Shading Video Tutorial

Here is a fun little card that I did today and while I was at it I decided to make a short video of shadowing outside my image with Copic Markers. Tons of you have been asking about that so I hope this little tutorial helps you with your shadows.
I am using the adorable Jolinne image "My Heart Sings" by My Favorite Things. This is a very simple layout using white on white. The patterned paper and the rub-on sentiment is by Melissa Frances and then I went around the edges with a sponge and walnut distress ink.
Here is a close up of the coloring and the shadows.....and below is the little "how to" video....
The video is a little dark...kind of a dreary day here, nothing like coloring to perk my mood.
Enjoy!

Certification and Class update

Here is just a little peek.....at some of the cards we will be making in the copic card classes I am doing this year. We will be stamping some awesome Hero Arts images! All you have to bring is your paper cutter, scissors and wet/dry adhesive....I bring everything else! If we have time for a fourth card I have something totally fun planned for that.....can you say a little Pure Innocence?....
I didn't show you the full cards....I need to leave something for a surprise....the inside of one of these cards is really fun and functional too!

Calgary Certification is FULL...but if you are interested in the card classes they will be offered at Scrapbooker's Paradise! April 16th and 17th.

Alaska's Certification now has application forms available! I am so excited to go up and visit the wonderful folks of Alaska. You can find the application form HERE!
I will also be doing a class at The Stamp Attic while I am up there as well.

Precious Memories in Langley is having me in their shop to teach card classes on Saturday May 15th. You will love this store too.....FILLED with every imaginable craft tool and goodies!

Vancouver's certification is just around the corner....it is planned for May 30th. Applications will go out 60 days prior to the event (which is coming up quickly!)

Please drop me an e-mail if you have any questions at all about my calendar of events.
Happy Monday!

Taylored Expressions Challenge #106!

Happy Friday! I have been "out of the loop" for sketch fridays for a few weeks due to holidays so it was fun to get back into the swing of things. This is one of the newest Jolinne releases from My Favorite Things called "Best Friends Always". If you look at the full set the thing she is sitting on is supposed to be a large stone, but I decided today it would be a pillow. It all depends on how you color it:)
Here is a close shot of my coloring with copics. I wanted the deepest color of the pillow to be where she was sitting to make it look like it is sunken in.
Here are all the card deets:
Stamps:
Best Friends Always (Jolinne) by My Favorite Things
Ink:
Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)
Paper:
White (Neenah)
Garden Variety (Cosmo Cricket)
Accessories:
Copic Markers
Chipboard (Cosmo Cricket)


Here is the sketch so you can play along in TAYLOR'S challenge.
Don't forget to see what the rest of the sketch crew came up with:
Jami Sibley: More is More
Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper
Lynn Mercurio: Stamperosity
Melissa Sauls: In Stamping Mode
Rachel Sztonyk: Gingerbread Gallery
Alice Lihsuan-Wertz: Alice's Little Wonderland
Lisa Hjulberg: The Craft's Meow
Lori Craig: Making a Difference

Fridays are Sketch Challenge days at the Taylored Expressions Blog and we'd love to have you play along! Every so often we'll have a fun added BONUS to playing the weekly TESC... PRIZES! You never know what week Taylor might offer a prize so be sure to check her blog every Friday for the sketch. Prizes will be given to Taylor's Top Crops. Today is one of those days as Taylor is offering BONUS PRIZES for TESC106. You'll have through April 2nd to play along and enter your card for a chance to win your choice of FREE STAMP SET from the Taylored Expressions Store. Winners will be announced on April 5th.

You do not have to use TE stamps to enter (but of course we love it when you do *wink*.) Get all the details to play on Taylor's blog

Enjoy the friday sketch and have a great weekend!

JustRite Mega March Blog Hop

Welcome to the JustRite blog hop! I am THRILLED to be a part of this! The goodies/details all that you NEED to know are down near the bottom of this post...have fun hopping!
Here is my project using the "Stitched with Love" set from JustRite! I made a cute little (EASY) pin cushion and a little gift card to go with it! How great is it to be able to stamp on both fabric and card stock and then color in with copics.....I LOVE that! This image is perfect for the "material girl" line of patterned paper from Cosmo Cricket as well.

