Paper Craftin' with Erica

Create a Critter Bunny

Here's an 8x8 scrapbook page I made for a class at My Creative Classroom with Cara Miller.  It features the bunny (and carrot) from the Create a Critter Cricut cartridge.  Aren't they adorable?!  I outlined the eyes, nose, and ears of the bunny with Copic Spica glitter pens (same for the carrot).

I spritzed all three die-cuts with Sparkle Shimmer Spritz.  Can you tell through the picture?  I also used my Cricut markers to draw the "friends" before cutting it out.  There are just so many things that a photo will not capture with crafty pics.  Thanks for stopping by!  XOXOXOXO

Wishes Do Come True

Here's a card I made for a birthday card swap in The Angel Company's Paper Crafting Community and challenge in our Artistic Paper Crafting group.  I used the Maggie paper collection from The Angel Company, as well as a stamp from their Cupcake Cuties set.  I colored my cupcake with Copics, but didn't do too much shading because I covered my cupcake with sprinkles (glitter).  I then airbrushed the smaller Spellbinder diecut.

Challenges Covered: (1) Crafty Cardmakers - Special Birthdays; (2) Charisma Cardz - Birthday for a Teen; (3) Paper Cutz - Three Patterened Papers.

I've been staying pretty busy with school work and work/work.  I attended my first doctoral Residency in Denver last month (drove 14 hours straight to get there).  It was an awesome experience.  I have to complete 4 Residencies before my dissertation (within the next two years).  It's a lot of work, so I won't be posting as much as I'd like.

I hope you all are doing well.  Take care!  XOXOXO

First EVER Cricut Cruise

Wow!  It’s been a SUPER long time since I’ve posted.  That’s because I’ve been SUPER busy.  Last month I went to Denver for my first doctoral Residency.  It was a wonderful experience.   What’s even more wonderful is that we just got back from a Cricut Cruise.  Yep, you read it right.  Brenda and I went on a 5-day cruise to Key West and the Bahamas and it was a Cricut crafting cruise, nonetheless!

It was held by Cara Miller who is just absolutely wonderful.  She’s also the creator of the Whisper, which I just had to purchase while on the cruise.  Cara taught us all the inner-workings of the Cricut and how to cut chipboard, transparency, shrink plastic, vellum, and vinyl.  She also taught us how to use the markers, which I was always too afraid to use.  We made a ton of fun projects and spent a lot of fun time together.  It was such an amazing experience.

There I am way in the back.  Lucky for YOU Cara is hosting ANOTHER Cricut Cruise in October!  Unfortunately, I can't make this one.  My doctoral studies are just too demanding; however, you have a great opportunity in front of you.  Visit Cruise & Crop for more info.  I will be posting pics of some of my cruise creations soon!  Thanks for stopping by!  XOXOXO

Valentine... Simply Put

Valentine's Day is coming up and I wanted to make Merceydeis something quick, special, and cute.  I also wanted to participate in the iCopic Color Challenge (red, pink, and purple) which is perfect for the Valentine spirit.  Here's what I came up with.

I started with this cute little alien from the Valentine stamp set from The Angel Company and colored her with my Copic markers.  I then covered her entirely in glossy accents, which actually turned out pretty cool despite the fact that I dropped her and smudged her head (which you can, in fact, see).   I then cut her out and adhered her with a pop dot to a tag from the Maggie paper collection.

I added little heart candies to a baggie and stapled the bagggie to the back of the tag.  I then glued another tag over the staple and stamped "Valentine" on the front using the same stamp set.  How cute is that?  I hope she likes it.  Anyway, thanks for stopping by.  **HUGS**

A Card After Surgery

Well, I've been on the fritz for a while.  I recently had surgery and recovery was harsh.  I thought I'd be up and running in no time.... well, um, no.  It didn't happen as planned.  So, now that I'm feeling somewhat better, I'm swamped with work.  Anyway, here's a card I just made for a CafeMom challenge over at Stampers Anonymous.

I used the Wonder and Joy stamp set from The Angel Company and the Toodle Loo paper collection.  Copics I used = V01 ,V04, V06, E00, E13, E15, E15, E17, E93, Y08, G05, B24.  I also airbrused although you really can't see it in the picture.  I used G05 to lightly airbrush a 'grassy' background and B24 to lightly airbrush a 'sky' background.  Oh and guess what else I used?  Anyone remember these?

I found them in one of my MANY stashes collecting dust.  They're fastenaters by EK Success.  They were really popular at one time.  They're like really huge staples.  They have all kinds of colors and some with words/sayings.  Anyway, the trio went along with my sketch.... so, why not?  Well, I must get back to "real" work.  Take care and thanks for visiting.  XOXOXO

Copic Color Theory

The numbers and letters on your marker represent the three classifications within the Copic color system.  They are:

B - Blue; BV - Blue Violet; V - Violet; RV - Red Violet; R - Red; YR - Yellow Red; Y - Yellow; YG - Yellow Green; G - Green; BG - Blue Green; E - Earths; C - Cool Grays; N - Natural Grays; T - Toner Grays; W - Warm Grays

Intermediate Classification = Color Saturation - Lower numbers are vibrant; higher numbers have more gray.

