Kraftin' Kimmie Kimiko for BookEndz!

This summer I found this great combination of my two hobbies online - reading and Copics!  Check out the "BookEndz" book club on the "Color Me Creative" online classroom!

The book that we read this month was "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See, which I loved!  I think I read it in about 3 days, which is a record for me.  I absolutely love period stories anyway, and this one was so rich in detail - I loved it.  A great read.  It is about women in ancient China and their place in society, their relationships with other women and the controversial practice of footbinding.  Really interesting.

At the end of the month, we were asked to create a project inspired by the book - and here is mine!

I wasn't sure where to find a Chinese stamp at first, but then found a selection of them from Kraftin' Kimmie!  And of course, I chose red and gold as my colours.  I've also tried for the first time the trend which is ALL OVER the blog world lately - of colouring Copics with no black lines.  So - bear in mind - this is my FIRST attempt!  I'm hopeful that I'll get better at it!

I'm not sure why, but I seemed to go with the toughest techniques on this card - coloring with no lines, blending reds, and black hair!  Sucker for punishment I guess.  I've used Copic XPress It paper with Memento London Fog ink.  I've spruced her up a little with some 3D Crystal Lacquer, some Viva decor liquid effect pen on the flowers, and some gold Smooch.

I had fun coloring this image - and LOVED the book!  I'm anxiously awaiting the party on Thursday night and the announcement of the next book!  Funnily enough that cooincides with my real life book club.  Good thing I like reading!  I did try to coax it out of Suzanne when she came to teach here earlier in the month - but no luck.  She wasn't giving in!

Happy stamping!

Sarah
xx

Stamp:  Kraftin’ Kimmie Kimiko

Ink:  Memento London Fog.  Gold smooch ink.

Cardstock & Paper:  Stampin’ Up (Cherry Cobbler)

Accessories:  Prima flowers, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eight.  Gold stickers.   SU! Embossing Folder.  3D Crystal Lacquer.  Sharpie Poster Paint Pen.

Copics:  R29, R27, R24, R22.  YR23, Y15, Y11, Y00.  C9, C7, C5, C3.  E13, E11, E02, E01, E00.  C2, C00.  C4.  BG10.  B00.  Multi-liner.

a little smooch

Hello Stampers!

These two cards are my contribution to the September card kit for Scrappin' Great Deals.  I LOVE this image – but honestly, tried quite a few ways before deciding on how I wanted to colour her!  My first attempt actually, was a see-through orange dress with black undies….  Needless to say, she did NOT make the cut for the card kit – hee hee!

 

Anyway, this is “a little smooch” by Mo Manning for StampingBella.  This series of stamps highlights the “extra lovely” lady as you’ll note!  Great cards for your real girlfriends, not your “green salad with dressing on the side” kind of friends, if you know what I mean!

I had a blast picking out papers and accessories with Andrea for the kit this month, really hard not to get carried away when the store had just received a HUGE shipment of beautiful new things!  Be sure to drop by and check it out if you haven’t been recently.  SO hard to resist!

In both images, I’ve stamped my little “smooch girl” with Memento tuxedo black on Xpress It cardstock (my personal favourite for Copics).  I’ve coloured her with two different techniques, one in full colour, and the other one, just for fun, in monochromatic Sepia tones.  I thought she had a ‘50’s kind of girl look to her for some reason.  In that one I’ve used Spellbinders Nestabilities Deckled Edge Classic Ovals Large to punch her out, and distressed the edges with “Antique Linen” and “Frayed Burlap” distress ink.

Be sure and pick up the card kits this month – SO gorgeous!  I had a great time working with them.

Sarah

Xx

Stamp:  A Little Smooch by Mo Manning for Stamping Bella

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Inks in Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap

Paper:  Kaiser Craft Velvet Ensemble and Xpress It for Copic

Accessories:  Flowers, Ribbon, Self-adhesive jewels, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 8 and Deckled Edge Classic Ovals Large

Copics:  Colour:  C9, C7, C5, C3, C1.  YR18.  E35, YR23, Y23.  E02, E01, E00, E000, R20.  B02.  BG10.  Monochromatic:  W9, W7, W5, W3, W1, W0, W00.

La-La Land Roller Skate Marci

After an awesome class with Suzanne Dean a few weeks ago, I'm still trying to integrate all I learned into my colouring.  It is a bit of a change in style, that's for sure!  But I've had lots of chance to practice, with my crafty friends at our regular Friday night crop night - so much fun!  Although this week, my colouring was a little "off" to say the least, and I was colouring my poor images with see through dresses and black underwear to be funny.  (Don't ask).  Needless to say - I don't think they'll be making the cut for the monthly card kit!  Maybe I've been reading too much of the "Bloggess" lately.  That woman's humour just cracks me up!!

Anyway,

This little cutie is Roller Skate Marci from La-La Land Stamps! I’ll be teaching this card at Scrappin’ Great Deals on Sept. 29 in “Beginning and Continuing Copics”.

