Freshly Made Sketches #413

Hello Everyone!
I assume lots of you are home baking pies and making stuffing.  When you get a break, join us for the latest Freshly Made Sketches sketch from the uber talented Cecile!

The sketch is true Cecile style, which I really love!

I tried various different things, and admittedly, this looked better in my head, but I ran out of time.
I started with my well loved Ken Oliver Color Bursts, making waves in various shades of green.  Eventually it all looked more like an abstract shape.  
I used the Stamplorations Merry Little Christmas Typografia Christmas stamp and heat embossed it in gold, added a few sequins and called it done! 
 That's it for me as Thanksgiving meal prep is calling my name!
We hope you find time in between your food prep, guests, traveling and whatever Thanksgiving brings you to join us!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lee Ann  

Happy!

Hello and Happy Fall Y'all!
No, I am not from the south but I do love that expression and I love fall!  I used this adorable scarecrow from the Happy Scarecrow Stamp Set from Sweet n Sassy Stamps along with a stencil from Stamplorations.

This sweet guy is colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  I sponged some Rusty Hinge ink onto my background panel, then sponged the same ink through a wheat stencil.  The scarecrow is popped up on dimensionals.
I have been in a color rut and the colors from Sunday Stamps were perfect.

I am also linking up to Addicted to Stamps and More Anything Goes Challenge

and The Paper Players,  Theme- Grateful

Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann 

A Spring Celebration with Stamplorations!

Hello, Hello!

Welcome to Day 3 of Stamplorations' Spring Fling 12 Days of Giveaway Event.  Each day you have a chance to win Stamplorations prizes by commenting on the day's bloggers, starting out at the Stamplorations Blog.   Commenting on all days/blogs ends April 19th.  Winners will be announced on the Stamplorations blog on April 22nd.
Everyone's a winner when they shop in April as all products in the Spring Fling section will be 25% off automatically!

My card today features several Stamplorations products.  I stamped the floral image from Blossom Sprays #2 a couple of times and colored with Copics.  These were then fussy cut out, the reason being, I added texture to the background by debossing with the Bloom Boldly Artplorations Stencil.
The hummingbird from the The Birds and The Blooms Stamp Set was colored with Copics and fussy cut out as well.  I ended up stamping the head a second time as I did not like how the first turned out.  This gives the bird a 3D look as I popped the body up on top of the head portion.
Lastly, I embossed a sentiment from Best Mom Ever on vellum and wrapped it around the card front.  I added a few sequins and Wink of Stella to the hummingbird.
Ready to hop? These are the prizes you have a chance to win when you comment on The Stamplorations blog and the daily bloggers' blogs~

Day 1 - $15 gift certificate

Day 2 - Choice of 3 in-stock 3x5 stamp sets ($21 value)

Day 3 - $25 gift code

Day 4 - Choice of 3 Sanna Lippert Designs stencils ($15 value)

Day 5 - Choice of 1 in-stock 4x6 Dee's Artsy Impressions stamp set ($15 value)

Day 6 - Choice of 1 cover plate die ($25 value)

Day 7 - Choice of 1 in-stock 4x6 The Bee's Knees stamp set ($15 value)

Day 8 - Choice of 1 in-stock Big Grins by Becca Cruger stamp set ($15 value)

Day 9 - Choice of 3 in-stock CUTplorations word/phrase dies (up to $30 value)

Day 10 - Choice of 1 4x8 stamp set ($20 value)

Day 11 - Choice of 1 in-stock 4x6 Shery Russ Designs stamp set ($15 value)

Day 12 - $15 gift certificate

Day 17 (extra prize) - three winners of $10 gift codes

Pretty nice, Right?! 
Head on over to the Stamplorations Blog to start hopping! 

I am linking up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog- 'animal antics'. 

Thanks for stopping in! 

Lee Ann

Simple Carnations for the Daily Marker 30 Day

Hello Everyone!

