The Mermaid

Today's project is my coloring of the Kit and Clowder July 2019 pencils class. The class image is drawn by Janna Prosvirina Fantasy Art. This class is packed with techniques including skin, hair, underwater coloring, color blending, fins and shells just to mention some of them. 

Lots of Flowers!

Oh I am so excited to be able to share some news with you today about a free class over at Kit and Clowder. To celebrate 20k members in the Facebook group, Alyce created a free class for both markers and pencils in collaboration with Power Poppy. Please check out the free class over on the Kit and Clowder website - you will not be sorry!

This is my result of the class. I colored the flowers with my Prismacolor colored pencils. You will learn how to add all this detail in the class and how to make the gerberas pop off the page. I love bright colors and so this kaleidoscope is so inspiring. Once I had completed the flowers, I did the background with a blend of turquoise and blue soft pastels and sealed it with fixative.

I matted the floral image onto a bright yellow cardpanel which I in turn adhered to my cardbase. I cut and stacked three thanks die cuts and coated it with Wink of Stella to add some glimmer.

Note: This endorsement of Kit and Clowder is done of my own volition as I have learned so much from Alyce. I was not asked to do this or was I paid or compensated in any manner.

General supplies:

Strathmore Paint Pad paper

Power Poppy Kindness is the Way digital stamp

Reflections 110lb heavyweight cardstock for card base

Prismacolor pencils

Soft pastels

Krylon Workable Fixative

Black and yellow cardsstock

Wink of Stella

Entered into the Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #54

Entered into the QKR Stampede Challenge #308 - Anything Goes

Entered into the Stempelsonne Anything Goes Challenge #204

Entered into the Kleuren met Potlooden Everything is Allowed August Challenge

Orchids - clean and simple

This card is made with the orchids lesson in the Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature class. I loved the very sleek look on the flowers and wanted to keep the card that way. As with all my coloring, I did the orchids with my Prismacolor colored pencils.

I trimmed the drawing paper on which I had done the orchids down and added it to a bright green card panel that I had created with my stitched rectangle die. I then adhered the panel to a cardbase

Since this is a Thank you card for a German friend, I spelled DANKE on it with individually cut letters from an alphabet die set. I cut the letters out of chocolate cardstock.

This is one of those cards that definitely proves that less is more. I have also tried a new background for my card photography. What do you think?

General supplies:
Canson XL Drawing paper
Reflections 110lb heavyweight cardstock for card base
Orchid digi stamp from the course
Green and chocolate cardstock
Alphabet dies
Stitched rectangle die
Prismacolor pencils

Entered into the Stempelsonne Anything Goes Challenge #199
Entered into the Fabrika Fantasy Challenge #18 - SPRING
Entered into the Aud Sentiments Anything Goes Challenge #198
Entered into the Do-Al(l) Kreatives Spring/Easter Challenge #15

Owl say hello

Today I am back with another card made from a Kit and Clowder All About Animals class practice.

This is the owl lesson. Although I have been a member of the Animals class for a while, I found it rather intimidating as everything was aimed at markers and what do I know about Copics?? But recently Alyce provided conversion charts for markers to pencils and vice versa and so now I could figure out what I was doing with my Prismacolor colored pencils. I completed the owl lesson, one I had printed the digi out for a long time ago.

I cut the image out with an oval stitched die and adhered it to a black card panel which I had embossed the one edge of.

A simple Hello sentiment cut out of textured metallic cardstock was added.

I wanted to keep the card simple so that owl would remain the focal point.

General supplies:
Canson XL Drawing paper
Reflections 110lb heavyweight cardstock for card base
Owl digi stamp from the course
Black cardstock
Word die
Stitched oval die
Darice edge embossing folder
Prismacolor pencils

Entered into the Stempelsonne Anything Goes Challenge #198
Entered into the Crafting From the Heart Anything Goes Challenge #194

A little blending of purple and green

Time for another card made with a lesson from the Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature class.

This one is the succulent lesson. I love succulents in real life too, they are about the only plant I don't end up over- or under- watering.

I colored the image with my Prismacolor colored pencils and trimmed it to fit in the corner of the card. I cut a circle of green cardstock and embossed it with a dotted embossing folder by Darice.

I then layered the image onto the green cardstock circle which I trimmed in the same manner to fit into the card's corner. Using a single sheet of brick pattern paper, I used a stitched rectangle die to create a card panel.

The sentiment was cut out of white cardstock and glued to the card.

