Clean and Simple Day 1

 Yes...like everything else in my life, I'm a little behind.  Day 1 of the class was Monday.   And it's now Wednesday.   This is the first class like this I have taken and I must say it's very fun and informative.  I just have to wait until the evenings to try to create the cards.  I need more hours in the day!

Here are a few of the cards I created from the Day 1 class.   I didn't have a lot of the materials that they used, but I had several things that were comparable, so I made it work.   I don't have a mask for spraying, so I created my own with strips of paper.  I used Cocoa reinker in one of CTMH's spritzer bottles and it worked wonderfully.

The first one I did I wasn't completely sure I liked the sentiment. I wanted something on the banner and I couldn't find what I wanted so I tried writing it with a gel pen.  I had already done two backgrounds while I was spraying so I just started over with a different sentiment and left the banner blank. 

I think I like this one better.  This was my second try on this card as well.  Practice makes perfect, right?  You can't really tell from the picture, but the card face is cut apart and adhered with 3d foam tape to give some dimension.  

The one below was pretty simple as well.  I cut the word bubble from the Artiste cartridge and stamped it with the Word Balloons stamp set from the Cricut collection.  I embossed it with our silver embossing powder.  I used the Silver Glitz Gel to make the little dots around the bubble.  I used the In the Background stamp set for the stripes across the top of the card.  

These were all I got done from the Day 1 of class.  I haven't even begun to look at Day 2 classes.  

Thanks for stopping by.   I'll get to work on my homework and get more posted soon. 

Birthday Wishes

Here's another card I finished this past weekend.   I did manage four cards I think before the weekend was up.  I am finally getting them photographed and uploaded. I know, I'm slow!  I've also been trying to get my homework done for this Clean & Simple Card Making 2 class I signed up for.  I can't keep up!  This 40-hour a week job thing keeps getting in the way of my crafting time, geesh.  But I did manage to get a few done from the first day and I'll be posting those later. 

This one is, like the previous "Thanks" card has the same bold colors.  I used Cranberry, Lagoon, White Daisy, and Black on this one.

I used the In the Background  stamp set again to make the striped Lagoon paper.   I can tell this set will get a lot of usage from me.  After I attached all of my strips to my card front, I used a circle punch and punched out the corner.  I then took the sentiment from the Just a Number stamp set and curved it on my block to fit around the punched opening. That is part of the beauty of our clear acrylic stamps, being able to bend and mold them to your needs.  I stamped the sentiment in black ink.  I tied some of our black and white baker's twine around the front and then adhered it to the card base with 3d foam tape.  The little flower in the corner is a cut from the Artiste Cricut cartridge in various sizes from White Daisy and Cranberry cardstock, then layered together.  The center of the flower is a teeny tiny punched sunburst looking thing.  I topped it off with some liquid glass to make it look like a little bauble.  I just attached it all with a glue dot to the card base and there you have it. 

I'm off to do some more homework. I hope to have more cards posted tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Happy Scrapping!  

Coloring Experiment

Lately I have acquired several stamps that need coloring, not just inking.  I haven't really decided which medium I liked the best.   Since CTMH introduced their new alcohol ink markers I have been intrigued.  I can honestly say that throughout all my artful youth, I had not colored with markers for art.  I have painted, sketched with pencil, and fell in love with colored pencils.   Colored pencils was always my medium of choice.  But now, we have markers.  Because CTMH didn't have their full line of colors in the markers yet, I purchased a few Copics Sketch markers.  They are delightful, but quite pricey.  What I  love about our markers is that you can pretty well match your colors with that of the papers you want to use.  That takes a lot of  time and guesswork out of the color choosing.

I still have not decided which method of coloring I like the best.  But in my efforts to choose, I decided to take the same image and color it three ways, hence the experiment.  I just got my first Magnolia Kids stamp.  I think they are so cute.   Here is Tilda and her bunny.

I first set out to try watercolor pencils.  I think in an earlier post I had said I used Derwent watercolor pencils.  That was incorrect, they are Staedtler Karat watercolor pencils.  They look just like my Derwent colored pencils.  They are inexpensive pencils you can get at the craft store.  Well, you could 20 years ago. I'm assuming you still can. I have had this set since the dawn of time I do believe, maybe not 20 years, but close!  I do like the soft muted colors.  These require way less of a selection of colors to color with.   Most of the coloring was done with a single pencil per color, no more than two.   You just increase the intensity as you wet the page.  That is one plus to the watercolor pencils.  

I was trying to get all the images with as close to the same color as I could.  Hard to do with all different brands.  The next up is done with Berol Prismacolors.  

You have a lot of control with the Prismacolor.  They are and have always been my pencil of choice.  With this image there were several colors used in order to make the right colors, at least three per color.  But the beauty of the Prismacolor is if you don't have the exact color, you can make it.  Layering and shading is awesome with these.  But because of that, it does take longer than the others.  Or for me it does anyway. 

Next up is the one done with markers.  On this one I used a combination of CTMH markers and Copics. 

