Heavy Metal

Greetings Earthlings-

Mo Manning's challenge this week asked us to try something new. I had just found some metal sheets on CLEARANCE at my local JoAnn's. I didn't need to think too long to decide to use the metal on my card this week.

The metal sheets are made by Walnut Hollow. I ended up buying a bunch of colors from them after I played a bit. This metal is so cool! You can emboss it and use punches and lots of other things! Everything I've tried has worked. And I haven't even gotten out my inks yet!

I used Mo's image, Painter Meg. She was so fun to color using my Copics. I added some Glossy Accents to the paint. I thought I could play off the metal of the pain can with the silver metal I had just gotten. I embossed the metal with an OLD sizzix plate called FRIEND. I cut out a portion that had the word FRIEND and several hearts..Then I punched out a row of circles with an EK Success border punch. That smoothed out the embossing a little but that was fine - I didn't want it to be distracting. If I wanted the embossing to be crisper I would cut the shape out first, then emboss it.

So here is the finished card:

Thanks, Mo for pushing me to try something new!!

Party on, Wayne.



Miss Libby

Greetings Earthlings-

Whew. I really challenged myself with this one. What was I thinking?!

Mo's challenge at the Digital Pencil this week was "All my Favorite Things". I needed to make a card for my sister... she is definitely one of my 'Favorite Things'! I decided to do one of her Favorite things...

She has had many pug dogs over the years.. Most were the usual buff color but I am sure her favorite was Libby.  My sister got Libby when she was just a puppy - really just a little ball of black fur with a very pink tongue sticking out... Libby is no longer with us due to extreme old age. She was full of love and a wonderful companion. 

My elderly aunt used the word MISS a lot.. As in "What are you up to, Miss?" or "Did you finish your chores, Miss?"  Somewhere along the way we started using this when talking to Libby. "Are you hungry, Miss?" , "Do you need to go outside, Miss?" , Do you want a cracker, Miss?"

Mo Manning had the perfect digital stamp for this. It's called 'Pug Love'. Did I mention Libby was black? I've never tried to color something that was black, and fury. I think I colored over this image so many times the paper was actually getting thinner.  I started really light but eventually realized Libby was a lot more of the BLACKest black than anything else. Well, near the end of her life she was almost white from age but I digress..

I Googled "Black Pug" images to give me inspiration. Thank God for the internet! Here are the Copics I used:

When I was satisfied with her I added some highlights with Copic Opaque White - it's actually paint. I made the whites of her eyes whiter (some bleeding from the blacks had occurred) and gave them highlights.

For a first try I think it came out pretty well.

I am not sure where I got the sentiment. I modified it slightly. It is labeled 'wuvyou--VIBGYOR-Krafts'. I tried a web search but couldn't narrow it down enough. If anyone knows where this sentiment is from, please let me know.

***Update***

I want to thank and give credit to E.T. from Karachi, Pakistan for the sentiment. She left me a comment saying it was from her blog - here is the link:

http://vibgyorkrafts.blogspot.com/2011/05/gingerloft-challenge-plant-tree.html

She has some beautiful projects on her blog. Also, a nice variety of freebies. Stop by and check it out.

THANKS FOR SHARING, E.T.!!!!

I used white VIVA decorator gloss gel to add the dots on the heart. I also used Glossy Accents from Ranger on her eyes (I put it on really thick on her eyes to make them more 'bulge-y) and nose and the corners of her mouth. In the picture you can really see how the eyes shine!

A doily from the cake decorating department at Michaels and some Recollections red crystal bling finish her off.

I hope my sister likes it! It's already in the mail!

Party on, Wayne.

Howdy!

Greetings Earthlings-

It's the wee hours of the morning and I have given up trying to sleep after watching the clock for the last 2 hours..

Have I mentioned that I love Mo Manning? I do. I really do.

The challenge this week at Mo's Challenge Blog was to make a project that was 'clean and simple.' OK, I cheated a little.. I had this image colored and fancy cut already.. I've had it on my bulletin board for a few months waiting for some inspiration.

I used Copic markers to color the image. When I decided to use it this week the color of her jumper clashed with the card base. Hmmmm. I decided to go over that part again using colors that were in the BG family. Originally the jumper was a light washed out denim color. Now it's more turquoise-y. This is only one of the many cool things about the Copics - you can play with them long after you have 'finished' something.

I combined Mo's image with a grassy background. I got this from a great  site called Make It Crafty. They have some fabulous digi images and they also have actual rubber! Their challenge this week was Color Blades of Grass. I think this will barely qualify. I made a copy of the digi with the watermark M.K. on it . It's called Daffodil-dell. I use it often on my cards. I especially like how Bronte seems to be sniffing around..

OK, so here is the final card:

The sentiment is a rubber stamp I bought at a convention from 'a pile of rubber'. I've had it for quite a while now..

That's it for tonight. It's 4:30 AM and I am going to try to get back to sleep. (Good luck with that...)

Party on, Wayne!

Giving Credit where Credit is Due!

Greetings Earthlings-

I've had this Mo Manning image for a while now. I've used it for 'birthday wishes' many times. She's so fun to color - different pallets can change the feeling so much!

When Mo's challenge this week asked for Elves, Fairies, Santa or Snowmen, I knew I would be giving her a Christmas makeover. Here she is from Mo's website:

I went a little overboard with the stickles..Oh well. Who is to say how sparkly a fairy's wand is?!  I used a Spellbinder to cut her out - but when I did that I lost the copyright insignia! Artists should get credit for their hard work! So I wrote it in again near the image.

I used Copics and Spicas to color the image.

Here she is in all her glory:

There are a lot of great new Christmas and Holiday images over at Mo's website. I am having a hard time deciding which to buy.. OK, which NOT to buy LOL.

Party on, Wayne

Santa Baby

Greetings Earthlings!

Today's card reminds me of the Christmas song, Santa Baby.. I made it for the challenge over at Mo's Challenge Blog. This week they asked us to make something that had the theme of 'Winter'. I've used this image many times in lotsa ways that I never dreamed of when I bought it. It's called Checking FB.

I love Mo Manning images! As soon as I saw the challenge I envisioned this image with her in a bathrobe with Santa Colors, and she's emailing her Christmas list to Santa..

I used some Memory Box dies to add some zing and of course a few rhinestones! The sentiment I made on PSE. If you want it, feel free to take it - no strings.. It's a png so the background is clear.

 I would love to see what you make with it..

Here are the Copics that I used to color the image:

Party on, Wayne..

3 for 1

Greetings Earthlings!

My first card today is for Mo's Digital Challenge. The theme is 'Give Thanks'.

I used the image called Girl and dog. The dog's name is Bronte.

I made the sentiment using PSE. Copics were used to add color. I cut the circles with my Nestibilities. Crochet lace and Liquid Pearls were added.

Here are the Copics I used:

And..the..card: 

Oh- here's the sentiment in case you want it for yourself - be sure to 'left click' on it to get the full size image:

I've made quite a few cards since I last posted.. I've been too busy to post them as I made them. If you want details just email me..This is a birthday card I made for my brother-in-law:

Next up is fun combo of digi images - Fall Fence from Shelly's Images and Trick Or Treat from Mo's Digital Pencil:

Yup, that's Bronte again. Meow!

I also added some black bling to the corners of this card - it doesn't show up well in the photos though.

I also made a spectacular birthday card for my niece's 3rd birthday. She's all about princesses and fairies just now.. BUT, I'll have to post that later - I'm outta time for today.

Party on, Wayne



Punch Idea!

Greetings Earthlings!

Today I made a card to enter into the challenge at Mo's Challenge Blog.

'Patchwork' was the theme this week. I immediately thought about when I tried my hand at quilting. DISASTER!!!!!! Evidently you have to have at least a rudimentary understanding of math to make the patterns work*.. A person can only make so many 'crazy'** quilts..So when I tried to make a quilt-ish background for this card, I had some trouble.. more on that later.

I used one of my favorite Mo digital images, 'Sprout'. I made several cards with her last April using springy pastel colors. This time out I decided to try a more autumnal feel.

I used paper piecing on the pot and her patches. (See the irony there?) I used a Fiskars Scalloped Square to punch out a bunch of co-ordinating DP squares.

Here are the Copics I used:

OK. remember earlier I said I had some trouble? Naturally the card doesn't measure out in nice 1" squares so I had to make some of them narrower. Once I had punched the squares, they were too small to put back into the punch to trim. There was nothing to hang on to. It occurred to me that I could make a 'handle' using temporary tape. (I keep regular and temp tape on ALL my work surfaces..I use it so often, I hate moving it around.)

Now then***, here are some pictures to explain what I did:

I doubled the tape back on it's self to make the 'handle' a little firmer. This worked like a charm. I wish this had occurred to me years ago. It's a pretty neat little trick!

Party on, Wayne-

* I have NO understanding of math.
**Yes, I am on medication.
***Channeling my Aunt Bernice, don't ya know..

Pushy Guest Designer

Greetings Earthlings!

Tomorrow is the big OPERATION WRITE HOME blog hop. Be sure to stop by then to get a lot of card making inspiration!

I had a pushy guest designer stop by to help me out today. And I have some more digi freebies for you! These are PNG files. I hope you can use them.

I am using an image by Mo Manning. It is called "Who Me?"  To make it look cold, I changed the color using Photo Shop Express. I made the outlines of the snow blue. I also made some of his clothes red. This is called CHEATING! I can't manage to use red without it bleeding - and it is almost impossible to correct red errors with the colorless blender! Having red lines means that I don't have to go quite to the edge with the marker.

Here is what the image looked like when I printed it out:

Well, ok, it didn't have the watermark all over it..

