Early Christmas - REALLY early!

I've been really enjoying Power Poppy this week! Can you tell? Today's image is from the set called Merriest Berries. Isn't it just gorgeous! The set comes with 6 files - 3 images and 3 sentiments. 


For some reason I can't seem to upload the other photos, so these will have to do. Gotta love technology, eh? My card was inspired by the map challenge that Power Poppy has going (for another hour... better get moving! lol) So, without further ado... here's my card!

Mother's Day with Power Poppy

If you haven't seen Power Poppy's gorgeous selection of intricate and detailed flowers, plants, etc you are REALLY missing out! Just look at these beautiful Chinese Lanterns! Aren't they stunning!?!? Click HERE to get it now! 



I forgot to write down what colours I was using, so I don't have a list of Copics for you today. I can tell you I used YR07, 04, 02, and 00 as those are the only orange Copics I have right now. Hehe. My Mom's birthday is in October, and these lanterns remind me of her, so I decided to make this into a Mother's Day card! In Norway, where I grew up, we celebrate Mother's Day in February! If I send it out tomorrow, she should get it in time. Shhhhh no spilling the beans on me! She doesn't follow my blog, so we should be okay. whew!

Power Poppy hosts a challenge every month, and January is all about sketches. They have partnered up with Pagemaps.com and have 10 beautiful sketches/maps to choose from! The challenge closes tomorrow, but you still have time to jump in HERE. I've used Map #4 and will be entering this card into the challenge as well. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Twice Upon a Time...

I had so much fun making the other bookmark that I decided to do a second one! This time with Kraftin' Kimmie's Book Dragon, which you can find HERE. Isn't he an awesome bookworm... er... I mean book dragon? 

Copics Used:
Greens: G99, YG67, 06, 11 (also used C7 for the darkest shadows)
Purples: BV17, 04, V04 (also used C7 for darkest shadows)
Belly, horns, Back Scales: W7, 5, 3, 1
Glasses: 100, C7, C3
Book: C7, B29, 23, 41, C3
Shadow underneath: C7, 5, 3, 1
Highlight Shadow: C1

Thanks for dropping by! This bookmark will be entered in the following challenge: Kraftin' Kimmie Krafty Skrappin'

Once Upon a Time...

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps are so fun! Lots of cute images for any occasion to colour up whenever the mood strikes! Today's image is a cute little Princess from a rubber set that I got a while back, but I don't actually know the name of the set. Pretty as a Princess perhaps? Today's project is a quick little bookmark that would be perfect to include in my little niece's birthday card! Cute, eh?

Copics:
Dress and Shoes: V17, 25, 20, C7
Skin: E11, 00, 000
Hair: E18, 08, 15
Crown: Y28, YR21
Mouth: R39, 46
Tongue: R35

I sponged the whole thing (avoiding the image as much as possible) with Soft Sky ink from Stampin' Up! and used a corner rounder on the top corners of both the white panel and the Perfect Plum (SU) panel, then I punched out a hole for the ribbon. After the ribbon was through, I tied a little linen string around it to keep it secured and finish it off!

Note: the sentiment is from another set called Book Dragon, which can be found HERE

I'll be entering my bookmark into the following challenge: Kraftin Kimmie's Krafty Skrappin'

Owl Spirit by Aurora Wings

Today I have a GORGEOUS image to share with you from Aurora Wings called Owl Spirit. As you can see, the girl is decked out in flowers and is holding an adorable little owl. I've chosen to colour him up like a barn owl. Isn't he so sweet?!

This image can be found on Etsy either as a JPG image or as a PNG image. Or you can find them in Mitzi's online shop both in JPG and PNG. 

Copics Used:
Skin: E11, 04, 00, 000
Hair: E37, 33, YR21
Lips: R46
Eyes and blue flowers: B29, 23, 41
Lilac Flowers: BV17, 04, 01, 000
Roses: R39, 46, 43
Leaves: G29, 09, YG06
Owl: E37, 34, 43, 41
Dress: YG06, 03, Y11

Note: I had originally coloured the dress yellow, but I found it really washed out the colour of her skin as well as the owl, so I coloured over with the yellow-greens. Her eyes pop better with the green, too! 



