Congratulations with prams

I made two cards for the One Layer Wednesday challenge at Simplicity this week. This one and then this one:


(click on the image to see it closer up)

I made my husband pick out his favourite of the two because I couldn't decide. I think I like this one better, but I hate the way the black sentiment looks so stark against the pastels of the prams. If I wasn't going to overlap the sentiment I would have it in a similarly muted shade.

To get it centered I used my centering ruler to work out the middle of the card, drew a little mark for it, and then drew a line horizontally where I wanted the pram's wheels to rest. I then made sure that my pink pram was stamped according to the vertical centre (as well as the horizontal line I had drawn) and stamped the other two prams on either side.

Size of card: 3.5" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Quill white cardstock
Stamps - Cre8tive, Inkadinkado sentiment
Ink - Versacolor "Baby Blue", "Petal Pink" and "Sage"
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer

Whilst on an overlapping tangent I also made this card:


(click on the image to see it closer up)

The above card uses a stamp I made myself using an eraser, my fiskars shape cutter and a utility blade. There are squillions of tutorials for this sort of thing on the web. Here's one I found helpful.

Size of card: 3.5" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Quill white cardstock
Stamps - Cre8tive, circle by me, Inkadinkado sentiment
Ink - Versacolor "Atlantic" and "Baby Blue"
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer

Birthday Wishes

The card in today's post took me hours, as I had a specific card in mind (that followed this week's Card Positioning Systems sketch) but as is often the case, it took a different turn. Consequently I have about 10 other cutout flowers that I didn't end up using but should be able to use for something else.

This is how I spend my Saturdays people! Cutting out teeny tiny things that I don't end up using!

Here's the sketch:



And without further ado, here's my card:


(Click on image to see it closer up)

I sponged the pink layer with white versacolor ink, then distressed it slightly using my scissors. I adhered the ribbon to the back, letting just a narrow strip of it show, and then glued on the flowers. I cut off the leaves of the top layer flowers and popped them up using foam tape.

The sentiment is actually two stamps from different companies - I like the mix of fonts, it keeps a sentiment interesting, and since they're separate words it's easier to ink up in different colours!

Size of card: 4" x 6" (top folding)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Quill white cardstock, Canson textured paper
Stamps - lil ellaboudy "Hand Drawn Floral Stamps", Kaisercraft "Birthday" and Inkadinkado "wishes" sentiments
Ink - Versacolor "Ash Rose" and "White", Versafine "Onyx Black"
Extras - Bic Mark-it in "Margarita Green", ribbon in "Dusty Pink"
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Cre8tive spring scissors, foam tape, Renoir tape runner

Challenge: CPS#168

Thanks so much for looking!

Little Princess

The Simplicity One Layer Wednesday challenge this week was to use an overlapped image with a sentiment, and boy did I find it difficult!

In the end I came up with two cards that suit the challenge, but the card below is my entry:



I added a bit of spica pen to the sparkly spots in the tiara. Click on the image to see it close up.

This is also my first attempt at photographing with a coloured background (Simplicity style) and I like it!

Size of card: 3.5" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Quill white cardstock
Stamps - Cre8tive
Ink - Versacolor "Cement" and "Orchid"
Extras - Spica pen
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer

Challenge: OLW#6

Thanks for looking!

Just a note

This is the card I promised in this entry and then got sidetracked by the deadline for this week's Cardpatterns sketch. Made it with 3 hours to go (phew!)

I used pages from the "Utopia" paper pad I fell in love with whilst browsing at my local craft shop for this card (as well as this one) and I'm sure there'll be more to come.



I used the 'Just a note' sentiment because I made this card for one of the PhD candidates at work who is going away for a year on fieldwork. I couldn't find anything else that seemed fitting for the occasion... I really need to get one that says 'good luck', though even that doesn't seem quite right somehow... 'We'll miss you' maybe?

You can't see it in the photo but the flower has a 'spot varnish' finish on parts of it which is really quite pretty in real life.

