Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Cute Witch Using Copics: Collaboration with Feliza Estrada

Copic Coloring Halloween Witch by Feliza Estrada

While watching YouTube late one night, I came across the art of Feliza Estrada. Her illustrations are so adorable; I contacted her to see if she would like to do a collaboration. She said she would be interested so we started to make plans. Since Halloween is just around the corner, we thought it would be the perfect theme. She drew this cute witch with her broom, black cat, and pot of candy (her video is below). I scaled it for a card, printed it on alcohol marker friendly cardstock, and colored it with my trusty Copic markers (plus a few ultra fine tipped Sharpies for the candy).

Affiliate links may be included in this post. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program that provides a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites at no cost to you. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. See notice at bottom of blog for a longer description.

Making the Card

1. Cut dark blue cardstock to 7 x 10 inches; fold in half to form a 5 x 7 inch card base.

2. Cut blue cardstock about 5 x 6 3/4 inches. Unfortunately the Martha Stewart Spider Web punches that I used are discontinued, although you can still find them or other Halloween themed ones. You could use a die cutting machine to cut a similar web pattern around the edges. Note: I couldn't find the brochure that came with the punches so I sort of winged it on the size; it's not perfect but worked OK. Use the punches to punch around the blue cardstock. Adhere to card base (see step 5 for the liquid adhesive that I use for small areas).

Copic Coloring Halloween Witch by Feliza Estrada

3. Print image on alcohol marker friendly cardstock. I'm not sure if Feliza, the illustrator, is going to sell or otherwise make this image available. If she does, just note that you may have to resize it for your card. You can use any Halloween themed stamped image or digital image - just be sure the ink is also alcohol marker friendly or use a laser printer (many ink jet printers do not work well with these markers). Watch the following video to see how I colored the image using Copic Markers and Sharpies. I used a white Sakura Gelly Roll pen for the highlights in the eyes.


4. Trim colored image to about 3 1/4 x 5 1/4. Die cut light purple cardstock with largest Romantic Rectangles. Adhere image to it.

5. Add some double-sided tape to the back of the light purple cardstock. Stick one end of the black/gray/white twine in it and wrap as shown, sticking the other end in some tape as well. Adhere to card base: I recommend Lineco liquid adhesive in a Fineline applicator bottle to get around all the small lace edges.

6. Attach spider shape token to twine as shown using antique silver jump ring.

Copic Coloring Halloween Witch by Feliza Estrada

Watch how Feliza Estrada draws her image in this video:


Supplies
Copic Markers Used
  • Dress, Bow: V99, V95, V93, V91
  • Skin: E00, E000, E0000, E13, E11
  • Cheeks: E95, E01 - Blend with skin colors above
  • Inside Cat Ears/Cat Nose/Girl's Tongue: RV32, R56
  • Cat, Shoes, Hair, Cauldron: N9, N7, N5
  • Ground/Shadow: N7, N5, N3, N1
  • Eyes: YG95, YG67
  • Broom Stick: E27, E23, E59, E34, E29
  • Bristles: E29, E49, E47, E35
  • Background: B99, B97, B95, B93, B91
  • Colorless Blender - Used to lighten areas, blend, and fix mistakes.
Sharpies: Green, Yellow, Orange, Yellow-Orange



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Sunday, October 22, 2017

Fall Branch Greeting Card

Rubbernecker Stamps Branch Blossoms with Faber-Castell Polychromos

Although the main Rubbernecker Stamp's image is part of their watercolor stamp collection, I decided to stamp it in dye ink (Memento) and enhance it with colored pencils (Faber-Castell Polychromos). I colored the flowers in Autumn colors for a Fall greeting card. The Fireworks! spray custom colored bow matches perfectly, as does the Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Fall background paper.

Affiliate links may be included in this post. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program that provides a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites at no cost to you. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. See notice at bottom of blog for a longer description.

Making the Card

1. Cut brown cardstock 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches; fold in half to form a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch card base. Cut orange cardstock 4 x 5 1/4 inches. Adhere to card base. Cut orange/yellow plaid (Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Fall 6x6 Pad) 3 7/8 x 5 1/8 inches. Adhere to card base.

2. Cut a piece of Strathmore 500 Bristol Vellum to about 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches (a bit bigger than necessary for some wiggle room). You could probably use white cardstock but since I'm layering a lot of colors, I decided to use a really good paper for it.

