Watercolor- Hello

Today actually felt like spring! The temperature got all the way up to 60 degrees - which is phenomenal considering we had a snow blizzard just a couple of days ago. Sadly, it looks like we'll be getting a bit more snow on Tuesday, but spring is still on the horizon.

And what better way to celebrate spring than with some adorable Lawn Fawn critters?

I pulled out the gorgeous set of watercolor pencils I got for my birthday and got to work creating a background. I kept it fairly simple, focusing on a few trees and the grass. I smooshed a few colors together for the sky background, adding some pink and purple to blue. I didn't want to go too dark with the sky, since I wanted the trees and grass to stand out.

The animals were colored with Copics, then glued to the scene. I added dots of white gel pen to the bird and the deer for a bit more texture.

Lastly, I stamped the greeting from Hello Sunshine stamp set and doodled in a small flower/plant for the far right bunny.

Supplies:
Base: Simon Says Stamp 100# Mint cardstock
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Into the Woods, Lawn Fawn Happy Easter, Lawn Fawn Hello Sunshine (sentiment)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento Luxe in Tuxedo Black (sentiment)
Copics: deer (E23, E57, E59, R22, R35), bird (R08, R59, R89, YR15), Bunnies (W2, W4, W6, R20)
Staedler watercolor pencils (60 count)
Pen (dark green)

April Card Kit - You Brighten My Day

Simon Says Stamp's April card kit is themed around a light-bulb this month. The stamp set's got a ton of punny and cute little sayings, and it looks versatile enough to be used year-round. I will definitely be pulling it out next Valentine's for a cute "love you watts and watts" card.


Although I got this kit a few days ago, I didn't get a chance to play around with it until today. I think I had a bout of flu, as I was completely out of commission for a few days. Thankfully, I'm feeling much better now and I'm ready to create fun things once again. :)

I started by picking out the paper. A lot of the papers that come in the card kit have a really interesting look, with bright colors on one side and a black/white pattern on the other. I decided to make use of the contrast of black and white and pair it with yellow for a punch of color.

I started by creating the center panel by layering the polka-dot paper on each side of the gray wood-grain. After that, I stamped the solid light-bulb on a piece of plain white cardstock. I used two colors. First, I stamped with the yellow pigment ink. While the ink was still wet, I inked up the stamp with orange pigment ink and stamped it lightly on a piece of scrap paper to take off some of the color. Then, I stamped it onto the yellow image. It created a really great texture.

After heat-setting the solid bulb, I stamped the outline stamp in Versamark embossing ink. I used platinum embossing powder and zapped it with the heat gun. After it cooled, I cut it using my Sizzix round dies. I also cut out a larger circle from a piece of black cardstock and used it as a frame. Using a black pen, I drew a dotted border around the white circle.

I added the sentiment at the bottom of the card and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I used a highlighter to highlight the word "brighten" and to tie in the sentiment with the card.

Lastly, I added a few embelishments: a piece of hemp cord twine and a button at the top, as well as a few enamel dots from the kit at the bottom.

Supplies:
Simon Says Stamp April Card Kit
Cardstock: Bazzill Marshmallow, Simon Says Stamp 100# black cardstock
Ink: Memento Luxe in Dandelion (yellow), Mama Elephant in Orangeade (orange), Mama Elephant in Ocean (blue), Versamark embossing ink
Embossing Powder: Ranger super fine Clear Embossing Powder, Ranger Platinum embossing powder
Hemptique Natural Hemp Cord
Button
Highlighter

Smile!

Today felt like a Lawn Fawn kind of day- meaning cute, bright and happy! I just received one of my orders from Lawn Fawn yesterday, and I was very eager to try out the new Critters Ever After die.

I cut out the background panel from Bazzill Marshmallow cardstock using Lawn Fawn's Stitched Journaling die. For the sky, I used a piece of patterned paper from Let's Polka and the ground was created from a piece of scrap paper I had left over from a previous card. I made sure to run both pieces through my BigShot with the stitches journaling die to keep the stitch lines.

I stamped the dragon and castle with Memento's Tuxedo Black ink, and colored them in with my Copics. Using the Critters Ever After die, I cut them out and placed them on the card. I cut out a couple of clouds from the Blue Skies die set and added them to the front.

Lastly, I stamped the greeting and added some dots and a smiley face with a blue pen.

