Life is a Circus

Hello Crafty Friends,

This time I decided to make a card with a coloring challenge. The image is called: Swinging by AliciaBel.com 

Swinging by AliciaBel.com 

Here's a close-up and you can also see the shimmer better.

I colored the image with Copic markers + 1 Distress Ink:

skin: E21, E11, E13, E21, E37

eyes: W1, W00, E99, 

lips: R21, R22

hair: W7, W5, BG13

clothing: C0, C1, R81, R83, RV34

star: Y23, Y08

background: BG13 and Distress Ink Evergreen Bough

I then added shimmer to the star, stockings, bustier and hat.

Thank you for stopping by,

Katya Bess

7 Kids Crafts: Unicorn ATC

Hello Everyone! 

I hope you are having a nice day. I want to share some Artist Trading Cards I've been working on this month. They were a labor of love for sure. This is my second time making ATCs ever and both times I've done them were for 7 Kids Customers Create! Facebook group. I used a stamp called Kylee's Unicorn, it's not longer at 7 Kids Crafts but there are plenty more items from Picket Fence Studios @ 7kidscrafts.com  I definitely want to buy more of them they are really fun to color. 

I used mostly all Copic markers to color them.

I colored in the pupils, the eyelashes and some of the grass with 

Polychromos pencils. Some of the flowers I colored up with 

watersoluble pencils Supracololor II from Caran D'ache.

I didn't list the skin colors this time but I did record the rainbow colors

and some of the grass colors because it's what I used on all of them mostly.

I wanted all of them to have different colored hair, eyes, skin and dress colors. 

They all have these colors in common for the background
(some varied if my marker was drying out and it's where I put "or")

Rainbow:

V15, B05, G09, Y06, YR04, R17
Sky:
B01 or B000

Meadow:
YG07, YG17 or YG09, YG17

Here's a closer look at each one:

I hope you like the Artist Trading Cards I created
and it would be nice if you would participate in the next 
7 Kids Customers Create! ATC swap, I'm told that
it may be a Coin ATC, it's still to be announce.

I also make a YouTube video, I still get nervous
making / speaking on videos I don't know why but
you can see them there as well, just click the link:
Unicorn ATC Swap YouTube video


Thank you so much for visiting. 

Katya Bess 

We're All A Little Mad Here

Hello Friends, 

Happy Saturday! Today I wanted to share a card that I made with this fabulously drawn image by Annie Rodrigue. You can find her digital stamps here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/moonlightwhispers

I have so much fun when I color up her images because they have these faces and body positions that are animated and full of life. I really love the expression with Alice and Cheshire Cat sitting on her head. When coloring up this scene I was immediately taken back to the Disney movie where she meets him and she asked him where to go and she's like I don't know. Haha  So I drew up some basic tree trucks and some basic directionals signs and set them in a dark location. 

Here's an excerpt of the story: 

“Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?

The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.

Alice: I don't much care where.

The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go.

Alice: ...So long as I get somewhere.

The Cheshire Cat: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.”

Moonlight Whispers - We're All A Little Mad Here

I only used Copic markers this time to color them up and to create my scene.
I didn't even use a die this time to keep more of the background scene,
but I cropped it just enough for a tiny bit of white border.

Alice:

E0000, E000, E00, E11, R30, BV000, E04

W3, W1, W0, B21, B24

B21, B24

Y21, E53, E34
C5, C7

Dress:
C0, C1, C0, C5
B21, B24, B37

Cat:

R83, V05, V15, V17

Y06, Y26

RV29

Hat:
YG95, YG97, G46
R17, R27, R39
C7

Grass:
YG95, YG97, G46

Sky:
B41, B37, B45

Trees:
E70, E71, E74, E77

I hope you liked my card. I really loved making it and
it'll be on it's way to a friend that loves Alice in Wonderland.

Thank you so much for stopping by. 

Katya Bess

7 Kids Crafts: My heart belongs to only you

Hello Everyone! 

Today I was featured in the 7kidscrafts.com Newsletter for the Walk-Thru Wednesday. To be able to get these Walk-Thru-Wednesday tips and step-by-step tutorials from the 7kidscrafts.com Design Team, all you have to do is join the mailing list. 

This month there is a special flower section that is featured as Vendor of the Month sale and when you use code FLOWERS those items will be 20% off. For this Walk-Thru-Wednesday I decided to paint with Distress Oxides and Distress Inks in a Watercolor fashion. I used a stamp set that is actually on clearance and it’s called Witt & Sass - You Are Beautiful. This set has somewhat small stamps but that is okay because I plan on filling the card layer with lots of color. 

Witt & Sass - You Are Beautiful.

Materials:

Watercolor paper, Archival ink Shadow Grey, small watercolor brush,

heatgun, plastic sheet or glass mat for mixing colors,

anti-static pad, white fine embossing powder,

Water sprayer, Distress Oxide: Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry,

Distress Ink: Mowed Lawn, Mustard Seed.

Polychromos Pencils: Middle Purple Pink, Blue Violet, 

Dark Naples Ochre and Chrome Oxide Green

I hope you liked this card. 

Also, to catch some live tutorials, games, 

giveaways, special offers and 

a whole lot more fun check out the

7 Kids Customers Create Facebook page

Thank you for stopping by,

Katya Bess

7 Kids Crafts: Big Hugs in Paris

Hello Everyone!

Hope you are all having a wonderful day! Today I've had so much fun creating a romantic card using a Sweet November digital stamp. 

This month I've been loving coloring this Sweet November digital stamp Big Hugs. The last time I colored this image I blew it up and just had headshots to focus on their sweet faces. I also made it to be more like a platonic love or a like a mother and child love card. This time I colored the their full bodies and colored them to be in a romantic love in Paris with a scenery of the Eifel Tower in the background. I just love how Amy Young draws these sweet images. This digital stamp is exclusively sold at 7kidscrafts.com. Don't forget that this month the Vendor of the Month special for February are Flowers. Everything in the chosen category has flowers and they are on sale for 20% off, pleases use code: FLOWERS The link to that flower category is here: Vendor of the Month sale: FLOWERS

Sweet November Stamp - Big Hugs

I used lots of colors to color my image Copic markers which

skin:

E0000, E000, E21, R30

her hair:

E84, Y26, Y21

her wings:

RV52

romper:

RV55, RV66

his hair:E79, E29, E25

eye:

E23, E25, W1

his shirt:

C0, C1

vest:

B24, B26, B29

trousers:

E25, E29

shoes:

E25, E29

his wings: 

E21

sky: E0000, E000

grass:

YG07, YG17, YG63

trees/bushes:

YG67, YG63, E84

Eifel Tower:

I lightly drew it in with pencil

and just colored it with 

E71, E70

I kind of drew it in too thick on one side though, 

got a little heavy handed there.

I wanted him to hold a mix bouquet of flowers in his hand

so I cut a tiny portion of the Doodlebug Sprinkle. Then

I cut it up a little more to fit in the shape of his hand as best as I could.

I thought the size of this Doodlebug was perfect for the size I printed the image.

Nestled within the roses I put a little lock that comes in the 

Doodlebug Shaped Sprinkles called French Kiss,

I thought it was perfect for this romantic love and French themed card.

The 6x6 papers I used are called

Doodlebug Designs - French Kiss

The little embellishments are from:

Doodlebug Designs - Shape Sprinkles: French Kiss

The roses are from 

Wild Orchid Roses 

and I just used my Copic refills to match my card.

I had a blast making this card, I hope you got 

a little inspiration and if you'd like get to go 

shopping over at www.7kidscrafts.com/

For more fun ideas and tutorials check out the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/7kidscreate/

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Katya Bess

Passionate Paper Creations: Fighter Gwen

Hello again Crafty Friends,

This week as stated on my last post, at Passionate Paper Creations, Some Odd Girl is our sponsor. I love the versatile images found at Some Odd Girl and this one happens to be a digital stamp called Fighter Gwen. I love this one because it focuses on her strong pose and face.

Fighter Gwen

skin:

E50, E21, E53, R21, R30 and Polychromos Caput Mortuum

eyes:

 E29, E25, E97

lips:

R21, E04, Polychromos Caput Mortuum

head scarf:

 R27, R46 and R59

hair:

E79, E29, E25

jumpsuit:

B41, B97, B99

For the background I used 

Distress Ink: Mustard Seed

I chose these colors to look like the iconic 

"We Can Do It!" Poster by J. Howard Miller who created

it to boost worker morale during Word War II. During those

times women were encouraged to take wartime jobs in defense 

industries. 

