Just One More...

It's hard to stop at just one... so Anesha created four! Check out these fabulous, colourful, and oh so sweet cards created with the new Sweet Thing set of digital stamps.

Anesha's Blog

Selected, retired digital stamps at an incredibly low price for just 48 hours.

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digital stamps

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LAST DAYS!

There are still a few more days before the end of our Digital Stamp Sale and the retirement of some old favourites. Grab a bargain while you can!

Jurassic Easel Card

I love creating easel cards, they're quick and easy and always look fabulous when standing open for display. I decorated this one with the cute little triceratops from the new Jurassic Joy set of clear stamps, then scattered some sequins for a little sparkle and colour.

Stamps:

Tutorial - Flamingo to a Stork

Today I have a couple of ideas to show you. Firstly, we're going to use colour to transform one of the flamingos into a stork, and secondly, we're going to stand that stork in a shallow pool of water.

To transform our flamingo into a stork is a simple matter of choosing different colours. Rather than the bright pink of the flamingo, we're going to use a range of cool greys to add shadows to our white stork.

The darkest grey I'm using is a C3 (copic marker), which is applied under his belly, under his wings and neck. I'll slowly work this colour out with C2, C1, C0 and then the 0 marker. It's important to work the colour all the way out to white rather than leave a line. A graduation of grey will look like shadows rather than grey feathers.

Colour the beak and legs with orange, yellow or a darker grey. I've used copic markers YR16, YR14 and YR12. You'll notice that the brighter, more vivid colours will provide a further contrast for the grey shadows making the bird's body appear lighter.

Now we're going to add a pebble bed for the stork to stand on. Start by colouring various sized ovals with the C3. Make sure there are a few partial ovals under the stork's feet... you don't want him floating around in the water.

Add a curved line with a C5 marker along the bottom of each of the ovals. Use the tip of the marker and work along the edge of each oval, adding the darker grey over the top of the lighter grey.

Use a C4 marker between the C5 and the C3 to blend them slightly. Don't worry too much about the blending as we're going to add more colour over the top.

Use a C7 marker to add a shadow below each oval. The shadow is "underneath" each stone. Dot in some smaller pebbles here and there.

Fill in the white spaces with the C6 marker. Don't colour over the ovals, but do blend into the C7.

Use the lightest blue you have to add water over all the stones and half way up the storks lower legs. I've used a BG0000. Don't overwork the colour or your stones will start to mottle and the darker grey ink will break down.

Add a few streaks of BG000 to the water to give the impression of ripples.

Apply a slightly darker blue to the section of the stork's legs that are under water. I've used BG10. Again, don't overwork the colour or it will mottle - just add a layer or two.

Time for some penwork. Add a tiny line across the stork's legs where they meet the water. Don't add it right at the top of the blue area, but slightly lower so that the stork looks as though it's legs are surrounded by water. Make a few curved lines to indicate ripples.

To finish, add some grasses or reeds into the background, just above the waterline. Keep the colours very light so they don't stand out too much - I used YG00 and YG0000.

Digital Stamps:

She's A Star!

A bright and happy card from Karin today, featuring one of the quirky characters from the Flockstar set of digital stamps.

Karin's Blog

Sweet Thing

Deanne has added a touch of glitter and a little extra shine to one of the images from the new Sweet Thing set of digital stamps. There's nothing like a little sparkle and shine to make your birthday extra special!

Deanne's Blog

Tutorial - Adding Sprinkles

Here's a quick tutorial for adding "sprinkles" to your donuts or cupcakes.

1. Print the donut image and colour with your choice of medium. I've used alcohol markers on a sheet of blending card. As you can see from the image below, I completely ignored the sprinkles as I coloured.

2. Next, select a variety of liquid accents, such as Nuvo drops or Liquid Pearls, which will give the sprinkles some dimension. You can also use gel or paint pens, but the colour will sit flush on your paper. (TIP: if you're also using patterned paper on your card, select colours from the paper for a nice coordinated look)

3. Apply the colours to the sprinkles. In areas where there is overlap, allow the first colour to dry completely before applying the second colour over the top.

Digital Stamps:

A Splash Of Colour

Today's card features just the top portion of one of the flamingos from the Flockstar digital stamp set. I used colourful papers with a tropical vibe for my background, and fussy cut some of the large leaves to embellish around my sentiment.

Digital Stamps:

Tutorial - Colouring The Cosmos

Cosmos flowers come in a wonderful range of beautiful colours, including fiery reds and oranges, which is what I want to show you today. I'm also demonstrating the no-line colouring technique that results in images that look hand painted rather than stamped. If you prefer, you can use pencils or paints rather than markers, and you can choose whatever colour palette matches your theme.

1. Start by stamping your image twice with a light coloured, water-based ink. Make sure you select paper that is appropriate for the mediums you'll be using to colour - in my case, I'm using alcohol markers so I've chosen blending card for my base.

2. Select several shades of red and orange for your flowers. You'll want a nice dark shade for the shadow areas and a lighter shade for the highlights. (I chose copic markers YR12, YR14, YR16, YR18 and YR27 for the orange flowers and R22, R24, R27, R29 and R59 for the red.)

3. Start by adding a base layer of the lightest shade. In the image below, I'm colouring a red flower so have started the petal with R22.

4. I prefer to add my shadows first and then work into the highlights, so the next colour I use is the darkest shade of red - R59. Apply this at the base of the petal using little flicking strokes that radiate outward from the centre.

5. Next comes the R29. Again colouring with little flicking strokes, colour over the top of the R59 and make your way further out along the petal. Add a little to the edge of the petal, which will create a "crease".

6. Using the R27, extend the colour further while blending with the R29.

7. Add more colour with the R24, leaving only the highlight area free.

8. Finish with the lightest colour, R22. This will blend the last colours together and leave a nice smooth transition along the length of your petal.

9. Add the R22 as a base for the next petal and start the process again.

10. For petals that are "under" other petals, you want to add the darkest shade along the sides to "push" the petal backward. Remember that dark colours recede, so adding the darkest red will give the impression that the petal is further back than the ones on either side. Continue blending the colours until you reach the lightest shade.

11. Repeat for the remaining red flowers, and then continue the process for the orange flowers.

12. Once your colouring is done, fussy cut both images with a small pair of sharp scissors, leaving a narrow white border.

13. Use a trimmer or guillotine to cut each image in half so that you have four "corners".

14. Use the corners to decorate your card as desired.

Clear Stamps: