I decided to try no line coloring to give a softer warm look to the Cuddles Anya and practice the dot Copic coloring technique to give the impression of fuzzy texture for the hat and teddy bear. I stamped the image with Momento Desert Sand ink, and these are the Copic colors I used:

Skin: E50, 51, 53, 11 and R20
Hair: E55, 57 and 59
Hat: E21, 11, 13, and 15 with 0 for highlight texture
Teddy: E53, 30, 31, and 33 with 0 for highlight texture”
Bubble skirt, jacket, tights and scarf: YR31, 61, 12, 04 and 07 with E13, R24 and R27 for shadow and depth

I used a Copic multiliner pen in 0.03 pt to draw back in the eyes, eye brows, noses and mouths of the hat, Anya and teddy bear since the pale Desert Sand ink would become invisible after the Copic coloring. 🙂

For the background, I rummaged through my paper scrap box and found some scraps in dark brown, a mustard stripe, and plain white card stock (onto which I blended on Delicata Golden Glitz ink) that I layered all off-kilter for some interest. The leaves, cut out with Alterations Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves dies, are sprayed, dry embossed and burnished with burgundy, red-orange, orange, brown and a hint of gold shimmers and inks. I love all the shine and sparkle of these leaves, and I even have a few clear Glossy Accents drops on a few leaves to mimic shiny dew drops. However, to mute the bold colors of the leaves where Cuddles Anya would be, I die cut a piece of vellum with an MFT Cross Stitched Rectangles die and layered that over the center area. This still revealed the beauty and detail of those leaves all along the edges beyond the vellum without detracting from the main focal point Anya with her teddy.

All of this was put on a simple kraft card stock card base to keep with the earthy theme. For the inside, I inked the edges of a white card stock liner with more Delicata Golden Glitz ink and used a tiny remnant scrap of a textured and inked die cut leave for a little accent.  The simple “thinking of you” sentiment is die cut out from another dark brown scrap with the Tim Holtz Sizzix Celebration Words die set.

This card is being entered into the following challenges:
The Greeting Farm Farm Fresh Autumn Colors Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Monday Shine Bright Like a Diamond Challenge
CAS-ual Friday Orange, Brown and Kraft Color Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Thinking of You Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes Challenge
Crafts Galore Encore Anything Goes Challenge
Creatalicious Anything Goes Challenge
Just Keep on Creating Anything Goes Challenge

I started with some beautiful patterned papers from the My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found Sunshine collection. I picked a chocolate brown trellis pattern for all the matting.  Then I chose a golden yellow stripe for the background that I stamped with sweet acorns from The Greeting Farm Wood Friends stamp set in Walnut Stain Tim Holtz Distress Ink. A soft plaid that I die cut into a tag with the Diemond Dies Nesting Tag Die Set seemed to create a nice backdrop for the main focal point of the card. Initially I thought it would be difficult to incorporate a stripe and a plaid together on one card, but keeping everything in the same family of fall colors made this easier than expected.

The main images for this card are the fawn and squirrel of The Greeting Farm Wood Friends. I also stamped out and colored a little bird from The Greeting Farm Your Wings stamp set that I had originally thought about adding to the duo on the card front, but I ended up adding it to the inside of the card instead (that tag was getting a little crowded).  Because the squirrel was so much smaller than the fawn, I also put him on top of a mushroom from The Greeting Farm Little Fairies stamp set.

I used the following Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers with a water brush to watercolor all the images:
Fawn: Brown (060), Dark Brown (062), Pale Pink (028), Light Gray (091) and Light Pink (026)
Squirrel: Beige (072), Brown (060), Pale Pink (028), Light Gray (091) and Light Pink (026)
Bird: Light Blue (035)
Mushroom: Scarlett (023), Geranium Red (029), Beige (072), Dark Grown (062)
I also used a Sakura Black Glaze Pen to add a little shine to the eyes, noses, and spots on the mushroom as well as a Sakura White Gelly Roll Pen to add some highlights to the mushroom. The tag and the critters on the card front are all popped up on double sided foam adhesive for added dimension.

For the inside liner of the card, I used the reverse side of the plaid paper which was a beautiful golden damask. I used the “thinking of you” from the Sizzix Script Celebration Words die set with more of the chocolate brown trellis paper for the sentiment. I inked all the edges of each paper to finish off each edge (I like to camouflage the white edges of cut paper when I remember to do this step, which is about 50% of the time–LOL).

For finishing touches, I added a hand dyed seam binding bow to the top of the tag, and some hand cut fishtail banners from more of the chocolate trellis paper and a scrap of cream card stock from my scrap box. I stamped with Momento Luxe Tuxedo Black Ink the “for someone special” sentiment from the Wood Friends stamp set and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder for a subtle shine and dimension.

