A Soft, Shimmery, Thank-You and a Challenge / NAC #4

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Hey y'all. Happy Humpday! I hope you've had a fabulous week so far. Just two more days until the weekend. Woo-Hoo!!!

*Disclaimer*- Today's post is a little wordier than normal, but full of pretty pictures. I hope it at least makes you smile if not full-on belly laugh. :)

Have you ever gone somewhere and expected one thing and ended up with something totally different? Most of us have had this happen at one time or another. Often times, unfortunately, our "something different" is not something that makes us very happy. I recently had an experience though, that while not really "happiness inducing" at least had me laughing a Great deal. In fact it was so pleasant I decided to make a Thank You card for the people involved.

It just so happens that I was also able to incorporate Nacho Average Challenge's Color Challenge for the week. Most of you know I'm not a fan of the color challenges as they leave me feeling very inadequate, but I think I did ok this week. Thanks to NAC for another great color combo! I don't normally look at the DT samples prior to making my challenge cards, because I don't want my card to come out looking like theirs. It's a good thing I did though, because I had thought of summery ice-cream cones and well, apparently great minds do think alike (lol) because one of the DT members had the same thought. How embarrassed would I have been to have submitted a card so similar!?! Very, would be the correct answer. So I had to come up with a new idea. I thought about some yummy cupcakes, but I recently did a card with a cupcake for another challenge and I wanted something new. What to do, what to do....you know what to do here, come on say it with me in your best Pooh Bear voice...Think, Think, Think, Think.... I would use my new Butterfly set, Papillion  Potpourri. I've seen lots of cards with this set recently but I hadn't had a chance to use either the stamp set or the punch, so I was pretty excited. I've seen lots of people layer the punched out, stamped butterflies over a butterfly that was stamped onto c/s. But just the other day I saw one where the punched butterflies were layered over a butterfly punched out of coordinating cardstock. Genius! It looked so pretty. The stamper had colored her butterflies in with daubers for a really pretty effect. Well,  let me just tell you that I tried searching my reader feed with the "search" function and by going back through all of my recent feeds and couldn't find that card anywhere! I wanted to link to her card. I must have hit upon it off of one of my feed's websites. :'( So if that was your card, or you know whose card it was, please let me know so I can give proper credit.

Any-whoo, back to my story.... I had to take last Friday off to do paperwork for my stolen vehicle which was of course recovered the next day...After I used a day of vacation running around to complete the darn paperwork!!!!! While I was out at the end of the day, no really it was after 5, I stopped by my dental office to give them a down-payment on some dental work I needed done. Fun, right!?! Not!!!! Well, they tell me "The doctor's free now, do you want to just go ahead and get it done?" Well, the it was a root-canal and a crown. Uh-No!!!! I don't ever "want" that done, and somethings you want to give yourself a chance to prepare for.  Especially since even though my new dentist seemed really nice, what did I really know about how uncomfortable she was about to make me? So, why is it that the words "Sure" came tumbling from lips? Ruh-Roh! Can I just tell you that I left there almost 3 hours later and my cheeks hurt! What in the world do "Cheeks", have to do with a Root Canal and a Crown. Well we were all laughing so hard they couldn't help but hurt. My dentist was having such a good time, she said she wanted to "Send me candy, so we could do it again real soon!" Uh, thanks doc, but I'll be good with just a Hi! So long story short, that's why I needed a Thank-You card for my  unexpectedly happy "something different". My dentist is Amazing! Although I don't "want" to need another Root-Canal, if she's the one doing it, I won't be apprehensive. The only thing she needs remedial training in is "How to understand what your patient is saying when you have both hands and instruments in her mouth." Other than that, she and the entire office as well are the Best!!!

Here's today's card-

Thank You Card featuring
Papillion Potpourri and Curly Cute

Here was the challenge-

What pretty, soft, colors! I felt pretty confident about this challenge even with my initial idea null and void. I started with a base of So Saffron. I topped this with a Whisper White panel that I ran through my Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots E.F. Layered onto that were the Pink Pirouette and Certainly Celery layers. Because of the width of the three butterflies I couldn't fit a So Saffron layer on so I sponged the edges of the W.W. panel with some So Saffron for the illusion of another layer. :) The P.P. layer and C.C layers were Tombowed together and then raised up with Dimensionals. The W.W. layer was also elevated with Dimensionals. Oh and I stamped my sentiment prior to embossing. Much easier that way.

Here's a closer image of the focal point-

I wish you could see how pretty this is in person! I used my Copic Style Water-coloring Technique shown here. Although it's difficult to see because I then let Tink have her way with the inside portions of the wings.
You can still see some of the shadowing and color variations in these close-ups-

I tried to get them to line up across the screen but they wouldn't, not even small. :( Can you see the color variations. I made it darker at the black lines and softened it out from there. I left the very outer portion of the wings, the little scalloped portions, full strength. The bodies are colored in a light wash of Soft Suede. I stamped them in Black Staz-On on watercolor paper, punched them out, colored them, and then Tink made my studio a mess. :) I gave a slight crease to the center so the wings would come up and then attached them to the coordinating colored Butterflies beneath them with a Mini-Glue Dot.

Here's the inside-

I used the sentiment from Kindness Matters. I liked the thought and how even though it's from a different set than the sentiment on the front, the font is similar with the little curls. I inked up different butterflies from the same set by coloring them in with my Stampin Write Markers and the  let Tink have some more fun. :)

Here's a close-up of one of the beautiful babies-

I. Love. This. Card. I really wish it showed better. This is another one of those cards where you look at it and think "Wow! I made that!?!" And the best part is that this was so simple even beginners will be able to make beautiful reproductions. Love when that happens! :)

That's all I have for you today. I hope you liked today's card and that it inspires you to create something beautiful today. Don't forget to check out the Nacho Average Challenges' site. They are really doing a great job with their new challenge site. This challenge is open until Saturday night at midnight. I hope to see your fabulous creations there.

I love hearing from you, so if you have comments or questions about today's card, leave me a comment or feel free to e-mail me. I read all of my comments and they really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card, I've put the buttons here on my site for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

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 hope you'll stop back by soon. 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 Pin It

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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