I hope you are thawing out from the deep freeze! We are going to hit 60 tomorrow!  Woo Hoo!

I have been itching to color this image from Stamplorations and finally set to it for Kathy Racoosin's Daily Marker 30 Day coloring challenge~

This is truly a one layer card.  Obviously I kept it super simple- colored with Copics, adding in a drop shadow (still working on those buggers).  The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp- Tiny Words set.
And that's it!  Pretty CAS, especially for me!

I am linking up to Sunday Stamps Challenge-

I am also linking up to AAA Cards~

Thanks for stopping in !

Lee Ann 

A Butterfly Tribute

Hello, Everyone.

Today's blog post really starts at Stamplorations. This is a tribute to a fellow crafter, Melissa Lane as well as a celebration of her life.  On October 2, Melissa (https://honeybeelane.wordpress.com) passed away. She was a talented cardmaker/crafter/artist, a mother of 4, wife, and servant of Jesus. Melissa loved to garden and she loved photography. Her favorite color was red, and she loved butterflies -- so much so that many of the cards and other projects she made had butterflies in them.
This special link up is in honor of her; you are welcome to add to her butterfly gallery by linking your card up HERE. 

My card started with a Heidi Swapp butterfly stencil.  I traced it on cardstock and then stamped floral images from Simon Says Stamp, Beautiful Flowers stamp set.  The flowers were colored with Copics.  The stenciled butterfly was hand cut out and then I also hand cut a black background for the butterfly to help everything pop.  The stamped card base uses a leaf image from Altenew's Garden Treasures Stamp Set. The leaves are stamped with Distress Oxide Ink.  The sentiment is from Sweet n Sassy Stamps The Future stamp set. 
I did not know Melissa personally, but I have come to learn how tight knit the crafting/stamping community is and when one of our members is gone, a hole is definitely left behind.  If you would like to link up a card to her butterfly gallery, you are welcome to do so.  You can use any products you want.  Details are on the Stamplorations blog 

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann 

Final Week with Stamplorations

Hello All! 

This is my final post as a guest colorist with Stamplorations.  It has been wonderful and Shery (the owner) is wonderful to work with.  Thank you, Shery! 

This week was a Copic week. The first card is with a new to me stamp, Oh So Grateful, which comes with a matching die as well.  Anyone smitten with blue pumpkins like me?

The background is watercolored and then stenciled with a lovely Tim Holtz flourish stencil and clear embossing paste.  Which you cannot see in this photo.  This week was bad photo week for me; seems to come in waves...

I can never use 2 or 3 Copic markers for an image; how many blues does it take to color a pumpkin!?

I spattered some rust watercolor paint on the background as well.  The sentiment is from the Best Mom Ever stamp set.  This card, however is going to my Dad, who has been having set back after setback following total hip replacement. 

The next card is made with this gorgeous Oriole from the Framed Oriole stamp. 

I used my MISTI to stamp this image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink so that I could go back when I was all done coloring and stamp the image again, this time with a much darker black ink. 

I love how this turned out, even though I have some practicing to do on how to color in a drop shadow behind a rectangle.  I kept it simple as I thought it could make a nice design for a set of note cards. 
I am linking my oriole card up to Addicted to CAS as this week the challenge is "Tweet'. 

My last card was an experiment from beginning to end.  I wanted to try no line Copic coloring.  I also wanted to have more than one pumpkin.  

The image from the Oh So Grateful stamp and die set was stamped in Memento Desert Sand ink.  Then I masked that and added another pumpkin and some additional leaves. 
Then I had the real challenge of no line coloring.  Oh boy.  This is not easy.  I have waaaaay too much ink on these pumpkins, because I had a hard time deciding where to start and how to have light and dark areas without the black lines.  It really should not be that hard, but it was! 

