Coloring with Copic Markers

I was introduced to Copic Markers about 5 years ago.  I tried them and decided they were just too much work.  Recently I decided to take some online classes from Joanne Sharpe and she showed how to use the Copic Markers.  It was a huge investment but I decided to take the leap and learn.  It takes hours and hours of practice but the end result is worth all the work.  Here are some of the cards  that I colored and sent to Operation Write Home.  It is so nice to be back cardmaking, I really missed it. All three stamps came from Outlines Rubber Stamps.

Fussy Cutting Operation Write Home

One of my favorite things to do is paper piecing and that requires a lot of cutting.  I love things to pop on a card, it gives the card added dimension and the effect is worth the time it takes to cut the image.  The best thing to own are a pair of very sharp detail scissors an also a sharp x-acto knife and cutting mat.

One of my favorite stamp companies has always been Outlines Rubber Stamps just for that reason, lots of cutting and bling (can't forget the bling) must have bling.  If I can't use glitter I use gems, pearl pens are great too.  I was really sad when Outlines went out of business.  Their website and samples are still some of my favorite.  I get rid of stamps all the time but very rarely get rid of Outlines because you can always do something different with them.  These first two cards are Outlines stamps.  The poppy is from Hero Art and the horse if from Stampabilities.  The joy saying is from Hero Art and the other saying is from Tim Holtz.

 The poppy is from Hero Art and the horse if from Stampabilities.  The joy saying is from Hero Art and the other saying is from Tim Holtz.

Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge #146

Back when I worked at Wingdoodle I did several parties for Operation Write Home making cards for the service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan.  My son is full time Army and was in Korea last year and is now stationed in Colorado Springs.  My daughter is Army National Guard here in New Hampshire and leaves for Afghanistan in February.  I have decided to get back into card making after taking the last year off after getting laid off because the store closed.  Operation Write Home seemed the perfect thing to get involved in again.

I decided to start doing the sketch challenges on their blog http://operationwritehome.org/sketch-challenge-146/ it really does help your creativity. Guy cards are really hard to make sometimes but I thought using the browns worked well making it look masculine and the blues, lavenders and butterflies made the same layout look feminine.   

Goodbye Outline Rubber Stamps

Ever since I started stamping one of my favorite companies has been Outline Rubber Stamps.  Their whimsical stamps made especially for cutting and layering have always inspired me along with their use of crystals.  I love bling. For the last 9 years I have looked  forward to their new designs, released 3 or 4 times a year.  I get rid of a lot of my stamps after awhile but never my Outline stamps because they were continually using them. They are great for coloring and also for Zentangle.  Anyway, they are going out of business and that makes me really sad.

They will still be at the following shows though:
           

Heirloom's Rubber Stamp and Paper Arts Festival - Allentown, PA  April 14-15, 2012

Adventures in Stamping - Akron, OH  April 28-29, 2012

 Heirloom's Rubber Stamp and Paper Festival - Springfield, MA  June 2-3, 2012

Stampaway 2012 - Cincinnati, OH  August 3-4, 2012 

Vintage Wedding Tags " Tags of Love"

My niece Britney asked me to make vintage seating tags and table numbers for her wedding reception.  It was a beautiful wedding all done in cream and brown with a hint of sage.  I wanted the tags to also be keepsakes so I included pictures of Britney and Josh with the date of the wedding on the back. http://creativejourney-sherree.blogspot.com/2012/01/notes-of-love.html

I decorated #5 tags and then used #1 tags attached at the top with the names and the table number.  My handwriting is terrible and I didn't want to use all the ink in my printer so I  bought table numbers from Michael's and then tore the numbers out and distressed the torn edges with vintage photo distress ink. They are attached using mounting tape to a #8 tag that was distressed and embossed in black with a vintage bike.  The tag is free standing using the an easel cut  from Tim Holtz Alterations small easel die.  I had to reinforce the easel with a little scotch tape and attached them to the back of the tag with red line tape.  I  used different fibers, dyed tulle and ribbon for the tops of the tags.  I dyed the tulle and ribbon with distress ink reinker and Perfert Pearl mist.  http://creativejourney-sherree.blogspot.com/2011/11/coloring-your-own-ribbon-and-trim.html

I live in New Hampshire and the wedding was in Florida so I mailed everything down and really didn't know how it was going to look. My brother Pat built the ladders and the tags are attached to twine with little clothes pins.  Everything turned out just beautiful and all the work was well worth it.  The whole wedding was perfect.  Thank you to my sister Trinette for taking the pictures.

Congratulations Britney and Josh!

It's the Little Things

I use to look at things at craft and art shows and think I can do that.  Well, I am here to tell you it isn't all that easy.  I have been trying to transition from just doing cards and tags to doing canvases and my failures are more then my successes.  I worked for 2 days off and on last week on a canvas that I finally just threw in the garbage I was so discouraged.  I was trying to do something that felt like Valentine's Day and instead kept getting something that looked like someone got stabbed and bled all over it.  I decide to try going in another direction and not use any red.  It still doesn't look like Valentine's Day but I am happy with the results.  

Once I decided what colors to use everything just sort of happened.  I used an Impression Obsession cover a card stamp with Distress Ink Spun Sugar and clear embossed it for the stripped background.  The flower is made with some lace I gathered with needle and thread and hot glue gunned the pearl button in the middle.  If you go to Pinterest there are hundreds of ideas for making flowers.

The cage and bird are Tim Holtz's as are the hanging pearls, saying, and inks.  I am a big fan of his ideas and techniques.  I used texture fades to give the cage and bird some texture and painted them white and distressed it with Pumice Stone Distress Ink.  The saying is mounted on some foam core so that it is dimensional and then hot glued to attach it to the canvas.  I did the same thing with the bird in the cage. 

I'd bought some feathered picks at Christmas with no idea as to what I was going to do with them.  My friend Adele saw them and mentioned using them for tail feathers and I thought that was a great idea.  They are attached with tacky glue.  

I thought this would look really cute in a baby girls room and that is why I picked the saying I did.  My son and daughter make my life big even though they aren't little anymore.

It's Never Too Late

I have decide to just grab the bull by the horns and go for it. I don't really know what I am doing but decided I am going to start doing it anyway. It is not as easy as it looks to get something that looks like this. This was my 4th attempt to do something I really liked and wouldn't be scared to show some one without getting a puzzled look as to what it was. I played with molding paste and stencils today. It was so much fun and surprising to see what layers of paper, paint and colored molding paste could create. Molding Paste is really easy to use and you can get tons of texture on your project. I was scared of using different art products because I didn't know what to do with them. What you do is read the directions and watch videos of other people using them. I have decided to be fearless this year and try all kinds of medias. First I am going to play with the molding paste some more though. I put the saying on it to remind me that it is never too late to find out who I want to be.