Valentine Card - Matchmakin' Maynard

OMG...I love this image! ISN'T HE CUTE!?!?!? I saw the stamp and sentiment last year on SCS and just had to have them. I've inked him up a couple of times but I think this is my favorite!

AND IT'S A CAS CARD THAT I LIKE!!!! (big grin)

I stressed over coloring this guy. I even tried to get Heather to color him. In the end I think he turned out great. I combined a couple of challenges on this one. The Copic Creations "feather blending" and the Tuesday Morning Sketch. Feather Blending is one of the first things, Heather tried to teach me in Copic 101. Basically, you take two different colored markers (pink and teal) and get them to blend.

Here's a close-up. I think I did a pretty good job! What do you think? He's got an undertone of pink that comes out in his nose, hands, and along his middle. His underbelly was more pink and less teal. I also used some glitter to give him BLING.

I used the sketch, which is a great CAS sketch because I wanted to highlight Maynard.

Stamps: High Hopes MATCHMAKIN' MAYNARD & sentiment
Paper: Solar White and pink stripe
Ink: Memento
Accessories: Copics, glitter, and pink heart rhinestones

Merry Kiss-Moose!

Happy Friday! Hope you're staying warm! This is the second week of card/gift ideas for the KLSNS blog! This week I did a nugget box.

There is a super tutorial on SCS for nugget boxes. Chris sat down and figured all the dimensions for any size box from 1x2 nuggets to 3x10 nuggets. You simply cut a square/rectangle of paper from designer paper, score/cut, and fold! I always use a double sided paper because you will see inside the box.

I have a Scor-Pal which I use on every card I make. But if you have one, you know that you have to do "higher math" to figure where to mark on non-traditional folds. The easiest way I've found around that is to draw pencil lines on the "fold" marks and then crease.

Do it on the inside of the box and the folded edges will hide the marks. The directions also give "lid" informations. I use acetate to make the lid so you can see the decorated candies inside the box.

I cut 1" x 3 1/4" strips of computer paper out. But you can also use mailing labels, designer paper, etc. Here I used my beloved Martha Stewart holly punch and some rhinestones to decorate.

The matching card uses this weeks SCS Sketch (SC258). Since the paper was two sided it seemed perfect to use the leftovers for the card. The High Hopes HOPEFUL MOOSE is hoping you give him a "kiss" (or nugget in this case)! Colored with Copics. Highlighted with my souffle pen (white dots on his scarf). Hope you have a Merry Kiss-Moose!

Stamps: High Hopes HOPEFUL MOOSE, Memory Box sentiment
Paper: white card stock, American Crafts, acetate
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics, Martha Stewart holly punch, ribbon, rhinestones, and glitter pen.

KLSNS - Crystal Snowflake Tutorial #2

Good morning! TGIF! This week I'm introducing the KLSNS blog challenge for November. You have the entire month of November to make a card with a SNOWFLAKES!!! Post the card on the KLSNS blog and you could win a $10 gift certificate and a free stamp of Kelly's choosing!

Previously, I shared my version of the Anne Wight snowflakes. In that tutorial, I used sponge daubers and ink pads to create colorful snowflakes. This time I have two different options for you.

The supplies you need to gather are:

• snowflake punches or dies
• glitter
• clear drying glue (I use Diamond Glaze or Glossy Accents)
• pop-dots
• brad/button/sticker for the center
• white or patterned paper

The first snowflake option simply uses patterned papers. You can use any size pattern, but I generally keep the size small for more even color changes. For small snowflakes punch 1-2 snowflakes. Here I used some Basic Grey ESKIMO KISSES scraps.

Put a dot of glue on the outer tips of each leg of the snowflake. Then dip directly into the glitter jar. Tap off the excess glitter. The great thing about Diamond Glaze or Glossy Accents is that it dries almost instantly. Don't worry about leaving glue in the pot. I haven't found that to be an issue.

Use a pop-dot between snowflake layers and off-set the legs. On these small snowflakes I used a very fine glitter (but I'll be honest and tell you that I like CHUNKY glitter better for the bigger snowflakes). In the very center add some eye-candy, in this case I added a pink rhinestone for that extra bit of bling.

Here's the finished card. I used different patterned papers for each layer of the snowflake. REMEMBER - NO TWO ARE A LIKE! The image background was watercolored first and then stamped. I re-inked the snowman after stamping and added highlights with my Souffle pen.

Stamps: Stampendous SILENT NIGHT SNOWMAN
Paper: Basic Grey ESKIMO KISSES
Ink: SU! Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzelberry, and Melon Mambo (re-inkers)
Accessories: Deb's Crystal snowflakes, EK Success border punch, glitter pen, aqua pen, glue pen, glitter, and Souffle pen.



The second snowflake is much like the original method. Starting with white paper, punch 2-3 snowflakes of differing sizes out.

In the original method, I used sponge daubers to apply color to the white paper before punching. But if you're coloring with COPIC markers, you might want to use the COPIC airbrush system to make sure the snowflakes match what you're coloring.

Spray two colors on each snowflake.

Once again put a dot of Glossy Accents on the leg of each snowflake. On the larger snowflakes, I will cover each "finger" too. The larger glitter (in this case SU! Chunky glitter) adds a bigger surface for the light to bounce off.

