PMS Digi Makeover Challenge: Color Challenge

Super D Duper quick post, because I almost forgot and my bed (and child who won't sleep!) is calling my name!

It's monday and that means it's time for another digi challenge from the PMS Digi Makeover challenge!

This week's challenge is a color challenge! Easy peasy right?

And here is my card...

I just realized my color looks a little off on my skin but I promise my card is the right colors for the challenge! haha! Not sure what happened there.

Be sure to check out the pms company blog for more samples, a quick read over of the challenge requirements and get your creation linked up for the week and get your chance to win some free digis!!!

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PMS sponsors JUGS

So you know you're tired when the picture of your card is just of your card sitting on top of your printer. HAHAHAHAHA. Thats where im at in life right now! Yesterday was supposed to be an easy day. it just didnt work out that way!

ANyhoo - Here is my card for this weeks Just Us Girls Challenge, being sponsored by Paper Makeup Stamps!!!

So my card is simple, but i think thats something I really like about cardmaking.

You can make a very elaborate card, and I can color on it and have layer after layer. These cards really are my favorites. But sometimes, there just isnt the time! Sometimes you need a card for a special person or special occasion and just pulling one out f the stash isnt going to do.

This is also why i like all of the wordart stamps out there, but of course i'm particularly fond of the Paper Makeup Stamps ones. :D The mash up of fonts just make it so fun, and keeping the rest of the card simple you can really make it pop!

What else helps to pull a card together quick? A great sketch or color combination.

Now I don't know about you, but when i get overworked and busy with life... my brain can't come up with these things on their own. And thats why i like challenges!!!

This week, Paper Makeup Stamps is sponsoring the Just Us Girls challenge team. You should check out their site, for 1 they have a new awesome challenge every week with gorgeous samples, but this week they are all using PMS! :D Some of the Paper Makeup Artists also joined in today, so be sure to check out the Paper Makeup Stamps blog as well.

Another place to check out some new challenges is over on the NEW My Time Made Easy blog.

Yes this is a shameless plug added to my post. THe first challenge kicked off on thursday, and i had every intention of playing, but with bridal season in full force, a commerical this past week, and a few other odds and ends going on. It didnt happen. BUT i can still tell YOU about it!

There will be a new challenge every thursday (a pretty patterns sketch challenge) and sunday will be a new color challenge!

SO check everyone out!

Details on my card...

Stamps...the new Only As High wordart and Danni's Flutterbies

Butterfly colored with R81, R85, R89, E25 copic markers

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette, So Saffron

Accessories: Soft Sky Ribbon, Spellbinder scalloped rectangle, bling from stash

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Skipping Stones supports Breast Cancer...

Today while doing my daily inspiration hopping... i came across Shannan Tuebner's blog. Her card is grogeous by the way! Anyhoo - she's taking part in Skipping Stone's Blogs 4 Boobies blog hop! Skipping Stones... i know them! I have some of their stamps that desperately need to see ink... the wheels in my head begin to turn!

Ok, back to the Blogs 4 Boobies hop because you NEEEED to know about it!

You can read the special info at the start of the hop HERE. Basically... all sales from Skipping Stones will donate $2 per stamp set to the Susan G Komen foundation. There is also a release of 2 new sets that are super cute. :D And not only that, but you can BID on cards in the hop from some of the top notch crafting girls in blogland and those winning bids will also go to the Susan G Komen foundation. Pretty cool huh?!

So i looked at the clock... and thought... yeah i have time before preschool gets out. Mind you i have other things i'm supposed to be doing, but shhhhhh. :D

Also in my daily inspiration with my coffee i saw that the Color Throwdown color challenge is one of my all time favorite color combos. Um... how can i NOT play?!

So i got to work on this card.. i wish i had paid more attention to the Blogs 4 Boobies hop because there is a sketch challenge issued. WOOOPS. Oh well. :D I still like my card. :D

I comboe'd 2 stamp sets for this card. The dandelions, extra seeds and sentiment are from Dandelion Dreams (you know i cant resist a dandelion set!). The butterfly is from a wonderful heartfelt set called Healing Wings.

Here's a detail shot. I stamped the butterfly on a scrap piece of paper, colored it using copics (R81, R83, R85, R89, N2 & N4) Then i cut it out and set it aside.

On my main piece of cardstock for the cardfront, i stamped the dandelions in grey ink and then used the separate seedling to stamp some fluffs scattering the sky.r Inside the seedlings and main dandies i used a silver glitter pen from gelly roll. Then i stamped my sentiment in Rich Razzelberry ink and sponged the edges.

Then i took the butterfly, bent it back a bit from the "body" and glued just the body part to the top of one of the dandelions.

One more detail shot... I decided the card didnt look "done" enough after i put the ribbon down along the bottom so i added some extra bling by using pink rhinestones and dotting all along the edge with the same silver glitter gel pen.

