Wonderful Winterland Watercolor (try saying that 3 times fast!) /Challenge Fun SSC #267 / My Challenge #33

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Hey y'all. Happy Monday! I hope you had an awesome weekend. I got to watch some Olympics, spend time with my Stamping BFF April, and get a little stamping done too. All in all, a nice, laid back weekend.

It's overcast and rainy here in the DMV. :( Not sure where you're at, but I hope it's a beautiful, mild temperature day with plenty of sunshine for you with all the rain you need coming at night after you've done everything you need to do. We can all hope and dream right. :) Now, most of you know I don't do that BAD 4 letter word that begins with a S and ends with a W. Nope, don't do it at all. Ok, maybe a little cuz it's pretty, if I'm inside with no expectations of having to go out in it, my pantry and fridge is fully stocked and the snow magically dissapears from my steps, sidewalks and vehicles and never gets yucky and dirty, oh and most importantly it only happens when its 72 out. Since that somehow never seems to happen, I'll take my snow like this-

Winter Card featuring
Wonderful Winterland and Snow Festival DSP

All bright and sparkly, oh and shared with a friend and a cup of hot chocolate. Yeah, that kind of snow wouldn't be bad at all! :)

I used this sketch over at Stamping 411 for my layout-

Today's card is a little mix of old and new. For the old, I used the Northern Flurries E.F. and the second smallest Labels Framelet. The new is the Wonderful Winterland Stamp Set and the Snow Festival DSP. Both are Super Cute. While I don't like snow and like Winter, as a whole, only moderately better, I love this cute little stamp set. All sort of fun images that just invite you to sit down and color. F.U.N.! Here's a close-up-

I used my Blender Pens and Classic Ink Pads to color in this sweet little scene. I stamped the image in Black Staz-On so the ink wouldn't bleed when I did my coloring. Although it's hard to tell in the picture the snow coming down is a stamped image that I stamped multiple times in Bashful Blue. I then lightly colored them in. The snow they're sitting on is also a pale Bashful Blue. I simply let Tink have her way to create a sweet wintry scene. I used the 2nd smallest framelet to cut this image out before coloring it. Once I was finished I sponged the edges in Baja Breeze. I then cut two more labels in Baja Breeze and used them to mat my scene. I also used my sponge daubers & Bashful Blue Ink to lightly color over the embossed snow-flakes for a little "pop" off the Whisper White background, then let Tink have her way again. Both my center panel and the Whisper White embossed layer are mounted with Dimensionals.

Here's the inside-

Inside of Winter Card featuring
Greetings of the Season and Wonderful Winterland

The sentiment is stamped in Baja Breeze. Can you tell it's not quite straight or centered. AUGH!!! That's why I hate stamping on the inside of c/s and not on a layer. Once I had stamped it, it was too late to do anything about it. :(  I used the same image from the front but masked off part of the stamp with sticky-notes. I then colored my precious little bunny in, and gave him some snow to play in.

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked today's card and I hope it inspires you to get out your supplies and play-along. Don't forget to stop by Stamping 411's site and check out all the great samples.

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! I love hearing from you, so if you have questions or comments about today's card, I hope you'll leave me a comment. I read them all and they really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card, I've put the buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more bout the storms than than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storm to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

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End of the Week Technique #30 - Copic-Style Watercoloring / Mojo Monday 239

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Hey y'all. Happy Friday, we made it! I hope you've had an Amazing week. I have a new End of the Week Technique for you today. Can I just tell you how shocked I was to realize that this is #30? Wow! Hard for me to believe. I remember when I started this journey wondering if I was going to be able to do 5 or maybe even 10 considering the limited amount of supplies I had at the time. Luckily though, I'm still going strong and still have plenty of techniques in the waiting in the wings.