Supplies:
Base: Lawn Fawn Notecards in Wild Rose
Stamp: Lawn Fawn Critters Ever After, Lawn Fawn Smile mini-stamp
Dies: Lawn Fawn Stitched Journaling die, Lawn Fawn Critters Ever After die, Lawn Fawn Blue Skies die, Paper Smooches Borders 1 die
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Mama Elephant Eggplant pigment ink
Paper: Bazzill Marshmallow cardstock, Bazzill 1lb 6x6 cardstock mix pack (green) and Lawn Fawn Let's Polka
Copics: Dragon (B00, BG01, BG05, V12, V6) Castle (R43, R46, R59, E35, E37, Y35, W2, W4, W6, B01, B05)

Hello Fox!

It is official! I am absolutely in love with the new Lawn Fawn notecards and envelopes. Not only are the notecards in a gorgeous color combination, but they are made up of a thick cardstock and they can carry all the embellishment you can stick on them. The envelopes are just as amazing. They're thick 80lbs paper, but absolutely smooth and easy to handle. I've already ordered the notecards in every color, and I am still tempted to order more. The quality is just incredible!

I'm also in love with the fox trend. Cute foxes are everywhere, and it makes me happy to see them! They're always so playful and I'm really digging the orange fur. Such a bright and happy color to work with. This particular cutie is from Some Odd Girl, and he's just absolutely adorable!

After pairing up the notecard and the fox, the card came together very quickly. I cut out a journaling card with Lawn Fawn's stitched journaling die, then stamped a simple sentiment. I added some stars from a Christmas set in soft colors to add a bit more interest. Isn't it great when you can use stamps out of season?

Supplies:
Stamps: Some Odd Girl: Foxy, Jillibean Soup: Word Bubbles (sentiment), Simon Says Stamp: Merry Trees (stars)
Base: Lawn Fawn: Notecards in Mermaid
Cardstock: Bazzill Marshmallow (panel)
Die: Lawn Fawn: Stitched Journaling Card
Ink: Avery Elle pigment ink in Cherry Red (sentiment), Hero Arts Shadow ink in Soft Blossom, Soft Cantaloupe and Tide Pool
Copics (W2, W4, W6, Y35, YR15, YR68, R46)
Pens: Blue Sharpie, Sakura White Jellyroll Gel Pen

Mint Baby

This card... Oh, this card almost did not happen because this card was remade 4 times, and it's at least 90% different from my initial concept sketch. From coloring woes to glue issues to things being off-center, it was just not coming together. So, I took a step back and made something completely different. And I like it!

This card was inspired by Shari Carroll's new feature on the SSS blog: Color Coordinates. She covered Mint in one of the blog posts, and it made me think just how perfect of a hue that was for a gender-neutral baby card. So, I pulled up the tiny ray of sunshine stamp and got to work.

I paired the cool mint color with a warm gray/light brown from the Project Life : Baby paper pad. The paper flower from Prima's Sun Kissed: Bloom collection was the perfect touch to tie in the polka dots of the background and the mint. Finally, I added a few pearls to the right of the sentiment and it just pulled everything together.

Supplies:
Stamp: Simon Says Stamp: Tiny Ray Of Sunshine
Cardstock: Simon Says Stamp 100lbs cardstock in Mint
Paper: Becky Higgings Project Life: Baby Edition
Ink: Avery Elle pigment ink in Aquamarine
Flower: Prima Flowers Sun Kissed: Bloom
Copics
Pearls

Steampunk Kaylee (take 2)

Now that I have Copics and I'm madly, madly in love with coloring with them, I thought I would give coloring Steampunk Kaylee another try. My very first try is here, and it's using watercolor pencils. I still like the neat effect, but the way Copics are bright and saturated and so awesome just blows that first attempt out of the water!

The rest of the card is pretty simple. I chose browns and reds for the stamped image background. The green flower piece behind it is from one of the first paper pads I bought. Little naive me thought that I would only ever need that paper pad. Ha!

Supplies:
Stamp: Some Odd Girl: Steampunk Kaylee
Paper: K&Company: Best of K&Company pad, scraps from the scrap folder
Base: Neenah Desert Storm environmental cardstock
Copics

Hello Spring!

Despite the fact that we just had an ice storm today and some more snow coming as the week progresses, it really feels like spring is on the way. Every day, there's more and more birds chirping in our yard, and I even spied a bunny hopping across the yard today. I'm not looking forward to the allergies (and you will probably hear me complain about allergies as soon as the pollen count goes up), but I am eager to ditch the winter coat and enjoy some sunshine before the heat waves start to hit.

