copic coloring

My Monthly Hero February 2019 Blog Hop+Giveaway!

February 4, 2019

Good morning! Today is the first Monday of the month, so that means that we have the first My Monthly Hero blog hop for the new year! This month’s kit is just plain fun, featuring a unique Art Deco theme, and an absolutely gorgeous cover plate die included in the kit itself, along with lots of fun add-ons. You should have arrived from Caly Person’s blog and your next stop is Ilina Crouse’s blog.

The main kit this month features a large 6×8 stamp set full of fabulous stylized images from the 1920’s, coordinating frame cuts, an absolutely stunning Art Deco cover plate die, and some fun embellishment options, including some utterly fabulous gold and silver foil papers!

The add-ons this month are particularly great, too, and I’ll have a post later this month with some fun things that you can do with them!! These kits frequently sell out, and once they’re gone, they’re gone… so don’t wait and miss out! You can also subscribe to make sure that you get first dibs every month. The kits will begin shipping from the warehouse on Friday, February 8th.

Today, I kept my project fairly easy, with some Copic coloring, some blending, and some heat embossing. Let’s get started with the details!

I began by stamping some of the fabulous images included in the main kit: the silhouette of the beautiful flapper and super fun sentiment, flanked on the top and bottom by the sunburst image to help add some interest and balance. I eyeballed it, but you could use a T-square if you were really wanting to be precise. 😉 I stamped them with Versafine and heat embossed with clear embossing powder to really make those black lines stand out. I then used Copic markers to color in the details using a coral and pistachio color scheme that screamed 1920’s to me.

Copic colors used: R20, R21, R22, E000, E00, E23, YG61, G46, G94, N1, N3, 0

After I had finished coloring the image from the February My Monthly Hero kit, I trimmed it down to a long rectangle, then mounted it on a very slightly larger panel of black card stock.

For the background, I chose to heat emboss the new Deco Flourish Bold Prints using Silver Pearl embossing powder on some plain white card stock. I then used the Picket Fence Studios Life Changing Blending Brushes to blend some Fresh Peach ink around the edge to coordinate with the peach sash on her dramatic and gorgeous chapeau. Finally, I mounted the black-matted Copic panel with some foam adhesive to add some extra dimension!

Now, for some fun giveaway information! Hero Arts is giving away one kit to a lucky commenter (and if you’ve already purchased one, they will reimburse you!). All you have to do to be eligible is leave a comment on each stop on the blog hop. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! Here’s the full lineup in case you got lost:

The Hero Arts Blog Caly Person Emily Midgett Ilina Crouse Janette Kausen Jessica Frost-Ballas Michelle Short Nichol Spohr Yana Smakula Amy Kolling Debi Adams Jennifer McGuire Julee Tilman Laurie Willison Lydia Fiedler Libby Hickson

Thank you for stopping by, and have a marvelous Monday!

12 Feminine Tags of Christmas, Concord and 9th Style!

December 8, 2018

Good morning! I am super excited to be taking part in Ellen Hutson’s annual 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist. Each year, Ellen’s team and some fantastic guests team up to create 12 days of tag inspiration for you. My favorite part? Embracing all things girly. It seemed only fitting to create some floral tags for today’s Concord and 9th tag inspiration! I’m teaming up with the fabulous Sharon Harnist to give you some flowery holiday tag inspiration! Read all the way to the end to find out the different ways you can win your own shopping spree to Ellen Hutson!

I have two tags for you today, one simply stamped tag and one that’s a bit more involved, for one of those super special gifts. 😉 Let’s get started with the details!

For the “simple” tag, I wanted to do just some plain old stamping and die cutting, no fancy techniques required. Tags are the kind of thing that make the gift so pretty, but get thrown away in the hustle of cleaning up. I started by die cutting the Holiday Cheer Tags from plain white card stock, then stamping some of the pretty foliage and flowers from Ornamental from Concord and 9th using a pretty, uber feminine combination of hot pink, purple, and gray. I stamped the greeting from Merry and Bright on the outer sleeve of the tag, and added some pretty silvery twine to finish it off. Easy peasy, and it won’t hurt (too much) if and when it gets tossed in the trash!

For my second project, I wanted to do something a bit more involved, but with the same color scheme. I absolutely adore the large ornament image from Concord and 9th’s Ornamental stamp set, and I’ve used it several times in other projects… today, I wanted to try some no-line coloring, this time using Copic markers. I began by die cutting the large ornament using the coordinating Ornamental dies, then stamped the image using Ink On 3 Fadeout Ink. I also heat embossed the coordinating “merry and bright” sentiment from Ornamental using Platinum embossing powder.

I colored the images in a beautiful (and feminine) color palette of deep magentas, plummy purples, and grays. (All of the colors will be listed at the end.) I love that it really looks like I drew the images with my own hands with the no-line coloring method! Plus, this color palette…. swoon!!! I die cut another ornament and added some foam tape to the top, leaving a thin line in the middle through which I could loop some more silvery twine.

Well, that’s all for my project! For more floral inspiration, check out Sharon’s blog.

Now, for some fun giveaway information! Ellen Hutson is giving away a $25 gift certificate to one random commenter throughout the 12 Feminine Tags of Christmas celebration. Be sure to leave comments on each blog post (both Ellen Hutson’s blog posts for each day and the artists’ posts!) for the most chances to win! You can also enter your own tag here to be entered into a $150 (!!!!) gift certificate giveaway to the Ellen Hutson store! (Talk about a generous giveaway!).

Be sure to come visit again tomorrow, because the new Ellen Hutson December release will be live! I have two projects to share with you! 😉 Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous weekend!

The holidays are a-coming!

