A Butterfly Tribute

Hello, Everyone.

Today's blog post really starts at Stamplorations. This is a tribute to a fellow crafter, Melissa Lane as well as a celebration of her life.  On October 2, Melissa (https://honeybeelane.wordpress.com) passed away. She was a talented cardmaker/crafter/artist, a mother of 4, wife, and servant of Jesus. Melissa loved to garden and she loved photography. Her favorite color was red, and she loved butterflies -- so much so that many of the cards and other projects she made had butterflies in them.
This special link up is in honor of her; you are welcome to add to her butterfly gallery by linking your card up HERE. 

My card started with a Heidi Swapp butterfly stencil.  I traced it on cardstock and then stamped floral images from Simon Says Stamp, Beautiful Flowers stamp set.  The flowers were colored with Copics.  The stenciled butterfly was hand cut out and then I also hand cut a black background for the butterfly to help everything pop.  The stamped card base uses a leaf image from Altenew's Garden Treasures Stamp Set. The leaves are stamped with Distress Oxide Ink.  The sentiment is from Sweet n Sassy Stamps The Future stamp set. 
I did not know Melissa personally, but I have come to learn how tight knit the crafting/stamping community is and when one of our members is gone, a hole is definitely left behind.  If you would like to link up a card to her butterfly gallery, you are welcome to do so.  You can use any products you want.  Details are on the Stamplorations blog 

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann 

Watercolored Bloom

Hello All,

I have been taking a bit of a break from crafting (but one can never truly leave it).  I was back at it today, finishing up a card  I started a week or so ago.  I used this gorgeous The Ton Stamps stamp, Large Dahlia 2. 

I love the stamp and I love how I colored the flower, but some things just go downhill from there.  The layout did not come together right, the more you try to fix it the worse it gets sometimes!  I ended up pulling it apart and redoing the best that I could. 
I guess it was just an off week, because the photography just didn't go smoothly either, lol! 
Anyway, I watercolored the embossed image with Ken Oliver colorbursts.  That's pretty much it- easy peasy! 
I am linking up to the Addicted to Stamps and More~

Make Your Mark

Also linking up to the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge~

Anything goes with a Feminine Twist

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful, blessed week!  

Lee Ann 

Fall Leaves

Hello Everyone! 

Is it feeling like fall by you?  It finally is here in St Louis.  No fall leaves yet, but that hasn't stopped me from stamping them!

This stamp from Technique Junkies, Autumn Blessings, is super easy to turn into a beautiful card. 

I wanted a very loose water colored look for this image.  Problem is, I am so picky about coloring that it is hard for me to go outside the lines, lol.  My way around that is to lightly pencil in approximately where the image will be and then watercolor BEFORE stamping.  No kidding!  That is the only way I can get a loose look! 
I did go in after I had stamped the image over the water colored card front and add some detail and shadows. 

You can get 10% off of this stamp- actually your whole card minus clearance- with code TJ10LeeAnn.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Lee Ann 

Final Week with Stamplorations

Hello All! 

This is my final post as a guest colorist with Stamplorations.  It has been wonderful and Shery (the owner) is wonderful to work with.  Thank you, Shery! 

This week was a Copic week. The first card is with a new to me stamp, Oh So Grateful, which comes with a matching die as well.  Anyone smitten with blue pumpkins like me?

The background is watercolored and then stenciled with a lovely Tim Holtz flourish stencil and clear embossing paste.  Which you cannot see in this photo.  This week was bad photo week for me; seems to come in waves...

I can never use 2 or 3 Copic markers for an image; how many blues does it take to color a pumpkin!?

I spattered some rust watercolor paint on the background as well.  The sentiment is from the Best Mom Ever stamp set.  This card, however is going to my Dad, who has been having set back after setback following total hip replacement. 

The next card is made with this gorgeous Oriole from the Framed Oriole stamp. 

I used my MISTI to stamp this image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink so that I could go back when I was all done coloring and stamp the image again, this time with a much darker black ink. 

I love how this turned out, even though I have some practicing to do on how to color in a drop shadow behind a rectangle.  I kept it simple as I thought it could make a nice design for a set of note cards. 
I am linking my oriole card up to Addicted to CAS as this week the challenge is "Tweet'. 

My last card was an experiment from beginning to end.  I wanted to try no line Copic coloring.  I also wanted to have more than one pumpkin.  

The image from the Oh So Grateful stamp and die set was stamped in Memento Desert Sand ink.  Then I masked that and added another pumpkin and some additional leaves. 
Then I had the real challenge of no line coloring.  Oh boy.  This is not easy.  I have waaaaay too much ink on these pumpkins, because I had a hard time deciding where to start and how to have light and dark areas without the black lines.  It really should not be that hard, but it was! 

When it came to actually making the card, I had a hard time settling on a layout.  I added some splatters of watered down grey acrylic paint.  The sentiment is from Fond Expressions stamp set.  It is stamped in grey since there is no black anywhere else on the card.  I thought it would look funny in black.  Not sure I like it in the grey though...  learning, learning...
I am linking my last card up to the 'Just Us Girls' Challenge which has an inspiration photo this week~

Visit all 3 colorists' blogs and leave a comment to be entered to win a gift certificate from Stamplorations.  You can start HERE at the Stamplorations blog.  

Thanks so much for stopping by and happy coloring! 

Lee Ann 

Beautiful in Blues

Hello All!

I have been wanting to use this Unity stamp for forever, but things kept getting in the way of free time crafty time.  I finally pulled out the image and my Ken Oliver Colorbursts last night. My colors were inspired by a gorgeous floral from Tae Eun Yoo.  My sketch is from Sunday Stamps.

  I have to say, this is so much prettier in real life.  But between the overcast day, the embossing and the glitter glue, no amount of editing or photography was going to fix this. 
The Unity image was heat embossed in black ep, then water colored with Ken Olive Colorbursts on water color paper.  I fussy cut the image out and then created my background; first, I die cut a large scalloped rectangle (MFT) in white cs.  Then, with Cracked Pistachio and Evergreen Bough Distress inks using masking, I sponged a rectangle.  I used this sketch~

 The sentiment is heat embossed on vellum.  I added Dazzling Details to the flower centers and finished the card off with sequins.

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  

Bring on Fall

Hello, Hello!

I took the opportunity to play in a couple of challenges, using this gorgeous Power Poppy image.

I used this week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches~

And am also playing in Time Out Challenges, which has this gorgeous inspiration photo~

As well as Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge, 'Bling it on'.

The background is stamped in a light warm gray color and then the same image was stamped with Memento ink, colored with Copics, and fussy cut out.

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann

Pattern within a Background

Hello! 

I have a quick card to share today, using Prismacolor pencils and gold embossing powder. 

My background stamp is from Technique Junkies, Stained Glass.  The image was stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with gold embossing powder.  I used Prismacolor pencils to color in selected areas of the image.  A die cut sentiment and a few sequins finish it off! 

If you want to shop at Technique Junkies, you can get a 10% discount on your entire cart (minus clearance items) using code TJ10LeeAnn. 

Happy Weekend! 

Lee Ann