Thinking Inking

Eye on the Sparrow: CPS123

This week's CPS 123 sponsor is Sweet n' Sassy stamps. I chose the His Eye Is on the Sparrow set because I knew I could use its sentiments in my collection. Papers are from the Pink Paislee Spring Fling Collection. Inks are Versamagic Turquoise Gem and Jumbo Java, along with Rich Cocoa Memento and Antique Linen Distress ink. I thought I would share a step-by-step Copic coloring tutorial on this image; hope it helps!

I used one of the new pale Copic colors, BG0000, for the background; it has just a hint of color--perfect for blending cleanly into the background of the paper.

Next I colored the branches and greenery with the markers pictured. (Click on any image to see it larger.)

The flowers were next; usually I would color blossoms a paler shade, I think. Since I really wanted to make them work with the patterned paper, I deepened the values a bit.

The sparrows were the trickiest part. I chose some grayed-down browns after Googling "common American sparrow." (If you're an ornithologist, don't look!)

Finally I added created my layout, trimmed my focal image down, distressed its edges, and added some yellow Stickles to the flower centers. Buttons are from my stash, probably from Buttons Galore. Won't you consider playing along with the CPS sketch this week? Thank you for visiting!

Thanks: CPS 121

This week's CPS 121 Sponsor is My Sentiments Exactly, and my chosen set packs some serious Word Flower Power! I turned the sketch on its side since my flower needed a stem.

I stamped two of the bloom images on PTI's Vintage Cream cardstock using Adirondack Red Pepper and PTI Aqua Mist inks and cut these out. Next I stamped a word center using Versamagic  Turquoise Gem and Aquatic Splash inks and zig-zag stitched around that center. I lightly sponged Antique Linen Distress ink on all exposed edges to shabby them up just a bit. The thanks sentiment at the base of the flower is die cut and embossed with a Spellbinders Labels Trio die.

Papers are Apron Strings and Cherry Pie from Cosmo Cricket's Early Birdcollection. The green felt ric-rac is from Reasonable Ribbon, and the buttons from Buttons Galore. Sting for the buttons is PTI's Rustic Twine.

If you play along with this week's sketch, be sure to leave a link on the CPS blog. Thanks for visiting!

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If you are looking for the next Spellbinders Blog Frenzy stop, you'll want to go see Mish Wooderson. Remember that you have until June 24, 11:59 pm EST to enter (as explained in the post below) for the Eyelet Pendant set that you saw here yesterday.  Good luck!

  

Happy Bird-Day, Chickie: CPS 120

This week's CPS 120 Sponsor was 2RedBananas, and they make cute chick stamps, for sure!

 

I stamped the Birthday Chick in Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored him with the Copic markers shown below. The two Spica Glitter pens are the new Buttermilk and Pitch Black. (Mine have clear caps because they are prototypes. If you order a new set, they will have the easy-to-spot color caps that you are accustomed to seeing.)

 

 

 

Paper is some Cosmo Cricket Early Bird, (Sunrise), and PaperTrey Lemon Tart cardstock. The orange-y cardstock is Prism Papaya Puree Dark. I used a Spellbinders Fancy Scalloped Pierceability die to cut the scalloped Lemon Tart layer and then pierced a row of holes at the top.  

 

Wouldn't you like to play along with this week's CPS 120 sketch? It's an easy one--I promise!

 

Moose You S'More: CPS119

This week's CPS 119 Sketch is sponsored by Hanna Stamps, makers of Riley Moose, among other things. I've often admired Riley at my friend Niki's blog, but this is the first one that I've colored--he's fun!

Riley is stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa ink, colored with the Copic markers pictured below, and then distressed along the edges. Paper is from the Cosmo Cricket Mr. Campy collection, Gojumpina Lake and Mr. Campy Striptease, I believe. Rustic Wood Buttons are PaperTrey Ink, and mini clip is a Tim Holtz product. (I love the mini clips and mini safety pins.)

 

Can you see the Spica glitter pens on the fire?  I used the new Buttermilk color (a Pale yellow--very useful!) as well as Lipstick on the flames.

Riley's a cool character. We would love to have you join us on this week's CPS sketch! Thank you for visting today.

NEWSFLASH:

 Did you see this post on Marianne's blog? Copic has heard our pleas for paler colors, and they are coming soon in the Sketch marker! I am excited about these since I have made a couple of paler colors in empty markers and was wishing for a few more. Yay!! These are not available yet, but we're hoping for July. . .

