colorwhimsy

It's a Party!

I needed to make a birthday card for a friend, and what better stamps to use than the Memory Box party animals?  Okay, technically they are called Birthday Penguin (C845), Cupcake Bear (C984), and Party Panda (C1224).  I immediately knew that I wanted to pair the party animals with some Glitterati papers for my birthday card.   The Glitterati pack is filled with bright and bold colors that definitely say, "party!"

To make this card, I stamped my animals onto white paper and colored them with an assortment of colored pencils and shaded them with a gray Copic marker (C1).  I stamped them again onto some Glitterati paper and paper pieced elements such as the hats, balloon, and present.  I then layered the animals onto more Glitterati strips of paper and added my saying (It's a party B865) with black VersaFine ink.  To finish the card, I added red rhinestones to the tops of the hats and clear rhinestones to the sparklers to catch the light.

Glitterati Birds

I realized I hadn't  posted a card using the Glitterati 6" x 6" paper, so I thought it was about time!  I just love the bright and bold patterns/colors in this pack. 

To make this card, I stamped the Flutter Chick (B1250) three times onto my blue patterned paper using black VersaFine ink.  I then stamped the chick three more times onto the yellow paper, which is also from the Glitterati pack.  I cut out the yellow chicks (without the legs), glued them over the birds stamped on the card, and added some orange colored pencil to highlight parts of the wings.  I used some leftover strips of the same yellow paper and glued them onto the card as accents.  To finish the card, I added the saying (Hear the news B1246) as well as some Lagoon jewels.  After all, what is the point of using some bold paper if you don't add a little extra bling?

Flower Soft Tree

Today I decided I wanted to post a card that had a Spring theme but didn't use traditional Spring colors such as pinks, purples, and greens.  Instead, I used paper from the Fernbrae collection and chose to highlight colors such as blue, red, and yellow.

To make the card, I stamped the Spring Birds (F1235) onto yellow patterned paper with black VersaFine ink and colored the birds with a blue colored pencil.  I added some glue to the flowers and sprinkled some Heather colored Flower Soft onto the branches to give them some dimension.  To finish the card, I stamped Happy Spring (B1215) onto the card using the same VersaFine ink and layered all of pieces of paper.

Happy Spring

I think if you look at my last post, you will notice that I seem to be going through a graph paper phase.  I believe it is my new favorite pattern to use!  For this card, I stamped the eclipse tree onto some paper from the Butterfield collection and cut out the trunk from the graph paper.  For the "leaves" of the tree, I stamped the tree onto the green paper from the same background paper you see on this card.  The only problem with using that green paper was that it blended too well with the hills.  To make the tree stand out better, I colored over the edges of he green paper with an olive colored pencil.  To finish the card, I added a bunch of pistachio colored rhinestones to catch the light.

I would also like to thank everyone for submitting cards for my $100 Memory Box Bucks contest. The cards are wonderful!  I origionally said the winner would be posted on the 6th, but it now looks like it will be the 7th or 8th.  I am sorry for the delay!

Hear the News

I have a horrible feeling that I am becoming whiny about missing my digital camera.  However, I am a little disappointed with the results of my step-by-step coloring examples for this project.  The lines look really harsh and don't seem to show how to blend color pencils very well.  I think you will be able to get the idea though.  For today's card I paired the flutter chick (B1250) and hear the news (B1246) stamps together with paper from the Butterfield collection.  All the coloring was done with Prismacolor pencils.

First I stamped my bird onto some of the "graph" paper of the Butterfield collection using black VersaFine ink.  I thought it would be interesting to have some of the lines showing through the bird.

Second, I colored the center of the bird as well as the tops of the wings with a canary yellow pencil.  Can you tell from the picture that I pressed really hard at the center of the belly with my pencil and lightened my touch as I moved away from the center?  I wanted the middle of my bird to be a dark yellow and the edges to be a lighter shade that would be easier to blend into the surrounding brown.

Next, I added some sandbar brown to my bird.  I pressed really hard at the bottom of the bird and each wing and then lightened my touch as I moved up towards the head.

Finally, I used small circles and colored over the entire image with a peach beige pencil to blend all of the colors together.  I lost some of the details of the bird doing this (such as the eyes), so I went back with a fine-tip black marker and drew them back in.

To finish the card, I punched out the bird image with a 1 1/4" circle punch and layered the bird and saying onto the card using some dill cardstock as a mat.