La-La Land stamps are perfect for learning Copics – with their open spaces and large faces, not to mention they are pretty cute!

I’ve gone with a retro ‘80s look for this card. With the roller skates, it seemed appropriate! She’s also meant to complement the little boy I’ve created for the same class, also with La-La Land.

I’ve coloured her with Copics, focusing on the 3 shade blending technique, and improved a little after my class with Suzanne Dean.

I’ve accented with some flowers, pearls, and stickles – and a cute little sentiment from Kaiser mini sentiments.

Sign up for the class at Scrappin' Great Deals!


Stamps: La-La Land Roller Skate Marci, Kaiser mini sentiment
Paper: Echo Park - Life is Good, X-press It Blending Card by Copic
Cardstock: Bazzill
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Ink Antique Lace
Copics: E02, E01, E00, R20, BG10, C3, E29, E5, E33, R85, R83, R81, G16, G02, G00, E35, E31, YR20
Embellishments: Bazzill flowers, Kaiser self-adhesive pearls, Diamond stickles
Adhesive:  Sticky Thumb
Accessories: Sizzex Sizzlets: Flourish & Flourish 1, My Favorite Things die, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 10

teaching Beginning Copic Class - Sept. 29

Hello stampers!

This is my first post for the Scrappin' Great Deals blog! I'm thrilled to bits to be an official SGD Diva - and look forward to sharing all my favourite things with you, as well as the little tips and tricks I've picked up along the way. I had the great pleasure of taking Suzanne Dean's workshops last weekend, both the Beginner/ Intermediate and Advanced sessions with Copics. I learned SO much from these - what an absolutely phenomenal day! We hope she'll be back again next summer, and if you didn't attend this time - be sure to sign up for the next one! Not to mention an amazing learning opportunity, Suzanne tells her personal story which is so inspirational. Just fantastic. I'm sure you'll see my style of colouring evolve as I start to apply these new techniques that I've learned!

I'm really excited to teach a class on September 29 - called Beginning and Continuing Copics. This is for anyone who has tried Copics or who uses Copics, as you'll get to not only learn some techniques, but finish two cards! I hope you like my cardmaking style - and hopefully you'll like the two that I've created this month. We will have class markers available for those who do not have their own, but please do bring your own if you have them. And - you will get a 20% discount on all Copic products and products demonstrated in class! How can you beat that?

My first card is a little boy card! This cute little guy is Luka with Truck from the beautiful La-La Land stamps. If you are a Copic user and haven't tried these stamps yet, you really have to see them! They are so perfect for Copics with their open spaces for shading, and their large round faces. And not to mention CUTE AS A BUTTON!

I've used the most beautiful new paper from Simple Stories: 100 Days of Summer. I LOVE the bright colours and how perfect are these for a little boy and back to school? They're reversible and every one is gorgeous.

I've used one of my favourite line of products, the Spellbinders Nestabilities. I honestly struggle to make a card without them now. I have so many sets - and they are all beautiful and versatile. Here I've used the Petite Oval Large and the Petite Scalloped Oval Large. Don't you just love how they are compatible with each other?

Luka is stamped on Copic XPress It paper (my own personal favourite) with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured in Copics (see colours below). I've used the awesome new adhesive from Sticky Thumb (you HAVE to try this one out!) to mount all of my pieces! Et voila - Luka with Truck!

Hope to see you on September 29 - or on my blog anytime at http://sarahsassy468.blogspot.com. My goal is to start incorporating some tutorials, maybe even videos (eeks!).

Sarah
xx

Stamp: Luka with Truck (La-La Land) and clear acrylic sentiment stamp
Paper: Simple Stories (100 Days of Summer), Copic XPress It
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Adhesive: Sticky Thumb Tape Runner and Pop dots
Accessories: Bo Bunny Jewels, Prima Flowers, Spellbinders Nestabilities
Copic Colours: B93, B95, B97, R24, R27, R29, B00, G20, G94, G99, E25, E27, E29, E35, E31, YR20, E11, E01, E00, R20, C0, C2

High Hopes Stamp Challenge

Hello everyone and happy August!

We are having a beautiful summer here in London - absolutely fantastic!  And for some reason it is motivating me to craft!  Well, that along with the fact that I had my crafty Mother-in-Law here for two weeks, AND I've been making time to get together with my stamping and crafting friends lately!  We had an awesome time at Friday night crop at Scrappin' Great Deals last week - if you live in the area - definitely come and hang out with us some time!  It's a blast!

I am also LOVING this weather and spending so much time outside - enjoying my backyard and deck.  Even sharing my son's little pool with him!  It fits my bum, so it works for me!  And I happen to really like taking photos of my cards outside - instead of inside.  I just like the look of the outside shots personally.

I'm especially motivated lately because I'm beyond excited to go to a full day workshop with Suzanne Dean this Sunday!  HURRAY!  I've been looking forward to this for MONTHS!  If you don't know of her, and you're a Copic fan, you really need to check out her blog - and her FABULOUS YouTube tutorials!  I really love them - they are so helpful.