Size of card: 4" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Quill white cardstock, "Utopia" paper pad by Kaisercraft
Stamps - Sullivan's sentiment
Ink - Versafine "Onyx Black"
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Cre8tive spring scissors, Renoir glue runner

Thanks for looking!

Thinking of you

Today I'm posting my entry in this week's Cardpatterns sketch. It sort of follows the sketch, but not really... sometimes designs have a life of their own and you just have to go with it (that's what I reckon anyway!)

Here's the sketch:



And here's my very loose interpretation:



I cut out the corners of the damask-style patterned paper with my Fiskars Clouds paper edgers to make an inverted scallop effect.

Size of card: A5 folded in half

Supplies:
Card/paper - Lexel "Sandstone" paper and card, "Recollect" in the "Reminiscing" collection by Kaisercraft
Stamps - Hero Arts "Scroll Messages"
Ink - Versacolor "Umber"
Extras - Taupe ribbon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Renoir glue runner

Challenge: Cardpatterns sketch #65

Thanks for looking!

You're Special

I absolutely love the new collections from Kaisercraft - "Utopia" and "Hey Birdie". I bought the 6x6 pads for each collection last weekend and have only cracked open "Utopia" so far, but "Hey Birdie" won't be far behind I'm sure!

The flowers in the "Utopia" set are just gorgeous, and I have used them for both of the cards I've made with the pad so far. The card in my post today also follows the sketch for this week's Fall to Layout by Clean&Simple.

Here's the sketch:



And here's my card:



I used my Cre8tive glue pen (which is actually the size of a pen, very handy!) to glue on the flower and leaves as there were far too many inny-and-outy bits to use my glue runner.

The scalloped border is one of the die cuts from the pad which is another reason why I love the pads, you get more than just patterned paper.

Size of card: 4" square (what a shocker!)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Quill white cardstock, "Utopia" paper pad by Kaisercraft
Stamps - Hero Arts "Scroll Messages"
Ink - Versafine "Onyx Black"
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Cre8tive spring scissors, Cre8tive glue pen, Renoir glue runner

Challenge: FTL#91

I'll post the other card I made using this collection tomorrow. Thanks for looking!

Just Saying Hello

Another One Layer Wednesday challenge card from Simplicity today. This time the challenge was to make a one layer card with a faux embellishment (as in, a stamp masquerading as a button or in my card, stitching).

Here's what I came up with:



I used a bit of tissue paper and some removable adhesive to mask the bottom of the tree to make the stitching look more like grass.

Size of card: 4" x 5 1/2" (top folding)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Quill white cardstock
Stamps - Inque Boutique "Memoirs" collection, Papercraft border, Hero Arts "Classic Messages"
Ink - Versacolor "Pinecone" and "Olive"
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Marbig poster tack, tissue paper, Cre8tive spring scissors

Challenge: OLW#5

Sweet Friend

This card will show that I caved and bought some Copic Ciao markers. They were a really decent price from a seller on Oztion (Berrimas Garden) and the original intention was to buy some that I could blend with my existing markers, but now I think I'll buy more Copics because they are just so good! They flow SO much better than the others I have used and the ability to choose a light and a dark colour to blend with is fantastic.

That being said, I didn't blend with the Copics I used in today's card made to follow My Grafico's sketch challenge for this week. To make them look shaded - they aren't perfect, I need alot more practice! - I went over the areas I wanted to be darker twice, as opposed to the areas I wanted to stay lighter which I went over once.

Here's the sketch:



And here's my take:



I've been looking out to use these candy digital stamps from My Grafico since I downloaded them AGES ago. (Download them for free here!). They were designed by the very talented Mujka Chic. After a few false starts the above card was born.

I coloured the sweets using my new Copics and oriented them in roughly the same direction as the sweets in the background. I then trimmed off the excess to finish off the top layer.

The sentiment (sweet friend - get it?) was stamped in Versacolor ink which is a bit pale, but I didn't want anything white or bright, just purple (my favourite colour by the way!)

