Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Bombshell Blog Hop - Shiver Me Timbers!






Welcome to the latest and greatest installment of Bombshell Stamps monthly blog hop!  Our devastatingly fabulous Hop Mistress, Alison, has assigned yet another incredible theme...Shiver Me Timbers!  ARGHHH!  Ok, the ARGHHH was mine, but you get the drift ;D

I almost went with images from A Pirate's Life, but decided at the last moment to go with Homeward Bound and Mermaid Treasure instead.  I received the two mermaid sets in the mail the other day and have been dyeing to get a little ink on 'em.  I colored up my scene with Copics and decided that my mermaid needed red hair.  This ended up giving my mermaid a much undesired resemblance to Arial from Disney's Little Mermaid.  Instead of her having a cartoon legacy, I imagined my fin-tailed beauty laying in wait, singing her siren song to the passing ships (in this case, Pirate Ships), clouding their judgement and causing them to crash into the rocks.  Arial can be so naughty!

You should have landed here via Freddie's awesome blog, where I'm sure you were greeted with one of his amazing art pieces.  Your next stop is Katie's blog and I have no doubt that she has something extra special waiting there for you there ;D  So, without further ado...HERE'S...KATIE!

PS - if you get lost along the way, head back to the Bombshell Stamps Blog where you'll find the rest of the list.  Oh heck, here's the list!  You're welcome ;D  LOL!

Cheryl <---Hola!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Tiddly Inks and a Couple of Cool Cats



Hello, fabulous people of Blogland!  I hope your weekend is treating you well.  Mine is wonderful!  My sister and I are in Las Cruces hanging out with mom and dad.  We drove in really late Thursday, but Friday we were off and running.  A trip home always begins with a meal at El Sombrero, the best Mexican food North of the border.  Heck, it's probably better than 95% of the restaurants South of the border, too.  We will eat there at least twice during the 4-days we are here.  Yeah, it's that good.

Today we headed down South to El Paso and dropped into Pizazz, a scrapbooking store bursting at the seams with papers, dies, embellishments, ribbons, and...wait for it...wait for it...COPICS!!!  They've got them all...every sketch pen and refill in all the glorious hues of the rainbow.  I wanted to take them all home with me, but alas, I showed some restraint and ended up with 9 refills and 8 new sketch markers.  Sounds like a lot, but trust me, it could have been a whole lot worse.  Let's just put it this way, if I had walked out with ALL the colors I wanted, I would have been using them to color in the borders of my divorce papers.  The cats would be out on the street corner offering to wash windows in exchange for whatever loose change drivers found in their cup holders, or unused ashtrays.  It wouldn't be a pretty sight...2 corpulent, senior felines and 1 tubby teenage tabby holding up signs that say "WILL WERK FER FUD".  They're not such good spellers.  I wonder who they get that frum.  And don't EVEN get me started on their grammar!  A recent IQ test revealed they excelled in spatial reasoning, but lacked skills in linguistic intelligence and mathematical intelligence.  Einstein's cats, they are not.  HOWEVER, that didn't happen today.  In fact, when I look at what happened today and what COULD have happened today, I practically saved my marriage...LOL!  If I take and twist this justification even further, you could even say Copics saved my marriage today...HAHAHA!

HAHAHA...still laughing at that one!  Anywho, let's talk about this card for a bit ;D  I used Catgirl by Tiddly Inks and colored her up with Copics, of course.  I love this image, especially the surly look of the cat in her arms.  He is not pleased.  This is a pretty good depiction of most cats I know.  How Christy captured this expression amazes me, but she is right on the money.  Be sure to regularly stop by the challenge blog to join challenges and see what the DT is up to.  This group always has an enormous amount of eye-candy to share!

Well, that's it for me.  Until next time, stay crafty!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

A New Challenge at The Paper Shelter - Fun in the Sun



Join the new challenge at The Paper Shelter this week and create Fun in the Sun projects!  The DT has created some wonderful eye-candy to get you started so pay a visit to The Paper Shelter blog and see what they've been up to.

