Sunday Bliss

Good Morning!  It's a lovely Sunday morning.  The sun is shining, I have a big mug of my favorite coffee and I am playing at my craft table - this is one of the ways I define bliss.

I have a card to share with you that I made for 4 different challenges.  I won a challenge over at All That Scraps, so of course, I have to play along with this challenge with my new stamps.  So ATS' challenge is an Anything Goes challenge.  I am also entering this card in the CMC Copic Challenge (Hot Pink, Black & White).  And the iCopic Lover challenge is smooth and shiny hair.  And finally, the card design is from this week's Just Us Girls sketch challenge.  I usually don't combine more than 2 challenges, but this one worked so well.  I have technique, sketch, color combo and the chance to play with new stamps from one of my favorite stamp companies.  Another way to define bliss perhaps?

Supplies:
Stamps:  Coffee Birgitta (CC Designs), Mixed Messages (AmyR Stamps), Polka Dot Blooms (TSG)
 Ink: Tuxedo Black, Lilac Posies, Angel Pink (Memento)
Card stock:  Neenah Classic Crest, Black (Recollections), Pink Passion (SU!)
Paper:  Unknown - found in my stash
Copics:  C5, C7, C8, C10, E00, E000, E02, E30, E34, RV02, RV02, RV13, W-0, W-2
Tools:  Square punches (CM), Spring Bouquet punch (SU!), sm Oval punch (SU!)

I really don't like taking pictures during the day.  If this makes any sense, my room has lots of sunshine but its so full of shadows, it's impossible get good pictures.  This one I ended of having to take it with the card laying down on my bed and I shot above it.  Crazy!  Now you can see a bit of my cozy blanket (nope, the bed isn't made yet).  And I'm still losing a little of the element in my card.  Sorry.

Copics 101 - Flesh Tones

Hi all! I'm running late this morning but I am super glad of it because I was able to use the FABULOUS sketch from Friday Sketchers. I did flip their sketch and omitted the flowers because I think it would've thrown this card off balance.

This was the last lesson in the Copics class - flesh tones. This stamp is so beautiful! It's from Queen's Ink, which is where I took the class. The owner, Patty and her sister (or perhaps sister-in-law) design their own line of stamps. I'm not sure how to name these stamps, they're not what I call vintage - just very artsy, I guess.

This is my card. I am very proud of this card! It's so great when a card comes together so easily and this one did. I don't remember why I bought this paper, for a kit or something I guess, but it was perfect for this card. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, then look closely at the dp, the swirls actually look they're made from paint. The black strips on the top right I cut and then embossed with a border Cuttlebug folder. Then highlighted the embossing with Metallics Rub On paste, then added a tiny pearl to each strip.

Now this stamp made shading super easy! First off, you color the entire image with the lightest color that you've chosen for the skin tone. Then, as I said, this stamp made it so easy - where it's darker, that's where you color with a darker shade Copic marker. Then Jonesy has a favorite marker for lip color and I believe it's even called that, but I mixed that lip color with a wine color and blended them out. I love the effect! I then colored the eyes, although they stamp out a fairly solid black, with a dark brown marker (shhh, I used a Prismacolor marker for that because I didn't think to color the eyes while I was at the class - but as Joni says, our Copics and Prismas get along just fine).

I hope you've enjoyed sharing my class with me as much as I've enjoyed sharing it with you. Thanks for visiting me today and if you're in the Savage, MD area stop by Queen's Ink and say hello to Patty!

Copics 101 - Color Matching

Good Morning Everyone,

I'm running a bit late this morning, but my kids are happy, they got a stack of pancakes and some scrambled eggs for breakfast, we'll be doing our schooling shortly and then if the weather is cooperative, swimming this afternoon.

I have the next Copics lesson that I learned at that class. I used the sketch from Truly Scrumptious (great sketch) to play along in a challenge, too. This lesson is about the first digit on the Copics marker. If there's no room to do much blending with the Letter Characters on the markers, then go to the first number. All zeros, ones, twos, etc. work together.


I think this is such a fun image! I have no idea where it's from, but it's cute! Such a whimsical flower pot full of posies. I believe my choices were all ones, but I didn't write that all down. I would have if I'd known I was going to share my class like this. I figured I'd just make cards and post them. The pot, I did do the blending technique on. I think it came out great.

Here's a close up. I really need to have that purple in my collection of markers. The blue is pretty, too.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving such sweet comments. Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Copics 101 - Blending

Hi Everyone! As promised, I will be sharing with you what I learned this past weekend. Now, please don't have high expectations that I've become the world's best colorer after this class. I still have so much to learn and I need to practice, practice, practice.

The first lesson was blending. Jonesy, the instructor, said you pick three colors that are about 2 off from each other. So you get, for instance, B10, B12 and B14. Start with your lightest shade and color all over. This is the 1, 2, 3, 1 method of coloring. Then you lay down your next shade and then your next shade, then go back to your lightest color to blend, blend, blend.

Now I messed up a little. I can't remember exactly what colors I picked, the numbers were right, but two of the markers were R markers and the other marker I picked was YR or something like that. Anyway, I still got a very cool effect with it. So I colored all the petals with the lightest shade, then placed my darker shade at the base of the petals and the middle shade at the tips of the petals and used as little shading to create a bit of depth. Not too bad, eh?

Here is my finished card. Now I definitely accomplished country-esque in this card. Houndstooth, pinks and greens, polka dots and black gigham. Yep, that's pretty country. The card is sweet - I like it. I hope you do, too.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your day!