Variation of Color

Do you ever think about how simply changing your color palette can greatly affect the look/feel of your cards?  One of the first cards I ever posted on this blog featured my favorite Memory Box flower (Black Eyed Susan E422 ) stamped on paper from the Sugardrop collection.  I liked the design of that card but decided I wanted to make a card that felt more Spring-like for my Memory Box "flower power" class.  I changed the background to include paper from the Sprout collection and colored the flowers with purple/pink Prismacolor pencils.  Not only does the card have a different seasonal feel to it, but the flowers now look like echinacia (purple cone flowers) instead of black-eyed susans.  You have to love the versatility of this stamp!

Just a Note

Greetings everyone!  I thought I would post my card of the day and then talk a little about the latest blog winner.  Be on the lookout for more contests on my blog as well as the other Memory Box blogs.  We have all kinds of fun things planned.

For today's card, I stamped the new Perched Chick (C1256) onto a sage notecard using black Memento ink and colored it with an assortment of Prismacolor pencils.   I then stamped around the bird with the Leaf Branch (D1034) using Warm Green Colorbox Chalk ink.  I finished the leaves by adding some light green colored pencil over the Warm Green ink.  To complete the card, I added a saying (Just a note B851) and a music note (AA179) with black Versafine ink and attached a green sheer ribbon.

And now for the patterned paper winner.  Congratulations Chrisi Rogers!  I want to thank everyone who emailed me cards featuring Memory Box patterned paper.  I knew some of the people who entered the contest, so I had to have a third party pick the winner.  Here is the winning card:

Bee Mine Mine Mine

Isn't it cute?!  I love how she combined the bee penguin and bees with some Fernbrae paper.  Unfortunately, I am not sure who makes the "mine, mine, mine" stamp.  Congratulations, Chrisi.

Happy Spring Bird

 

Hello everyone!  There is so much new going on at Memory Box that I can't wait to share it all.  First of all, have you seen the new Woodland Springtime images?  Cute!  Plus, the Memory Box team has been working hard at developing some new contests and prizes for the blogs to celebrate the new release.  Be sure to check back often to see what you can win!

For today's card, I paired the Bluebird Branch (D1232) with some papers from the Poppyfinch collection.  I stamped the bird onto patterned paper and then colored the branch, leaves and flowers with colored pencils.  I stamped the bird a second time onto some eggshell paper, colored it with brown chalk and then pieced it onto the patterned paper bird.  To finish the card, I used a some Marvy punches to cut my ovals, added a tag edged with chalk, and glued a green bow to the tag.

Happy Spring Owl

I saw some crocuses to day, so I am really hoping that Spring really and truly is on its way.  I am ready for it!

For today's card, I decided to play around with the Clever Owl (B1238) along with some of the new Poppyfinch paper.  It is gorgeous!  To make the card, I stamped the Vine Branch (D1240) onto Eggshell cardstock using green pigment ink.  I then colored over the branch using a brown Prismacolor pencil so that it would be brown instead of green.  I left the leaves alone so that they would remain green in color.  I stamped the owl onto some purple Poppyfinch paper and then accented his wings with the same brown pencil.  Can you tell from the picture that the owl has a slight purple pattern to him?  I then cut out the owl and perched him on the branch.  I finished the branch by shading underneath it with grey Prismacolor pencils to add a little dimension.  To finish the card, I stamped Happy Spring (B1215), added a layer of Concord Grape cardstock, added some Poppyfinch floral paper, and layered everything onto a Wisteria notecard.

Fun to be Around

 

I thought it was time to post another panda card.  They are just too cute!  For today's card, I decided to use the new Playground Panda (C1220), Plane (A1205), and Fun to be Around saying (B1214) in conjunction with the Butterfield papers.  The Butterfield papers are perfect for Spring cards!

To make the panda card, I stamped my panda onto some white cardstock using black Memento ink.  I my panda with Copic markers and then cut him out and glued him onto the patterned paper.  I stamped the plane repeatedly onto the graph paper pattern and colored each plane with colored pencils.  Doesn't the graph paper remind you of school?  Flashback...yikes!  I drew dotted lines between the planes with a purple colored pencil to give them movement and then stamped my saying with black VersaFine ink onto the bottom of the patterned paper.  To finish the card, I stamped the plane onto white cardstock, colored it with a purple pencil, cut it out, and added it to the panda's hand.