Copics and Paper Piecing

Snowboard Boy - MFT

Back again with another card.  This one is for the MFT Sketch Challenge.  I decided to paper piece the snow attire, but wanted to show dimension, so used my Copics to shade over the top of the patterned paper.  The boots and mittens are colored with Copics.  I used C3, C5 & C9 for the boots and E44, E47, & E49 for the mittens.  The snowboard is G40, 43 & 46.  Skin is E000, E00, E11, & R20 for the cheeks.

In putting the card together, I used the Cute Card Thursday challenge of "something old".  I interpreted the challenge as using old things from my supplies.  I rooted around in my scrap drawers and came up with some paper I have had in there for close to five years!!  Seriously - the brown paper was a scrap of about 4" x 8" and I loved it at the time.  The polka dot was about twice the size of the one I have used in my card.  Both have been passed over with the thought, "I can't use that one - what if I need it?!?"  The metal embellishments have been sitting around for years too.  It kind feels good to use some of this stuff I have been collecting!  I also think this card will work for the Papertake Weekly Anything Goes challenge this week.

One more thing to point out - the number 4 is actually cut from an embossing folder I have.  I don't have any letter dies, so I improvised.   This is a great birthday card for a little boy who took up skiing this winter, a.k.a. - my grandson, Ellis.

Serene and Simple

Modern Basics - PTI

Back again with another CAS card.  I combined three challenges for this card.  Splitcoast Stampers' Saturday Challenge is an inspiration challenge.  I used this clock from the featured Etsy shop.  I just got some Memory Box dies this week and was itching to break them open.  The poppy die was the first to be used!  I also used CAS-ual Friday's challenge to "stamp your own background" (which I did with PTI's Modern Basics) and Play Date Cafe's color challenge of tangerine, apricot, and mint.  This went together pretty quickly.  There is something comforting in the simplicity of this card.

LOTV 9th Birthday Celebration!

I discovered  Lili of the Valley stamps about 3 months ago.  They are from the UK and their images are completely adorable.  LOTV is a wonderful company to work with too, and their shipping rates to the US are very reasonable.  I'm obviously late to the party - as this weekend is their 9th birthday!  Their latest challenge is to create a birthday card for them.  Here's mine - isn't this bright and cheery?

Rosie Posie - Lili of the Valley stamps (LOTV)

Coloring the hair was my focus again.  I typically color brunettes, so I stretched myself this time to color a blonde.  I'm pretty pleased with the results!

I used Copic Coloring Guide Level 3 as a source for the hair colors:  Y11, Y21, E53

Her sweater is R20, R22, R24 with some R 29 in the deepest shadows.

Skirt colors:  B24, B26, B29

For the shoes, I went with more denim blues B34, 37 & 39

 I love to visit their blog and look at the style differences of their design team.  Lots of bows, flowers, ribbons and layers - a more UK esthetic.  Stop by their website and look at their stamps or better yet, join in the celebration and make a card!

Some Dress!

"Cosmos & Mimosa" - Karen Lockhart stamps

Back again with a card I am using for the Use it Tuesday challenge.  The premise of their challenges is to use things you are hoarding from your stash.  This week's challenge to use an uninked stamp is in honor of their second birthday.  Happy Birthday, Ladies!

Like many stampers, I go through phases where I have to have a stamp, and then it sits waiting to be used.  A few years back, I went through a Karen Lockhart phase and bought a bunch of her stamps.  I do love them.  There is a series of "couture" dress stamps from different flowers and vegetables.  I couldn't get this one out of my mind, and then once I bought it placed it in the clamshell with the rest of my Lockhart stamps.

Maybe it was the Oscars and all of those fancy dresses, or the "Unconventional Materials Challenge" on Project Runway - I don't know, but the scallion dress stamp came out was kissed by my pad of Memento black ink, and colored with my Copics.  Not only is the stamp newly used, so are the Copics.  I have very few violet and blue violets - and rarely ever use them (not my go-to colors).  Many of the papers are from my scrap drawer.  The green vine is a scrap of very old SU DSP - one I have saved and couldn't possibly run the risk of using!  The purple patterned paper is from a gift pack I received at Christmas. The embossing folder (hard to see in this photo) is one of the first few I purchased after discovering the joys of a Cuttlebug.

