Archive for July, 2010

I could not help myself!  I visited a website called Waltzing Mouse Stamps and absolutely fell in loved her Claire’s work.

This stamp set is called Vintage Circles Small.

You can find her here.   This is her blog but from there you can venture on over to her store.

All of the  stamp sets I’m showing  are designed to use with Spellbinders Nestibilities.  Now for the added bonus…..Claire and her team then shows you how they use them with the Nestibilities.

This is called Vintage Labels 2.

There are so many stamps on each sheet and they add so much to the Nestibilites.

This one is called Vintage Labels 1

Claire’s attention to detail is awesome and that is the reason it was so hard to only choose a few.  Alright, a lot!

This is called Vintage Label 3.

Take a close look at the border.  This border stamp is 8″ long!

The circle stamp is so beautiful.

This one is called Victorian Frippery.

This group of stamps have little tag toppers….so versatile.

This one is called Vintage Label 4.  Hey I think I’m beginning to see a pattern!

This is the last one I got.

I love the designs absolutely blows me away.

This is Vintage Labels 5.

I know you are thinking what spurred this massive buy of clear stamps?  A couple of things, I’ve been gradually building my Nestibilites as HL has their 40% off sales and then I got an e-mail from Claire about a new release and that she was offering free shipping.  Well, once in her shop and seeing all the beautiful things I couldn’t help but want the stamps that matched the Nestibilities that I own.  Now, all I have to to is get busy and start making some things.  Claire makes it look so easy, we will see.  I’ve got my eye on her stamps that makes a plaid pattern next.

Again, I do not get compensated for mentioning these products or her website, I just like what I saw and it only took about 8 days for it to get from across the pond to excited me, right here in Texas.

Not long ago I bought this cute $1 stamp at M’s of these flip-flops and I decided I needed to make a card.

I was bound and determined to use the paper and items for this card out of what I had on hand.

To challenge myself I decided I would use the vellum to stamp the flip-flops on and color them with Copic markers.

Memento ink is the best ink to use with Copics, it does not smear when you color over it.

Here are the colors I used on the 3 sets of flip-flops.

When using vellum and Copic markers you would stamp on the front and then color from the back.  This gives a very muted coloring when complete.  The reason you do that is because the Copics will sit on top of the vellum and not soak into the paper.  However, I didn’t like the look and did both, I colored on the back and on the front.

I left the straps uncolored because I was going to use a new product I got at the Arlington Craft show several months ago.

This is called Write & Rub Foiling Pen and it is made by Tonertex Foils Ltd.  You can find them at www.tonertex.com.  They are located in the UK.  When you open this pen it looks like a regular ballpoint pen; however, what comes out is an acid free, water based glue.

You put the glue where you want it on your project and let it dry.  It stays tacky after it is dry and then you can take foil or powdered glitter and rub across it and it sticks.  No mess at all.

These are the powdered glitter that you use with this pen and the colors are so vibrant.

All you have to do is stick your finger in the powered glitter and then rub it on the area where you put the Write & Rub glue.

The glitter comes off your finger and sticks.

I did it over a coffee filter and this is how much mess or left over glitter that came off my finger.

Sweeeeeeet!

How cute are these flip-flops.  Summer is computer printed and I attached the vellum to the card stock with a couple of brads.

Here is what I did for the inside and my sentiment on the inside is going to be “It’s all about the flip-flops”.  I had a friend introduce me to Yellow Box shoes and since I tried my first pair that is the only brand of flip-flops I buy.  They are so comfortable and cute too boot!

I think I’m going to send her this card and tell her thanks!

I also used a little green Stickles on the flip-flops on the paper inside.

I used various ribbons I had in my stash and the colors of the card makes me smile.

The punch is a EK punch that I modified and there is a little stitching.  With just $1 stamp and a little imagination you can get a cute card…..don’t you think?

Ok, just to clarify I do not get paid to make any reviews or endorsements for the products used in this card or post.

I love this little bunny stamp relaxing in the hot tub.

I have colored this using the Magic Color Pencil Technique (a.k.a. MCPT).  This technique can be found in this earlier post.

These are the colors I used for the hot tub.  I’m also coloring on a shimmer paper and because it has a coating on it the Copic markers sit on top of the paper and when you look the coloring up close it will look a little blotchy; however, when on a card or layout at the regular distance they look blended.

I used E00 first and colored the hot tub all over, then with E11, I started building my shading.  Following the shading that came with the stamp.

I used E33 next and then followed again with E00.  Next comes E37 and E09, then blending with E00 again.  I used E09 on the bands to give the hot tub a little definition so all the wood would not look the same.

I decided to color the bunny in shades of gray so she wouldn’t blend in with the hot tub.