General supplies:
Canson XL Drawing paper
Succulent digi stamp from the course
Green and white cardstock
Word die
Stitched circle and rectangle dies
Darice embossing folder
Prismacolor pencils

Entered into the Stempelsonne Anything Goes Challenge #198
Entered into the Crafty Creations Always Anything Goes Challenge #359 
Entered into the Addicted to Stamps and More Make Your Mark Challenge #277 
Entered into Inspiration Destination Anything Goes Challenge #142 

White, brown and yellow

Today I have another coloring card to share with you. I was back in the Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature classroom and this time I did the Frangipani lesson.

I colored the flowers with my Prismacolor colored pencils and then cut them out using my PixScan mat with an offset.

I wanted to not lose the striking white and yellow contrast  of the flowers and so made them the focal point on this card. I layered them onto two circles that I had cut from two shades of brown cardstock with stitched circle dies.

The cardpanel was cut from dark brown cardstock with a stitched rectangle die and then embossed with a Darice embossing folder.

I completed the card with a smile sentiment cut from yellow cardstock and treated with a little Wink of Stella

General supplies:
Canson XL Drawing paper
Reflections 110lb heavyweight carstock for card base
Brown and yellow cardstock
Gina Marie designs stitched rectangle die
Stitched circle dies
Smile word die
Darice embossing folder
Wink of Stella

Entered into the Crafting With An Attitude Anything Goes Challenge #35
Entered into the Cardz 4 Galz Anything BUT Square Challenge #63
Entered into the Aud Sentiments Anything Goes Challenge #195
Entered into the Little Miss Muffet Always Anything Goes Challenge #181
Entered into the Southern Girls Circle Embellishments Challenge

Using a card sketch

This card that I want to share today has a number of firsts in it. Firstly, I discovered card sketches at Pagemaps.com. Making use of one of the January ones, I created this card

The puppy is an exercise from the Kit and Clowder All About Animals class which I cut out with my newly acquired PixScan mat on my Silhouette Cameo. He was printed on Canson XL Drawing paper and colored with my Prismacolor colored pencils.

Using the eighth card sketch on the aforementioned page, I assembled the card with a panel of patterned paper at the bottom and a panel of kraft cardstock that I had run through an embossing folder at the top. I stamped the sentiment onto a strip of white card stock using a retired Stampin Up stamp

I cut a strip of dark brown card stock with a pair of scalloped scissors, cut the strip in half and adhered a piece to the top and the bottom of the white strip before gluing that to the card front. Finally, I added the puppy.

General supplies:
Canson XL Drawing paper
Reflections 110lb heavyweight carstock for card base
Patterned paper
Kraft, white and brown Cardstock
Retired Stampin Up sentiment stamp
Versafine Onyx black ink
Prismacolor pencils

Entered into the Power Poppy January Power & Spark: Grab a Map! Challenge
Entered into the Stempelsonne Anything Goes Challenge #197
Entered into Inspiration Destination Anything Goes Challenge No. 141

Clean and Simple

Time to return to the classroom after a long absence. I had printed this tree digital stamp from the Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature class out eons ago and now was the time to color it up.

Using my Prismacolor colored pencils in a myriad of colors, I applied the various layers to the paper. I used Strathmore Paint Pad paper, which I love as it allows me to layer the pencil colors over each other again and again to produce vivid color.

Once colored, I trimmed the image and then adhered it to a green Paper Studio Simple Basics cardbase.

I adhered the word "hope" as the sentiment. I had previously cut a bunch of single word sentiments out using my Silhouette electronic die cutter and the Honey Script font. This is a lovely cursive font that has enough body in it to make it easy to cut out on the machine.

What better way to inspire hope than a huge tree that has overcome the odds of life for many, many years!

General supplies:
Strathmore Paint Pad paper
Cardbase from Paper Studio Simple Basics collection
Black cardstock cut sentiment
Digital Stamp from the Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature Class
Prismacolor pencils

Entered into the Crafting From the Heart Anything Goes Challenge #188
Entered into the Alphabet Challenge Blog T for Trees Challenge
Entered into Stamp ink Paper Challenge 130 – Say No to Xmas

Calla Lilies...

I love Calla Lilies, known as Arum Lilies in some parts of the world. Their beautiful elegance is timeless.

The class chosen for the June Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature challenge is the Calla Lily class. Since I had already done that class in the original white, I decided to ask Google for some reference images of Calla Lilies in other colors. I found that the selection was endless and the choice was difficult.

