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I hope to be back with a video sometime soon. Happy New Year!
Isn’t this cinnamon bun so totally adorable? I love him. As you know, today is the last card of the year for me. I wanted to create something fun and happy. This is it. And it’s my sentiment for all of you.
I used gloss accents on the icing, and I made it purposefully messy so it looked more like real icing. Here is a close-up:
I want to wish everyone a blessed Christmas. I know I am counting my many blessings this year.
Card Measurements:
Element
Imperial
Metric
Card base
4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches
10.8 x 14 cm
Supplies:
Copic sketch markers used: bun (E34, E35, E39); top (E53, E55, E57, 0); eyes (110); shadow (W1, W3, W5, W7)
Wow, we’re getting closer and closer to Christmas! I can’t wait for Christmas Break… I’m in the middle of finals right now. Today I thought I would make a card that could easily be put together for those of you who don’t have a lot of time to spend on cards this year. I created a burgundy card and a black card. I think it would also look good in a dark purple – any warm/rich color to coordinate with gold will work. Or, if you have silver paper, use a dark blue. Here is the black card:
As you know, I love using black on my cards, so my preference would be the black one. Enjoy the video!
I’m going for a change of pace today… a spring-like butterfly card. My goal was to just watercolor a small area behind the butterflies. But, I didn’t want to paint on the color – that’s too easy and purposeful. I wanted to create something a little messier-looking. As you know, that is very uncomfortable for me. 🙂
The butterflies have a thick layer of clear embossing powder on them, so they look like an enamel sticker. I added some faint stamped butterflies in the background. Here is a close-up:
I’m sorry to be so late with the results. With the distraction of Monday’s post, I have to admit that I completely forgot about it until I was lying in my bed this morning! So here goes…
Thank you to everyone who submitted a card to the November Kraft Challenge! I just loved this challenge theme – the cards were so beautiful. What really struck me was the beautiful coloring – many of you colored on the kraft for this challenge. You can see all the entries here.
First, I really like the way Connie colored this card – very simple yet effective:
Notice the shading details – the palm trees, the stockings… and see how she added just a little bit of color to the sand and water. Not overdone at all – just perfect.
The coloring on this next card by Sherry really blew me away:
Look at the shading on the cow’s left leg – it’s white in the front and shadowed toward the side. That’s Sherry – not the stamp. Next look at the shadow from the front left leg on the scarf. And then, of course, the shadow on the ground. Fantastic.
There’s something about cows this month. I also loved this next card by Sarah:
The bandana paper is so cute, and I like how she added those cans to the kraft in white ink for the background. Nice job!
Andrea created candy canes out of circles and they look a little psychedelic:
I’ve never seen this done before – very clever! I also like how she used the ribbon in two places on the card. It makes the card look very cohesive.
Finally, this stunner by mojo3386:
Of course the coloring is amazing, but my favorite part about the card is that there isn’t a dark contrast. I always feel the need to add black or brown to a card – but this card shows that you don’t need it – not even for the sentiment. The card is gorgeous.
Thank you again to everyone who submitted a card. And sorry for the delay!
First, I want to say thank you to everyone who commented on my Monday post. I was surprised by how many people share my struggle, but I wasn’t surprised by the love and support that everyone showed – I already knew you are all wonderful people and I am lucky to know you. 🙂
I know the November Kraft challenge is over, but I had to do another card! I seriously love this neutral paper. I threw in a splash of color with a little red ornament. I used Sheltering Tree by Stampin’ Up! It’s one of those classic sets, in my opinion. I’ve used it on this card, this card, this card, this card, and this card. I have gotten a lot of use out of it! Here is a close-up:
Some people don’t care for the textured look of the stamp. I personally kind of like it because it lets some color beneath show through.
With the MISTI, it would be super easy to make a lot of these cards at once. Enjoy the video!
I found something interesting about watercolor paper while making this card. In my first version, I used Canson XL, which is my usual go-to paper. It’s very white and very thin. So, when it warps from the water, I can adhere it to a thicker cardstock and it will take the shape of the thicker cardstock.
For my video-recorded version, I wanted a thicker paper so I decided to use Ranger watercolor cardstock. It’s really the only other bright white watercolor paper I own, and I needed bright white because it is matted against a white card base.
With my Canson XL version, the watercolor pools up a lot and dries in place. It doesn’t absorb as much water because it is thin. Because the water lies there and dries in place, it dilutes the color a bit. As a result, I spent a lot more time adding more and more color. In addition, it doesn’t create a nice, dark watercolor line on the edges. However, with the thicker Ranger paper, the water absorbs quickly. So, although there isn’t a lot of water movement, the color stays darker, and you get a really pretty edge. Here is a photo that compares the two (Canson on the left and Ranger on the white):
Hope you found that interesting. Enjoy the video and your last day of November!
Today I am coloring kraft cardstock with colored pencils. I love the look – see this card for another good example of this technique.
I’m using Prismacolor pencils, which I usually use when it comes to dry colored pencils. I only have the 25-count set, but that seems to work just fine for me. 🙂
Here is a close-up of the coloring – very creamy and thick:
Today I’m back with some kraft cardstock. This time, however, I am using Hero Arts Kraft. Whenever I want a darker kraft, I use this brand. I wanted a darker color here because it contrasts nicely with the snowflake. Hero Arts’ kraft paper is much thinner and paper-bag looking, if you know what I mean.
Kind of like I did with this card, I included a bit of color by adding a matte of Soft Sky. Here is a close-up:
