Following Directions - A Sympathy Card

Okay, so I've been saying my cards suck.   I've also said several times that I know how to follow directions.

I've been receiving Cardmaker magazine since 2005, and I've been receiving Cardmaker card kits from Paper Wishes for most of that time as well.  I've been using the papers and embellisments for other projects.   Since I've finally admitted to myself that after trying really hard the last three years my cards still suck, I decided to stick with the kits.  My creative side tells me that eventually I'll be able to combine the two and use my colorings with cards from the kits. We'll see what that breeds in the future.

In the meantime I'm posting pics of my latest kit card.  It is a sympathy card.  Now that I have my ATG and Xyrons these cards come out sooooooooo much better.  I can put them together without any liquid glue, which always seem to make a mess of some kind on my cards.  If I see glue shine on a finished card, it gets scrapped and becomes a swatch. 

I also played around with the white balance and macro settings on my camera, and these cards are more real to color than my previous cards, and they are much lighter.   I'll probably make a post on what I did since it may help somebody else that may be frustrated with their pics.  Mine have always been too dark, even in daylight.  So what's up with that!

Here's my Sympathy Card.  I hope you like it.

 

And as always -

Thanks for stopping by!



Freebies @ ANJI'S ANTICS

Anji's Antics is one of my favorite blogs for line art freebies.  My favorite ones are of women and flowers.  I like to watch them "come alive" as I color them.   I've often wondered if she's drawn them from photos or of folks she knows or if she just imagines them.  Anji is a true artist and often features some of her fantastic artwork, from painting to papier mache to altered art to renovating furnishings.  

Like the postman, you can count on Anji to post an image just about every day, whether it be rain, heat or snow, whether she's feeling sick or well; and if she can't do it, her loving husband will do it for her and keep us posted on Anji.  She's a real trooper.   

Here are some of Anji's images I've colored using Promarkers.

                                                

These were Apple Blossoms

This one turned into this beautiful Black Lady

And this one a beautiful Redhead

If you stopped by to see what Anji inspires you to color and leave her a comment or two, you'll enjoy it and she'd really appreciate it.    
http://anjisantics.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Anji.

And as always -

Thanks for stopping by!

Stuff I've been coloring ...

This image was colored with copics.  It turned out really well.  This is Tilda as a fairy stamp.   Now I just need to find a project to use her on.

I've been trying to color something every day so I'll have something to share here. I'm still going to post oppsies as well as the ones that turn out well.  I hope to encourage you to just keep practicing, and you will soon be able to learn what your markers can and cannot do well.

I'll be posting again tomorrow.  I'm going to do a feature on one of my favorite freebie blogs person tomorrow.  

Thanks for Stopping By!

Cardstock or paper?

Heyyyyy!

If someone were to ask me "Where do you get your paper?", I would normally say wherever I find a sale or have a coupon.   But I can remember when my answer would have been not just wrong, but confusing.   I would have answered with all my wisdom that you had to be careful to buy the thicker paper if you were making cards.  You may not be as dense as me, but here goes.  If this is an aha moment for you, know that you're not alone.

Thicker paper is usually called cardstock!   Papers are used to decorate or cover cardstock, for scrapbooking...pretty much everything but cards and boxes.  To make a card, you need cardstock.  To test this theory, you need only fold a sheet of paper and fold a sheet of cardstock to see which would hold up better as a card.  :)  Cardstock also works best for cutting with your die cutters.  Very few, if any, papers are thick enough for cards.  So make sure when you're looking for cardstock, you're not buying paper and vice versa.  

I have lots of paper that I ordered back in 2006 when I got my first Cricut to make cards only to find out it didn't work too well.  What a newbie!   Way back then you couldn't find cardstock like we have today and colors were limited.  Cardmaking had not quite caught on.

So hopefully knowing the difference between cardstock and paper will save you some time or money, or both.  If you're among those who are saying "duh" at this whole post, you know, "like who wouldn't know that", pray for those of us who are not as sharp as you that we soon will be and that our capabilities will not continue to diminish only to cause you to suffer yet another "duh" moment.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello.

I'm sharing the 4th leg of the Girlfriends Relay Challenge at Scraps of Color's Robert Jackson Digi Group Challenge.  Since I was "Thinking Pink", I decided to use my image to bring awareness to breast cancer and its treatments.  The colors should be much brighter.   I need to work on my camera settings and see what I've accidentally changed.