COPIC Sketch BV0000 Pale Thistle
COPIC Sketch V0000 Rose Quartz
COPIC Sketch RV0000 Evening Primrose
COPIC Sketch R0000 Pink Beryl
COPIC Sketch YR0000 Pale Chiffon
COPIC Sketch Y0000 Yellow Fluorite
COPIC Sketch YG0000 Lily White
COPIC Sketch G0000 Crystal Opal
COPIC Sketch BG0000 Snow Green
COPIC Sketch B0000 Pale Celestine
COPIC Sketch C00 Cool Gray 00
COPIC Sketch W00 Warm Gray 00

In Our Thoughts: CPS 118

This week's CPS 118 sketch was non-sponsored, so I chose some beautiful materials that had been sitting on my shelves for a while and gave them some loving. 

 

Here I have used a Just Rite Stampers Celebrations Demi Phrases set for the sentiment, stamped in Hibiscus Burst Ink on Sweet Blush Cardstock (PaperTrey Ink) as well as some Melissa Frances papers (Susan and Anne).

 

Cardstock is Sweet Blush and Vintage Cream by PaperTrey Ink, and bling is a Heidi Swapp circle of self-adhesive rhinestones. I cut the circle in the middle to surround just the sentiment part of the layout.  (I think I may have to break down and buy another package of these--it's so much simpler to apply one strip than to glue rhinestones around a circle individually!)

 

The flower is from a Prima package that a sweet friend sent me.  I cut the bracket edge on the polka-dotted paper with a Spellbinders Ric-Rac Scallop Pierceablity and the circle with a Circle Nestability. A bit of sanding, distress ink, and sewing finished it off.  I really enjoyed this sketch. We would love to have you come play with us on the CPS sketch!

 

In case you missed it at the top of the Copic Blogiversary post, the winner was Jan Ledman. You still have time to enter for the big prize package at Marianne's blog--good luck!

 

Thank you for visiting.

Thinking of You Today: CPS 117

 

This week's CPS 117 sponsor was Innovative Stamp Creations. I love flowers, so this Passion Flower was right down my alley! First order of business was to Google Passion Flowers and see what colors they should be; while there was a lot of variety, most were shades of blues and purples.

I chose some Twinkling H2O's to watercolor the image, stamped in Black Brilliance on watercolor paper and heat set. Next I used Copic's Glitter pens in Melon, Yellow, Lavender, and Clear to add even more sparkle.  The purples and greens were just begging to be used with some Basic Grey Wisteria papers.  Cardstock is PaperTrey Ink's Plum Pudding and Spring Moss. Grosgrain snippet is also PaperTrey's Ripe Avocado. The large button is a Basic Grey Wisteria button, and the tag is stamped in SU's Eggplant ink on a Spellbinders Tags Trio die cut.  The finished size of my card is 5-1/8" square.

I hope you had a great weekend; thank you for visiting!

P.S. If you happen to love this flower too, I just saw that Innovative Stamp Creations is running a CPS special through Friday, May 29: 10% off your ISC order - use coupon code: cps524

Smile: CPS 116

This week's CPS 116 sponsor was Emily at Stamping Bella. Aren't these little vases fun? What more could you ask from a stamp--color-able and paper-piece-able!

I stamped the Flower Bottles image on Stampers Select White cardstock (PaperTrey Ink) with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored it with the Copic markers shown below. That one on the right end is my blend of BG000 and clear blender fluid--just a lighter blue that is easy to blend into the paper.

Next I stamped the vases on three different scraps of Cosmo Cricket's new Early Bird** paper, trimmed them closely, and glued them on top of the stamped vases on the focal image. The little smile sentiment is from the Melissa Frances Inspiration Rub-On Transfers set. That small tag is cut with a Spellbinders Double-Ended Tags die, then trimmed to length by hand. The focal image is cut and embossed with a SquareNestability. Buttons are mostly PaperTrey Ink Vintage Buttons. I added a touch of Stickles (Aqua and Yellow) to flower centers and raised just the single rose blossom.

I'll be blogging as often as possible this week, but I have family visiting who are headed overseas soon. I'm squeezing out all of the time to spend with them that I can! I hope that you have some unexpected smiles today; thanks for visiting.