If you enter the challenge and you used a Paper Shelter image, and you are randomly selected in the drawing, you could win a $15.00 gift certificate to The Paper Shelter shop.  If your creation is randomly selected, but you did not use a Paper Shelter image, you could still win your choice of one digi image from The Paper Shelter shop!  Isn't that great!?  That means that everyone can play!

My sister and I are headed down to Las Cruces to spend a few days with mom, so I'm not sure how many more posts I'll have this week.  I just may surprise everyone, including myself, and squeeze in one more before I leave.  We'll just have to see ;D  Until then, stay crafty!  

Sunday, June 19, 2011

A New Challenge at Kenny K - Checks





Hey, everybody!  I hope you're weekend is rockin' and rollin'!  Do you have special plans to celebrate Dad today?  I haven't even made Father's Day cards yet.  I am a super bad daughter.  Look up the phrase "bad daughter" in the dictionary and VOILA...you'll see my picture!  I think my family is used to my inability to complete things timely.  Easter cards get mailed out in May, Mother's Day cards sent a week after the fact, and Christmas cards that I finish up in a hotel room on Christmas Eve and hand deliver Christmas Morning.  Ah, lucky for me, I have a very patient family ;D

Well, needless to say, neither Dad nor Father-in-law will be receiving this card.  She's just a bit racy for a couple of elderly gents in their mid 70s ;D  I can practically hear mom guffawing at my description of Dad as an elderly gent...LOL!  Anyway, this is my last challenge card with Kenny K.  It's been a year since the team began and I have been lucky to have spent 12 glorious months working with some of the most amazing (and popular) images on the Internet and a team of artists who have the ability to make any image they put color to sing.  What a fabulous ride this has been!  But, alas, it is time for me to step aside and make way for a new team member who will add a fresh perspective to Kenny's designs and create stunning cards sure to inspire and wake the creative juices in us all.  Congratz to all of the new team members.  You are in for a real treat ;D

When Kenny released the Krash Kittenz I knew I would have to use lusty Carmen Electrifying at some point, but didn't know when until a few days ago when I decided she would be part of my farewell card.  What a sassy exit this image makes ;D  I colored her with Copics and then added dimensional lacquer to her boots.  A sprinkling of fairy dust, aka glitter, adds a bit of sparkle.  This Chica is ready to turn heads!

Visit the Kenny K Download shop and check out all of the designs.  There is something for everyone!  This week's theme is to use Checks in your design.  If your card is randomly selected and you've used a Kenny K image, you could win a couple of great prizes...a $15.00 gift card to Michelle's Scrapbook Shop and your choice of 5 digi images to Kenny K's Download site.





Visit Kenny K's Krafty Girlz challenge blog and check out the dazzling designs by my teammies.  Inspiration abounds!  See you in a couple of days with something new.  Until then, stay crafty!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Tiddly Inks - 1 of a Kind!




Hey, all!  Welcome back!  I'm sharing a Tiddly Inks card today.  Isn't this little miss cute?  She is called Always the Flower Girl and I am just smitten with her.  I love this line of characters Christy designs, but I have a deep, dark confession.  I don't usually like images without a nose or a mouth.  AND...here's an even deeper and darker confession...Magnolia images creep the heck out me.  Now, don't go pelting me with ink pads!  There is just something extremely strange about them and it's not a "good" strange...it's just a "strange" strange.  Maybe it's because they have unusually large heads and that just emphasizes their absent facial features.  Not sure.  Maybe I'm just plain crazy.

These images, however, don't bother me at all.  In fact, I LOVE them!  They have crazy fabulous hair, cool goth clothing, and some of them even include skulls in their design!  Squeal!!!!  That just can't get any more perfect than that in my book.  Magnolia, schmagnolia...I got something better ;D  

I'm teaching a class tomorrow, so I may not be back with another card until Sunday when the new Kenny K challenge debuts.  If that's the case, have a great weekend and stay crafty ;D  

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

A New Challenge at Copic Creations! Doodle mania!



See, I told you I'd be back and here I am!  And just why am I back?  To share with you, the latest challenge theme at Copic Creations.  This go round, we're asking you to use your Copics and Multiliner pens to create doodles or other added details to your card creations.  Sounds tough, but it really isn't.