The following is a watercoloring process video of the critters on this card:

This card is being entered into the following challenges:
The Greeting Farm Farm Fresh Fall Colors Challenge
Card Mania Tag You’re It Challenge
Virginia’s View Stripes and Plaid Challenge

MarkerPOP Sketch Challenge #107 – WINNER

For the focal image, I colored up The Greeting Farm Creeper Crew’s Thursday (she’s retired, but there are similar Creeper Crew images available HERE) in the following autumn/Halloween Copic colors:
Skin: E000, 00, 21, 04 and R20 for blush
Red hair streaks and jeans: R22, 35, 37 and 39
Yellow hair streaks: Y11, Y15, Y38 and E33
Blue 3/4 sleeve shirt and button eyes of cat hat: B000, 00 and 01
Sneakers, cat hat, and black T-shirt: N1, 3, 5, 7, 9 with 0 for dotting texture in lighter area of cat hat
Pink of cat hat ears and nose: R20 and 22
Canvas belt and eyes: G43, 85 and 99
Black shine of eyes, eye brows and lips are with Sakura black Glaze pen
White shine of button eyes and white part of sneakers are with Sakura white Gelly Roll pen
I fussy cut her out with my favorite Fiskars Easy Action Micro Tip spring loaded reverse scissors and an X-Acto blade (for the inside cut away areas). Then I took the time to ink the cut edges with a Faber-Castell Pitt SB point pen so that the white edges would be covered and the image would look finished. I had stamped out and colored the button eyes of the cat hat, fussy cut those out, popped those up on foam adhesive to add a little extra dimension, and coated them with Glossy Accents for some extra shine too.  The whole image is popped up on double sided foam adhesive to add a little dimension and interest.

Then to express the attitude of this little girl (whom I imagine as a teenager with lots of sass) I printed from my computer with a free spooky font called Chiller, a sentiment that reads, “Hand over the candy and nobody gets hurt.” I die cut it out with a speech bubble die from the Sizzix I Heart This die set and inked the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen before popping it on the card with double sided foam adhesive.

The following is a tutorial for how to create the candy corn shaped card base, including the inking up of each segment with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Antique Linen:

This card is being entered into the following challenges:
The Greeting Farm Farm Fresh Spooky Fun Challenge
MarkerPOP Color Challenge #105

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Halloween Inspiration Challenge
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes Challenge
Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge
Crafts Galore Encore Anything Goes Challenge
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes Challenge
Creatalicious Anything Goes Challenge
Penny Black and More Autumn Color Challenge

First I wanted to just use the outline portion of the Hibiscus Die to create a faux embossed look for the card background. I die cut it out 10 times from white card stock and glued them down onto a white card base using Art Glitter Glue with a fine tip nozzle in a random pattern, making sure to have some of these flower outlines run off the edges of the card base and wrapping them even to the back of the card. I love this all-white, subtle yet interesting textured background.

Then for the focal flower cluster, I used 140 lb Strathmore watercolor paper, a paint brush, a water-filled spray bottle, and Ken Oliver Color Bursts in Merlot, Burnt Orange, Yellow Ochre and Terre Verte to create watercolored scraps with lots of variations in color tones.  I then used the Hibiscus Die to cut three flowers from the merlot red paper, three flowers from the yellow ochre/burnt orange paper, a couple of the Hibiscus Die leaves and two of the Paisley Die Set flourishes from the terre verte paper. I used just the outlines of the flowers (cutting off the leaf portions) from the yellow ochre/burnt orange paper and inset the merlot red flower petals.  For the leaves and paisley flourishes, I popped some of the inner sections out and used them as additional foliage. To add to the dimensional look, I used 1/16″ and 1/8″ foam dots behind the hibiscus flowers and glued down only the base of each leaf behind the flowers so the leaf ends were free to hang off the card front.

Lastly, for the sentiment, I used a retired Hero Arts Clear Princess stamp set (sorry there is no official name on the packaging). I heat embossed some Recollections Snow embossing powder onto a black card stock scrap with the sentiment that says, “Wishing you a birthday filled with sparkles, smiles and laughter.”

