Thinking Inking

Lockhart 2012 Limited Edition Snowglobe

Welcome! It's Monday morning again. . . We can do this, right? I'm headed out for the day soon, but I wanted to get a card posted first. A couple of weeks ago I received this sweet little Lockhart image, the 2012 Limited Edition Snowglobe called Nicholas Feeding the Birds. I found one at Ellen Hutson's store, HERE. 

The Copic Sketch Markers that I used are shown above. (Click for a larger image.) I shaded the birds with just a touch of gray after taking the picture above, and then I added glitter to the banner and snow. 

Patterned papers are from the My Mind's Eye Merry 6" x 6" paper pad. Spellbinders dies that I used were the Grand Circles, Standard Circles Large, and Lacey Circles. I dyed the natural seam binding with Copic reinkers, and the button is a Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist Vintage Button. That's it for today--thank you for visiting!

Give Thanks

Welcome! I have been working madly on mostly Christmas release projects, trying to get them finished before I leave for my Philadelphia/Collegeville Copic Certification classes this weekend. But after all of that Christmas paper, stamps, etc, along with watching the gold leaves fall like rain today, I really wanted to make a FALL card tonight. I looked through my stash and found this sweet Lockhart Stamp Company image, Autumn Gate, and I don't think I've ever even used this one before!

These are the Copic markers that I used on the Autumn Gate image. I used the E40's on the door and the E80's on the corn stalks. The blue-violets were all for shadows. I hope that the rest is pretty self-explanatory. :-)

I used three Spellbinders products in conjunction with the image, two of which were brand new for me. I've had my Spellbinders Classic Squares Small for a long time, but Marvelous Squares (the white frame) and the Dainty Dots M-Bossabilities Folder are both new to my toolbox.  The Dainty Dots folder is huge; you can emboss pretty much an entire 8-1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock with it! 

That's it for tonight. Tomorrow is packing day again. I hope to see some of you in Pennsylvania this weekend!

Lockhart Spring Tulips Videos

 

Welcome! I finally got my Lockhart Spring Tulips Copic videos uploaded to YouTube--no small feat with our internet connection. . . ;-)  Anyway, it's a two-part-er. (You didn't really think I would color a 2-1/2" high image in less than half an hour, did you?) If you are looking for a link to the stamp, HERE is one. 

 

If the embeds are not showing up for you, here are direct YouTube links: Part 1 of 2 is HERE, and Part 2 of 2 is HERE. Hope this helps, and thanks for stopping by today!

Tulips for You

Welcome! I finally got back downstairs today to play with my toys work. I had a new Lockhart Stamp Company image that I wanted to try out today, Spring Tulips. (I found it online HERE.)

These are the Copic markers that I used to color the Spring Tulips image; click to see the picture larger. (I videoed the coloring process, but it's still got several more hours of converting/processing before I can edit it. I'll try to post it later this week.)

I used three Spellbinders dies to frame my image, Standard Circles Large, Standard Circles Small, and Fleur de Lis Motifs. Patterned paper is Melissa Frances Pearl. I added some Zva Creative self-adhesive pearls for a touch of bling after sanding and stitching my background paper layer. That's it for tonight--thanks for stopping by!

Basket of Roses

Welcome! Remember the Lockhart Garden Roses image that I colored a couple of weeks ago for you? I finally got it made into a card tonight--sorry for the delay!  All of the Copic colors that I used are shown HERE.

I used a Spellbinders Petite Ovals Large die template, along with papers from a My Mind's Eye Blush Lost and Found Mini Deck. Ribbon is dyed with Copic reinkers, then sprayed with colorless blender to make the color a bit more mottled. (I like the way the ink wicks out toward the edges when I spray it lightly with colorless blender.) 

Well, that's it for tonight--thanks for stopping by!

P.S I found the The Lockhart Garden Rose stamp HERE.

New Copic colors--want a peek?

So, have you seen the twelve new Copic colors that are coming out at Winter CHA?  (Click on any picture to enlarge.) I'm still trying to decide my favorites, but I'm delighted to see gaps being filled in the Copic color wheel!

I made a chart for you, showing the new colors in context of neighboring colors. The new colors are in Bold Italic type, while the other colors are existing colors that fit nicely with the new ones.  Please note that I used X-Press It Blender Card to color the swatches, and I saturated it thoroughly. That means that you would be able to get lighter colors on the light end of the spectrum if you don't totally saturate your cardstock. 

These will be available in February of 2012 in both Sketch Markers and the Various Inks (refills). That brings us up to 358 glorious colors! Now, how about some of these colors used together? I stepped out a little Lockhart Stamp Company image below called Garden Roses. 

