Red Hat Babe!

     Here we go guys! This is my first post as a Certified Standard and Intermediate Designer in Copic Markers. Yeah me. The class I took was in June with Marianne Walker and Carol Lawrence and I have so much knowledge from those 2 days that I think my head is going to explode! I love working with this medium and find it so relaxing. I am going to attempt to periodically post some of my creation and I hope to give you some tips along the way. Are you ready to see one of my own projects?

     This is a digi image from Pixie Dust Studios called Let's Play Dress Up. I bought this a while ago and it was one of the images that made me want to learn more about Copics. When I first saw this image all I could think of was The Red Hat, Purple Dress ladies. I also had some red hat stamps from My Sentiments Exactly so it all made sense that this is where I should start.
     First let me start by tell you that the type of paper you use is crucual to good results. The paper that seems to work best is X-Press-It. It is very smooth and a wonderful weight. There are many on line stores that sell this. If you use a softer paper it absorbs too much ink and may bleed through you image lines. Plus it is difficult to move layers of ink around.
     If you use mounted stamps you must use Memento Ink. I can not stress this enough. Stazon is an absolute no no. I learned this from experience before I took the certification classes. Not only can or will it smudge, but I ruined several tips because it was stained so badly. This image was printed on my HP photosmart copier. Once I printed the image out I dried the image with a heat blower. You can also use a hair dryer.
So this will give you a few important tips to start with. Now back to the colors I used.

     Here are the markers I used:

     skin tones: E000, E00, E01, and E13

     Brown hair: E31, E35, E37

     Hat and Boa: R22, R24, R27 and R29

     Dress: V12, V15, V17

     Shoes: C1, C3, C5, C7

     

     I used some stickles for the lace edging on her dress, also for the star on her hat. I added some liquid pearls in silver for her "pearl"necklace.

     The image was cut out using Spellbinders Nestabilities Scalloped Oval Large. I also embossed this oval and shaded the edge with Pebbles Pastel Chalks. I thought this stamp by My Sentiments Exactly! was a perfect match for this card.

     If you are looking for some adorable stamps, please visit Pixie Dust Studio and check out all her great images.

     I hope you like my first project with the Copics. Be sure to leave a comment if you need any help or just want to say Hi!

     

For The Graduate

   

     We were invited to attend a graduation party for a special young man who graduated from Law School! Can I just say WOW!!! This is my daughter Amy's brother in law. He is so quiet and humble, not at all what you would look at as a lawyer.
     Anyone who follows me regularly knows I have been on a nautical theme lately, lol. I have done the wedding invitations, and some projects for my spare bedroom that I haven't even shared yet. ( Almost done with that one, wait 'til you see!)
     I had this stamp from Hero Arts and thought it was great for the guys around me. I had planned to use it for male birthday cards but thought it would also work for graduation. ( My husband wasn't so sure. What does he know, lol).
     I also wanted to keep up with what I have learned about the Copic markers so I dug them out and started coloring. The image was stamped with tuxedo black by Momento ink. The following is a list of the colors I used.
     boat: E33, E35 and E37
     sails: W1, W3 and W5
     water: B21, B24 and B26
     clouds: C00, C0 and C1
     sky behind the clouds: B91, B93 and B95
     I love using X-Press It for coloring. This card stock is so smooth. After it was colored I die cut it with Spellbinders label. If the background print looks familiar it should, lol. It is leftover from the Nautical invitations I did with the Imagine More cart. The ribbon was also a scrap piece I had hanging around.
     The sentiment is a rub-on from My Sentiments Exactly. These are the best rub-ons because they come with inside sentiments as well and look like they have been printed on the card.

     By the way, the party was wonderful! Thanks for following me and don't be afraid to leave a comment, I don't bite, promise!

Happy Fathers' Day!

     I hope all the dad's out there had a great day. This is the dessert I made for the guys we were happy enough to see today. It's a scratch recipe with cinnamon, chocolate chips, walnuts and cheery pie filling, yum! To dress it up I had these flags that I bought several years ago. They are originally for the 4th of July so I just added some rub ons with the "Happy Fathers' Day. Because this cake doesn't need frosting I still wanted to dress it up a bit so I made some chocolate covered strawberries. They really added a nice touch I think.
     I have been taking a lot of pictures with my new camera but haven't had a chance to do much with them. I also have Tim Holtz film strip that I haven't used so an inspiration hit ( at 11:30 pm I do my best work then, lol).

     This is what I came up with. I decided to use the pictures as a film strip and put them on a tag. I know not many guys save cards they receive but, honestly, who could throw this tag away?

     I spritzed the tag with Clearsnaps Spun Sugar spritz and tied the tag with the tag string and added a silver fish charm.

     I came up with this pocket card so the shipping tag fits right inside. I love my Bind It All so I thought it would be great to add some lacing to the side and added a distrezzed tag to the front. I got a deal on Rub Ons from My Sentiments Exactly and they had a lot of Fathers' Day sentiments. Needless to say they loved them.
     My own dad passed away suddenly 34 years ago but I still remember one incident vividly. I was in 5th grade and was devastated to learn I needed eye glasses. The day I got them I was so upset I refused to wear them. I was sitting on our back steps when my father quietly sat down beside me and asked me to tell him what I saw at the end of our yard. I told him there were bushes just a lot of bushes. He then asked me to put my glasses on, just for a minute. Of course I grudgingly obliged. He then said they looked very nice. Why not tell him about those bushes? To my amazement they were not bushes at all but trees. They were huge trees!
I learned right then and there that this was a very wise man sitting beside me. Love you always dad.



    

Wrapping Paper Inspiration

     Wow it's been a while since I posted! Have no fear I have an exciting project to share! We have several weddings this summer/fall and that means Bridal Showers. I refuse to pay a lot for wrapping paper (I'd rather put the money into the gift) but I am still picky about something I can dress up.
     This paper was so cute with the wedding dresses and had cute sayings like "big hair", big dress" and "big day". I thought this was adorable to use for one of the showers I am attending. Sooo I decided to make a cute gift tag.

     I have been using a lot of shipping tags to alter lately. (I think I am hooked, lol). First I distressed the edges with Zutters Distrezz It All and added both blue and white spritz. While this dried I printed the phrases: big hair, big dress and big day. After inking the edges of the tag I embossed this dress from My Sentiments Exactly using a white opaque embossing powder.
     I wanted to add some dimension to the dress so I gathered up some sheer netting and after gluing it to the waist I added a satin bow. The bodice needed something so I added some imaginisce rhinestones and finished the tag off with a nice fluffy satin bow. (Big of course!!).
     One other thing I love to do is wrap the present with tulle rather than ribbon. I find it cheaper and gives a soft look and is appropriate for wedding, shower, birthday or baby gift and it is so economical!