Quick coloring tutorials and a giveaway!

I made this Acetate Treat Holder for a tutorial over at Scrapbooking Supplies R Us.

I also made this quick and easy card.

Before you head over to the acetate holder tutorial, I wanted to show you how I colored the pumpkins on the tag and on the card.

For the tag, I stamped the image on watercolor paper in Staz-On.


I inked up my craft sheet with Tim Holtz Dried Marigold Distress Ink.


Before applying color to my image, I like to "wet" the work surface.


Then I pick up some of the Dried Marigold off of the craft sheet and start "painting" the pumpkin.


Here is the image after several layers of color:


Then I started to "pull" the colors from the pumpkin out onto the surrounding area.
This allowed me to create highlights on the pumpkin and add some color to the watercolor paper.





Here I added some bling with my clear atyou Spica pen.


A quick and easy way to rough up the edges is to simply use your fingernail!

I used Copics on the card. The paper I used is Coconut Swirl (Bazzill).

I used the chiseled end to give the pumpkin a quick coat of Y17.

I used YR04 to add some dimension to the pumpkin...



Then I went back over the entire image with the first Copic, Y17



I used G99 once to cover the stem and leaf.

Then I went over it again to create some shading.

Here's the pumpkin as is:


Here is the same image with a touch of gray all around the image:

Now for the information for the giveaway!

Everything you see on the little card can be yours!

- Copics I used (Y17, YR04, G99)

- Happy Halloween Pumpkin stamp (Hampton Arts)

- a bottle of Spooky Dew Drops

- Boo to You "Monster Mash" paper

- Boo to You "Frightful Friends" paper

- 1 yd of Orange swirl ribbon

Simply go to my Halloween Acetate Treat Holder tutorial on Scrapbooking Supplies R Us.

Scroll all the way down to my signature and click on "Leave A Comment".

Leave me a message there about what you thought of both tutorials (coloring and treat holder) by this Friday (Sept. 25th) and you will qualify for the drawing!

Good luck!!

Lazy Days of Summer & a Limited Copics Challenge

The lazy days of summer has caught up with me! I have spent most of them at a local pool (Rancho Rinconada) with the boys. They recently took swim lessons there and we have fallen in love with the place. They even have Kids Night Out on Friday nights for $5 per child from 6p - 9p! I get to go hang out at the mall or go over to a friend's house while the boys get to play. So the big news is that I am going to be taking swim lessons with the boys starting Monday. Nope, I don't know how to swim. Scared of the water really... well up until this week. I managed to get in all the way up to my chin so that I don't freak out (hopefully) on Monday. Wish me luck! LOL! At least the teachers are all lifeguards so if I happen to get myself into trouble, I'm sure I will be okay in the end. :)

Here are some pictures that I can share... more to come later:

















Now for my "Limited Copics" Challenge over on the Crop Spot Blog...
This is a card I put together, using 5 Copic markers and the Blender.






How many of you have wanted to start using Copics but are a little intimidated by either the challenge of using them or the cost of the markers? How many of you have a whole bunch of markers but feel frustrated when trying to get them to coordinate together? How many have colors that you have received in a set that you don't ever use?

For more information, hop on over to:

The Crop Spot



Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

xx

Pink Cat Studio wrangling Weiman donations for Make-A-Wish Foundation!

Now this is something that really touches my heart.
Y'all know how much I love Pink Cat Studio.
In the past, I have posted for a few families that have been going through chemo so this story about Ethan Weiman moved me deeply. Little Ethan passed away on June 12th from Neuroblastoma cancer. Ethan was a true cowboy and loved horses, balloons and Knock Knock jokes.

Well, so the story goes like this...
Lauren Meader contacted Melissa of Pink Cat Studio (who was in the midst of moving!) and together with the design team and My Time To Create team, they came up with this super cute NEW Digi Stamp release "Weiman Wranglers":



That's right! DIGI Stamp means "digital" download... NO shipping, NO storage, and INSTANT gratification! All for a worthy cause: Make-A-Wish Foundation. By purchasing these digital stamps you will help brighten the day of a sick child as the money raised will go towards making one of their dreams come true.
Click here to purchase: WEIMAN WRANGLER

Here's what Melissa posted from Pink Cat Studio:
"Last week Lauren Meader, a member of my DT, contacted me to ask if I could make some digi stamps to help raise some money in order to honor Ethan and the Weiman family. I thought that was such a wonderful idea and got right to designing. Lauren told me that Ethan loved my Cowboy Billy stamp so she suggested that I design a new Cowboy stamp for Ethan and one for his little sister Ava too. Ethan loved horses and balloons so that is how we came up with the design of the kiddies riding their horses and holding a balloon.

We would be so grateful if you would help us to raise some money in Ethan’s honor. All proceeds from the sale of the stamps, after Paypal fees are deducted, will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois as requested by Alicia and Dave Weiman. "


Want to win a Pink Cat Studio gift certificate or three??

Lauren Meader, Vicki Garrett and Heather Schlatter are all generously offering the chance to win some moola to buy PCS stuff. Lauren's is a card making challenge using the new digi stamps and Vicki's and Heather's involve helping to spread the word about our fundraiser. Thank you so much ladies for your generosity! Please visit Lauren's, Vicki's and Heather's blogs to read about how you can win.

Here's what I came up with...



I worked on this all night long, thinking of ways I could make my "mistake" work. What mistake? Well, I accidentally printed the cowboy on my Gina K Pure Luxury cardstock in FULL SIZE! Yikes! lol! Then I looked at him and the shadow box idea popped into my head.

I have been wanting to show you how easy it is to color an image with just a few Copics. I have had students in my classes at Memories Live On ask me what colors they need to start with and comment on how they are holding off on starting because of how expensive they are. I always tell them that they don't need a set of three for every color if they can't afford it. Seriously!! Why not color with just one and shade with the same color? Then use the "0" Blender to get another shade from it? Not making any sense? Take a look...



What do you think? That's right! Three colors plus the skin color and the "0" Blender. :)

The horse's head is popped up for a 3-D effect.


I used E00 and Copic atyou Spica (Sand) Glitter Pen on the round buckle. The "rope" is hemp twine.


Then I wrapped the end of the "rope" around the "Howdy" sign, which I had distressed with a sponge and TH Walnut Stain.


Now it's your turn! If you have already purchased this Digi Stamp release and have made something with it, then post your link here! I would love to see your creation!

Are you a member of Paper Craft Planet? Then be sure to upload your project to the Ethan Tribute Album, created by Susanna Boyd!

BTW, the last time I checked, it says that $1381.59 has been raised at Pink Cat Studio so far!! Way to go, crafty wranglers!!

xx

Copic Markers with Cuttlebug Embossing Folders

How about trying your Copic markers on your Cuttlebug embossing folders to add a colorful layer on your cards or scrapbook layout?



If you have not seen the original post for this card, please check it out! "100 Birthday Cards" This card is a birthday card for a soon-to-be Centenarian (Beatrice) and I am collecting birthday cards for a blog follower (Amy) from Canada. Please join in on the fun!! I have received emails from several readers already and am so excited & grateful for the support. Thank you!!

Now, I bet you are wondering how I managed to color up a Cuttlebug embossing folder with Copics and get it to transfer onto my white cardstock! Well... here you go!



I colored my Floral Fantasy Cuttlebug embossing folder with several Copics markers. I colored the raised side of the embossing folder. It takes some time to color the entire folder, but once you get started it goes by fairly quickly. I used the brush end of my Sketch markers.





For the next step, I filled my Mini Mister with Colorless Blender refill and spritzed it on Bazzill Coconut Swirl cardstock. If you see a puddle sitting on the cardstock (like in the picture above) then simply use your fingers to move the puddle around on the cardstock, allowing it to soak into the fibers evenly. Wait until the "sheen" disappears and the paper is damp but not soaked. If you do not own any Colorless Blender refill, do not give up! You can use your "0" Colorless Blender marker to "wet" the cardstock by swiping it back and forth until the cardstock is damp.



Place the cardstock into the embossing folder while it is still wet and run it through as normal. Isn't the effect pretty?



Coloring with your Copics on your rubber stamps is something I posted back in February. You can view it HERE. It's one of my favorite techniques! Just a quick review... 1) Color your rubber stamp with your Copics 2) Dampen your cardstock by either misting it with the "0" colorless blender refill or running your "0" colorless blender marker over the cardstock a few times 3) Stamp on the slightly damp cardstock. I think it's easier to understand when you see it, if you haven't done this before. Just click on the link and I have some pictures that might help.

The edges? Oh yes! I airbrushed the edges with my Copic marker. Then I went over the stamped image with my Copic atyou Spica pens for some glimmer. Fun stuff, ladies!

xx

Welcome, Baby Parker!

Remember this Sweet Pea that I had colored the other day?




When I first saw the image, I immediately wanted to see how I can get it to "rock" on a card.
Oh, I'm sure it's been done before or there's another way to do this. Here's what was in my head...




Here's how I did it...



On the back of your image, add a dimensional (pop-up) dot, a penny, then a second dimensional (pop-up).

Then send it through a hole. I made this hole by paper-piercing where I wanted it to be and then using my scissors to create a small hole. Poke dimensional through the hole.




Add the second penny over the dimensional to hold everything in place.




Here is the final card... it's for Ashley. She delivered a baby boy!
Congratulations, Ashley!!
Welcome, baby Parker Alan Newell born 6.13.2009 at 11:21PM PST. 8lbs 15oz, 21"








*Grin* I LOVE Pink Cat Studio!


Don't forget... I am adding new goodies to the pile every week for this month's Birthday Giveaway! Check in my first post for the latest update!

xx