My first one is a multicolored lily that shows off beautifully strong colors of pink, white, yellow and green. I opted to color the image on Kraft as I do love how pencil coloring pops on the natural background.

My second one is an elegant white lily with a dark, rich purple center. Again I colored it on Kraft colored paper to help the colors pop.

I mounted the images onto white cardbases but did not add sentiments that this time. I will do that when I use the card so that I can apply the appropriate wording for the occasion.

General supplies:
Strathmore Toned Tan sketch paper for the colored images
Gina Marie designs stitched rectangle die
Calla Lily digi stamp from Elements of Nature class
White cardbase
Prismacolor pencils

The bug challenge

I am sure you are wondering - What is a bug challenge??

That is this month's challenge over at Power Poppy. The challenge is to create a card with any sort of a bug on it and so here is my entry.

This card is a showcase of both the things I love doing, coloring and sewing.

The flowers are gerberas from the Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature class. I did them on Kraft paper as I love how pencils pop on Kraft. I cut the image out with a stitched rectangle die and adhered it to a bright yellow cardbase.

I decided to add a butterfly as my bug, but not as a colored image. The butterfly is an embroidered lace embellishment that I made myself. The wings are a mother-of-pearl organza and the stitching is done with Sulky embroidery thread. I adhered it to the card with Glossy Accents so that it will not go anywhere.

The card is completed with a "hello" sentiment that I cut with my Silhouette machine on black cardstock.

I am also entering this card into The Flower Challenge #9 'Anything Goes' challenge.

General supplies:
Strathmore Toned Tan sketch paper for the colored image
Gina Marie designs stitched rectangle die
Glossy Accents
Black cardstock cut with Silhouette for sentiment
Gerbera digi stamp from Elements of Nature class
Cardbase from Paper Studio Simple Basics collection
Organza and embroidery thread
Prismacolor pencils

Coloring a succulent

One of the lessons in the Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature class is the coloring of a succulent.

This is really a practice of transitioning two very different colors into each other and applying depth to the fleshy leaves with shading.

I had printed this image out a while ago while I was still using the Canson XL Drawing paper and so it was also interesting to use it again for this image. I most definitely prefer the toothier paper that is the Strathmore Paint Pad for laying down layers of color.

General supplies:
Canson XL Drawing paper
Berry digi stamp from the course
Prismacolor pencils

Berries galore

I had so enjoyed coloring in my new Twilight Garden book, but doing a double page spread did take some time and so I decided it was time to get back into the classroom.

This time I opted to complete the Berries lesson in my Elements of Nature course that I am doing with Kit and Clowder.

I love, love, love how the strawberry came out. Who knew that strawberries have so many little seeds on them when you just pop them into your mouth?? But adding a little dimension to each one, makes the strawberry look quite real.

The cherries were more difficult - they needed to be shiny and yet not look metallic and so that needs a bit more practice.

So now what next? Another pic in my book or a lesson in the classroom???

General supplies:
Strathmore Paint Pad watercolor paper
Berry digi stamp from the course
Prismacolor pencils

Celebrating Greenery

You may know that Greenery is the Pantone color of the year for 2017. The folks over at PowerPoppy (I love their flower stamps) are doing a Let's Go Green challenge this month to celebrate the fresh color. What a better subject than a green leaf with dewdrops glimmering on them?

Dewdrops is a lesson in the Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature class and so I got out my Prismacolor colored pencils and got busy. It was like magic, how with just a bit of shading and adding of highlights, that circles came to life to form droplets. I was so pleased with the result.

To complete the card, I used a green Paper Studio cardbase and layer a patterned paper as well as a cardstock layer that I had embossed with a woodgrain embossing folder. I added the image and a sentiment in opposite corners.

I think the celebration of fresh green came together very nicely.

General supplies:
Strathmore Paint Pad watercolor paper
Cardbase from Paper Studio
Green patterned paper
Green cardstock
Momento Tuxedo Black ink
Sentiment from PowerPoppy's In Praise of Sunflowers stampset
Heart from Hero Arts Acts of Kindness stampset
Darice wood grain embossing folder
Prismacolor pencils

Berries and feathers

So how do berries and feathers go together? When they are in the same image and one ends up practicing the light and shade of each to create a dimensional look.

Not only did I try new techniques here with this image, but also new paper. If you have read my previous posts, you will have noted that I am still in search of a good paper that does not cost me an arm and a leg. I found a pad of paper at my local store called Paint Pad and it is a Strathmore product. The price was very right and so I decided to try it. The paper is smoother on one side and more textured on the other. For this project, I used the textured side and it was so amazing to work on.