Today's technique is one I actually used on a card for a challenge last week. But I wanted to be able to do a post just for it. I've always like the look of pictures colored with Copic Markers but 5 things held me back-
1- They're not Stampin Up and I love our products and colors so much it's hard for me to look at another marker company
2- I'd seen lots of videos where they were used and it just looked sooo intimidating to try and figure out the color combos and blend them just right
3- There were so many colors
4- The cost involved with getting them
5- It seemed like it would be very time consuming and for me, I just don't have that kind of time on a regular basis

Here's what I found out-
1- I've got all the colors I need with my Stampin Write Markers
2- When I use my markers it's not intimidating at all
3- I've got 38 colors not counting in colors and that's more than enough
4- SU's markers are way cheaper (yes, that's an accurate term) :)
5- Ok I can't do anything about the time consuming but I have to think that this technique has to be at least a little quicker than the one using Copics

I have cost breakdown later in this post, so make sure you read all of it, I hate for you to miss that!

Here's today's card-

Copic-Style Watercoloring with SU Markers & Bordering on Romance Stamp

The card is fairly easy.  I actually took my color inspiration from the piece of Twitterpated DSP. I started with a base of Night of Navy & topped it with a piece of Baja Breeze. Next came the DSP that I mounted on another piece of of Night of Navy c/s. I added a piece of Baja Breeze seam binding that I tucked under the edge of these three layers and secured to the bottom with SNAIL. (Yes, I do actually use SNAIL on occasion instead of Tombow.) This portion of the card was then secured with, my dear friend, Tombow.  You didn't think it wasn't going to get used just because I had some SNAIL on my card, did you? A bow was secured with a Mini-Glue Dot. Then I added my focal point.

I used this sketch from Mojo Monday for my inspiration-

Ok, sometimes I'm an idiot. I can admit that. When I did my sketch earlier in the week I obviously sketched a rectangle instead of a square. I didn't realize it until I went to post this that I had made it wrong. *Head-desk* I hope they'll still let me play along. *SMH*

Here's a close-up of my EWT focal point-

Copic-Style Watercoloring with SU Markers

I only used 4 markers to color in my image. Night of Navy for the main flowers, Baja Breeze for the small buds, Pretty in Pink for the small flowers and Wild Wasabi for the leaves. I just love all the color variations especially the purplish colors in the main flowers. I added a few of our pearls to the center of the flowers. They weren't necessary, I think the watercoloring stands on it's own just fine, but I always forget to use them and I thought they added a nice little extra touch.

Here's all you need to do-

I'm not going to go too deep into detail because I'm adding a video (not mine) that demonstrates this technique. It's the one I found that made me realize I could do this-

***Copic-Style Watercoloring with SU Markers***

1- Stamp your image on Watercolor Paper in Staz-On ink. This step is crucial to the success of your technique. You need the watercolor paper to be able to blend your colors and if you were to use regular ink, your image would bleed and mix with the ink making a mess.

2- Using the brush-tip of your Stampin Write Marker (not the fine point, it just doesn't give the same effect), apply a small line of color where you'll want your color to be the deepest. Then using your Blender Pen in a circular motion draw blend the color out from that line. This will distribute your color and soften the line. Continue doing this in small sections until you have the depth of color and the variations that you are happy with. 

*Note*- I'm not the best at picking where the light or shadows would be, so I just kind of made it darker in the center where the petals gather and then chose the left side to be my darker edge. I think it looks pretty similar to others I've seen with shadowing, so I'm not too worried. I think it turned out pretty nice at any rate.

That's really all there is to it. You may have to occasionally wipe your pen off on a scrap piece of paper if you've picked up too much color or there won't be much variation in the color. 

3- Enjoy your beautifully colored project and think of the smile it will bring to your recipients face. :)

It's hard to see in the main picture above (I'm not sure why it's so dark, I was using my Ott light. Probably my stoopid BB. AUGH!!!) but I used my Label Framelets (#2) to make the decorative edge for focal point. If you don't have the framelets you could probably use your Decorative Label Punch and slide the edge out from under your focal point. I however love the versatility the Framelets give me. (Woot! Sounds like another EWT. lol)

Here's the inside of the card-

I kept it pretty simple. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes. (How did I make it all this time without that set!?! So glad it's not retiring!) I stamped it in Night of Navy. The sweet little flower in the bottom is from the Bordering on Romance set and I simply stamped it in Basic Black Classic Ink. I then used my Baja Breeze and Wild Wasabi markers to color it in. I added a little Dazzling Diamonds to the petals, for a little bling, and my card was done.

