It's a Jungle....

Ever have a day where you feel like this? I love this cute fella! These stamps are from High Hopes and are illustrated by the ever talented Crissy! I LOVE her work!

I had fun just playing around with this fella! Pretty self-explanatory...just some coloring with Copic markers and background stamping. I stamped the sentiment right on Kraft and then again on vanilla cardstock so I could cut out the word "jungle" and pop it on top of the original. The background designer paper is from October Afternoon (Louie).

Hope you are having a great day!!!!!
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It's a Jungle Out There!

Hi everyone! We are still away on vacation. Just wanted to share this cute fella with you today! Hope you are having a great day!

All images are from High Hopes! I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and stamped the leaves in the background. Materials used: Stamps (High Hopes); ink-Memento black; olive, choc chip (SU!); cardstock-vanilla (Gina K Pure Luxury) choc chip (SU!); Dp-October Afternoon; Prismacolor Pencils; brads; hemp (Hobby Lobby).


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Goin Bananas!!!

.....so I thought I would share this today!

I created this card using some adorable images from High Hopes stamps. Lotsa masking going on---I stamped the banana image first, then masked it and stamped the monkey over it. Then, I masked the monkey and stamped the banana peel pile over the mask. Finally, I masked the monkey and peels and stamped the palm tree.

Tip: When masking an image, stamp the image on cardstock and then stamp off on a thin piece of paper (like printer paper) to create the mask. The thin paper will allow the overstamped image to meet the edges of the image you masked.

I colored the scene with Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. Brown buttons and fun twine were the final touches to the card.

Materials used: All Stamps (High Hopes); Brilliance black ink; Copic markers; Prismacolor pencils; Odorless Mineral Spirits (Gina K Designs); buttons (SU!); twine (May Arts); circle punch (Stampin' Up!); cardstock-olive, banana, white (SU!); My Mind's Eye designer paper; dimensionals (SU!).

Thanks for stopping by! Back to packing!

A Tea-riffic Week!

We are all a bit tired after this week's festivities---but our family had a fantastic week...filled with graduations, birthdays and visits....

Here is a card I created with this adorable tea angel image from High Hopes. Being a big tea drinker--I was immediately drawn to this image. I just love Crissy's drawings.

The image is stamped in brilliance black ink and colored with Prismacolor pencils and Odorless mineral spirits for blending. You can see a tutorial here on this technique.

I didn't use any ribbon on this card (gasp!)..instead, I used the flowers to create an embellishment where I would have tied ribbon.

Isn't she cute?

Here is a close up image of the coloring and flower accents.

Materials used: Stamps-Trish Tea Angel, sentiment (High Hopes Stamps); brilliance black ink; Prismacolor pencils; Odorless Mineral Spirits (Gina K Designs); paper-white; designer paper-My Mind's Eye; paper piercing tool and mat pack (Stampin' Up!); Primas; brads (SU!); circle punch (SU!); oval punch (SU!); dimensionals (SU!).

And here are some pictures from our busy week---

The first one is my sweet baby Lauren---blowing out her birthday candles (3!) yesterday. I never saw anyone so excited to have a birthday!

And, finally, Ben on his preschool graduation night. Isn't he a handsome bugger!?

Back to packing! I HAVE to take a picture of all my stamping boxes---wow---my dh is floored that I have so much stuff! (Actually, so am I!)

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Six Pencils and a GIFT

Last weekend I alluded to some happy mail that I received--totally unexpected. Well, here it is. This card was created by my friend Crissy Armstrong, an artist for High Hopes rubber stamps.

I found this (along with lots of awesome High Hopes stamps) in my mailbox. Crissy and Tina (Owner of High Hopes) sent them to say thanks for showcasing their stamps on my Prismacolor Pencil tutorial.....and all I have to say is WOW! (totally unnecessary but totally appreciated!)

THANK YOU Tina and Crissy! What a wonderful surprise.

