Purple Posies - and a Quick Trick!

This card was made using one of the fun flower images from Outlines. I call them posies, because that is what I think of when I see them. They call them serendipity stamps, but I like posies better. Anyway, I stamped the image with Momento and colored the flowers with Copic markers. I wanted to add some pearls to the little circle parts of the image, but did not have any purple pearls of the right color. Not a problem with Copics! The purple flowers are colored with the BV series and I just went up one color darker from the darkest color I used and ran the marker over the pearls. See image below. I used BV02 in this case for the pearls. Then I simply allowed them to dry and added them to the finished card. This is a great way to make coordinating embellishments with your markers. You can always airbrush the embellishment and it will likely give you a more even layer of color, but the pen seemed to work just fine for these little pearls.

Thanks for making us part of your day today!
Jeannette

Lovely Violets...

This card is using the violets set from Flourishes. Of all the flower stamps by Flourishes, this set is one of my favorites. I stamped the image on white cardstock with Memento ink first, then cut it out with a circle Spellbinders die so that the image is mostly on the left side of the circle. After cutting it out, but before I popped the circle out of the die, I applied Ranger Wild Honey Distress ink around the edges of the circle - the die protects the edge so you get that nice white contrast when you remove the cardstock from the die. The violets are colored with Copics and the Happy B-Day stamp is from another Flourishes set - Mix-n-Mugs. I used an EK Success border punch to create the 2 purple layers that cover the left edge of the circle. The ribbon is from May Arts - another of my favorites!

Thanks for checking out the blog today!
Jeannette

Pretty Marcie...

This is another fun stamp from La-La Land stamps. I colored her with Copic markers and made her a blonde this time. These stamps color very well with Copics. For the background, I cut out various papers with a Spellbinders Blossom die and some flower punches. I think this is a fun little card that could be used for many occasions.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Jeannette

Soft Flowers...

This image is from the Lenten Rose set from Flourishes. I chose to color it in soft pinks with "new green" colors for the leaves. I used a striped paper from Melissa Francis that I just love (even though I think it is a discontinued paper). It is part of the line she created when she was battling breast cancer and I love all the papers. I colored the image with Copic markers and layered it to some green Bazzill, then cut a piece of blue Bazzill the same size as the green and offset the blue under the green. After attaching it to the card, I wrapped a light pink bow around the base of the image - adding to the softness.

I hope you're having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Jeannette

A Birthday Card with La-La Land!

Well, a sundress might be a little comical in New England these days, as the Seattle area likely has had more sun in the last week than we have had.

For this card, I stamped the image in Memento ink and colored with Copic markers. She is completely cut out and layered to a taupe colored oval cut with the Spellbinders petite ovals and a matching scallop oval. I used a fun birthday paper on card - to help get into the festive spirit and added a happy birthday image popped up in a layered scallop circle. Quick and easy - good for kids and adults alike!

Thanks for coming by!
Jeannette

Blue Butterflies

Sorry it has been so long since I posted - I cannot believe that a week has gone by already! This card was made with another great stamp from Flourishes. The stamp set contains the main floral image with a butterfly plus a couple additional separate butterfly images and some wonderful sayings. For this card, I stamped the main image and one of the additional butterflies on a separate piece of cardstock. Everything is colored with Copics. I cut out the additional butterfly and attached it to the card at the body of the butterfly and flexed the wings up. My favorite way to attach small things like this is with Ranger's Glossy Accents. Quick and inexpensive! I layered the 2 ribbons and tied 2 bows - putting one down first, then attaching the second bow immediately below it.

Thanks for checking out the blog today!
Jeannette

Last Minute Easter Card....

I am sure I am not the only one out there working on last-minute Easter cards! This is one that I can give personally tomorrow, so I am all set! I used a clear set from Stampendous with a couple elegant eggs (it also has a gorgeous butterfly). I stamped the eggs with Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with clear embossing powder. You have to be quick with VersaFine when embossing, as the ink is designed to dry quickly. Then I colored the eggs with Copic markers - colors are shown below. The words are by Penny Black and I added a white satin ribbon down the side. This is an A-6 card (folded card measures 4-1/2 x 6-1/4"). A-6 cards are a great size - sometimes the standard A-2 cards are just a little too small and the A-6 is perfect. The pink dotted cardstock is BoBunny Double Dot (of course!). The rest of the layers are classic Bazzill cardstock.


These are the colors I used for coloring the eggs on the card. I chose to leave the main part of the egg white, as I thought it gave a little more contrast.

Thanks for stopping by today. I should have another post later today if I get all my Easter prep stuff done to show you!