In case you didn't see my earlier post with this technique, here's a picture-

Copic Style Watercoloring with SU Markers

Once again, all done with a single color marker for each element. You can see the post HERE.

Here's the video showing the technique. It's on you-tube and she has some great videos. Check her out, but after you're done here-

***Edited***- I just want to make sure everyone realizes this is not my video, but one I found on You-Tube. She has others too, some but not all SU related. Make sure to check her out when you get a chance. :)

Here's the SU vs Copic Markers breakdown I promised you-

I looked up Copics to do a comparison and they have 214 colors in 16 different color families. Their markers are $6.99 each and feature a wide tip and a finer pointed "nib" type tip. Theirs are refillable and you can replace the tips. The cost for a full set of Copics, a whopping $1495.86. WOW! Stampin Up's markers by comparison have 38 regular colors separated into 4 color "families", which coordinate perfectly with all of their papers and accessories. They have both a wide, brush type tip and a fine tip that's perfect for smaller areas or journaling. SU's markers are $3.50 each and you can get the entire set in a carrying case for a total cost of only $109.95, that breaks down to just $2.89 each. Both sets of markers can be refilled. The main difference in the two marker styles was that the tips on the Copic markers were replaceable. However for $3.50 with SU you can just get another marker if needed. Now after seeing that I can get the same results with SU markers for 50% less per individual marker and 1/10th (Yes, I said 1/10th) the cost for a complete set, the decision for which to get is pretty clear. Granted if I was doing graphic art or big time illustrating I might feel a little different, but for making beautiful cards, scrapbook layouts and gifts the answer seems pretty simple, at least in my mind and to my budget. *Note- This is just my opinion after doing a price and specifications comparison. You're opinion may vary.*


Well, that's all I have for you today, I know it was a little long, but I hope you will think it's worth it. I hope you liked today's EWT and the card. If you did, please feel free to leave me a comment, I love hearing from you! Also if you liked today's card and would like to +1 or Pin it, I've put the buttons on my sidebar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)


I hope to see you back here next week for more projects. I hope you weekend is as AMAZING as you all are and that you have plenty of time for Friends, Family and of course for creativity! Have a safe Cinco de Mayo if your celebrating.


Till next time-


Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.


Be Safe,
Shan

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End of the Week Technique #19 - Pocket Cards

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*Edit* Here's how sick I've been- I didn't even realize this didn't post yesterday. It was sitting in Blogger as a draft. *SMH* Darn Pneumonia!

Hey y'all. Happy Humpday! I hope you're having a great day and that you feeling good about making it through half of the work week. We are preparing for the white stuff here *shudder*, luckily our area shouldn't get too much, but still.... ):

I'm posting this week's EWT a little early because I'm still sick as a dawg! I think it's probably back to the doctor for me tonight after work. Going on 2+ weeks now and still wheezing & coughing even with the antibiotics and oral and inhaled steroids, Boo-Hiss! I can't even sleep without narcotic cough syrup, No-Bueno! Heck, even the studio assistants don't want to cuddle because of all the coughing.

At any-rate, I was able to finish this last night but not able to get any other cards done yesterday, so you guys get the EWT a little early. Hopefully, I will be able to get in a little stamping tonight and have something else to show you tomorrow.

My goal for my weekly EWT's is to do new techniques or one's that I either haven't done in a while or don't feel all that comfortable with. This is the first time I have ever made a pocket card on my own, so I'm very excited to show it today. Do you do pocket cards often? They really don't have any more layers than most cards we normally make, and some (depending on whether or not you cover the pocket) may even have less.

Here's today's card-

I used a base of Poppy Parade (Love this color, so sad it's retiring soon). I cut a 8.5 x 11 piece of cardstock lengthwise at 4 1/4. I scored it at 5 1/2 for the bottom. Sorry, I can't remember the top score, you can adjust it to suit your needs. I love this card but looking back now, would probably have scored it another 1/4 inch down so the  score line hit the point of my Framelet.

