Trena's Creative Space

Sizzlin' Summer

Monica and Tim are having a contest and I'm gettin' in on it.  This really cool cat is a free down loadable image. Visit Talk to the Ham to find out more!! My cat is dreaming of ice cream - something I do all summer long...

1. After downloading the image, I opened word.doc and inserted it. I made it larger because I wanted a big cool cat!
2. Loaded white card stock into my printer and printed the image.
3. Colored him with markers. I have an HP ink jet printer and have now learned to not get too close to the lines with my markers. :o)
4. To give the cat a bit of texture, I colored in tight circles and then went back over him in larger circles, and in a few spots a third time in tight circles - being careful not to put too much ink on. Too much marker will tear away the paper.
5. Stamped the ice cream truck image on white cards stock and colored with markers.
6. Cut images out with die cuts and assembled card. I traced around the scalloped circle with a black marker. I purposely make it "not neat" and squiggly - it's a dream.... 
7. Stamped sentiment with black ink and drew little dream bubbles

Stamps:  Hambo Stamps & Hambo digi image
Paper: Stampin' Up! whisper white, green galore
Inks: Memento tuxedo black
Accessories: Tombo Markers 5/4/2009 added colors: 055, 062, 173, 491, 533, 535, 761, 905, 912, N15, N95, Nestabilities

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena

Blah Blah Blah on The Phone

Do you know anyone who talks and talks and talks on the phone? If you don't, it might be you :o) I have people in my life that this cute little guy from Hambo Stamps reminds me of, and sometimes it is me!

1. Stamped the pig image with black ink on watercolor paper.
2. Scribbled marker on non-stick surface. Picked up color with waterbrush. I tried coloring direct  on the paper and then spreading the color with the waterbrush, but it was too dark, so I switched methods. For the darker areas, i.e. his ears and nose, I colored directly on the paper with the marker. I darkened his eyes, inside his ears, his mouth, and hooves with a fine line drawing marker (I need to add some reinker to my ink pad!).
3. I cut out the main parts of the image and ran them  through a sticker maker. For placement, I'll stamp the image again, so the things I cut completely out - phone antenna, balloon string, and his tail - will be there.
4. After all that, I started thinking about the background... I decided on an outdoor scene in a square frame. I wanted to add the cute ice cream truck by Hambo in the background and some trees. I drew a road, sponged in grass, added blades of grass with a marker, drew in some trees and sponged in the sky. I used a stamp from SU! Watercolor Minis to create the tree leaves, using two shades of green (I learned this from Kittie. She has really kool scene stamps). I inked up really well then stamped several times across the trees before reinking. 
5. I used the steps above for the pig to stamp and color the ice cream truck. I used a pink metallic marker to give it some sparkle. I used a clear glitter pen on the windows.
6. I used the same marker coloring technique to add color to the street.
7. I stamped the pig and ice cream truck images in the scene for placement and the little lines, and adhered the cut out images.  I colored in the exhaust from the truck directly with marker.
8. I stamped the sentiment "blah, blah, blah" with VersaFine so it would be dark. I need to buy a Brilliance reinker!
9. Assembled the card and added dew drops and ice cream elements.

Stamps:  Hambo Stamps, Stampin' Up! (retired water color minis)
Paper: Fabriano Artistico Bright White Watercolor Paper Block 140lb, Stampin' Up! whisper white, pretty in pink & designer paper
Inks: Brilliance graphite black, Stampin' Up! green galore, glorious green, ballet blue, brocade blue, VersaFine
Accessories: Marvy LaPlume II 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 51, Tombow blender marker,  waterbrush, Prismacolor .005 Fine Line Marker, Xyron sticker machine, Nestabilities square die cut, Sakura metallic pink & clear glitter pens, sponge, dew drops, ice cream element

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena

Have you met Anthony and Burt?!

They are sooooo cute!They come in different sizes and are just so busy. They celebrate birthdays, have tea parties, watch TV, paint, go fishing, play basketball, play golf, play bingo, and more!  I made this card from the cube stamps set.

1. Stamped image on watercolor paper.
2. With a light green marker, put color down on the edge. Pulled the color into the image with a waterbrush. Repeated this all around the image. Went back in a few spots with dark a green marker to give some contrast.
3. Colored his eyes with white gel pen and then made a small black eyeball with a permanent pen. The watercolor paper is off white.
4. Cut out the image and two smaller bubbles separately, and ran through my little sticker machine
5. Squeezed out Crystal Lacquer on each bubble.
6. With a light gray marker, colored the frog only on the image and stamped on the circle die cut. This gave me a light image for placement and to draw around. I drew a lily pad and water ripples. Added color with markers and waterbrush.
7. Colored words on image with black marker and stamped above the light image of Burt's head. I colored a little too much and created a le boo boo - an extra black mark. At this moment, I knew where that extra bubble would go. :o)
8. Placed Burt on lily pad and Anthony next to him. Found a couple dragon flies that matched the colors. I thread a piece of embroidery floss through each one and adhered them with mini dots.

STAMPS:  Anthony & Burt Cube Stamps
INKS: StazOn Jet Black
PAPER: Strathmore watercolor cold press 140lb, Stampin' Up! bashful blue, tempting turquoise, Hot Off The Press designer paper
ACCESSORIES: Marvy LePlume II Markers 1, 5, 10, 11, 51, 72, Marvy Brush Marker 37, Crystal Lacquer, Sakura white gel pen, Prismacolor .005 Fine Line Marker, watercolor brush, Xyron sticker machine, Nestabilities circle and scalloped dies, embroidery floss, dragonfly buttons from my stash, GlueDots minis

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena

Painted Mailbox

You ever ride down the street and see a hand painted mailbox? I think those are soooo kool!  I bought this stamp image with that in mind. When I was first learning to paint, my stampin' sister Marge trusted me enough to paint her mailbox.  There's a photo below. Although it is inside her garage, her neighbors see it when the doors open. :o)

1. Stamped the image on watercolor paper with archival ink
2. Used waterbrush and travel watercolor kit to paint the image
3. Painted flowers and leaves with acrylic paints

Stamps: Northwoods
Paper: Fabriano Artistico Bright White Watercolor Paper Block 140lb, Stampin' Up! bashful blue, basic black
Inks: StazOn Jet Black
Accessories: Winsor & Newton Travel water color set, waterbrush, Stampin' Up! corner punch, folkArt acrylic paint 455, 652, 901,924, 954, size 6 flat paintbrush

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena

Flowered ATCs with Matching Envelop

1. I started with the envelop. Colored the Happy Thoughts background stamp with multiple  markers and stamped on the envelop fully open and flat.
2. Colored flower images with markers, blending on the stamp, and stamped over writing.
3. For the background of the ATCs, I started at the top of stamp image using a blending blox. I inked from left to right, with the lightest color at the top. For the next row of color, I turned the blox 180 degrees to match the darkest color to the darkest color on the stamp. And, then turned it 180 degrees again for the third row of the background stamp. To create a subtle background,  I stamped  off on a scrap piece of paper before stamping on my ATC base.
4. I inked entire the flower image with VersaMark (use your "dirty pad").
5. I then inked the flower with the blending blox, adding the lightest shade to the inside of the flower.  I colored the flower center with a light green LePlume because it has a  smaller tip, and stamped on the ATC. I did this for each flower on that one ATC.
6. I sprinkled clear embossing powder over it and heat set.  
7. I followed steps 4 - 6 to add the leaves.

Stamps: Dee Gruenig's Watercolor Set 2 & Happy Thoughts Background Stamp & Friends Duets
Paper: Strathmore Artist Trading Card Pack (smooth Bristol sheets), Artist Trading Card Envelop
Inks: Marvy Blending Blox shades of purple, shades of blue, shades of olive, shades of pink, shades of sunrise; VersaMark stamp pad
Accessories:  Marvy Brush Markers 3, 8, 15, 67, 118, 127; Marvy LePlume II 11; Stampin' Up! clear embossing powder

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena

At the Beauty Shop

Here's a finished card using one of the images I colored during my experimenting. For a supplies list and instructions on the ladies under the dryer, go here.