Penny Black is sponsoring this week's theme, so I received some images to play with.  This little flower pot caught my eye, so I decided he would be part of my doodle experiment.  I stamped him three times and added a "floor" beneath each pot.  Next, I added series of dots and gave my images an interesting background.  Finally, I used a Multiliner pen to create a flying insect and a trail.  I'm not sure if Mr. Insect is a dragonfly or a mosquito, so I am going to call him a "dragquito"...lol!  Not to be confused with a taquito...hmmm, now I'm needing a snack.  I am so easily distracted ;D  

Stop by the Copic Creations Challenge Blog and give the team's creations a looksee.  It's another eye-popping grouping that's sure to make you go "Wow!"  

That's it for today, come back tomorrow and I'll have a Tiddly Inks card to share ;D  Until then, stay crafty!

A New Challenge at The Paper Shelter - Punches and Dies!



Hello!  Thanks for stopping by!  There's a new challenge at The Paper Shelter today and you're not going to want to miss it!  This week the design team is asking you to dig out those punches and dust off those dies and create something fabulous!  There are prizes to be had...check it out:


If you enter the challenge and you used a Paper Shelter image, and you are randomly selected in the drawing, you could win a $15.00 gift certificate to The Paper Shelter shop.  If your creation is randomly selected, but you did not use a Paper Shelter image, you could still win your choice of one digi image from The Paper Shelter shop!  Isn't that great!?  That means that everyone can play!


For my card I called on an old friend, Tucan.  He's a sassy little bird and I imagine he has quite a mouth on him...lol!  You can pick him up in the shop along with lots of other amazing images!  Don't forget to stop by The Paper Shelter blog and see what my teammates are up to.  Those crazy crafty artists have lots to share and their work is sooooo inspiring!  You won't want to miss it!

Believe it or not, I'm coming back with a second post for the day, so I'll see you very soon ;D   

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

A New Challenge at Tiddly Inks - Simplify with a One Layer Card






Hola, amigos!  I'm here today to announce the latest and greatest challenge from Tiddly Inks!  It's a doozy!  This week the Tiddly Inks team is asking you to SIMPLIFY your card creations by only using one layer.  That's correct.  Just one layer.  How did I like this challenge?  Let me put it to you this way.  I thought I was going to die!  "One layer?!  No way!"  This is an actual snippet of a conversation I had with myself before making my card.  It was immediately followed by a full-fledged, kicking and screaming, temper tantrum, complete with flailing arms and damsel in distress dramatics.  Needless to say, none of this changed the fact that I was still going to have to create a one-layer card.  Long story short, this one was tough.  I guess that's why they call it a "challenge"...DUH!  LOL!

Once I stopped whining and started working on the card, things started to look up.  First of all, I chose to work with the image, Donna.  Did you know this image is the namesake of my stamping blog buddy, Donna Mikasa?  Donna is a Tiddly Inks Coloring Friend and she has a fabulous blog called, Three Umbrellas.  Get it?  Umbrellas.  Donna (in the image) is holding an umbrella.  Ever notice when you over explain something it tends to dilute some of it's irony, humor, interest..whatever it was you were shooting for.  I think I best be moving on, before that happens here ;D   Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is, I love this image.

I colored up Donna with Copics in mostly primary colors and then decided to add dimensional lacquer to the umbrella and the rain boots.  The awesome striped ribbon down the side was a gift from my friend, Shay (hey, girl!)  Don't you love it!

Don't forget, you can pick up this image and tons more in the Tiddly Inks Shop.  Stop by the Tiddly Inks blog and see what magic the other Tiddly Inkers stirred up this week.  These gals are seriously talented!

That's it for now.  Stop by tomorrow for more card stuff.  Until then, stay crafty!  

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Second Sample for Friday's Class at CP2




Hola, mis amigos!  Back with a super short post today!  Just sharing the second card I will be teaching Friday at CP2.  I'm still playing with those demented mermaids from Stampotique.  These two ladies have serious 'tude and have turned life under the sea on it's tail.  Fish tail, that is.  

I love the hair on these gals.  It looks as if they are actually under water and their tresses are dancing up and out from their fangular (just made that one up, ha!) faces.  Love it!

Okay, that's it for me!  I said I'd keep it super short and so I have;D  Stay crafty! 

Saturday, June 11, 2011

My Next Class at CP2: Nightmare Under the Sea




Hey, all!  Welcome back!  How's the weekend treating you thus far?  Good, I hope ;D  I treated myself to a 2-day class at CP2 with Arley Berryhill and we are on the second day of creating an amazing Halloween paperclay sculpture.  Pop over to the CP2 blog to take a peek at Arley's finished project.  I guarantee you are going to swoon over this vintage Halloween trio.  Go ahead...take a look.  I'll wait.  ***********************  Are you back?  See what I mean?  Fabulous!  I was really skeptical as I have never worked with Paperclay before, but Arley is a wonderful teacher and his instruction makes it seem easy.  I can actually see myself using these techniques again and again.  Paperclay, I *heart* you!

I have a class at CP2 next Friday and I just recently completed the samples.  It's a wonder anyone ever comes to my classes when they aren't able to see what the completed projects are.  I want to say a big "thank you" to the folks who have signed up for this class sight unseen.  You are very trusting and I truly  appreciate your confidence.  I hope you like the samples.  I'm sharing one today on my blog and the other one tomorrow, but both cards are currently on display in the shop if you want to take a closer look.

I picked up these Stampotique mermaid stamps a couple of months ago and they've been sitting on my art desk screaming for some ink.  When I finally picked them up, I couldn't put them down.  The images are lean and wiry, but they get along well with the Copics.  In fact, it was a friendship made in heaven...Stampotique Mermaids, meet Copic Markers...BOOM!  That's the sound of  creativity being born.  These two got along so well, before I knew it, they were down at the school yard smoking cigarettes and asking strangers to buy them liquor.  Hey, I said they got along, I didn't say they were saints.  Look at them...they are obviously juvenile delinquents ;D

I was never a big mermaid fan until these briny beauties came along.  Now I can't get enough of them.  As I type this, the Bombshell Stamp's mermaids are enroute to me and everyday I race to the mailbox and accost my postal carrier to see if they have arrived.  My postal carrier is cruel and never hands them over.  I know they MUST be on her truck, but instead she drives away and as I watch her go, I see her toss her head back and let loose with a wicked cackle as she mocks my dejection.   Just hateful.

The great thing about mermaids is that they are mythical creatures, which means I can make them any color I want without doubting myself.  On today's mermaid du jour, I have used G00 and G02 which results in an almost alien glow.  And, I have to be honest, I just don't get enough opportunities to give things an alien glow.  The addition of a few glittery bits finishes this card off.  Join me tomorrow and I'll share class sample #2.  Until then, stay crafty ;D                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Friday, June 10, 2011

Copic Coloring Tutorial

Hey, everybody!  I'm sharing a Copic Tutorial today.  I really wanted to do a video tutorial, however, I have a really good reason for not doing it and you are going to completely agree with me...I desperately need a manicure.  My nails and cuticles look horrendous and give the illusion that I should be wringing my hands and cackling maniacally.  Yeah, that bad.  Anyway, that's not why you're here, so let's get this show on the road ;D

Today I'm sharing the basic techniques I use when coloring with Copics.  This post is super picture heavy, so if it loads slowly or clogs things up, I'll just go ahead and apologize in advance.  Next time, I'll get the manicure and we won't have this problem ;D

A quick note about how I color.  I prefer to color dark to light, but lots of folks like to color light to dark.  There is no right or wrong way to do it.  Play with both methods and see what feels good to you.  Also, I'm a flicker.  Yep, I said it, I'm a flicker from way back...LOL!  Some folks like to make circles to color and that's fine, too.  Again, just do whatever feels more comfortable.  The key to blending is making sure you're laying down enough ink to slightly saturate the paper and that you're overlapping your colors so that they blend into each other and there are no harsh lines.  Shall we begin ;D


Here's our color palette for today.  You'll notice there are a couple of Natural Blending Families.  That means that the first letter and the following number are the same, and the last numbers are only a few digits apart.  This usually means that these colors will blend together with very little effort.  Color combos that do not follow this formulae will also blend, but might require a bit more effort to make them appear seamless.  