Size of card: 4" x 6" (top folding)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Cre8tive textured cardstock, Grant Archival plain paper
Stamps - Digital Candy Freebie by Mujka Chic from My Grafico, Inkadinkado "Chelsea Sentiments"
Ink - Printer, Versacolor "Misty Mauve", Copic Ciao markers in Amethyst (V17) and Pale Lilac (V12)
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Cre8tive spring scissors, Renoir glue runner

Challenge: My Grafico #49

Thanks for looking!

Masking tutorial

This is a tutorial for how I did the masking technique in yesterday's card.

What you will need:
A blank card
Stamp of choice - something that will look nice repeated or even a background stamp
Ink of choice
Ruler - to work out corners
Pencil - to mark corners
Post-its - the sticky part should be as long as each side of your stamped area

Take your blank card. Mine is 4" square Quill white cardstock that I cut and scored using my Fiskars paper trimmer.

Work out how much white space you want around your stamped area. I've chosen roughly 1.8cm (5/8") each side. I used my centering ruler for this which made it really easy, but any ruler would do the job. Once you've worked out where your corners are, indicate them with your pencil (press lightly, you'll want to erase these later!)



Then line up the post-its with the corners. Try not to let them overlap too much - the height can cause parts of the stamp not to stamp properly.



Once you have all of your post-its lined up according to your pencil marks you can erase them and start stamping. I have used the same SeeD's stamp from yesterday's card, but I've had success using this technique with a variety of stamps from borders to shapes. The key is to experiment - you never know what you'll come up with!

The picture below shows my stamped area finished:



As you can see there are a few areas that didn't stamp great over the post-its. A way to avoid this would be to press harder over the post-its without rolling and distorting the stamp. Lesson learned!

All that's left to do is take off the post-its (keep them somewhere handy - they can be reused for your next masked card) and you're done!



Well that's it - pretty easy huh? I really hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and as always, if you have any questions or comments please don't hesitate to contact me!

Thank You

I made this card to follow this week's Card Positioning Systems sketch. I used a masking technique (of sorts) with post-its. Tomorrow I'll post a tutorial showing how I do this technique.

Here's my card:



And here's the sketch:



Size of card: 4" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Quill cardstock
Stamps - SeeD's, Hero Arts sentiment
Ink - Versacolor "Ash Rose"
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Cre8tive spring scissors, post-its, Zig 2-way adhesive

Challenge: CPS#167

Best Wishes

This was one of those cards that went through about a million different looks before I hit upon one that actually worked! It wasn't originally supposed to follow this week's Cardpattern's sketch but somehow it went in that direction and I just ran with it!



And here's the sketch:



I embossed the sentiment first, using clear embossing powder with black ink, and then stamped around and over it, rubbing off the excess ink from the embossed parts when I felt it was dry enough (though Versacolor does take a while to dry... hence why it's a good embossing ink!)

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, even though it was completely unplanned.

Size of card: C6 (A5 folded in half)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Quill white cardstock
Ink - Versacolor "Cement", Versamagic "Midnight Black"
Stamps - Kaisercraft "Lilac Avenue", Kaisercraft sentiment
Extras - ribbon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Renoir glue runner, Carl corner rounder, Fiskars scallop punch, Hero Arts Ultra Fine embossing powder (clear)


Challenge: Cardpatterns Sketch #64

Thanks for looking!

More Congratulations

Another congratulations card! I realised the other day that I have absolutely none in my little stockpile and I imagine will need some in the future, so here we are.

This card follows the below sketch from Clean and Simple:





I actually made this card last night sans raffia. I left it on my desk and when I came in tonight to photograph it I thought to myself - how mundane! And it doesn't even follow the sketch! But my original problem was that I didn't have any light purple ribbon (a situation I intend on remedying this weekend!) but a quick rifle through my raffia drawer (yes, I have THAT much raffia) and the result was a happier card. I actually tied this one ON to the card, and didn't just glue it on the back because I have so much of this stuff I don't mind wasting a bit on the inside, and used a bit of glue to adhere it into place. I tied a double knot and cut off the ends.