I also used this quote I've seen many times before:

"Here’s to STRONG WOMEN.

May we know them.

May we be them.

May we raise them." 

To color the hair I colored in long strokes following the hair lines

drawn by the artist, 

for skin and headscarf I blended them as smooth as I could

and for the jumpsuit, to create the jean texture, I made hatch lines.

For more inspiration check out:

Passionate Paper Creations and Friends Facebook Page

Thank you so much for visiting.

Katya Bess

Passionate Paper Creations : Love U

Hey there Crafty Friends,


This weekend on Passionate Paper Creations, Some Odd Girl is our sponsor. I love the super cute images she comes draws up for us to color. I want to share a CAS card using a clear stamp from Some Odd Girl.  The clear stamps are only available in surprise grab bags now but I'm sure if you don't have one you'd love to get one. The grab bags are available here: Some Odd Girl "Grab Bags"  To color her up I used Polychromos color pencils.

This Stamp is called: Crushin Gwen

Polychromos Colors pencils (+ one Prismacolor)

Here are the colors I used:

skin: Light Flesh, Burnt Siena, Ivory and Medium Flesh

Lips: Caput Mortuum and Light Purple Pink

Eyes: Ultramarine, Sky Blue and Black

Dress: Light Purple Pink, White and Caput Mortuum

Hair: White, Burnt Siena and (Prismacolor) Jasmine

Thank you for stopping by,


Katya Bess

7 Kids Crafts: Some Days I wish I despised... Chocolate

Hello Everyone! I hope all is going great!

Today I was inspired to create a card with one of the coloring sheets from the Annie Rodrigue - Coloring Stack - (Marker version) The coloring stacks come in 5w x 7h which are perfect if you love creating the bigger cards, for a page or divider in your planner. The coloring stack comes with 24 coloring sheets, 2 each of 12 images drawn exclusively for https://www.7kidscrafts.com/  Like I stated before they come in a bigger size 5w x 7h but this time I chose to crop it down for a 6x6 card.

Annie Rodrigue - Coloring Stack - (Marker version)

Skin: E0000, E000, E00, E11, R30

Eyes: E33, E 37, Y06, W1, W3

Hair: E34, E37, E59

Workout Outfit: V15, V17, W5, C3, C5

Ball + Kettlebell: YR16, YR68, YR27 / C3, C5

Yoga Mat: B16, B18

Concrete Slab Floor: E30, E70, W1, W5
Wall: Y06, YR20

Since this month at 7 Kids Crafts Vendor of the month sale for
February is 20% off of the special flowers category (use code: FLOWERS)
 I wanted to created a zen scene with Orchid flowers
but I realized I didn't have any at the moment.
I need to go shopping and I definitely need to bug Kelly to get
some Orchid flower stamps in the shop. LOL Anyway,
So I was telling my DT Sisters over at 7 Kids Create that I was finished
with my card but I felt like I was missing something,
I told them that I wanted to add an orchid somewhere
but I didn't have one  and then they gave me the idea to add candy wrappers.
(Thank you! You know who you are)
HeeHee Funny enough I had these papers and I had some actual
 Lindor truffles wrappers on my desk. Yikes!
I definitely feel the same as the drawing from Annie Rodrigue. LOL

The chocolates are from a 6x6 Doodlebug Paper called
French Kiss. I thought I had purchased the shape sprinkles
and I do have one set of Shape Sprinkles but it's not the chocolates.
So, I decided to make my own. To make my own "Sprinkles"
I fussy cut some of the chocolates (don't throw away the
partial chocolates because those are perfect to make bitten pieces).
Then I cut pieces of that Lindor Chocolate Truffles wrapper
into small squares or circles so they look like they are wrappers
for the chocolate bites I cut out earlier. When I glued them on the
card I then added Glossy Accents to the top of the chocolate
pieces of design paper to give them shine and dimension.


