I'm the Guest Designer over on the TAC Savvy Blog today!

Happy almost Friday!  First off, I would like to thank Mischelle & The Angel Company for asking me to be a part of this fun & excitement-building month of stampiness  { that would be "happiness" with stamps ;) }  You should definitely bookmark the TAC Savvy Blog... there is a lot of February Fabulousness going on over there!

Disclaimer:  this is one LONG freakin' post... so get comfy :)

Today I will be showcasing the stamp set Sunshine.  And I know what you are thinking... 

 ... yeah, right... The Mistress of the Macabre will be working with a sunflower and a happy sentiment?!

{insert loud thud here}

I'll wait for you to pull yourself up off the floor & back into your chair...

...

...

...

Hi!  Welcome back, and yes!  It's true :)  The moment I saw this set I loved it.  And the first time I colored one of the images, I loved it even more!  These particular images lend themselves to be easily used with a large range of coloring media... and you know I loves to color ;)  So today I'm showing you how the same image looks using three different coloring techniques.

First up, the good ol' standby:

Prismacolor pencils and mineral oil 

blended with artist blending stumps

I ACTUALLY made a video of this technique and edited it... but even after cutting it down (and very choppy, by the way) it is still like 9 minutes long.  Oi.  Me thinks no one has THAT much patience to watch a technique video, so I didn't upload it :)

When I color with Prismas & MO, I tend to work dark to light... similar to when I color with Copic markers.  I make sure that I leave some white areas so that I can just swipe over them to wash them with a bit of color to create natural color highlights.  This is a more realistic highlight rather than just leaving an area completely white.  Sometimes I also use the white Prisma to further blend... this particular pencil doesn't give you an "in-your-face" wash of white, but instead is very subtle.

Supplies:  Sunshine, Premium White cardstock, Noir Palette ink, Prismacolor pencils, mineral oil, blending stumps, Scor-Buddy & Scor-Bug

Pencil colors used:  Mineral Orange, Goldenrod, Yellow Ochre, Light Umber, Jasmine, White (petals)

Dark Umber, Dark Brown, Tuscan Red, Light Umber, Goldenrod (center)

Kelp Green, Olive Green, White (leaves)

Next up:

Lyra Aquacolor Crayons and the Niji Waterbrush

When I hosted my very first FunShop before becoming an Angel with TAC, these Aquacolors were my first half-price item :)  Love love LOVE them.  And the Waterbrush makes life so easy.  These two items together make you feel like you can be an artist... silly, I know... but it's true.

Notice that this image is much lighter... in color and in the feeling of it overall.  It is much more blended, but the depth is also more subtle.

When using watercolors, you can use a wet-on-wet technique for subtle shading or transparency, or wait for the colors to dry between applications for a bolder & more opaque look.  I used both of these techniques here.  Again, I worked from dark to light, and used similar shading/highlighting nuances as when using Prismacolors with MO.

What I like most about Aquacolors, is that you truly have a limitless color palette.  You can mix so many colors, add black to make it darker, add water to lighten... on and on.  And BONUS... you can color directly to rubber stamps, mist with water, and stamp your image to create a wonderful watercolor silhouette.

Did you know you can remove watercolor paint from paper?  Simply empty your brush of all pigment and wet the area you want to whiten, lifting off the color from the paper & swiping it off on a towel.  This may take several passes, and you want to be careful of over-saturating your paper, but it works.

Supplies:  Sunshine, Swooping Sentiments, Sands of Time paper, Premium White cardstock, Burnt Umber, Landscape & Noir Palette inks, Lyra Aquacolor crayons, Niji Waterbrush, Willoughby ribbon, Pop Dots, & a hole punch.

