Gorjuss - Thinking of You

Hi  Everyone! First of I apologize for my super looong absence. So much stuff has happened to me in the last month that this hobby of mine had  to take a back seat. On the other hand, I have been coloring a lot lately. I've finally purchased my very own set of Copics, and have spent quite some time trying to learn and getting the hang of it. That, and I also recently acquired Spectrum Noir Aqua. If you follow my blog you know I'm a big Spectrum Noir user, so when they came out with Aqua I just have to have it!

Today's card uses a stamp set from Gorjuss. I believe it's Ruby. I am obsessed with a few brands lately, namely Gorjuss and La-La Land. So anyway, this card features Ruby, and I used Spectrum Aqua to color her. I'm actually quite surprised at how great the Aqua pens are. The colors are so vibrant, and mixing the colors was pretty easy. I've tried a version of this using Distress Markers but I wasn't able to achieve the look I wanted. There were too many water marks that's too distracting, so I switched to trying out the Aqua instead. And boy was I so pleased!

So, I used Crimson and Burgundy for her dress and shoes, Peach for her skin tone with a touch of Topaz, and for her hair I used a mixture of Sepia and Terracota I believe. I used Black for the stripes on her socks. The swing was colored using Fawn. For the background I used Tim Holtz Peacock Feathers Distress Ink with a mix of Frayed Burlap. As you can see coloring Ruby with the Spectrum Noir Aqua looks pretty clean, but when it came to the background using Distress Markers, you can see the water marks and it actually bled to her socks too. I have yet to figure out what I'm doing wrong.

I used a La-La Land border die for the side border, and stamped the sentiment using Lawn Fawn's Chit Chat.

I love all of Gorjuss' stamps. I think she's just too cute! Not to mention it comes in a very very pretty case too! I buy mine from MarkerPop, they seem to have a more complete collection of Gorjuss stamps.

More to come! Hope you guys like it! It's not perfect, but I promise to keep practicing!

Gone Fishing

There are a couple of people I know that I'd love to give this card to, featuring Luka from La-La Land Crafts. This stamp set is called Gone Fishing Luka, and I used Chameleon Pens to color in the image.
I will most likely do another one, and will post that soon.
For this card, I used CTMH Seaside paper as background, and die cut scallop waves at the bottom. Unfortunately the scallop shape I think it's not so clear. I was sort of hoping for water effect.

I love how Chameleon pens take out the guesswork in blending colors. For the hat and Luka's hair I just used BR5, and mixed a bit of BR2. I did not quite get the skin tone right, and ended up adding more layers hence making it a bit too pink. I used NU1 mostly, but messed up with I added a bit much of PK3 to the cheeks hoping to give it a pink flush. I love how the jumper and shirt worked though, for those I used OL3 for the shirt, and BL6 for jumper. The fish and the bait can was colored using CG8, so were the worms, but I added in a hint of PK3 to sort of make it look a bit real. The fish lips was just R04. The seashell was stamped from CTMH's Treasured Friendship stamp set.

This week I took the plunge and finally purchased Copic sets. I will have the weekend to play with them, and hopefully come up with better techniques and coloring projects. I certainly have the stamps to use. Hopefully my next Luka will have a better skin tone. In the meantime, try and enjoy this! :) Hahaha!

Here's the Seaside paper packet.

X7192B Seaside Paper Packet

And here's the stamp set I used for the seashell.

C1594 Treasured Friendship

Pure Innocence - MFT Card Sketch Challenge

I got inspired to create these cards because of the MFT Card Challenge. Here is last Wednesday's sketch challenge, and I made these cards kind of by accident.

I've been coloring so much the last week I thought I'd do something simple and clean for a change. I wanted something quick, and these stamp sets from MFT are just the perfect thing. They're cute, small, and quick for me to do a card.

My first card uses Pure Innocence Just the Way You Are. I colored her using Chameleon Pens, and used Stitched Circle Stax for the center circle. The Tag sentiment was die cut using Stitched Traditional Tag Stax. I like how she's holding the tag and love love love the sentiment! The heart puffies are from Close to My Heart. This image reminds me of my co-worker. I always go to her when I think I'm having a bad work fashion outfit and she always reassures me I'm just perfectly fine. I thought she'd love this.

 My second card uses Pure Innocence Little Shutterbug. I got this stamp set since it reminds me of my daughter who just loves to take pictures and say "Say Cheese Mommy! Smile!!" Image was also colored using Chameleon Pens, and the circle was die cut using Stitched Circle Stax. I love the simple look of these cards. I must have had an overload of heavy floral and embellishment cards last week that I thought of toning it down.

Enjoy!

You Are Fabulous!

I made this Spring themed card of Retro Marci from La-La Land Crafts. I've been meaning to give this to a friend of mine at work. Retro Marci reminds me so much of her fabulousness I thought I'd give this one to her.