I simply love how this dress turned out.  It will be inked again very soon!

Zeroing In On Coloring

Happy Saturday!   Once I sat down and started working today, the Copics came out for this sweet Stamping Bella girl.  This week's Play Date Cafe Challenge gave me the color palette of buttercream, denim, and stone, so that is where I began.

I thought I would share some of my process with you today.  I started out stamping four images, hoping one of them would end up in my Copic portfolio.  It's not going to happen - these will go into the circular file!  (I used to be frugal with paper, but have had better results when I let go of that idea and gave myself permission to experiment.)

You can see one placed I focused was on the clothing colors.  I liked the yellow one at the bottom, but I wanted yellow to be an accent color, so I went with blue and stone.

The other placed I played around with was hair color.  The top left girl's hair was based in E33 and then flicked with R09 & R59 (too red).  The girl in the top right is based in E31, and then E33 & E57 (too blah).  The bottom left used E33, E47& E49 (too dark).   Some of the same colors, but all very different looking!

Maisy Ketto - Stamping Bella

   The girl that made it onto my card has hair that is reddish-brown, which made for a richer looking color.  It's based with R20 (the same color as her cheeks!), and then flicked using E31, E33 & E57.

Her clothing is W0, W1 & W3 with blue dots in B32, 35 & 37.

Her wings are B0000 closest to her body and then Y0000 out at the tips.

Clear Stickles add some accents to the card, but don't show up in the photo.

One Month Anniversary!

All Our Dreams - Lili of the Valley

Blogging for one month already - and I am right around 700 visits and seven followers!  It's been so much fun and served as a source of motivation to get back to making cards.  Thanks to everyone who has visited my blog - old friends and new.  I really appreciate the comments and the support.

Today, I'd like to share three different cards from the same stamp . . .
It's from a lovely company called Lili of the Valley (over in the UK).  All of their images are adorable, and they are easy to order from.

You may remember this card from my first-ever post on January 21st.  I loved coloring this baby and putting the card together.  Since then, I have colored that baby two more times.  I can hardly resist the sweet face of this baby!  It makes me think of holding my grandbabies as they slept in my arms.

My second card used the same rectangular shape of the focal image, but I used a more interesting SU! tag die and then my "outside the box" technique to move the leaves and the blanket outside of the rectangular border.

Today's moms aren't as enamored with pastels, so I used gray and coral as my main colors.

Copics:
skin - E000, E00, E11
blanket - W0, W1, W3, W5
leaves - YG 21, YG23, YG67
pinks - R 20, R22, R 24, R29
bunny - Y11, Y13, Y24
R000 is used to shade around the image

I used the Sweet Sunday sketch challenge to design my third card.  My first instinct was to zero in on the baby again.  I was going to have the circle in the background behind it,  but I changed my mind as I created the card.

I didn't have to worry about keeping it simple, so I added different touches to balance the card and hide my mistakes!

Let me share two of them with you . . .
•My brown circle isn't perfect - the paper moved as I was cutting - solution:  1 1/4" brown patterned paper across the bottom and the baby's circle on top.

•The baby was cut as a rectangle, but I changed my mind and wanted it to be a circle - solution:  tape the rectangle onto another piece of paper, recut it into a circle, add the sentiment and ribbon to hide the spliced line.  (You have to know what you are looking for on the real card to see it!)

Giving myself permission to experiment and "play" (rather than be perfect) takes me in new directions all of the time!  It's such a wonderful aspect of the creative process.

White on White

embossing folder - SU!

There is something beautiful about an all-white card.  I think it's the classic CAS type of card and one where design plays the central focus.

I tried a few versions of this card using a different embossing folder, and then this tulip one but where it framed the whole card - both were okay, but nothing special.  I liked the simplicity of the tulip border with the tree.  I tried it again and left space at the bottom for the sentiment which is popped up with dimensionals.  I love how this turned out.  Now I just have to work on photographing all white cards!

This card is for this week's Featured Stamper challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers, and Simon Says Stamps weekly challenge.

Supplies:
 embossing folder - Stampin Up!
 tree die cut - Memory Box
 sentiment - PTI