Size of card: 4" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Quill white cardstock
Ink - Kaisercraft "Lilac", Versacolor "Boysenberry"
Stamps - Kaisercraft "Peachy Keen", Tiffanys "Flowers" by We R Memory Keepers, Inkadinkado sentiment
Extras - raffia
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Cre8tive glue pen, scissors

Challenge: FTL#90

Congratulations

Today's entry is my take on Card Positioning System's sketch #166 below:





I stamped the leaves on the remnants of a paper bag I had lying around in my scrap paper pile and cut it out. I only adhered the stem to the kraft background giving the leaves a bit of dimension and I used my fingernail to lightly distress the edges of the kraft sentiment and background.

Size of card: 4 1/2" x 4" (it was bigger originally but there was too much white space for my liking!)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Kraft card, reused kraft paper bag, Quill white cardstock
Ink - Versamagic "Cloud White"
Stamps - Sullivan's sentiment, Kaisercraft "Peachy Keen" set
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Cre8tive glue pen, Cre8tive spring scissors

Challenge: CPS #166

Thanks for looking!

Birthday Wishes with butterflies

I made this card for One Layer Wednesday #4 by Simplicity the challenge being to create a one-layer card with a ribbon. So here is my take:



I picked out the ribbon first and then chose my ink colours to try to keep everything looking clean and simple.

Size of card: 6" x 4" (top folding)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Quill cardstock
Stamps - Inkadinkado
Ink - Versacolor "Ash Rose" and "Misty Mauve"
Extras - American Crafts ribbon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Renoir glue runner

Challenge: OLW #4

Best Wishes

This card follows the sketch for Card Patterns and was made using supplies from the Scrapping Essentials "His and Hers" card pack.


This card is shaped oddly because it was made out of some leftover cardstock from the pack. I'm going to have lots of fun when I attempt to make an envelope for this one (not!)

Size of card: 5 1/2" x 3 1/2"

Supplies:
Card/paper - Kaisercraft patterned paper "George", Bazzill cardstock (black)
Ink - none
Extras - Kaisercraft "Birthday Cards" rubon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Renoir glue tape, Provocraft bone folder (for rubon)

Challenge: CP Sketch #63

Thanks for looking!

Covered notebook tutorial

Here are some simple directions for covering a plain notebook. It can be as embellished as you want or need, making a heartwarming gift for that special someone for little cost.

Start by measuring your notebook. Mine is the unlined type of which I bought several last time I went to the bargain shop in the Valley. I find that the thermal-bound ones are easier to cover than the ring-bound ones as there is less fiddling around with the hole punch.



Since the black band matches the colours of my design, I'm not going to cover it - just the front and back flaps up to the binding. Once you've got the dimensions for the front and back cut the patterned paper you have chosen using your paper trimmer.



Glue on the patterned paper to both front and back flaps up to the binding. I use a glue runner to adhere mine.



Once both sides are covered with the background patterned paper you can embellish away... for this manly notebook I cut out some circles from the "George" paper in the Shaken not Stirred collection by Kaisercraft.



I hope you enjoyed this quick little tutorial! Please let me know if you have any questions or comments :)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Kaisercraft patterned paper "George" and "Roger"
Ink - none
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Bostik glue tape, Cre8tive spring scissors

Scrapping Essentials: "His and Hers" cards - Part 4

Okay, this is the last of the 10 (!) cards I made for the Scrapping Essentials pack along the theme of "His and Hers" cards. They're both quite classy don't you think?



Size of card: 4" square
Size of circle: 2 1/4"

Supplies:
Card/paper - Bazzill cardstock (black and white)
Ink - none
Extras - Kaisercraft "Birthday Cards" rubon, Kaisercraft rhinestone "clear", Kaisercraft paper flowers "Snow" and "Midnight", Kaisercraft ribbon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Martha Stewart circle cutter, Bostik glue tape, Provocraft bone folder (for rubon)

~ ~ ~ ~



Doesn't this sort of look like a tuxedo? I do like a bit of ribbon - it adds that little bit of something to any card.