Here is Crissy's card---Isn't she AMAZING!?!??! Her work/illustrations always take my breath away!

Although I really hate posting a card after that one---I am gonna do it anyway. I had to create a card using the new rubber---so I took some time to play a little!

This card was very simple to make. I used the palm tree stamp and stamped it in olive for the background. The darling boy is stamped in Brilliance black ink and I used JUST A FEW (6!) prismacolor pencils to color him in. Just goes to show you that you don't have to have tons to be able to color images. (For this one I used Raw Umber, Prussian Green, Beige, Black, Phinaio Ylw. Grn. Hue, Light Peach.) That is it!

I sponged the background with olive and bashful blue and distressed the edges. Whola! Done and it didn't take long to do.

Gotta love this fella---What a cutie! Check out the High Hopes site for lots more FANTASTIC stamps!


Materials used: Stamps--all by High Hopes; brilliance black ink; olive, bashful blue classic stamp pads (Stampin' Up!); Prismacolor pencils; Odorless mineral spirits; cardstock-olive, white, vanilla (SU!); Designer paper (Basic Grey); brads, eyelets (Making memories); hemp (Hobby Lobby); Cropadile; word window punch (SU!); dimensionals (SU!).

Hmm....It has been a little while since I posted BLOG CANDY.....might be coming soon (*wink!)

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Anyone Can Color! - A Prismacolor Tutorial

Anyone CAN color!!!! (said in my best Ratatouille voice!)

Warning: THIS is a long post (If blogger was mad at me before....I am sure they are really loving me today!)

I have been working on this tutorial for awhile and decided to get it together today because I have been getting a lot of coloring emails and questions.
This quick tutorial is designed for those who are not quite comfortable with their Prismacolor Pencils YET or who would like some answers to basic questions. I am not a professional but I get results that I am happy with with little effort. Sometimes it is the little "tricks" that make such a difference.
There are lots of tips and pointers throughout that may or may not help you. These are the things that help ME most and I am happy to share them with you.

****One of my favorite coloring techniques is mixing coloring tools---esp Prismacolor pencils and Copics...but for this tutorial--I only used Prismacolor pencils!

Coloring Supplies:
-Prismacolor Lightfast pencils (they come in a silver tin-My Favorite Things sells a set of 48 on their site.)
-Odorless Mineral Spirits (Gamsol is one name brand (Inky Antics carries this), Gina K also sells odorless mineral spirits at her store.)
-Metal pencil sharpener (I picked mine up at the local Hobby Lobby. It is small, made in Germany and sharpens these pencils perfectly. If you have these pencils already, you know they can be temperamental!)
-blending stumps (my favorite are the ones Made in Taiwan and they are No. 2 size)
-sanding block (Stampin' Up!)
-Brilliance black stamp pad
-Sakura Stardust gellyroll pen (optional)
-Any stamp that is a chunky image (I used this adorable angel from High Hopes)
-White card stock (I use SU's Whisper White)

First, stamp the image on your cardstock. (I prefer Whisper White cardstock from Stampin' Up! because the color moves easily on it!)

Then, start with the lightest color you will be using and outline the section to be colored. I used the flesh tone to outline her face, neck and arms. Just outline the image. I added a bit of pink (just moved the pencil in a circle for this) to her cheeks!

Then, I sharpened the tip of the stump I was going to use to blend the color. (I have a stump for each basic color so that the colors will never blend. But when you sharpen the end, most of the remaining color will be removed.)

Then, dip the point in the odorless mineral spirits. (I am pretty liberal with this step. I make sure the whole tip absorbs the liquid.) Move the stump in clockwise circular movements pulling the color toward the middle of the image. This allows the darkest color to remain on the edge and creates a natural highlight in the center of the image. When the color stops moving, time to re-dip your stump!

I wanted my angel to have an heavenly glow, so I took my yellow pencil and outlined the whole image in yellow. I chose to do this step next because if you are going to do some sort of shading with pencils on the outside, you want to do it before you color the image--esp if the color is lighter than the image!

