25th Anniversary

Well, I never thought I would live to see this happen! This is my second marriage (the first lasting 19 yrs) and we celebrated our 25th anniversary! I asked for a trip and I got it which is why I have been inactive for a little bit. Made this one for DH and really enjoyed his reaction! He thought it super cute! I had a hard time with the color on the dress. I (believe it or not) got remarried in a pink dress. It wasn't the shocking pink that I had the first time I colored this cute couple! Recently bought some papers from http://www.lovetostamp.com/ (I think Webster's pages but not sure). They came separately in a wrapper and are 6 x 6. Just loved the ones I got! This paper is from that order. So I recolored "me" to match the paper's pink and voila! It seems to be the right color now. DH wore a blue-ish suit. The RV colors were the first colors and I went over them with the R colors. Of course you have to be sure they are really dry - like days - before you recolor them. And before I colored, I decided to refill my copics. I now have a new rule - DO NOT FILL COPICS WHEN ANYTHING ELSE IS GOING ON IN THE HOUSE!! I do think I refilled some of them more than once. You know when you go to color and the ink drips off the end of the brush that you messed up something terrible!!! So now I have another rule, too

TEST COPICS OFF YOUR IMAGE SHEET BEFORE USING FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT DAY. I did ruin an image that was almost finished! So now I am not sure how many I overfilled. Guess my mind was on the up and coming storm!! So the sun is shinning today and I am posting a card I just love. Hope you like it too! Also hope you can learn from my mistakes!! I did!!! Copics I used are: RV000, RV69, RV21, RV23, RV29, B91, B93, B95, B97, B99, R11, R14, R20, C0, C1, C5, C7, E00, E11, E31, E33, E35, E37, E29, YG63, YG67. Of course you know this is really Tilda and Edwin (Magnolia stamps). I used silver stickles - a lot. That blue plain looking paper is white cardstock colored with saphire distress ink and then silver stickled. Sometimes it is just better and easier to make your own paper! The inside of the card is Gina K stamps. Hugs to you all and enjoy the sun while it shines!! Barb F

My Friend

I have a special girlfriend who I wanted to know how thankful I was that she was in my life. She is one of my best friends and our deal is needlework. She doesn't do paperarts but really appreciates anything I do. Her Mom was an artist so that was a major part of her life. I decided to use this digital image as she loves irises.  It came from LaPashe.com. This is one neat site (for me, anyhow). They have a template for a very cool standup card and sell fantastic images that you use with the template! It was so much fun getting the stuff I sent for (they are in the UK) on the day my friend was here and I had given her this card!!

By the way - one of you asked me for the maker of the big guy with the dog - it is Mo Manning of digitalpenciltwo.com. Sometimes when I get a comment, there is no email address. If you don't get a thank you from me, that is the reason - I had nowhere to send it. Also if you ask me a question, I will answer you if I have an email. If you are not sure, you could email me directly at barbanjohn@comcast.net. Also, please remember that I am an amateur, still working on improving my techniques. I love to pass stuff along.

So here is my card for now:

The yellow with the ice cream cones is the inside - that is DP. I fell in love with the paper and just had to use it! And I am the stickle queen! Here are the copics I used on the iris:YG11, YG17, V12, V15, V17, Y11, Y17, C3. That is a spellbinder's die with a Gina K sentiment. Think I covered about everything. I did learn something very important though - I put the iris on dimensionals and then stickled the edges. If you do it the other way around, it can lay flat while drying and won't be all ruffly. Do you love that purple paper???? I made it!! It is done on a shiny paper with Tim Holtz' alcohol inks. Made it long ago and just wouldn't use it on anything! A lot of it shows here, so I thought it was perfect.

I am in the process of making a graduation card for one of the grandsons. I could be through with it, but it seems lacking something. So it will sit until the inspiration hits me, or I have to give it to him!! It is done with Edwin (of Magnolia fame). Hope you enjoy this card - it was soooo much fun to make! You know one of those that just falls in place?!! Hugs to you all and a great big thanks for following me! Sure inflates my ego and keeps me going!! Barb F

Here is a close up so you can really see the paper. I wish there was someway you could see the shine. It sure was fun to make. I did learn though not to make a whole lot of papers in advance. For some reason, they don't actually go with anything unless its by accident. Better to make them when you need them. That way you can  put all the colors you are using into them. Problem is, its so much fun to make the papers, that you don't want to stop!!  I did make the main paper that I used on the upcoming graduation card as I made the card just because I couldn't find the right paper!!!! Bye, again!!