Here is a close shot of the image stamped on white card stock. I colored it with my copics and then popped up the thread portion of my image. I thought the ric rac border was perfect as it matched the pinking edge of my spellbinder die.
Here is a shot of my pincushion. I started with two strips of 4"x6" pieces of fabric. I stamped the same image in versacraft ink on a piece of white fabric, colored it with my copics and then cut it out with my spellbinder die......ran it through my xyron to make a sticker and pasted it to my fabric.
Here is the last very close up shot of the fabric stamping. I even managed to get some blending of colors with my reds on the thread....
There you have it! Now I am off to hop to see what the other FABULOUS designers came up with!

30 designers, FIVE shopping sprees each day. No one knows where the prizes will be! Each day of the hop JustRite will have five Mystery Blog Candy Prizes hidden along the hop with a total retail value of $600. JustRite will randomly select five mystery blogs each day of the hop and randomly allocate each of the shopping sprees. For your chance to win, simply leave a little love (a comment) on each designer’s blog including the JustRite blog. The more designers you leave comments with, the better your chances of winning. Each day’s comments will remain open for three days. A winner from each of the mystery blogs’ comments will be randomly chosen using Random.org. Consult the listing of designers at the JustRite blog each day (each day’s designers will be different) and start out on your way! Beginning Friday, March 26, summaries of all the winners will be posted on the JustRite blog. Good luck to everyone and enjoy all the JustRite eye candy along the hop!

Today during the JustRite Mega March Blog Hop (Day Three) JustRite and its sponsors will be giving away the following five prizes:

· $200 JustRite Shopping Spree
· $100 Spellbinders Shopping Spree
· $100 Copic Prize Package, and
· Two additional $100 JustRite Shopping Sprees!

Blog comments for Day Three will be open until Saturday at 6pm EST. On Sunday, JustRite will announce on their blog which five blogs have the mystery candy for Day Three. You will need to go to the JustRite blog to determine where you need to go to find out if you are one of the five lucky winners.

HOP LIST:

JustRite Inspiration Blog
Debbie Olson
Sherrie Siemens
Beate Johns
Heidi Blankenship
Kathy Jones
Karen Hunsaker
Peet Roeven
Michele Kovack
Cheryl Nelson
Anja Curvers
Kay Sibley
Katarina Menzies
Holly McMillen
Tammy Hershberger
Angela Barkhouse
Heidi Van Laar
Jerri Jimenez
Sarah Parker
Jennie Black
Laura Davis
Ashley Newell
Tanis Giesbrecht
Alice Wertz
Shanna Vineyard
Rae Barthel
Ryann Salamon
Terre Fry
Mona Pendleton
Lisa Silver
Kim Moreno

BBQ!

Love it! It is a bbq sort of day! I thought I would show you this fun card with a little bit of everything on it!
Showing some love to the new Garden Variety line of paper at Cosmo Cricket....love those chipboard pieces!
Chicken and corn sound good for dinner....
The little bbq I colored with my copics and then added small dabs of opaque white for my highlights. The hills got a little definition with some embroidery floss and the chipboard letters were colored to match my card.
Here are all the deets!
Stamps:
Summer Trees (Kim Hughes Collection) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink:
Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)
Paper:
Garden Variety (Cosmo Cricket)
Accessories:
Copic Markers
Opaque White (Copic)
Embroidery Floss
Chipboard (Cosmo Cricket)
Tiny Attacher (Tim Holtz)

I'll be back EARLY thursday with my JustRite mega blog hop project! Just finished it today and it totally makes me smile. See you then!

Sweet Ride

This was a really fun card and it reminded me of the "sweet ride" we had in Hawaii when we rented a car for the day to visit the north shore.
This car was stamped (I thought it was perfect for the scene) on the patterned paper and then the transparency was laid over top. Isn't it a cool transparency!
I added some fun elements to make it all my own. The "bling" was actually all clear that I colored with my markers to match (I just airbrushed the "sweet" and individually colored the "arrow").

Do you want to see a little more summer? Some of my favorite "sweet" photos from the north shore!
We stayed at the north shore beach and enjoyed it even when the sun was going down. I love the lighting in this photo.
The kids loved the waves!
Look at the wave in this one! Yikes!

Here are all the fun summer card deets:
Stamps:
The Beach (GM) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink:
Espresso Adirondack (Ranger)
Paper:
Patterned Paper and Transparency (MME)
Accessories:
Copic Markers
Air Brush System (Copic)
Garnet Spica Pen (Copic)
Jewels (Glitz)
Rub-on (MME)
Clear Flower (Prima)
Jeweled Brad (American Crafts)

Enjoy your day....Hope it is "SWEET"!

