Fun and Mental Changes

Saturday is almost here!!!  I'm so excited to be teaching at Craft Fusion in Chandler, AZ (class project pictured above)!!!  Its a new store with all sorts of crafty goodness.... if you haven't checked them out yet, this store's a MUST SEE!!!  As a matter of fact, give the store a ring at 480-821-3758 and you can sign up for this Saturday's class... there is still seating available!!!  It starts at 1:00 p.m., just bring yourself and your alcohol ink markers and LET'S PLAY!!!!  Hope to see you there! *One lucky student is walking away with MORE than their class project!  I've also got some awesome nail stamp goodies to give away!!!!  Sign up now so you're sure to get a spot!!!

Feelin a little animal!!!  It seems as if being laid up with back pain has it's perks!!!  RAWR!  This fun nail art was inspired by my upcoming Fun With Alcohol Ink Class on March 3rd at Craft Fusion (class starts at 1 p.m.), check out what we'll be making: In fact... if you loved the nail art above, you might want to consider signing up for this class [hint, hint].  For this class we'll be creating this ADORABLE notebook using various alcohol inks.  You're not going to want to miss this!  Along with learning how to assemble our own notebook using The Cinch and Zutter products, we will also be using alcohol inks to customize our project.  Join us and learn how to color stamped images using alcohol ink markers giving your projects depth and dimension.  Please bring your basic tool kit and alcohol ink markers (any brand) for this instruction.  There are markers to rent, but rental markers are limited so the sets will be available on a first c...

**** HUGE HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY... CLICK HERE !!!!****   Ok... here they are!!!  I am just having a BLAST going back to basics with shading and shadows using these wonderfully ADORABLE Stampendous Halloween images.  As I told you yesterday, that cute little Count Jack had some friends!!!  Pumpkinstein and Mumpkin in the house (I think you might be able to tell which one is which... LOL)!!!  Honestly, these cuties make coloring with Copic markers fun and easy.  And really, isn't that quote from Stampin Up's Smarty Pants just too perfect for this one?!?  The only thing that I want to add to this is a little reminder that when you are blending with Copic markers, remember that the alcohol ink takes a moment to "develop".  I think that when people begin coloring, they attempt to blend but don't see the development of the alcohol ink reaction right away, begin to over blend and then are not happy with the results.  Take your time when you first st...

**** HUGE HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY... CLICK HERE !!!!**** Ok, the project for the November Copic Palooza at Paper Vineyard is complete and I gotta say, it was SOOOO fun to make!!!  I used quite a few Tim Holtz products and techniques for this super cute tag along with the new Vintage charms that are now available in the store!!! I am so proud of the Autumn feel to this one (not to mention the  "Thanx" sentiment)!!!  This tag also features the final Anya in The Greeting Farms' Miss Anya Collection... I mean, come on!!!  What an INCREDIBLE stamp set!!!  Don't you just love those stamp sets that are versatile and can be used year round???  And, let me add, Miss Anya is REALLY fun to color.  So bring your Copics and your basic scrapper's tool kit with you November 30th at 5:30 p.m. to Paper Vineyard for two hours of crafty-Copic fun!!!  See you there!!! ***  Copics used for the above sample:  E00, E000, E21, E33, E37, E39, E59, YG17, YR14, ...

  OOOOO guys, just a quick post for today announcing the Copic Coloring Palooza on October 26th at Paper Vineyard in Chandler, AZ.  This time I'm featuring this oh so tempting treat box using The Greeting Farm's Miss Anya Collection.  We will also be playing around with the use of Spellbinder's dies in the Big Shot.... see how easy it is to trim around Miss Anya's feet and then put her through the Big Shot so it appears she's coming right off the die WITHOUT having to cut her out!  SUPER EASY!!!  I will also be introducing everyone to the new Echo Park Apothecary Emporium !!!  Just one of my new favorite paper lines!!! And speaking of the Echo Park Apothecary Emporium.... how about a HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY!?!?!? Who wants to win an Apothecary Emporium Collection Kit???  Included in this kit is 12 - 12" x 12" Double-sided papers, 1 - 12" x 12" Elements Sticker sheet and 1- 12" x 12" Alphabet Sticker Sheet!  To win this, just tell me you w...

This week, over at Paper Vineyard's blog , the design team is featuring projects in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month that starts in less than a week.  My project is a candle featuring my very own FitterTwit Design "Thrive" colored with Copic markers (R81, R83, R85) and blinged out with my beloved American Tag HomePro!!! Swing back by October 1st to find out how to get my digital image "Thrive" for FREE.  But, as always happens when I start making candles, one IS NEVER enough.... Let me present the Halloween Copic Candle Class that is slated October 9th at 1:00 p.m over at Paper Vineyard.  Click HERE for deets.  I can already tell that this one is going to be a fun class.... check out that SUPER CUTE image!!!  Can you see why I'm so candle crazed??? So I'm thinking I got the candle madness out of my system.... for now.  Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team turned out for this challenge, come back here October 1st for more on t...

 Yep... after so long I FINALLY picked a winner for the up-coming Copic Palooza Copic event at Paper Vineyard.  Here she is:  Miss Anya from The Greeting Farm.  The Greeting Farm is soon to be available at Paper Vineyard and little Miss Anya is kicking things off.  I won't lie, I'm going to miss Kraftin Kimmie, but I'm SOOOOO EXCITED that The Greeting Farm will be featured!!!  So for my upcoming class you will be learning to color Miss Anya using your Copic Markers with the faint line technique (as shown here), we will also be creating this tri-shutter card using the new Authenique paper that just arrived at Paper Vineyard.  Isn't this rose paper HEAVENLY!?!!? "Cutie" doesn't begin to describe how fun this card is! And BONUS, it fits an A2 size envelope!!! Be sure to reserve your spot September 28th at Paper Vineyard in Chandler, AZ.  Below is a suggested list of Copic Markers that I used to create this card.  I look forward to ...

So, we're not COMPLETELY in the clear just yet, but summer is ALMOST over!!!  I don't know about you, but I'm DREAMING of crisp cool nights again!!!  For now it is still hot and sticky and Copics definitely do the trick to take my mind off of it.  So I just put together a little Copic Hair Coloring Class to take the edge off for everyone!!! September 4th at Paper Vineyard , join me for a super fun class where we'll not only learn how to combine colors ("Swatching" is what it's all about baby!!!), but we will also learn how to color hair!  This is one that is near and dear to me since hair is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE thing to color!!!  If you think about it, natural hair contains sooooooo many different colors, the possibilities are endless for your creativity with hair!  And you can see that with my green and yellow and blue and pink heads of hair.  That is EXACTLY what we will cover in class.  So gather all your Copic markers and join us on Septemb...

I can't believe my Guest Spot on the Tickled Pink Design Team is coming to an end!!! :_(  It has been so wonderful playing with all the Pink Ladies and even more fun to play with these WONDERFUL images.  Didn't I say that you would want them all!?!  Remember, all of these images will be available August 15th.  So today is Vampire Lestat.  What can I say about this image that the picture above doesn't say for me?!?  He is just one cool cat!!!  And this one certainly gave me a run for my money with the cool grey Copics!  Sooooo fun! Ok, let's talk Copic saturation... here's the back of Vampire Lestat.   OH!  I am super proud of this one.  Mostly because I only had a couple of areas of bleed through.  The yellow border was probably the majority of it since I did multiple applications to get the intense color I was looking for.  And look... only a spec of red!!!  If only my Copic students could see me now!...

Yep... It's Wizard Eric of the new Tickled Pink Stamps Lil Haunt 2 line!!!  Today I have another sneak peek for the August 15th release!  WOO HOO!!!  Ok, I have to say that this is one of my favorites!!!  He was already colored in my head the moment I laid eyes on him.... REALLY!!!  I already knew the paper I was going to use and the entire color scheme before I ever touched a marker!  You'll want to click HERE to check out what the Tickled Pink Design Team did with this WONDERFUL WIZARD!!! So the other day I promised that I'd show the backs of all my colored projects and I WON'T let you down.  Before I do though, take another look at the finished project above.  Take a gander at the DEEP colors I chose to use (i.e. the red hair and the purple outfit).  One would think that blending those deep hues would cause quite a bit of saturation.....  NOT AT ALL, BUT.... you can see from the back of Wizard Eric, I messed up his sleeve when I...

Hey guys!  Welp, here I am with my FIRST official guest designer post for Tickled Pink Stamps and the August releases that are SOOOOOOO up my alley!!!  So first up is Zombie Girl Kellita!  What an awesome image to color!!!  Kellita and all the upcoming images this week will be available at Tickled Pink Stamps on August 15th (the 14 for those of us here in the US) and TRUST ME.... you are going to want them ALL!!! Now, with this awesome design team spot  and coloring these awesome images, I thought I would take this opportunity to share my take on Copic saturation with this Tickled Pink line.  Since these images contain some great surface coloring area, I thought these would be perfect to show that you really can deposit a good amount of color WITHOUT wasting your ink with unreal Copic saturation.  Heavy saturation is when the alcohol ink of the Copic marker fills up the paper fiber and bleeds through the back (sometimes making the back look like...

Alright gang.... as many of you already know, I've been holding out creating August's Copic Coloring Palooza for the Kraftin Kimmie shipment that was due at Paper Vineyard MONTHS ago.  Welp, it still hasn't arrived so I finally had to break down and create this UBER FUN project with the Kraftin Kimmie images that I already have (and you KNOW I own a bunch)!!!!  But, is this "Good-Bye" to Kraftin Kimmie???  Will I have to feature another line of stamps for my Copic Coloring Palooza??? We shall see what the future holds for Kraftin Kimmie and the Copic Coloring Palooza.  But for August 14th , may I introduce you to Genevieve.  Now for this Copic Coloring Palooza featuring the very steampunky Genevieve, the class will include Copic coloring that saves time and money (of course),  a demo of the Big Shot (and those awesome Tim Holtz Gears), wet embossing those gears to look like metal, airbrushing to get that vintage "photographed" look to Genevieve and pla...

OOOOOO.... SUMMER IS HERE!  And boy can I feel it!  Wouldn't I love to live near a beach right now.  So this is what I created for July's Copic Palooza at Paper Vineyard !!!   Now while the sentiment on the front of my folio page says, "Soakin Up The Sun", this would make an ADORABLE card that says, "With the proper SPF protection.... of course!" on the inside.  You could even throw in a sample packet of sunblock for an extra special card that anyone would appreciate, ESPECIALLY by the time July gets here!!! So here's a close up.  We'll be playing with Glitter Ritz glitter to embellish this little girl's totally awesome and vintage swimsuit.  We will also be learning how to "drop in" scenery with our coloring projects (grass and pavement), not to mention that you'll leave class with this super fun completed project... well, this one is going to be one you don't want to miss!!!  Here is the list of markers that I used for this...

UGH!  I almost forgot to post this!!!  So above is June's Copic Palooza that I'm teaching at Paper Vineyard.  I ALWAYS feature Kraftin Kimmie Stamps (fell in love with them last year when I found Charlotte) for my Copic Palooza and this month is ANOTHER adorable character:  Angie .  The stamp set is included in the cost of the class and includes Angie in her robe holding her beloved coffee mug, two sentiments that say "Thanks a Latte" and " I don't do mornings" and an enlarged image of slippers.... too perfect!  So along with coloring this fabulous image, we are also going to be doing paper piecing AND using our Copic markers to customize embellishments.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one; it's going to be so much fun!!! Check out Paper Vineyards class schedule ( HERE ) for details on this class (there are two classes scheduled).  Hope to see you there! *** Copics used:  Skin:  E00, E000, E21 Hair, Mug and Eyes:  E31, E25, E...

So, I just got the Paper Vineyard newsletter and read the AMAZING congratulations message from the owner, Adriana for extending my Copic certification last month!  Here's a link (click HERE ), but OF COURSE I'll quote her here cuz it's just that cool:  "A big congratulations to Danielle who completed her Immediate Copic Instructor certification.  This is a new level/process for Copic certification and we are very proud of Danielle for being one of the first to complete this level.  Danielle teaches the Copic Coloring Palooza and Copic Tech (Alcohol Ink Anonymous) classes each month." Adriana, THANK YOU for the awesome shout out in your newsletter!!!!  The class was definitely fun and I love being doubly certifiable... uh, I mean "certified"!  LOL!  Anywho, here's the super fun project that I did for May's Copic Palooza at Paper Vineyard.  It features Kraftin Kimmie's Brigitte... a girl enjoying a little relaxation.  PERFECT for the m...

So I just finished April's Copic Coloring Palooza project and I'm thinking I need to name this class the Scrappy Stuff Palooza!!!  I got a little carried away playing in my craft room!!!  So April's Copic Coloring Palooza at Paper Vineyard will not only include my FAVORITE ALL-TIME-STAMP (that you get to keep, by the way, if you take my class), but we're also going to dive into learning how to use some of my favorite scrappy tools.  I'll show you the completed project, and then I'll go over EVERYTHING I used to make it. So, I used Copic Markers for this (after all, this is for a Copic Class) as well as the new Copic Airbrush.  BUT THEN..... I used The Cinch, the Zutter Distrezz It All, Zutter's Corrugated board, SmoochSpritz AND the American Tag HomePro!  This was SOOOOOOO MUCH FUN TO MAKE and I can't wait to show all of you how to use all this great stuff!!!   Add to that getting to use my Graphic 45 Halloween In Wonde...

Ok you guys.... I've told you all that I've labelled myself as an alcoholic because of my OBSESSION with the alcohol inks and the Copic Markers; I've also shared that I am starting a club for us alcoholics, well..... it's official.  Alcohol Inks Anonymous is underway, set to begin next month with a 12 step program to take you from beginner, to novice, to master in 12 easy steps.  While this is geared for Copic marker lovers... we will delve into EVERYTHING alcohol inks!   I'm perfecting the curriculum now and have already set up our "meetings" to take place (ironically) Fridays at Happy Hour!  DON'T LAUGH!!!  Ok, you can laugh... since our meetings will be held at a vineyard... Paper Vineyard that is!  I think it's hysterical that there is a whole "alcohol" theme that is just sort of happening all on it's own!  LOL!  But we are making the distinction that this meeting is Alcohol Inks Anonymous as we don't want anyone to mistaken...

So I've decided to start up a little Copic club to support all my fellow alcohol ink addicts!!!  I'm calling it Alcoholics Anonymous... perfect huh???  Welp, I have developed a 12-step program to support your habits, walking you through learning the basics all the way to perfecting your Copic techniques and creating WONDERFUL Copic projects. Preliminary sign up is open all through March, and our schedule will be set up based on interest... so be sure to call right away to sign up to let the healing begin!  hahahahahhahaha!  To sign up, call 480-656-2058.  All we need is your name, contact information and the day that works best for you.  Once we've compiled the list, we will schedule accordingly.  Also, during the March Copic Palooza at Paper Vineyard, a sign up sheet will also be available, so if you are planning on attending the Copic Palooza in March, you can just sign up then! :)  Speaking of the March Copic Palooza.... check out March'...

Ok, so it's another year and we're looking forward to the year ahead, but if you're anything like me, you haven't even begun to sift through all of your 2010 stuff yet and it's time to start a new year. Welp, here's a little help... I created this tag to use as an embellishment for a 2010 Christmas scrapbook layout and now YOU can make one too as it is also the featured project at Paper Vineyard's Copic Palooza on January 23, 2011!!! Everthing you need to make this tag will be provided at the class, all you need to bring is a paper trimmer, scissors, adhesive and your Copic markers. This is a monochromatic class and the suggested copics to bring with you to class are ANY FOUR copics in the Cool, Neutral or Warm color families. I used C0, C2, C6, and C9. The best part is you get to take this ADORABLE Kraftin Kimmie Virginia stamp home with you for future creations (and maybe even a head start on your 2011 CHRISTMAS CARDS!!! hahahahahhahaha ! Now that's RE...

Ok gang... just a quick post today letting you know that I will be teaching a Copic class at Paper Vineyard in Chandler, AZ, on December 12th. You will receive all materials to make the cutiepie pictured (except for the items listed below) and that even includes the stamp to take home with you for future creations! The list of items to bring to class with you are: Copic Markers Scissors Paper Trimmer Adhesive Sukura Gelly Roll Pens (optional) I will also be demoing the Bow Easy for making quick work of GORGEOUS bows, like the one featured here. The class starts at 1 p.m. Reserve your spot by calling 480-656-2058. I look forward to seeing you there! * Copic markers I used to make this card: Dress - G40, R20, R29, R89, YG63, YG97 Boots/Basket - E42, E44, E49 Hair - E2, E8, E39 Skin - E50, E51, E53, R20 Misc. - W0, W3, W5 *** Stamp Set included with this class:  Kraftin Kimmie, Yvette