Happy Birthday Ryan!

Yesterday was my nephew Ryan's first birthday, and the whole family got together to throw him a party. My mother made the yummy cake (shown above) for the party, along with a cute little "smash" cake for the birthday boy.

As you can see, he didn't really do much "smashing" (despite lots and lots of encouragement from his daddy), but he certainly seemed to enjoy the icing!

For Ryan's birthday card, I used this adorable freebie from Mo's Digital Pencil. Ryan has a little pool just like this one at Grandma's house. He had a lot of fun in it over the summer, so I knew this would be the perfect image for his card the moment I saw it.

The image was colored with copic markers, and then the water was gone over with a clear Spica pen for some sparkle. Once the card was together, I added Alleene's Paper Glaze to the water for a wet look. Sorry it doesn't show up better in the photo. The little ducky is one of the add-on's that comes with the image. I printed it twice and attached it with glue dots for a bit more dimension.

Blog Hopping with InStyle Stamps

It's the last Friday of the month, and you know what that means - it's time to go blog hopping with InStyle Stamps! This month, the design team has been challenged to show you some Treats! And as usual, we will have some great prizes to give away, so make sure to read all the way down to the bottom of the post to see how you can get entered into a drawing for some great goodies!

For my project, I decided to use the adorable new Anime image, Patches. Isn't he a cutie?


My little nephew, Ryan, dressed up as a pumpkin for his first Halloween last year, so every time I see Patches, it makes me think of him (he's a cutie, too!).

I love using the Staples brand gel pens for work, and they come in clear plastic boxes that are just too nice to toss once the pens are gone. I re-purposed one into a treat container by making a new insert for it and tying a little ribbon around the outside. (Please excuse the slight waviness at the bottom of the box. The clear plastic kept picking up all kinds of reflections.)



Patches was colored with copic markers, and then layered using Rectangle & Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities. The pretty orange polka-dotted background paper is from an ancient DCWV paper stack that I've had for 4+ years. Have I mentioned that I hoard paper? LOL!


For the back of the box, I downloaded Meltdown, a Halloween-appropriate font from dafont.com and printed off my sentiment. The center of each letter was colored in with a YR14 copic marker.

On to the Blog Hop details...

We will be giving away a Grand Prize to one lucky Blog Hop participant and also have a prize for one lucky design team member. To enter, hop through the design team’s blogs, (leaving a comment at each stop, of course!) and then go to the InStyle Stamps blog and vote for the designer who's project inspired you the most. (You're going to vote for me, right? LOL!) Then, in order to be entered into the drawing to win the grand prize, leave us a comment on that post answering the following question:

"What is your favorite fall treat?"

My favorite fall treat is fresh apple cider from The Cider Mill in Endicott, NY. Mmmm. If you are ever in the area, make sure to stop by to get a gallon of it. It is freshly squeezed, and is so much better than that stuff you can get at the grocery store.

Thanks for reading my ramblings. Now what are you waiting for? Get hopping!

Jennifer http://www.kiyomikrafts.com/
Jodi-Ann http://inkedinspirations.blogspot.com/
Joy http://daiseyfreak.blogspot.com/
Kim http://www.craftsbykim.blogspot.com/
Lysa http://lysaq.blogspot.com/
Mary http://mycardz.wordpress.com/
Maylee http://mayleescreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Piali http://touchofcreation.blogspot.com/
Raquel http://raqode7.blogspot.com/

It's a 3-D Birthday!

Tomorrow we are celebrating a co-worker's birthday, and my supervisor asked me to make him something special since we are a few days late. After racking my brain for something guy-appropriate, I decided to make a fun 3-D card.

These look really impressive, but they are so simple to make. Simply cut four 1.5 inch square pieces of card stock, fold them in half, and then glue the edges together. Then glue the top and bottom edge to your base layer of card stock and decorate as you see fit.

I kept my layout fairly simple so as not to detract from the 3-D element. Think he'll like it?

CD Sleeve tutorial, and a chance to win...

I thought you might like a peek at one of the 3 cd cases you can win as part of the InStyle Stamps Over the Hump candy I mentioned earlier today. Be sure to pop over to the InStyle Stamps blog to see the two other cute designs that are up for grabs, and of course, to enter to win.

Now on to the instructions...

Easy Peasy CD Sleeve

*See template for visuals.*

-Cut a piece of 10x6 card stock.
-Score down the middle of the 10 inch side.
-Rotate the paper, and score in 1/2 an inch on each end of the 6 inch side of the paper.
-Cut out the 1/2 inch tabs on one side of the paper as shown, and dispose of them.
-Fold the paper in half on the 5 inch score line and punch out the half oval with a circle punch. This is optional, but it makes it easier to get your cd out of the finished project.
-Fold in your 1/2 inch tabs on each side and glue in place.
-Decorate as desired.

Told you it was easy!

Over the Hump Day Candy with InStyle Stamps

Hello all! Sorry for the lack of posts recently. We are doing a little basement remodeling and it has been eating up all my crafting time.

Are you ready for Over the Hump Day? We're half way through the week AND half way through the month, so InStyle Stamps is celebrating with a little candy.

This month we are giving away 3 custom cd cases that contain 5 Journal Cynthia images printed on Neenah paper for you to color and a CD filled with InStyle Stamps Non-Anime Images. That's over 80 images, absolutely free...just for creating a project!!! How great is that!?! Be sure to pop on over to the InStyle Stamps blog for all the details on how you can be entered to win.

Now on to the project:

My sister has the most fabulous spa tub in the master bath of her new house. When I was visiting a few months ago, she let me indulge in a nice long soak. Aah. It was dreamy! But one thing was missing - nice relaxing music. (Val, don't scroll any farther if you are reading this - it'll spoil your stocking stuffer!) I'm trying to get a head start on my Christmas gifts, so, since I have a hubby with a gigantic music collection, I decided to make her a custom mix to listen to as she unwinds from a stressful day with the kiddos.


I printed Asia from Club Anime on Neenah cardstock, and colored her in with copic markers. I have to share that this was my first time using Neenah. I normally use Georgia Pacific, and let me tell you, coloring on the Neenah blows the GP out of the water! My ink went on so easily, the colors blended without having to go over and over everything like I do with the GP, and best of all, the markers didn't bleed at all! I'm hooked!

Club Anime Sketch Challenge

Today is the first ever Club Anime sketch challenge. If you're not currently a member of Club Anime, click here for all the details!

For my project, I decided to make a cute little gift holder using Jules and the delish Bo Bunny papers from the Club Anime September kit. Isn't she adorable?

Make sure to check out the Club Anime blog for more photos, project instructions, and to find out what's inside the package! You'll be glad you did!

Blog Hoppin' with InStyle Stamps

It's the last Friday of the month, and you know what that means - it's time to go blog hopping InStyle Stamps! Our theme for this month is Back-to-School, and of course, we have some fabulous new images to help you celebrate getting the little munchkins out from under your feet! As usual, we will have some great prizes to give away, so make sure to read all the way down to the bottom of the post to see how you can get entered into a drawing for some great goodies!

For my project, I made a cute little backpack for a co-worker with two children who will be returning to school soon.
You can find the pattern for the backpack here. I used Circles and Posies and pink gingham (coming soon!!!) digital paper for my pack. Isn't it pretty? Here's a side view so you can see the ribbon "straps".


Now, what's a backpack without something to go in it? When I was in grade school, my mother would always tuck little notes into my lunch box, so I've included four little 3x3 notes inside the backpack for her to use for her children.


I used Janice and Jacob, and the soon to be released school house for her cards. Aren't they cute? I hope she likes them!

On to the blog hop details...

We will be giving away a Grand Prize to one lucky Blog Hop participant and also have a prize for one lucky design team member. To enter, hop through the design team’s blogs (you can find them in my sidebar), and then go to the InStyle Stamps blog and vote for the designer who's project inspired you the most. (You're going to vote for me, right? LOL!) The leave us a comment on that post in order to be entered into the drawing for the grand prize.

DT Call for InStyle Stamps

InStyle Stamps is currently searching for a new design team for the September 2009 – February 2010 term – could this be you?

We are interested in fresh, funky and fun designs. We are looking for artists with great coloring techniques and photography skills, who have the ability to think outside the box and post regularly on their blogs. If you fit that mold, please apply for one of our team positions.

How to apply:

We ask you to submit 4 of your very best projects. At least one of those projects must be non-card related. The use of InStyle Stamps is not required, but certainly will be noticed! These projects must include line art stamped images that you have hand colored. Coloring technique is very important to us since all of our stamps require coloring. You will also need the following information along with your submission:

1. Name
2. Mailing Address
3. Phone number
4. Email Address
5. A List of your present/past design team positions. Note: You will be considered even if you do not have design team experience.
6. A link to your blog and gallery on SCS, PCP, or anyplace else you like to hang out.
7. Tell us which team you would like to apply for: Anime, Retro, Digital. If you are applying for more than one, please list teams in order of preference.
8. A brief “about me” summary to include; interests, crafting history, etc. Whatever you would like us to know about you and your experience.
We should receive all submissions no later than August 25th, 2009 by 11:59 pm EST.
Please email your applications to:

InStyleStampsDT@aol.com

The new design team will be announced at the blog hop on August 28th.

