Christmas Wishes

It's hard to believe that my last posting was almost two months ago! Since then, we've vended at three (or four) weekend events and two day-crops. I'm now in major make-up mode.

In keeping with the season, I created this make-and-take featuring Elizabeth Craft dies and stickers, Darice embossing folders, Scor-Tape and Copic markers.

First, I cut a 3.75" piece off Elizabeth Craft's SS 0102 White Iris Shimmer Sheet and embossed it on my Grand Callibur using Darice's snow flakes embossing folder. I then placed a strip of .25" Scor-Tape along the bottom quarter of the shimmer sheet. After removing the top cover of the tape, I placed ribbon from my stash along the tape trail and secured the ends on the back of the mylar. I then added more adhesive to theback of the Mylar and centered it on the A-2 card cover.

To make the tree, I cut a 2.5" x 11.5" piece of cardstock and placed it on the sticky side of a 2.5" wide piece of score-tape. I cut it off the roll and placed the five elements of Elizabeth Craft's EC 755 - Five-Part Pine metal die face down on the top of the Scor-tape piece. I ran those five elements through my Grand Calibur. Once cut, I removed the blue waxy tops from the adhesive and added glitter to them using SparkleNSprinkle's semitransparent Sparkling Snow glitter. I finger burnished the glitter, pushing it into the adhesive and then colored each piece of the tree with Copic G29 - Pine Tree Green marker. In my original sample, I colored the entire tree in green. In this one, I left the tips white/clear to accentuate each section of the tree. This was the sample I started in my make-and-take and that I quickly finished at home

I attached vertical strips of the .25" Scor Tape to the back of each tree element and layered them accordingly. I cut a 1" strip off my transfer tape and picked up either Merry Christmas or Christmas Wishes stickers using EC 351G - Merry Christmas (Gold) or EC 376G - Christmas Wishes (Gold), depending on availability. I positioned the sentiment on the Myylar, pressed it into position and removed the transfer sheet from the card front.

The results, a finished card! Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to you.

Pure Innocence: Sprinkler Girl

 

I had a lot of fun coloring my My Favorite Things Pure Innocence girls. I colored four sets of them and then set out on a journey to create some memorable cards. I got the idea for this one from Sharon Harist's "Hula Girl" in the new Copic Coloring Guide Level 4 book. I used SparkleNSprinkle's Stamp Set 29 "Blossoms" for my background piece. I also used it on my sentiment circle. I kind of took a chance here because I stamped the sentiment first and then stamped the background.  I used Memento's London Fog and randomly stamped second generational images using my Blossoms stamp set. I am especially excited about my layering pages. I was confident that they were straight and perfectly sized because I used my new Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics A & B.  I think I used size 3 from each grouping. I used two Paper Shapers punches to make my sentiment circle -- 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" scallop. I created my card base from my The Paper Cut collection -- Raspberry and my layering with Black Licorice. Of course, I used the Copic Blend-It cardstock for stamping and coloring my images. I stamped my Sprinkler girl with Memento Tuxedo Black. My ribbon is American Crafts Premium Black Gingham. I used the following Copic Markers: B0000, B00, B01, B02, E00, E11, E31, E35, G000, G21, G24, 518, R20, RV10, RV52, RV55, RV56.

 

 

 

Pure Innocence: Graduation Girl

I lost a week of scrapbooking and cardmaking due to the unexpected death of my student and friend, Margaret. She was an incredibly young and remarkably vital 75-year old woman. I've also been cleaning and purging my craft room and working on new projects and samples. For months I've had a handful of My Favorite Things Pure Innocence Stamps. Now I know what to do with them. I plan to showcase a different PI stamp each week as my schedule allows. The will also be available for sale on our website (www.scrappigators.com). Though graduation is over, I've opted start my PI collection to with this sweet thing.

I actually stamped a multiple images on one Copic page. Spellbinders Reverse Wonky Rectangles seemed to be the only die template in my personal inventory that would allow me to cut out the whole image without half of another one showing. I used the largest of the set to create my card base.

My PI graduate is wearing a green cap and gown because that's the colors of my daughter's alma mater -- Wilmington University, Dover, DE campus. 