When it came to actually making the card, I had a hard time settling on a layout.  I added some splatters of watered down grey acrylic paint.  The sentiment is from Fond Expressions stamp set.  It is stamped in grey since there is no black anywhere else on the card.  I thought it would look funny in black.  Not sure I like it in the grey though...  learning, learning...
I am linking my last card up to the 'Just Us Girls' Challenge which has an inspiration photo this week~

Visit all 3 colorists' blogs and leave a comment to be entered to win a gift certificate from Stamplorations.  You can start HERE at the Stamplorations blog.  

Thanks so much for stopping by and happy coloring! 

Lee Ann 

Week 5 with Stamplorations

Hello Everyone!

Here we are already into the middle of September!  This is my 5th post for Stamplorations and I am heavy on the watercoloring this go around.  If you start over at the Stamplorations blog, you can join in the mini blog hop by leaving a comment on each of our blogs.  You will be entered to win a gift certificate to the Stamplorations store!
First up, a floral, using Blossom Sprays #2. 

I am loving using Ken Oliver Colorbursts to watercolor with.  I have heat embossed this floral with clear embossing powder, then watercolored it with the powders.

 Easy peasy!  I added gold colored seed beens to the center of the flowers.  I got so into coloring this image that I forgot to take a process picture.  So sorry, all!

The next card is also watercolored with Ken Oliver Colorbursts~

Like the first, the image is heat embossed with clear embossing powder (if you look closely, you can see the embossed image).

I used the In Bloom: Precious Plumeria for this card.

This card was also watercolored with Colorbursts.  The sentiment is from the Fond Expressions.

For my third card, I returned to Copics, my favorite coloring medium~

I opted for a monochromatic palette on this one and stamped my images in a circle.  The flower is from The Birds and The Blooms.  Each flower was colored in a different green.

This is one of my favorite flowers and one of my favorite Stamplorations images.  The sentiment is from the same set.

That's it for me!  Remember to leave a comment and then hop over to the Stamplorations blog to complete the mini hop.  You will have a chance to win a gift certificate to the Stamplorations store!

Thanks for joining us and enjoy the hop!

Lee Ann 

Coloring with Stamplorations: Week 4

Hello Everyone!

I have a variety of projects to share for Day 4 of coloring for Stamplorations.  This post is also part of a mini hop- leave a comment on each of the 3 blogs and the Stamplorations blog for a chance to win a gift certificate to the Stamplorations store.  Details can be found HERE. 
 First up is a monochromatic image with a pink background using pointillism~

The Cup of Blooms 2 image is colored with Copics. 

Shades of pink were used for the pointillism background.  The flowers where coated with Wink of Stella and highlights were added with a white gel pen. The sentiment is from the Blooming Buds set. 

Next up is a tag, using one of my favorite sets, The Birds and The Blooms.  I love the versatility of this set.  I have made a summer and a fall card, and now a Christmas tag with it. 

Once again, I have colored my mini scene with Copics. 

I added the falling snow by flicking diluted white acrylic paint onto the tag.  I love how this turned out. 

Back to summer with my third card, using the Blooming Buds set~

I love this set for all of its parts.  Parts allow you to play!  My flowers, and other parts, are colored with Copics. 

I fussy cut some of the parts and adhered them to the card using dimensional tape to give it more depth.  The right side of the background was sponged with Seedless Preserves and Spun Sugar distress inks while the left side was sponged with Mowed Lawn and then Twisted Citron.  I then placed the Shower of Flutters stencil over the sponged background and sponged over it with Mowed Lawn Distress ink. 
You can see all of the coloring inspiration on the Stamplorations blog HERE.  Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win! 
Happy Humnp Day! 

Lee Ann 

Week 3 with Stamplorations and Coloring!

Hello, Hello!

Welcome back to another edition of Coloring with Stamplorations!
I had so much fun with these cards; one with a coloring technique I learned at Junkie Fest, another with my favorite color combo, and a third with a touch of fall. Wait, did I just say fall?  Goodness school is right around the corner and soon enough it will be everything pumpkin spice!