Add a pop-dot between each layer. Remember to off-set the legs. And in this case I put a Basic Grey brad in the center after I punched a hole. It's very easy to rip the snowflakes.

On the larger snowflakes to give even more texture, I also glue a leafy punch layer.

Stamps: High Hopes FOLLOW THE STARS, Denami swirl stamps.
Paper: Basic Grey ESKIMO KISSES
Ink: Memento Black Tuxedo
Accessories: Deb's Crystal snowflakes, SU! chunky glitter, glue pad, Copics (see below for color list), airbrush system, and glitter pens.

Remember, to post your SNOWFLAKE cards on the KLSNS blog for some blog candy!

Hope you have a great weekend! I'm going to the Air Force/Army game tomorrow. If I remember to take my camera, I'll post some pictures.

GO VEGAN!

HAPPY FRIDAY! Time for another post for KLSNS! This week I want to share some goodies I got from Kelly (the K in KLSNS).
Kelly is one of the few (maybe only) US sites carrying the HIGH HOPES stamps! This cute turkey is praying that you decide to go vegan for Thanksgiving! Also in my goody bag was the new Basic Grey NOOK AND PANTRY paper. The fruit paper was a perfect pairing with the veggie turkey!

I used this week's SCS sketch (SCS252). It was a great way to showcase that great Basic Grey paper!

I decided to do simple coloring on Mr Turkey, so I used the Stampin Up Color Coach. In the center of the wheel is a group of matched colors. I did the solid coloring with the light color and then outlined with the darker color. It's a very effective way to do quick "shading. I also decided to dress him up a bit with a glitter pen.
And finally to give him a little more depth, I colored him twice, cut out the main body, and then used pop dots to lift him up. The background was very lightly airbrushed with my COPIC system (I use the canned air right now) and then brushed with Ruby Red.

Stamps: High Hopes TOM'S PLEA
Paper: Basic Grey NOOK AND PANTRY
Ink: Stazon Black, SU! Markers
Accessories: Nestabilities, Copic airbrush system, gold rhinestones, glitter pen, ribbon, Basic Grey brads.

Kelly is still looking for new design team members for next year. You have until the end of October to apply! There's still a bit of time!

Hope you all have a safe Halloween! And don't for get to "FALL BACK" with the time change on Saturday night!

VSN October Mini #1 - Masquerading Holiday Card

I hope you'll play along with the Splitcoast Mini VSN (Virtural Stamp Night) tonight! For the next 5 hours there will be a new challenge and I'll be posting my card for the challenge here, as well as in the SCS galleries. Can't play tonight? That's ok - you have until Sunday evening to post your challenge cards at SCS.

The first challenge is GET IN THE PARTY MOOD. Using a holiday stamp create a card for a different holiday.
Here I used my little Hanglar & Stanglar Devil. She's holding a trick or treat bag, but sitting her on a heart, my Halloween stamp is transformed into a Valentine! The heart is from Stampin Up!'s ALWAYS set, embossed in white and then sprayed with Glimmer Mist.

Stamps: Hanglar & Stangler Devil; SU! ALWAYS; High Hopes sentiment
Paper: SU! Real Red, white glitter paper, Neenah Solar White.
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! Pixie Pink
Accessories: Copics (Y000, Y02, Y26, E000, E00, E02, R20, RV000, R24, R27, R29, R39); red glitter brads, Nestabilities DOUBLE ENDED TAG, white embossing powder, Glimmer Mist: Candy Apple Red, Starfish, Tattered Rose, glue pen, clear glitter, and scallop edge punch.

What's Moo?

It's Friday! That means another post for KLSNS blog!!

I love clean and simple cards (CAS). But I'm AWFUL at them! I do try but they always look so "naked" when I do them. Sue me...I love BLING! When I saw this sketch, I thought I could manage that. Simple strip down the side and an image. But you'll notice that I just had to keep adding. LOL!

Don't you love this High Hope's AMERICAN COWTHIC image! So iconic. So retro. So funny! Colored simply with Copics. Torn edges that were distressed (I couldn't help myself). Some scraps of paper laying on my table. A button with Scrapper's Floss. Clean and simple right?

Stamps: High Hopes AMERICAN COWTHIC
Paper: scraps and kraft
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! Close to Cocoa, Distressed Ink Antique Linen
Accessories: Copics; button, Scrapper Floss, and Nestabilities TAG TRIO.

Hope you visit the KLSNS blog - there's always something exciting going on over there!

Not a Halloween Card...

Ok, I know I said that I was ready to work on Halloween, but this is a card kit I'm doing for a swap. I did the "prototype" using this week's SCS - SC244.

The little nutcracker is a High Hopes stamp. He's stamped on Neenah Solar White in Memento.



The snowflake is a technique I learned on Anne Wight's SWEET & SASSY blog. I love this snowflake!! I do mine a bit differently but it's the same basic technique. Guess that might be a tutorial for another day. *wink*

Here are the Copics I used to color the Nutcracker. And one glitter pen. It's not a Spica but close.

Stamps: High Hopes NUTCRACKER
Paper: Basic Grey WASSAIL, Neenah Solar White (aka PTI white)
Ink: Memento
Accessories: Ribbon, Copics, rhinestone, glass glitter, snowflake punches, Martha Stewart border punch, and button


One Christmas card down....