Prima Doll Canvas 2

This is the Prima doll canvass that I made for myself. I used one of my favourite stamps and had way too much fun picking out the paper and putting her outfit together. For the canvas I used the same method as the other one, I painted it first and mod podged the paper on and then inked with Walnut Stain distress ink. I use more embossing paste and another stencil on top of the paper, when it was dry I went over it with two different colour distress inks to give it more oomph. The flowers are from my stash and I added another word to the bottom of this canvas. It is a little bit more girly and pink than most of my creations but I love how it turned out and it looks great hanging in my craft room under my Dr. Who printed canvasses.

Art Deco Card

This card came out of an experiment with my Inktense pencils and some peel offs from my stash. I had seen online that if you used the peel offs that it helped to contain the colour when using the Inktense pencils so I thought I would try. It does contain the water and keep the colour pretty vibrant so I was happy about that, although I think next time I will use a brush instead of a water brush as I felt like it was too big to get into some of the areas. Once I had the image done I just wanted a very plain, almost blocky kind of background to go with it as it reminded me of Art Deco window panels.

Easter Card 1

Since the Valentine's cards that I sent to family were so popular I thought I would make up some Easter cards as well. I dug through my stamps and found this stamp, I honestly don't know where I got it from it has been around that long lol. I coloured it up using my watercolour pencils for a more softer look. Which worked out well but I found that using a waterbrush was almost too much water for the look that I wanted.

To finish it off I layered it on blue polka dot pattern paper and a soft pink cardstock and then tied some light green twine around the bottom of the pink panel. It came out nice and soft and I think it fits the image really well.

Prima Doll Canvas 1

I made a set of canvases using my Prima doll stamps for myself and my two besties, this canvas is for Ang. Since her favourite colour is pink (actually she hates it lol) I wanted to work some into the canvas as kind of a joke. I painted the canvas with pink craft paint from Michaels then modpodged the pattern paper on top. Once it was dry I went over it with some distress ink in Walnut Stain. I added the flourishes using some modelling paste and a Prima stencil and then I inked over top of them. The doilies were glued down than distressed with more Walnut stain ink. 

To finish it off I added some flowers from my stash and some bling in the flourishes. I thought it needed a little something so I added the 'inspire' to the side. I painted it with acrylic paint and then used the Walnut Stain ink over top.
The Prima doll was stamped on Copic paper and I coloured in the har and skin with Copics then paper pieced the outfit with some patterned paper. Once she was assembled I gave the outfit some shading with grey Copic markers to give it some dimension, I also layered the skirt with multiple pieces to give even more dimension.

Christmas Cards 2

For this round of Christmas cards I tried a little different idea, I have seen lots of cards using layers to create snowdrifts with images layered on top so I though I would give it a try. The first card is an older image from CC Designs that I have had for a few years and never got to inking up. For the snowdrifts I used the Lawn Fawn Hillside border die and then used the opposite end for the second card. The background was created with Tim Holtz distress ink pads in the mini size and I coloured the image with Copics and popped it up. The sentiment is from an older set that I got from CC Designs more than three years ago, it was an Amy R set. 

I created this one using the same basic tools as the first card and then added a different image with some little white snowflakes in the background. The snowflakes were an add on idea later and led to the realization that I needed a new white ink pad - of course I had already stamped the first snowflake when I realized the pad was just about dead. Luckily the stamping still turned out pretty good.

My Sketchbooks

One of my favourite things is my sketchbooks where I practice my colouring techniques and also colour combinations. I started with the black sketchbook from Wal-Mart and it is good for my Copics and Prismacolor pencils but I had to get another book for using watercolours.

 This image is from the smaller book and using a set of watercolour pencils that I picked up at Wal-Mart. They were really cheap but I still get some good shades using them. I am thinking of either getting a better set of pencils or a set of watercolours.

 I coloured this image using my Copics in the black book. When I am colouring I write down the colours on the side so if I like the combinations then I can go back and find it again. This came out of the first two I coloured, I loved the colour combination that I made but since I didn't write it down I have no idea which markers I used.

 Sometimes I just like to play with my plain coloured pencils from Michaels and see what I can achieve without using the odourless mineral spirits to blend. This was one of those attempts, overall it is pretty nice but you can certainly see the lines of the pencils more than using the blending method.

I have a pretty large collection of Prima doll stamps and I do use them for cards and tags but I love using them in my sketchbooks as they are nicely sized and I can get some good blending area with them. And of course they are super cute as well, I can't wait to play with the new decade dolls that are going to be released and the great little jewellry that Prima has as well.

