Thinking Inking

Autumn Leaves

Hello! Before I share my card, let me mention that I haven't forgotten about the Coloring Techniques book giveaway below; I will let you know as soon as I hear something, posting both on the giveaway post as well as on my next regular post. On the Zva giveaway, I will be posting tomorrow which of the five blogs involved in the blog hop have the prize packages. Thanks!

I had some happy mail from Karen Lockhart a couple of days ago--stamps from her Fall 2010 release! This Basket of Leaves stamp was just begging to be colored, so I obliged.

I used a LOT of Copic markers. . .  Don't let that scare you. You can color in fewer colors; I was just in my coloring zone and grabbing markers as I worked. The pale blue was what I used around the perimeter at the top of the basket since it offset the oranges so crisply.

I used a new Spellbinders Labels 16 die to cut and emboss the focal image, as well as to emboss the background cardstock (Papertrey Terra Cotta). Finally, I added a snippet of seam binding dyed with a Copic YR18 Various Ink, as well as a cut-up flourish from Zva Creative (CR02CA116); it was a two-swirl pack, and I used a little over half of one of the swirls.

Fall is coming! Today was finally a bit cooler here, and the leaves are just beginning to hint a change--ummmmmm!

Zva Creative August DT Blog Hop!

The Zva Designers are joining together today to share a project that we have created using some of our favorite Zva Creative products. I am hoping that you will take some time to join us for a little bit of fun again this month!

The Blog Hop begins at Kim Hughes' blog. She will have the complete list of all blogs that are participating in case there is a glitch along the way. If you would like to play along, I am linking to one of the Zva designers and that designer is linking to the next and so on. Be prepared to be inspired along the way. Hidden on five of the blogs is a Zva Creative prize package--YAY! Those blogs will be randomly chosen after the hop is over, so it's important to leave a comment on as many blogs as you can along the way.

The Blog Hop starts now and runs through midnight US Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, August 31st and the five winners will be announced on Wednesday, September 1 on each of the five winning blogs. The full list will be found on Kim Hughes‘s blog as well (linked above). We will do our best to notify each winner, but it's best if you can pop in to all of the blogs once again on Wednesday; plus, you never know what kind of inspirational creation that you may find there. All you need to do is leave a comment on this Zva Blog Hop post; you do not need to leave a comment on each and every designer's blog post to qualify. The more times you leave a comment along the blog hop path though, the more chances you will have to be one of the lucky winners.

The blog hop begins here: Kim Hughes.

Your next stop is here: Tara Orr. Thank you SO MUCH for joining us!

____________

Supply List

Zva Creative Product: Long Flourish Crystal, Iridescent CRB-03CA-113

Stamp: Christmas Nested Sentiments by JustRite Stampers, on a Clear Horizontal Stamper

Ink: Versamark by Tsukineko

Cardstock:  Silver Shimmer, White Shimmer by Papertrey Ink

Tools: Petite Ovals Nestabilities and Flourish Impressabilties by Spellbinders Paper Arts

Other: Silver Paint Pen, Filigree Detail Silver Embossing Powder

Please Note: The flourish that I started with was longer than an A-2 sized card. I cut it into four pieces so that I could have swirls exactly where I needed them; it's my favorite trick with flourishes! The little piece that you see below was what I had left when I finished. I'll save it for next time I need some small pieces.

Little Monster. . .

My son really isn't a little monster! Still, when he saw me coloring the little monster image from the Papertrey Ink Tiny Treats: Halloween set last night, he immediately asked if he could have one of these on his birthday card. It's not his birthday for a few months, but he did finally finish cleaning his room tonight after a whole day of "work" (which generally means about 25% cleaning and 75% becoming reacquainted with toys that haven't seen the light of day for a year or two).

I used the green and gray Copic markers shown here to color the little monster and then the violet marker to airbrush the edges while my Spellbinders Labels 1 die was still in place.

I used a Polka Dot Basics II stamp along with some New Leaf ink on New Leaf cardstock for the background, as well as some Plum Pudding Vintage Buttons and a snippet of New Leaf twill.  I think my son will like it--even if he loses it and re-finds it next time he has to clean his room! Thanks for stopping by.

___________

The drawing for the Coloring Techniques Book in the post below will be announced on Monday morning.

Coloring Techniques Blog Hop

This drawing has ended, and we have one winner from this blog--number 293, Beverly Jordan! Beverly, please send me your address. There are five other winners from other participating blogs as well, so be sure to see if you are one of them. Thanks!

Welcome to the Coloring Techniques for Card Making Blog Hop! Today we wanted to introduce you to a brand new, must-have book that has been written to help shed some light on some of the hottest trends in coloring techniques in paper crafting today.