Fall Branch Leaves with Polychromos Colored Pencils

3. Use a Stamp Platform or a stamp positioner to stamp the thick branch layer in Toffee Crunch Memento Ink near the center of the Bristol paper. Position the small branch layer and stamp with Rich Cocoa Memento Ink. Position the flower layer and stamp with Cantaloup Memento Ink.

4. Use colored pencils (Faber-Castell Polychromos) to color the image, layer yellow-oranges to orange-reds on flowers with the darkest at the centers. Add some browns to the branches. You may also add extra flowers or branches, even extend the existing branches if you like.

5. Cut a length of seam binding. Tie a small bow. Spray center with Dandelion Fireworks! Next spray with Cantaloup, overlapping the Dandelion. Finally spray the ends of the bow loops and tails with Tangelo. Set aside to dry.

6. Die cut image using third largest stitched rectangle die, centering the branch but leaving room for the sentiment in the top left corner. Use the Stamp Platform or a stamp positioner to stamp the sentiment in Rich Cocoa Memento Ink where shown. Adhere to card. Adhere bow where shown.

Rubbernecker Stamps Branch Blossoms with Memento Ink

Supplies
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Thursday, October 19, 2017

Haunted House Halloween Card with Distress Oxide Inks

Rubbernecker Stamps Spider Web Background and Tim Holtz plus Idea-ology

I absolutely love how beautifully the new Distress Oxide Inks can blend! For this card, I stamped the Rubbernecker Stamps haunted house then masked it and blended the ink before stamping the web in the background. For the purple edge around the main image, I used the same Wilted Violet Distress Oxide Ink that I used in the sky so it would match perfectly. I also used a couple of the same colors in the bow.

Affiliate links may be included in this post. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program that provides a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites at no cost to you. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. See notice at bottom of blog for a longer description.

Making the Card

1. Cut black cardstock 7 x 10 inches; fold in half to form a 5 x 7 inch card base. Cut white cardstock 4 5/8 x 6 5/8 inches. Use ink blending tool to add Wilted Violet Distress Oxide Ink all around the outside. Adhere to card base.

2. Cut Canson XL Recycled Vellum to 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches. Stamp Haunted House in Jet Black Archival Ink (waterproof ink). Also stamp a copy on mask paper. Cut around house mask, leaving extra mask extending the grass on either side of the house. You want to mask the hill that the house will sit on. Put mask over house.

Rubbernecker Stamps Haunted House with Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks

3. Working from the bottom to the top, use an ink blending tool to blend from Wilted Violet Distress Oxide Ink to Faded Jeans. Add a small amount of Black Soot across the top edge, corners, and slightly down sides. Stamp Spider Web in Jet Black Archival Ink over top of house - see image. Flick drops of water across image, let sit for a few seconds, then dab off with paper towel. Repeat as desired.

4. Remove mask. Use Copic Multiliner .2 (or other black waterproof fine tipped marker) to go over any lines that became dull due to the ink blending (e.g. the bats over the house, grass, etc.). Extend the grass line on either side of the house as shown. Extend the walkway. Watercolor image - I used Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens. Adhere image to card base as shown.

5. Tie a triple loop bow with white seam binding. Pounce with Wilted Violet and Faded Jeans. You may want to spray with a little water to get the ink to spread out. Pounce again to darken some areas. Set aside to dry.

6. Add jump ring to spider adornment. Slide onto wire pin and pin to bow center. Adhere bow as shown.

Rubbernecker Stamps Haunted House with Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks

Supplies
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Sunday, October 8, 2017

Colorful Bird Shaker Card

Shaker Card With Doodlebug Designs Paper and Sequins

Here is a super colorful card with a shaker element. I used Doodlebug Design paper and sequins - they make the brightest colored stuff! And I absolutely love their patterned papers. The bird and greeting stamps are by Rubbernecker Stamps. I wanted the upside down bird to be extra colorful so it is the only bird that I did not add black to. Unfortunately it didn't stand out as much as I would have liked, but the bird's zany upside down antics still make the sentiment relevant. If I had to color this again, I would probably make the other birds look more like crows and robins.

Affiliate links may be included in this post. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program that provides a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites at no cost to you. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. See notice at bottom of blog for a longer description.

Making the Card

1. Cut white cardstock 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches; fold in half to form a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch card base. Cut purple cardstock 4 x 5 1/4 inches. Adhere to card base. Cut rainbow heart paper (Fairy Tales, Doodlebug Design 6x6 Pad) to 3 7/8 x 5 1/8 inches. Adhere to card base.

2. Stamp Be Yourself birds in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on white cardstock. Color with colored pencils (I used Faber-Castell Polychromos). Die cut using Nested Rectangle Small Stitch Die Cut Set (6th die in from outside). Adhere to center of card.