I struggled a lot with this card, actually. I popped her up on a blue backing, which I liked, but then I was having troubles with what to do for the background! The plain white shown here just didn't do it for me, so I tried some sponging with a stencil and inks from Stampin' Up!

I liked that much better, but it was still missing something. Let's see, what other flower dies do I have lying about? Perhaps something to bring out the blues in the image.  MUCH better!





As you can see in the first photo of this post, it all turned out in the end. Probably my most complicated card ever, but I like it! Thanks for dropping by!

This card is being entered into the following challenges:
Aurora Wings' Challenge #63 Anything Goes 
Createful Heart Challenge #10
Let's Craft and Create Challenge #133

The Funny Farm by Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps

I posted a WIP (work in progress) a few days ago of the farm scene from Kraftin Kimmie Stamps. The image is called The Funny Farm and can be found HERE. I had so much fun colouring up the first one that I did a second! 

The first one I coloured up I tried the stippling technique (applying dots of various colours to create shadows) in the bushes and clouds. That version is at the bottom of the picture. The top one is shaded more traditionally with more of a smooth look. There are aspects about each that I like. I asked on my Facebook page which one people liked best, and I got a very divided response, although I believe the stippled one was a little more popular. I've stamped the image one more time. Not sure what I'm going to do this time around. I should also make these into cards at some point! Which one do YOU like best?

New Conie Fong Penguins!

Conie has two new PENGUINS in the shop! They are so adorable! Squeeeeeeee! The one that I'm using is called Penguin Bundle of Love and can be found here in Conie's Etsy shop. The other one is called Penguin Heartstrings (find it HERE).

Copics Used:

Penguin: 100, C7, 3, 1

Sweater: YG17, 13, 03, 00

               Y19, 15, 13, 11

Big Heart: R59, 46, 22

Pink Hearts: RV13, 21, 00

Plum Hearts: RV69, 66, 34

Red Hearts: RV29, 25, 43
                    R46, 35, 22

Background: B00, E11

So, next thing to do is figure out what colours I want to bring out, background paper, embellishments, etc. I checked my stash of papers and found this cute one with pink bubble-y hearts. I mounted that on a dark pink piece, and mounted the 2 on a white card base. The little hearts are a stamp and framelits set from Stampin' Up! called Hearts A Flutter. They were stamped in Rose Red and Pretty in Pink ink from SU and sponged around the edges with Rich Razzleberry. 

What to do for a sentiment? I couldn't find one in my stamp sets that suited this card, so I went to Google and found this cute phrase. I hand-sketched it in pencil, then traced over with a Staedlter .3 fine line pen and coloured it in with the same colour Copics I'd used in the image. Thanks for dropping by! I am entering this card into Let's Craft and Create's Challenge #133

Work in Progress

Normally I just show my finished work on here, but I thought that I'd change things up a little today! Here's what I have on my desk right now. This is a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps image called The Funny Farm. It's a clear stamp that can be used as a background or on its own. I'm planning to use it on its own this time, but I've stamped it 3 times, so the possibilities are there! 

If you're curious about Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps, feel free to join the fun group HERE. 

If you'd like to get straight down to the business of getting her stamps, her shop is right HERE. 

Or, if you're just dying to get this particular stamp, you can grab it HERE! And I just noticed... IT's ON SALE right now!!!!!!!!  

Thanks for stopping by :)

Whisper of the Sea - by Aurora Wings

This stunning image is called Whisper of the Sea by Aurora Wings. This is the first time I've coloured up one of the images that is NOT a sprite (see previous posts Christmas Lights Sprite, Gift Card Holder, and Shepherd Sprite for examples of Aurora Wings' adorable sprite images!) and I am so thrilled how she turned out!  

Etsy: Get in JPG or in PNG.
Aurora Wings shop: Get in JPG or PNG 


Copics:
Skin: E33, 11, 00
Hair: 100, C7, BV000
Dress: BG78, 75, 72, 15
Eyes and "Pearls" BV04, 01, 000
Coral: YR21, 02
Lips & Shells: R35, Spectrum Noir CR3, 2, 1
I finished off with a Craft Smart white paint pen to accent the bubbles and her eyes.