Coloring Techniques for Card Making features three of the most popular coloring techniques in card making today--water coloring, colored pencils and using alcohol-based ink markers. Each chapter showcases one particular technique and includes an introductions that will help you choose the products that are right for you, and will walk you through the steps to creating one of our featured projects. Easy-to-follow instructions, detailed materials lists and helpful coloring tips will make it easy for you to achieve stunning card-making results. As a bonus, enjoy a chapter that focuses on ways to highlight and accentuate your projects with products such as glitter and gel pens, shading techniques and methods for creating the look of texture with color.

I'm pretty excited to have several Copic marker pieces in the Coloring Techniques for Card Making book, as well as the cover art. Today I wanted to share a "guy card" because I liked the way that this one turned out, and I loved the way that they photographed it with the sand and coral.

_________________

Supply List:

Stamps:  By the Sea (JustRite Stampers);  Mixed Messages for tag (Papertrey Ink)

Papers:  Sea Glass  Mat Pad (K & Company)

Cardstock: Kraft (Papertrey Ink), Natural White (Neenah)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamagic Ocean Depth (Tsukineko), Chamomile Distress Cube (Papertrey Ink)

Coloring Media: Copic markers, Spica Glitter pens

Accessories: Glue Pen and glitter; Ocean Tides Vintage Buttons (Papertrey Ink), foam tape (Scotch), Natural Twine (PTI); natural twill (twilltape.com)

Tools: sewing machine, Copic markers, Spica Glitter pens, Copic Airbrush System (Copic); Classic Ovals die, Labels 10 die, and Double-Ended Tags die, trimmed to length, Wizard Die Cutting Machine (Spellbinders Paper Arts)

_________________

We are pleased that you have joined us for the hop! Be sure to leave a comment at each blog along the way to be entered for your chance to win a free copy of Coloring Techniques for Card Making! The designers who are participating in the blog hop are as follows:

Keri Lee Sereika

Debbie Olson (here)

Jeanne Streiff

Trudy Sjolander

Asela Hopkins

Broni Holcombe

Kathy Menzies

Christine Okken

Dawn Lusk

Laurie Wilson

Sherrie Siemens

Chrissy Le

Congratulations to author Keri Lee Sereika on a job well done, and thanks for stopping by!

Cardinal Christmas

Welcome! Today I have a Christmas card for you--still adding to my stash a little at at time. I loved the cardinal image from the new JustRite Stampers Backyard Birds set, so of course I wanted to color it.

In addition to the Backyard Birds set, I used a sentiment from the Christmas Nested Sentiments set, as well as glitter, a glue pen, and Liquid Applique.

These are the Copic markers that I used to color the focal image after stamping it on Copic's new X-Press It Blender Card [cardstock]. I'm still not sure when it will hit stores, but I hope it's soon--I'm getting low! In addition to the markers above, I also used a Copic Colorless Blender to soften the edge of the blue tone around the bird and branch.

The inside sentiment is stamped in Versamagic Red Magic ink.

I used the Liquid Applique for the snow on the branch, Although you can't see it here, I used the glue pen and glitter to add shimmer to the cedar needles. Patterned paper is from Cosmo Cricket's Mitten Weather Mini Deck, and ribbon and buttons are both from Papertrey Ink.  That's it--one more card for my stash!

Happy Fall

Hello! It's been a busy day--not with stamping, unfortunately. I still have a simple card to share tonight. I knew as soon as I saw the little apple stamp in Heather's new Falling Leaves set that I wanted to play with that stamp set again soon.

I stamped the tree in various Versamagic inks: Jumbo Java, Tea Leaves, and Red Magic. If I had planned ahead, I would have masked the tree trunk where I wanted to stamp the sentiment. Since I didn't plan ahead that far, I had to stamp it on a scrap, trim closely, and glue a tiny patch in place over the tree trunk. ;-)

Button is a Papertrey New Leaf Vintage Button. How about those cute papers? They are from my Cosmo Cricket Togetherness Mini Deck, which is starting to get thin--almost time to get another.

Mmmm--crisp, sweet apples. . . I can't wait until the local apple orchard is open for picking!

Ticket to Love

Welcome! I just got home from the Green Bay Copic Certification trip late this afternoon. It was eventful--starting with storms and flooded streets Friday night, and a malfunctioning air conditioning system in our meeting room on Saturday. . . (For those of you who were there, the AC came back on in the room at about 5pm--you know, the AC that "wasn't off" earlier. ;-}) Anyway, we had a great group and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

Tonight I'm sharing a smaller card--3-1/2" x 5". I used papers from Cosmo Cricket's Togetherness Mini Deck (found it back in stock here), along with two Papertrey Ink sets, It's Official and Just the Ticket. The chipboard birds are from the Togetherness 12" Ready Set Chipboard.  

