starting on November 1st, StudioJ will be on sale for $5 for a two-page layout.  Needless to say, I have been steadily working on my backlog of pictures for every occasion..lol.  So far I have 12 layouts completed and waiting for November to get here. 

You can access StudioJ by clicking on the tab at the top of the page or the blinky thing on the right side of the page. Give it a whirl!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Copic Colored Puppies

Hello everyone!  A quick post tonight.  I'm still dabbling in the images I colored in the OCC class.  On Day 6 we had some adorable little puppies and foxes.  I had three of each I really liked.  The rest were definitely just practices.  I threw together a couple of cards tonight with the puppies on them and I thought I would share.

 

This is one of those cards that didn't end up anything like what it started out to be.  I really loved the card Debby Hughes made for the class using this little fellow.  My intentions were to try to replicate it.  Needless to say, I didn't..lol.  But this turned out to be an interesting little card.  It was quick and simple. The sentiment is from the SSS 3x4 stamp set call appropriately, "You."  The card base is from SSS Khaki cardstock.  This was the first time I had used this cardstock.  It's heavy! I love it. The little stars are from the SSS Holiday Shapes die set.   

 Here's another very simple card.  I used the Thanks on a Line die from SSS on this one.  

That's it for me tonight.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

Coloring Die Cuts

Happy Sunday everyone!  In the midst of my domestic duties, I managed to make a card.  In the OCC Copic Class, Jennifer McGuire made a card using copic colored die cuts.  I didn't have any dies quite as intricate as the one she colored, but I did have Fresh Daisies from SSS.  I thought I would give it a whirl.

 

Although I don't know of any red daisies, these were the colors that I had out.  I love this little die.  I ran it through my die cut machine and then kept it in tact when I got it out.  That way I didn't have to be real particular in my coloring.  I used SSS Khaki cardstock for my card face.  I used my Versamark ink to stamp my wood grain background stamp from Hero Arts. After cutting my circle out of my card front, I attached my die cut flowers.  I stamped my sentiment in SSS Khaki ink.  The card front is attached using 3d foam tape to give it a little dimension.  I didn't want too much going on with this card, but I felt it needed a little something, so it got a ribbon bow.   

That's it for me today.   The OCC class is wrapping up, but I still have lots of ideas for cards and images to use.  I'm going to try to stay on the productive path.  Thanks for stopping by!

Dragons Rule My Heart

Hello everyone!  I'm sure some of you have figured out by now, that I love things with wings.  Dragons included.  When I first saw this stamp from Tiddly Inks (Hello Pet), I knew it had to be mine.  This is actually the first time I have stamped it.  I have a friend that has a birthday coming up in December and she shares my same love for dragons.  So guess who's getting this card..lol. 

I'm still working on techniques and such from the OCC Copics for Cardmaking class.  Kristina Werner made the neatest background for one of her images creating a sort of banner behind her image.    I really liked the way it turned out.   Mine, eh, maybe not so much, but I'm going to keep trying.  I loved how she used her copics to make a lined border, too.  I ran out of room on this card front, but loved the idea, so I colored the edges of a white piece of cardstock in two of my violet colors and mounted my card face on that.  The fact that I don't have to choose paper to try to match the colors is a huge plus for me.   I used a little Wink of Stella (shocking I know!) on the dragons to give them a little sparkle.  I think I may go back and put some glossy accents on my hearts, too. They were cut from the SSS Holiday Shapes die.  I used my copics and colored a scrap piece of paper and ran it through my machine.  Voila! matching hearts. 

That's it for me tonight.  Thanks for stopping by.  I'm going to see what else I can color ;)

Copic Christmas Card with Tiddly Inks

Hey everyone! I'm still having fun with my Copics. Thought I would share a Christmas card I made.  There were a few firsts in this card.  It was the first time I made an entire background with my markers.  It was also the first time I used Copic X-Press it Blending Card Paper.  And it was the first time I had used this precious stamp from Tiddly Inks.  They have such cute images. 

 

I'm not sure if this is considered a one layer card since it's a one layer piece on top of my card base, but it's close enough for me.  The X-Press It paper was different than any I had used before.  I'm undecided on whether I like it better than the papers I have been using or at least just as well.  I think it has it's place.  It's very smooth to the touch.  It behaves a little differently in blending.  In this card, I love the effect it has in the blue sky.  It almost has a textured look.  The more I blended the more texture I got.  Maybe it's just me.  You can't really tell from the photo, but I took my colorless blender and made little dots randomly in the background hoping for it to look like snow.  I couldn't help but add a little wink to my snowman, too.  This card took a little time to color,  but once the coloring was done there were no more decisions to make.  The card was done.  I do like it like that.   The less decisions I have to make, the better off I am..lol.

There are still a few more days of techniques and several more images from class to work with.  I'll be sure to share when I get more done. Thanks for stopping by!

Flowering Thank You

Hello everyone!  I have two more cards that I made using the practice sheet images.  These were from Day 4.  I colored up three of these flower images using the same colors on each flower but coloring them each a bit different.  So far, I only have these two cards made.

The first one was inspired by a card from Jennifer McGuire.  I loved the layout of her card.

 

I didn't have any cardstock to match the color that I had used on the flowers, so I followed Jennifer's tip  and used my copics to color the border.  

The next one is a take on a card that Debby Hughes made for the class.  I made mine horizontal instead of vertical.  

 

These flowers were colored with the same copic colors as the ones above, but they turned out quite different.  Again, I used my copics to color some stripes on a scrap piece of white cardstock I had laying on my desk.  I cut it into a banner and used my 3d foam tape to give a little dimension to the card.  I added some black enamel dots and a little ribbon bow to give it a little interest. 

The sentiment on both cards is from the Teacher Appreciation stamp set from Close to My Heart. I just love the font on this stamp.   

Those are my two cards for tonight.  I haven't made cards in so long I realized how much I missed it.  I'm going to see how many more I can get done. I'll be sure to share when I do.

Thanks for stopping by!

Copic Colored Birdie - Thinking of You

Hello everyone!  I came by for a quick post to share a card I made yesterday with one of the images I colored from the OCC Copic Coloring for Cardmakers class.

On day 8 of the class, the amazing Shari Caroll used this little bird image to make a card and I fell in love with it. I had colored several of these little guys but didn't quite know what to do with him.  I couldn't help but to borrow her idea/layout for this little fellow. 

I used the Leaves Stencil from Simon Says Stamp to create my foliage for my background.  With a dauber I lightly inked it with Pear and Sunny Yellow ink.  The sentiment is from the  Card Chatter-Sympathy stamp set (retired).  I stamped it on a scrap piece of Neenah Desert Storm card stock with Versamark ink and used Ranger Super Fine white embossing powder to heat emboss it.  I didn't have any solid colored twine, so I took the Lagoon Baker's Twine from CTMH and separated the blue from the white threads.  Voila! Lagoon thread.  I fussy cut my little bird out and mounted him and my little banner, which I hand cut as well, to the front of my card face.  I added a few sequins from the Fall assortment from SSS and that was it. 

I still have a few more birds left in all different colors. I have a feeling you might be seeing more birds like this in the future :) That's all for me tonight.  Thanks for stopping by!