The following is a process video sharing how I made this card:

This card is being entered into the following challenges:
Winnie & Walter Background Building with Shay Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Addicted to CAS Watercolor Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday Red, Orange and Yellow Challenge
Ceafts Galore Encore Anything Goes Challenge
Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge
Crafty Gals Corner Punches/Die Cuts Challenge
Addicted to Stamps and More CAS Challenge
MarkerPOP Color Challenge

Paper Smooches Fall Color Story Challenge

I remembered that I had an apple patterned paper in my stash and found it in an old American Crafts paper stack called, “Night Fall.” I took a cue from the autumnal or earth tone colors of that paper, I stamped Fairest out with MFT Black Licorice Hybrid Dye Ink, and colored her up with the following Copic colors:

Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, and R20
Hair: Y21, E55, 57 and 59
Bows: YE20, 21 and 24
Dress and socks: BG70, 72, 75 and 78
Apple: R35, R37, R39 and G17 (with a top coat of Glossy Accents for shine)

I also found a great smaller patterned polka dot paper from the Lost & Found Two My Mind’s Eye “Sunshine” paper collection that coordinated with the apple paper and made for a nice, complimentary background paper. TIP: the smaller scale of these polka dots as compared to the apples helps the two patterned papers not compete with each other or confuse the eye.

I then cut out the image with a doily die that fit around and framed Fairest perfectly. I was going to just pop up the die cut image on fun foam for a little dimension, but because there wasn’t a lot of color contrast between the white die cut background and the patterned papers, the whole assembly started to look a little visually cluttered. To solve this, I decided to pull the burgundy red color from the apple and repeat that with some card stock matting. I matted the apple paper, the doily die cut (which I hand fussy cut around), and even the sentiment banner (to which I added a hand fussy cut apple from the apple patterned paper for a little extra embellishment).

Speaking of the sentiment, I took a stanza from the Bing Crosby song and printed it out in two parts on my printer with brown ink. The sentiment on the front of the card says, “An apple for the teacher will always do the trick,” and the sentiment continues inside the card to say, “when you don’t know your lesson in arithmetic.” LOL It’s a cheeky little line that Bing Crosby sings about how he should deal with a teacher with whom he is falling in love. Aren’t the innocent lyrics so sweet in old timey songs?

I decorated the inside of the card with another patterned paper from the Night Fall collection that had the same colors as the apple paper but with a star pattern. I matted the white liner paper with some kraft card stock, and I also hand cut fishtail banners from the patterned paper scraps left over from the front of the card. I attached those fishtail banners with two staples in an X formation and topped that with a brushed gold metal heart paperclip to continue with the stationary (office/school supply) theme.

It’s these types of little embellishment details that I think add so much to a handmade card. I think all these touches let the recipients of handmade cards know how much love and thought went into the creations.

The following is a card share video in which I share some of my thought process and card design tips for this card:

This card is being entered into the following challenges:
The Greeting Farm Farm Fresh Office Supplies Challenge
MarkerPOP For the Girls Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Monday Inspired by Music Challenge
Creatalicious Anything Goes with an Optional Inspired by a Tune Challenge
Card Mania Earth Tones Challenge
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes with an Optional Colors of Fall Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Addicted to Stamps Make Your Mark Challenge
MFT Card Sketch #299 Challenge

Then I came across a wonderful quote by the Dalai Lama, that says, “When educating the minds of our youth we must not forget to educate their hearts.” Oh I thought this was perfect to tie in Adelina who I now imagined as a young witch-in-training learning how to concoct love potion number 9.  The little heart with crossbones dangling from a string in her hand could be part of the formula. 🙂  I don’t really like my handwriting, but I took my time and wrote this quote out using a black Uniball pen in a style that I hoped look like a kid’s graffiti-style handwriting.

I drew some small laboratory bottles with a Copic multiliner pen, fussy cut them out, and colored them with with the following Copic markers: Y35, BG72, R24, YG99 and Booo (for the empty parts). I floated these up with foam adhesive and coated them with Glossy Accents to give them a glassy look.  I liked the extra interest and pops of color these little bottles added to the ATC (which is tricky to squeeze everything onto at 2.5″ x 3.5″).

For Adelina, I used the following Copic colors that I think of as being dusty fall colors:
Skin: E50, 51, 53 and R30
Hair: E97, 99 and 29
Dress bib and collar: No and 1
Dress, shoes and eyes: BG72, 75 and 78
Socks and bow: N7 and 10
Heart and lips: R39
I fussy cut her out (no small task with all those wisps in her hair!), eliminating her braid since Shann has short pixie hair like this, and then edged the image with a black Faber Castell marker to cover the white edge of the paper.

For the ATC base, I used a medium weight chip board and covered it with a patterned paper scrap in autumn colors that seemed to reference school (it even says “EVERS HARD,” although I covered the “S” so it worked even better in my mind as an allusion to education).  I inked the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Black Soot, and drew in some hash lines for the ground and in the corners to kind of frame out and finish the piece.

This ATC is being entered into the following challenges:
Oddball Art Stamp Back To School Challenge WINNER
Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday Autumn/Fall Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
MarkerPOP Anything Goes Challenge WINNER
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes Challenge

Thanks f0r stopping by, and I hope you are having a great day! WOOF