Size of card: 6"x4" (top folding)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Bazzill cardstock (white and black), Kaisercraft patterned paper "George"
Ink - none
Extras - Kaisercraft "Birthday Cards" rubon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Bostik glue tape, Provocraft bone folder (for rubon)

Scrapping Essentials: "His and Hers" cards - Part 3

As promised, here are some of the "Hers" cards I've made with the cardmaking pack from Scrapping Essentials.



Size of card: 4" square
Size of white layer: 3 1/2" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Bazzill cardstock (red and white)
Ink - none
Extras - Kaisercraft "Birthday Cards" rubon, Kaisercraft rhinestone "clear", Kaisercraft paper flowers "Poppy"
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Bostik glue tape, Provocraft bone folder (for rubon)

~ ~ ~ ~



This one is very sweet and cute - I think it's my favourite!

Size of card: 4" square
Size of red layer: 3 3/4" square, white layer: 3 1/2" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Bazzill cardstock (red and white)
Ink - none
Extras - Kaisercraft "Birthday Cards" rubon, Kaisercraft ribbon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Bostik glue tape, Provocraft bone folder (for rubon)

~ ~ ~ ~



Rubon Tip: Since I used alot of rubons when making these cards I developed quite a knack for them. I've actually got heaps but never use them, I guess because I never was very good at using them. What I found was that a hard (untextured) surface underneath the rubbing area (unfold the card if you've already folded it) and the narrow edge of my bone folder over the letters only worked really well. This is especially important for textured card like Bazzill. I found because it is a soft card perhaps because of the texture, the rubbing area where I put more pressure was more noticeable.

Size of card: C6 (A5 folded in half)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Bazzill cardstock (red and white)
Ink - none
Extras - Kaisercraft "Birthday Cards" rubon, Kaisercraft ribbon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Bostik glue tape, Provocraft bone folder (for rubon)

Stay tuned next post for the classiest cards of the bunch.

Thanks for looking!

Scrapping Essentials: "His and Hers" cards - Part 2

Another entry with the cards I've made for Scrapping Essentials. If you live in Australia and are a patterned paper-loving cardmaker like I am then it's definitely the shop for you. Check them out!

This lot of cards are the manlier ones I made along the theme of the pack 'His and Hers' that I was given to design with.



I cheated a bit with the above card - I used two strips of black and used one above and one below, instead of just layering it underneath the stripes. Not because I was being stingy with my cardstock but because when I just had the black strip below I thought it needed a little something extra so added the strip above and that was it!

Size of card: 4" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Bazzill cardstock (black and red), Kaisercraft patterned paper "George"
Ink - none
Extras - Kaisercraft "Birthday Cards" rubon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Bostik glue tape, Provocraft bone folder (for rubon)

~ ~ ~ ~



I like this sentiment - it covers a multitude of events, including those 'just because' occasions.

Size of card: C6 (A5 folded in half)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Bazzill cardstock (red), Kaisercraft patterned paper "George"
Ink - none
Extras - Kaisercraft "Birthday Cards" rubon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Bostik glue tape, Provocraft bone folder (for rubon), Cre8tive spring scissors

~ ~ ~ ~



Size of card: C6 (A5 folded in half)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Bazzill cardstock (white), Kaisercraft patterned paper "George"
Ink - none
Extras - Kaisercraft "Birthday Cards" rubon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Bostik glue tape, Provocraft bone folder (for rubon)

~ ~ ~ ~



I think this is the manliest of the bunch - those sketchy letters scream BOY to me, I don't know about anyone else!

Size of card: C6 (A5 folded in half)

Supplies:
Card/paper - Bazzill cardstock (white and black), Kaisercraft patterned paper "George" and "Roger"
Ink - none
Extras - Kaisercraft "Birthday Cards" rubon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Bostik glue tape, Provocraft bone folder (for rubon)

And that's as far as my inspiration has taken me (as far as making cards for 'Him' is concerned). Hopefully it won't be the end of it though!

