Worry less...

TGIF my friends!

Super quick pop in today sharing one of the cards that I colored Live way back on May 20th for the MerMay clear release at Sweet November Stamps. This super cute mermaid is from the Salty but Sweet set and I paired her with the older Dock on the Bay set to create the background and give her something to sit on. I remember at one point one of my green markers dropped a big blob of ink on the left side of the card which ended up becoming the spit of land directly behind her. It was quite the lesson on how to deal with "happy accidents" and "embellishment opportunities", LOL! At the end of the day, you would never know any mistakes had happened just by looking at the finished product. And I really love how bright and tropical this scene turned out, with all of the fantastic suggestions I was getting from my fellow crafters. After two weeks off, I miss coloring with everyone and I'm excited to get back to coloring Live tomorrow morning over on my Adventures in Coloring with Amy Facebook page. Hope to see ya there!

Laters!

Supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Copic X-Press It
stamps- Sweet November (Salty but Sweet and Dock on the Bay)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Papertrey Ink orange zest
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Wink of Stella clear glitter pen
Copic markers:
sorry, I didn't keep a list but you can see the colors used here

 

You brighten my day...

Hello there!

I'm up on the TGF blog with yet another Anya Reboot kit card to share. This time when I searched my old blog posts I found a card I made in 2010 using the original Cowgirl Anya. I remember being so happy with it because I had the perfect patterned paper to create a fun scene for this ropin' and ridin' cowgirl. Now a days I don't have to rely on pretty papers to help me create stories with my stamped characters, instead I use my Copic markers to color them in by hand. I pulled inspiration from my original card and set the scene in the desert, using the little cacti stamps from the Potted Plants set (minus the pots) to help fill the background. I also grabbed the little critter from the Mini Remix Wild set and stamped just the head so it would look like a prairie dog poking out of its hole. For the mesa background I Google searched desert photos to find the perfect color inspiration and landscape. Once Cowgirl Anya had the perfect place to call home it was all about giving her a cute outfit, complete with a paisley print shirt, snake skin belt and jean skirt. Who says that cowgirls can't be stylish too? The sentiment is from the Animal Pots set and I stamped it tone on tone with the blue sky. Thanks for checking out my third retro redux card, I hope it inspires you to revisit some of your own past favorites.  :)

Stay crafty my friends!

 

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Catherine Pooler
stamps- The Greeting Farm (Anya Reboot kit, Mini Remix Wild, Animal Pots and Potted Plants)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Papertrey Ink blueberry sky
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Sakura stardust glitter pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, E04, R00, R20
hair- E21, E23, E53, E44
clothes- B95, B97, B99, 0, RV00, RV02, RV32, RV34, C2, C3, C4, E55, E57, E59
sky- B00, B01, B12, B23, B24
landscape- YR30, Y32, YR21, YR12, YR24, B52, B60, B63, E97, E99, E35
cacti- YG03, G24, G85, BG96, RV14, RV99
prairie dog- E55, E43, E44, E93

Sea-suns greetings...

Hey, hey!

Well, what do you know, it's another bird card, LOL! I couldn't help it though because Paloma, the flamingo is just so sweet. She's another one of the new characters that make up the Charmed by the Sea collection at Purple Onion Designs. She's so cute in fact, that I decided to use a mirror stamp and flip her so I would have two flamingos wading in the water. The palm tree is part of the Slumber stamp and I was able to turn it into a single tree by doing some simple selective inking. I then masked the trunk so I could stamp the little sailboat from the Wharf Accessories set, slightly behind it to help create a sense of distance in the background. Up in the sunset sky I stamped another of the Seaside Sentiments in a coordinating ink color so the over-all design would stay soft and dreamy. :)

Toodles!

Supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Copic X-Press It
stamps- Purple Onion Designs (Paloma, Slumber, Wharf Accessories set and Seaside Sentiment set), My Favorite Things (mirror stamp)
ink- Memento rich cocoa and Papertrey Ink melonberry
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 2
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
sky- Y0000, YR30, Y11, YR0000, YR000, YR00, R30, RV42, 0
palm tree- E55, E57, E79, YG25, YG67, BG99
sand- E31, E33, E34, E35
sailboat- R43, E81, C0, C3
water- BG0000, BG000, BG10, BG32/E50, E30, E41, E42, E43
flamingos- R30, R21, R32, RV42, E50, C4, C5, C8

Vitamin Sea...

Hi again!

Happy 4th of July to all of my U.S. friends who are celebrating today. I'm looking forward to some good barbecue and card games with my family tonight. In the meantime, here's a quick card that I made using the Sea Birds set from Sweet November Stamps. I stamped up the two seagulls flying in over the beach, probably in search of a dropped french fry or two. In the distance I added some of the seagull silhouettes from the Background Builder: Seaside Cliffs set because once the word is out, you know the whole flock will be looking for a free meal, LOL! 