Ribbon is some Pearl Aqua Hug Snug Seam Binding (eBay), and paperclip is a Tim Holtz Mini Clip. That's it --a little card for someone I love!

Thanks for visiting.

Halloween Candy Corn Coloring Tutorial

Hello! I have another stepped-out coloring demo for you, this time using the candy corn from the Friendship Jar Fall Fillers set, combined with the original Friendship Jar set.

I love candy corn. I'm glad that it's available only occasionally, because otherwise I'd eat far too much of it. And those candy pumpkins? Ummm--mustn't even start! 

 

I started with the yellow and the white ends. (Ignore the three completed ones in the middle, okay? I had started coloring before I decided to take pictures as I went. . .) I was using the new Copic X-Press It Blender Card (white cardstock) here, along with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

 

Next I added the orange middles. Hungry yet? Me too. 

 

Here we have some added shadows, though I ended up trimming around the jar once I started making my card. (Yes, I could have used the jar die had I planned ahead sufficiently.)

 

How about some pale greens and blue greens to color the jar and make those orange candy corn kernels pop?  I didn't color the jar top since I knew I was adding a lid later.

The type on the notebook die-cut cardstock is from Background Basics: Text Style. I added some glitter to that little spider web--wish you could see it better. The background is PTI's Kraft cardstock after being texturized with the Wood Grain Impression Plate. Ummmmm. . . candy corn. . .

Thanks for visiting! I hope to see some of you at the Copic Certification Class  in Green Bay on Saturday. By the way, did you read Marianne's post that mentioned a Copic *Intermediate* Class? Check it out!

The Miracle of Christmas

Good afternoon! Today I have a Christmas card to share with you. I finally had a chance to pull out some of my new JustRite Stampers sets that had come in the last couple of weeks. From the Christmas Nested Sentiments set, I chose the sentiment shown above. Its frame (holly rectangle embossed in detail white embossing powder on Aqua Mist cardstock)  is from the Christmas Nested Frames set.

I didn't have any ribbon that coordinated perfectly with my Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather Mini Deck paper, so I dyed some off white seam binding with two Copic Various Inks (reinkers), E50 and BG10. I left it a bit blotchy rather than mixing the reinkers in thoroughly because I thought it looked more antique and hand-dyed that way.

I used the two Spellbinders dies shown in the pictures (Deckled Scalloped Edge Borderability and Labels Ten), as well as a couple of colors of Versamagic ink mixed, to get the right color of ink for the sentiment. See the center of the Aqua Mist cardstock? As you can tell, the cardstock was a bit too brilliant for the patterned paper. After heat-embossing the holly frame with detail white ink, I aged the edges that would show with first Chamomile Distress Cube and then Vintage Cream ink (both Papertrey Ink).

Finally, after assembling my layers and tying my bow, I added a swash of pearls to frame the sentiment (Zva Creative PE-03CA-113--looks like they are currently out of stock but expected soon. Here they are in white).

That's it--one more card for my Christmas card stash! Thanks for stopping by today.

 

Guest Post and Giveaway

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random integers, generated without replacement:

126	 37

Timestamp: 2010-08-20 04:04:55 UTC

 

The two winners of the Ella Publishing e-book are Sandy L. and Dana W. Sandy and Dana, I've e-mailed you--shoot me an e-mail back and I'll get your code to you. Thanks for playing!

___________
Welcome! Today I have a guest post here on the Ella Publishing blog. Since most of Ella Publishing's e-books are scrapbooking-oriented, I chose three sketches from Donna Jannuzzi's  Stretch Your Sketches e-book and created cards based on those sketches, using patterned paper scraps that a scrapbooker might easily have.

Ella Pubishing offered a free download of the Stretch Your Sketches e-book to two readers, so if you'd like a chance to win that e-book, be sure to leave a comment on this post. Do you have a special tip on organizing or using those patterned paper scraps that we all accumulate? Feel free to share it!

The giveaway will close at 10pm CST on Thursday, August 19, and I'll pick two numbers with a random number generator. Thanks for visiting today!

