Go Big or Go Gnome

Hi everyone. It's been awhile. I have been teaching full time and studying. It has been wonderful, but now it's quite lovely to be getting back to some creative endeavors.

I've had this image sitting on my stamp desk, calling my name for a very long time. It was so long I was nervous I might have lost my knack for colouring. Well, I think I need to go grab some more confidence!

I need to work on my photography skills again, I think. I've imagined this card for so long, that it really didn't take long to colour or cut all the bits and pieces. I haven't bought any new supplies for a year, so you'll be seeing a great deal of old and reworked supplies. I have enough to use for the next 10 years at least. But that's okay, because I'm really looking forward to digging out some old favourites and using them just because they make me happy.

I hope you leave me a comment, just to let me know you've been by. I've missed you all!

stamps: go big or go gnome (whimsie doodles)
paper; domestic goddess (graphic 45), blue, red, coconut swirl (bazzill)
accessories; circle, scallop circle (spellbinders), border punch (martha stewart), ribbon, (bazzill), adhesive jewels (basic grey), copic markers

pile it on; bling
happy campers; bling
inspire me fridays; anything goes
challenges for everybody; anything goes
simon says stamp & show; anything goes
creative moments; flowers
cute card thursday; stripes

PCP Whimsie Doodle Challenge

Happy weekend! Whimsie Doodles has invited the Paper Craft Planet Super Novas to use some new release images. I invite you to head to the Paper Craft Planet blog to see the rest of the projects and do leave a comment their for a chance to win a prize from Whimsie Doodles. I've used Cookie Fairy, and made her a friend of Santa Claus.

Isn't she just so sweet? I wanted to use her on a Christmas card, and my thoughts went straight to a plate of cookies for Santa.

I coloured her hair with lots of little dots and for a little fairy fun, I gave her pink dots in her hair too. I love every opportunity to cute-ify whimsical images. In real life, I'm not enthusiastic about hair dye, especially candy colours that nature never intended for us, but on a sweet, little fairy it is perfect.

And in keeping with cute-ifying this little fairy, I used stardust stickles liberally in her hair, on her shoes and on her wings.

I highlighted the sentiment that comes with the Cookie Fairy image by cutting the sentiment using a spellbinders die from Labels Trio, leaving the paper in the die and using a copic marker to colour inside the die edges.

Snowflakes on a Christmas card are especially lovely. I used Create a Flake to cut and embossed these flakes. I also used a Martha Stewart punch so I would have snowflakes to layer.

Copics for this project; E40/41/42/51/55/57/59, R20/32/35/39, G0000/000/00/20/21, C0/2, colorless blender.

Good luck with the contest!

stamps; cookie fairy (whimsie doodles)
paper; holly jolly christmas (echo park from ihp), patch, white canvas (bazzill), x-press it blending cardstock(copic from ihp) 
accessories; create a flake 1, labels trio, doodle parts (spellbinders), white ribbon, clear chunky glitter (SU!), candy apple button, cardinal rhinestone (bazzill), snowflake punch (martha stewart)

Whimsie Doodles Challenge!

 On September 5th, Whimsie Doodles released several darling images, and Keely Yowler and I had the opportunity to use 3 of them (School Girl, Frankie's Girl, Steampunk Lizzie) for a Whimsie Doodle Challenge on the Paper Craft Planet blog! For your opportunity to win, head over to the PCP Blog and read through the Challenge details there.

First, I used the super sweet School Girl image.

I went with a simple layout and minimal accessories because I just love the plaid printed paper and her divine red hair.

There are tutorials for colouring pleats almost everywhere I turn on the web including on the Whimsie Doodles blog, but I forgot that while I coloured School Girl's little skirt, and so her skirt is a little more ruffled than pleated. Consider it to be a simple fashion variation!!!

copics used;

hair; E09/15/17/19
skin; E0000/000/01/11
bow/skirt; YG61/63/67
tights; YG61, T0/1, colourless blender
shirt; T0/1/3
shoes; T1/3/5
tie/waistband; R35/39
bodice; Y00/21/23
background; B0000/00/01


For my second project, I used Steampunk Lizzie;

I really love the look of the steampunk genre in all its earthy fabulousness. I am particularly drawn to all the little old fashioned details that create the steampunk look.

I've used little screw head brads and a Tim Holtz watch face combined with the Tim Holtz Gadget Gears cutting die by Sizzix.

I wanted this image to look like a pencil sketch, so I lightened the lines of the digital image using a freeware image editting program (Gimp) and coloured it monochromatically using only my warm grey copic markers. I really love this old fashioned photo/graphite pencil look.

Now, seriously, haul hiney to the PCP blog and get entered in the Whimsie Doodles Challenge for your chance to WIN!!! Good luck!

lollipop crafts - use brads 
simon says stamp and show - steampunk
stamps r us - friendship
digital tuesday - celebrate the season
the three muses - fall 
really reasonable ribbon - fall
bee crafty - beautiful borders/fantastic frames