I used the following markers on this little princess:

Face: E000, E00, E01, YR00, R20

Hair: E50, YR20, YR24, E99

Cap & Gown -- G20, G24, G28, Y17

Shirt: BG00, BG11

Diploma: E0000, E55

Shoes: N5, N10

I used Lemon Drop Cardstock from The Paper Cut  for my card base, Copic Blend-It paper for my image, Memento Tuxedo Black dy Ink, Memento Pine Green Dye Inc, Colorbox Deep Green Fluid Chalk Ink, and SparkleN Sprinkle Clear Detail Embossing Powder to further create the page,

Copic Triple Easel

I saw this project and just had to do it . . . with a Copic-oriented perspective. I'll be teaching this class at our Scrappigators Value-Added Summer Crop. This is a no-frills approach to scrapbooking and cardmaking with table classes added for students' convenience and educational experience.

The easel card came from Jill at SparkleNSprinkle. I got the basic dimensions from her, tweeked it a bit and using my "more with less" approach created this adorable card which will brighten anyone's day. I used versafine ink and clear embossing powder to stamp the images on the card flaps; Memento Pistachio on the card base, and SparkleNSprinkle's new Dahlia stamp for the images. I think I'll be moving the leaf to the left and the smaller flower to the right for better composition. I used the following Copic markers: V04, V01, T4, R81, R29, G21, G28.  You can visit our website (www.scrappigators.com) for more information about the crop on June 22nd.

Starfish Make-And-Take

We're preparing for our first Heirloom Productions trade show in West Springfield, MA on June 1 and 2. Part of that preparation means inventorying product, finishing kits, and putting together Make-And-Takes. I created this 2.75" circle card as a make-and-take companion piece to the turtle, octopus and fish in a class I taught at Stamping by the Sea in Ocean City, MD a few months ago. He's part of SparkleNSpinkle's Sea Critters stamp set #235.

I used four Copic markers to color this little guy: B0000, R22, R24 and E07. I stamped the starfish with Memento's Tuxedo Black dye ink. The bubbles (SparkleNSprinkle 0242-91AA) came last with Memento's Bahama Blue.  I cut the circle card out of The Paper Cut Lunar cardstock with my CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge and I cut the circles with a from Copic Blend-It cardstock with a 2.5" circle punch.

BIRTHDAY GIRL

 

Isn’t it amazing how a casual comment can turn into something exciting? That was the case with this layout that is the first of my Scrapbook in a Year program. I used a Hero Arts stamp set and Close To My Heart Cotton Candy ink to create the background, the new Elizabeth Craft Designs cupcakes diecut to create the embellishments, my Pazzle to generate the title, and Paper Cuts Pink Lemonade, Razzleberry, Black Licorice and Sweet Tooth papers. Making the cupcakes was a blast with my Copic markers and SparkleNSprinkle glitter. This kit is jam-packed with product and is selling for $25. If you’re interested in purchasing this kit, email me at diane@scrappigators.com. By the end of next week, you will be able to order on my website (www.scrappigators.com).

Blue Roses

We get to do something with our Copic markers that nature cannot! We get to create a blue rose. Apparently, roses do not have the gene they need to enter the blue spectrum. They have come to symbolize mystery and longing for the unattainable. So, if you see a blue rose at your local florist, it is most likely a white rose that was dyed blue somewhere along the way.
     With all the end-of-the-Mayan-calendar predictions, what is more fitting for a new year Copic floral class than one that features the unattainable blue rose? In this case, our rose is part of the SparkleNSprinkle collection (Stamp # 3184-402N also in Stamp Set #402). This is also the first of our four-marker classes that we’re introducing to our students in 2013. The four colors in this care are B12, B24, B26 and Y15. The Colorless Blender is a staple and she be brought to every class.
     My $17 kit includes everything except the markers, adhesive, foam dots, Memento Stamping ink, Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink . It also includes a step-by-step illustrated instructions, the cushioned-for-acrylics stamp and enough product to complete three cards. Visit our website at www.scrappigators.com for ordering instructions.

Copic Winterbirds

 

My friend, Margaret, came by yesterday for my first Copic Winterbirds class. We had a wonderful time and managed to finish these two cards in two hours. Our goal was to create a relatively realistic representation of these winter birds using short strokes and shading. I’m rather happy with these cards (except for some red smudges on the ribbon) but that’s what I get for rushing. My third card for my “Winter Birds” collection is a cardinal, but I’m opting to add that in later because it strayed from the color scheme I used in the “sparrow” and the chickadees. The real beauty is that we were able to finish the cards in two hours. I love it when a plan comes together.