Her shirt, bow, and jeans were done with CTMH markers.  Everything else was done with Copic Sketch markers.   I still don't have the exact colors I want for brunette hair, so this is the best I could do with the colors I have.  It actually doesn't look this yellow in real life.  The colors in this image are definitely more intense.   Coloring this Tilda probably took the least amount of time, but with a much larger margin of error.  I just feel like I don't have as much control in coloring as I do in the other two.  It may just be a matter of what I'm used to.  I'm still very new to the markers.  But with that being said, I do plan on building my marker collection.  I love this medium it will just take a while to master. 

That was the way I spent my spare moments this afternoon. I do love coloring, always have.  I wanted  to really compare the three mediums.   After it was all said and done, I thought I would share my results.  Now, can I choose a favorite...nope :)  It just all depends on where and what I would be using the image for, as well as the time I have to color it.   The quickest was the markers.  The least amount of colors to achieve a finished image would be the watercolor pencils.  And I feel I am most in control with the Prismacolors, but took the longest to color. 

I am always open to suggestions on new methods and techniques.  I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings on coloring.   Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be having some new cards up this week, as well, so stop back by. 

Happy Scrapping!

A Quick Thanks

I had a few moments today, so I actually got a few cards made.  Here's the first one.  It's a very simple thank you card.

I love the new background stamps in the upcoming 2013 Spring/Summer catalog.  Both sets of these stamps have three backgrounds each and  they are long, instead of square.  They are perfect for making cards.   I was able to stamp this background once to make this card.  No more trying to line everything up to stamp across a card..woohoo!  This one above is the chevron print from the set In the Background (D1540) which will be available February 1st.   I simply stamped the background then cut along the design.  I used strips of Lagoon, Cranberry, and Honey cardstock for some color.  Then stamped my sentiment from the A Little Everything (retired) set.  I mounted it on some black cardstock and attached it with some 3d foam tape.  Very simple and to the point.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hopefully, I will get the rest of the cards posted soon.   Have a great rest of the weekend!

Dragonfly Quick Card

Here's a little sneak peek at one of the new quick card stamp sets that will be in the new catalog that goes live February 1st. This is Quick Cards - Dragonfly (A1134).  I love the quick card stamp sets and I love things with wings.  How could I go wrong with this one?

I used Pacifica, Pear, Sky and Chocolate inks on this card.  I daubed on all the ink directly to my stamp and then stamped on the White Daisy cardstock.  I love the affect it gives.  I gave little strips of cardstock the same colors as my inks a scalloped edge and adhered them.  The bottom pattern is actually a new stamp, too.  It's part of the new In the Background stamp set (D1540).  The new background stamps  have three stamps that are  1 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, perfect for card making.  I stamped the bottom part of my white cardstock with the floral background from that set in Pacifica ink.   I used some green hemp cord I had in my stash and made a little bow and then attached it to my card base using 3d foam tape.   I cut the card base to a standard 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch  portrait card from Chocolate cardstock.   

That's all for today.  I just had to share my quick card.  There are several A size cards in the upcoming book.  I'm so excited.  The other quick card is a Bee.  Yay, more wings!

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Scrapping!

Flirty Butterfly

While trying to drop my Cotton Candy cardstock habit like a hot potato, I decided to pull out some Flirty.  Flirty is one of the featured paper packs in the current idea book that will be retiring.  It will only be available until the end of January.  I really like the bold colors.  

I didn't put a sentiment on this card either.  It was another one that I feel could go for more than one occasion, ie. congratulations, birthday, sympathy, friendship, etc.   When I figure out it's purpose,  I will put the sentiment in the bottom right. 

This was a very simple card.  I trimmed one of our Colonial White card stock bases on one side and then edged it with my Fiskars border punch.  I adhered a small strip of the printed raspberry B&T from the paper pack to the inside of the card.  I backed the patterned B&T with Black cardstock and used 3d foam tape to adhere it over the Olive strip.  I added a black ribbon from my stash before attaching the square.  The butterfly was cut from the Artiste Cricut cartridge.  I added a few black sparkles and that was it.  Simple, but with an elegant feel I think.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Scrapping!

Pink Butterfly and Frames Flair

In the new upcoming Spring/Summer book, which will go live February 1, they have some new frames stamp sets.  I fell in love with one called Frames Flair (D1546).  It's a set of four detailed fancy frames.  I saw a card on Pinterest (shocking, I know..lol) done by a Jo Dumbleton, I believe.  It was beautiful, soft and delicate.  It served as my inspiration for this card.

This card was super simple.  It's a White Daisy card base with a strip of Cotton Candy cardstock.  I embossed the cardstock with my Swiss Dots embossing folder and then lightly sanded to get my polka dotted effect.  I used the border stamp from the Snowflakes stamp set on either side of the strip, stamped in, you guessed it, Cotton Candy.  I used the new Frames Flair stamp for the frame.   It coordinates with the Art Philosophy cut on page 62 and it's cut at 2 1/4".  Perfect for the standard sized  card.   The butterfly is the shape from page 41.  I just cut two in different sizes and layered them.  The soft pink ribbon is some I had in my stash.  But the gem in the middle is from our new Pink Glitter Gems (Z1807), also available on February 1.  

I didn't put a sentiment on this card because I thought it could have different uses.  It could be a baby card,  or a birthday card, or a super sweet something or another card.  I think I am going to try this card design in some different papers and see what I can come up with.  I really just love the frame.

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Scrapping!