Here's a snapshot of the supplies I'll be using.  Bombshell Angel will be our color victim.  Isn't she pretty?  My must have tools when working with Copics are Memento Tuxedo Black ink and Neenah Classic Crest 80# coverstock in Solar White.  It has a fabulous smooth finish which is great for blending.  Visit the Copic website for a list of other recommended inks and papers.


When coloring an image that contains skin, I always begin with the skin.  This reduces the chances of me dragging darker colors onto the skin later on.  I use a flicking technique to lay down color.  This method results in heavier color at the beginning of the stroke and lighter color at the end of the stroke.  To me, the lighter color at the end of the stroke sort of sets the color up to readily accept the next color.  In the picture you'll see E11 on the top line, then you'll see E11 with the addition of E00 on the second line, and finally you'll see E11, E00, and E000 all blended together.       


I start by using E11 to create shadows on the skin.  I use it sparingly.  I can always add more later if I need to add emphasis to the shaded areas.  Also, I've place my light source more or less directly in front of my image.  This seems to be the most natural way to color Bombshell Angel.   


Next, I use E00, blending over E11 which softens it significantly.  I still use the flicking motion covering much of the remaining skin, but I leave areas that will be highlighted with my lightest color.    



E000 is the last skintone I apply and the lightest.  She's beginning to take shape, but her skin could still use a little something to liven her up.  I'll do that with R20 in the next step.    



I typically add R20 to cheeks to provide a rosy glow, but it is also fabulous on areas of the skin that might naturally protrude and appear sun-kissed, such as the tops of shoulders and in the case of our bombshell, the outsides of her legs and just ever so slightly the outside of her arms.  R20 is very rosy, so go forth with a light hand when adding this to skin.   


I soften the R20 with a light blending of E000.  Now her skin has more dimension and a soft natural glow.  


Usually after coloring skin I like to color hair.  Not sure why, I just do.  Today we're going to make our Bombshell a brunette.  


I start with E37 applying it at the base of each curl and also around her face.  Also, I applied just a gentle swipe of B000 across her eyelids and just a dot of red to her lips.  No self-respecting Bombshell would ever leave the house without her eye shadow or her lipstick! 


Next, I apply E35 just extending it a bit past our last color.


I finish with E31.



Time to color her swimsuit.  



I start with BG78, applying shadows to her swimsuit.



Next, I apply BG75, closing in those areas slightly, but leaving space for my lightest color.


I finish her suit by filling the remaining areas with BG72, but wait...her suit looks a bit bland.  What can we do?  I've got it!


Yes!  Some retro polka dots applied with the handy dandy Colorless Blender save the day!  


Bombshell Angel is looking stylish and ready for the beach!

So, that's my quick and dirty tutorial on coloring with Copics.  Okay, maybe it wasn't so quick...lol!  Bombshell Stamps are perfect for honing your Copic skills.  They contain just the right amount of details to make it challenging, yet they aren't so detail heavy as to be intimidating.  Plus they have a bit more skin than other images so they are great to get a feel for using the Copic skintones or coming up with new skintone combinations.  Even though, I posted all of the pictures and added my commentary to each one, the best advice I can give you for coloring with Copics is...PRACTICE.  Use them everyday, if you can.  They are amazing tools, are very user friendly, and are worth every penny. 

Thanks for tuning in today ;D        

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

A New Challenge at The Paper Shelter - Celebrate!



Hey, eveyone!  It's Wednesday and time to announce the new challenge at The Paper Shelter.  This week we're asking everyone to create cards focusing on events that you are celebrating.

If you enter the challenge and you used a Paper Shelter image, and you are randomly selected in the drawing, you could win a $15.00 gift certificate to The Paper Shelter shop.  If your creation is randomly selected, but you did not use a Paper Shelter image, you could still win your choice of one digi image from The Paper Shelter shop!  Isn't that great!?  That means that everyone can play!