This card features a stamp by The Greeting Farm: Fleur Anya. I have several Anya stamps at the moment, and they're a fantastic way to practice coloring skin and hair. I wanted to really challenge myself this time, and I went with red hair. I'm pretty happy with the results, though I still feel like I need a lot more practice. So, expect more copic fun in the future!

Supplies:
Stamp: The Greeting Farm: Anya Fleur, Lawn Fawn: Milo's ABCs (sentiment)
Base: Bazzill Marshmallow
Paper: Lawn Fawn: Let's Polka (green polkadots), Neenah mini sampler pack (black bars), Studio Calico: Snippets (rainbow)
Pearls: Kaisercraft Scrapbook Pearls in red
Copics: Skin (E00, E11, E13, E15), Flowers (B000, BG1, BG7 ; V01, V12 V06), Dress (W2, W4, W6, C0 for blending), Hair (YR68, R29, R46, R59)

Happy Birthday (simple)

This card uses a bunch of brand new supplies from the Simon Says Stamp spring release.

It's a relatively simple card, and easy to replicate, but I think it sends quite a message. The best part is that with a simple cardstock color scheme change, it switches from feminine to masculine or neutral.

Supplies:
Cardstock: SSS Surf Blue (base), SSS Cotton Candy (pink panel), SSS White Woodgrain (face)
Stamp: Birthday Balloons
Ink: Memento Luxe in Tuxedo Black (sentiment), Mama Elephant Bubblegum Pigment Ink (stars)
Washi Tape: Kelly Purkey Washi Tape: Teal Polkadots, Recollections Washi Tape Pink Stripe
Black Pearls (Simon Says Stamp)

Spring Fairy

This was a relatively quick card, but I think it turned out kind of pretty. It's my way of saying "Hurry up, Spring!" I'm probably going to complain incessantly about my allergies once spring is actually here, but I can't wait to see more than just piles and piles of (what's now rather dirty) snow.

I'm still working on getting used to my Copics and coloring/blending, so you will probably see lots of character cards coming from me. This little fairy is a really great stamp set by Some Odd Girl, and I was lucky enough to win it in one of their giveaways.

Supplies:
Stamp: Fairy In Flight by Some Odd Girl
Base: Neenah Desert Storm cardstock
Paper: Bazzill Vellum 40LB, and some paper scraps I found in the back of the closet.
Flower: Prima Flowers Divine Collection
Embossing folder: Cuttlebug Swiss Dot
Copics

Boy Birthday

Lawn Fawn makes the cutest stamps, and their new spring release is no different. This particular card was made for my birthday boy (who happens to be turning 5). Since he loves anything "car", Happy Trails seemed like the perfect choice of stamp.

This set happens to have dies available, and I got them. But I haven't received them yet, so I simply fussy-cut the individual cards and camper van. I made use of my Copics and tries some new color blends. I used distress ink on the sky to soften the contrast a bit and added a stitch line to tie in the road and the edges of the card.

Supplies:
Stamp: Happy Trails by Lawn Fawn
Cardstock: Bazzill Jawbreaker (base), Bazzill Marshmallow (panel, sentiment panel), Bazzill Licorice (black frame)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento Luxe Bahama Blue (sentiment), Ranger Distress Inks in Broken China and Peacock Feathers
White Gel Pen
Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Squares

Lucy and Sprout Card

Under the Sea Mae is one of the Some Odd Girls sets I bought last month. It's probably one of my favorite sets, but I wanted to get a little more comfortable with Copics before attempting to use it.

So, here's my attempt. I think it turned out okay, overall. I love the orange/blue/green color combination, and I tried to do some texture coloring to emulate scales. I also love the amount of dimension I got with shading on Sprout (what I named the seahorse).I still need to practice coloring hair. I think that one is probably the toughest one to master - or maybe I just need to use different color combinations.

I decided to keep the rest of the card pretty simple. Some patterned paper from Fancy Pants and a couple of sequins add an extra touch of color. The panel under Lucy (what I named the mermaid) looked too bright when it was pure white, so I used some distress inks to age it.

The last step was using some pearls. They kind of look like bubbles, don't they? 

Supplies:
Stamp - Under the Sea Mae by Some Odd Girl
Base - Bazzill Java Orange Peel Card stock
Paper - Fancy Pants Down By The Shore 6x6; Neenah Solar White 80lbs (for panel under the mermaid)
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink in Antique Linen, and in Vintage Photo
Sequins - Lawn Fawn Into The Woods lawn trimmings
Pearls - Melissa Frances Cream Pearls