I did not get a good picture of the blooms step--sorry! Instead I added the marker colors just below the greens listed above.

Here I have colored the basket as well.

I added some foreground here, along with some blue-violet shadows. (I think it needs more BV shadows on the basket, now that I see a close-up picture. I'll add those before I finish the card.)

And here I've added some sky--blues on the right, and some subtle blue-violets on the lower left. I will try to post the finished card in the next day or two. I hope you're as excited about these new colors as I am! Thanks for stopping by today.

Nicholas Sings Carols and GIVEAWAY!

This giveaway has ended.

Our winner is commenter number 101, Tracy J--congratulations, Tracy! I have e-mailed you and sent your e-mail address to Ellen Hutson. Thanks for playing, everyone!

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Welcome! Today I have a couple of special things--a Lockhart image with a Copic tutorial, and a really great giveaway, courtesy of Ellen Hutson's new HOWnow School of Creative Arts. First, the details on the giveaway: Ellen has generously offered to give a winner from my blog an online class taught by Julie Ebersole, stamper extraordinaire. How do I know that you would love Julie's class? Well, I know that Julie is amazing, and that you probably need gift ideas! 

In her class, The Gifted Stamper:  One Dozen Easy-to-Make Gifts For All Occasions, Julie will guide you through twelve beautiful, easy-to-make gift ideas and projects suitable for any occasion. This interactive online class will feature a work-at-your-own pace schedule, supported with video tutorials and detailed downloadable PDF instruction sheets. Participate in a dedicated forum and gallery during class.

This fantastic class is only $36 and will run from December 1st through December 12th, but all content will always remain available to students. During class there will be fun prizes and a special discount code for all students. For complete details please visit HOWnow School of Creative Arts.

You will have until Saturday evening at 10pm CDT to leave a comment, from which I will use the random number generator to choose one winner. Simple! Now, on to my card for today. . .

I've used Karen Lockhart's (Lockhart Stamp Company) 2011 Limited Edition stamp, Nicholas Sings Carols. I've loved this series--you can probably see why! Patterned papers are from Echo Park's Holly Jolly Christmas 6" x 6" pad.

I stared with the trees in the background, using palette blending and the two Copic Markers shown above.

Next I added some sky and snow. I left a couple of spots uncolored for reflections in the glass of the snowglobe.  The one on the right is larger, because my primary light source is from the right. I thought I would toss in one more small light to bounce off the glass on the left side too. 

I had used blue-violets in the snow shadows and did not want the snowmen to melt right into the snowbanks; so I used the B41 just to make them stand apart from te snow a bit.

 

I used the blue greens here for the Snowdad and Nicholas's coats, along with the Snowlady's scarf. I used the Blue-Violets to deepen and cool the shadows.

 

Here I've added some reds.

 

I used a variety of markers to finish up several small areas, including two that are not pictured for the wooden base, E42 and E44.  Those Ciaos are G00 and G02--used on the carol book.

  

I used a Spellbinders Labels Four Small for the star-patterned piece of paper, a Labels Twenty for the ornament layer, and little leaves from the Presto Punch Petal Pack under the button.. Seam binding is dyed with Copic R35 and R29, and I painted and glittered a rusty bell to tie onto the bow. (The rusty one didn't show up well.) 

Thank you for visiting, and don't forget to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a spot in Julie Ebersole's  The Gifted Stamper:  One Dozen Easy-to-Make Gifts For All Occasions class. Good luck!

P.S. Yes, if you were here earlier, my card looked a little different. . . You know how you wake up after posting late and feel like tweaking somehting? ;-}

Perfect Cherries

Welcome! Today I have a summery little card to share using a new Lockhart Stamp Company image; these Perfect Cherries were fun to color! 

These were the Copic markers that I used on the image. (You can click on it to enlarge.) On the perimeter of the image (after I took this photo), I used a YR30 and a bit of BV0000, softened on the outside edge with a 0 colorless blender.

Spellbinders dies that I used on this card were the Labels Threes, Standard Circle Large, and Lace Doily Motifs. That lace strip is from JustRite's Lace Borders set, stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with detail white embossing powder. Patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye's 6" x 6" Lost and Found Rosy pad. A bit of sewing, some foam tape, and a bow, and that's it--one last hurrah to summer! Thanks for stopping by. 

Perfect Berries Thank You

On Friday one of our sweet friends brought us two huge bowls of fresh raspberries that she had picked from her patch--perfect berries! I knew that I had a raspberry stamp somewhere and finally found it in my Lockhart Stamp Company collection--Perfect Berries. 

