colorwhimsy

Dill Print

The new Dill Print (F135) looks great in green (of course), but I decided to stamp it in black and use it as a silhouette.  To make the card, I cut shape from white cardtock using a Labels 3 Nestability die.  I then sponged Wild Honey, Fired Brick, and Dusty Concord Distress inks onto the paper to give it the look of a sunset.  To get the splotches, I spritzed the paper with water and then let the water interact with the Distress Inks.  To finish the card, I stamped the Dill in black Versafine ink and layered it onto some cantaloupe cardstock and a licorice notecard.

Floral Notecard

I have had a chance to start playing with my new Memory Box clear stamps and decided to begin with the Seed Stems (CL139) set.  I stamped one of the dandelion circles repeatedly onto white cardstock using Warm Violet Chalk ink.  I punched out the circles and then set them aside to dry.  Next, I cut up a piece of 12" x 12" Nana's Garden paper and stamped the bottom with stems and leaves from the same set in Olive Chalk ink.  I really like the various stems in this set because they work so well to create grass.  I finished the card by adding some dandelion seeds floating in the sky, popped the dandelions onto the stems with pop dots, and added some 24K pearls to the centers of the flowers.

I hope everyone has a FANTASTIC holiday weekend.  Can you believe that summer is here already?

Spring Chickadee and Contest

Okay, I have to admit it.  I have no idea what a chickadee looks like.  I decided to color my bird in blues and browns, but I have a feeling I colored a "fantasy bird" instead of a chickadee.

This card is a also a bit of a departure for me because I tend make cards that use a lot of paper layers.  For this card, I restrained myself to a single notecard.

To make the card, I stamped the chickadee (F1257) multiple times onto an eggshell notecard using black Memento ink.  I didn't do any masking as I stamped the bird and flowers.  I simply turned the stamp this way and that so that I could stamp some extra flowers onto the card without adding more birds.  I colored the flowers with two pink Copic markers (RV000 and RV10), and colored the leaves with a green Copic marker (YG03). 

Here is a close up of the colored bird:

To color the bird, I colored the body with E31 and the wings with B12.  I blended the two colors together by lightly flicking the markers into each other until the line where the two colors met softened.

To add a little dimension, I shaded underneath the stem, flowers, leaves, and bird with my Cool Grey Copic marker (C1).  I also added some azalea pink jewels, a pink ribbon, and a saying (happy spring B1225) with black Memories ink.

And now for the contest.  For a chance to win a fun Memory Box prize, all you have to do is add the Memory Box Blinkie (found in the left hand column of my blog under "grab your blinkie") to your own site and leave a link for me to follow in the comments section of this post.  You must leave your comment by Sunday, May 3rd, at 11:59 p.m. CST.  A random winner will be picked Monday, May 4th. 

Need help adding a blinkie to your blog?  Patter has wonderful instructions on her blog, and the information can be found here.  Good luck!

Bold Marigolds

Hummm....I called my card "Bold Marigolds," and then stamped them in blue ink.  Something doesn't seem quite right in this scenario.  I decided to continue my Glitterati paper series and make another card from the same paper collection.  Trust me, you definitely notice this card.  I am not positive, but it may even glow in the dark.

The card itself is very easy to make.  I simply combined some Glitterati paper, Keylime paper, and the Solid Marigold (C219) stamped in Deep Lagoon VersaFine ink.  Of course, I had to add three pistachio jewels to the center of each flower to help catch the light. 

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

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.

Best of the Bunch

I have definitely been in in a flower state of mind.  I can't seem to stop making cards with flowers in them!  Don't worry though, my next post will feature a squirrel with not a single flower in sight.

There were three stamps used to make this card.  I stamped the tall vase (D204) onto white cardstock, masked it, and added the mixed bouquet (E190) on top to make it look like the flowers were in the vase.  I chose to color the vase with some gray Copic markers, but the vase also looks fantastic when it is cut out of Memory Box patterned paper and placed on top of stamped flowers.  Trust me, it is a great way to use up your patterned paper scraps!

I colored the flowers with an assortment of purple Copic markers and added some purple Memory Box jewels to the centers of several of them for a little extra sparkle and shine.  I finished the card by layering everything onto some paper from the Poppyfinch collection and added a saying (Best of the Bunch B883) in purple VersaFine ink.

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!

What's the Buzz?

I thought today's post was rather appropriate because things are really buzzing around Memory Box.  There are brand new blogs to enjoy, and you won't believe the surprises that will be coming next week!

The card above was made using VersaFine ink, 140lb watercolor paper, and some Twinkling H2O paints.  I just love the shimmer that you can get with Twinks!  I wanted my bees to shimmer just as much as my flower, so I added some gold Stardust pen to the bee bodies and some regular Stardust pen to the bee wings.  I am including a close up of the flower to try and show the sparkle better, but honestly, you have to click the pictures and make them bigger if you want to see the shimmer.

Be sure to check the Memory Box blogs next week.  You won't want to miss it!  Here is a sneak peek of what you could win.....

 

Playing with Paper

I was inspired by my latest contest to post a card featuring some Memory Box paper.  As you can see by the tiny "thanks" in the corner, there is very little stamping involved with this card!  I used a technique called iris folding which is a great way to use up a bunch of your patterned paper scraps.  This particular card used paper from the 6" x 6" Poppyfinch collection.  The nice thing about using paper from a collection when iris folding is that you know all the papers will work well with each other.

Do you have a card that uses Memory Box paper?  Be sure to to enter my latest blog contest.  You have until next Thursday (March 5th) to email a card to Memory Box.  You can find out more information about the contest on my February 25th post.  Good luck!

Happy Spring

Speaking of classes, I thought I would post a card from my upcoming "Spring Fling" class that will follow my Panda class on the 22nd.

When I saw Dave's sample of the new Spring Blossoms (D1233) stamp, I fell in love.  You can see that card here.  I thought it would be fun to use the stamp in a different way, so I decided to break the image into three separate panels and arrange them using a different orientation.

To make this card, I stamped the image two times onto some of the new Poppyfinch 6" x 6" paper using black VersaFine ink.  I stamped it twice because I couldn't get the three squares I wanted out of only one stamping.  I colored the flowers and leaves with Prismacolor colored pencils and then punched out three squares using a 1 1/8" square punch.  I layered the squares onto Key Lime paper and then again onto Concord Grape paper.  To finish the card, I stamped "happy spring" (B849) using purple Versafine ink.