**Papers: Sunrise, Apron Strings and Ribbon Sandwich (Cosmo Cricket Early Bird Collection)

Butterfly Thinking of You: CPS 115

You know, I'm pretty sure that Tami's a genius-she's our CPS sketch artist. I looked at this particular sketch and wondered what I was going to do with it. Then I started noodling all of the circular stamps I had. One thing led to another, and I really think I like it, now that it's finished.

That's what I mean about Tami's gift--seeing possibilities that others might not naturally see. In my {boring, careful, analytical} little design world, Rules Reign. Oh, I may opt for informal balance rather than formal balance, but it's still there. I'll mix odd colors, but only if I see them on a patterned paper or a lovely picture and like them first. I'm not that daring--I just follow the rules. . .

Then Tami tosses out a sketch that bisects the page (there goes my beloved rule of thirds), and has all of the design elements clustered in the lower right corner (there goes balance).  And you know what? It works! That is precisely why I love the challenge of sketches. They open up new possibilities--new ways of seeing things through the eyes of others. Tami's the MAN--figuratively speaking, of course! ;-D

All details are listed below. Thanks for dropping by!

The Nitty Gritty:
Stamps: Tags for Spring, Around and About Sentiments (PaperTrey ink)
Cardstock: Sweet Blush (PaperTrey Ink), Neenah Natural White (Ellen Hutson, LLC)
Papers: Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday (Girl Friday Collection by Cosmo Cricket)
Inks: Hibiscus Burst (PTI), Terra Cotta (Adirondack), Kiwi Kiss (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: white silk ribbon, rhinestones (Ellen Hutson, LLC), buttons (PaperTrey Ink, Buttons Galore)
Tools: Plain Circle Nestability, Nested Flower, Fancy Scalloped Pierceability Die (Spellbinders Paper Arts);  Clear and Mint Spica Glitter Pens (Copic); 3/4" and 1-1/4" circle punches

A Birthday Fish: CPS 114

Today's post is my first foray into digital images: this week's CPS 114 sponsor is Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, and Korin asked that we use her digital images. I chose Cleo Clownfish because I knew I had some lovely CosmoCricket Snorkel papers that he would be perfect with. I printed him at 70% of his original size, then die-cut and embossed him with a Spellbinders Circle Nestability. 

Next I masked Cleo off with Eclipse Tape and airbrushed the background with a Copic BG45 and airbrush system, leaving my die in place to serve as an outer rim mask.  I then colored Cleo with the Copic markers shown on the left, and sponged the cardstock edges with antique Linen Distress ink.  The focal image mat is cut with a Pinking Circle Nestability from SU's Tangerine Tango cardstock. Other matting is Prism Intense teal cardstock, and card base is PaperTrey Ink Stamper's Select White.

The lifebuoy strip across the bottom is from the Cosmo Cricket Snorkel Borders paper. Buttons are from ButtonsGalore.com, and ribbon is both PaperTrey Ink (Summer Sunrise Grosgrain), and Cosmo Cricket (Snorkel ribbon for the orange twill).

That's one more kid-let birthday card for my stash. Thank you for visiting!

Life is Beautiful (CPS 113) and Z-Fold Spring Card

I spent Sunday with my family, but I still had a couple of things posted elsewhere online that I can share with you. First was my Card Positioning Systems card for the week. This week's CPS 113 Sponsor was Cornish Heritage Farms; we were all blessed with Julia Stainton's new stamps from the Rummage Bin Line, Ornamental Block and Ornamental Beauty. It was love at first ink--swirls and flourishes and beautiful words--what's not to like?

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Product Details
Stamps: Ornamental Block, Ornamental Beauty by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Pink Grapefruit Versamagic; Rich Cocoa Memento; Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Sweet Blush, and Dark Chocolate (PaperTrey Ink)
Tools: Copic Markers in R20, R22, W1, o, and YR31; Spica Glitter pens in Melon, Mint (new*), and Blossom (also new*); sewing machine, paper piercing tool
Accessories: Creative Impressions Ivory Silk ribbon; Making Memories Antique Copper Mini Brads; foam tape

*new Spica colors that should be available soon

Also, I had a z-fold card with instructions posted on the CLASSroom blog; I'm including it in this post since it used Cornish Heritage Farm Stamps too, the Kim Hughes Spring Trees set and the Mona Lisa Birthday Centers set for the sentiment inside.  (If you don't know how to make a z-fold card, it's pretty simple--check it out!) Thank you for visiting.