New Lesia Zgharda Stamps!

 I’ve long admired the stamps and coloring by Lesia Zgharda, marveled at the precise and delicate detail of each image and have been enamored by their whimsical charm!  I don’t know why it took me so long to place an order but I finally did and just received my package from the Ukraine today!  (Am I the only one who gets a thrill knowing my mail has come from so very far away?!)  I pulled out my Prismacolor pencils and chose three shades of green plus the white to get started, copying Lesia’s style!  

I just love this sweet image which is actually two stamps!  Lesia’s cards are typically made with kraft card stock and coloring on the slightly rough surface gives the pencils some “tooth”!  I finished by mounting the kraft panel to a white base card which nicely accents the white highlights!  I stamped another Lesia sentiment in the center to complete my card which is appropriate for any person or occasion!  

After making two green wreaths I thought a purple one would be pretty and so it is!  I used my blender pencil to smooth out and blend the colors more on this card.  The sentiment is from a Stampendous set called Cling Garden Mum and is just a wee too big for the space but I still love it!  

This up close shot shows the smoothly blended pencil achieved by using the blender pencil.  

I’m not loving this third card but really enjoyed the creative process!  The stencil is part of the Stampendous set I mentioned above and I placed it over the panel then lightly brushed white distress oxide ink over it all.  After heat-setting the design with clear embossing powder it left behind a glossy, opaque impression which I feel overwhelms the delicate leaves.  I liked the gray tones of it though, so mounted the panel onto a gray textured base card.  A different look, for sure!  

My final and favorite card using the beautiful Eucalyptus Wreath was also colored in three shades of purple.  I added Crystal Effects as an added detail which I think is lovely against the organic card stock!  This time, however, I stenciled the background first, again using white distress oxide ink.  I just love how delicate it is and what a lovely backdrop it is for the bolder wreath design!   

Just look at that shine!  The sentiment on this card is from Studio Katia‘s Blooming Bunch stamp set.  I’m so happy with how each one of these cards turned out!  I hope you’ll go to Lesia Zgharda’s website and see all the wonderful images, cards and tutorials she shares there!  Perhaps you’ll be inspired as I was!  

I leave you with this final photograph of my favorite card.  Thank you for visiting!  

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I’m Baaaack!!

It’s been such a long time since I’ve posted here but the new year is a great time to start afresh!  A friend recently asked me to make her bridesmaid-request cards and we had fun sharing inspirational ideas from Pinterest!  She wanted each card to be personalized so I created the wording on the computer then printed each one out.  I created three designs for her to choose from!  The first card was made with the main image from Simon Says Stamp’s Beautiful Flowers.  I inked up the stamp with Stampin Up’s Not Quite Navy and stamped it on the top and bottom of a panel of white card stock then created a watercolor effect with a damp paintbrush.  A white card base kept the overall design sweet and simple!

For her next option, I used a new set from Stampendous called Wild Rose Cling and it’s simple spray of blossoms was stamped with black ink onto two corners of my panel.  I colored the wild roses with Copics, making the leaves two shades of blue and finally, added a dotted background with a gray Copic marker after outlining the overall design with the same gray marker.  I mounted this to a base of navy card stock which made the white really pop!

The third and last choice was created using Simon Says Stamp Beautiful Flowers again, but this time I created a border at the top and bottom of the card using permanent black ink, then colored with Copic markers, trying to feature reds, pinks and a hint of blue.  I added a layer of navy behind the colored panel then mounted that to a white base card,

This is the final card made for her matron of honor and three bridesmaids; I added more red and a hint of red/orange ink to the blossoms to deepen the colors and then outlined the images with a gray marker to ground the design.

The two junior bridesmaids will receive this card in the mail, asking them to join the wedding party; I’m not sure how old the girls are but I think they’ll feel very special to be asked to participate and also to get their own personalized request card!  I enjoyed spending time just coloring and creating in my stamp room to fill this order and hope to share more cards with you soon!  Thanks for visiting!

Snarky Sketch Roses Bouquet!

Yay!!  Alex Syberia Designs has just released new images and this one’s a WOW!  It’s called Sketch Roses Bouquet and is packed with beautifully detailed blossoms!  I wanted lots of space to play around with color so printed it in 8X10 size onto a piece of Neenah white card stock then started coloring with Copics!  But I must do a disclaimer before you read any further!  Three of my four cards are snarky and a bit off-color, so if that isn’t your thing, please stop reading!

Enter Snarky Roses #1  After cutting my 8X10 print into four panels, I trimmed them down to fit on a panel of white which contrasts nicely with the bright colors! A spattering of Alex’s dot-coloring adds a touch of whimsy to my multi-colored roses!

 

I printed out my snarky sentiment on the computer, mounted it to a strip of deep yellow card stock then to the card with a bit of foam tape.  Thank goodness for friends with whom you can relax and be yourself, right?!

Snarky Roses #2 just makes me laugh!  Again, a card that’s only appropriate for that friend who gets your snarky humor!  I didn’t add the dot coloring but instead, filled in the space surrounding the roses completely with black Copic marker.  I love how it makes those colors really pop!  

A strip of neon green accents my humorous sentiment this time.  

Another silly sentiment that makes Snarky Roses #3 just downright funny! Again, I filled in the background completely with black so as to feature the beautiful roses.  I purposely left little uncolored specks for visual interest but wish I’d done more!  