We used the following products for this project:

Copic Markers:

0 - Colorless Blender, C1 – Cool Gray 1, C2 - Cool Gray 2, B24 – Sky, E51 – Milky White, E53 – Raw Silk, E55 –Light Caramel, E84 – Khaki, G29 – Pine Tree Green, R27 – Cadmium Red, R29 – Lipstick Red, W3 – Warm Gray 3, W5 – Warm Gray 5, YG23 - New Leaf

Stamps:

Northwoods “Four Chickadees On Pine Branch” and SparkleNSprinkle Nestle In For Christmas

Tools & Supplies:

Memento Tuxedo Black inkpad; Paper Trimmer; Adhesive; Starform Text Stickers, Silver #351; Flower Soft Peel Off Borders, Silver #306

Cardstock

Copic Express It Cardstock; Paper Cuts Red Hot Cardstock

 

Pengies Card Class

 

I finished my Christmas Pengie Card Class samples last night. This is a darling Stamp Set (#438) from SparkleNSprinkle, a Florida-based papercrafting storefront. I also used Marvy Uchida's Liquid Applique to add texture to the caps and Colorbox Silver and SparkleNSprinkle's Clear Embossing Powder (EP120) for the sentiment on the front and inside of the card. I managed to reduce my Copic colors a bit to include the following: 0 Colorless Blender; BG000 Snow Green; E50 Egg Shell; G21 Lime Green; G24 Willow; RV25 Dog Rose Flower; RV 29 Crimson; T2 Toner Gray #2; T10 Toner Gray #10; W00 Warm Gray #00; YR21 Cream; YR24 Pale Sepia. All my cardstock was 8 1/2" x 11" which and came from my stash.

 

My next Copic project will be my Copic Skin and Hair class which I plan to post by Thursday (four days from today).

Lolly Garden Card

I had a wonderful time at Intermediate Copic Training in Lyndhurst, NJ this past weekend and have been practicing with some of my new images. Alas, I need to finish some new samples so I decided to work on my August Flower of the Month, I planned to post it today. Then I stumbled upon my SparkleNSprinkle Lolly Garden (Set397) stamp set and decided to go town! Sadly, I had to nix it after the project was finished because it requires 13 markers! But, I'm going to do four more myself because it's such a cute card. I used the following Copic colors:
BG11 Moon White
BG13 Mint Green
FYG1 Fluorescent Yellow
C2 Cool Gray 2
C5 Cool Gray 5
E000 Pale Fruit Pink
E01 Pink Flamingo
R22 Light Prawn
R24 Prawn
BG0000 Snow Green
BG000 Pale Aqua
0 Colorless Blender
100 Black

I made my card base from a Recollections paper pack I had in my stash. For the flowers on the front, I stamped three each of four colors on paper scraps and used a 3/4" punch (I think) to cut out the flowers portion.  I stamped the flowers around the bottom of the card and covered the flower portion with my punched colors. I used EK Success Repositional adhesive on the overlaping edge of the larger flower to keep the front closed. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next ones look like.

Copic Butterflies

These three cards are from SparkleNSprinkles Fancy Butterflies (Set 437) collection. I created the cards using The Paper Cut Lemon Drop, Blu Raspberry, Sour Apple and Sweet Tooth colors with matching envelopes. My Copic colors were BG01 Aqua Blue, BG05 Holiday Blue, Y15 Cadmium Yellow, and Y17 Golden Yellow. Of course, I used Memento Tuxedo Black to stamp my Copic images onto Copic Cardstock. I thought about adding bling in the form of glitter, maybe embossing, and more, but couldn't bring myself to it. This seemed to work well, espcecially with the Paper Cut colors. I'll be adding this workshop to my August selections.

Copic 101 Revised

After almost a year of teaching my Inkadinkado Copic Floral Class, I decided it was time to refresh my Copic 101 class and start to work on Copic 102 -- Birds and Bugs OR Birds, Butterflies and Bugs. While the cornerstone of the class is working with these IN-CRED-BLE Copic markers, I'm also integrating some primo products from SparkleNSprinkle. In this case, I used the Celestial Glitter to set off the floral centers. I also used SparkleN Sprinkles Blossoms Stamp set to create this WONderful card bouquet. My papers came from Bazzill, Paper Cuts, Melissa Frances and Recollections. I'm also redirecting my color blending pallete embrace the balance of threes. in this case, my "threes" are pink and blue -- selected to embrace Copic Blending rules. Best of all, I got to use my Sizzix Vagabond (brand new happy dance for major progress on decluttering my craft room) to cut out the Spellbinders Nestibilities. That's when I discovered what I ddin't have but is now on order to maximize the awesomeness of my Sizzix. Another big bonus lies with my newly revamped website (www.scrappigators.com) -- a continuing work in progress. I've streamlined the site a bit and am excited to see what the changes will bring.

