Colored Pencils and Succulents by Laura Fulcher

Greetings friends. Today I want to walk you through coloring some of the latest Memory Box designs with colored pencils. I still get questions about matching stamps with dies, so I thought I would include pictures for that as well.

The main tools that I need for lining up stamps with dies is a diecutting machine and a good stamp positioner.

First, I cut out the shape of the succulents from kraft paper, set that piece aside and then placed the outline into my stamp positioner. Use some magnets to hold the piece in place:

Next, place your stamp inside the cut out and try to place it so that there are equal margins all around the edges. The black foam of the stamp positioner really helps you see your edges:

Close the hinge of the stamp positioner so that the stamp sticks to the lid. Place the flower background that you already cut out back in the hole:

Choose your color of ink and stamp onto your piece:

Remove the cut out flowers from the stamp positioner, and you are ready to color. I leave the stamp and the guide in the stamp positioner in case I want to stamp the flowers again.

To start with the coloring, place your flowers on something with a little give to it. I usually use a magazine, but I had a stack of index cards on my desk, so I used those. I added a bit of the darkest color to the bottom of each petal:

I then added a medium color, making sure to overlap a bit with the first color:

Finally, I added my lightest color as a highlight at the edges. Don't forget to overlap the colors so they blend. Also, use a light hand with color. you can add more and more color, but if you start with a heavy touch, the wax of the pencil builds up quickly and it is hard to add more color on top:

My opaque pencils covered up some of the stamped lines, so when I finished my coloring, I placed the piece back in the stamp positioner and added the lines again: