Happy Whimsical Wednesday Week 18

Stamp: Sweet Pea Stamps: "It's My Birthday"
[click pics for larger view]

It is week 18 of the Diedrich Dare's Whimsical Wednesday challenges!! This week is another wonderful sketch challenge created by Jessica's son, Jack! This week's hostess is the amazing, Kris so be sure to check out the DD blog for her adorable feature card!

If you play along, please link up your creation to Mr. Linky at the Diedrich Dare Blog or with keyword DDSC18 over at Splitcoaststampers.com

Please be sure to check out the rest of the wonderful Daredevil crew:

Debbie Lee
Heather Schlatter {delayed -feel better Heather!}
Jacqueline Nordaune
Jacquie Peifer
Jessica Diedrich {delayed due to a 'tea incident' ;o) hugs Jess}
Kim Ross
Kris Palakiko
Rebecca Ednie
Sandra MacLean
Val Urtiaga

Also be sure to stop by the all new Flutter By Wednesday challenge blog for some amazing blog candy opportunities! This week's challenge #92 is an open call for winged creatures! FUN!

Supplies:
Sweet Pea Stamps: "It's My Birthday" Ching-Chou Kuik's Fantasy Art Collection
Copic Markers
DP: Sassafras, DCWV, K&Co
Sakura clear stardust gelly roll pen
MS heart punch

Flutter By Wednesday's New Blog

Stamp: Sweet Pea Stamps - "Come Softly"

Flutter By Wednseday has a new blog! In honor of the new blog, this week's challenge is to use something Fluttery and New!! So, I inked up my newest Sweet Pea Stamp! I love this gorgeous sprite and her moth! Be sure to check out the Flutter By Wednesday blog for some more fluttery goodness from the DT!

I have more exciting news!! The AMAZING, Traci Porter, aka Wickedpixie is the newest DT member for Sweet Pea Stamps!! Check out her exquisite first post here! Her work is SO magical! Congrats Traci!!


This is a fast and easy hair coloring techinque. I used E40 to outline some areas, added a few RV000 highlights which I blended into the V12 colored swirls, and shaded with W3. I then added some streaks of Sakura Clear Stardust.

This image is "Come Softly" from Ching-Chou Kuik's Fantasy Art Collection, Sheet #5, plate #25.

Copic Markers:
Skin: E50, E11, RV000
Hair: E40, W3, RV000, V12
Eyes: BG15, Boo
Moth: BG15, B00, E55, E71, E47
Background: YG21, YG0000, B00

Prima: Black pearl swirls


THANKS FOR STOPPING BY AND HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!!!

Mary's GLITTER Challenge for FFF!

Stamp: The Greeting Farm-Wild Sprout, Dahlia
[click pic for larger view]

WELCOME BACK to The Greeting Farm's first Farm Fresh Friday of 2010!
We're excited to be back with some super fun challenges for you each Friday and can't wait to see how YOU get Fresh with the Farm!

Today we also are excited to announce the new "Brand Name" for Marina Neira's animal line! We are SO pumped about the TGF "Critter Crew" brand of stamps that we are actually celebrating by putting a little blog badge out there for all of you to proudly display on your blogs, too!

Marina's animal stamps come in digital designs and rubber! There's something for everyone in the TGF Critter Crew line of stamps!

Also, please join me in welcoming our Jan/Feb 2010 CRITTER CREW GUEST DESIGNERS! We've put a team of three AMAZING gardener-alum together for a limited time to celebrate the official name and and re-launch of the CRITTER CREW....and when you SEE how these gals can color, you won't be surprised to welcome back:
MERCY KERIN
SANDRA MACLEAN, and
SPARKLE SMITH!

These super talented and sweet gals will be bringing you tons of critter cuteness so be sure to check out the blogs!

Now, onto the challenge!

This week's challenge comes from our beloved new Farmer Mary Giles! Mary challenges us this week to Use Glitter....and Glue! in your project. Could be loose glitter (ack!), Stickles, whatevah ;) Just make it sticky and sparkly, LOL....and you're there!