Jeannette

Coloring glitter with Copics!

I cannot take credit for this card, as it was sent to me as a sample from Elizabeth Crafts Glitter. However, it does show how you can successfully color glitter with Copic markers. As you know, Copics are alcohol based, which means that they will dry on non-porous surfaces (which includes glitter). In this case, they started with the clear "highlites" glitter. All of the color is from the markers. Now, there are a couple things you need to pay attention to. The glitter can get into your marker tip - you want to use GENTLE pressure with the markers to reduce this as much as possible. You should be able to get the glitter off by running the tip on a piece of paper. Worst case, you can always replace the tip.

Just ANOTHER use for your Copics!

Jeannette

Wouldn't we all like a day at the beach...

You know, if you're in the snowy northeast, we are ready for some beach weather! Of course, it was a balmy 50 degrees this morning, so that felt pretty nice.

This stamp is a Leigh Hannon image from Impression Obsession. I just loved the fun cupcake design and the saying was perfect! Of course, WHY can't it always be a day at the beach? :) The image was stamped with black Memento ink and colored with Copic markers. Then carefully cut out. To make the background, I took 3 colors of Bazzill cardstock and cut a strip 4-3/8" wide. I made several different sizes and "puzzled" them together to get the striped background. The easiest thing to do is run about 4 strips of adhesive (I use 1/2" wide Scotch ATG tape) then start at the top and work my way down. When you get to the last strip, you cut it the width you need to keep your margins straight. The brown underneath is 4-1/2" square. After all the pieces were attached, I stamped the words with Black Versafine ink. I added a brown Bazzill button with some ivory string from May Arts tied through it.

Thanks for making me part of your day today!
Jeannette

JustRite Breath of Spring...

Well, if Mother Nature won't give us Spring weather, we'll just have to create Spring in our cards! This image is from the "Breath of Spring" set from JustRite Stampers. Colored with Copic markers and layered to a fun stripe DP from Memory Box and then some blue Swiss Dots from Bazzill. The ribbon is fun colored edge ribbon from May Arts. I added some tiny adhesive pearls to the centers of flowers facing forward. I stamped the image with Memento ink and then cut it out with a classic ovals Spellbinders die - then layered to a slightly larger oval cut from a blue Bazzill cardstock. This is a great all-purpose card - the kind you can keep in your drawer and use for almost any occasion!

Thanks for checking the blog today!
Jeannette

Beautiful violets...

This violet image is from Flourishes - and it is one that I simply love! The flowers from Flourishes in general are some of my favorite images. They have wonderful depth and realism. For this card, I used one of the Grand Caliber dies from Spellbinders as the card base. The actual card is made by folding a piece of 12x12" cardstock in half and cutting it with the die so that the folded area is below the upper cutting edge of the die. Then we cut a piece out of the green Bazzill cardstock with the same die and attach that over the folded piece - this way the front of the card has the complete shape and the card still opens. The image is stamped on a circle cut from a Spellbinders die and colored with Copic markers. I layered it to a purple Lacey Circles cut piece and attached it to the front of the card.. Lastly I added a ribbon bow and a couple pearls. I love using the large dies to make cards in fun shapes.

Thanks for checking out the blog today!
Jeannette

Stamping Baby Gifts...

I was invited to a baby shower where you are supposed to bring a decorated onesie to the shower for the mother-to-be to try to guess who made each onesie. Well, of course I was going to stamp something! I used some animal images from a Stampendous clear baby set. I used VersaCraft ink from Tsukineko and heat set the ink with an iron. I placed a Cuttlebug B plate with a piece of white cardstock on top in the middle of the onesie to create a good stamping surface and catch the marker ink after it soaked through the fabric. Then I colored the design with Copic markers. It is a little tricky, as the markers like to move quickly in the fabric. What I discovered worked best was to color a small area, then quickly iron over it (I placed a clean sheet of paper between the iron and the onesie) to dry the ink quickly and keep it from running.

I also made a quick card using a fun Noah's Ark image, colored with watercolor pencils and cut out and layered with a couple Spellbinders dies. Lacey Circles is one of my favorites! The border punch is an EK Success punch and I added a white satin bow wrapped around the layer.

Thanks for checking out the blog today!

Jeannette

The Last Monster Card...

This is the 3rd monster card we did in the monster class. I stamped this fun monster by Inky Antics, colored him with Copics (or is it a her?) and cut him out (that was the hardest part of the card). The big words stamp was stamped on a light blue piece of Bazzill cardstock and colored with Copic markers. I cut out a circle from a dotted DP and layered it to a black scallop circle. The card base is a red card layered with some Bazzill swiss dots cardstock. The pieces simply get layered and a couple black dew drops added for embellishment!