Valentine's Cards

These are the last two Valentine's cards that I needed to finish so I could send them out to family. Both the stamps are older ones from my stash as is the patterned papers. The cards started with a sketch from Mojo Monday but I changed a few things up along the way.

 I coloured the Tilda image with my Prismacolour pencils and I am pretty pleased with it. The pencils were easier to get into the little details of the image, something that I have always had issues with my Copic colouring.

This CC Designs image I used my Copics to colour and got to practice the flicking technique for the hair that I have been working on. I think I still need a bit more work but I like the dimension that it gives to the image. I was glad to be able to create these cards for my family and I hope they enjoy getting them.

Christmas Cards

Since I didn't get many Christmas cards made last year (none) I am trying to make a few each month so I have some to send out this year to family and friends. I went with some very simple cards for this round of cards using items I already had on hand.

This is simply peel off stickers on card stock trimmed and put onto a card front with a little ribbon from my stash.

This one is dies with patterned paper behind the cut outs. I think the dies are from Memory Box but since I took them out of the packaging I can't be sure. To finish it off I added some twine bows and a little dashed outline for the edge of the card.

Simon Says Stamp February Card Kit

One of my favourite things to get every month is the Simon Says Stamp card kit. The box is always full of great product and new things for me to try out. I have had previous card kits and always ended up cancelling them after a few months as they were always either too paper heavy or the embellishments and stamps were lacking. These card kits are the perfect mix of both.

This is the February kit, I got a nice selection of 8x11 cardstock for my card bases as well as a great variety of 6x6 paper to use as well. I find that it is enough to make a at least 5-6 cards without having a lot of excess paper left over. The stamps are always a full size set and if you miss a kit you can buy the set separately. This month the goodies to play with were a full size container of embossing powder, a gold gelato, some sticky backed canvas and rub ons. They even include a sheet of cards made from the kit as inspiration and a yummy lollipop each  month as well. Who doesn't love getting candy in the mail each month, lol.

Valentine's for Grandma's

Since I didn't get around to making Christmas cards this year I thought I would send out Valentine's cards to the Grandma's this year. I went through my stamp stash and found this old Magnolia image that is super cute. I wanted more of a softer card so I went with more pink then red for the card and used another older Mojo Monday sketch. I printed out all the older Mojo Monday sketches so that I could use them as starting points for my cards and then change them as I wanted to.

The papers are from and old SEI pad that I found in the back of my 6x6 paper pad stash. I added some ribbon from Reasonable Ribbon and a paper flower from the Michael's dollar bins. 

Decoupage Gorguss Cards

I was watching one of my fave YouTube bloggers, The Jerodelle Show, last week and she was showing some great items that she had picked up from an online store. One of the items was a Gorguss stamp so I went over and had a look and she has some great products. The shop is called Not 2 Shabby Shop and her service was excellent, I got the parcel within a week and the postage to Canada was really reasonable.

I picked up two of the Gorguss girls decoupage sets to try them out and see if I liked it before ordering the big set she has in her shop. The sets were clearly labelled and easy to follow and the end result is really nice and dimensional.

Since the look of the Gorguss girls is more vintage I used more paper from my Gorguss collections and mounted them on black cardstock with some embellies from my stash.

I really enjoyed putting these together and the look is really nice, I am seriously considering ordering the full set of decoupage papers so I can make some more for cards and also maybe some altered items.

MFT Haul and Card

I recently placed an order with My Favourite Things for some new stamps and dies. Their new release had a great planner set and a super cute new set with lots of fun images that I can use for Valentine's Day and all year round. I have been looking for a set that I can use in my Erin Condren planner and this one had lots of great options that I really liked.

In keeping with my use what I buy motto I made a card with the new stamps this weekend. I used an old Mojo Monday sketch as a starting point and raided my stash for some papers and embellishments to use on the card.

I am pretty happy with how the card turned out but I did find out that with this set it would be easier to cut out the shape and then die cut it as the die is solid so you can't see the shape when you are placing it on your stamped image.

Gorguss Girl

This is another one of the use what you buy or what you already have in your stash cards. I picked up the Gorguss girl stamp in an online order a while back and the paper is also from a Gorguss girls paper pack that I have had since last year. I figured if I was going to colour the image up I might as well use the paper I already had, lol. I really need to start using what I have, I am great at purging my craft room and keeping only what I love but then I need to use what I have kept.