Up first, my marigolds today look nothing like marigolds~

These are the French Marigold, Large, found HERE.  The sentiment is from the The Birds and The Blooms stamp set.  I colored these beauties on Canson 140lb watercolor paper with Colorbursts.

The images where masked and stamped with Versamark and clear embossed.  You can see above, the flowers in different phases of completion.
What I did not realize when I started this panel was that it was not a 4.25 by 5.5 size, but bigger.  Once it was complete, I had to figure out what to do with it so that it would fit on a card front.  I ended up cutting across the middle of the card and fussy cutting around some petals.
 I am linking this card up to the Happy Little Stampers Watercolour Challenge- anything goes with option of flower.
The next card uses this gorgeous butterfly image from the Blossom Like a Butterfly set.  I absolutely love pink, orange and yellow together.

These butterflies were stamped in distress inks- Spiced Marmalade, Picked Raspberry and Scattered Straw.  I used my MISTI and completed one butterfly at a time. 
The process was to stamp in the distress ink- Scattered Straw for example- then with a water brush, pull that color around to color the entire image.  Once I was happy with the coloring, I let the ink dry, or partially dry and then stamped over it with Vintage Photo. 

Once all the images were done, I went back in and added darker shades with colored pencils where the wings attach to the body.  I am linking this card up to the Double D Challenge- 'Don't Bug Me". 

This last one was just plain fun!  Images are from the stamp set The Birds and The Blooms~

I wanted to color up this beautiful Oriole but wanted more than just the bird on the card.  With fall right around the corner, I decided to put him in a field with sunflowers.  The bird was stamped first, then masked.  I stamped the sunflower once and then added a mask to it as well, stamping another sunflower.  I repositioned the sunflower mask and stamped another flower, repeating until I was happy with the composition.  Now my card needed details to complete the background, so I drew in little extras such as stems, leaves and grasses as seen below~

Thankfully it did not need to be perfect as it would all blend in in the end!  Everything was colored with Copic markers.  The final card is pretty simple.  The piece or bright green patterned paper along the right edge is actually a scrap piece of a Gelli print I had lying around.

You can see ALL of the gorgeous coloring inspiration HERE on the Stamplorations blog.  Please check it out!  Participate in the mini hop by leaving comments along the way for a chance to win a GC to the Stamplorations store. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope I have inspired you!

Lee Ann 

Week 2 of Coloring with Stamplorations!

Hello All! 
This is my second post of the day.  I am just about ready to head north for Minneapolis to attend Junkie Fest.  But first, I am sharing 3 more cards for Stamplorations using more gorgeous florals.  Be sure to read about the chance to win $15 to the Stamplorations store at the end of the post!
The first is colored with Copics~

The hummingbird and small flower with him is from the Birds and the Blooms stamp set.  The yellow flowers are from the Blossom Sprays #2 stamp set.  They have been stamped twice.  Minimal masking was then done to add the small orange flower and hummingbird into the scene.  All was colored with Copics. 

This is just a process photo, about midway through the project.  The background was colored with Copics and then texturized with rubbing alcohol and burlap. 
The sentiment is from the fabulous, Fond Expressions Stamp Set. 

Close up of Mr. Hummingbird.  He is coated in Wink of Stella to give him a beautiful shimmer. 

This second card also uses the Blossom Sprays #2 Stamp Set; it is watercolored with Arteza Watercolor Brush Pens. 

Adding color in layers.  

Starting on the greenery

And again, I have used the Fond Expressions Stamp Set for the sentiment. 

The third card is more contemporary and uses the Best Mom Ever Stamp Set. 

Contemporary flowers call for nontraditional colors.  

The flowers and background are colored with Copics.  A Copic Blender Pen was used to
add texture to the background. 
The card base panel is sponged with some Soft Sky ink over the Shower of Flutters
stencil. 
To finish off the card I spritzed the image panel with the most shimmery of sprays (top secret at this time) and added some sequins.  I used a white gel pen to highlight flower centers.  The sentiment is from the Birds and the Blooms Stamp Set. 