Fantastic challenge Mary!! You know how I LOVE sparkle! For my card I used Stickles AND glitter!

Want some inspiration? Check out the line up and view the rules at the TGF blog!!

My card was also inspired by this weeks all new Wild Card Wednseday CASE challenge over at the Club Anya and Friends blog! Hope you play along with our challenges this week!

**Please be sure to check out my latest Copic Tutorial below!! Thanks!**

Sweet Pea Tutorial Newspaper Color Wash

[Click images for larger view]

Hello everyone! Wow, I feel like I'm just about fully recovered from the holidays! Hope everyone's New Year is off to a great start!

Today I have a tutorial featuring Sweet Pea Stamps Fantasy Art Collection by Ching-Chou Kuik! To view more projects featuring these images, please be sure to visit the Sweet Pea DT blog!

For this project I used the image "Purple Woods" from Ching-Chou Kuik's Fantasy Art Collection, Sheet #4, plate #24.

This is a variation on the color wash technique and I call it the 'newspaper color wash'.

NEWSPAPER COLOR WASH TUTORIAL:


Stamp your image and then cover the entire image in a grey shade. Here I used Copic Markers in W00 and W3. I put down 2-3 layers of W3, then a layer of W00. You can repeat this to saturate the paper even more. This would work with any of the W shades from W00-W3 and probably any of the C, T, or N shades of grey.

While your coats of grey are still wet start adding your color. Be sure to add your color with a light hand. The key is to have a lot of the grey show through. Sketch or Ciao is best to get the light, brush strokes. Here I added a touch of BOO to her hair.

I then added some BG01 to shade/darken some of the areas I colored with BOO.

Next, I outlined her skin in R01 and colored the eyes in YG03, YG23, and added some RV02 to her lips and the fairy cat's ears.

To add a little more color, I used V12 and YR000 around her. I used the V12 first and then blended out with the YR000 to give it a slight glowy appearance.

I then took my favorite grey, W3 and added some shadows to the fairy cat and other areas that need a deeper shade.

Once I was done with my Copics, I added some Spica glitter pen in mint to her hair and used a Sakura Clear Stardust pen on the fairy cat's wings. I also edged the image in Versamagic Midnight Black.

To make it a little more edgier, I added some black speckles.

This technique is fast and fun! There are so many variations. You can lay any light color down first for a color wash.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial!

Whimsical Wednesday Week 17

Stamp: Paper Makeup Stamps - Penelope

It is week 17 of the Diedrich Dare's Whimsical Wednesday challenges!! This week is a super fun inspiration challenge chosen by Jessica's daughter, Madelynn! This week's hostess is the awesome, JACQUELINE so be sure to check out the DD blog for her feature!

Madelynn's Inspiration Challenge #17


Exciting news: THE DIEDRICH DARE is so excited that we will now be able to offer a MONTHLY PRIZE beginning in January 2010! Our GENEROUS SPONSORS will be offering a prize the FIRST week of each month and we are so grateful for this!

Our first sponsor and PRIZE for 2010 is Paper Makeup Stamps! For my card I used one of the adorable fairies, Penelope, from the PMS Beautiful Day Fairies line. Thanks for the sponsorship Katie! To see more cards with PMS stamps, be sure to check out the rest of the Daredevils blogs this whole month and check out the beautiful PMS blog!

If you play along, please link up your creation to Mr. Linky at the Diedrich Dare Blog or with keyword DDSC17 over at Splitcoaststampers.com
Please be sure to check out the rest of our Daredevil crew:

Val Urtiaga
Sandra MacLean
Kris Palakiko
Kim Ross
Jessica Diedrich
Jacquie Peifer
Jacqueline Nordaune
Heather Schlatter
Darla Wilson

Anya's New Year's Mask-erade Ball!

Happy New Year!!! Please see my first TGF/CA&F post below for detail on today's festivities!!