I used decorative paper for the wall paper and ribbon for the baseboard. I used a gray marker to give a little shadow around the ladies' feet. I colored the woman in the picture using the same techniques as the ladies under the dryer. The stamp image is of her holding her hat with one hand. I inked up the image up to just before where her hand touched and filled in the hat with the thin side of a VersaMark marker. It's a bit thicker than the stamp, but overall does not take away from the picture.

In addition to previous supplies, used:
Stamps: RubberNecker
Paper: Stampin' Up! more mustard & decorative paper
Accessories: Tombow markers, VersaMark marker, Stampin' Up! ribbon, Nestabilities

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena

Comparing Markers at the Beauty Shop

 

Markers are one of my favorite mediums to work with. Over the years, with the help of sales and   coupons, I have collected quite a few. I wanted to compare the look of the water based markers I have.  I used this fabulous image from RubberNecker I just got this week. I dig the expression on the ladies' faces and the detail of the image.

1. Ran anti-static bag over watercolor paper. Stamped image on paper, sprinkled with detail  embossing powder and heat set. The embossed edges acts as a damn to keep the color inside an area.
2. Colored the image by adding small dabs, or lines, of color with the markers and then spreading the color with a waterbrush. I worked with one color at a time.
3. Cut the images out. I used a craft knife to get really close in areas too tight for the scissors.

TIPS:

• Keep a paper towel close. If you put too much color down or spread it to any area you don't want it in, dab the area with the clean dry paper towel. If it's not coming up, add a little  clear water. You have to do this right away before it drys.
• If you want the color very light, color the marker on a piece of plastic and pick up color with your waterbrush. You can also use a wet paintbrush.

Stamps: RubberNecker
Paper: Fabriano Artistico Bright White Watercolor Paper Block 140lb
Inks: Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Stampin' Up! detail black embossing powder and embossing buddy, & markers, Tombow Markers, Marvy LePlumeII Markers, waterbrush, craft knife

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena

Geraniums

These cards were inspired by a technique that Jerri uses for many of her designs -  gold embossed image and markers on watercolor paper.  It's really easy and the results are so pretty. I hope you will try it! This geranium image is so lovey, I chose not to use anything around it.

1. Ran anti-static bag over watercolor paper. Stamped image on paper, sprinkled with detail  embossing powder and heat set.  I did this for several images at one time.
2. Colored the image by adding small dabs of color with the markers and spreading the color with a waterbrush, I really like color contrast. For the leaves I used two greens and a yellow. For the pots, I used two shades - a  light and a dark, or came back with the same shade after the first coat dried.  Play around with the colors and see what works for you. I used Tombow markers, but you can use any water based markers for this technique, such as Marvy or Stampin' Up!
3. Cut image out around the border and adhered to card base that matched the color of the pedals.

   

Stamps:  Lockhart
Paper: Fabriano Artistico Bright White Watercolor Paper Block 140lb, Memory Box
Inks: Encore Ultimate Metallic gold
Accessories: Stampin' Up! detail gold embossing powder and embossing buddy, Tombow Markers  N15, 062, 192, 249, 555, 623, 636, 725, 761, 847, 912, 947, 969, 993,  waterbrush

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena

Sweet Peas

For this card I used this month's Stamp of the Month Package from Ellen Hutson. I really dig everything in the package and was inspired by the example.

1. I stamped the flower image on parchment paper. 
2. Colored the image by adding small dabs of color with the markers and spreading the color with a waterbrush
3. I cut the image out with Nestabilities circle die. Cut scalloped layer with Nestabilities die cut.
4. For the first layer of designer paper that went onto the basic card, I cut a small scalloped edge on the right.  I also added a faux white stitched line down the left side with a gel pen.  It's very subtle in the photo.
5. I assembled card and added button elements.

Stamps:  Lockhart
Paper: Valley Forge Parchment Document White, 65 lb,  Memory Box Notecard and Envelope, Basicgrey Porcelain decorative paper
Inks: StazOn stone gray
Accessories: Tombow Markers 062,192, 491, 856,873, Nestabilities circle & scalloped die cuts, waterbrush, small scalloped scissors, Inkssentials opaque pen, Basicgrey Porcelain buttons

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena

Painted Flower Pots

Sharing some flower pots I painted for the vendor fair this past weekend.  I used outdoor paints.