September 2, 2018

Good morning! It’s officially September… I am beginning to feel the holiday card crunch. It might be 90* and swelteringly humid outside, but the holiday cards won’t make themselves! I have a sweet, wintry project for you today using some of the adorable new Lawn Fawn release that is now available at Ellen Hutson!

I absolutely adore the new Winter Skies stamp set from the most recent Lawn Fawn release. The little hugging bears made me so happy. I stamped the bears using Copic-friendly black ink on some white card stock, then colored the image using Copic markers- B05, 06, 37; T0, 1, 2, 3, and Colorless Blender.

To create the wintry background, I used the snowflake printed card stock from Really Rainbow Christmas. I die cut the Small Stitched Snowflakes from some silver glitter paper, then adhered them randomly across the card front using liquid adhesive. I fussy cut the bears, then stamped the holiday greeting on a strip of card stock. I adhered the bears and greeting to the snowflake panel with foam adhesive.

I added some strips of glitter paper and bright blue card stock at the top and bottom to help tie all of the colors together.

Well, that’s all for me today! I hope this helps inspire your holiday cardmaking! If you haven’t already, go check out the new release from Lawn Fawn, now available at Ellen Hutson! Thanks for stopping by, and have a marvelous day!

Birds and Butterflies…

September 1, 2018

Good morning! Happy Saturday. I was given the opportunity to play with the gorgeous new Wplus9 release (thanks, Dawn!), and I have a few cards to share with you today!

One of the new sets released yesterday is just lovely. It’s called Beautiful Butterflies and it’s a smaller set, with some pretty butterfly images and a fantastic sentiment. I began by die cutting a couple of the butterflies and stamping them with Copic-friendly ink, then coloring them with some cool pinks, purples, and blues. I also covered them liberally with some Spectrum Noir Shimmer pen to add lots of sparkle.

I stamped and die cut the greeting in black using the coordinating dies. For the background, I die cut one of the Tossed Floral Background Dies from some white card stock, then mounted it on a white card base to create subtle texture. I adhered the greeting strips and die cuts using foam adhesive, then adhered the sparkly butterflies, curving their wings up a bit for added dimension.

Copics used: RV17, 63; V05; B63, 66; T10

For my second project, I was still in a white-on-white kinda mood, so I used the absolutely gorgeous new Hello and Thanks stamps and dies (which are on a sale in a bundle in limited quantities!) to add pops of pretty color on that bright white card front. I used an older cover plate die from Wplus9 called the Lattice Frame. This is one of my favorite standalone dies from Wplus9… It’s perfect to add just a bit of texture and interest to the background of your card front.

I die cut the Lattice Frame die from white card stock, then layered it on a white card front using foam tape to help enhance the texture created with the white-on-white die cuts. I then began work on the flowers and other little bits from the new Hello and Thanks set. I die cut the floral images, teacup, and some birds, then stamped them with Copic-friendly ink. I then colored them using purple, mauve, and blue Copics. I love that these flowers leave some of the details to your own personal interpretation. They’re not so intricate that you have to follow the guidelines of the artist when doing your shading; you can add your own personal style on how to best add depth to the images.

Copics used: BV02, 04, 13; V05, 06, 09, 12, 15, 17; BG09, 13, 32, 34, 49, 57; B63, 66, 69; T7

After coloring all of the images with Copic markers, I worked on my arrangement. I determined placement of all of the flowers, teacup, and the bird, then used some Press’n’Seal to pick them up while still in my carefully-arranged cluster. I added foam adhesive to the back while still attached to the Press’n’Seal, then adhered them to the card front.

I stamped and die cut a greeting from Hello and Thanks, then added it to the card front, finally adding a smattering of jewels to finish the card off and add some sparkle.

Well, that’s all for me today! I am in love with this new release from Wplus9…. I can’t wait to get watercoloring those Sunflowers and the new Butterfly Mandala set. There just aren’t enough hours in the day! Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a marvelous holiday weekend!

Honey Bee Stamps Bee Bold Release Blog Hop!

August 4, 2018

Good morning! Have you enjoyed all of the release festivities for this week’s Bee Bold release? So many fantastic new products! You should have arrived from Bibi Cameron’s blog and your next stop is Brenda Noelke’s blog. I have two cards for today’s Blog Hop, so let’s get started!

For my first project, I used the Chin Up Buttercup stamp set to create this completely flat card. (Cards that are easy to mail make life easier.) I stamped the buttercups first using Copic-friendly black ink all around the edge of the card, then used my Copic markers to color the images. I added my sentiment using Versafine ink and did some clear heat embossing. I find the addition of the clear embossing really makes the sentiment pop over the coloring.

For my second card, I wanted to use the darling little Warm Wishes stamp and die set to create a winter card. I began by die cutting and stamping the cute little fox (isn’t that little argyle sweater just precious?!) using Copic-friendly black ink, then coloring with my Copic markers. I also die cut and stamped the coordinating sentiment from the stamp set onto plain white card stock.

For the background, I die cut a hexagon from some dark blue card stock, then added some white stamped snowflakes and used the same white pigment ink to blend around the top half of the hexagon. I die cut some snowdrifts and added all of the die cuts to the card front using both dimensional and foam adhesive.

I added some sparkle with some Jack Frost sequins and some Fresh Snowfall Nuvo Glitter Drops.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Now for some giveaway information…

HoneyBee stamps is giving away TWO $50 gift certificates. All that you need to do is comment on each blog in the blog hop. The winner will be announced on August 10 here. Here’s the rest of the lineup in case you got lost:

Emily Midgett <— you are here!

Brenda Noelke

Kaja Vezensek

Melissa Bickford

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