Coloring Outside the Lines

I should be writing.  I really should.  But it's Labor Day and, somehow, it's a good excuse to sit at my craft table and play the day away.  (Hey...that rhymes.  Counts as creative writing in my book!)

This week's challenge at Heart2Heart is "Coloring."  I decided to use a technique I learned from an Online Card Class called "Stretch Your Stamps 2" to do a little "outside the lines" coloring.

Here's the supply list (all CTMH):

Stamps: Shower Flowers, Doodled Designs, Finding the Words
Ink: Cotton Candy, Hollyhock, Ruby, Topiary, Pear, Black Archival

To get the color variations and watercolor look of this, the technique requires solid images stamped and twisted slightly on glossy paper. I used a paintbrush and watered down Pear ink to fill in the light green.  The pink splotches were done by flicking watered down Ruby ink with a paintbrush.

I drew my lines--which I'm calling coloring--with the fine tip end of a Sharpie Marker.  For the fun of it, I altered the smooth edges of the largest flowers by drawing jagged edges.

This is a very free-form kind of coloring. It's almost impossible to make a mistake, but if you don't like what you come up with, it's only paper!!

After I had stamped and colored my flowers, I trimmed the panel to 4x5.25 and stamped the circle from Doodled Designs off the edge. I trimmed out the center, laid it over the card base, and used it as the guide for stamping my sentiment.  I can't actually draw, so I love how the doodled circle effortlessly builds on the free-form drawing theme.

Hmmm...it's gorgeous outside.  I think I'll use "we aren't going to have many more days like this" as my next excuse to avoid writing.

Until next time,
Becca

#pslattelove

Fall is my absolute FAVORITE season, especially with all the pumpkin spice products showing up in stores.  Today is a Friday Freebie over at Honey Bee's.  Hurry, it only lasts 24 hours!!  I downloaded the file and cut it with my Cricut Explore.

Paper is CTMH Goldrush and kraft cardstock.  I colored with Copics in YR15, YR12, and Y23 on the cup and E18, E13, and E11 on the sentiment.  I also used E47 on the little heart accent which was originally red.

I'm sending this to a friend who tries to hang onto summer as long as possible.  I know it's mean, but I can't resist sending her pumpkin spice themed things as soon as they start showing up just to annoy her.  She knows I love her!

Until next time,
Becca

Oh Taste and See

I'm Baaaaaaack!

Moving is always...an experience. I wrote about the emotional side over at www.beccawhitham.com, but I'm happy to say the craft room is set up and I'm ready to start blogging again here, too.

Today's card is a combination of two challenges:
Freshly Made Sketches: #202
Heart 2 Heart: Poppy Color Challenge

This card is also a combination of old and new.  Here's a list of the supplies:

• Stamps: CTMH "Cutie Pie" (cupcake, retired); Verve "Psalm 34:8" (sentiment, current)
• Paper: CTMH Blossom (retired) and Zoe (current)
• Accessories (all CTMH): Coral Reef Sequins (retired), Red Glitter Gel (retired), Liquid Glass (current)
• Ink (all CTMH): Cranberry, Lagoon, Topiary
• Markers (all Copic): YR00, YR21, YR18, Y23, R29, BG0000, BG10, BG72

I stamped the cupcake twice, once in Cranberry ink and once in Lagoon ink.  I colored with Copic markers to intentionally fade the stamped lines.  After cutting the two cupcakes out, I trimmed off the bottom of the Cranberry colored one and ran a red Copic marker around all the edges to define it.  I trimmed the Lagoon colored image, too, cutting down the frosting part so I had just enough room for a piece of foam tape to mount the Cranberry colored part on top of it.  I also used a dark marker around the bottom part of the cupcake to add definition.

Too keep my banner from wilting, I glued the diagonal stripe paper to a sturdy piece of cardstock and used a hefty amount of foam tape underneath.  I also used a hefty amount of foam tape under my frame around the sentiment.

It's good to back in the crafting saddle again.  To celebrate, please click on the new link I added to the top right of my page for a free book.  I wrote one of the chapters. ENJOY!!

Until next time,
Becca

Another Chance to Win

I'm one of three authors featured over at Leslie McKee's blog today.  She's reviewing the final three stories in The Homestead Brides and offering a chance to win a book.  Hop on over and join the fun!

Until next time,
Becca

Anniversary Wishes

Two more days...that's all I have left of hotel living and crafting.  (Insert angels singing the Halleluiah Chorus here).  In the meantime, I'm restocking birthday and anniversary cards for this very busy month of August.

