Gorjuss - Sweet

It's gearing up to be another busy work week for me, so I've got a bunch of quick card shares lined up for the week. Apologies in advance if my posts are a bit more brief than usual.

Today's share features a Gorjuss Girl Mini - I Found My Family in a Book. I also made good use of some frames and ephemera floating around my desk -- and, of course, enamel shapes.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Hello!

Docrafts Gorjuss - I Gave You My Heart, Pink Paislee- Switchboard Chipboard stickers, Copics, enamel dots, patterned paper

 I'm hitting another busy patch at work (and life in general!), so I thought I would pop in with a quick update and a card share. I've actually got a whole pile of finished cards to share, but I haven't had a chance to take any pictures yet. I'm hoping to snag a minute a bit later this week to do so.

I hope you're all having a great week!
Thanks for reading,
~Elle~

Gorjuss: Tea

Today, I'm sharing a card with another Gorjuss stamp I recently got -- Sweet Tea. This time, I decided to pair up the coloring-I-have-figured-out with a more modern background print, and I like how it turned out!

I stamped the girl in brown hybrid ink, then colored her in with Copics. I went with happy tones, keeping the image pretty light. I carefully cut around the image, leaving a small white border. I grabbed a kraft card base and adhered a piece of patterned paper to it. I added the girl on some foam squares, then scattered a few enamel dots as decoration.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Hush Little Bunny

If you've read my blog for a while, you might have seen a few Gorjuss cards here and there. I've tried using Copics, watercolor and Prismacolor pencils. I've done simple background, complicated layers and a ton of different embellishments. And I was not too happy with any of them. I actually only shared a very small portion of the Gorjuss cards I've created because the rest of them just fell short of decent, even.

But I have a pretty hefty collection of Gorjuss stamps now (including a couple from the newest release), and I really want to use them. They've got a lovely style and the stamp quality and price is awesome. So, I just had to find a way to make the stamps work with my existing supplies and my current style.

And I think this card is it. It's the first card that I'm completely happy with -- from the coloring on the girl, to the background and the embellishments. I'm happy, and that makes me feel even more motivated to keep going with other Gorjuss stamps (yes, expect to see a few more cards!).

For this card, I used Hush Little Bunny, which is one of the newest Gorjuss releases. I colored her in with Copics, going for lighter and more desaturated colors (RV00, V91, V95 for the dress, for example), then I added a darker hair and bright red accessories. After I finished coloring her in, I carefully fussy-cut her with a pair of scissors and set her aside.

For my background, I wanted to go completely neutral, so I went with a gray patterned paper. This paper had a very subtle texture to it, which gave it a slightly distressed look. I stamped a few lines for some extra interest in light gray, then created a ground for the girl to stand on. I adhered the girl with my standard adhesive.

I kept the sentiment simple, stamping it in black onto a small ribbon-shaped strip. I used my Copcis to color in the strip a little, so it would better match the texture on the patterned paper.

I added lots of embellishments - some sequins, enamel dots and 3 resin roses I recently purchased.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Unhappy Little Bunny

Let me start out by saying that I'm really unhappy with this card. So unhappy, in fact, that I almost dropped this card straight into the trash without a second thought. But not all cards can be winners, and I think it's important to sometimes share the misses as well as the winners. We're not always perfect at crafting. And so, despite my reticence, I'm sharing this card.

For this card, I decided to use one of the Gorjuss stamps - I Love You Little Rabbit. It's a sweet little stamp and it features an adorable bunny. I wanted to go with sweet coloring again, so I chose warm colors.

I also tried out a new product I bought just recently - Yasumoto Pearlescent Watercolors. I thought it might be fun to have some shimmery watercolor that catches the light, while at the same time giving that wonderful watercolor look. The good news is that the colors really do cast a subtle shimmer. It's not as sparkly as Wink of Stella, but it does shine if you tilt the card a bit. So, for the price, it's worth it. The colors in it are also pretty nice, including a wonderful warm brown I used on the bunny.

However, you have to be pretty careful not to go outside of the lines, because the shimmer will show and the mistakes will be very obvious.

And that's where my dislike for the card comes. I did the coloring on this card at night, and everything seemed ok. But I guess my light was off because when I looked at the front of the card in the morning, I noticed all sorts of yucky color bleeding. I seemed to have colored outside the lines quite a bit, including on the girl's face.

So, count me as one UN-happy camper. I was so unhappy with the coloring mistakes that I didn't even bother adding the embellishments I was planning on.