The Copics I used were:

And the finished card:

I cut out the image with a Spellbinders die and mounted it on dark gray card stock.  I used the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder on the card base and then I used a Memory Box die called 'Retro Border'. I think it looks

snow-flakey..

To help the cut-out show up more, I rubbed London Fog Memento ink along the edges of the card base.

Then I added my sentiment and a few snowflake buttons to finish it off.

I tried to get a picture showing how the border is cut out but my pushy guest designer would not co-operate!

Remember to stop by tomorrow for the big
World Card Making Day
 OWH blog hop!

Party on, Wayne

Come back kid! That's my dog!

Greetings Earthlings!

While I was working on this challenge for Mo's Digital Challenge, I got a serious case of ear worm.  I'll get to that later..

Mo's challenge this week was autumn colors. It didn't take much to get me into this as the weather here has been very fall-like for way too long!

I used an image that I had used in another Mo challenge - B & W. It was much easier this time around!

The digital image I used is called Fall Pup.

I have been playing with 'dots' as ground cover and even sometimes sky. I wanted this card to have more fall colors so that is what I used for the ground. Kinda an impressionist version of fall leaves covering the ground..

I wanted the sky to look cold - like it is here! I used Memento inks, London Fog and Summer Sky, applied with a foam blender.

I colored the image with my Copics.

I also wanted to be able to enter this card in an OWH challenge on their blog Stars & Stamps. I needed something round to qualify..


I needed a round sentiment and nothing I had worked.. Can you believe it? I don't have enough stamps! LOL!!

I ended up making this sentiment in PSE. Feel free to download it. I haven't ever posted something for you to download so I hope this works...

PNG

JPEG

I'm thinking you should be able to click on the image to bring it full size for you to save it. (fingers crossed!)

I ran some burgundy card stock through my Texture Boutique with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. Then I used some brown Stickles and felt leaves to finish him off.

Back to the ear worm.. It's your own fault if you follow this link... You have been WARNED!

Party on, Wayne!



Mo's 100th Challenge!

Greetings Earthlings!

I just had to make something to celebrate Mo's 100th challenge! Oddly enough, this week's theme was CELEBRATE.  She's got some great candy for the winners, too! Why not come and join us?

I love the kids Mo draws.. I knew a birthday card would be a good choice - and throw in a cat to make it even better! Here's Maya's Balloons.

.

I used my trusty Copics to color in the image. I highlighted the balloons with Ranger's Glossy Accents. The DP is from DCWV. I don't remember where I got the brads but they were a bit dusty.. The sentiment was cut out using Nestibilities and popped up using foam tape.

Congrats to Mo and her team on 100 challenges!

Party on, Wayne

Back to school

Greetings Earthlings-

YAY! We have survived another summer. There are a lot of back to school challenges out there. So many, I've lost track of where and when the deadlines are.. I am going to enter this card in the Mo's Digital Challenge this week.

The challenge was 'back to school'.I used a Mo Manning digital image, of course.  I didn't own any that screamed that theme so I tweaked the 'Paul Texting' image with the sentiment to make it more back to school-y.

I tried something a little different this time around. Instead of printing it in black, I used PSE to color the lines only before I used my Copics.  Here is what the print looked like before coloring.

I've seen lately that folks are trying the 'no line' technique where none of the outline shows. I don't especially care for that look but it did give me the idea to try this. I think it turned out pretty well. It's subtle. I used Prisma Colored Pencils for the skin areas. I was afraid I would loose the detail if I used my Copics.

I also made a fun birthday card but I have to wait until the birthday boy receives it in the mail before I post..

Party on, Wayne

Blue pout

Greetings Earthlings-

I hope everyone is ok after the earthquake on the East coast. My thoughts are with you all.

I am entering this card in the Copic Creations challenge this week. They asked us to use the BlueGreen color group. I love this color group and find myself reaching for it often.

This is another image by Mo Manning. I just can't get enough of her images. I used a MS punch on the paper and threaded the ribbon through. I also used Spellbinders nestibilities to cut & emboss the main image and make a mat.

For the challenge at Mo's Digital Pencil I am going to use my little Sprout image. I really love this one. Mo's challenge this week was to use Blue. Finally, a challenge I can handle easily.  I used Copics to color the brads.

I added the sidewalk and grass after watching this video on YouTube.

Prairie Paper and Ink is a great resource there... and there are many other videos on card making and using Copics..try a search.

 

Party on, Wayne.



Birthday Card

Greetings Earthlings-

I had to wait to post this until my buddy, LJ, got it in the mail. The digi image is from Maurie Manning. If you know LJ, you know the combo of the laptop and coffee epitomizes her existence. Add in a little Dan Fogelberg and some chocolate and you've got it..

This is one of the few cards that I make that don't make their way to Operation Write Home. Check out their link on the sidebar for more information about this great group!

Later Gators!