I took a couple of pictures as I worked on the berries image. In this one, see how the berry on the right is starting to look more three dimensional, while the two on the left are looking flatter? The only difference is that I've gone back with my Copic colorless blender and touched highlight spots on the berry on the right. It still isn't finished, but you can at least see what's happening here.

Here I've added some greenery, and you can see that I've almost finished highlighting the berries too. Almost finished, but. . .

Remember the blue-violet tones that I keep harping on lately? I used a few touches of my Copic BV01 on both the berries and the greenery here to add some depth. I think it's a little more convincing now.

How about those papers? They are part of my *new* CHA stash--some October Afternoon Sidewalks paper (Ring Around the Rosie and Marbles). I dyed the seam binding with Copic R83  and R85. I used three Spellbinders dies: a Standard Circles Small, a Labels Three, and a Classic Scallop (new, available on August 31). That's it--a thank you card for the best raspberries ever! I made jam and jelly, and I've got a few left for one more batch--Mmmmmmm!

The Copic Coloring Guide Blog Hop

This blog hop has ended;
a winner will  be announced on Monday, July 11. Thank you!
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Welcome to the Copic Coloring Guide Blog Hop! We've got information about the new book, beautiful coloring, stunning card projects, and BLOG CANDY!

The Copic Coloring Guide is a new book by Colleen Schaan and Marianne Walker. It's the perfect resource for beginner and intermediate coloring artists alike. The book contains information about the different styles of Copic markers, explains the coloring/numbering system, details how to pick good blending groups, teaches a number of blending techniques through illustrated tutorials, and demystifies the colorless blender marker. And that's just in the first 18 pages! The book also contains over 40 beautiful coloring card projects separated into beginner, intermediate, and advanced skill level. Each card project includes step-by-step coloring AND assembly instructions, along with supply lists and manufacturer information to make recreating the projects simple and easy.

This is a card of mine that appears in the Copic Coloring Guide. On it I used a Lockhart Stamp Company image, Peonies, combined with some October Afternoon Thrift Shop papers. I used two Spellbinders die templates as well, Petite Scalloped Circles Small and Standard Circles Small. Stepped-out directions and all supplies are in the Copic Coloring Guide.

The book is published by Annie's Attic, a division of DRG, also the publishers of the popular CardMaker magazine. Click HERE for more information or to purchase the book (also available in PDF electronic download).

How would you like to win an AUTOGRAPHED copy? Each of the contributing designers is hopping today and each one is giving away a copy of the book, signed by both authors AND the designer. To be eligible to win, please leave a comment on THIS post telling us what you most love to color with Copic markers, or what you would love to color with them if you had them! Posting will close at midnight on Saturday, July 9, and the winner will be posted on Monday, July 11.

Make sure to visit each of the designers blogs to see their favorite project from the book and for a chance to win your own autographed copy, and thanks for visiting!

Jennie Black 

Michele Boyer 

Lori Craig   

Sharon Harnist

Beate Johns     

Debbie Olson  (here)

Colleen Schaan  

Sherrie Siemens 

Marianne Walker

This blog hop has ended; 
a winner will  be announced on Monday, July 11. Thank you!

Farmer's Market Bouquet with Copic

Welcome! I've been meaning to get a coloring post up for a few days, but most of my current stamps right now are solid images--not color-able ones. Anyway, I just got a new Lockhart Stamp Company image called Farmer's Market Bouquet that just begged for a stepped out Copic tutorial post.

I started on the leaf vase, making my light source come from the upper left front. I will later add more shadows, but this worked as a starting place.

I tackled the blue and purple flowers first.

Next I added some pink roses.

How about those yellows next? 

Here I started adding greenery, as well as a sky-glow around the perimeter. Later on I went back and added more blue-violet on the right side (shadow side), transitioning to B000 as I went counterclockwise, and ending in BG0000 on the left side.

Here I deepened some of the greenery and started filling in the spaces between the flowers and leaves with that YG91. It's a muted pale green; I didn't want it to compete with the leaves in intensity.

Here I started adding some shadows, though I deepened them a bit more at the very end. 

Here are all of the markers I used, just in case you wanted to know without having to stop and look at all of the pictures. :-)

That's it--one little Farmer's Market Bouquet colored with my Copics. Papers are Girls Paperie Vintage Whimsy, and ribbon is some white seam binding dyed with Copic Various Inks BG11 and E51. Thanks for stopping by!

Roses in a Teacup Post on the Classroom Blog Today

Hello! Today I have a stepped-out coloring post for this little Lockhart Roses in a Teacup image here on the Classroom blog. Monday I should be able to post some new Cosmo Cricket pieces. :-)  Have a lovely Sunday!