I'll have to try coloring this stamp set again and do a better job of coloring.

Lesson learned, though! No more watercolor at night. :D

Watercolor Ruby

Today's card was inspired by my friend Kylie. She recently posted two wonderful cards that use the Ruby stamp from Gorjuss. Since I recently got that stamp set, I figured I should play with it too! So, here's my card. :)

I started by stamping the stamp onto a piece of Tim Holtz distress watercolor paper. I taped it down with painters' tape so it wouldn't warp too much - and also because it leaves a lovely white border around the card.

I colored the image with my distress markers and water.  My method is to scribble the marker onto a flat plastic palette, then use a wet brush to pick up the color. I prefer this method over using an acrylic block because it keeps the mess contained, and gives me several compartments for the different colors. Plus, the white makes it easier to see some of the lighter/more subtle colors.

I started by coloring the skin. I used Tattered Rose to quickly color in the skin, and used Worn Lipstick for a bit of blush on her cheeks. After the skin was completely dry, I used some Vintage Photo to put a bit of shadow under her bangs.

For her dress and shoes, I first did a light wash of Evergreen Bough, then brought in some Peacock Feathers to deepen the shadows. While that was drying, I colored in her hair. I started with a wash of Squeezed Lemonade across the entire hair. I then brought in Wild Honey around where the shadows would hit and let it dry. Lastly, I used some Brushed Corduroy in just a few areas where the shadows would be the darkest.

I moved onto the kitten. I used a combination of Squeezed Lemonade and Spiced Marmalade to get a base coat. Once that was dry, I drew in the kitten's stripes with the Spiced Marmalade marker. I softened it a bit by brushing over it with a bit of water.

I finished up with her tights and the swing. After the girl was dry, I created the background by mixing several light washes of color - pinks, purples and blues. Lastly, I loaded the brush with color and flicked it over the picture for some spatters.

Once the entire panel was dry, I peeled off the painters' tape and trimmed the watercolor paper to measure 4 by 5 1/4". I created the card base from Simon Says Stamp's Blue Violet cardstock by cutting and scoring it in half for a standard A2 top-folding card. I adhered the watercolor panel to the card base using lots and lots of foam tape.

Supplies:
Gorjuss' Ruby stamp
Fiskars Compact Stamping Press
Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Paper
Painters' Tape
Distress markers (Tattered Rose, Worn Lipstick, Vintage Photo, Evergreen Bough, Peacock Feathers, Squeezed Lemonade, Wild Honey, Brushed Corduroy, Spiced Marmalade, Gathered Twigs, Weathered Wood, Ripe Persimmon, Salty Ocean, Dusty Concord, Seedless Preserves, Tumbled Glass)
3M Scotch Double-Sided Foam Tape
Simon Says Stamp Heavyweight 100#lbs Cardstock in Blue Violet

Fox Hello

This card was a result of a bout of insomnia. It was too hot, and I just couldn't fall asleep, so I made a card.

I started with the Gorjuss The Fox stamp set and Copics. I recently got a bunch of new Copic colors, including the color E08 - which is labelled "Brown", but it looks more reddish to me. I thought it would make an interesting hair color. I stamped the girl and the two foxes on some Copic marker paper. I colored in the skin first, then the reddish brown hair. From there, I chose a teal for her dress and a more yellow orange for the tail and the foxes.After they were colored, I carefully cut them out with my scissors.

I looked through a few paper pads, and found Simple Stories: Say Cheese. It had some great patterns and a starry paper that had a mustard-like tone. Since it echoed the stars on the girl's dress, I thought it was the perfect background to use.

I created the base from navy cardstock, then cut a piece of deep orange cardstock to measure 3 3/4 by 5". I cut the patterned paper to measure 3 1/2 by 4 3/4, and adhered them together. After adhering the girl and the foxes, I realized there wasn't a whole lot of room left over for a sentiment, so I die-cut a small "hello" from the navy cardstock.

Lastly, I added a few strips of washi tape for an extra touch of color.

Supplies:
Gorjuss The Fox stamp set
MFT Hybrid Ink in Black licorice
Simon Says Stamp Heavyweight 100#lbs cardstock in Soft Navy and Burnt Orange
Simon Says Stamp small hello die
Copics: Skin (E00, E11, E13, R20), Hair (E08, E37, E59), Dress/boots (Y11, BG11, BG23, BG34, BG18), Socks (C2, E44, E27), Fox (Y13, Y35, YR14, YR68)
Kelly Purkey Teal Polkadots washi tape
Freckled Fawn washi tape