W1, W3 and W7 are a warm shade of gray and this compliments the warm brown shades I used on the hot tub.

Use W1 all over the bunnies body and then start building the depth with W3.  The W7 is used sparingly because it is really dark, but it enhances the areas like the inner ear and under the neck, along the upper tummy and where the feet overlap.

R81 and R85 are the final colors that I used to enhance the checks, ear, tummy and nose.

I first used R81 to color the areas and then used R85 sparingly to add a little depth.

I took a multi-liner and drew in the mouth and gave her some eyelashes.

Oh, I think she is relaxing and you know that hot tub is just the right temperature.

I needed to make another Jumbo Clothes Pen for work.  The new employee was a man so I wanted to be sure and not make it girly.

The pen is red and I actually got the paper at M’s at $.59.  Since we use these for messages I thought the finger point to the end that would hold the message was appropriate.

I had a Texas stamp so I cut that out and used glossy accents to give it a little body and then added a red star approximately where our office is located.

Some ivory twill ribbon and believe it or not that is the tab from a soda can that I took my Copic marker to and made it red.

I think the tab from the soda can makes a great buckle and since Copics color everything you can have them in whatever color you need.

Look pretty manly to me.

I found the Jumbo Clothes Pens at M’s in their $10 for $10 spot.  If you want to see the other pens I did you can see them here.  These can be dressed up so cute for a little of nothing.  What a great way to use your scraps and who doesn’t need a message holder.  I could see letting the kids make there own and standing them up to hold messages.

I thought I would try something new.  Sometimes doing the same thing over and over again doesn’t seem to feel like I’m being very creative.

I found these beautiful transfers at my local M’s and lucky for me I already had several T-Shirts put them on.

They run around $3.99 and I actually had a 50% off coupon so I got $2.00 off of one of the transfers.  I hate it when I have 50% coupon off and everything I need (or want) is on sale.

This is the last transfer I have to put on another T-shirt; however, I didn’t have a good color for it (bonus… I need to buy a new T-Shirt).  I’m going to see if I can find an aqua or light turquoise and see how that will look with this particular transfer.

The keys to these transfers are patience, a good hot iron (no steam) and something that is thin enough to use for a pressing cloth.  Ok, so not to creative on my part…….hey, I had to line them up and get them straight!

I’ve got a lot to show you this week so come on back by and see what I’ve been up to.

One of my great pleasures is to sit out on our deck and listen to the birds, drink a refreshing beverage and read.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to do that because my new umbrella I purchased this Summer got destroyed in a storm.

I decided to go ahead and buy another one and I so enjoyed my time out there over the weekend.

I need an umbrella to help my Basil and mint from getting scorched by the Texas sun.  I getting ready to start making Basil Pesto.

The fern always seems to do so well on the deck.  We are getting an estimate to have it redone.  It is 15 years old and showing her wear.

Oh well, back to work!  Thanks for stopping by!

Yuck!  We came home last week and found that a water main had broke and there was water everywhere and running down the street.

Thank God it was not on our side but the City’s I would hate to have to pay that bill.

The guys worked until about 10:00 PM to get it repaired and our water turned back on.

Now, we just need them to come back and pour us a new sidewalk before someone falls in to it.

Hmm, maybe I should leave it up as yard art!

This is a lot prettier in reality than it is in this picture.  These particular colors are very difficult to take a picture of and get the colors right.

As an appreciation gift for the ladies that have stuck with the Bible study about Ester for 10 weeks, I wanted to give them some homemade notes.

These are an old  Stamp’in Up stamps and there is one for Joy, Cherish, Hope and Thanks.  I love these stamps and thought they went along with our study.  Esther certainly when through all these emotions.

The first thing I did was to figure out where the center of the stamp was so I could be sure and get it stamped in the correct spot on the card.

I’m using a TH’s grid ruler that has a centering ruler on one side and a regular ruler on the other side.

Then I figured out where the center was on the cards I was using for note cards.  I’m using a standard A2 card (5-1/2″ by 8″).

This way when I start stamping I can line up the mark on the stamp and the mark on the card and know I’ve hit center.

After I’m done I can use a knead eraser and remove the pencil marks.

They are all heat embossed using Copper embossing powder.

I think they came out beautiful.

The next thing I needed was a little gift box to hold the 4 cards and 4 envelopes.  This box is cut out of a 8.5″ x 11 sheet of paper.  If you want the pattern you can send me an e-mail using my contact tab at the top of the form.  Be sure and leave me your name and e-mail address.

Using my MS score pad I scored the lines at each of the flaps and then moved out two lines (1/4″) and scored again.  This give the box some depth to hold the cards and envelopes.

