Copic Color Blending Background With My Whimsical Little World

 I had so much fun this week trying a new background technique using my lovely Copics and Tim Holtz Distress Inks. The result is just gorgeous!

To find the technique I used for this background Click here.

The image I used  is a Whimsy Note by My Whimsical Little World called Spice of Life. 

It was a freebie offered in the Facebook group for My Whimsical Little World. 

My work in progress

Step One: Color Background

YR14, 12, 31, 000

Making a mess

Step Two: Ink Edges

Tim Holtz Distressed Inks

Walnut & Tea Dye

Step 3: Color in the Image

Cup: G99, YG95, G95, G94, YG99

Lid: W3, 5, 7

Words: E49

Pumpkin: YR15, 18, Y17

Leaves: E08, R56, E35

Adding texture

Step 4: Add Coffee staining

Tim Holtz Distress Ink Tea Dyed

Stampendous  Paper Texture Cube, 1993

Stampin up Coffee stamps, Retired name unknown

 Step 5: Finish it off

Cut paper to create card of desired size.

 I added some string to the top and an inside detail I distressed like above.

Must have more coffee stains!

The finished product looks professional and is just beautiful!

Have fun crafting and remember to find joy!

Apocalypse Sunday Challenge with Simply Betty

Last Sunday, in honor of the season premier of The Walking Dead, Simply Betty Stamps offered up a challenge. Betty offered freebie zombie digis from her retired catalog, but there was a catch.  We had to color and  post them within a tight timeline,within an hour of two of receipt in some cases.  She also challenged us to make complete projects, and offered up a prize for the best creation for each freebie digi.  I was able to try my hand at 4 of her Zombie friends, and I'm proud to say I completed a project for each one.  This challenge really pushed me creatively, and I was able to have some fun with new techniques and mediums.  I found that when my timeline was pushed , I didn't overthink my creations. Thanks Betty for the fun Challenge!

Challenge #1 Rio Zombie Bookworm

I stole my daughter's Prismacolor colored pencils and gave them a try.  I haven't tried to
 color with colored pencils in a long time. I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out.

 Challenge #2 Worms for Brains

I just decided to really stretch creatively with this guy.  The background is Tim Holtz Distress Ink.
This fun little bookmark was made for a boy with other things on his mind than reading.

Challenge #3 Headless Christian

I decided to go with a bright colored Skater look for this card. I used Pastel colored pencils
 for the background, and made a mess distressing all of the papers with my Tim Holtz distress tool.

 Challenge #5 Singing Betty (Yes I realize I skipped #4, a girls got to sleep.)

I had so much fun with this card.  We were given a longer time limit for this project,

 so I was able to get a little more creative.  

In this WIP picture you can see in detail the background technique I recently learned. The extremely
talented Poala Jofre does a great job explaining this technique in her YouTube tutorial.  I used W3, 5, & 7
 for my shading and Tim Holtz Shaded Lilac and Dusty Concord for the edging. 

 The patterned papers and digital papers ar are by AMB Illustrations. After coloring her, I added
 some highlights with my white gel pen, and some metallic shimmer around the bat.
 I finished this card off with  some sparkle and bling because every girl needs a little bling.
  I just love that though this card is dark, it still feels happy.

Check out more fun images at Simply Betty Stamps.

If you want to join in on the fun next time, check out the Simply B Facebook Group.

Improving my Copic skills

Alyce over at Kit and Clowder challenged us to post a before and after pic on the Facebook group page to show the transformations of our coloring skills. I had the pleasure of meeting the beautiful Alyce and some amazing craters at the Anaheim Retreat back in June, and that inspired me to focus more on my coloring skills. I still have a lot of work to do before I graduate from the Skin and hair class, but I'm really proud of my progress.

The image on the left is from Kraftin Kimmie Stamps,

 and the Image on the right is from Simply Betty Stamps.

~ April

Star Struck Birthday Card

Star Struck Birthday Card

This is my first blog post for a card challenge, so be kind.

I just fell in love with this image by The East Wind, and

I decided to take the plunge and participate in a challenge 

over at the East wind Facebook Group.

The Contest: Facebook Contest #17 Step Away from the DP

 The big challenge for this contest was that we could not use any 

designer paper, so I had to get extra creative. We so often take for granted the

 beautiful designer paper we have so readily available to us, 

and this challenge made me realize how hard it can be to create a project without it. 

The Image: Didgital Stamp- Lucy Loo Star Struck

 The image cane be found at https://www.etsy.com/listing/187787860/digital-stamp-lucy-loo-star-struck?ref=shop_home_active_1&ga_search_query=star%2Bstruck

The image is colored using Copic markers.

Skin: E000, E00, E04, E11, E11, E21, R20

Hair: R89, R59, R29, RV29

Clothing: BG0000, BG000, B06, B05, B02

Other: C3

The Card

The background is made using Patterns mini stencils and Tim Holtz Distress Inks.

The die-cuts are made using a Spellbinders Die set.

I also used, Duck silver glitter Washi tape, red and teal jewels, and a Stampin Up sentiment stamp.

I hope you enjoyed my creation. ~ April

It's been awhile, but life is really being a pain in the neck!

Sorry it's been so long since my last blogs. I haven't been able to do much crafting or blogging in over a month do to a pain in the neck! I have a pinched nerve in my right arm and it is really getting in the way. I'm hoping and praying the doctors can help with the pain. Also hoping to get back to crafting ASAP. TTFN ♡ April

Blood, sweat and tears for my craft (Literally)

About a two months ago, I had a little accident while cutting the back off a button to create one of my Barretts. The button slipped, the hand reacted, and the scissors snipped. I have only had stitches once before, but I have never removed a piece of myself until now. The doctors were very impressed by how clean the cut wss and inquired about the scissors I use. Every crafter needs a good pair of scissors or two. To make the long story shorter, a few hours, a lot of blood and pain, & 6 stitches later I was ready to go. The good news is: I have a new respect for scissors. I have some new tools in order to insure that this never happens again. I have a battle wound, though the wound is healing extremely well and can barely be seen, and a great story to tell you all you crafty ladies. So be careful and keep crafting. ♡ April

Monster Spirit

Kaya and her Monster team made playoffs back in October, and we wanted the crowd to show their spirit too. Coach Candace and I had too much fun at the party store and the dollar store getting that Black and Gold spirit.

 

Making these little pompoms was quick and easy.

The large metallic poms cost $2 and make a big impact. The metallic fringe are actually 80's wigs from the dollar store, and the base is a teacher's pointer, also a dollar. 

The small pom is simple and useful.  All it took were a bunch of pencils, some duct tape, and curling ribbon.  These spirited pencils will make a big splash on the field or in the classroom.

Our stands and fans were decked out for the big game, but sadly the spirit wasn't enough to overcome the larger and more powerful opponents. Maybe next year Monsters!