Thinking Inking

Americana Rocker Copic Tutorial on the CLASSroom Blog

I have this Lockhart Americana Rocker card posted on the CLASSroom blog today, along with a stepped-out Copic coloring tutorial. 

Have a lovely Sunday! 

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The Card Creations 7 post is here,  and the Spellbinders Pendants Blog Frenzy person for today, June 28, is Linda Duke.

English Daisies on the CLASSroom Blog

Good morning! I have a step-by-step Copic coloring tutorial of the Lockhart English Daisy image posted on the CLASSroom blog today.

Don’t forget that PaperTrey Ink’s June release is at midnight, EST tonight. I’m hoping to be at the release party IF my internet is working. In true Murphy’s Law form, my satellite receiver seems to have gone bad just after its warranty expired. . .

A Gracious Hostess

Isn't this little Lockhart Vintage Apron the sweetest thing? When I saw the Cosmo Cricket Early Bird papers, I knew that I had to paper-piece Karen Lockhart's apron with these funky, retro papers. I enhanced the image a bit with some W-1 and W-2 Copic markers, adding some subtle shadows along the sides of the apron and under the pocket. The sentiment tag is from PaperTrey Ink's Mixed Messages set, and ribbon and red cardstock are PaperTrey's Pure Poppy.

Early Bird papers used were Cherry Pie, Sunrise, Ribbon Sandwich, and Apron Strings.  The tag is a Spellbinders Tags Trio die, and the large scallops were cut with a Cricut Plantin Schoolbook Cartridge. A bit of stitching and sanding finished it off.

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Do you know all there is to know about ink, or do you have some questions?  Ellen Hutson asked several of us to take a different type or application of ink and write a basic tutorial for the In Touch blog. Ellen has a fabulous ink comparisons article explaining what ink to use in what situation--something worth bookmarking for future reference, for sure.  I have a short article on watercoloring with ink here. Cindy Lyles has a great article on distress and archival inks, and Sharon Harnist explains what inks to use with Copic markers--very helpful!

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Spring Fling Sketch Challenge

I played with new PaperTrey Ink stamps most of the day Saturday--fun summer stamps! I can't show those to you quite yet, but I do have a card to share from Friday night.  In conjunction with Ellen's Spring Fling festivities, Susan Roberts issued a sketch challenge to the CLASSroom bloggers and anyone else who might like to play along. I thought it was a color challenge as well and used the colors in which she had drawn the sketch. I was a bit out of my element with these, but that's what makes it a challenge! (If you decide to play along, feel free to choose your own colors.)

I used another of Karen Lockhart's new stamps, the Patio Pot Petunia. If there ever was a ubiquitous summer flower, it has to be the common little petunia. My grandmother always had petunias. I don't plant them here; I'd rather plant a perennial and hope that it survives the winter! Anyway, I loved how Karen captured the petunia in her image. I colored it with Copic markers, all of which are listed with a step-by-step design and coloring tutorial on this post, if you would like to see more. Finally, I used a Spellbinders Plain Rectangle and Plain Circle Nestability to cut and emboss the image and the tag. The sentiment on the tag is from the Kim Hughes Landing Pad set. Again, if you'd like more details, they are all here. The Spring Fling Sale and festivities last through Sunday night at 11:59pm, PST, with the promo code MOMLOVE earning a 15% discount on all in-stock items.

Finally, I have a new Frequently Asked Questions page. I had a page for FAQ Copic Marker questions and a page for Crafty Blogs already, but this new page will be for the more general questions that I answer often.  There's only one question and answer there right now--one about lighting for photography. Disclaimer: I am not a photographer. (Okay, I had one semester of photography in college, but we mostly developed our own black and white photos--way back when!) Anyway, I hope that this section will be helpful, and I'll try to add new topics as I find myself answering questions repeatedly.

Thank you for visiting!

Spring Fling Everywhere!

It seems that everywhere I look tonight I'm seeing "Spring Fling!" I have this card posted here on Ellen's CLASSroom blog today, along with more cards coming from several others from the CLASSroom team, all using Karen Lockhart's new releases and a mother theme. There are prizes available on the CLASSroom blog, so go claim them!

Also, with the promo code MOMLOVE, all in-stock merchandise in Ellen's store is 15% off between 12:00am PDT on May 1 and 11:59pm PDT on Sunday, May 3.  If you are looking for a specific item and it doesn't show up in a search, it may be out of stock already; shop early if you have something specific in mind.

Finally, I saw that the senior team of PaperTrey Ink also has  a Spring Fling Challenge today, and the pieces that I have seen are gorgeous. Kelly Lunceford, aka Atomic Butterfly is playing on this challenge too--don't miss out on the inspiration! Mish Wooderson, Becky Oehlers, Heather Nichols, Lauren Meader, and Lisa Johnson.  Not only that, but there's a contest on Nichole's blog too!

Thank you for visiting; have a wonderful Friday!

Happy Birthday Lilacs

Still on my vintage kick--may as well make a week of it, right? Today I chose a Lockhart image, Lilacs in Pitcher, as well as some Prima Cavalier Collection papers that had come in a goodie box. These two were a perfect match! I loved the soft, muted lavenders and greens in the paper, and I chose my Copic markers accordingly (shown below). The image was stamped in Memento London Fog ink.

After distressing my focal image, I added some FlowerSoft in both Violet and the Lilac from the Soft Colors kit. (I'm still debating whether I liked it better before or after the addition of the Flower Soft--I like Flower Soft, but all of the time I spent coloring the blooms is covered up now.)