Once again, thanks for looking! I'll post more of the girly cards tomorrow ;)

Scrapping Essentials: "His and Hers" cards - Part 1

I just joined the Design Team of Scrapping Essentials, a fantastic Aussie online scrapbooking/card making supply shop.

I've made a heap of cards and a covered notebook with the first pack, themed "His and Her Cards", in which I was given a selection of Bazzill cardstock (red, black and white) to match up with the "Shaken Not Stirred" collection by Kaisercraft of which I received two of the set - "Roger" and "George". Coordinating paper flowers, ribbons and rhinestones were also included, along with a sheet of 'Birthday Card' rubons from Kaisercraft.

The first card I'm posting made with the pack is also the first one I created.



I don't often make black cards because I seldom use enough light colours to lift them out of dreariness but the red and white (and sparkle!) works for me. And I think 'Just Because...' is a lovely sentiment, as it is perfect for those times that you haven't got a reason (birthday/anniversary, etc.) it's just because you care.

Size of card: 4 1/2" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Bazzill cardstock (black, white and red)
Ink - none
Extras - Kaisercraft "Birthday Cards" rubon, Kaisercraft rhinestone "clear", Kaisercraft paper flowers "Midnight" and "Snow"
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Bostik glue tape, Provocraft bone folder (for rubon)

I'll post more tomorrow... thanks for looking!

Get Well Soon

Yet another card made this week using Kaisercraft's "Country Grove" patterned paper. I just can't help myself - it's so lovely!


And this is another 4" square card which is my favourite size. I find it's a good size for fitting a message inside without too much room left over - and isn't as hard to decorate as 3" square can be.

The only thing is it's a difficult size to find envelopes for so I have to make my own using the Crafter's Companion Enveloper Pro I bought a while back. This makes it easy to coordinate cards with envelopes (especially with something out of the ordinary like olive green!)

Size of card: 4" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Cre8tive textured cardstock, Kaisercraft "Country Grove" patterned paper
Ink - Versacolor "Pinecone"
Stamp - Hero Arts sentiment
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Carl corner rounder, Bostik glue tape, Fiskars "Clouds" paper edgers

Challenge: CPS#165

Thanks for looking!

Falling Leaves - Tiffany Doodles

The digital stamp I used multiple times for this card comes from Tiffany Doodles, a shop I discovered only recently. There's so many beautiful and cute digital stamps on there, I had to buy some!



The leaf comes from the Doodleblooms IV set. I copied and pasted it several times in Word and then rotated and flipped one here and there to make the leaves look like they are falling.

I printed the leaves once on "Country Grove" Kaisercraft patterned paper and then cropped out all of the leaves except for the stems and printed it out onto matching paper from Grant Archival. I then cut out all of the whole leaves and curled them upwards using my fingers. I stuck down only the parts of the leaves touching the stems using Bostik glue tape.

Size of card: 4" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Cre8tive textured cardstock, Grant Archival, Kaisercraft "Country Grove" patterned paper
Ink - printer
Stamp - Doodleblooms IV leaf from Tiffany Doodles, Hero Arts sentiment
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Fiskars scallop punch, Bostik glue tape, Cre8tive spring scissors

Thanks for looking!

Country Grove circle card

This is one of the few cards I've made without a sentiment (mainly because it's so little!)



To make the circles into a card I used my Fiskars shape cutter to cut two circles of the same size. I then used my Fiskars paper trimmer (with scorer) to make a flap on the back circle by scoring approximately 1cm from the edge. I then glued the flap to the front circle and then decorated the front.

Size of card: 3.5" circle

Supplies:
Card/paper - Cre8tive textured cardstock, Kaisercraft "Country Grove" patterned paper
Ink - none!
Stamp - none!
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, fiskars shapecutter, Cre8tive spring scissors, glue dots, Bostik glue tape

Challenge: Cardpatterns sketch #62

Thanks for looking!