___________
Supply Links

Stamps: Blooming Button Bits; Up, Up, and Away; Scattered Showers Additions; and Vintage Picnic Sentiments (sentiment on the third card, not pictured here)  All Papertrey Ink

Papers: Togetherness Line by Cosmo Cricket

Dies: Spellbinders Classic Rectangle Nestabilities, Double-Ended Tags

Friendship Jar Fall Fillers: Coloring Tutorial

Just a note before my post begins:  I have a Copic Certification Class at the Hilton Garden Inn on Lombardi Avenue in Green Bay, Wisconsin this coming Saturday, August 21. There are still a few openings if you are in the Green Bay area this weekend; check here for information and an application. Other upcoming Copic Basic Certification Classes in the next four weeks include:

Atlanta, GA, on August 23

Albuquerque, NM, on August 29

Branson, MO, on September 3

Pittsburgh, PA, on September 6

Hagen, GERMANY, on September 10

Oakland, CA, on September 11

Minneapolis, MN on September 16

I'll try to remember to post the schedule occasionally on my blog. I have a blog page here that also has Copic Certification information. Thanks!

 

Good morning! When I shared the card above on Papertrey Release night, I told you that I would take some stepped out pictures of Copic coloring for the pumpkin and leaves image.  This was such a fun image to color! Stamps used below are Friendship Jar and Friendship Jar Fall Fillers. 

 

I began with the pumpkins, giving myself a light source on the upper front right. A tip on light sources: You can give yourself a light source from any direction, as long as you are consistent throughout with your coloring. An overhead (from either left or right) light is what we are most used to seeing, but you could have a light source coming from below as well--think of a dramatic shot of a trick-or-treater when a flashlight is held at his chin. It looks a bit eerie, but it would work, as long as you are consistent. 

 

Next I colored some leaves, gold and red.

 

I colored the pumpkin stems and leaves here. I'll go back later with a Spica Melon Green Glitter pen and add the tendrils, but I want to color the jar before I do that.

 

Here I've added the browns to the acorns.

 

How about that vintage Mason jar--or Ball jar--take your pick! Generally older canning jars have a green tint. They appear a bit darker on the sides where you are actually looking through more glass thickness as the form turns. I love the Copic G0000 for most of the jar, coupled with BG11 for the shadow areas. I try to keep one area white for highlights. Since this is a glass jar, you could even go back with a bit of Opaque White (a white paint) and add sharp highlights. If I were doing that. it would probably be at the shoulder of the jar in my highlight area--near the top of the red oak leaf.

Here is a straight-on shot of my finished jar. I'm still adding a lid since that top ellipse would need another arc at the top to be a finished jar.  

I hope that this has been helpful; thanks for stopping by!

 
 

Papertrey Ink August 2010 Release Projects

 

Welcome!  I have several projects to share from the August Papertrey Ink release; first up is a set of treat containers made with the Favor It 1 box released this month, along with Beth Silaika's Been Boo'd set. All ingredients are listed here in my gallery. I love that the Mat Stack 1 die works beautifully to create a front panel for these treat boxes!

 

Here I've used Tiffany Pastor's lovely Embellishments set, along with a coordinating place card made with Nichole's Places, Please set and die. Ingredients are all listed here. 

I adore Nichole's Mish-inspired Friendship Jar sets, and the Friendship Jar Fall Fillers is certainly no exception! I have a stepped-out coloring tutorial coming soon on this jar. Ingredients are listed here.

 

Leaf Prints is another versatile set.   I stamped one whole 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of Rustic White cardstock (below) and cut it into eight pieces to serve as the focal image for this simple set of cards. I used different PTI frames and tags for the cards, as well as assorted Impression Plates. Ingredients are here. 

 

The full stamped leaf sheet is shown here. I used various PTI ink colors applied to a piece of Ranger Cut n' Dry foam to stamp the leaves, misting both the inked stamps as well as the cardstock with water. After the leaves were dry, I added leaf veins with PTI's Dark Chocolate ink. Finally I cut the page into eight equal parts and matted each piece with Enchanted Evening cardstock before continuing. Again, a full list of cardstock, ink, and impression plates is here.

Heather's Falling Leaves set has all sorts of possibilities!  I can't wait to have time to get back to this set and try the apple tree version. Ingredients for this card are listed here. 

 

The Alli Miles Gobble, Gobble set and coordinating dies make this little card a piece of cake. I'm thinking that turkey could use some google-eyes some day when I can find my stash. . . Details are found here.  By the way, did you see the Peacock that Nichole made with this set--it was fabulous!!

Here I've used one of the pumpkin images from Alli's Take Three: Fall set. That little tendril is a sliver of chartreuse cardstock curled and attached with some Ranger Matte Accents glue. I stamped the image in Dark Chocolate ink on Orange Zest cardstock and highlighted the pumpkin with a white Prismacolor pencil. The Orange Zest die cut is a Spellbinders labels Sixteen die cut.

Are you feeling Fall yet? After this last whirlwind week of stamping, I certainly am! Thank you for stopping by today