Make It Monday-WOO

I had this idea in my head for a few weeks before I was able to start getting it out on paper. Wizard Of Oz is one of my favorites. So, when I saw this set from C. C. Designs called WOO (Wizard Of Oz), I was so excited!

I've really love making slimline cards because they are whole different canvas. The long length of the card allows for scenery creation that creates distance & depth. It worked out fabulously for my idea with this card! Let me give you some details on my thought process with this one.

I started this one by trying to decide between using black ink for a traditional stamped image look or going with the no-line technique. As I toyed with the decision, it dawned on me that since I was using the phrase from the set "it's all about the SHOES" (thanks to the suggestion of my sweet friend, Kimberly), that since Dorothy's shoes were ruby slippers why not try stamping her in red ink! I did a practice stamp with the red & immediately fell IN LOVE with the look! It's very subtle but adds a unique touch to the card, I think! I stamped her on my most favorite coloring cardstock, Sweet Sentiment! Then, as I was coloring her up, I thought "why not do some paper piecing" with her dress to add some additional texture to her.

Next, I drew in the yellow brick road. I used washi tape to mark off the horizon line & the edges of the yellow brick road. To create the yellow bricks, I first inked the road with a yellow distress oxide. To get the bricks, I used the Kraftin' Kimmie stencil, Brick Wall, to create the brick road illusion.

I, then, began working on my horizon/sky. I knew I wanted to emphasize the Emerald City in all it's shiny glory so I thought that by adding sun rays behind it, I could do just that. It worked perfectly! I began by coloring the sky blue using Copics. (Of course, I failed to write down my colors for this one.🤦‍♀️) For the sun rays, I used the Radiating Rays stencil from My Favorite Things & more yellow distress oxide because I wanted to be sure that it would lay on top of the blue without turning it green. Lol. 

Once I had the sky to my liking, I set to work on the grassy field between Dorothy & the Emerald City. I created the "hills" & then just shaded them in with Copics. I added a few drops of red Nuvo Drops to emulate the poppies. I used some clover paper that I had from a random 6x6 pad that I had laying around to create the hillside that Dorothy is standing on. The Newton's Nook Land Border dies worked great at helping me create the look I wanted to achieve. I used the stitched hillside & the grass with some additional dark green ink to add a little more depth.

I hand drew the Emerald City based off a combination of several images I found when Googling "Emerald City". I colored it with Copics & glued it to the center of the rays at the horizon line. I stamped the phrase in the same red ink in which I stamped Dorothy & mounted it on the same red metallic paper on which I mounted the scene.

To finish off the card, I fussy cut Dorothy on the lines. I added a touch of sparkle to her ruby slippers with some Liquid Stardust from Lawn Fawn. For a final fun touch, I mounted Dorothy on a mini wobbler!

I'm super proud of this card & hope that you enjoy reading about it as much as I enjoyed making it!!

Let your creativity take flight!!

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Spring Cleaning Sale-ALL WEEK!

IT'S TIME FOR SOME SPRING CLEANING!! We need to make room for all the new amazing new products coming in! Now is your opportunity to get those sets that have been on your Wish List or sets that have been retired by the manufacturer at a great discount! There are 80+ stamp sets & stencils all on sale. Just add the sets to your cart & the 35% off is automatic!

Stamp sets & stencils from Catherine Pooler, Gerda Steiner, Kraftin' Kimmie, Newton's Nook, The Greeting Farm, & Three Room Studio are all on sale. Just add your favorites to your cart & the discount will be automatically applied at check out! Some of these sets have been retired by the stamp companies so if you've been searching for something, take a peek at these lists & hop over to the shop to grab up the ones you want before they disappear.

Let your creativity take flight!!

New Month, New Challenge

It's a new month & we've got a new challenge going on over in the Artful Angel Takes Flight Facebook group! Our hostess this month, Cindy Beland, made these adorable cards using Cuddles The Puppy from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps as her samples for this challenge.