I wanted to create some kind of wave/sea scene for her, as I picture her as a sea creature herself with all the shells and coral and things in her hair. I looked through my die collection and found this flourish edge die that reminds me of a wave! Then I realized it was only an edge die. Hmmm, how to incorporate it? An idea popped into mind to use the die in the centre of the cardstock and slide the image "behind" it! I selected Stampin' Up!'s Coastal Cabana cardstock and gave it a go. It was perfect!...except for one thing... it was all one colour and you couldn't make out the patterns in the flourish! Ink and sponges to the rescue! 

To create the sentiment, I die cut the word in white and in black. The white I sponged with Calypso Coral and Blushing Bride (from Stampin' Up!), and the black I glued behind to create a shadow effect. A few foam dots and Voila! Completed project!

I'll be entering this card in the Aurora Wings Challenge #63 and Creatalicious Challenge #131
Thanks for stopping by!

Coming Soon...

I just love the store over at Make it Crafty! They have gorgeous images to colour, e-books about how to colour with Copics, and the Chippies! I'm in love with the chippies! Mine haven't arrived yet, but I can't wait to get my hands on them!!! Squeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Well, MiC has an upcoming release of some new stamps, and I'm going to give you a little preview of one of the gorgeous new images! The title of the image is Jillian Creates and (once she is released into the store) can be found in the "new" category HERE. Isn't she adorable!?!? She come with and without the hanging hearts and crayons. UPDATE: she can be purchased HERE.

Copics used: (plus Spectrum Noir blues)
Skin: E000, 00, 11
Hair: E08, 15, 18
Eyes, Shirt, Ribbons: G99, YG17, 03
Green Crayon: G99, YG17, 03, 00
Lips and Shoes: RV00, 13, 25
Pink Crayon and Hearts: RV00, 13, 25, 29
Jeans and Blue Crayon: Spectrum Noir TB8, 5, 4 Copic B23, 41
Socks and Shadows: C1, 3, 5 and Colourless Blender

And here's my finished card! The picture on the right is the inside.

I tried to match up the colours of the image as close as I could with my papers, and I followed a sketch from the challenge that's going on over at Power Poppy's blog HERE. I will be entering this card into PP's challenge as well as in Make it Crafty's SKIN Challenge, which can be found HERE. Also in Let's Craft and Create's Challenge #133

Christmas Lights Sprite from Aurora Wings

Today's Spotlight is on Aurora Wings again with this adorable little sprite! Poor thing is all tangled up in the Christmas lights but still manages to look super cute! She is called Christmas Lights Sprite and can be found HERE.

Since the challenge right now is Anything BUT a Card over on the Aurora Wings Blog, I made her into a tag/tree ornament. I wasn't thinking straight, though, because the black background paper doesn't show up very well against the dark tree. Oopsy! I still love it though, and ended up hanging it on the light coloured wall! 

Thanks for stopping by! Have an awesome day!

Guest Designer for Conie Fong!

I'm SOOOOOO excited, honoured, and thrilled to have been selected as a Guest Designer for artist Conie Fong! I get to join the GDT (Guest Design Team) for the months of January and February, so I'll be posting more projects as I make them! Here is my first card, made with Conie's image called Delilah, which can be found HERE.  She's just so pretty! And, since it's snowy and dreary outside, I decided to use bright, pretty colours that remind me of spring.

Copics I used:
Skin: E33, E11, E00, E04
Hair: 100, C7, B45
Dress: BV04, BV01, BV000
Eyes: G99, YG67, YG17
Lips: RV29
Butterflies: YR07, YR04, YR21, Y19, Y11, E39 (body)
Dark Flowers: RV29 RV25, RV13
Light Flower: RV25, RV13, Spectrum Noir PP1 


I decided to pull the yellows and oranges from the butterflies for my background, and this is what I came up with! Sentiment and Butterflies are from Stampin' Up! Papers are from my stash. The design idea I got from Power Poppy's new challenge, which can be found HERE. I will be entering this card into the challenge. You should check it out: there are 10 different sketches to choose from! 

Also, Conie Fong has a FB group that is open to anyone! Come join us for lots of inspiration, beautiful images, and monthly challenges! Here's the link to the group.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Sparkle Challenge Card

A couple days ago, I posted about the Sparkle Challenge that Make it Crafty had last month. The idea of the challenge was to create the illusion of sparkle on an image, rather than using glitter, sparkle pens, etc. I used gel pens to create my "sparkle" but hadn't actually used the image to make a card yet!