Aquacolors:  13082, 13083, 13084, 13004 (petals); 13075, 13092, 13076, 13080, 13083 (center); 13074, 13068, 13070 (leaves)

Ok kids.  The last technique covered today:

Copic Markers

Yeah... you knew that one was coming :)  I'll admit it.  I was one of those people that said I would NEVER get into Copics because they are too expensive... and they're "just markers".  I've been eating crow ever since.  I'm hooked.  Let me put it into perspective for you:  I used to be a craft store clearance aisle girl.  I would buy all of this sale stuff thinking that I'd eventually make some cool altered items for gifts, etc.  Ya' wanna know where all that stuff is now?  Yep, on my shelves gathering dust or in the boxes marked for the garage sale :)  

This is what I do now:  I still fill my cart with those sale items, but then I count up how much money I would spend on, let's face it, junk.  I then figure out how many Copics that would buy, and I put it all back.  I save that amount of money and put it toward buying more markers.  :)

Yes... yes I do.

Ok, enough story time...  onto the last bit of coloring goodness for today  :)

As you've gathered from reading THE FREAKIN' NOVEL that I just wrote above, I'm one of those people that color dark to light when using Copics.  I think I use less ink in the long run, and I don't worry about over-saturating my paper (which then leads to ink bleeding outside the image).  If you compare the three sunflowers showcased, you'll notice that this one is by far the boldest & richest in color, detailed yet blended, and the most realistic (in my opinion).  I'm sure that the card details (lace, pearls, etc.) help in swaying my mind, but if you focus on just the flower itself in each instance, you can see what I'm sayin' :)

I used a stippling (dots) technique for the center, feathering (flicked lines) technique for the petals, and the usual blended circle motion for the leaves.

Supplies:  Sunshine, Caboodle White cardstock, kraft cardstock, Emma papers, Memento Tuxedo ink, Burnt Umber Palette ink, Willoughby ribbon, misc. lace, Pearl gems, & Pop Dots.

Copics:  YR24, YR23, YR21 (petals); E59, E29, E09, E25, E35, 0, YR23 (center); G99, G94, G82, 0 (leaves)

So if you made it all the way to here without getting too bored, I thank you!!  :)  I will continue to see if I can figure out the whole video-tutorial thing, and if I do I will post it on my main blog, FosterDesignHouse.  I plan on making tutorials for many more techniques, so you may want to check back :)  And be sure to come back to the Savvy blog for more February Fabulous-ness all month long!

 ****edited to add:  I FINALLY got the Prismacolor blending video uploaded to YouTube... and it's a long one :)  You can view it below or HERE on YouTube.

What do you think?

A Little Love 4 the Road Tin

I thought I'd share another little Paper Wings design team project I created a couple of months ago:

This one is for THE MAN in your life… and I don’t mean that in a bad way :) Many of us have husbands or boyfriends {or both :) … just kidding} that have to travel for business. This little tin-of-love is perfect to hide in his travel case or briefcase to let him know that he is loved and missed while away.


Materials for outside:
Stamps: Trendy Greetings, Love Doodles (retired)
Paper: Rustic Chic, Kraft & UltraSmooth White cardstocks
Ink: VersaMark, Turquoise Gem VersaMagic, & Burnt Umber Palette
Other: Empty Godiva Chocolate Pearls Tin (the best part is emptying this), Essential Elements (tab & square bookplate), 6”+/- length of twine, journaling pen, sanding block


Materials for inside:
Stamps: Creative Inspiration, This Boy, Life is Short, Life Thoughts, Family is Forever, You Nique (retired), or any ‘lovey-dovey’ sentiments :)
Paper: (6) or more 3” x 1-1/4” strips of Kraft & Naturals cardstocks (this tin would easily hold 20 of these!), scraps of Rustic Chic in varying sizes
Ink: Champagne Dazzle VersaMark & Burnt Umber Palette


Instructions for outside:
Adhere Rustic Chic paper to outside and distress with sanding block. You’ll have to do a little trial-n-error trimming for the lid, but it’s not bad! Adhere Kraft strip toward bottom as shown. Set aside.

Cover bookplate with paper and edge with BU ink (Walnut Ink works great for this as well!). Stamp heart square onto square of Kraft using VersaMark. Overstamp “Love” and “Note” in Burnt Umber.

Adhere Kraft square to the back of the bookplate and adhere bookplate to Kraft strip as shown (leave top left corner free of adhesive). Edge tab & 1/2" Kraft circle with BU ink. Edge white circle with Turquoise ink and layer on top of tab.