We would love to have you join in the fun! Hop over to the group, join if you aren't already a member (don't forget to answer ALL the questions), take a look at the rules below, & share your creation in the album (https://www.facebook.com/media/set?set=oa.930239911120355).

If we can get at least 10 people to play along, there will be a Birthday Bundle prize given away to one RANDOM player!! That means that NO MATTER your skill level, you will still be entered to win as long as there are 10 players. Come join the fun & possibly win a prize!!

Let your creativity take flight!

 

Make It Monday Miss Anya Buckles

Good heavens!! I missed Monday, AGAIN!! I have no idea where the days go for me. Anyway, let's talk about today's card...well, cards!! I have two to share this week. 😁

Let's start with Miss Anya...

For this card I used several of the fun papers from the Doodlebug Lots O' Luck 6x6 paper pad. I love this pad! It might just be that I love it because I love St. Patty's Day. And...the real reason I love St. Patty's Day is because my favorite color is GREEN!! I love this Miss Anya Buckles! She's just adorable & was so easy to color to be ready for St. Patty's Day! This was the first time I tried freckles. I think they turned out pretty decent. And, of course, she had to have fair skin & red hair to go along with the Lots O' Luck! I added some elements from the Doodlebug Lots O' Luck Odds & Ends & some enamel dots from Kraftin' Kimmie Christmas Dots. I really like adding enamel dots! They add great texture & come in some pretty fun colors!

I added some Odds & Ends to the inside of the card & strip of rainbow paper from the paper pad. The edge of that little strip of rainbow paper shows just a bit from the outside of the card, as well. I just trimmed a little off the side of the card so that it would show through. 

Since I was having so much fun with the Odds & Ends, I added one to the front of the envelope, too! Because...why not?!?

Now, let's talk about the second card...

I used the Artful Angel Happy Go Lucky stencil for the background on this card!! Happy Go Lucky is designed by me & each one is cut here in our home by my husband on his laser!! For the paper behind the stencil, I used another piece from the Lots O' Luck paper pad & more of the darling little accents from the Lots O' Luck Odds & Ends.

I hope that you get some inspiration from these cards! If you haven't already, join the Artful Angel Facebook group, Artful Angel Takes Flight.

Let your creativity take flight!!

Make It Monday - Birthday Bear

Good Monday morning!! As many of you know, Texas got hit by a NASTY winter storm last week. While we were expecting the storm & the sub zero temps, we weren't expecting that our energy company would completely fail us (and by "us" I mean the entire state of Texas!). 😞 Over a period of over 48 hours we only had power at our house for about 5% of that time! We were supposed to be under rolling blackouts. Not so much.

While some neighborhoods never experienced an energy interruption, other neighborhoods had rolling blackouts as expected. Then, there was our neighborhood & other neighborhoods throughout the DFW metro area & the state that lost electricity completely. I can't say "completely" we would get power for about 1.5 to 2 hours about every 15 hours or so. Thankfully, we have a fireplace & I have a hubby who did a great job blocking every drafty spot we could find. We were blessed to not experience any broken pipes. Many of our friends were not so lucky.

Due the lack of power, I didn't get much done last week. Obviously... But, the power is back on, the internet is mostly stable, & I am ready to hit the week head-on!!

For this week's card, I pulled out Birthday Bear from Gerda Steiner. This is such a fun, fun set! You can do so much scene building with this set. Or, you can use any of the adorable party animals all on there own. I chose to use the bear for this card. He's so stinkin' cute all wrapped up in the party banner! I also stamped on the inside but didn't color. I used the bear arm holding the balloon & the little stack of presents. I thought they just added a fun little touch to the card. For my card base, I used a simple A2 card base from PhotoPlay. The patterned paper from Carta Bella's Let's Celebrate was the perfect accent to make this card pop! With it's simple colors, I was able to easily match the Copic colors I used to accent the card!

Copics Used:

N2, 1, Colorless Blender

BG18, 15, 13

Y19, 15, 13

B97, 95, 93

E19, 15, 13, 11, 21

R21

Let your creativity take flight!!

