Stamp Something - Christmas In July

This is my second post today, please scroll down for Phindy's Challenge card!

It is quite tricky to get into jingle-bells-mode in the middle of a summer! But boy will I be delighted to have all those Christmas cards ready once The Time Comes (insert dramatic music here).

Thus we are creating Christmas cards at Stamp Something this week. Our generous sponsor is Simon Says Stamp so hurry into your craft room and get creative with those stashed-away Christmas supplies!!!

I used an achingly cute digital stamp by Crissy Armstrong from Whimsy Stamps.



So sweet and in my opinion just what Christmas is about!! I know that sentiment is a digital one I got last year and had it printed out already in my Christmas box but, for the life of me, do NOT remember where I got it from!



I've GOT to get myself a notebook because I managed to lose the scrap of paper I wrote my Copic colours on, sorry folks. And I was quite heavy-handed with that Crystal Stickles bottle. Methinks I will have to get a new one very soon.




SUPPLIES:
IMAGE: Whimsy Stamps
Coloring Medium: Copic Markers
Paper: My Minds Eye, Neenah card for image
Accessories: ribbon, Stickles, dimensional stickers, chain, snowflake charm, flatback pearls Tools: ATG adhesive gun, glue gel, Purple Cow guillotine, Martha Stewart scoring board, Tim Holtz distressing tool.

I would like to enter the following challenges:
Digital Tuesday - Dazzle Me 
Tuesday Taggers - Christmas in July
Tuesday Throwdown - Christmas in July
Creative Cottage Challenge - Touchy Feely
PaperPlay Challenges - Anything Goes
Drunken Stampers - Christmas in July
Rosie-D's Challenge - All Creatures Great and Small
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge - Christmas in July
Sundays With Crissy - Christmas In July

Thanks for looking and happy crafting!
Hugs

Phindy's Challenge - Clean and Simple Card

Hi and happy Friday! We are trying to fight our instincts this week at Phindy's by creating clean and simple cards and inviting you to join us!

I'm not really great at that style but I DID try. Lookie - no patterned paper!


I used Sizzix plate on card base and 5x7 Cuttlebug folder on white background. The image is from a really cool series called Sweet And Salty, coloured with Copic Markers.


I couldn't resist adding SOMETHING so I snook on some organza ribbon and Dew Drops.


Copic Markers:
Skin: E11/00/000
Bathrobe:R08/05/02/00, Y18/15/13/11/28
Baby, yellow details: Y18/15/13/11/28
Baby's hair: E17/15/13/41
Table: E18/09/08/97
Mirror: B00/0000
Screen: BG32/11/000
Computer, poodle, phone, towel: C7/5/3/1/00, 0
Cat, mug, lead, perfume bottle: E37/35/33/31/41
Shadows: W7/5/3/1/00, 0

IMAGE: PhindyColoring Medium: Copic Markers
Paper:  Neenah card for image
Accessories: ribbon, Dew Drops
Tools: ATG adhesive gun, glue gel, Purple Cow guillotine,Sizzix texture plate, Cuttlebug 5x7 folder

Don't forget to check out what the rest of our talented DT has come up with!

I would like to enter the following challenges:
For Fun Challenges -  Color Challenge:  The Colors of Summer
Charsima Cardz - Something With a Tail
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - Color Challenge:  Hot and Spicy colors
PaperPlay Challenges - Anything Goes
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Vintage
Crafty Pad - Vintage
Rosie-D's Challenge - All Creatures Great and Small

Thanks for looking and happy crafting!
Hugs

Sharing is caring :)

Stampavie has two shockingly cute Christmas collections out and 7Kids College fund has them on preorder HERE for a very nice price. I am in love with all of the designs but ESPECIALLY these cute deer. Can't WAIT my crafting embargo to lift!!! I am so in love with Penny Johnson stamps, even applied for Stampavie DT but didn't make it. :( Maybe if I keep practicing and working hard I might be lucky next time - one can dream, right?!

At least I can look forward seeing them on other people's cards. Sigh.

Speaking about really cool stuff - have you SEEN new Tim Holtz alterations dies and embossing folders??? He has totally nailed it again - and once again there's some REALLY cool deer there. It seems I'm absolutely mad about deer this year. Is it a sign of something??? Like, should I eat more broccoli or carrots or what???





Happy thoughts your way!
Hugs

Isabella's Challenge - Chill Out

The summer has worn us out at Isabella's Challenge so this week we decided to look for COOL cards, using calmer colours like blue and green, lol.

I was experimenting with watercoloury look again with my Copics using those lovely flowers from Isabella's shop.




I am not 100% sure about the results, yet to decide if I love it or intensely dislike it! The stitching is faux (of course. I'm hooked now.)