Well, today I got to work putting a card together. The image is quite small, so I decided to use layering to fill the space. I rather like how it looks with all the green and black!

After all the layers were put together, I decided it needed just a little something on the corners to pull it all together. I got out my Tiny Tags stamp set and matching punch from Stampin' Up! (retired set and punch) and stamped the "hand crafted" and "4 YOU" sentiments. I punched them out with the matching punch, then sponged the edges and added a little linen bow. To keep it balanced, I stuck a couple of green "candy dots" in the bottom right corner.

I'm so happy with how she turned out! This card is going to a special friend for her birthday. I won't say who, just in case she happens upon the blog, since I haven't given it to her yet.

Thanks for stopping by!

Getting Organized for 2018

 Yesterday, I showed you my Habit Tracker for this month. Today, I've been working on this beautiful January calendar, also from Sarah Renae Clark, only this one was one of her free items! You can find it HERE and the full 2018 Calendar HERE

 I've coloured it up using blues and oranges from my Copic collection. The blues used are: B00, B04, B05, B29, B41 and B45. I also used the colourless blender which is designated 0.


The oranges I've used are YR21, YR02, YR04, and YR07.

I really like how there are lists on the side to write down goals and tasks for the month. Thanks for stopping by! 

How do you store your markers and pencils?

I was asked today how I store my markers and pencils by a young lady whose mom I am friends with. Well, Miss Lavioe, I would love to show you! Here's a little tour of my work space.

 In this first photo, you can see all of my Spectrum Noir and Copic Markers. I store them horizontally and try to keep them in colour families. Some of the Spectrum Noirs came in boxes that stack very nicely, so I've kept those. The "overflow" I keep in a Littles Tote from 31 Gifts. The Copics are in the white wooden box that my lamp is sitting on, and in the other Littles Tote.

My coloured pencils are stored upright in my Pampered Chef tool turn-about, pictured to the right. I mostly use Prismacolor pencils, although I do have Crayola and Caran D'Ache as well.

 My ink pads are pretty much all Stampin' Up!, so I store them in this caddy, which is from Stampin' Up! The card stock is sorted according to colour family, and the filing box at the far left holds all my scraps of each colour. 12x12 card stock and designer/patterned papers are in the 3 drawers (I have a 2nd 3-drawer chest elsewhere as well as a bin for the rest of my 12x12's.

Finally, here is a photo of my most-used work space. This spot is where I do the majority of my colouring and creating. 

Happy New Year card

Super Duper Excited to share that this card made TOP 2 on the Ching-Chou Kuik Facebook Challenge for December! The theme of the challenge was "New Beginning" and I chose to make a card for the New Year! The image is called Time Flies and can be found HERE.

To colour up the image, I used Mostly Copic Markers, with an odd Spectrum Noir Marker tossed in for good measure. One of these days I'm going to remember to actually keep track of which colours I use, so I can share with you!

The circle is cut with a die from Spellbinders and then layered on another die cut image in red. The clock is also a die, as is the edge of the gold border around the sentiment, which is stamped in Cherry Cobbler ink from Stampin' Up! Layered it on patterned paper from my stash, added a few pop dots (foam dots, dimensionals, whatever you want to call them), and finished it off with a gold gel pen on the clock.

New Year, New Plan

It's a brand new year! I don't really make resolutions per se, but I do make plans, set goals, and create a vision for what I want the year to look like. I was so thrilled to have found this awesome Habit Tracker from Sarah Renae Clark, which you can purchase HERE.

Sarah makes all kinds of colouring pages, books, holiday ornaments, etc. If you click on her name in the first paragraph, it will take you to her Facebook page, where she's posted lots of pictures and information. You can also go directly to her store HERE.

I chose to colour my tracker in pinks, with the words in blue-green. Copics used:
Words: BG78, BG75, BG72, and BG10.
Border: R39, RV29, RV25, RV13. 

I also used a Spectrum Noir pen - PP1 for the lightest pink colour.

Now to fill in the habits I want to improve upon and plan a system of rewards! This is going to be fun! 

Do you make New Year Resolutions? If you don't, do you do something else?