And that completes my card!

Be sure to check out this spectacular blog hop... maybe bid on a card or 2? Buy yourself a fabulous new stamp set (i didnt mention this... but Skipping Stone Design stamps are clear stamps of great quality and a great price point!) You really need to check them out!

Have a great day!!!

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Can you Handle this? CTD with PMS

Can you handle a Color Throw Down with some PMS thrown in there!?

Recently, the Color Throw Down Challenges blog celebrated it's 100th challenge! And if you are an avid blogger or even avid blog reader, you probably have heard about the big blog hop and the MASSIVE prize stash they have to go along with it! One of these prizes even includes the stamp set i'm about to show you! (in fact, in includes the entire July release from PMS!)

I actually wasnt "assigned" to do a review card for the Release in Review for Paper Makeup Stamps, but I so badly wanted to play in the Color Throw Down challenge.... and i adore this set! And i needed a bit of wind down time after the wedding i did hair and makeup for today!

So this was the perfect opportunity to get inky!

Here is my card...

First i took the large silhouette stamp and inked it up in sweet leaf ink by CTMH (the only certainly celery i have is craft and wouldnt show up on the baja breeze cardstock). Then i stamped the condensed silhouette image on a separate piece of white cardstock and sponged the edges with regal rose ink and layered it over the background image on foam adhesive. The dandy centers were adorned with stickles. :D

My sentiment is also from Paper Makeup Stamps but released eons ago! One of the very first releases, but it works so well, dont you think? You can find all of the stamps i used on my card today HERE.

There are more cards by the Paper Makeup Artists using the Dandy Wishes set today on the Paper Makeup Stamps blog! Go check them out!

Have a Dandy Day!!!

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Hello everyone! I actually got the monday challenge for PMS done yesterday! I had to become "the amazing one handed crafter!" again (which to those who havent read those posts, it means i'm slinging a baby on my hip the entire time i've crafting which only gives me 1 hand/arm to work with). So I kept my card pretty simple. :)

Each week a different design team member issues a challenge over on the PMS blog. This week it was Jamie Morris' turn and she had a super fab color combo for us to try out. It was non company specific so a range of different hues were used (which was super fun to me!) Her colors were chocolate, summer yellow, aqua and white or cream. I dont think i would have used these colors together in a million years (unless they were already put together in a patterned paper) but i really do like them together. :) The juxtaposition of the colors really make them pop together!

I actually made 2 versions of the same card. Or rather i finished 1 card and then had an idea and added it to the card, but i couldnt decide if i liked it better or not. I asked the design team and their thoughts were split down the middle.
Which one do YOU like the best?








Stamps:
Starstruck by Paper Makeup Stamps

Inks
Summer Sun by Close to My Heart, Chocolate by Close to my Heart

Paper
White Daisy by Close to my Heart, Chocolate Chip by Stampin Up, Caribbean Aqua by Stampin Up

Tools and Accessories
Ribbon by American Crafts
Buttons by Creative Cafe
Embroidery Floss by DMC (sewing/cross stitch section of the craft store, but it is embroidery floss, not cross stitch thread, it's thicker, doesnt pull apart, etc)
Chestnut Roan chalk ink by Cat's Eye

Thanks for stopping by today!!!

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See, i told ya i'd get inky!

I told ya i'd get inky today and i did!  I woke up this morning and thought to myself "self, you have an hour before you have to get ready for church... GO!" So i made myself some coffee (and made note that i need to get some more K Cups!) and went to work on the There She Goes color challenge of using black, white and another color of choice.  I chose Distress Ink tattered rose as my other color because it's my newest ink pad that i hadnt even taken the plastic off of yet.  You know... everytime i use distress ink i'm reminded how much i love it and then question myself as to why i dont own all the colors.  I really should fix that problem the next time they are on sale at Hobby Lobby!

Ok, onto the card... I used TSG's Thinking of You set.  

This sweet little gem is only 5 bucks!  And let me tell you, this is some good clear rubber!  You never know when you're trying out a new company but it's as good as my other favie clear companies (verve, papertrey, ctmh, you get the idea) so it's good stuff.

First i started with one of the flower batches and stamped it in versamark ink on some good quality white cardstock. I then stamped it 2 more times on either side of the first to make the row longer. It was from the scrap bin, so i'm not positive to what it was, but it was one of the good ones, neenah, papertrey, maybe ctmh or SU... not sure) And then i used clear embossing powder over it and heat set it. Then i did the emboss resist technique which i've actually done a tutorial on eons ago but it's kind of an age old stamping technique and i think most gals know it. If not, just email me and i'll explain it all to ya!