Certification Update

Aloha! Where have I been? You guessed it....Hawaii! I have had a wonderful vacation with my family that we have looked forward to for a LONG time!
Here is a quick family picture....


As I file through the LOADS of e-mails and as I put load after load of sand filled clothes in the wash I thought I would update you on the certification situation.

Calgarys' Certification is FULL! If you didn't get in this time round don't worry....I have plans on heading back to Calgary again soon as there were many on the wait list that didn't get in.
For those of you who didn't get in I do want to tell you about card classes that I am teaching while I am in Calgary. I will be teaching a few classes at SCRAPBOOKERS PARADISE. I would love to see you there!

Looking forward to sharing lots of cards over this next week! I missed my studio but also had the well needed break for creative refreshment.

Mahalo!

Passport to Creativity take 2

Here is another fun layout I did for Canadian Scrapbooker! These are my boys....my hubby and our son playing some water nerf in Penticton, BC.
I used the same technique as I described below....printing all the photos in black and white then using my waterbrush filled with copic blender to transfer marker colors (scribbled on a transparency) to my photo. That is how I colored the blue of the water in the top photo.
I had some airbrushing fun with this layout as well....After my photos were in place I laid Tim Holtz's flourish mask over top and airbrushed some E15...I also distressed the edges with that as well.
All the stamps are by Cornish Heritage Farms....I particularly love that "boys will be boys" sentiment from the Rummage Bin Line (For the Men set).
The soft blue paper with the polka dots is Melissa Frances, as well as the "water sports" rub on.
I love rub-ons for photos!

Hope you enjoyed a little look into my scrapbooking! Have a great day!

Passport to Creativity

I am so excited that I get to share a scrapbooking page that I worked on for an article called "passport to creativity" for Canadian Scrapbooker! I was chosen along side 2 other fantastic artists from BC to create 3 different layouts for their publication.
There is also some fun questions/answers in there too. It is on magazine stands now.

This layout in particular I really loved....It is of my son in the "Pumpkin Patch" at Grandma and Grandpas' house.
I used a few stamps to create my layout. The background is an awesome scrapblock that I reach for quite often called "vintage text" from Cornish Heritage Farms. I also used the calendar block scrapblock to indicate the month. There is a close shot of that if you scroll down.
The colors on the chipboard from basic grey were not quite right so I went over them with my copic marker.
MY FAVORITE part of this layout? First of all I printed this photo of my son in black and white then I took my waterbrush filled with Copic blender solution and painted my leaves using the palette technique to match my paper and the mood that I wanted to create. I love that my son stands out because he is still in black and white but I could add multiple colors in the leaves behind him. Way cool technique that you have to try!
Here is a close shot of the calendar block stamp and just some simple handwriting with my multiliner pen.

Hope you are enjoying your day....I have another fun layout to share with you too....soon!

Rock On

What a fun quick project this one was that I have to show you today. My daughter wanted a funky little case for her itouch and this worked perfectly! First of all the image.....this is from the pure innocence collection called "Tweeny Tween Rock On" from My Favorite Things!
A couple of Christmas' ago I made both my son and daughter large bean bags so this image totally reminds me of what I see when I walk into their rooms.
Here is a close shot of the image...I have had a few people ask me about ink for fabric. I use VERSACRAFT ink from Tsukineko for stamping my images and then heat set it with my iron. This image I stamped on canvas...so it is very textured. I colored it with my copics. Copic will fade over time in the wash...just like any other dye based ink so I try to stick to projects that I may occasionally throw in the wash but not wash daily.
I had fun with her bean bag chair. I "fabric pieced" it by stamping it on a scrap of my lining fabric and then cutting it out and running it through my creatopia to give a fabric adhesive to the backside (like a big sticker).
After I was done with my image I cut it out with my spellbinder die and added sticker backing to that as well.
The fabric is GORGEOUS Michael Miller corduroy! I didn't need to add cotton batting at all because the fabric was so thick....love it!
Here is a shot of it with the itouch tucked inside. I measured her itouch then added 1" in width for my cut out measurements and added a little extra length so that I could roll over the top to reveal the fun lining. Added a button and string to be able to secure it and it was done! My daughter loves it!
Enjoy your day!