I used Copics to colour the image as I wanted to practice getting more of a softer shaded look with them. The jacket turned out well but I was not too pleased with her hat and I kept fussing with it so in real life it looks a lot brighter than I wanted. Next time I think I will use my pencil crayons to get the softer look that I wanted.
The card was sort of following a sketch that I found on Pinterest, love the site. I liked the look of the papers laid on top of each other but once I assembled it I wasn't as pleased with it. I think maybe it needs some ribbon or perhaps flowers instead of just bling and paper. But overall I am pleased with how the papers and image work together to get the look I was thinking of.

Use What You Buy

I was very lucky this weekend my hubby took me down to one of the two scrapbook stores left in Calgary. Paper Pastimes is a great little store, they always have some things I want to pick up and this time was no exception as I found a few things to add to my craft room. Carol, the owner, had just returned from CHA so I got to see some of her class projects and peeks at new items that she saw in LA. After some hunting I picked up two paper pads, the Bo Bunny double dots in the soft colours and and a Prima pad as well. I found a Prima stamp that I didn't have in my collection and a few other new items to play with as well.

Once I got home I didn't have time to play but I did get time in my craft room on  Sunday morning. The blank embossed cards that I had picked up reminded me of a steampunk image that I had coloured a little while back and that was sitting waiting to be used. While I like the look of the white cards with the embossing, I wanted more of a distressed look to go with the steampunk feel so I pulled out my Tim Holtz distress inks and got to work on making the card look more grungy. 

After three different colours of ink I was pleased with how the card blank turned out. I paired it up with a piece of patterned paper from the Bo Bunny Timepiece collection that I had in my stash. The image is from Whimsie Doodles and is called Steampunk Lizzie. The card turned out pretty close to what I had originally thought of although next time I think I will use brown and not black cs.

Crafty Time

I finally got some time in my craft room this weekend to work on some cards and use some of my new goodies. This image from Stamping Bella was so much fun to colour in and I used my Copics to get some great shading. I was trying to follow the sketch for Bellarific Friday but it kind of went a little sideways on me.

I like the way the image came out and I like the papers that I choose but I think the sequins are throwing me off. I had tried using some coloured ones instead of the clear ones but they were not the same shade as the pillows so I tried the clear ones. I like the concept of them but am not sure about the actual placement or size, maybe I might go back to bling next time or maybe some stamps.
It was nice to play with my new goodies and I had company as well, both my dogs were hanging out (sleeping) with me which was nice and cozy.

Little Hauls

Just a few quick things that I have picked up/ordered online recently.

This was a recent trip to Michaels, I just went in for the little heart punch and spotted the My Mind's Eye paper pads and picked them up. I am finding that I use more plain patterned paper rather than the full busy pattern ones that I used to buy. All the bling was a total impulse buy as I wandered down the aisle and it was all either $0.79 or $1.49 which was a great deal and who doesn't need more bling.

I ordered this from Prairie Paper Heaven in Saskatoon. She has a great online shopping and the order gets to me in less than four days so that is so much fun. I have been looking for the Quickstik for a while but once I factored in the shipping from the USA sites it was way too expensive. I am trying to get a little collection of papers and stamps that I can use for birthdays and the CC Designs bear and Graphic 45 pad are perfect for that. The Prima stamp was just because I am in love with them.

New Tools

I was lucky enough for Christmas to receive a gift card from my bosses to Michaels, you would think they know me lol. So after some consideration I decided to treat myself to the Prismacolour pencils that I have been looking at for a while.

They were definitely worth the wait, they colour and blend so nicely and I have been having lots of fun playing around with the stamps I have. Of course my husband was laughing at me, as he pointed out I have lots of colouring tools why did I need one more set.

And he is probably right just going by this picture. I bought the Michaels brand pencil crayons over 6 months ago and they were a good starting point, they blend pretty well but the colours are not as sharp and you have to put quite a bit of mineral spirits on to blend the colours. The Spectrum Noir pencils blend really nice and the collections are great as they have three shades of each colour so you don't have to hunt to find the ones to blend. But they are hard to find, I have to order them online and either pay for shipping from the USA or from the UK so that makes it kind of painful for the cost. I love my Inktense watercolour pencils, the colours are so vibrant and they are just fun to use. It is making me rethink my decision to not purchase regular watercolours to play with.

This is the first go round just playing with the prismacolours, not the greatest since I just used plain paper I had on hand and not proper mineral spirits. But even then the pencils blended really well and I look forward to colouring with pencils now and not just my Copics.