I had so much fun creating this card I certainly did not want to stop
coloring or making the embellishments for it
but Mom Duties call and I always make my cards in parts,
one day this another day that.

Thanks for stopping by!

For more inspiration check out the super talented Facebook group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/7kidscreate/
We have fun games, chances to win digital stamps
and amazing coloring tutorials by Amy Young.

Thank you,

Katya Bess

7 Kids Crafts: Big Hugs

Hello Crafty Friends,

I hope everyone is doing well. We are trying to keep warm, It's funny I look outside and it looks nice and sunny but it's freezing cold. I know we need the winter but my skin and bones would like a little more warmth from sun. LOL

This Sweet November digital stamp Big Hugs sure warms my heart. The original image has the full bodies but I cropped them this time. I just love how Amy Young draws these super sweet faces that I wanted to focus on their facial expressions. Can you see and feel the love and warmth this image gives? It just makes me smile.

Sweet November Stamp - Big Hugs

The original image did not have the back arm nor the hand 

holding the flower bouquet I just drew that in there.

The flowers, I carefully fussy cut them to create a bouquet.

The sentiment is from Dilo en Español clear stamp set called:

Dilo en Español - Set #3 Supspirando con Tinta

The sentiment says:

Te adoro con todo mi corazon

which translates to:

I adore you with all of my heart

This image is meant to be a Valentine's Day card 

but when I cropped it I thought about my sons

Xzavier and Tiberius. So to me it's a Mother hugging

her son after he gave her some flowers. I think you can

totally create a different feel of the card just by the way you color

and set up the image. 

 I added some shimmer to all of the butterflies.

Here's a close-up.

To color up my the image I used Copic markers.

sky:

B0000

Her skin:

E0000, E000, E00, E11, R30 

lipstick:

 E04, E83, R21

Dress/Blouse:

BG07, B16, B18

her hair:

C5, W9, W7, W5, E79

his skin:

E50, E51, E53, R30,

eye:

E37, E13, C1, C3

lips:

E04, R20

his hair:

C5, C7, C9

shirt:

Y08, Y26, Y28

stem and leaves:

YG17, YG67, YG99

The super pretty paper is from

Graphic 45, 8x8 pad from the Flutter Collection

Thank you so much for visiting. 
I hope you liked my card. 
I had a lovely time coloring the image that even when I was ready to go sleep I dozed off on my desk for a few minutes, woke up and continued to color her hair. LOL 

For more inspiration check out the super talented Facebook group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/7kidscreate/
We have fun games, chances to win digital stamps
and amazing coloring tutorials by Amy Young.

Thank you,

Katya Bess

7 Kids Crafts: You are Brave & Beautiful

Hello Everyone, I hope you are having a lovely day.

This month at https://www.7kidscrafts.com/ the Vendor of the Month special are flowers. Everything in the specific flower category is on sale 20% off, just remember to use the code: FLOWERS

For my card I used Witt & Sass Stamp Company - You are Beautiful  clear stamp set. I used watercolors for the background, oil color pencils, watercolor pencils and distress oxide. I had fun creating this mini multimedia project.

When I first saw this stamp set I was immediately reminded of a photograph I had seen of Frida Kahlo.

Witt & Sass Stamp Company - You are Beautiful 

I tried to emulate some of the colors on the background

as well as the intricate flower headdress she's known to wear

throughout her adult life.

I think next time I work on a card using this stamp set I will definitely use

different colors but I will also use an inspirational quote from Frida Kahlo.

(photograph of Frida Kahlo, not mine)

"I paint flowers so they will not die." 
-Frida Kahlo

Dr. Ph. Martin's Hydrus Watercolor ink:
Phthalo Green and Hansa Yellow Light 

Polychromos:

Fuchsia, Dark Flesh, Dark Cadmium Orange and White

Caran D'Ache Supracolor II soft Watersoluble pencils
(I love using these... I need to play with them more)
Color: 010

Distress Oxide:
Black Soot


This was a pretty simple card image but I like the results and who I was inspired by.

Thank you so much for visiting. 
For more inspiration check out the super talented Facebook group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/7kidscreate/
We have fun games, chances to win digital stamps
and amazing coloring tutorials by Amy Young.

Thank you,

Katya Bess