Cupcake Picnic

Happy Monday! How about something fun and whimsical for today? Now that we are approaching warmer weather it makes me think about the fun spring and summer things we can do. Everyone loves cupcakes....how about a little cupcake picnic. This is a really fun little table topper that I made in the shape of a cupcake. All Michael Miller fabric.
I bought these adorable cupcakes from "Tracy Cakes" in downtown Abbotsford, BC. Super Sweet! I cut out large scallop circles with my spellbinder dies out of the scrap fabric to make little matching liners for the cupcakes. I used some of the fun stickpins I have from Fancy Pants and made little tags. I stamped the sentiments from Kim Hughes' "Baked with Love" set from Cornish Heritage Farms.
Here is a close up of my fabric cupcake. I stamped the little Kim Hughes cupcake in the centers of the dots on my fabric and then colored them in using the coordinating copic marker. I used my fabric tac adhesive to glue on my large brown ric rac.
The little table and chairs? We used them for our kids when they were little as their coloring table...passed down from Daddy. Hope this puts you in a fun springy creative mood!
Have a great day!

Blog Hop and Shop Release!

Welcome to release day at My Favorite Things! If you have visited here from Christina's Blog then you have already seen some pretty sweet eye candy and are hopping along great! If you are a regular visitor to my blog you might want to start at the very beginning with KIM!
I have the pleasure of showing you one of the Pure Innocence boys...called "Dog-Gone Cute"! This little guy makes me smile....I paired him up with Cosmo Cricket's Boyfriend collection and made my own little clothesline to hang my sentiment.
Here is a close shot of the boy and my coloring. I colored him with copics and added a little grass ground with my multiliner pen. Finished off his overalls with silver microbrads.
I couldn't resist doing two cards....this one I changed up his hair. The first card I did is how this boy comes (with 3 cute little strands of hair) but I love how this makes him versatile. I grabbed my 0.2 Multiliner and drew in a thicker head of hair for this card. I also have him sitting more on dirt in this card instead of grass. I also created the sky with a couple of shots of B32 and the airbrush.
I do think the little dog that comes with this set is pretty sweet too!
He is wearing denim overalls so they needed the texture of denim. Before I stitched down my background layer (of old jeans) I spritzed it with copic blender solution and transferred the pattern of the jeans to his overalls.
There you have it....or you need to have it! (wink)
There is blog candy hidden somewhere on the hop so make sure you leave a comment in your travels from blog to blog!
Now you can head on over to CINDY'S BLOG for something very sweet!

A Little Artsy.....

Ready for something totally different?....This is what happens when I just "play"
My love of fabric often collides with my love of papercrafting. Today I was playing with a few "new" things! I just received my nesting owls from Spellbinders so I cut some of my new Michael Miller Corduroy fabric with it. I ran it through my creatopia to add fabric adhesive to the backing as well.
The center image is by My Favorite Things that I stamped in versamark and heat embossed clear detail powder. Sometimes it is nice to have a white outline instead of always black or brown. I colored him in with my copics.
I had the pleasure of meeting Traci Bautista while in Anaheim and watched her demo copics on canvas.....HOW INSPIRING! I loved the freedom of just drawing free hand. This is how I created my branches and flowers that my owl is sitting on.

Now I know this look isn't for everyone....it is definitely more "mixed media"....but it is so fun to experiment and play! I hope I encouraged you to do this today!

See you tomorrow for MFT's release day!

PI Day!

Yeah...it is my favorite day of the teasers! PI (Pure Innocence) day!
I have a couple of new PI peeks for you today. You will be able to find these girls at My Favorite Things on March 3rd. Yes, it is already March today!
I'm leading off with this "4 leaf clover" PI girl....I colored this sweet lil' girl with my copics and then cut her out. I was inspired to pull out my embroidery floss due to a challenge on Moxie Fab World.
Here is a close shot of the clover. I used my spellbinder heart die to make the impressions using the embossing mat and then pierced holes to string my floss through. I love that you still see the embossing even after my stitching!
Here's a look at "Happy Mail"....this was a fun little scene that I paper pieced as well as colored with my copics. I used the modern vintage sheets from graphic 45 for this creation.
My image was on a plain white sheet of Neenah card stock to start...by the time I was done coloring and airbrushing it fit in with my patterned paper really well. Lots of stitched layers here...and yes, that is some more twill....The postage stamps are from this patterned paper line as well that I decided to cut out three of them.

Make sure you check out all the peeks today....as I'm sure you will be FILLED with sweet eye candy! Start on Kim's blog for the complete list of teasers!