I used my blending stumps to move the yellow outward in small circles---this makes the color look like a glow!

Next, I used my pink pencil and outlined all the parts of the image that I wanted pink.

I use my blending stump to pull the color toward the inside of the image. You can see on her wings how the color leaves a natural highlight (It is so easy to achieve nice results!)

I colored the green sections and then outlined the jeans with blue. You can see how I added a bit more blue in the center of the legs because this part of the image is thick and I wanted to be sure that there wouldn't be too large of a highlight.

After blending the blue, I colored her hair, the watering can and her shoes. I added two shades of brown to the can to show you how you can even blend two shades to get an even more professional look.

After I have the image as I like it, I chose to use my Sakura gellyroll pen to add some shimmer to the angel's wings and the hearts. I love the look this gives - a little bit of shimmer adds a lot!

Here is a close up of the image with the gellyroll accents. (Sorry about the camera angle on this one---but in real life, this looks beautiful!)

The image is finished. Now I just have to create a card with it. (Tip: If you know what designer paper or cardstock you would like to use...keep them close by so you can color the image to match. For this sample, I just colored the image and then I went back and found some designer paper that would match close enough.)

Here is the finished card!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Believe me, If I can color, SO CAN YOU! I would love to see what you create, so be sure to send me a link if you create a card using this tutorial!

Materials used: Stamps-High Hopes; ink-brilliance black; cardstock-white, blue, celery (SU!); Designer paper by Basic Grey; Prismacolor pencils; odorless mineral spirits; blending stumps; sanding block; tab punch (SU!); sakura stardust gellyroll pen; small circle punch (SU!); silver brads (SU!); flower; button; dimensionals (SU!).

Coming next: another MFTeaser--ohhh..you're gonna love this one! My Favorite Things is releasing two new stamp sets on Wednesday night right after the Cocktail party on Splitcoaststampers from 8-10 p.m central time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thank You

...maybe angels aren't so hard to find after all. Thank you so much for all of your comments and emails...I was in tears (over and over again) reading all of your messages and stories....((((hugs)))) You can never know how much it meant to me.


I thought it was appropriate to make an angel card today. My friend, Crissy, was the featured stamper on Splitcoaststampers a few weeks ago when I was out of town. I have been meaning to do this challenge for awhile, so today I got it done.

Crissy is a phenomenal artist and stamper. She is an artist for High Hopes stamps and she is such an inspiration. I created this card with her style in mind. I basically cased a few different cards in her gallery to come up with my own tribute to one AMAZING stamper.

The main image is stamped and colored with prisma pencils and gamsol. I embossed the flowers in the background. The green strip across the middle is stamped with Canvas (SU!) and I added some white Daisy D's faux stitching tape that I got from Jacksonbelle's online store across the top and bottom of this panel.

Finally, I added gel pen accents to the scalloped frame around the angel. A clear flower from Heidi Swapp and a button complete the card.

Materials Used: Stamps--Angel and Sentiment (High Hopes), Canvas and Pocket Fun-flower (Stampin' Up!); ink-brilliance black, celery, brown; cardstock-turquoise, celery, white, red; flower (Heidi Swap); button (SU!); gel pen (SU!); thread; white embossing powder; heat tool; versamark; Daisy D's faux stitching tape; Nestabilities; prismacolor pencils; gamsol.

Exciting News: Gina K posted a sneak peek of my stamp set that will be unveiled sat night. It can be seen here: http://blog.ginakdesigns.com/2008/01/03/preview-day-1.aspx

Hope you can join us for the release party Saturday Night from 7-10 p.m. Central time at www.splitcoaststampers.com in the Gina K Designs forum. Gina K is releasing seven new sets and they are all rockin! I will be posting another sneak peek tomorrow night---! And this weekend, you will get the opportunity to win one of my new sets....stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!