Write “for the road…” atop Kraft circle and layer just slightly off of white circle as shown. Apply small bit of glue to back of tab and tuck behind bookplate. Run twine around tin and through holes in bookplate and knot. Trim and rough up twine ends. Outside is done!


Instructions for inside:
Stamp sentiments, hearts, dots, etc. onto Kraft mini-cards. Vary the locations of the images so that you can apply scraps of Rustic Chic in different areas of the cards as shown.

Option: attach small index photos of you and your family to the back of the mini-cards so The Man can see his family while he’s away!!

Your turn! Get out those mini-tins and start making-with-the-love :)

What do you think?

A little sad, and a little happy... Uptown Girl Flower Tin

With all of the cut-backs going on at the office, I am hoping to use my additional time to create more, be a better blogger, and organize my house. Too much wishful thinking? Let us hope not! I am trying to be positive, and my friends and fellow Angels are so supportive... thanks to all of you (you know who you are!!)! You guys make it very difficult to be negative, as is my nature. :)

Ok... now the fun stuff! This little beauty was created a few months ago for a Winger assignment. Once again, it uses Uptown Girl paper (love that stuff). It also showcases my 6-to-5 petal flower punch tutorial really well!

Stamps: Forever Family (50% OFF!!!)
Paper: Uptown Girl, Bazzill Mono-pinks, White UltraSmooth & Black Cardstock Strips
Ink: VersaMark heat embossed w/ black EP, Noir Palette
Other: Marvy Super Jumbo Flower Punch, Marvy Extra Jumbo Flower Punch, Bazzill Bitty Blossom, tin from Michael's, misc. ribbons, hydra sponge, Pop Dots

I see this little baby sitting atop a little girl's dresser to house her tiny treasures, bits & baubles :) Or, on my shelf in my studio to house my tiny treasures, bits & baubles :) I know... I'm such a dork.

What do you think?

Boo Tri-fold paper bag tutorial... and a challenge!!

This month, it was my turn to teach a make-n-take for the Gardner Stamp Club that meets at the library. Patti wanted to do the Fold Over Treat Envelope that is in the back of the TAC catty [though she doesn't remember saying that... silly Patti!], so I chose to do a Christmas version. It's a wonderful little project that I'll be sharing with you in another post, but I needed the back-story for this post.

[can I get any wordier?... like you care about the back-story...]

Anyhoo, the treat envie only uses the top portion of a lunch sack, so I had a ton of these 'bag butts' left over and they really wanted to become something wonderful.

[wouldn't you want to if you were referred to as a butt?]... I digress...

Here's how I created my Boo Tri-fold Bag Card:

I lightly stippled Burnt Umber Palette ink around all of the edges and distressed the edges of the cardstock & DP (except for the inside piece, which I fixed on another one that I made!). I also stamped the paint splotches from So Splattered (retired) using B.U. I stamped the house image from Halloween Town in Coffee Bean Brilliance onto a square of green Penelope cardstock & sponged the edges w/ Hydrangea & Eggplant VersaMagic inks. I added a little color pencil to the windows & door and I then spritzed the square with Olive Glimmer Mist... OMG... freakin' awesome stuff! My friend, Cindy, had given me this for Christmas last year and I just now used it... WTH? None of the photos capture the true awesomeness of this stuff... you'll just have to trust me ;)... I sped up the drying time with my heat gun (so impatient) and then edged the window panes, part of the roof & tree, and the birds w/ a Stardust Glitter Pen (you know, to look like the moon is shining on it). Added a chipboard tag from TAC's Essential Elements, after grunging it up a bit & stamping the Boo!, with some Scrapper's Floss & tied it to some purple ribbon I had in my stash.

Inside, I stamped the skull from Halloween Town, in the same two purple VersaMagic colors above, onto the green Penelope cardstock and then layered it (sorta) onto an orange Penelope CS. Highlighted a bit with the glitter pen again!

And then on the VERY inside, glued a piece of Penelope DP to span across a fold and stamped the sentiment (retired: Boo Bash) at the bottom.

I had a fun time with this... no need to be pristine or perfect with it... the grungier the better!

What do you think?! Me likey... again!