Swing by The Paper Shelter blog to see the wonderful creations of the design team!

See you tomorrow with something new and different.  Until then, stay crafty!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

I've started a new blog!

Psst!  Hey, you!  Yes, you!  Come on in.  I have something to tell you ;D  I've started a new blog.  It's completely different from this one and rather than talking about and sharing projects focused on papercrafting, it will embody topics near and dear to my stomach that revolve around my other passion...food.

Kirk and I come from a long line of Foodies who reside on both sides of our family tree.  As you know, Kirk has a barbecue blog and my sister has a cooking blog (see my sidebar for links).  Well, I decided that I wanted to jump on that band wagon and join the fun.  Plus, I'm trying to shake off a bad rap I ended up with a looooong time ago, where some folks in the family assumed I hated to cook or that I lacked the skills to cook well.  You know who you are...(shaking my finger accusingly at you)!

Who knows, it's been so long, maybe I did hate to cook and/or maybe I was really awful at it.  I just don't remember anymore.  The point is, those days are long gone and I can wield a spatula with the best of them now.  I love to cook!  I LOVE to entertain!  I have the television tuned to the Food Network all day long and now that the satellite company has added The Cooking Channel to the line up, our DVR is filled with cooking shows.  I'm addicted to food magazines, cookbooks, William Sonoma catalogues, food porn websites showcasing beautifully crafted culinary masterpieces...the list goes on!  The Pioneer Woman is my hero and I worship at the altar of Martha Stewart!  I am a cuh-razy foodanista and I'm proud of it ;D  

Wow!  I'm getting a little excited here, I best take a deep breath and calm down...lol!

My new blog is called Risotto Stone and I'll be sharing recipes, restaurant reviews, opinions on products and kitchen utensils, and pretty much anything else that might even be remotely related to food.  Please pop over to my new blog and I promise you'll find lots of pics, a recipe or two, and the occasional funny anecdote.  Check out my first post, which explains the origination of Risotto Stone as the blog name, and my second post which is an incredibly easy recipe for a chocolatey, peanut buttery dessert called Gold Bars.  I hope to see you there ;D      

Sunday, June 5, 2011

A New Challenge at Kenny K - Sketch!




Hello and welcome back to The Ink Trap!  I have been neglecting my blog for the past few days, but not to worry.  I'm back and I have lots to share :D  First and foremost, I'd like to extend a huge heartfelt "thank you" to the fabulous ladies who attended the collabortative class taught by Anne Engelhardt and yours truly, yesterday.  I am having such a great time teaching with Anne, I feel like it ought to be illegal to have this much fun!  I'm sure in some countries it is!  More collaborative projects are coming up on the calendar for the next quarter, be sure and check the CP2 blog for updates.  I can't wait!

Also, I want to thank my sweetheart hubby for providing lunch for the gang.  He smoked a pork butt and we enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches with his newly bottled barbecue sauce.  Let's just say, lunch was a huge hit and his pork butt was met with rave reviews.  I made a little chocolate/peanut buttery something to balance the zestiness of his sauce and the rich smoky flavor of the pork.  Pretty tasty ;D 

Today, I'm bringing you the latest challenge from Kenny K's Krafty Girlz.  Team A is up this week and we are challenging you to use a sketch for your card layout.  These challenges are by far my favorite, because sometimes, the card layout is the most difficult part of the process.   

Also, Kenny K is introducing 4 new images in the shop and they are all wedding themed.  I chose to use Wedding Dance for my card.  I left my wedding couple in lots of white and just added a bit of C1, C2, and B000 to their outfits to create the illusion of white.  Leaving the white areas without color makes them appear unfinished and flat.  Adding just a touch of light shading where shadows might appear or highlights were light might reflect, makes the images pop and come to life a bit more.

Prizes this week are more than plentiful.  Kenny K is offering the random winner their choice of 5 digital images and Bearly Mine Designs is offering the winner their choice of 2 digital paper packs.  SWEET!  But, remember, you must use a Kenny K image on your creation in order to be eligible to win.  






I'll be back soon with more cards and a special announcement, so do come back ;D  Until then, stay crafty!