Vellum Northwoods Butterfly

Vellum Northwoods Butterfly
Originally uploaded by Buckeye

Ever since Copic Certification class in Milwaukee, I've wanted to try coloring on vellum. One of the Dare to Get Dirty Challenges (DTGD08Laurie) over on Splitcoast, was to use vellum in some way. This was the exact push I needed.

On this particular card, I stamped the beautiful butterfly image by Northwoods onto Neenah Solar White Cardstock and a piece of vellum with Marvy Dye ink and heat set. I then proceeded to color both images with Copic markers. On the Neenah image I used some darker shades of color to show depth and on the vellum image I used some lighter shades since this was going to be placed on top of the Neenah image. Gee, that's about as clear as vellum, right??? Below there's a picture to give you an idea of exactly what I'm trying to say.


The whole overall card didn't really meet the image I had in my mind, but I must remember this was a first try. I hope to try coloring on vellum soon.

This card also uses a layer of vellum that serves as a layer of cardstock. I like its softness and I'm reminded I need to get into my vellum stash more often.

I made this card for a former co-worker...she starts her new job as an assistant principal next week. She loves butterflies so I hope she likes this.

Ribbon Girl

Ribbon Girl
Originally uploaded by Buckeye

I actually have some time to play along with the Dare to Get Dirty Challenges over on SCS. Good thing they do these challenges during the summer.

One challenge, DTGD08Jody, was to use ribbon as your inspiration for the rest of the card. This card is the result of this challenge. I've had this pink dotted on green ribbon for a long time and have never put it to use until now. I decided that the girl, one of my favorite Whipper Snapper images, would be perfect to go along with the ribbon.

The image is stamped with Marvy Dye black ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored the image with Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. Also used: Cuttlebug, paper piercer, brads, my new corner punch, pattered paper and Karen Foster Snap Stamps for the sentiment.

I hope to play some more, so stay tuned.

Hang In There WS Monkey

Hang In There WS Monkey
Originally uploaded by Buckeye

This card is symbolic in a way, as I find myself trying to "Hang In There".

Last week, I traveled to Milwaukee to attend the Copic Certification class. Though I really don't want to bash anyone's efforts, let's just say that I learned a ton more taking a Copic class from Colorin'Kate last year. I can say that on *my* blog, right? If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't go, or I'd go and just hang out a day or two with Colorin'Kate.

Coming back from Milwaukee was a treat, not. Due to storms and mechanical issues with the plane, every passenger including myself missed their connecting flight. So, I had to spend the night in Detoilet. I was given a free room by Northwest and was treated very nicely, probably because I wasn't wearing my scarlet and gray. This whole experience made me feel so fortunate to not be traveling anymore for my job. I don't miss it one bit.

And, arriving home, I brought back mementos from my trip. This monkey stamp and leaf stamp from Whipper Snapper, which I purchased at Creative Pals, and a lovely cold. I hate summer colds. I'm trying to flush it out of my system by drinking plenty of liquids and eating bananas like this monkey, but it still has a hold of me. Uugh! Right now, I'm thinking about buying stock in Advil.

Anyway, this card was made by stamping the monkey and the leaves and the Hero Arts sentiment with Marvy Dye black ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored the monkey and leaves using Copic Markers and Prismacolor pencils, using nothing I learned in Milwaukee. Hehe! I drew the banana, as I have some lying around to look at.

I also need to "Hang In There" because I'm in a funky mood. This past weekend was my 20th High School class reunion. I didn't go because of three reasons: the thirty pounds I didn't lose, my pathetic relationship status, and this lovely germ I'm hosting. Occasions such as this makes one pause and think about where they are in life. Where am I?

Horsing Around with Pink ATC

Horsing Around with Pink ATC
Originally uploaded by Buckeye

I was cranking out the creations last month, and then July seemed to put my creative juices to a halt. Probably had something to do with the not-potty trained dachshund I was dogsitting last week. That can get a little stressful and distracting.

I wanted to share this ATC I designed for an "Off Color" swap that I am in, hosted by the talented Flaxychick. We were to create ATCs and color the image with a color not associated with the image. I sure hope no one has seen a pink sea horse lately, if so I might get disqualified. I can't wait to see what my swapmates made for this swap.

The image might look familiar. It is that beloved sea horse from Outlines. I colored the image with Copic markers once it was stamped in Marvy Dye black ink on Georgia Pacific cardstock. Patterened paper, eyelets, ribbon and a paper piercer were also used. The sea horse was pop-dotted for dimension.

I hope to clean up desktop a bit so that I can make some of the ideas I've got floating around in my head. Until then...

Oh, Nuts! Candy Apples

Oh, Nuts! Candy Apples
Originally uploaded by Buckeye

When I took a look at the Inspiration Challenge#134 this past weekend, I just immediately took a portion of the title literally. State Fair. I couldn't get my mind off the state fair, and the food. So, in honor of the state fair (that I've oddly only been to once), I decided to use a yet-to-be-inked candy apple stamp by Hero Arts.

I decided that I wanted to do a cluster of apples, hence I masked. I colored the apples with Prismacolor pencils first. Then I put Diamond Glaze over the apples. The, I colored the dried Diamond Glaze with Copic markers so that I could get some shading and depth.

And then, like a mad woman, I had the idea of putting nuts on the candy apples. So, I stamped another apple, repeated the process. I walked up and down the aisles of Micheal's looking for something to resemble nuts. Finally, I spots crushed shells on the clearance rack. I bought a huge bag of these, that will last probably about 10 lifetimes. I then, took some Caramel Adirondack alcohol ink and blender solution and added some nutlike color to the crushed shells. I adhered these nuts, one by one, like a nut, with Diamond Glaze.

And there you have it. Sentiment is from Simply Stamped. All images and sentiment stamped with Marvy Dye ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. Patterned paper, black cardstock and a paper piercer also used.

Now, if only these were real.