Copic Markers:
Foliage: YG99/09/25/23/21
Blossoms: B39/97/95/93/91/B0000, Y04, YG21/00
Background: C3/1/00, 0

SUPPLIES:
IMAGE: Isabella's Sketchbook
Coloring Medium: Copic Markers,  Inkssentials white gel penPaper: Pink Paislee, bazzill card stock, Neenah card for image
Accessories: lace, ribbon,  glitter stickers,   flat back crystals
Tools: ATG adhesive gun, Big Shot, Nestabilities, paper piercer, glue gel, Purple Cow guillotine, Martha Stewart scoring board


I would like to enter the following challenges:
Just Inspirational - Use a Digi Image
Crafty Catz - Summertime
Lexi's Creations - Stitching
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturdays - Use a digital image
Cowgirl's Sunday Stampin' Challenge - Anyting Goes

Thanks for looking and happy crafting!
Hugs

TUTORIAL: Creating Cloudy Background With Copics - The Messy Way

After so many questions and requests I finally managed to put together a quick tutorial about making the cloudy background. It is very easy and quite fast although it seems like many steps.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:
1) Pre-coloured image. And if you've got some little bleeding on over the lines; colouring the clouds will disguise it. Another lovely bonus, lol.
2) COPIC COLOURS: B12, B01, B00, B0000, C3, C1, C00, blender

One of the main things to remember is to use your markers as a brush. Work in small light or stronger strokes always upwards on clouds and away from the image. The more random and uneven your "brushwork" is, the better it will look.

I used one of Phindy's Flower Top Fairies because she was airborne and thus perfect for having clouds all around! So I didn't have create ground as well. I'm lazy like that. Also very sleep deprived and totally overwhelmed with things atm, lol.

So here's the image I started with, pre-coloured quickly:

Now I take B00 and create an outline of clouds in little quick uneven strokes. Make sure you won't make it too tidy and uniform and don't use continuous lines. Also lay a shadow around the whole image in light strokes working from image outline outwards. Don't worry if it looks a bit weird and messy:

Take B01 now and create random darker areas on the cloud outlines with light zig-zaggy brush strokes. Also apply some B01 into the shadow areas of the image like under her arms, skirt, corners between wings etc. Work in light strokes from image outwards. Do not blend anything:

Now take your darkest blue B12 (I picked this one because it's a bit cooler)  and apply little strokes of it inside the areas you accented with B01. Remember to work in very light and sparing strokes. No blending. Resist the temptation although it looks a terrible mess:

Now is a time to do a LITTLE bit of blending. Take B00 again and stroke upwards on all outlines and outwards from the image. No circular movements and be quite sparing and light-handed:

Now lets tone down that bright blueness a little bit.  Take C01 and apply to darker areas of the cloud outlines and shadow areas of the image. Yep, light upwards and outwards strokes, you guessed correctly:

Lets create sharper shadows. Move on to C3 and apply to darker areas of outlines and shadow areas to the image. VERY SPARINGLY:

Now move on to C00 and do some blending upwards and outwards in bold wide strokes:

Now take B0000 and blend upwards and outwards again, this time really go for it, only leave a narrow strip on top of clouds totally white. Important thing is not to create nice even lines, the more "strokey" and uneven it is, the better:

Now it's time to take out the beloved 0, your colourless blender. Cover the whole area of clouds and around the image. Saturate properly. Make sure your blender is nice and juicy:

You can repeat that step however many times if you want a softer result. I like some roughness in my colouring but I did a second soaking as well with blender to show the difference:

Well, that's it. You can make your clouds whatever colour you want, of course! Add some pale purple or pink into shadow areas or yellow highlights on top of the clouds. Just play and have fun. :)

Hope it was ine any way helpful and understandable. Thank you so much for looking and happy crafting!
Hugs

Tutorial - making an envelobox for bulky 6x6 card with Martha Stewart Scoring Board

This is my first attempt at tutorial so mercy, please! Besides, my 22-month old was "helping me and thus I had to rush everything resulting is desperate photos. Hope it's of some help though!

What you need:
Sheet of cardstock cut to 11x11 inches
If you want a front panel, then cut it approx to 6 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches
Martha Stewart Scoring Board
ATG Gun
Scissors
Double-sided tape
1/2 inch wide ribbon (about 22 inches)
Measuring tape (for ribbon. totally optional, I just measure "by hand", lol)


Start by positioning the envelope attachment (stored on the back of the scoring board) onto the board and placing cardstock as shown. Make sure the corner of the card is touching the side of the board and that it sits snugly against the bottom edge of the triangle.

Then score at 4 inches and 4.5 inches. Repeat with remaining 3 corners.

Then snip out the area marked in orange, repeat on all 4 sides:

You end up with a following result:

Score on all the lines and attach the front panel if using:

Now apply the adhesive onto the areas marked orange (sorry for wonky lines, I was is HORRIBLE rush and just used a brush tool):

Place the cardstock "face down" now and attach together side flap and bottom flap placing bottom flap on top. It helps if you use a book or thick 6x6 stack of cardstock inside the envelobox to help to align the corner and sides properly. It has to be about 1/2 inches thick cause that's the depth of the envelobox.