3. Using the same die from step 2 and the die two sizes bigger (4th die in) - line them up as a frame with cutting side down; use masking tape or other removable tape on them to keep them in position for cutting. Cut about 5 or 6 frames of white cardstock and one frame of purple cardstock.

Shaker Card With Faber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils

4. Line up and glue all white cardstock frames together to form a thick stack. Adhere to card, lining up around image. Cut plastic packaging with larger die (4th die in) - trim off stitching (it doesn't have to be exact - you just want it to be a little smaller than the outside frame).

5. Add various colors of sequins (Doodlebug Design Sequins) over bird image inside stack of frames. Optional: glue a few in place. Adhere plastic packaging. I use Gem-Tac - it works really well on slick surfaces.

6. To add the sentiment (Create a Garden 2) to the purple frame, either cut apart the phrases or mask them one at a time for stamping. I find that VersaMark works best for detailed embossing. Stamp sentiment as shown; emboss in white. Adhere frame to top of stack using Gem-Tac.

Shaker Card Featuring Rubbernecker Stamps

Supplies
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Thursday, October 5, 2017

Halloween Scene Distress Ink Blended Background Card

Halloween Distress Ink Blended Background Card

This Halloween graveyard scene comes alive with this colorful blended background. It's the perfect spooky card to send for Halloween, for an October birthday, or as an October greeting. The word at the bottom can be easily swapped (in fact the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Halloween Words set come with 18 dies).

Affiliate links may be included in this post. I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program that provides a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites at no cost to you. This helps offset a small portion of my crafting addiction... uh, hobby. See notice at bottom of blog for a longer description.

Making the Card

1. Cut Canson Bristol cardstock to about 5x7 inches. I find this cardstock to work really well with blending techniques.

2. Mount Graveyard Panel stamp on Stamp Platform or use a stamp positioner to center stamp on 5x7 cardstock. Add some Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink to moon part of stamp (I used my finger to dab around the areas by the bats since the stamp pad wasn't able to get in that area). Stamp. Do not remove stamp! You will be restamping several times. Wipe off stamp.

3. To create a slight halo effect around the moon, use round ink blending tool to bend over moon with a very small amount of Squeezed Lemonade. Heat set with a heat tool. Use a 3/4 inch circle punch to cut a circle in masking paper or Post-It Tape. Place over top of dry moon.

Distress Ink Blending Using Misti

4. Use an ink blending tool to blend from the bottom to the top in this order of Distress Inks, overlapping as you blend: Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door, Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord, Chipped Sapphire, Black Soot (use very little of the last). Dry thoroughly with heat tool.

5. Remove moon mask but keep it for step 7. Carefully ink the bats with the fine tip end of Tuxedo Black Memento Marker. Stamp. Repeat if necessary to get a nice dark black. Wipe off stamp.

Halloween Distress Ink Blended Background Card

6. Use a powder tool over the entire blended piece. Ink everything but the moon and bats of the Graveyard Panel in VersaFine Onyx Black ink. I recommend stamping it several times to get a solid image. While the ink is still wet, coat with clear embossing powder and heat. Optional: if you want the bats also embossed, use the fine tip of a VersaMarker to dab over the bats, sprinkle with clear embossing powder and heat.

7. Replace the moon mask before continuing. Sprinkle some water on your fingers and flick across the background. Let set a few seconds then dab with paper towel. Repeat until you like the look. Add some water to the white gold Gansai Tambi paint (Starry Colors). Flick across background either by tapping a loaded brush against the side of your finger or using the brush to apply some of the paint to an acrylic block then flick off the edge with brush. Carefully (!) dab off any paint on the embossed areas (try not to touch background at all!).

8. Cut dark blue cardstock to 7x10 inches; fold in half to form a 5x7 inch card base. Cut orange cardstock 4 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches. Adhere to card base. Trim inked graveyard scene to 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches. Adhere to card front.

9. Die cut 4 or 5 copies of Beware (Tim Holtz/Sizzix Halloween Words: Block) from orange cardstock. Cut a piece of Canson Bristol about 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. Blend ink from bottom to top in this order: Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door. Die cut with Beware. Glue all orange copies of each letter together to form a thick stack. Glue blended letters to tops. Adhere to card front where shown (hint: I used the leftover cardstock from one of the block Beware die cuts to line them up - just be sure not to get any glue on it).

Rubbernecker Stamps Halloween Distress Ink Blended Background Card

Supplies
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