We should be working on the 5th and final leg, but we're not.  This past week we got word from Robert that the death of two of his close family members is imminent.  Having faced the tragic loss of my son, my heart aches for Robert and his family, and we have sent our prayers for the peace of God to be of comfort to them all. 

There's a substitute challenge for this week at SOC.  If you'd like to check it out, here's a link.  Take a look around while you're there.

http://scrapsofcolor.ning.com/group/robert-jackson-digi-group

This second image is by Anne Fenton over at the Outlawz Creative Freebie Challenge.   I surprised them by making a girl.  Still "Thinking Pink."  Like SOC there's lots to see over at The Outlawz.  So here's a link.  

http://outlawzchallenges.ning.com/group/cfc

For both of these challenges, you are provided a "free" image to color for the challenge.  I put it in quotation marks because you have to join SOC and/or Outlawz to get the "freebie" image.  To get the next image you have to participate in the previous challenge.   Free?  Hmmmmm.  I'll let you decide. 

As always...

Thanks for stopping by.

Tilda Giggling in my Garden

So how do you like the new look?   I used one of my photos for the new header and included a mugshot :)  I wanted to fix things up for all of you I've gotten to know over the past three years.  I'm so glad you're here.  Your friendly faces are so inspiring.   So I've moved you up where I could see you right off instead of scrolling to the bottom. LOL

I have so many photos I've taken and all kinds of ideas for them that I really need to set aside some time to do something with them.   Some of them are really pretty and would look really good in frames.   Maybe I'll show one here from time to time.

This is Tilda Giggling.   Isn't she the cutest thing with her cozy jammies and socks.  I used copics for her.  Been working on hair coloring.  I used E17, E18, and E19 for her hair.  The color is a reddish brown brunette, really pretty.  

Can you see my highlighting?  Suzanne Dean mentioned that she uses a white Sharpie paint pen for highlighting.  I was just about to order the opaque white paint from Copic, so I bought this instead.  Takes a little getting used to, but it's the best thing I've found yet, even my Signo pen.  They are not very expensive, and you can order them online.

I'll try to remember to name the markers or giving the colors that I used for the posting.   I do write them down.  Since I'm focused on coloring and not projects, giving you the names of colors and what techniques or tools I've used should come easier.   When I use a freebie, I will give you the name of the artist and a link to their website for you to grab it if you want. 

Let me know what you think of my blog's new look.  Good or bad  -- not much I can do about the mugshot :) -- this is a place of learning.  I've gotten better with Copics and I've started using Promarkers, so watch for my oopsies and what I've learned from my experiences.  

As always...

Thanks for stopping by.

I LOVE FREEBIES!

Can't believe we're just about mid-September already.  Been coloring with my 
Promarkers and coming up with ideas for the upcoming weeks.  Two of my favorite things are coloring and freebies to color.  I love freebies. 

Nowadays I'm not too sure what constitutes a freebie.  There are artists who share their high-quality images totally free.  You don't pay anything, and a lot of them don't even ask you to buy anything.  If you like it, grab it, and use it,  just don't give it away to anybody else; direct them to the artist's site to get it.  And it would be really nice to leave a comment and come back and share your creation with the artist.

If I have to fill in a form with all my vital statistics, then I don't consider that a freebie.  So many folks want you to put the "freebie" in your cart, which means you will have to set up an account with a password and sometimes a mailing address.  Hmmmmmm?  Do I really want it that bad? Usually not.  I pass.

I'm concerned about the future of black and white line drawings being available for coloring.  It's amazing what you can do with technology today, and many folks are using technology to create some amazing papers and images for scrapbooking and card making that are already colored.  Beautiful stuff indeed.  But for me, there's nothing like paper, pencils, crayons, and markers.   Are we about to lose another art to technology? 

As a colorist I want to encourage the few black and white line artists to continue to share with those of us who look forward to their next freebie to color.  When I post an image, I will give the name of and a link to the artist and/or website where I grabbed the freebie.  I use a system to try to make sure I give credit to the right person. 

I used Promarkers to color this image.



Anyhoo, this is a card I made for a challenge over at Scraps of Color, a network showcasing African-American paper crafters.  These challenges have been so much fun.  We're now into week two of a five-part Robert Jackson digi group Girlfriends Challenge.  To get the image for the next week, you must post a project for the current week.   Here's a link for their challenge. 

http://scrapsofcolor.ning.com/group/robert-jackson-digi-group

Thanks for stopping by!