Then i stamped the thinking of you sentiment on another square also in the same tattered rose ink, and then again on top of that in black. I've really been digging the "ghost" effect i've seen on a few cards and i figured today was as good a day as any to try it out. There's a close up of the sentiment up top because i'm not sure you can see the ghost image in the full view photo.

I did want a little something extra on the bottom panel and i thought a bird sillouette would be perfect! There She Goes even has a set of all bird sillouettes that has a strip of flowers and grass that would have been perfect for this card. You can see it here and it's called Here for You. Alas... i dont own this set. hahahahaha. But then i did remember i have a bird sillouette set by PaperTrey Ink called Birds of a Feather and while most of the bird images are larger... PTI often (if not always) includes a coordinating stamp in the set that is a hand stamped for you by stamp and it often has an image with it. So i used a dew drop ink to only ink up the little bird and stamped that onto my flower panel. PERFECT! :) I love it when as my friend Tangii says, the planets align and cards just turn out like you want!"

So thats my card for today! :) And i feel better about myself for actually getting inky today! hahaha. The house is still a wreck. My craft room needs some major help before i have company next week and i'm still aching to do just a few more of the Stampin Out Alzheimer's challenges before the day is up! Oh, and the hubster wants to go look at cars because we might trade mine in which makes me want to absolutely cry as i LOVE my car, but it would save us money and we do need another seat, so..... we're LOOKING. LOOOOOOOOKING! :)

Ok, thats all my babble for today! :) Chat with everyone sooner than later!

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PMS Monday

Hiya Gals! Did you know that PMS is now going to have color challenges? And for the first color challenge - you can win one of the new releases! So go check it out. :)

Here's my card for the color challenge...



The color challenge is to use Pink and Gray. Simple enough right? I used no patterned paper for this card. Kinda a thing with me the past coupla cards i've made. But i did use my cuddlebug. It needed a little bit of love. :)

The image is Jaina Fairy from Paper Makeup Stamps or more affectionately known as PMS. :) She is colored with Copics and as i promised my ladies in my coloring class - yes i will list all the colors i used! The color in BOLD is the main color, the others are for shading and blending. Her skin is colored with E000, E00 and E21 (yes i used 21 instead of 31, it was closer to me). Her dress is colored with R00 and R11. Her vest and shoes were colored with C1, C3 and C5. Her hair was colored with E33, E35, E37.

Edges were sponged with cats eye chalk ink in charcoal. And the sentiment is from Savvy Stamps.

Dont forget to check out the PMS blog to see everyone else's creations! There is some blog candy over there too so check it out!

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A bella and some coloring

I desperately need to clean up my craft room (not to mention the rest of my house!) but i've been promising this coloring tutorial for DAYS and this bella card i created for Christi's color challenge nearly 2 weeks ago! Sheesh! Time to get on the ball i suppose since i no longer have holidays, family or traveling for excuses! :)

First... my card...

Christi's color challenge was to use one of my favorite color combinations, turquoise, chocolate and white. These colors ALWAYS look great together, and i think it's hard to find anyone who disagrees so this is a great color combo to use when doing something for someone else as well! I used my fairly new content-to-be-a-bella from Stamping bella. Isnt she just so cute! I also used Jen's sketch for you to try from a couple of weeks back. and i opted to not include a sentiment so i can stamp whatever i need at the time on the inside.
Other deets
patterned paper - cloud 9
cardstock - hobby lobby
flower punches - fiskars
other accessories - cuddlebug folder tiny mosaic, bling from studio g
coloring medium - copic markers

And now onto my mini coloring tutorial! I've been asked by quite a few people "how i color". Well, i do like to play with a few different techniques depending on the end result i'm wanting, but here is my most common way of coloring.
1. I prefer copic markers. I just like the end result the best and they blend so well. If there is interest i'll do some coloring tutorials on how i color using water based markers and other mediums.

2. When using copics i generally always color in a rounded motion (either circles or something like figure 8's. This keeps the edges wet and helps aid in blending.

3. I dont know why, but i generally always start with the face. For people i color a quick layer all over with e00 (skin white).

4. Then i outline the face usually using e31. Most people i know use e11, but i find it too pink for my personal tastes. I like the fairly greyed out tone of it without being just grey. I concentrate the most of the outline where you would see the most shadow. For the face, this is just under the hair line.

5. Then, just the same as i'm an advocate of blush in real life... i gotta add some blush to my image! Which color marker i use is dependent on how much pink i want the cheeks. For bellas i often choose E11 because the space is small and too pink just stands out to much on her small face. Larger images, or baby/child images i often go with R20.

6. I'm not sure if i didnt take a picture of this step, or if it's actually the above picture, but i go over the entire face again with E00 or maybe E000 to blend everything together. Again, i use circular motions. on a larger face i still concentrate the most color towards the outside and almost leave the forehead with the just first layer of color.