I've been re-discovering my High Hopes stamps lately, which were buried in my stash.  They are beautiful images to colour with Copics.  I really love little people, and love colouring skin and hair especially, so these are perfect for me!  You can find a full selection of them at Scrappin' Great Deals.  Sheila keeps all the latest in stock!  And my beloved friend and fellow stamper Andrea happens to be on their design team - so that certainly helps - as she's one of my crafty inspirations!  (Definitely check out her beautiful blog for some inspiration - she is so talented).

I stamped this little girl with Memento tuxedo black, on XPress It cardstock.  I always pull my Copic colours from my paper, and this one is My Mind's Eye, Lime Twist - Fly a Kite.  I coordinated with Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie and Buckaroo Blue to pull from the papers.  I really like working with the 6x6" paper stacks and pulling all my other colours (card, flowers, Copics) from there.

I started by colouring her overalls in blue with B00, B02, B04, B06, B18.  I've feathered over with the colourless blender a little to bring in some more highlight.  I then coloured her t-shirt, bows, and patches in orange with YR07, YR04, Y38, trying to get a little contrast at least, even in those tiny spaces.  Then I picked up the red in the flowers & ladybugs, with R14, R24, R26.  I've coloured the little hearts in R14, R12.  The skin I used my usual combo of E11, E02, E01, E00, R20.  I like having lots of depth in the face and lots of shading.  I just like the effect on my little characters faces.  Her hair I've used my favourite combo E35, E31, YR20, which can really give different effects depending on how many layers you do, and how much white space you leave.  The shoes and buckles are with E29, E27, E25.  The grass and leaves are done with G20, G21, G24, G29.  I've highlighted her eyes with B00 (I'm not fond of leaving "empty" eyes) and as I usually do, outlined the whole image with BG10 (my favourite colour).  I've highlighted the little "dots" in B00, added some diamond glaze to the bugs and the flowers, and some stickles to the dots and lines, just to perk it up a little!

I added some Prima flowers, some rhinestones, and a cute sentiment from My Favorite Things - stamped on some of the Lime Twist paper and punched with a die from My Favorite Things.

I've entered this card into these challenges:
High Hopes:  anything goes
Oldie but Goodie:  Outdoors
Creative Craft Challenges:  summertime
Everybody Art Challenges:  summer
Craft Your Passion:  favourite season
Have a great week!

Sarah
xx

Explore Tilda for Copc

Hello again!

Another creation with my new Magnolias!

This is "Explore Tilda" who I've created for the Copic challenge # 55

As always, she's stamped in Memento chocolate brown on XPress it paper.
I've used "My Mind's Eye" tickled pink 6x6 paper pad for my background papers.
I've used Spellbinders Nestabilities die to cut her out.
I've added some dewdrops for accent, but left the layout fairly simple to highlight the scene.
I've added some stickles to the grass for accent and some glaze to the magnifying glass & the hearts.

I've used the following Copics:
Shirt:  R00, R01, R02
Pants:  BG01, BG03, BG05
Hair:  E35, E31, YR20
Hearts:  R30, R32, R35
Grass:  G40, G82, G94, G99
Skin:  E11, E02, E01, E00, E000, R20
Shoes:  W0, W00, W1, W3, W5
Magnifying glass lense:  BG10
Outline:  BG10

Tilda with Butterfly Dress

Happy Sunday!

I was so thrilled to get my recent shipment of Magnolias!  I just LOVE colouring these gorgeous images with my Copics.  They are adorable!!  So I think I'll be posting quite a few of them this week...

This little girl is "Tilda with Butterfly Dress"

I stamped Tilda with Memento (brown) on Copic XPress it cardstock (my favourite for Copics).
I've punched her out with an oval Spellbinders Nestability.
I've used one of my favourite designer papers - Bo Bunny Gabrielle.  One of them I've punched out with scallop oval Spellbinders Nestability die.
I've used my pearl pen to add some embellishments to the corners and included these gorgeous crocheted flowers I found on Etsy!

I've tried to keep Tilda fairly pale - which I don't usually do much with my Copics.  I've been inspired lately by Suzanne Dean's YouTube tutorials on how to colour with Copics to look like distressing ink.

I've coloured her dress in BG's (my favourite colours) to coordinate with my Gabrielle paper.  And I've used some peach tones from the paper as well.

I've used some stickles to "glitter" up the pebbles and added some glaze to the roses.

Colours used:
Dress & Bow:  BG10, BG11, BG13
Roses & Lace Trim:  R00, R01, R02
Shoes & Basket:  E55, E57, E59, W5
Leaves:  BG72, BG75, BG78
Hair:  E35, E31, YR20
Skin:  E11, E02, E01, E00, E000, R20
Socks:  W00, W0, W1
Pebbles:  W00, W0, W1, W3, W5, W7, W9
Outline:  W1

I've created this card for the following challenge:
Just Magnolia Week 118