Now tuck the remaining side flap underneath, line it up and adhere.

And voila, here's your box!

You could stop here no problem but I like to finish off and enforce a bit more.

I attach the double-sided tape onto the full length of the ribbon. You can do the same thing with ATG gun as well but NOT on tiled kitchen floor while trying to fend off 2 intensely curious toddlers, lol. The ribbon needs to be 3 times the length of the side of your box plus about 4 inches extra. I just measure by hand.

Peel the backing off the tape and tuck about two inches into the envelope:

Then stick the ribbon to 3 sides of your card and tuck the remaining bit into the other side of envelobox. Here's the result:

Looks tidy, doesn't it? I just use the dirt cheap satin half inch ribbon you can buy in spools from Ebay, no need to use your fancy ribbons!

So, here's the box:

And here's the card with the matching envelobox:

Card details can be found HERE.

A NOTE: If your card isn't terribly bulky but still thick enough not to fit comfortably into a regular envelope then cut your cardstock to 10.5 x 10.5 inches and score at 4 and 4 1/4 inches. That gives you an envelobox 1/4 inches deep.

Hope it was helpful!

Thanks for reading!
Hugs

Whimsy Stamps new release blog hop

Whimsy Stamps is releasing a brand new batch of rubber gorgeousness today - 3 new images from Crissy Armstrong and 3 new sentiment sets from Raindrop Echo Designs - REALLY nice ones! And we're hopping to celebrate! You could win the whole release so come on, join the hop!!

If you came here from Simonne's blog, you're on right track. If not, you might want to start from Chris's blog  so you wouldn't miss anything!

I decided to showcase Crissy's Moonlit Ride, don't you just love her carousel horses!! This stamp reminded me of Mary Poppins books and fairground glam so I guess I tried to combine both.



To take the "edge" off the mirror card I embossed it with Sizzix texture plates and Cuttlebug folders. Now I wish I had used dull gold card instead of mirror card. Whereas it IS just as glam as I was looking for, it's REALLY tricky to photograph with all the reflections.



The image is coloured with Copic Markers and had a go at drawing the night sky with Copics too. Needs practice - but it was fun!!



I love all the little details on the horse and could not of course resist highlighting some bits with Sakura clear glitter pens. That stuff really sparkles!!



Copic Markers:
The horse: W9/7/5/3/1/00
blue details: B05/06/02/01/00/0000
Gold details: E99/39, YR14/23, Y17/15/00
Sorry, was too busy experimenting and forgot to write down colours for the sky.

Next stop on our hop is BEV'S blog.

SUPPLIES:
IMAGE: Whimsy Stamps - Moonlit Ride
Coloring Medium: Copic Markers
Paper: white embossed card, gold mirror card, Neenah card for image
Accessories: ribbon, lace
Tools: ATG adhesive gun, Big Shot, Nestabilities ovals and labels, glue gel, Purple Cow guillotine, Martha Stewart scoring board, Martha Stewart punches, Sizzix texture plates, Cuttlebug folders

I would like to enter these challenges:
Caardvark's - Make a Birthday Card
Party Time Tuesday - Anything Goes Birthday 
For Fun Challenges - No die cuts as the main image and use your favorite coloring media
Bizzy Becs Creatalicious - Show Some 3-D
Just Inspirational - Something Vintage
Alphabet Challenge - L is for Lace
Frosted Designs - Let's See Those Border Punches
KL Stampin' & Scrappin' - Use Ribbon
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturdays - Animals

Thanks for looking and happy crafting!
Hugs

Sentimental Sunday - A Card For A Man

As already said in the title we want to see cards for men at Sentimental Sundays.

I used that cool suave cat by Phindy:

These are new papers from Pink Paislee, all the embellies and borders are from a sticker sheet that came with the papers. I get a monthly scrapbook kit with a selection of papers from four different lines, very handy.

COPIC COLOURS:
Cat: C7/5/3/1/00
Suit: B39/37/34/91, B7, C8, R59/46/43, Y28/08, YR23/15/14
Grounding with Prismacolour pencils

SUPPLIES:

IMAGE: Phindy

Coloring Medium: Copic Markers, Sakura Glaze pens

Paper: Pink Paislee, Neenah card for image

Accessories: stickers, twine

Tools: ATG adhesive gun, glue gel, Purple Cow guillotine, Martha Stewart scoring board

Sale Alert!From July 17th to July 31st, the entire Raindrop Echo Designs Digital Sentiments Collection at Whimsy Stamps (which can be found here:) is marked down by 25%! Grab the sentiments you've had your eye on and don't forget to tell your fellow sentiment fanatics!

I would like to enter the following challenges:
Caardvark's - Make a Birthday Card
For Fun Challenges - No die cuts as the main image and use your favorite coloring media
Fairy Fun Friday -For the Boys
Creative Card Crew - Die Cuts (Nesties)

Thanks for looking and happy crafting!
Hugs