For a friend …

The new CMC Copic Challenge is to create a card showcasing friendship, using Copic to color the embellishments.

As someone relatively new to Copic, I found this challenge to be quite a bit of fun. You should have seen me attempting to color nearly everything that came along. Fortunately my cats stayed out of site, so I still don’t know if it is possible to color a cat with a Copic, but I do know you can color this cat …

This stamp is from Penny Black. I stamped it on Cryogen paper, that I had cut out with a die from Dies Direct. After coloring the image, I added Stickles to the insides of the flowers and the kitty’s nose for a bit of sparkle. Then, I added Distress Ink around the edges to soften the white color.

I layered some papers (from Bo Bunny and Basic Grey) that I had edged in Distress Ink and then the REAL fun began …

I started with a plain white ribbon, which I knew would take the color well, and colored it gray.

Then, I tried Tissue Tape from Tim Holtz. I was thrilled with how well it took the color. (I put a strip on a piece of scrap paper and colored it in long, even strokes. When dry, I gently pulled it up and attached it to the card.)

Finally, I pulled out some white flower-shaped buttons from Pebbles. I colored them in yellow, then edged them in orange. While they colored OK, the color seemed to come off as I worked with them, so I actually colored them again once they were attached to the card. I’ll have to look for some sort of sealer to see if that works …

Anyhow, with the addition of a saying from Northwoods, the Tiny Attachers, floss from We R Memory Keepers and a few Glue Dots, I came up with this …

Check out the other amazing samples from this challenge, here.

Merry Christmas

I’ve always said, “It’s the thought that counts.”

And, I have always meant it, too.

One of my favorite gifts was when my daughter took a shoe box and covered it in scrapbook paper and gave it to me as a present. She was little and has never had the patience for paper crafting. So, while it will never win an award, I love it as if it was made by Tim Holtz, because she took the time to make something she thought I would like.

This year I thought of sending handmade Christmas cards to all of my friends and family. I have been planning it for months and spent hours coming up with “the” card. But, December seems to be flying by and I am afraid I am not going to get them all finished and in the mail before the holidays.

So, I decided to post this year’s still unfinished Christmas card so all of my friends can see it and know that I thought of them when I designed it.

In case you were wondering, the Penny Black stamp was colored with Copic markers (I have that part finished) and then placed on layers of cardstock and paper by American Crafts. I added Ranger’s new Liquid Pearls to the centers of the flowers and topped the chicken off with a Santa hat from Jolee’s. The Merry Christmas stamp is from Tim Holtz. Inside, the card will eventually say “from one chick to another.”

To all my chicky friends … if your card doesn’t quite get to your mailbox, please remember that I was thinking of you during the holidays. It really is the thought that counts!