I pre-folded all the fold lines and then ran two rows of tape down one end of the box.

Fold the sides in and then the bottom up that has the two rows of tape and your box is complete.

I have a beautiful cross stamp that I embossed with copper on the front.  I cut out a crown and their first initial  and embossed them in copper and gold.  A little bling and ribbon to hold the box closed and we are done.

The ribbon just slides off/on for access.

I hope they enjoy them, because they are tied to their last assignment.  That assignment is for them to send one of the notes to someone who needs encouragement.  They have to use the card that is stamped with “Hope” and send it to someone they know that needs hope and so on and so on.   I know that God will return to them what they give out and they will be giving out “Joy”, “Hope”, “Cherish” and “Thanks”!

Hi Everyone,

I’m trying to work on a few new things but thought it might be fun if we went back to a post that I did several months ago.  There are over 365 post on my blog, so let’s go back in time and see what I did at the beginning .  It will be fun to see how things have change over the year.

Be sure to click on the link and see where this Look Back takes you!

Have fun!

Hi everyone, we are back for Part II of this beautiful Sunflower Mouse card.

Here is where we left off yesterday.  We basically have the entire image colored in and now we are going to start layering in and shading the flower.

However, before we get started, if you click on the picture you will notice that I have colored a little outside the lines in some places.  I can take the colorless (#0) blender and put that color back into the lines.  Since we are dealing with alcohol inks you need to push the color back to a line.  So you would place the colorless blender on the outer edge of the color you are wanting to push back.  Let it dry and if it still needs to be pushed in some more do it again.

I’m using YR68 to start layering in some orange.  I’m filling in the  base and then taking my marker and flicking the tip up and out so it doesn’t look like a solid line.

Where the flower petal is rolling back I place some of the YR68 underneath.  Take a look at the petal on the left by the mouse’s ear.  The part of the petal that is rolled up is still light and the underneath is shadowed with the Y19 and now the YR68.  This contrast in colors helps the eye to see that the petal is actually turning back on itself.

When you are putting in your shadows keep thinking of where your light source is and how the shadows would fall on your subject.  You may even want to put a pen or something in the upper right hand corner in this instance to help remind you of where the light is coming from and how it would fall on the object.

Now I’m adding in another layer on the petals and this time the color is YR14.  This is a muted yellow gold that allows you to blend the YR68 and tone it down while adding more depth with additional shadows.

I used this color on the shadowed areas that the stamp had in it.  When the stamps give you those shadow indicators use them they make it easy.   I took Y21 and colored the petals again to help blend the colors together. This helps to take off any straight edges and adds another layer of depth to the flower.

Ok, here we are at the object that is sitting (or in this case laying) on top of the flower.  This is the last item you color.

I first colored the entire mouse using W1 which is a light warm gray.  I took W3 and started adding some deeper shadow to areas around her ear and on top of her head.  Next comes the deepest color W7.  I add light touches around her body where she is laying on the flower and underneath her arm laying across her tummy.  Then I used W1 again to blend all of the grays together.  I used R00 for her tummy nose and check and R20 to deepen the color.  I used R20 and R85 on the inside of her ear and I added just a little Y02 to give a little yellow cast to blend with the flower.

You will need to click on the picture to get the best close up look at how I finished her.  I took a multi-liner 03 and gave her some eyelashes.  I used Glossy Accents on her nose, hands, feet and tail.  I used Stickles on the flower petals and leaves to give a little extra sparkle.  I used Scribbles 3-D paint in yellow, brown, copper and gold and dotted it in for the sunflower seeds.

If you look on her cheek there are 3 little dots that accent her check that is Sakura Star Glaze pen and I used the Sakura puff pens to add additional highlights to the stem and flower petals.  Since these puff up a little it gives it additional dimension.

The blue behind the flower was done using B000 and B21 to create a sky effect.  It looks like the sunflower is just floating in the air and the blue sky and clouds are behind it.

The ribbon is vintage seam tape that I found at Smitten, in McKinney, Texas.  I’m going have to go back and get more of this stuff the colors are just so beautiful.

The charm I found at M’s over a year ago.  I inked all the edges of the mats and card with TH Distressed Ink called Broken China and the brown mats I used black on them so they would stand out a little.  I used the largest Nestibilities from the Large Label set  to cut  and emboss the sunflower with the mouse and then cut a brown mat by cutting a rectangle just a quarter of an inch larger and used my ticket punch from Stampin’ up for the corners, great match …..who knew?

I hope you found some information on these two post that will help you with your coloring projects.  If you have any question just send me an e-mail.  At the top of the blog is a Contact Tab and it will shoot me an e-mail.  It is a lot easier to respond through that system than through the comment section.  Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you like the card!