Requirements of the position:

Your Design Team duties will last for a period of 6 months (September 2009 – February 2010).

Because you will need to share your InStyle Stamps creations, you are required to have a well-maintained blog for posting your artwork and any information concerning InStyle Stamps. Ability to photograph and post your creations is a must.

As a part of the InStyle Stamps team, you will receive a selection of images to work with each month. You are required to post a minimum of 4 projects per month (one per week) to your blog using the images provided. We require one non-card project a month. Please note that all images are provided digitally, so the ability to print the images is a must. Please do not apply if you are not comfortable working with digital stamps.

We have a yahoo group dedicated to the Design Team. You would be expected to join this group & participate in discussions with others as well as giving suggestions or ideas when asked.

As a DT member, we would like to see you posting your creations in online stamping community galleries, such as at Splitcoast Stampers or Paper Craft Planet. This will help to increase exposure to our stamps and images.

The perks:

You get a badge to display on your blog to show that you are apart of the InStyle Stamps DT!!
Every month you get 6 digital stamps to design with as well as our monthly Club kit.
The projects you create as part of your design team requirements are yours to keep.
You get a 50% discount on website purchases, for as long as you are on the design team.
You will receive a welcome package with lots of goodies to get you started.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to e-mail Melissa at: InStyleStampsDT@aol.com

We look forward to seeing your submissions! Best of luck!

Copic Creations Challenge #9 - Coloring Eyes

I have exciting news to share! I've been invited to be the guest designer for today's challenge on the Copic Creations Challenge Blog, which will feature my eye coloring tutorial (see previous post)! I feel very honored to be invited to join these amazingly talented ladies!

This week's challenge is to use your Copic markers to color eyes, and is sponsored by InStyle Stamps.

For my card, I used the digi version of Mellie by InStyle Stamps. Using the digi version allowed me to enlarge the image to show off those gorgeous eyes. I also used my photo editing program to mirror the image so that Mellie is holding her cake the right way to work with the layout I wanted to use. Try doing that with a traditional stamp!


I printed two copies of Mellie, and used just the jacket and the cake from the second image to give the card a 3D effect. The shoulders are attached to the main image with a dab of 2-way glue, and then the arms are popped up on a foam dot to make it appear that Mellie is holding the cake out for the birthday girl to blow out the candles. The yummy chocolate cake was given white Liquid Applique frosting, and then I added a touch of star dust Stickles on the platter and the candle flames for a bit of sparkle.


Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to go check out the lovely creations by the amazing Design Team at the Copic Creations Challenge blog. If you’re new to Copics, or just want some pointers, you’ll love all the Copic tutorials that can be found there.

Copics used: RV93, RV91, G40, G82, G85, E00, E0000, YR21, E 25, E27, E29, E33, R20, R81, and a custom mixed pale R81

Eye colors: G85, G82, G40

How to Color Anime Eyes, a Copic Tutorial

One of the things that make anime stamps so appealing is their large, soulful eyes. When InStyle Stamps was preparing to release our line of Anime stamps back in January, I browsed the web and looked at tons of anime images to determine just the right way to color the eyes to show them to their best advantage. I made a little tutorial for our design team, which I am now going to share with you.

For my tutorial, I printed off a card front sized version of the digi image, Lizzie, from InStyle Stamps. (Note Lizzie is also available in red rubber for those of you who haven't jumped on the digital bandwagon.)


Step One
When coloring in the face, leave a white area around the eye going from the tip of the eyelash to the line under the eye as shown. In my sample, E00 is used to color in the face.


Step Two
The eyes are going to be colored in layers. Pick 3 shades of marker, a dark, a medium, and a light. I used my darkest blue, BG05 to lay down my first ring of color.


Step Three
Now add in a second layer of color in a lighter shade than the first, in this case BG01. Go over the BG05 color layer with the BG01 marker to start blending the two colors together. Notice that while there is some definite blending where they overlap, each color is still distinct.



Step Four
Add in your lightest color, BG000 in the sample, for your third layer of color. You will again go over the previous layers of color to blend. Leave a small area at the bottom of the eye uncolored. This adds depth by showing where the light is hitting the eye.


Step Five
Add a layer of the lightest color, in this case BG000, to the ring at the top of the eye where light is being reflected.



Finished Eye



See how easy it is to get a fabulous looking eye? Now what are you waiting for, whip out those Copics, and get coloring!