Have a Happy Day - Colouring with markers

I've wanted to try Copics for a long time - ever since seeing the nicely shaded effect on someone else's card. I still don't have any Copics (they're a bit too pricey for me) but I've bought a couple of similar markers from an art and craft shop in a shopping centre near where I live - Shinhan 'Twin Touch' markers. They're only a few dollars cheaper than Copics but I've read they're comparable in quality and that few dollars cheaper could save me a bundle if I decide to buy more.

Together with my bic mark-its and sharpies I've got a range of colours now, which has allowed me to finally dabble in some proper shading using a blending technique.

I've taken some photos and made a little tutorial which I hope helps someone out there. Give it a go, it's such a fun and easy technique!

First, select some thick or cartridge-style art paper. I like to use the Eraldo di Paolo Field Pad which is suitable for a wide range of mediums including watercolours, pencils and ink. I folded it in half and then stamped my flower stamp with Versafine "Black Onyx" ink a few times (I'd like to say 'strategically' but it was really quite haphazard) and then added the sentiment using the same ink. I cut about 2" off one end to make it square-ish as my 'strategic' placement of stamps didn't suit the rectangular shape and there was way too much white space.

I then coloured the flowers with my Twin Touch marker in "Bareley Beige" (sic). As these markers bleed a bit I'm always careful not to go right up to the outline, just slightly inside and the paper wicks up the rest.



Using the "Peach Parfait" bic mark-it I very lightly drew lines on the flower where I wanted the darkest shade of colour.



Then I blended the darkest shade in with the light using the Twin Touch "Bareley Beige" (sic) again, going over the whole flower, making sure to keep within the lines!



I've added the photo below to show the difference between the final wash of the lighter colour and without (the blended one is on the left)



To finish the flowers I added a touch of "Pink Parfait" to the centers and then the card was done! Here's the finished product:


I hope you enjoyed this tutorial - it's a first for me so if you have any questions or comments please let me know!

Size of card: 4" square

Supplies:
Card/paper - Eraldo di Paolo A5 Field Pad
Ink - Versafine "Black Onyx"
Stamp - Tiffanys "Flowers" by We R Memory Keepers, sentiment from Sullivan's
Embellishments - Twin Touch marker "Bareley Beige" (sic), bic mark-it "Pink Parfait"
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer

Thanks for looking!

Best Wishes and Roses

I only realised today that I hadn't thought at all about this week's Card Positioning Systems sketch challenge - and thought, if I could, combining it with the My Grafico challenge this week would solve all my problems!



I punched out the roses using my supposed 1.5" square punch which, in actual fact, is 1" square... someone sure screwed up in the punch factory that day!

I don't know how it happened, but when I stamped on my scratch paper my sentiment stamped fine... and then when I stamped on the card the bottom of the s of 'wishes' and most of the 'w' were paler than the rest of the sentiment. It looked weird the way that it was, so I got out the plain ol' black sharpie and filled in the gaps. It looks a little strange, but better than it did.

Digital stamp tip: I print all of my pictures out on ordinary A4 copy paper and then use a photocopier to get them onto the paper I want, in this case my Monte Marte sketch pad. I've found this paper deals really well with watercolouring so I use it often. The toner won't smudge or smear when wet like my inkjet printer does.
I don't throw away the pages I use to copy from - I use them again and again. It saves trees as well as time!

Size of card: C6 (A5 folded in half)

Supplies:
Card/Paper - Quill cardstock, Optix paper "Tula Pink", Monte Marte sketch pad
Ink - Versafine "Black Onyx", Toner
Stamp - "Roses and Posies" Stamps by Sarah Paris, Kaisercraft sentiment
Embellishments - watercolours, Victoria Spencer ribbon
Tools - Fiskars paper trimmer, Zig H20 pen, Bostik glue tape, Sullivan's 1.5" punch (which is actually 1")

Challenges: CPS#164 and MyGrafico #46 'Punch out Crime'