I used my Corner Rounder Punch to round all the edges. I took a piece of DSP from our Everyday Enchantment DSP pack, that you can get for FREE with a $50.00 purchase, and ran it through my Big Shot with my Lattice Embossing Folder to give it some texture. I just love the look it gives this particular paper. I adhered it to my card base with Tombow. I scored and folded over the top edge, trimming off the excess with my paper trimmer and then secured the flap to my DSP with Tombow. I used a sponge and sponged all my edges with Poppy Parade.

I used Sticky Strip on the inside edges as close as possible to the outside edges to secure the pocket, so it would stay closed. Sticky Strip is really your best bet here. Tombow or SNAIL will not guarantee your pocket will stay securely closed.

For my Hinged Cover I used my Label Framelets. I think this is the first time I've used my Label Framelets on a card here. I've used them for projects but not cards. That somehow makes me sad! The Poppy Parade Framelet uses the next to the largest Framelet and the Very Vanilla one is the next smallest.

I have to admit I initially tried to stamp my heart image without my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, but had two issues.
1- Of course it wasn't centered perfectly enough.
2- My pad wasn't juicy enough for me to be able to emboss directly from the pad without using the VersaMark so I had to use the old stand-by and "flip the paper over"

This ended up making me much happier anyway. :)  I inked up my heart image from P.S. I Love You in  Poppy Parade centered it with my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig and stamped away. Do you have this set yet? It is a MUST Have! It's great for not only Valentines, but just giving little love notes throughout the year. I then stamped over it with Versamark, applied my Heat and Stick Powder and then my Clear Embossing Powder. I then outlined this entire image with my Two-Way Pen and added Dazzling Diamonds . It really makes the image PoP! I then sponged all the edges with Poppy Parade, and once again rimmed the edge with my Two-Way Pen and added Dazzling Diamonds. I applied dimensionals to the Very Vanilla layer before attaching it to the Poppy Parade layer.

I used my Mat-Pack and Piercing Tool to get the hole for Vintage Brad. I also wanted to make sure that when the framelet was swung over the card it didn't catch so I wanted to elevate it some. I stuck two dimensionals together and left the tabs on the outside edges that would be against my cardstock. I pierced a hole through the center of these as well and put my brad through my Framelets, through the dimensionals, through the base-cardstock to the back of the card-base. It lets my Framelet cover swing up out of the way easily without catching on my note-card below.

See, It swings up and you get a sneak peak of the sweet card inside, just waiting for you to write your love note on.

I used a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock for the note-card. I sponged both sides of the note-card in Poppy Parade, so it would be pretty just in case there was writing on both sides of the card.

Both the sentiment and the cupid image are from the P.S. I Love You set. I told you, Fabulous! I used Poppy Parade for both and for the cupid image I stamped off twice before stamping the image on my cardstock. I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch my hole at the top of my card and used Calypso Coral Bakers Twine for the  loop. Even though it's not the same color, it still coordinates beautifully!

Now, you know I couldn't leave that brad just hanging out on the back of my card, right? Oh, heck no!
Here's what I did-

I stamped this image from the same set in Poppy Parade and punched it out using my 1 1/4 Circle Punch, sponged the edges and applied Tombow to just the outer edges.This allowed me to cover up the brad "legs" but still allows the brad to rotate under the cover. :)

So what do you think? This was so quick and easy and I can't believe I haven't made them before. The Big Shot and our new Framelets really made it extra easy too. You could also make this without the framelet and add embellishments to the fold over flap and have an absolutely beautiful, fabulous card that's ready to give and more than happy to be received.

Today's card recipe-
Cardstock- Poppy parade, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment DSP
Ink-Poppy Parade, VersaMark
Stamps- P.S. I Love You
Big Shot- Labels Framelet, Lattice Embossing Folder
Punches- Corner Rounder Punch, 1 1/4 Circle Punch
Accessories- Calypso Coral Bakers Twine, Vintage Brads, Clear Block C, Heat Tool, Powder Trays, Heat and Stick Powder, Clear Embossing Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Two-Way Glue Pen, Tombow, Sponges

If you need supplies to recreate today's card or to make cards of your own, you can shop in my ONLINE STORE 24/7.

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope I have inspired you to try something new, if not Pocket Cards then something else. I know you'll be seeing more of these from me in the future. As always, if you decide to try your hand at these I would love to see what you make.