Thanks for visiting today!
Jeannette

MFT Winter Gifting!

Given our current weather pattern in NH, I figured this was a good time to show this card. This is another cute image from the Pure Innocence collection from My Favorite Things. I colored her with Copics and cut her out. I used an edger punch on the designer paper and a solid piece of Bazzill cardstock. I used a May Arts double-face satin ribbon on the top of layered piece for embellishment. The wording stamp is from Hero Arts.

Enjoy your day!

Jeannette

Blue Monster Card

This is another card made with the fun monster stamps from Art Gone Wild. I did this little guy in blues - also colored with Copic markers. The zig-zag layers are done with an EK Success border punch. The paper is a thinner paper (vice a cardstock) and it sometime gets caught up in the punch. What I did to combat that was to put the paper on top of the piece of black cardstock and cut both of them at once. This gave the punch something to grip on and the paper did not get mangled in the punch. I added a couple black dew drops as an embellishment.

Have a great day!
Jeannette

Guana Give Me A Kiss?

This card is made from a very fun stamp set from Stampendous! The little iguanas are fun and make some humorous Valentine cards! The iguanas are colored with Copic markers and then cut out. The heart and words are stamped on a red felt cardstock, then cut out. The heart is layered to a piece of white cardstock, then a Spellbinders scalloped rectangle. The base card is scatter stamped with a heart image and VersaMark ink. The iguana images are attached with foam tape for a little pop.

Thanks for stopping by!
Jeannette

Flourishes Snowman

This is a card we're going to be making in our first "Christmas Club" class at Stamped Designs. After years of trying to stuff Christmas card classes in a 2-3 month window, we're going to have a class every month - which allows me to use a lot of different images and products all year long. I LOVE this snowman from Flourishes! On this card, I colored the snowman with Copics and added some BoBunny paper and a piece of Bazzill embossed with a Tim Holtz snowflake embossing folder from Sissix. The ribbon from May Arts is not one that I would necessarily consider Christmasy, but it works well with these colors. We haven't had a lot of snow up here in New England so far this winter, but there are still 3 more months to go!

Thanks for checking out the blog today!
Jeannette

For all the monsters in your life...

We all complain about making cards for guys - well, cards for little boys are even worse! I saw a collection of monster images from Art Gone Wild some time ago and thought "These are perfect!" So, I put some together for an upcoming class. This one is my favorite. I colored the monster with Copics in greens with a little orange. The words on the front are 1/2 of the words on the stamp - which say "It's scary how awesome you are." I only stamped the first half, then punched them out in a circle to layer to the front. On the inside, I stamped the rest, then added a "happy birthday" underneath it. I added some black Dew Drops on the card to finish it off. Definitely a fun card for a boy!

Thanks for visiting the blog today!

Jeannette

Flourishes 2011 Calendar...

I took the Flourishes "Calendar Flowers" set and came up with this calendar for 2011. Last year you could buy a calendar template on the Flourishes website, but I could not find one for 2011, so I decided to make on myself. I printed the calendar on a color laser, then stamped each month's flower above it and colored them with Copic markers. Each piece is then layered to a piece of gold cardstock, then to different colors of Bazzill. The cards rest in a gold stand like a deck of cards. I gave several for gifts and they were very well received.

Thanks for stopping by!
Jeannette

Holiday Mimi!

Wow! Where did the week go? I have seriously fallen off the blogger wagon! And I have stuff to share, just kept forgetting to sign on and post it. Maybe it is the weather here - that Nor 'easter came up the coast and dumped some serious rain and made for some pretty dreary and cold weather. No snow, but 40-degree rain is pretty miserable.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand - card making! This is a cute little card using one of the Mimi stamps from Penny Black. She is a very cute little character and this image with the polar bear is one of my favorites. It's a complex little card. I cut a circle out of the red cardstock with a Spellbinder die. The piece under it is colored with Ranger Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and also stamped with a couple snowflakes out of the same color. Mimi is stamped and colored with Copics, then carefully cut out. The waves are made with a Fiskars border punch and attached below the image, so it looks like they are on an iceberg. I stamped the small piece of green with the harlequin background image from Impression Obsession. For small pieces like this, I simply place the stamp on the table - rubber side up, ink the stamp in this case with a VersaMark pad, and then place the small piece of cardstock on the stamp and rub from behind. Then you just carefully pick it off the stamp. Layer it all up and you have a cute holiday card!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jeannette