Tuesday 19 September 2017

Merry Christmas...

Hello everyone,

(Beware, cuteness overload coming up)!

I decided it was time I made a start on Christmas cards, and as my favourite subject for these is any sort of deer, I could n't resist this beautiful image -
I coloured this gorgeous image with Copics and set it on a kraft card background sprinkled with Chunky White Embossing Enamel.
I added a die cut Christmas sentiment - the card is black glitter card but sadly it does n't really show up!
Finally I added some twine and rusty bells and fixed the design to another piece of black glitter card.
Ingredients
CC Designs DoveArt Doe & Fawn Rubber Stamp (available in the UK from Dies To Die For)
Make it Colour Blending Card by Elaine Hughes (Marker Geek)
Copic Markers
Kraft Card
Stampendous Frantage Chunky White Embossing Enamel 
Black Glitter Card by Crafter's Companion
Die namics Merry Christmas Die 
Twine and Bells from The Ribbon Girl
Inks used -
Copics -
Doe - E50, E51, E53, E55, E57,
Fawn - E30, E31, E34, E35, E37, E39
Ears E04, R21, R11, W00
Thank you for popping by...
Happy Creating
from Sue ...xxx

Saturday 9 September 2017

Copics on Kraft...

Good morning everyone,

I'm here today with a tutorial for Copic Marker Europe.

I thought I would share some tips with you about colouring on Kraft card as this is a great alternative to colouring on white card and you can get some lovely results.

There are a few things that are handy to know about colouring on Kraft card as the Copic ink behaves quite differently to how it does on white card.

Here are the main points to consider...
  • Copic ink is translucent (see through) so the result you see on your card will be different depending on the colour of card you are using.
  • Just like white card there are many different types of Kraft card available.  It is a good idea to try a few and see which works best with your colouring style.  For this tutorial I have used Neenah Desert Storm.
  • Kraft card absorbs the ink in a different way to white card so before you start colouring it is a good idea to test the colours you want to use first. 
  • Be prepared to use darker colours than usual as the translucent Copic ink allows the Kraft card to show through and you may need to use a darker colour ink to provide some contrast.
  • Kraft card takes a lot of the brightness out of the ink.   In a pleasant way it dulls the colour down and this can look really effective.  Colouring on Kraft will give you the chance to use brighter Copic colours than you might usually - which is fun!
  • When you colour onto Kraft card the ink will look quite dark at first - don't panic!  it will lighten as it dries out.

Before I started colouring my stamped image, I created some colour conversion tags to show how the colour looks different on the card, this helps to choose colours that would work well on Kraft.
I also tested the colour combinations I had chosen to make sure they blended nicely on Kraft card.  It is important to remember to use the side of nib on the Copic Marker to make sure you are creating a smooth blend between the light, medium and dark tones.
Here I have coloured the skin on the stamped images on both Kraft and White card so you can get an idea of how different they look.


I then carried on colouring the image.  
I prefer to work from dark to light, always starting with my medium colour and putting that where the darkest parts of the image are, and then going back to that dark part and building up the colour by blending from dark to light.

 I thought this would make a perfect book mark for someone going back to school this week!
Ingredients
Neenah Desert Storm Kraft Card
MFT Die-Namics Stitched Tag Die
Memento Ink pad in Tuxedo Black
Smarty Pants Clear Stamp by Kraftin' Kimmie
Copic Markers as above
FaDoodles Stamps by our very own Faye Wynn-Jones for Whimsy Stamps
Natural Twine and Apple Charm
Thank you for popping by.
Happy Copic Colouring...
From Sue...xxx

Sunday 3 September 2017

Happy, Happy, Happy...

Morning everyone,

Happy Sunday.

Oh my, September already - where is the time going!

I'm here today for wonderful Dies To Die For with three cute mice!

I absolutely adore this stamp.  I concentrated so hard on my colouring with this one that I came over all CAS! (-:
Ingredients from

Other Ingredients
Make it Colour Blending Card by Elaine Hughes - Marker Geek
Memento Ink pad in Tuxedo Black
Archival Ink pad in Cobalt

Copic Markers
Fur - W00, W2, W4, W6, W8
Ears - R04, R11, R21, W00
Bluebells - BV08, B69, B66, BV13, B63, B60, 
Grass - YG67, YG63, YG61
Background - BG000
Thank you for popping by.
Happy Creating
love from Sue...xxx

Don't forget to pop straight to the Dies To Die For inspiration blog to look at the lovely DT creations there, and then straight to Dies To Die For for some essential retail therapy!