6. Next i go to the hair. In this case i actually used y23. i often use y21 for blonde hair. they are extremely close in color. I take a darker color and go along the outer lines as well as any internal lines. I concentrate a little more color at the hair "part". With blonde hair i use either E31 for more ashy blonde hair or E33 for warmer blonde hair with my shading. if you want even more defintition, i take my colorless blender and lightly "erase" a little spot to show where the light hits. Then i go over everything again to blend with my original color.

7. Now i go one everything else, usually clothing next. However i follow the same method. Lay down 1 layer of the lightest color. Then follow the outer edges with a darker color. Then color over the whole thing again to blend. To show you the difference, i took a step by step approach to 3 of the flower petals Miss Bella is sitting on...
The first petal is colored just once over. The 2nd petal i colored over a bit with a darker color along the edges (in a circular motion. The quicker you add your shadow color, the better it will blend. This is because the ink is still much wetter. The 3rd petal is when i went all over the whole petal again to really blend everything together.

This is the flipside of the same image just so you can see how much color has been laid down. (the random space in the 3rd darkest flower is from her uncolored leg :) )

Ok, and here is the whole image colored in...

For her shirt i used a light color and i actually didnt have a very good shading color. they were all too dark. So i used a technique (that i used to do alot, but not as much anymore) called Tip-to-tip coloring. Just use the tip of the lightest color and swip it on the tip of the darker color and shade along your edges that way. it takes a little longer, but it's a great way to use your markers if you dont have a bunch yet. You can make almost any color blend together this way. This is why i used to use it all the time, i had fewer markers! Now that my marker collection has grown, i dont need to do the tip to tip as much. :)

Along the entire outer edge of the image i use a neutral gray (or sometimes a very very light blue like b000) to outline outside the lines. it really makes the image stand out.

And that is pretty much how i color. :)

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Hip Hop Wednesday!

This week's Unity Hip Hop is on a wednesday since tomorrow is THANKSGIVING! I have so much i want to do today since my craft room is finally back in workable order! I'm so excited about it too. I know where things are! I've found things i forgot i had! More things are easy for me to get to instead of being obnoxious and me digging everytime only to end up leaving them out on my table and cluttering mmy workspace. And the biggest bonus of all, it's much easier and faster for me to clean up! There are still a few things i want to do (one being my hubby making me my ghetto rubbah rack) and some minor decorating. I still want to ditch the bed and get a futon. And of course when all that happens my room will probably be overhauled again, but for now, i'm stoked! But my crafting today will probably be cut short as today is my hubby and my anniversary! Now we dont have any special plans or anything and in fact i'm pretty sure we arent doing gifts. If he gets me something, i'm in trouble! haha. But i have some things i've wanted to make for him for a bit and i just havent had time with the room disarray and then being sick and just plain kiddos not lettig me do it! So hopefully i'll at least get to make 1 of them done while he's gone this morning!

But for now...
I have a card i created this am for my hubby using unity's Love is Toxic set. And as i read the color challenge for the week over at the splitcoast challenge thread i got really excited. It's a take on of my of very fav color combos - orange and grey. Most people thing i'm looney when i say 2 of my favorite colors are orange and grey. I love them just about as much as i love red and black! The coor challenge was really rust, basic grey and very vanilla. But i did decide i desparately need a warm grey ink pad. I've thought this so many time. I love the color gray, but i always hate the way grey ink stamps. But i think i just havent found the shade i want. I prefer warm tones to cool tones in general but i love a warm grey and it seems like every grey ink i've found stamps with either a green tone or a blue tone. Anyone have the perfect grey ink that want to convince me to buy??? Anyone? Anyone?!

Since i started this card last night when the baby did not want to go to sleep and i was beyond the mojo point, i had to find a sketch to play with too. And i've been wanting to do one of jen's sketches but havent been able to work it out so i finally got one done! Here's my card...



I was really pleased with the turnout and i think my hubby will like it. There are a few little details i'm not sure you can pick up in the photo. I stamped my gray piece (which is a grey from hobby lobby that i fell in love with, how could i not? it's a warm gray!) with hearts from the Love is Toxic kit. I have the craft spots in earth elements so the really rust shows up on the grey as it's true color which is nice. The edges are inked with Burnt Sienna chalk ink which is a very close match to the really rust. I dont like to ink my edges with anything but the chalk inks because the chalk ink dries so fast. I hate having to pay attention to where i lay down my cardstock if the ink is wet. My sentiment piece i used the really rust spot again but of course didnt have the grey ink i wanted but i DID have a Leplume marker in brown gray and it matched perfect. My skull i stamped in CTMH Colonial White (which is now a pigment ink like the craft!). I added the very vanilla grosgrain ribbon and some gray brads by spare parts.


Thanks for stopping by... i'm off to hip hop for a bit!

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