A RAK plus an award!

Good Morning and I want to thank everyone for all of their lovely comments and get well wishes for my hubby. He's coming along nicely and in a couple of weeks, he'll be 100% again! Thank you all so much

I'm also praying for the safety of all of my blogging friends that live in Florida and other regions of the USA that may be affected by hurricane Ike. Be safe and God Bless!!!!

Today I have a lovely RAK that I received from Cheryl to share with you and a award from Rita and Smriti as well!
Here's a big to all three of you.


from Cheryl




from Smriti from Rita


Have a wonderful day and thank you for stopping by!

My First Tutorial........

Hello everyone!
This week has been a rough one for my entire family but we have managed and through the grace of God, the worse is over! My husband had surgery last week and it was a rough time for me and the kids. Hubby is doing fine. ...still in a bit of pain but doing so much better! I tried to be strong and keep my hubby, kids and blog going but it wasn't possible! I know I haven't been around much the past few days and I apologize for that! Now that I can breathe again, I'll be making my rounds to see all of your lovely creations!

A few people have asked me to put together a tutorial for coloring with Copic Markers. This is my first tutorial and I hope it makes sense! Since I don't have a web cam, I had to resort to using pictures instead.

Copic Tutorial

I'm not an artist but I will share with you a couple of key things to keep in mind when using Copic Markers. You need good paper and a brand of ink that will not smear! For paper I use Stampers Select from Papertrey Ink or Nina Solaris from Ellen Hutson's and the ink that works for me is Adirondack's. Always begin with a light shade and layer and blend the colors as you go. (similar to using Prismacolor pencils) Get to know your colorless blender, it is a wonderful tool!

To begin my coloring process, I start with a light shade and color portions of my image. I alway leave some areas free of color.




ETA This should read "Flesh marker" instead of "blush"!

Then I make a partial outine with a darker shade that is in that same color group. Now it is time to blend these two colors. To do this you simply rub your lighter shade marker against the darker shade marker to pick up some if the darker shade. Now you take your maker and blend the colors of your image by moving in small circles and pushing the color around.

As you blend your colors, you will have to repeat rubbing your lighter marker against your darker marker in order to pick up the darker color. Repeat the process of moving your marker in small circles yet moving the color around at the same time.

When using Copic Markers, the colorless blender is like a miracle worker....it is a must to have a colorless blender! Whenever I am finished with a section, I always go over that particular section with my colorless blender. I simply rub my colorless blender against the darker shade of that section. (this picks up a bit of color) and lightly move the colorless blender to even out the tones. Do not be alarmed if you don't notice any changes at first...let the section dry a bit! As the ink is absorbed into the paper, you will notice the change. If you aren't satisfied with the results, simply repeat the proces.


To give the appearence of rosy cheeks, simply make to small dots on each side of the face. Lightly blend the dots by rubbing your colorless blender against the blush colored maker and
simply move your marker in small circular rotations.












(I used E00 "skin white" to shade in the pelicans beak and feet)







Usually whenever I am done coloring my image, I use C1 "Cool Gray to give the shadow effect.


Another tip....to remove any excess ink from the tip of your marker, simply scribble on a scrap piece of paper.
I hope that I haven't confused anyone, if so write me and I will try to answer your question. Have a beautiful weekend and thank you for stopping by!

Another Rachelle Ann Miller Card

Good Morning everyone and I hope that you are having a great day! This morning I have to see the dentist and I hope I leave there with a smile on my face. I know that it is important to get your teeth cleaned etc. but.... I hate to go! I have no idea why but the dentist office is not one of my favorite places to go! lol

Today's card features another Rachelle Ann Miller Stamp. I think these stamps are adorable and Jen has such a lovely selection of these stamps and more at Little C's Stamps and Things!! While you are there, check out the up and coming line of Rachelle Ann Miller and Sarah Kay Stamps....they awesome!!! Back to my card, why do "goof ups" always happen at the end? For some unknown reason, I decided to stamp my sentiment next to my image and the results were not what I had in mind at all. I tried to cover up my mistake with a flower but parts of the sentiment showed through. I love the sentiment but I should have stamped it separately and placed it somewhere else on the card. *sigh*

Well...I have to get ready for my dentist appointment so I'll bring my post to a close. Take care and thank you for stopping by!

Details............ stamp Rachelle Ann Miller, sentiment CTMH, inks Adirondack Pitch Black and Copic Markers, c/s SU and PTI, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinders rectangle templates, pearls, flowers ,ribbon and extra fine glitter

LCWC #7

Good Morning everyone and I apologize for a late challenge post but better late than never .....right?!

This weeks LCWC #7 sketch was designed by Julee Tillman of Poetic Artistry. Thanks for the inspiration Julee! For this particular sketch I mixed it up a bit and my layout is the mirror image of the sketch.

For more inspiration...be sure to check out the other Little C's DT Members.(the names are featured on the left side of my blogs margin) Also.... don't forget that Jen gives away a prize each week for entering LCWC's weekly challenges and the winner could be YOU! So what are you waiting for.....we can't wait to see your creations!!!

The image is a newer Rachelle Ann Miller Stamp and can be purchased from Little C's Stamps and Things. I think this image is adorable!! The sentiment is from SU and the DP is from my stash. I used Copic Markers to color and I embellished my card with a flower, extra fine glitter and a few tiny gems.

Have a great day and thank you for stopping by!