The tooth of the paper held the pencil pigment well and I was able to blend with my usual pencil to pencil technique.

This image is from the Kit and Clowder monthly classes - March 2017.

I also entered this image in the Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge - Day 18.

General supplies:
Strathmore Paint Pad watercolor paper
Digital stamp from Kit and Clowder March monthly class
White Gelly Roll gel pen
Large paper stump
Prismacolor pencils

Lilies

Today I have another coloring post to share with you. Again, this one participates in two challenges - the Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature class challenge and the Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge. I colored lilies.

These flowers are done with my Prismacolor pencils and I again used Watercolor paper. I had previously done a test on watercolor paper and really enjoyed how many layers I could lay down to get such a vibrant color. So I wanted to try it with a more detailed image. I love the result.

Thank you to inspiration I received from another colorist in the Kit and Clowder Facebook group, I used the texture of the toothy paper to produce a rougher background. I applied only two layers of color and did not flatten the tooth.

I will definitely be experimenting some more with watercolor paper and my pencils.

General supplies:
Master's Touch 4 x 6 watercolor paper for card panel
Digital stamp from Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature class
Prismacolor pencils

Two Challenges

Today you get to see a first on various levels. This is the first time I have tried coloring up a horse and this is my entry for the first day of the Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge and the first time I am participating in this challenge.

This is a lesson from the Kit and Clowder All About Animals class and I colored it using my Prismacolor pencils. It was a very interesting transition on the horse from the smooth fur that is the horse's face to the hairy mane.

I love chestnut horses in real life and so that was the reasoning for using this more reddish/orange coloring on my practice round here.

I am participating in two challenges with this image. The first one is the Kit and Clowder All About Animals class challenge and the second one is the Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge.

General supplies:
Canson XL Drawing 70 lb for the colored image
Prismacolor pencils

A posie of pansies

Pansies, those little faces on the flowers that come in various colors and yet they all live in harmony together. Is that the reason why we all inherently love them? Do they depict some form of perfection that eludes us so often?

But I digress! I relaxed with my Prismacolor pencils to bring these pansies off the page while at the same time completing another lesson in the Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature class. Once completed, I cut the panel out with the second stitched rectangle die in the nested set and glued it to the cardbase.

Using my self made stamp positioning tool, I added the sentiment to complete the card.

General supplies:
Canson XL Drawing 70 lb for the colored image
Happy Birthday sentiment from the Stampabilities Card Phrases stamp set
Momento Tuxedo Black ink
Cardbase from Paper Studio
Gina Marie design stitched rectangle die #2
Prismacolor pencils

Somewhat vintage...

Today's post features this card

This lavender in the rusty watering can is another lesson from my Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature class. I just loved how the organic rustiness came out on the can. Also the depth in the tiny lavender flowers.

The image just gave me the feeling of earthiness and I loved it pieced against the rose card base. I cut the panel with my newly acquired Gina Marie Design stitched rectangle dies - doing partial die cutting to get the stitching only on the two long sides of the flower panel.

Then I added a sentiment that I cut out on my Silhouette machine and coated the same with a little Wink of Stella clear shimmer pen. I love the Wink of Stella, it adds a bit of shimmer without overloading with bling and the brush tip makes adding it to very defined areas quite simple.

And today the mailman is carrying this card to a dear friend...

General supplies:
Canson XL Drawing 70 lb for the colored image
Black cardstock cut with Silhouette for sentiment
Wink of Stella clear glitter pen
Cardbase from Paper Studio Sophia Grace collection
Prismacolor pencils

A rose and a heart

Today I want to share a new card that I made. The focal point on this card, the rose, is from the Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature class - rose lesson. I colored it with my Prismacolor colored pencils and then fussy cut it out.

I used my Silhouette machine to cut out the heart out of red cardstock and the sentiment out of black cardstock. To add a bit of shimmer to the heart, I coated it with clear Wink of Stella. I just love shimmer/glitter.

The card panel is white cardstock that I embossed with the Darice music sheet embossing folder and then applied the panel onto a white Paper Studio Simply Solids white cardbase.

General supplies:
Canson XL Drawing 70 lb for the rose
Black cardstock cut with Silhouette for sentiment
Red cardstock cut with Silhouette for heart
White cardstock embossed with the Darice music sheet embossing folder for the card panel
Prismacolor pencils