I was inspired by the following challenges:
Color My Heart: Hollyhock, Sunset, Olive, White Daisy
Freshly Made Sketches: #197

The flowers (Friendship Blessings) were white embossed on watercolor paper then colored with Derwent watercolor pencils "Rose Madder Lake 21" an "Spectrum Orange 11" as Hollyhock and Sunset for the color challenge.  The banner is Garden Green paper overstamped in Olive script (Universal Backgrounds), Sunset and Hollyhock circles (Friendship Blessings) and then white embossed with the dots (Argyle Background). Even though I let my banner dry after using pigment ink and patted it with a embossing buddy before adding the dots, the white powder still clung to parts of the script.  I decided it was kinda cool (especially in light of how tedious it would have been to clean off the script and leave the dots).

After I had the card assembled, I decided it needed a sentiment.  I used Finding the Words, which is the only stamp set I used still available through CTMH.  It's stamped in Olive.

When I packed up my craft room almost two months ago, I kept a few it-would-kill-me-to-lose-them stamp sets.  It's been a good challenge to work with limited supplies, but I'm ready for the full craft room to be back up an running.  We get our stuff on Monday, so fingers crossed it all arrived in good shape.

Until next time,
Becca

A Little Message

Still crafting from the hotel room.  I'm actually more tired of my wardrobe than my limited craft supplies.  But, there's a glimmer of hope on the horizon.  The last two crates are supposed to arrive in Fairbanks on Tuesday, so we hope to be into our new home this coming Wednesday or Thursday.

If you've been following along this hotel crafting journey, you can see the progression of where I'm taking pictures.  We started on the dresser, proceeded to the bed, and now it's the window ledge.  Stuff is creeping into every corner of the hotel room, so it's getting harder and harder to find a clean surface.  Or I could say that I wanted to take a picture in direct sunlight to make sure you caught the Liquid Glass on the typewriter keys.  Yeah...let's go with that!

Speaking of the Liquid Glass typewriter keys, may I give you a piece of advice?  Let them dry longer than you think it's going to take.  If you touch to test and they aren't completely dry, there's no quick fix.  Did you notice I have two layers to the typewriter?  You might have thought I planned it that way.  You'd be wrong.  Now, to be honest, I like the double layer so it ended up being a "good"  mistake.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

Color My Heart: Canary, Cranberry, Slate, and White Daisy
CASology: Line
Addicted to CAS: Chevron (2nd entry)
Less is More: Snippets

I'm not entirely sure what "snippets" means, but I think it's using small bits of this or that.  Yeah...let's go with that, too!

All supplies are CTMH except the Baker's Twine and sequins.  The typewriter and sentiment are from a retired set.  So glad I got it when it was available because I'll be using this one over and over again.  This card is for a fellow author who's taken some tough criticism.  I thought I'd send her a little message of appreciation for all she does.

Until next time,
Becca

Enjoy the Ride

My brother and his wife celebrated their 24th Anniversary earlier this week.  Since I'm having to replace all the cards I pre-made (and left somewhere along the road), I'm late getting one made and mailed.  I needed inspiration and got it from the following challenges:

Addicted to CAS: Chevrons
CAS(E) this Sketch: #132
Color Throwdown: ctd #351

If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you know I'm in a hotel room until the last of our crates arrive in Alaska.  I brought a suitcase full of stamp supplies, but I'm feeling the limitations.  I had to go to the front desk to borrow a stapler, for instance, and photography is hit-and-miss.

I used Thistle colored paper from CTMH Paper Fundamentals.  I cut it at 1.25x3", turned the page 90 degrees, then cut another 1.25x3" strip. I inked each strip on the side that has the plastic coating with Gypsy pigment ink.  I had to let it dry for a long time to soak into the exposed paper before rubbing gently to get the excess off the plastic coated part.  I then glued the strips onto a larger piece of white cardstock to create the chevron pattern.

For the bike, I used Momento Tuxedo Black ink.  Because I don't have temporary adhesive products with me, I chose to stamp the bike after the Thistle/Gypsy strips were already on the white matting.  I simply laid a scrap piece of paper along the left side next to the edge and stamped over the top.  My original intent was to stamp the bike image on the card base so the wheel carried over.  I decided against it because - again - I have limited supplies, I have to replace a ton of cards, and I have NO IDEA when my household goods will actually arrive.  If I'd messed up this card base, it would be a big problem!

Now I have to clean up and start working on birthday cards.  There are only eight or nine of them coming up soon.  Aaack!!

Until next time,
Becca

P.S. I'm keeping up with my Writer's World Wednesdays over on my author page.  Go here if you'd like to see what's happening.