Sympathy card

Into everyone's life some rain must fall, sometimes. This is the kind of card I am not fond of making. I went into my room to make the card and then decided I really needed to put some stuff away first - you know the procrastination routine?! So I was cleaning and putting things where they belonged and while I was about that, I looked through my stash of colored images. This Tilda couldn't have been more perfect for the card. It just about put itself together!! I bought some - actually a lot - of the new My mind's eye papers and knew the second I looked at Tilda that I had papers to go with her!! This is a really unusual card for me to make since there are no stickles and no paper flowers and the ribbon is so tiny!! I did recently buy a gold pen and used it to make little dashed lines around everything - thought it classed it up a bit. I used two spellbinder's dies and my cuttlebug. I find that I don't use my cricut much anymore. I used to use it a lot before I started coloring. This card had to fit in a standard type of envelope as the recipient is not aware that I make cards. So it is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. That is pretty small. I am not usually so confined. And here are the copics I used: BG01, BG05, BG09, Y17, YG63, YG67, E00, E11, E35, E37, E53, R20, W1, C3, C9.  I used Tim Holtz' distress inks, scattered straw and antique linen, around the edges of my cutouts. I also put Tilda on dimensionals. That's about it for this one. Hope you enjoy it as I hope she gives a little comfort to our friend. Hugs to you all! Thank you all so very much for the nice comments! I do really appreciate them. Sometimes I am in a really grumpy mood lately and find how much a nice word lifts me up. I am sure that is true of all of us. Barb F

a few more

As I said before, there are one heck of a lot of May birthdays in my life. Here are some more. Thought I would group them and just make one huge post since I am not completely through! This first one is done with NO coloring!! How odd for me. I used gold embossing and tried to make this a very classy card. It is done on black cardstock. the brown is the box I take photos in. There are no stickles on this one either! And I used pearls!!

This next one I colored the image with just a couple of copics. I found background paper in the colors this gal always seems to choose. She really liked the card as did the first lady.  Both of these cards were made with stamps from Gina K. I love the verses and usually use them on the inside. I guess I am getting hum drum with the layouts. It is quite a challenge for me to make these cards, which I guess is why I keep trying to find an easier way. I love flowers and bows and stickles. This next card has all three!! I knew she would love this paper so I put it on the inside also. The blue flower is stickled after I colored it.

This next one is for one of our sons. He loves to fish, so he usually gets some kind of card with that theme. I do need to find something else, but not this year! This one is a digital image. I have had a major breakthrough on those things. We bought a new wireless Kodak printer and the ink is absolutely perfect on any paper I choose to use! So here are the copics for the fishing card: R11, R14, R17, R20, E31, E33, E35, E37, E11, E15, E18, E51, E53, E57, E59, B91, B93, B95, B97, B99.

I added a touch of hemp and used a few buttons. The stickles are the dots between the buttons, the waves and the centers of the buttons. I decided after I got the card together, that I should have made his tummy a little pinker. It looks funny to me, but it is mounted and I am not taking it apart!! The striped paper is copper stripes. I love copper and was just dying to use it. 

So moving on to the last card for today, this one is for an adult grandson who loves to run! I thought it was adorable, even though he isn't heavy! He does have a tiny dog though! It is also a digital stamp. The colors I used are: W1, W5, C2, R29, BG000, Y17, R27, BG72, R59, E31, E33, E35, E37, E00, E11, R20. Sorry for the order, you get them as I write them down!!

I really liked the way this one came out. I can assure you that I will give a different layout a shot on the next card I make!! I need an anniversary card and a graduation card before the next birthday hits!! And that isn't long!! Hope you enjoyed these.
Now I have a special tip for those of you who actually read what I write! While watching some more videos on youtube (I don't know how I would know so much if it wasn't for all those videos!!), this gal was explaining about how the copics are numbered - the second number from the right can be thought of as: the higher the number, the more gray in the color. She said that sometimes you want to do shading and the colors seem too bright. That is because there isn't enough gray to tone them down. Look at the color chart and find another color with that second number much higher. I don't have my chart here at present so you will just have to know I am just giving numbers for an example - don't use this combo without actually checking first!! I haven't got any idea here!! So for example B11 ( the next B colors are a bit bright to shade with so you look at B74 (don't know if there is such a color) The 7 indicates the presence of lots of gray, the 4 indicates a deeper blue. See? The rv color family is one she used for her example and she showed you this using real colors. It made me understand that to shade, you need to use subtle colors, even sometimes going outside of the color itself - like using bv to shade b colors. All is acceptable if you like the results. You can always test it out on a scrap of the cardstock you are coloring on. If you like it, use it. I am not an artist and some of this stuff was difficult for me to grasp. So when I get a tip that makes it easier, I like to pass it on. Have a great day/night!!! Hugs to you all! Sorry my posts are so crazy timewise!! Barb F

DH Easter card

My DH loves bears enough to actually have a collection. I think his kids started it years ago as something to give him for gifts. I get tired of making fishing cards! However, there is a new fishing card coming -a birthday card for step-son. So this stamp is a real cutie from Wags and Whiskers. I used glossy accents on her purse. The greeting is from a double stamp set by Stampingscrapping.com. I ended up not having enough room for the outside of the stamp. We have a girl cat named Murphy who is super attached to DH, so this worked perfectly.

The stickles are on the bow on her arm and the centers of the roses in her hat, and her pearls - had to be careful here not to overdo! The copics I used are:C1, C2, C3, Y17, YG23, R17, B02, YR23, YR20, E31, E33, E35, E37, R59. Stick around. If I get the chance later today, I will post a couple of cards made with little or no copics! This chipboard sticker was terribly plain so I stickled it up! Made a nice simple inside. I have lots of birthdays coming up in May. The Cupcake fairy was for one of them. I can hardly wait for that granddaughter to get the card! Hugs to you all, Barb F