Anywho, be safe out there and have a fantastic 4th!

Supply list:
cardstock- Lawn Fawn and Copic X-Press It
stamps- Sweet November (Sea Birds and Background Builder: Seaside Cliffs)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and london fog
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
sand- E50, E30, E31, E33, E43, E44
sea grass- G24, YG67, BG99
sea- B000, B02, B04, B05, B16, B37
sky- B0000, B000, B00, B01, B02, C0
seagulls- C00, C1, C2, C3, C7, N4, 100, Y11, Y17, Y26, BG000

 

Aloha...

Good morning!

I know it's a long holiday weekend here in the U.S. so I'm gonna keep this post short and sweet so everyone can get back to their fun 4th of July activities. This card using the new Aloha Wees clear set from the  Sweet November Stamps Summer release was colored during my afternoon Live on release weekend. Because of life happening, I'm just now getting around to sharing it here on the ol' blog. To be honest, I obviously wasn't feeling my best when I colored this and the Live itself is kind of a haze. I know I was rushing through the coloring so I could go lay down after I was done and I think the finished card reflects that. Good thing I have more scenes stamped up using this cute set so I can get some coloring redemption now that I'm feeling better, LOL!  :) 

Later gators!

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Copic X-Press It
stamps- Sweet November (Aloha Wees)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Hero Arts ombre green
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
sorry, I didn't keep a list but you can see the colors used here

Have a whale of a time...

Hi friends!

I thought I would pop in real quick with another POD Charmed by the Sea card. On this one I thought it would be fun to take Moby and stamp him upside down, minus the fluke, so that once I colored in the water it would look like he's breaching the surface. For the water itself I used the new Ocean Shoreline Background stamp to get those waves rolling in. And in the foreground I added Beaks, the pelican perched on one of the wood posts. He seems quite impressed by the display. And to complete the scene another one of the Seaside Sentiments was just what I needed. :)

Have a great rest of your weekend!

 

Supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Copic X-Press It
stamps- Purple Onion Designs (Beaks, Moby and water spout, Wood Post set, Ocean Shoreline Background and Seaside Sentiment set)
ink- Memento rich cocoa, Studio Calico ice ice baby and Papertrey Ink blueberry sky
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 2
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
sorry, I lost my list.
 

Friends are like seashells...

Hello there!

I'm back on the Bellariffic blog and now that we've officially welcomed in the summer season, I wanted to head back to the beach with today's Scenic Saturday card. This time around, rather than bright and playful, I opted for a more serene vibe with Uptown Girl Sylvia and the Seashell. I imagined this beautiful girl strolling through the sand at the end of a long summer day as the setting sun created a kaleidoscope of color painted across her world. To help me achieve that look I went straight to Google and searched beach sunset photos until I found the perfect picture to inspire my color palette. The mix of coral reds and peachy orange with the pale lavender and teal was really different than my usual go-to colors and I welcomed the fun challenge of trying to re-create the look with my Copic markers. I placed the horizon line slightly above the middle of the card because I knew I would need a bit more room for the sea than I would for the sky. Next, I began blending up from the horizon line starting with the reds and left a space the for the sun itself to be seen setting just behind Sylvia. That choice of placement helps pull focus right to her, just like a spotlight. Then it was time to blend down with the same colors and create the sea. To make sure it didn't end up looking like another sky I purposefully avoided super smooth blends and opted for some texture lines instead, mimicking rippling waves. Once the sunset background was completed I added one of the two sentiments that come with Sylvia to the bottom right corner of the card using a dark brown ink. I also added some sea bird silhouettes in the same dark brown to the upper right corner of the card. Both of these together create a "visual triangle" with Sylvia's dark brown hair, which is a design trick to help add a pleasing balance to the overall design. Now, I don't know about you, but I can almost hear the same gentle lapping of waves on the sand that Sylvia is hearing in her seashell.  :)

Stay crafty my friends!

 

Supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Copic X-Press It
stamps- Stamping Bella (Uptown Girl Sylvia and the Seashell), Sweet November Stamps (Background Builder: Seaside Cliffs)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Catherine Pooler icing on the cake
Papertrey Ink Noted scallop die
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, E04, R00, R20
hair- E74, E77, E79
dress/bag- BG10, BG11, BG13, BG72, BG75/E33, E35, E44
shells- E50, E81, E97, E99/BV20, BV23
crab- YR65, YR07, YR09
sand- E31, E34, E43, E44
sky/sea- R12, R32, R35, YR00, YR01, YR02, YR82, YR21, Y11, Y02, BV00, BV13, BV04, B60, B63, BG11, BG13, BG72