Coloring Class

I taught a couple coloring classes in my home this week. I am not an expert but I shared what I know. We did three cards with three different techniques.  The cards themselves are pretty simple so the emphasis could be on the coloring itself.

The first was using water color pencils.

 This stamp is by D. Morgan. I love these stamps but I am abscessed with beach stamps. Watercolor pencils are great because they are fairly inexpensive. Typically, they are light color. Usually when I color with water color pencils, I outline the area, and any detail lines, then spread the color with a paint brush.  The basics are pretty easy for any skill level but you can grow and improve with practice.

The second card was done with odorless mineral spirits (OMS) and colored pencils. It is important that the colored pencils are waxed based but luckily most are. In this technique, you color the picture with colored pencils. You don't have to use a lot of color or create a smooth image because once your are you use a nub dipped in OMS and blend the colors. It makes the colored pencil much bolder colors and smooths & blends the coloring. It is kind of amazing how wonderful it can be. I think I will do a post with a before blended and after blended pictures. It's a great inexpensive technique with amazing results.

The final card was done with Copics. I used E00, E11, E02, R83, RV34, YG63, YG67, Y11, Y15, C1. I love my Copics because they bend so well. I also love the skin tons you can get from Copics. There are some amazing tutorials online already so I will not spend much time on this technique here.

I had a total of 9 people come to the classes. I am offering a Soot class latter this month. I am going to try and teach more classes in the future. If you have questions about these techniques, feel free to ask.  If I don't have an answer, I may be able to point you in the right direction.

Wild flowers

Here is another card I did while on vacation. I love this stamp. I got it at I Brake for Stamps. I colored it with Copics. I took the picture of the card in Michigan on vacation so I didn't have my usual lights.

Almost stain glass flowers

I colored this image while on vacation and put it together when I got home. I colored it with Copic markers. The stamp came from I Brake for Stamps. I have had the stamp for a while and not used it  Sometimes unmounted stamps are hard to tell how wonderful they will be until you use them. Just loved with one once I got it colored.  I cut the circles with Nestibilities dies. The background was done with an embossing folder.  I can't remember if it was a Tim Holtz one or a by someone else.

Celebrate with a cupcake.

I was working on card to use for a class. I started this one and I decided this one would be too hard for the class. I decided to finish it anyway. I don't have many hÄnglar and stÄnglar stamps but really love coloring them. Isn't this little chef cool. I colored it with Copics. The word stamp is from Stampin Up.

Playing with my Cricut

I am still learning to use my Cricut. I got a Winne the Pooh cartridge for a bargain at JoAnn Fabrics. Here is one of the first things I cut from it.  The butterfly is a sticker.. I punched the cupcake border.

The cute buggy background helps make it a pretty adorable card!

Thank You Snoopy

 When I flew into St Louis to start my vacation, I was able to meet Snoopy from JustCards for lunch. She gave me this wonderful Stampscapes stamp from a store she shops at. Her daughters helped her go through my blog and group to see what I already had so they could get me something new. Aren't they wonderful!! I don't have a ton of supplies with me here at the cottages in Michigan but I colored this with copic markers and then used Colorbox cat eye chalks to shade the edges.

I don't have the same lights here to take the picture. Hope the colors show up okay. 

Thank you so much Snoopy!

Summer Card

Don't tell my swap partner! I just couldn't wait to show this card. I made it while visiting our family place in Michigan. I got the seascape paper at Prairie Arts in Springfield IL. It was in the clearance bin.  The die cuts are done with a Cuttlebug Die. Looks pretty great on the beach if I say so myself!