Birthday sentiment is from PaperTrey Ink's Around and About Sentiments, and Button is one of PaperTrey's New Leaf Vintage buttons. Cardstock is also PaperTrey Ink--Plum Pudding and Vintage cream. That trim at the bottom of the focal image is some Prima Bella Lace--isn't it pretty? Finally, I sanded, scuffed, and sewed my way to a finished card.

Several of you have asked about mailing bulky cards recently. I've mentioned this before, but I thought I would say it here again: (1) I hand-deliver the very bulkiest of cards. (2) I use padded mailers for cards like this. Does it cost extra? Yes, but considering how much I've spent on this hobby over the past nine years, getting my card there safely doesn't cost THAT much more. I usually recycle padded envelopes when they come my way. Sometimes I even pack the bow loops with quilt batting if I'm mailing a card in to be photographed. . . (Please don't tell me if there is a diagnosis code for people like me!) Hope that answers some questions for you. Have a lovely day!

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I just saw on the CLASSroom blog that Ellen is having a 15% off sale on May 1-3--Spring Fling Celebration. That would include the stamp above, as well as the Prima trim. For you Karen Lockhart fans, there is also a new Lockhart Release that will be available then. Just sayin' . . . ;-D

Sweet Peas Hello

Last night my stamping mojo was utterly depleted; the fifteenth of the month tends to do that!  But today is a new day, and I felt like stamping something old fashioned and sweet--like Karen Lockhart's Sweet Peas image. I stamped the image in Memento London Fog ink because I wanted a softer line--not a hard black line. 

I almost used watercolors and watercolor paper, but my Copic markers won out in the end (shown above). The last marker, the one without a number, is my custom marker blend that is half 0 and half YR31. On the three Spica glitter pens on the end, one is Melon, and the other two are new and *coming soon* colors--Blossom, a pale pink, and Mint, a pale green--perfect when the current pinks and green are a bit darker than you need! [My camera has a hard time focusing on glittering objects, but I wanted to show you this picture because of the Spica shimmer.]

I pulled out some background papers, and then reluctantly put them away, opting instead to make a totally stamp-y card tonight. I used two Cornish Heritage Farms Scrapblocks, Tulle Damask for the Berry Sorbet layer, and Julia's fabulous new Ornamental Borders for the Spring Moss layer. The little "hello" tag is from PaperTreyInk's Mega Mixed Messages set, stamped in Berry Sorbet ink. Ribbon is some ivory wide silk ribbon that I dyed with a Copic RV11 Various ink refill. Dying ribbon with Copic ink takes about 30 seconds--maybe 60 seconds if you wait for it to dry! I am fast becoming addicted to adding those sweet little Tim Holtz mini pins instead of my usual string when attaching a tag. (I found mine at Blue Moon Scrapbooking, and I think Ellen is carrying them now too.) Finally, I inked the edges of my focal image (cut and embossed with a Spellbinders Labels die) with a gold metallic ink and sponged all of my cardstock edges with either Antique Linen or Vintage Photo Distress ink.

Thank you for visiting!

Violets Meet Euphoria

Tonight I took a little break from some assignments and stamped something that I could color.  I chose a Lockhart Violet Cupcake image and colored it with the Copic markers pictured below.

 

The B23 marker on the end was the one that I used to airbrush a pale blue background into the top of the circle, using my Spellbinders Circle Nestability die as a mask. I also used a Spellbinders Fancy Scalloped Border Pierceability for the right edge of the card. (I skipped the embossing and piercing, opting for a simple large scallop this time.)

See the flower centers?  That's a new toy product that I played with today--Flower Soft. I didn't use the little wires, though I loved it when I saw it done at CHA. I simple dotted a bit of the Flower Soft glue over my yellow flower centers and added the Lemon Flower Soft material. The texture is actually quite different from flocking, more realistic for nature.

Patterned paper is Basic Grey's Euphoria 6" x 6" pad, and Dew Drops are Champagne pearl. Ribbon is 1" Arctic White silk. This card has a sister using the Lilac Jar image, but I'm trying to get a little coloring video made to go with it. Wish me luck--my desktop system on which I edit on is not a happy camper these days!

Thank you for visiting.

Sweet Peas Thank You

Sweet peas are such a charming, old-fashioned flower! As soon as I saw Karen Lockhart's new Sweet Peas image, I wanted to play with it. I stamped it in Tsukineko's Memento black ink, colored it with the Copic markers shown below, and then cut and embossed the focal image with a Spellbinders Plain Circle Nestability.

I combined the image with some papers from a Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie pad, as well as some PaperTrey Stamper's Select White and Raspberry Fizz cardstock.  I used a Martha Stewart Lattice punch for the one punched edge, and some 1" Arctic White silk ribbon to tie around the card front after that.  The vase is coated in Ranger Glossy Accents to resemble glass.

Now to get this long-overdue thank you note in the mail. . . Have a lovely day!

Lemon Card posted on the CLASSroom

Today I posted on the CLASSroom using my new Cosmo Cricket Everafter papers and a new  Lockhart Lemons and Bay Leaves stamp.

Also, several of you have asked over the last few months if I could create a video to demonstrate watercoloring a soft outer edge. If you haven't already seen it at the CLASSroom, it is posted here. It's my first video and could use some focusing help. Still, it might be helpful if you have struggled with getting softly blended edges.

Have a lovely day!