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena

Cupcakes!

Cupcakes are a nice way to say many things - here's one for Happy Birthday.

1. Used Nestabilities die to cut out cup cake and cherry from white card stock.
2. Sponged red onto cherry . I used a gel pen to make an highlight and a brown maker to color the steam.
3. Sponged color on base and frosting. Used markers for sprinkles.
4. On the base card, I used a sticky note to mask inside of card. I sponged marigold along the right side of the card - the open vertical area.
5. Colored direct to cup cake image with markers, blending on stamp.  Stamped randomly in the sponged area. Repeated for cherry and sprinkles. Removed mask.
6. Adhered die cut cup cake onto front
7. Stamped sentiment and smeared it, ahhhhh - a le boo boo! Stamped sentiment again on scrap white card stock and cut out with die cut shape. Covered up le boo boo - card is good to go!

Stamps: Dee Gruenig Sweet Dreams, ATC Mini Words
Paper: Stampin' Up! whisper white, Vertical Inspiration Foldover Cards
Inks: Stampin' Up! chocolate chip, yoyo yellow, creamy caramel, marigold  morning, real red
Accessories: Stampin' Up! Markers chocolate chip, creamy caramel, real red, summer sun, only orange, handsome hunter,  Inkssentials opaque pen, sponge, Nestabilities cup cake die and label cuts

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena

Wishing Well Bunny

I really enjoy Hambo Stamps and bought quite a few with their last release.

1. Stamped image on white card stock.  For the majority of my paper projects with Copics I use Papertrey Ink or Neenah Classic Solar White.  I wanted to try coloring on the Whisper White.  It's good to practice on different papers to see works best for you. The more you practice, the more comfortable you get with your stuff, and the better you get!
2. I colored the image with Copics. I used a metallic pen on the bucket, and a white pen on the bunny's tail and tummy. I cut the image out with a die cut shape.
3. Next,  I masked the image and sponged blue around it for sky. I removed the mask and filled in the blue I missed with a fine tip cotton swab.
4. I colored the grass and added a few blades of grass with a fine tip drawing pen.
5. Put layers together and added a button.

Stamps: Hambo
Paper: Stampin' Up! whisper white, brocade blue, Basicgrey Euphoria decorative paper
Inks: Stampin' Up! brocade blue, Palette noir black
Accessories: Copic Markers, Pigma Micron pen .005, Inkssentials opaque pen, Sakura silver metallic pen, fine tip cotton swab, sponge, Stampin' Up! button, hemp (used in button holes), Nestabilities die cut

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena

Colorful Trees

One of my hands is stuck on Twinkling H20s and the other is stuck to my brayer. :o)  Here is a card very similar to the one we did in Michelle's work shop. I wanted to try the embossing on my own.  I was feeling adventurous!

1. I Inked entire tree image with VersaMark (use your "dirty pad").
2. I then inked up top half of tree image with apricot, the lower half in rose, and trunk in black and stamped onto white card stock. I did this two more times for a row of trees.
3. Sprinkled clear embossing powder over it and heat set
4. Masked a horizontal line with a straight edge sticky note and brayered blue for sky. I brayered 4 or 5 times for a darker sky. Wiped ink of embossed trees with a soft paper towel. I cleaned off my brayer because I was going to another color family. If I were going to brayer with a darker blue, I would not have cleaned it.
5. Brayer green on bottom. I didn't mask. I allowed the green to go into the blue sky for a smokey looking horizon line.
6. I then put a mask under the lowest tree trunk and sponged black around the base of the trees. I sponged a little black across the grass to give it texture.

Stamps: Innovative Stamp Creations
Inks: SU! regal rose, apricot appeal, brocade blue, kiwi kiss, Marvy black
Paper: SU! whisper white, kiwi kiss, basic black
Accessories: brayer, SU! clear embossing powder, sticky notes, heat gun

Take care and STAY POSITIVE!

Trena