Duck Fishing

Anything goes this week over at The Outlawz, Twisted Thursday. So, no excuses not to join us! This sweet image is from Little Miss Muffett, Swings 'n Slides Hooked, and is colored with Copic Markers. I made this card at a class I took with Jenn Dove. I am so lucky to live near her and be able to take her classes. She showed us how to make those pond reeds using toothpicks and glass beads. I'm also signed up for another class, Copic Coloring Series Workshop: Dress for Success – Clothing & Accessories next month. One can never learn too much!

Shared with:
613 Avenue Create
Through the Craft Room Door
Scribble and Scrap
Crafting from the Heart

Rainy Day Teddy Bear

This cute little stamp is called Rainy Day Teddy Bear Rubber Stamp from Darcies. I used my Spectrum Noirs and some Wink of Stella, fussy cut the bear and added to pink cardstock and fussy cut a second time. I had some nice rain drop paper to use for the background. I used a Hero Arts stamp for the geometric designs and die cut the little hearts, backed them with pink paper, and filled with Glossy Accents. The teddy bear was added with foam squares. I tied a yellow bow on the ribbon and added three red buttons to match the bear's buttons on his rain coat and made some more raindrops with Glossy Accents..

Spectrum Noir Colors Used

Shared with:
Quirky Crafts Challenges
The Diva's that Cut
Party Time Tuesdays
Through The Craft Room Door

Favorites and Choices

It's always fun to make cards using your favorites. Be it a favorite stamp, papers, embellishments, type of fold, color, and so on. Sometimes, trying to pick a favorite is difficult for me as I love it all. Even my favorite color can change from day to day. So, this week's twist over at The Outlawz Twisted Thursday was a bit of a challenge for me. A "favorite!"

Red is usually my favorite color (sometimes lavender, sometimes yellow, but never green), and my favorite paper is polka dotted (sometimes floral, steampunk, textured). I love to use diecuts, and eyelets, and layers.......Sigh, so you can see how difficult this was for me LOL! This little sweetie was colored with Copics.

Please do join us in this really easy (unless you're like me with too many favorites) challenge!

Shared with:
Scribble and Scrap
Through The Craft Room Door
613 Avenue Create
Party Time Tuesdays
Crafting From The Heart

Three Little House Mouse Mice

Three of something. That is this week's optional twist on The Outlawz Twisted Thursday. Who could resist three cute little mice from Stampendous? Head on over to see more projects with three and enter one yourself for a chance to win a nifty prize!

Easel Card

Side View

Ready for Mailing

These were all colored with Copic markers during a class I took with Jenn Dove.

Also shared with:
Gruffies & Guests
House-Mouse & Friends
Party Time Tuesdays
Scribble and Scrap

Spectrum Noir Coloring Tutorial of Daisy Thanks

Today's tutorial will guide you through coloring this pretty little flower set from Stampendous, called Daisy Thanks, using Spectrum Noir markers.

Flowers are quite forgiving, so they are wonderful for beginners as well as advanced colorists. Look at some in your garden or pull up some images from the Internet and you will see that the colors vary greatly in just one variety. So, we will not worry about perfection. Just enjoy the simple joy of coloring.

First, select a flower stamp, or draw a simple flower of your own. Stamp or draw it on good marker paper. I used Neenah cardstock.









Always place a piece of plain paper under your work as it helps keep the marker from spreading out beyond the line. (Sometimes LOL!)

Colors Used

Choose your light source so that you can decide where your light and dark colors should be. Begin filling a small area with your lightest color. Be sure to saturate the area. You need the area wet as markers blend better when they are really wet. That's why we don't color too large an area at a time.

Next, add your darkest marker to the shaded areas of your flower. Apply with outward flicking motion.

Continue to move outward to the lightest areas of the flower with your mid-tone marker. Then back to the lightest. I like to go light, dark, medium then light. If you are not completely satisfied with the look, repeat from dark to light until you are. You can continue to add layers and make adjustments as you like.


















I used only two colors for the stem since you really don't see much of it. First, put down the lightest and then add some darker in the shadows and add the light again to blend.

I just tapped the edges of the center of the flower with a dark color before beginning to fill in the center.

Again, lightest all over center, add darkest to the outer bottom edge and begin blending with the mid-tone and finally back to the lightest. Repeat until you are pleased.

When blending, make a light pass over the previous color and then continue blending away from the darker color into a lighter area.















When you are finished. Take out your blender and hold it gently over any marker marks that have escaped the lines to remove them. Wipe the color off on a clean piece of paper. Wait for it to dry and repeat until the "mistake" is either gone or too light to notice.

If you have too much marker that went over the lines, you can always "fussy" cut out your image and then adhere it to your project.

I used gray to add a base to the flowers and to add shading to the right hand side.  The finished piece was mounted to brown cardstock and layered with more papers, ribbon, and burlap flowers with colored dots attached. the sentiment came from the same kit. You could use an image like this to make a card, but it also would be fun to add to an art journal or larger as a piece of art to hang on your wall.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Let me know if you have any questions about the process. I love reading comments, so say hello!

Texture and a Lighthouse

Twisted Thursday has the usual "anything goes" with the optional twist being "texture". This is my DT entry. Colored with Copics, some burlap and some chunky glitter added.

Also shared with:
Through the Craft Room Door
613 Avenue Create
Creative Fingers

Elephant and Bird Friends

March's Progressive Challenge is now up over at The Outlawz. Each month we get a free image to play with, and if we play, then we get a new one for the next month. Please do join in on the fun. This month, the image is "elephant and bird" courtesy of Gerda Steiner.

I added some texture to the elephant with some Copic blending solution on a terrycloth scrap. I fussy cut part of the trunk, bird and balloon. I used a wide piece of ribbon and then  I reattached  the balloon with a bit of yarn, and popped up the image. Then, some Wink of Stella, flowers, Distress Inks edges and a small sentiment were added.

Copic Colors Used

Also shared with:
Scribble and Scrap
Party Time Tuesdays
Crafting From the Heart