I thought I would give you a little teaser on the next flower video that I’m in the process of making.

Again, this is using the TH Alterations Tattered Floral die cut.  This is a combination of distressed inks and Copic Markers along with some pattern card stock.

So stay tuned, I’ll try to get this video up this weekend.

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.

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!

I love this image of this mouse relaxing in a giant sunflower.  The papers I used for the card is DCWV Linen Closet.

I’m going to break this post down into two post because of the length of showing how I colored the image.  Rather than do a video I thought I would do some snap shots that way you could see where the colors where placed.

This is a stamped image and it is on regular card stock.  My preference is to use Gina K’s Pure Luxury card stock.   This line of card stock comes in several colors but for Copic Markers the white or ivory works best.    I should also say I don’t own this stamp.  I was part of a card challenge group and we received stamped images to color (using the Magic Color Pencil Technique – MCPT) and then make a card.  The coordinator of the challenge always sent us extra stamped images and this one was one of them.

Let’s get started.  I know there are multiple ways to color using Copic Markers; however, I found the best technique for me  is the way that the instructors @ Copicmarker.com taught me.

I also use some of the knowledge I’ve learned through the years from painting classes that I have taken.  I first determine which direction the light source is coming from and in this case the stamp directs you since the little mouse’s face is positioned to the upper right.  Knowing where the light source is coming from helps you determine where the shadows would fall.   This stamp also helps because it has some shadowing already built into the stamp image.

Next I color the items that are behind or underneath other elements.  Here I’m starting with the stem because it is underneath the leaves and then I will color the leaves because they are underneath the petals.  The third thing to color would be the bed of seeds because they are underneath the little mouse.  You build from whatever is behind, underneath or the furtherest item in the background.

You’ll notice I didn’t color the stem completely with color nor did I color the rolled up part of the leaves.  This is because I will use a lighter shade of green to emphasis these area.

I go back in with G99 and add the dark shade where the darkest shadow would be on the stem.  When using a dark color like this, little is more.  As you build layers of color up on each other the dark will get darker so a little goes a long ways.

You can click on the picture to get a closer look.  Also, this card stock absorbs the Copic Marker so it makes it more difficult to get a good blend.  We’ll get there it just takes a little extra effort.

Now I’m going back in and adding a lighter shade of green (actually a yellow green YG95) to those areas I left untouched before.

I’m using the end of this pen so you can see where the YG95 was added.  It was on the rolled up part of the leaves and then down the center of the stem.

Now I am layering in Y21.  This starts giving the stem some depth and additional shadowing than the dark G99.  You can see that as I layer the color on top of the other greens it starts to blend them all together and you see a gradual color change.

I try to keep in mind the light source is in the upper right hand corner and where the shadows would fall on the leaves and stems.

Moving on to the middle of the flower where the seeds is making the little mouse a bed, I first color all of that area with E51.  This is a milky white shade and provides a nice base for the various colors that will make up the sunflower seed.

Around the little mouse I dot in E09 which is Burnt Sienna.  You’ll notice I get out of the lines a little bit but I can use what is called the colorless blender (which is not but sort of is a blender to correct that).

I continued to layer on various colors to give the seed bed some depth.  I used E37 which is a Sepia to give some brown undertones and I added that over the E09 and moved it out toward the flower petals.  I used E00 to finish blending out all the colors together.

I used Y21 on all the petals and came back in where the shadows were indicated on the stamp and layered Y19 on top of them.  When you are looking at the flower you can see where the petals turn up or curl up.  Just like the leaves you want to keep them the lightest color.

We’ll stop here for today and pick up again tomorrow.  I think she is already looking good but there is so much more that we will do to make her even stand out more.  Thanks for stopping by and let me know what you think so far.

It does not seem possible that my DGS is 5 years old today.  This weekend we had his 5th Birthday Party and I’m telling you this was one happy little dude!  I caught him with chocolate cake all over his mouth!

He had his party at a place called BounceTown.  This is a place that has various bounce houses, air hockey, a shuffle board and a place to have the cake and presents all in air conditioned facilities.  In Texas this is a must and it is self contained so it is easy to keep up with all the excited kids!

This has been one busy week, with Mom getting sick (we had to go to 3 different places to get her treated), Gareth’s B-Day and Papa and NaeNae keeping GKs, and playing a little handy man for Daughter #2.  Unfortunately, during most of that time I had a bad headache and didn’t get much sleep.

I made Garth’s B-card using the Everyday Paperdolls and George Carts.  The sentiment is a $1 stamp from M”s (love that).

I double cut his hair and enhanced it with Copics (YR68, YR14, E37).  His checks are R22 and I used ColorBox’s Bronze ink pad to ink around his face hands and feet.  The 5 has Glossy Accents on it to give it some dimension and I put it and his hair on some foam tape to give them a little lift.  I cut the little “rocker” out of scraps I had in my stash.

I glittered the star in the sentiment with MS’s red glitter and used a white pen to draw the doodling around the blue star, pants and guitar.  I drew in the strings and frets on the guitar to give it a little more depth.

The little “rocker”  and his guitar and everything else  are cut at 3.5″; however,  I cut his hair at 3.0″.  It seemed to big to cut at the 3.5″.

Here is the in side and we attached a $5 bill since he was turning 5.  Of course I think he had 2 other gifts from us to make sure he was covered.

Later when I asked him if he liked his card, he told me that he was not a “Rock Star”, he said, “Really, NaeNae I’m not”!  Gotta love it, they don’t mind telling you how they feel!

In my books he is, he drums like crazy and he already has a real guitar, loves music and we all know that the girls go after musicians!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Hi, everyone!  Well, it’s official I’m going back to work full time on Monday.  Not exactly what I wanted to do, but it is something I need to do and give the old retirement nest egg some much needed rest.

Luckily, I found a good job right where I live and my commute is only going to be 5 minutes…..the last time I had a 5 minute commute was when I worked as an attendance clerk for the High School.  My hours are pretty sweet too…9 – 5.  I get to sleep till 7 and then get myself up and on the treadmill and get my exercise done before I start my day.

Ok, enough about that stuff.  Take a look at these flowers.  They are all handmade.  I’m working on some videos (this is not as easy as everyone makes it seem) and they are going to show you how to make each one of  these beauties.

Each time I make one of them I think it is my favorite until I make another one.

This is one of the intricate cuts that is on the solution cartridge Summer in Paris.  I cut this using a light weight card stock and it cut beautifully.  The blade I was using was not new so that is even more impressive.

I used this piece as an embellishment to airbrush with Copics at the Certification Class.  Yhea, I’m going to have to have those power tools.  Power tools for crafts…..oh that makes me giddy.

I’ll do my best to get the second video up in the next couple of days on how to make the little roses.  Then after that we will have to play it by ear how much I get done now that I’m working 9-5, what a way to make a livin’.

Be sure and come back or better yet sign up to get a notification when something new is posted.  The subscribe box is on the side bar at the top.

Ok, I’m officially a Copic Certified Designer.

Spent the entire day yesterday learning so much.  I am so glad I took the time and paid the $$ to do this class.

Somethings I already new but having that hands on experience and them showing some techniques made a lot of those “aha” moments.  I can tell you they are also enablers, I want one of the air brush systems now!

Stay tune, as I start putting the knowledge together and I’ll show you some of the techniques.  They will be a lot easier to understand now that I can show you through video.

Let me tell you I made a beautiful flower on Saturday that I can’t wait to show you how to do it.  So simple, and the colors are so beautiful.  So keep visiting and keep your eyes open for the next video installment.