To see these and more gorgeous coloring inspiration from the rest of the guest designers, check out the Stamplorations Blog!  AND, there just may be a mini blog hop again, with a chance to win $15 to the Stamplorations store! 

That's it for me; I hope I have inspired you to get out your favorite coloring medium! 

Lee Ann 

Week One of Coloring with Stamplorations!

Hello, Hello!

Well this is an exciting month for me with not one but two opportunities to be a guest designer.
I am thrilled to be one of the featured guest designers at Stamplorations.   Today's Stamplorations blog post is all about coloring.  Want to see some gorgeous stuff?  3 colorists, 3 cards each!  Check it out here. Who knows?? There may be a chance to win a $15 gift certificate to the Stamplorations store!  (wink, wink)
Warning!!  This is a very long post!  I have had requests in the past to provide some sort of a tutorial on how I color.  I thought I would try to do so here.  Having now done this, I can say it is very time consuming and effects how I work.  And you will get to see the oopsies! I would LOVE your feedback on the tutorial(s).  Too much, too confusing?  Thanks so much! 

I will start with this gorgeous French Marigold image; the flower is very sentimental to me as my mom used to plant these every summer.  I will try to show you step by step how I got here.

1.   If I want to color realistically, I start with googling the object.  I pick out some Copics that I think I might use.  As you can see, I already had stenciled and sponged a background, but it did not take long for me to realize that it wasn't working for me. 

2.  Put down initial color of Y17.

3.  When I don't have the exact color I want, I will layer markers.  Here, I start with YR24.

4.  Now on top of the YR 24, I layer R05. 

5.  And on top of the R05 I decide to layer Y17. 

6.  Next,  I start adding in contrast to give the petals shape.  Here I have used R46 and softened the lines with the R05.  I also start blocking in some shadows.

7. Petals are finished with the same colors as above. 

8.  I choose a photo to use as a guide for the two remaining flowers.

9.  Quick base coat of Y13 goes down. 

10.  I start adding in some Y15 to give shape and definition to the petals.

11.  Y19 is next, to start adding depth. 

12.  I used Y11 to blend the Y15 and Y19.  I used Y11 because I did not want the yellow to get too dark. 

13.  Shadow areas are darked with YR14. 

14.  E47 is used for the shadows and then is blended out with the YR14. 

15.  Depth is added to the shadows with  W1, E43 (my W3 was out of commission), and E74.
More definition is added with the Y13 and Y19. 

And that is a brief synopsis of how I got here.  I fussy cut the flowers out and popped them up on dimensionals in the finished card.  The sentiment is from the Best Mom Ever stamp set.

I am linking my Marigold card up to the ModSquad Challenge, which is 'flowers'.

I will post my next to cards here, and if you would like the tutorials on them, scroll on down.

I have used In Bloom- Precious Plumeria and this fabulous sentiment set- Fond Expressions.  I absolutely love the fonts in this set.

And last but not least, I have used Blooming Buds (I love the versatility of this set) and Birds and Blooms for the sentiment.
If you want tutorials on these cards keep on scrolling!

Lee Ann

Plumeria card

1. Get photo reference.

 

 2.  Start with basic blocking in of color- Y11 and RV10.

3.  Start to deepen the yellow color with Y15, blending out with Y11.

4.  Add more intense color with Y38.

5. Add most intense color with YR68 and then go over with Y11 to soften lines.

6.  Use RV13 and RV14 on the edges of the petals.  Use W1 to start adding shadows.

7.  Use YG23, G07 and G28 for leaves.

8.  Use RV13 and RV14 on the small flowers.

9.  Blend out RV 13 and RV14 with RV02. 

And lastly~

1.  Stamp image, using the masking technique.

2.  Mask off the images and sponge an ombre background. 

3.  Lay down inital color of G20 and YG21.

4. Add YG23 to base of petals and blend out with G20.

5.  Use 07 and YG03 for the stem and use G17 for the top of the stem.

That one was easy!