I used my newly replaced Chameleon Pens to color Marci. Black (BK4) for the hair, glasses and shoes, Bubble Gum (PK3) for the headband, scarf and skirt, and Spring Meadow (YG3) for the belt and skirt accent. Skin color was colored using Bisque (NU1). The purse was colored using Hot Cocoa (BR2). I'm still trying to practice on the Chameleon Pens, so bear with me. I promise to keep on practicing until I perfect the flicks and strokes of the pens.

The flowers are from Close to My Heart stamp set Happy Birds. They were stamped with Lagoon, Sweet Leaf and Blush inks to complement the background paper and Spring colors.

Here is the Close To My Heart stamp set I used.

C1600 Happy Birds

I hope my friend likes it! And I hope you do too!

Happy Easter! Wishes On A Wire

Today I'm sharing with you my last Taylored Expressions Easter card. This is from the Wishes on A Wire Collection - Easter. I used kraft paper as base, topped with DCWV Spring Mat Stack paper, and used Simon Says Stamp Postage Stamp Edge Frame Dies as the base for the stamped image. I colored the image using Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers, and unfortunately, it bled through and went over the stamped edge. I did a blue background sponge effect by using Tim Holtz Salty Ocean, and the flowers are from Stamps of Life Triplits Flower 7 Dies.

Happy Easter weekend everyone! Hope you all have a blessed one!

Enjoy!

April Stamp of the Month

I've been remiss in promoting Close to My Heart lately since I got distracted with Taylored Expression, Lawn Fawn, and now my newest obsession are the La-La Land Crafts Marci and Luka images. I'm reminded that I have A TON of Close to My Heart stamps and products just sitting and waiting for me to use them again.

This month, the stamp of the month features this vintage typewriter. This stamp set is so versatile as it contains sentiments you can use all year round. When I first saw this last year I cannot wait to get my hands on it. I love the vintage look of this typewriter, especially the type font! Brings back old memories!

S1504 Typed Note

Here are some projects you can create using this stamp set.

You can get this stamp set for only $5 with any qualified $50 purchase. And while you're at it, maybe indulge in a grab bag or 2? I certainly am curious what goodies I'll be getting! And with Close to My Heart, you can be sure you're getting quality products!

Crazy April Deal

So Close to My Heart is running a promotion this month. It's called Deal of the Day. If you love a great deal, then this is for you! Details below.

How about 30 days of great deals? During the month of April, you have the opportunity to score a deal every day with Close To My Heart! What deals are we talking about? Each day during April, while supplies last, we’ll feature a random grab bag filled with current and retired Close To My Heart products available for purchase at a major discount. To grab your bag, simply place any current, full-priced item in your online shopping cart through my site here and you will then be eligible to purchase as many grab bags as you wish (while supplies last)! Grab bags will be featured at five different price points throughout the month, ranging from $35 USD/ $55 CAD to $150 USD/$160 CAD. Some grab bags will contain product with more than DOUBLE the retail value of the price you pay! Grab bags will be available for 24 hours starting at 3 pm MDT each day and only while supplies last—so visit often and early! Remember that grab bag tiers will be featured on a random schedule throughout the month, so seize the opportunity to purchase from the grab bag tier you’re interested in when it becomes available because it might not come around again! 

Here are the 5 different tiers.

Score your deals now! Hurry while supplies last!

Seasonal Expressions 2 Live!

It's April 1st and Close to My Heart's Seasonal Expressions 2 is now live! You can start ordering products from this catalog starting today!

There are so many many many pretty things in this catalog. My personal favorite is the new Blossom paper pack. The colors are so cool, calm, floral, so Spring looking.

X7196B Blossom Paper Pack

Browse the catalog online and see all the cool stuff this Seasonal Expressions 2 carries. More Close to My Heart projects in the next few weeks!

Happy Spring!!

A new day,  a new card! I'm on my Taylored Expressions binge week so here's another TE card I'd like to share with you. This Spring card uses Spring from the You've Got Mail collection. I love this collection and I think I probably have most of them by now. They are so simple, so cute, and I just love the many things you can do with this image.

I colored it using Spectrum Noir alcohol markers, and I went crazy with Wink of Stella clear glitter brush with all my projects this week. The background solid paper was embossed using a Sizzix embossing folder that we got from the Scrapbook Expo Make and Take crop, and the other half of the paper is from DCWV Spring Mat Stack. I can't believe I let such a beautiful stack of paper just sit in some container for years!

I embellished the bottom with adhesive ribbon and topped it with a floral puff from a Recollections sticker pack that I got on clearance.

I so love this time of the year. I know living in California it's not really Spring given it's almost 90 degrees out today, but still, seeing Spring themed items everywhere, spring colors, from dresses to Easter themed projects, I just love it! Hope you guys like it!

Enjoy! Happy Spring!