Specific Classification = Color Brightness - Lower numbers are light and the higher numbers are dark.

It can be overwhelming when you first look at all of the Copic colors and see the strange letter/number values.  However, once you understand the system, you will quickly be able to decipher what the color qualities of a  maker are simply by reading the cap number.  Please refer to the Copic Color Wheel found on my sidebar.

Color Letter - The letter represents the color family.  All of the color families except E follow the same basic rules.

Color Saturation or Intensity Number - Saturated colors are on the outside of the wheel.  This is the first number in a color.  The 0 in the first number shows that it is a vibrant color.  They tend to be in the 0's, 10's or 20's.

Color Brightness Number - The last digit on any color shows how bright or light that color is.

Some common mistakes beginners make when picking Copic colors:

1. Colors are too dark; on uncoated papers pick lighter colors than you think.  It's easier to go darker than to lighter.
2. Colors are too vibrant; vibrant colors catch the eye, so people often purchase them, but when they get home to coordinate markers with a project, they find the super-bright colors aren't as useful.
3. Not enough colors to blend; you need to get two colors in each family.
4. Not enough contrast between colors; in many color families you need to jump more than 2 digits to get colors that will blend and still show up as being different.

When applying the number system to work, think about the images you will be coloring before you pick your colors.  If you will be coloring more earthy or muted images, like forests or antique pictures, choose colors that are less saturated.  This includes colors in the 70's, 80's, or 90's... like BG93 or G99.  If you are coloring bright things like children's toys or spring flowers, you might want to pick colors that are in the 0's, 10's or 20's like Y08, RV04 or G14.

Natural Blending Groups

In each color family, you can break down the full range of colors into small sequences, such as B20-B29.  These colors are called a Natural Blending Groups.  These are colors that naturally go well together.  This is no saturation variation, only brightness variation.  When you blend these colors together you know that the colors will perfectly coordinate.

For blends to look more natural, pick colors from the same blending group.  In general, keep a 2-4 digits difference between the last numbers and keep the letter and first number the same.

Have a 'Hoppy' Day

So, I'm back in the game!  Yay!  For what seemed like FOREVER, I lost my mojo.  However, I found it and have been creating like crazy.  Here is just one thing I've made recently.  It's one of my favorites.  This was supposed to be my creation for the "From the Heart" TAC Blog Hop, but I didn't get it posted in time.  I used the Valentine stamp set from The Angel Company, as well as their More Mimi paper collection.  I used Copics YG05, YG07, and YG09 to color mr. froggy and Spica Glitter pens (olive and pink) to color in the flower. 

I airbrushed the background behind mr. froggy with RV93 and I think I over-did it because I think it took some depth away from mr. froggy.  Anyway, I outlined mr. froggy with my colorless blender to make him pop.  The ribbon in the background is from the Mia's Cottage collection and the little pearl hearts can be found in the Bright Gem Collection.  I hope you all had a wonderful and 'fun' New Year... I certainly did... perhaps a little TOO much.  ;-)  Thanks for stopping by.  XOXOXO

Raabe Family Scrapbook Page

I created this layout as a gift to our friends, the Raabe family.  I just love it.  I used the Maggie paper collection from The Angel Company.  It's one of our newer paper collections and the colors were just PERFECT for their picture.  The two tags and three paper circles are also from the Maggie collection.  The picture I took does the layout no justice.

 

I used the coordinating Maggie ribbon miscellaneous flowers, and miscellaneous bling.  I also stamped the word "Family" on the tag on the left with a stamp from the Marvelous Mottos set from The Angel Company, as well.  Finally, I used some pieces from the Bright Gem Collection.  I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas.  Thanks for stopping by!

2010 Christmas Card

This is our Christmas card this year.  I was a little late getting them out, but I sent the last of them yesterday.  It's super cute... and super easy because all cardmakers know... they need to be easy when you're mass-producing them.

The stamp is from the Jingle Jolly stamp set from The Angel Company.  I used Fruit Cake Kaleidacolor ink... ink that I haven't used in FOREVER!  After matting the "tree" I added staples for accents.  The background paper is actually cardstock that I dry embossed.

I'll "see" you sometime after Christmas.  Happy Holidays to all of my followers!

PerarlEx Thanks AND an Eclipse Shout-Out

I made this card for a tutorial on my CafeMom group, Stampers Anonymous.  I used the Ever So Thankful stamp set from The Angel Company and rocked it.  I used StazOn ink to stamp on the clear acetate... then ran it through my Xyron... then PearlEx'd it... then ran it through the Xyron again... then finished off my card.

I also dry embossed it and sanded the raised portion to make the embossing pop.  Cool, huh?

And now, to the really good stuff...

 

Although this is a "paper craftin" blog, I have to give a shout-out to ECLIPSE.  Woot!  Woot!  I can't believe it's coming out this Saturday!  Anyone going to a release party?   Holla if your a Twilight Saga fan!!  Thanks for visiting my blog!  **HUGS**