If you liked today's card, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)
Till next time-

Remember- Life is not about Waiting for the storm to pass, It's about learning to Dance in the Rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

End of the Week Technique # 16 - Framelet Valentine Candy Holder

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Hey y'all. Happy Thursday! I hope you're having a good day. It's cold here in the DMV with flurries forecast for later today but for now the sun is shining.

I have to confess that this is not the EWT I had in mind for you today. I know... you heard that last week too. Truth is I had planned to do lots of stamping and crafting yesterday to get ready for this weekend, (like I said I was going to do in yesterday's post) and then a little miracle happened. Right as I was finishing that post and about to hit "publish" my Oh-So-Handsome Boyfriend, who I took the day off from work to be with (don't worry I got it covered early, all legit like) and who had a last minute schedule change at 5:55 yesterday morning and wasn't going to be able to get off work, was able to get off work! SCORE!!!!! He lives nearby but his work schedule is soooo crazy (we're talking 6 days/week 12-14 hour days) that our time together is at a premium, so I have to say, there was not a lot of design - creativity happening in my household after I hit publish yesterday.

That being said, the project I have for you is super cute, super easy and can be adapted to anytime of the year, not just Valentines Day. I was inspired to make a Valentine's Day Treat holder after going to a Stampcamp this weekend and using the "Pillowbox" Die and the Big Shot to make one. Since I didn't have that die, I needed to find another option. I could have used the TopNote and made one like THIS from Halloween, but I wanted to try something else. So I got out my thinking cap, looked around and what do you know, I found the inspiration I needed right in front of me on my table. It was on the cover of the new Occasions-Mini. I changed it a little, theirs is simply rolled (so I'm thinking it's probably not a treat holder) and mine is scored with the Simply Scored Tool. Do you have yours yet? I'm telling you it is a must have! I don't even fold cardstock for card bases anymore without scoring them on that first. It just makes the fold so much nicer.

Here's today's project-

Cute right? Wouldn't you love to find this on your desk at work, or on your pillow at home? It's so easy even your crafting-challenged significant others could do this or could help your little ones do it to give you a nice surprise. If they can crank the handle of the Big Shot, Score cardstock, Punch a hole, Tie a knot/bow they're home free. They get bonus points if they can stamp the image and punch it out! (:

I used DSP from my Brights pack and the largest Framelet and simply ran it through the Big Shot. So simple.  Next, I laid this on my Simply Scored Tool with the "points" in a channel. I then counted over 1/2 inch or 4 "channels" on either side and scored, and then reinforced those scores. Then, using my Crop-A-Dile I punched a hole through both sides at the top and took a length of about 12 inches of Pretty in Pink ribbon (although you could realistically get away with less) wrapped it around the outside and through the holes.

Here's what it looks like open-

As you can see 4 Kisses or Mini- Reese's Cups fit nicely, or 3 "Nuggets" You can use a little Snail to hold them in.

Once they were in, I tied my Pretty in Pink ribbon in a simple knot and flagged the ends. I stamped 2 of the images from the P.S. I Love You set in Real Red and Pretty in Pink on Whisper White and then punched it out using my Small Scalloped Circle Punch. A quick hole punched to the top and I tied some Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine through that and around the knotted ribbon and easy as that my sweet treat is ready to bring a smile to someones face.

So what do you think? Will you be "accidentally" forwarding this link to someone you love so they can make  you something sweet for VD instead of buying something for you? I don't know about you, but I would rather get this, or something similar, that someone took the time to make for me than something from one of the big stores.

I hope you liked today's Quick and Easy EWT and I hope it inspires you to try something new and to remember that just because you don't have "exactly what someone else used" doesn't mean that you can't still make something your own. Just Try! If you liked today's project, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)

If you need supplies to make today's project or one similar to it you can shop at my ONLINE STORE 24/7.
Today's Recipe-
Cardstock- Real Red Pattern Paper Brights Stack
Ink- Real Red and Pretty in Pink Stampin Write Markers
Ribbons- Pretty in Pink Grosgrain, Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine
Big Shot- Labels Framelets
Stamps- P.S. I Love You
Accesories- Crop-A-Dile, SNAIL


It's not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to Dance in the rain.

Till next time-

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It