Make It Monday - Puppy Mail

It's Make It Monday!! Hope your weekend went well & the team you were rooting for in The Big Game. I just watch it for the commercials. Lol. My favorite this year was the Rocket Mortgage commercials. 😆 Ok, the M&M, Flat Matt, & Ashton Kutcher commercials were close behind!

This week I played with Puppy Mail from Gerda Steiner. It's a newer release from August of the year we won't mention. 😉😆 I used My Dog from Echo Park for the paper on this one. I'm not really a dog fan but I thought this card turned out super cute! I love the paper!

These little pups can't help but pull at your heartstrings! And, the paper is so much fun! The card is such a simple design but looks so more than it really is due to being able to use the double-sided cardstock! I cut the 4 rectangles to 2 5/8x2 & folded up the inside corner of each piece to create the "opening" for the howling pup. The diamond in the center is cut to 2.25x2.25. After stamping & coloring the pup, I added the dash lines for some detail. I used the Neenah 110 for the white but the Sweet Sentiment would be great, too! On the inside I stamped, "It's a good day for happy mail". This is a really simple yet fun card for any dog lover!

Copics Used:

E37, 35, 33

110, C8

R59, 39, 37

I have 3 more of the Puppy Mail set on the way so I've already added them back to the shop. They will be here later this week.

Let your creativity take flight!!

Let's Talk - Coloring Cardstock

Howdy!! I wanted to chat with you about the cardstock that we carry that is specifically designed for coloring! We have 4 different types that we carry at Artful Angel. These 4 are my most favorite. I want to share with you a little bit about each one & why I love it.

#4 - Let's start with the Catherine Pooler Premium Cardstock

I love this paper for coloring as it has a really smooth texture & allows Copics to blend nicely. I will say that I don't recommend using any ink on this paper other than the Catherine Pooler Premium Dye Ink. I've tried using other inks (Memento <coming soon to the shop>, Kraftin' Kimmie) & it just doesn't work as well. There's often bleeding & smearing. The CP ink is specifically designed to work with the CP paper.

#3 - Sweet Sentiment Premium Kraft Cardstock

Sweet Sentiment Kraft Cardstock is really designed to work best with pencils. But, can I just say, I love coloring with Copics on it!! It doesn't bleed & the result of coloring on the Kraft compared to White is a more subtle or soft feel. Colors appear muted but, yet, are still clearly seen. It works will with both Memento & Kraftin' Kimmie inks.

#2 - Neenah 110lb Solar White Cardstock

The Neenah paper works amazing & blends well with Copics & pencils. It's got a very affordable price point which makes it even more appealing. It works well with Memento & Kraftin' Kimmie inks. I do find that it does help to let the ink set & "cure" on the paper for a time before coloring. But, it's not always necessary.

#1 - Sweet Sentiment Premium Cardstock

I've saved the best for last!! This is my most favorite coloring cardstock for oh, so many reasons!! The biggest reason that I love this paper is that it sparkles!! It's super hard to catch a good photo to show & explain what I mean. However, I'll do my best to describe it. The paper has sparkle imbedded into it. It's not glitter so it isn't hard on your marker tips. It's not super obvious but is very subtle. It really makes your images pop! And, the really great thing about the sparkle in this paper is that you can still see the sparkle even after you've colored. The paper works well with Kraftin' Kimmie ink & Memento. I will say that when I first started working with it, I struggled with getting my colors to blend the way I wanted. However, I now have zero blending issues with it. I would say that it's just a matter of learning to work with it & understanding how it works with the ink. But, it is BY FAR my favorite coloring cardstock.

If you are thinking that you would like to do a side by side comparison of these papers but you don't want to purchase a pack of each, then you are totally going to want to check out our  Cardstock Sampler pack! You get 2 one quarter pieces of each of the 4 cardstocks I have talked about above. This will allow you to compare and contrast the different papers without spending a fortune on packs of cardstock that you may not like. And, the great thing is that this little Cardstock Sampler is only $3.99!

If you haven't already, don't forget to join the group on Facebook & follow us on InstaGram

Let your creativity take flight!!