Happy Life

Happy Monday Everyone! I thought I would 'officially' share this card here on the Sweet Pea Stamps blog. I had created this card for the Sweet Pea Stamps New Release party back in October and wanted to share it here. This beauty is called Dragonfly Fantasy. She is available as an individual stamp or as part of a whole plate, Fantasy Art Sheet 2 (plate 21).

I was really, really intimidated at first. I mean there is a lot to color and such detail BUT it all came together, lol. It really was fun and didn't take any time at all. And because it is fantasy, I could really go wild with the colors (which I didn't – yet)! I'm thinking all those special techniques for paper like shaving cream swirls, etc…. would be perfect to use with these images. Oh the ideas are spinning in my head…let's hope I can actually act on some of them before they disappear.

I used Copic markers to color her. Whenever I use Copics to color images, I always use Neenah Crest Ultra Smooth 80lb card stock. I generally use Solar White or if I want an off white or ivory card stock, I use Millstone (also from Neenah). I like the way the Copics work on this type of cardstock and I order it by the ream which is cheaper. This card stock allows me to push the darker inks to create shadows. Now, there are many many different ways to use Copics, it's just basically what works for you and the type of look one is wanting to achieve. There is no right or wrong way to use these alcohol markers.

The rest of the card stock including the card base is from Stampin' Up! I had some ribbon in my stash which came from Michaels. It came on these really neat spools, so when they put them in the clearance bin, I snagged them up. The brads are from JoAnn's and were purchased 2 years ago. CK had a scrapbook line at JoAnn's which was discontinued. I picked up all kinds of embellishments and brads for 25 cents a pack. Can't go wrong with that!

I hope you like her and remember, it doesn't matter what coloring medium you use, these beautiful stamps are a lot of fun to color. Be sure to stop by the Sweet Pea Stamps shop to check out all the fabulous stamps.