There was no shading done in my coloring of this image; I just filled in each section with a solid layer of color, sometimes coloring over other colors.  It was different to use the Copics this way but kinda fun!  

Lastly, I do especially love this card and how the white embossed sentiments really pop against the colorful flowers and the dots of extra color!  The beauty of digital stamps is that you can resize them for numerous projects!  I don’t often print out an image to such a large size but it was great for coloring and an easy way to get four cards from one print!  I hope you’ll check out all the fabulous projects that others have created with Alex’s designs either on Instagram or in her Etsy shop!  Happy shopping!  

 

Paper Hug

I’ve been under the weather for about a week so haven’t done much in my stamp studio but was browsing my photo files and came across this card.  I made it a couple of months ago for a special friend who was going through a difficult time and took extra care in my coloring, wanting it to be especially perfect for her.  When it was finished I wrote a note inside and mailed it off.  Sadly, she never received it and there’s no telling where it might be now!  I did post it on social media but am just getting around to writing a blog post about it now!

The image is one that was gifted to me by a new Instagram friend and fellow card artist and it’s called Blooming Bunch by Studio Katia.  I love to color flowers and these were a joy!  I used Prismacolor pencils and spent quite a bit of time on it, adding layer upon layer of color!

I wish I’d think to stamp and color on kraft card stock more often; it’s so beautifully muted yet the colors really pop, don’t they?!  I also wish I’d blended out that gray background a bit more but nevertheless, it’s one of my favorite cards!  It makes me sad that it’s lost!

The sentiment is from Taylored Expressions wonderful Simple Strips background set!  There’s a convenient coordinating die which cuts the full sheet of sentiments into handy little strips but I don’t own that…yet!  I trimmed my sentiment down then added a layer of textured gold cardstock behind it and as a last detail, adhered a scattering of sequins for a little shine.  I hope you like this card as much as I do!  My friend has seen pictures of it and hopefully knows that she is “paper-hugged”!  Thank you, as always, for visiting my blog!  I appreciate you!!

Paper & Stamps & Ink, Oh My!

Thanks so much for coming to my blog!  I’ve been sharing some cards I’ve made using new products by Ranger Ink & Wendy Vecchi from her Make Art collection, including Blendable Dye Ink Pads, a Stamp/Dies/Stencil set, Makeart Washi Tape and Perfect Cardstock Panels!  Today’s card is not my usual style but I really had fun with it!  I don’t often use my patterned paper ( but I should!) so decided to dig through my stash and see what caught my eye!  This fun paper is from Stampin Up and I was immediately drawn to the whimsical designs and soft colors!

After creating a background using two of the coordinating papers I added a scalloped border which I made with an old line punch.  I adhered these to a piece of Crumb Cake card stock, also from Stampin Up.  Now it was time to color in my flower pot and blossoms, which I did using Copic markers.

As you can see, I added some glittery Stickles to each of the flowers as a fun detail!  Finally, after mounting the flower pot to the panel with foam tape, I adhered my little sentiment stickers from Tim Holtz’ Chit Chat Stickers.

This was super easy to make and didn’t take much time!  I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing a variety of ways to use the products by Ranger Ink and Wendy Vecchi!

Blended Moonlight with Ranger Ink & Wendy Vecchi

Welcome back to another post sharing a card I made using the new Ranger Ink and Wendy Vecchi products I recently received!  Many of you know I’m more accustomed to creating cards with large florals and images so trying to come up with a way to use the small stamps in Wendy Vecchi’s Flower Pot Stamp/Die/Stencil set was a bit of a challenge for me!  Let me share my  process because I had NO idea what I was going to make when I began!  

Starting with a piece of the beautifully smooth Perfect Cardstock Grey Panels, I sponged around the edges using Evergreen Bough distress oxide ink but leaving the center blank.  Next, I filled in the center with a light layer of Cracked Pistachio distress oxide ink, blending the two together seamlessly with a makeup brush.  I’d already used the flower pots in two prior cards so that left me with the floral and leaf images to play with.  Although I hadn’t added Black Soot distress ink around the edges yet, I knew I was going to do that and thus, in my mind I already had a nighttime sky!  

I stamped multiple layers at the bottom edge and partially up the sides using a leaves and coordinating flower stamp, thus creating a frame!  I thought it’d look great to add a moon but I’d already added color to the center!  Undaunted, I cut a circle stencil with a punch and scrap of paper and sponged Picket Fence distress oxide ink over it to create the moon.  I fussed around with it a bit more, adding shading and dimension with an old texture stamp and Black Soot.  In retrospect, I wish I had softened the texture with a little water on a brush.  I’ll do that before I complete my card!  

Naturally, I had to add white spatters with craft paint for “stars” in my sky!  I remembered that I have Tim Holtz Wildflowers dies which I then cut from textured card stock; they make a beautiful silhouette against the moon, don’t you think?!  

To finish my card, I added that heavy layer of Black Soot distress ink around the edges which made the moon seem to glow even more!  I trimmed down the panel to layer onto a piece of gray patterned paper then adhered it to a white card base.  I haven’t decided if I’ll heat-emboss a sentiment directly to the card front in white or if I’ll add one separately, lifted off the panel for dimension, but I am pretty satisfied with how this card turned out!  Thanks for stopping by!!