Copic Get Well Car Card

I've had this stamp for awhile. When a friend ended up with a broken leg, I decided it was time to make an upbeat get well card. This is it. I got the layout idea from Jeanne Streiff's card in the January 2012 CardMaker Magazine. I used the following Copic markers: BG0000, C1, C2, C3, C5, C7, RV25, RV29, YR07. I used the larger "Henry" card from the SparkleNSprinkle Stamp Set 251. The card is 4.25" x 5.5". I used Cream and Red 8.5" x 11" Recollections Cardstock for my card base and mats. The striped paper was from some discontinued Close To My Heart product. I stamped the image on Copic cardstock and I inked the base and image paper with Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink .

Vintage Santa

Tonight I got to do a project for fun -- the challenge: create a Vintage card. I used a Closet To My Heart Father Christmas Card (CTMH D1449). I used a 4" Nestibilities Scalloped Circle to frame my Santa and a Cricut Art Philosphy 4 1/4" doily behind my design. My sentiment came from Sparkle & Sprinkle's Playful Pengies stamp set (#438). Of course, I used Copic Markers to color Father Christmas:

FACE:

* E00 Skin White

* E02 Fruit Pink

* RV21 Light Pink

EYES:

* B32 Pale Blue

* B37 Antwerp Blue

HOLLY

* YG63 Pea Great

* YG 67 Moss

* R27 Cadmium Red

* $29 Lipstick Red

* Spica 0 Clear

SUIT

* R29 Lipstick Red

* R35 Coral

* C5 Cool Gray 5

CHRISTMAS BALLS

* G02  Spectrum Green

* G05 Emerald Green

* Spica 11 Gold

* Spica 12 Silver

I also used Spica Lipstick Red on the sentiment hat and Sparkle&Sprinkle's Snow White Flocking (FL101). I also used Ranger's Vintage Photo Distress Ink for edging the card.

Change of Plans

I am totally excited about my Copic Class at Clare's. After conducting a customer poll, we discovered that a Copic card class would be a bit more appealing than a scrapbooking one, so we're doing two cards with four images. I changed up the colors so my students would have some greens for their Christmas card-projects between now and holidays' end. I used two colors one one card -- G21 Lime Green and G24 Willow on this card and B93 Green Gray and RV21 Light Pink on the other. I also took advantage of Michael's big sale last week and purchased 24 sheetsof K&Company's Addison Collage paper for about 16 cents a piece. As with the my scrapbook page project, I'm using flowers from Sparkle N Sprinkle's Blossoms Stamp Set #429. My black-glittered buttons are from Recollections which I purchased from Michaels. My class at Clare's Keepsakes is October 12 at 1 PM. The $25 fee includes everything but the markers, adhesives, and cardmaking tools. The kit contents are cut and loaded with everything but the directions. How exciting is that?

One Little Change!

One little change can alter your entire schedule. At least, that was my yesterday's tale! I decided to make a navigational change in my scrappigators website only to discover that I had to redesign thing! Yep, I did. It's almost done (lots of pages say "coming soon") but the buttons are in place, new page categories, etc. It's taken me a few  years to see where I want to be in this wonderful world that we call "scrapbooking" -- and now I know. It's teaching! I am still a Close to My Heart consultant (dianecook.myctmh.com) but I also carry other product lines. I'm incredibly excited about getting Copic certified (June 7) and adding teaching venues throughout the region. Of course, Scrappigators is now growing far beyond the Close To My Heart footprint because I'm also playing with Zutter, Crafters Companion, SparkleNSprinkle, ScrapRack and more. I'm also getting ready to launch a new design program as well, so we have lots of totally awesome things coming. Oh! And I can't forget the EK Success Spotted Canary program either. All in all, I'm seeing a path carrying me to new and wonderful places. Oh! Yes! And CKC -- I'm teaching at six conventions this year! Be sure to visit my website (http://www.scrappigators.com/) especially after Monday to see what's up and what's new.