Guest Designer January 2015 - Kym Upshaw

I was delighted to be offered a Guest Designer role for Sweet Pea Stamps for January 2015.

There are far too many gorgeous images to choose from but in the end I ended up choosing an image from Enys Guerrero called "Minerva" which is available as a digital stamp.

I have wanted to make one of these 4 drawer easel cards for a long time now.  The image to me cried out for colourtones of grey, black and white and a steampunk feel.

 I have coloured the image in with my Graph'it pens and fussy cut around the image.

 I have used lots and lots of different dies to create the effect I wanted.  As it is something to go on my craft desk I have added a calendar and post-it note holder.

 I have decorated the card inside and out along with all the drawers.

 The drawers are now holding brads, die-cut shapes and some sentiments printed off from a CD.

I am pleased how this has come out and will enjoy it sitting on my craft desk throughout 2015.

If you want to see the full details on how I made this 4 drawer easel card please pop on over to my blog.

Many thanks to Lynette and the Sweet Pea Stamps Design Team for having me.

A journey begins?

When Enys Guerrero's Minerva became available in the shop, I knew I had to color her right away. I absolutely love that stamp, cause it sparks my imagination. Who is she? Why is she standing in front of that gorgeous tapestry? Is she a circus member? A steampunk girl? I can really see her being colored in so many different ways. And used for so many different cards.

I'm leaving my comfort zone a little lately, and making cards with folds I don't useally make. Once again, I have no idea what this fold is called, but I really love the dynamics the card has, with the diagonal lines.

I've used copics to color her in. No surprise there. And these are the ones I used:
Skin: E0000, E000, E00, E21, E13
Hair: T3, T5, T7, T9
Purple: BV0000, BV000, V20, V22, V25
Yellow: Y32, Y17, E31
Drapes: W0, W1, W3
Dark purple: BV23, BV25, BV29
Eyes: B000, B01, B02
Lips: R30, R32, R35

I love that this card has a 'hidden' pocket, behind the image. So I used a Tim Holtz tag die, to make a matching tag. And thought it fitting with a key, since the image have this gorgeous keyhole. I'm thinking I could use this card to someone who's just recently bought a new home. Or perhaps someone embarking on a new 'journey' of their life, like entering college.

I kept the inside fairly simple, but I love how you can just see a hint of that cameo, even when the card is closed. The gorgoues image is  available at the Sweet Pea Stamp Store as a digi stamp..

Thanks so much for stopping by today.
- Lina

Meet Minerva

 Here's a great image from a brand new artist at Sweet Pea stamps.  I was so excited to see her images!  This one is one of my favorites, she's called Minerva by Enys Guerrero.  Drop by the store and check out all her images, I also really love the Sad Valentine image from her.

 

Here's a close up of the colored image that I made, be sure and check out the artist's coloring, so you can see how very different it looks with my color combo here:

 

I hope you are all having a great week!  Can you believe we are already in April? I know I can't!  Did you all know we have a contest going? I hope you will all join in. I know I have created a fun card for you to see (click here). I do so love those cute little bunnies and duckies!!  Join in the fun, it ends on the 15th, so get your cards ready to share!

 

Cheers, Holley