WELCOME to my challenge hour at the IN WITH THE NEW bash at the new and improved Club Anya and Friends!

ANYA'S NEW YEAR'S MASK-ERADE BALL!

Make a creation, using any mask technique. Regular masking, reverse masking, or alter with masking.

Here's a few tutorials for you.

Technique #1: MASKING TO COMBINE IMAGES

Stamp your image twice. Cut one image out to use as your MASK.



Cut the image along the black lines to get the best results.



Place the cut out image directly over the top of the other stamped image, to MASK it, or in other words cover the image. If you want, you can use some temporary adhesive to hold it in place.

After covering your image with your mask, stamp over it with your second image.



This is what it will look like. Press down evenly to get the image to stamp all the way up to the lines of your first image. If some of the lines don't show up, just use a fine black pen to fill them in.




This is how your image should look so far, once you remove the mask.



Add as many images as you want!





Technique #2: REVERSE MASKING

Stamp your image twice. (I've used two different color cardstocks so you can see better)



Cut out your skirt. (Or, what ever part of the image you want to isolate, to stamp on.)




Place the mask over your image.

Stamp your decorative stamps over the mask.



Here is the result.




Hope you have fun with these techniques!! I am looking forward to all of your creations!! Thanks for playing along with us today!!

IN WITH THE NEW at The Greeting Farm!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Today is the DAY! The FIRST day of 2010, RELEASE DAY at The Greeting Farm, and the GRAND OPENING of the CLUB ANYA & FRIENDS CHALLENGE BLOG!

To kick off our celebration, ALL NEW RELEASES are available at 9AM CST on the TGF site.

Now you can all go and buy your own new Wild Sprouts designed by the extraordinary Amy Young! These adorable girls have been so much fun to create with!

Also, we are hosting an ENTIRE DAY of CHALLENGES on the CLUB ANYA & FRIENDS Blog...beginning at 9AM CST so be sure to come over and party with us! The TGF DT and Team Anya have joined forces for this release and EACH member has a SPECIAL CHALLENGE for you today so head on over, check out our new 'digs', grab a badge, or two....and CELEBRATE the NEW YEAR with The Greeting Farm!

In addition, the TGF Blog is hosting our 12th and FINAL Sketch Challenge of our "12 DAYS OF SKETCHES" so be sure to head on over, check out the sketch, and see who won last week's FFF challenge, too! Also, be sure to WELCOME the other NEW FARMERS as we officially start our term TODAY! Our 12 Days of Sketches challenge has been a HUGE SUCCESS and we thank you all for your participation! Remember, you have until SUNDAY, 1/3/10 at 8PM CST to complete all 12 and be entered to win the GRAND PRIZE. ONE RANDOM WINNER who completes all 12 sketches will WIN the ENTIRE JANUARY RELEASE TODAY (not incl. the presale on the new Happy Day set).Have a great time ringing in the NEW Year with our "IN WITH THE NEW at TGF" BASH going on NOW at the Club ANYA and FRIENDS BLOG! Remember, for today's hourly challenges, each challenge winner will receive a new Sprout of their choice, so be here to party with us! Live overseas? No problem! Challenges will be open through SUNDAY, 1/3/10 at 8pm CST. WINNERS will be announced on the TGF blog and CA blog on Monday, 1/4, along with the winner of the 12 days of Sketches contest. In addition to each individual challenge, ANOTHER prize pack of the ENTIRE Jan. release will go to a random winner who completes ALL of the New Year's Challenges!

Thank you for your support and friendship the past year, and for making 2009 such a HUGE success for The Greeting Farm, and thanks for being here for the NEW YEAR, NEW RELEASE, NEW BLOG and TONS of NEW FUN to be had on the FARM in 2010!!!

Happiest New Year wishes to everyone!!

Supplies:
The Greeting Farm: Wild Sprouts- Stella, Ruby, and Gigi
DP: Prima
Copic Markers; Spica glitter pen