Hey! Let's do another challenge!!

I want to see some butts... paper bag butts that is! ;) Your mission is to create something with a paper lunch bag butt... do you accept? Leave a comment and link it up!!!!

I've had a few people ask how big my bag butt is... the other project required 4-1/4" to be cut off the top of the sack, so mine is whatever is leftover from that!

Leggy Witch Card with a 'written' tutorial...

I abso-freakin'-lutely love this card!!! I've had the idea for the card for awhile and I finally just did it! I had a blast making it last night and could hardly wait for my work day to get over with today so I could share it. I used a couple of Michelle Zindorf's sponging and brayer techniques. She is amazing... a true artist!

The card front you see started out as being my 'sketch' piece to go off of and make templates, etc., but once I got started, I just kept going! So now I have to try to reproduce this again... yikes! I started out with White UltraSmooth 80# cardstock base. I hand sketched the moon & witch leg w/ a light lead pencil so I could figure out where to stamp the tree. Using the Coluzzle, I cut out a large circle from another piece of cardstock to use as my mask.

First, I placed the negative over my base and started sponging the moon with Sunflower and then Raw Sienna at the edges. I removed the mask and lightly sponged more Sunflower around the moon to create a haziness. I then placed the circle over the moon and a piece of cardstock at the horizon line, covering the grass area. I brayered Beaux Arts Blue around sky edges, fading in toward moon, and followed up w/ sponging to even out the color. I repeated this step using Violette. I ran the brayer across the moon (without re-inking it) to create the thin cloud lines and add to the haziness.

For the grass area, I masked off the sky half of the base and sponged Chartreuse and then Landscape, fading inward. I used a Tombow marker to create the horizon line and then heavily sponged Landscape around tree trunk base. I stamped two different images from Fresh Air Favorites to create creepy grass/weeds... I used Landscape and rolled in Charcoal at edges. Finished up by sponging edges of grass area with Violette.

Using Noir, I stamped 'sentiment' & date with Ecclectic Alpha (retired). I traced over portions w/ Stardust Glitter Pen. Next, I used Fantastix & 'colored in' the witch leg with Noir on the base. I did this so that it would be dark under the popped up leg element... it reads like a shadow.

For the Witch leg: on scrap of White UltraSmooth, I used the journal lines from a retired GWP from a year ago to create the striped stocking and shaded w/ Fantastix, alternating between Noir & a mixture of Orangerie & Cognac. Sponged edges in Noir. I cut out boot from black cardstock and highlighted with Brilliance Moonlight White. I assembled leg/boot and popped up on black pop dots.

Finally, I matted base on black and then adhered to charcoal card base (3.5"x8.5").

[insert heavy sigh and sound of popping knuckles]

Good grief... did I just write a freakin' novel?!

Anyway, I'm going to try to recreate this again this weekend, and I might try one with heat embossing the tree... I really like it now, kind of understated... I wonder if the shininess of the EP would look funny? We'll see.

Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think. And thanks for stopping by!

Ok, here goes my first tutorial...

I'm sure I am not the first to figure this one out, but I haven't seen it before, so here goes!

I prefer an odd number of petals on my flowers, and Marvy's flower punch has an even number (six). So, I just made it work for me. Get double the use out of your flower punches!!

It’s easy to make a 5-petal flower from Marvy’s 6-petal flower punch. All you need is: the punch, pencil, 1/8” hole punch, scissors, and glue. Optional supplies to make them even more pumped up: ink, sponge, and ribbon.

1. Punch out flower. Using hole punch, punch out center of flower. Cut between one set of petals to center.

2. Cut half way to center between each petal. Sponge edges if desired.


3. Taking petals that were cut all the way to center, align & glue one petal on top of the other.


4. Slightly bend tips of petals. Completed 5-petal flower!

5. 5-petal & 6-petal are shown next to each other. Note that the 6-petal is much more flat. I went ahead and cut half way to center and bent the petals slightly to give more dimension.


6. I love adding a knotted ribbon scrap for the flower center!


So what did you think? I thought I'd start with an easy one!

**ETA: check out THIS project that showcases this flower technique!