If you are checking in for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC56), you can find us here at our new blog!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
The Grande Finale
Well, today marks my last day as Limelight designer for Flourishes. Today I am going to show you how I color with Copics. When I started to write it out I realized just how many steps I do to get my results. It looks like a lot, but it happens really fast-so don't be intimidated! I have chosen another beautiful botanical, Roses, from stamp set A Year in Flowers 2. Okay, here we go!
Here is my color palette. The unmarked green marker is YG03 and the unmarked white cap is a custom color I created using YG03 and colorless blender to get a green to use for a base color.
After stamping my image on Flourishes Classic White Card Stock in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I colored all of the flowers with my base color R0000. Just small circular motions coloring the entire flower with an even layer. Get that paper wet! If you are using a good card stock you can get the paper good and wet with the markers, so it shows through the back, and not worry about ruining it. Of course if you really soak it you run the risk of the stamped lines bleeding. Practice on some scraps so you know you have the right consistency.
The first shading color I add is R81. I color almost the entire petal leaving just the edge with the R0000 showing. You can see the subtle shading here. Don't forget to chose your light direction. I chose to have my light source coming from the front, therefore highlights will hit the centers and top edges of the petals.
Moving on to the next darker shade, I use R83 coloring each petal from the bottom to just below where I ended with the last color. Here I colored only the top full rose and rose bud so you could see the difference where the new color was added.
Following the same strategy as in with the first two colors add the next darker shade R85. I again add this from the bottom of each petal moving up to just below the previous color layer. If you look close you can see four color layers: R0000 base, R81, R83, R85. Can you see it?!!
Now....take that R0000, your base color, and in small circular motions blend the entire flower. This will soften all of the lines and make them blend together nicely. This is where you realize that if you haven't used a good quality card stock, such as I have used here, that your paper may start to pill or your lines will bleed. It will look like the image below.
I like to really deepen the shadows, which brings out the light even more in the flowers. Here I used R89 in all of the shadows. It's a very strong color and you have to be very careful adding it or you run the risk of putting down too much and you can't take it away...
I use just the very tip of the marker and with a very light touch just dab the darker color where I want it. With these gorgeous images placing the shading is made easier as it's indicated on the image where all of the dark lines are. Where the most lines are is where you will place the darkest colors, like in between the two large flowers. Adding that dark color really adds to the drama and make the image pop!
Okay, lets blend one more time. This time I use R83 which was my mid range pink and go over the petals in circular motions to blend the darkest color in, but not going all the way to the end as I don't want to lose my highlights. I am just blending the R83, R85, and R89 together.
And for the very last time I use R0000 to go over the entire flower blending in small circular motions to bring everything together and smooth out any rough edges.
I do the leaves exactly the same way as I did the flowers. I use 3 greens. The first layer is a custom blend I made using YG03 + Colorless blender in a 3 to 1 ratio. I use this to base the leaves. I then add YG03 around the outer edges leaving the centers with just the base color. Next I used YG17 to add deeper shading around the outside, but not covering up all of the YG03 I laid down in the previous step. Lastly I use the base color to go over the entire leaf blending all three shades together.
And here is my finished card. I've used this gorgeous silk ribbon from Flourishes, Basic Grey paper from the Sugared collection, and Prism card stock for matting and a card base.
I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and my time here in the Limelight. I have had a wonderful time and great experience and I appreciate every wonderful comment that I have received! Thank you so much for visiting me here! Have a wonderful weekend!
Here is my color palette. The unmarked green marker is YG03 and the unmarked white cap is a custom color I created using YG03 and colorless blender to get a green to use for a base color.
After stamping my image on Flourishes Classic White Card Stock in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I colored all of the flowers with my base color R0000. Just small circular motions coloring the entire flower with an even layer. Get that paper wet! If you are using a good card stock you can get the paper good and wet with the markers, so it shows through the back, and not worry about ruining it. Of course if you really soak it you run the risk of the stamped lines bleeding. Practice on some scraps so you know you have the right consistency.
The first shading color I add is R81. I color almost the entire petal leaving just the edge with the R0000 showing. You can see the subtle shading here. Don't forget to chose your light direction. I chose to have my light source coming from the front, therefore highlights will hit the centers and top edges of the petals.
Moving on to the next darker shade, I use R83 coloring each petal from the bottom to just below where I ended with the last color. Here I colored only the top full rose and rose bud so you could see the difference where the new color was added.
Following the same strategy as in with the first two colors add the next darker shade R85. I again add this from the bottom of each petal moving up to just below the previous color layer. If you look close you can see four color layers: R0000 base, R81, R83, R85. Can you see it?!!
Now....take that R0000, your base color, and in small circular motions blend the entire flower. This will soften all of the lines and make them blend together nicely. This is where you realize that if you haven't used a good quality card stock, such as I have used here, that your paper may start to pill or your lines will bleed. It will look like the image below.
I like to really deepen the shadows, which brings out the light even more in the flowers. Here I used R89 in all of the shadows. It's a very strong color and you have to be very careful adding it or you run the risk of putting down too much and you can't take it away...I use just the very tip of the marker and with a very light touch just dab the darker color where I want it. With these gorgeous images placing the shading is made easier as it's indicated on the image where all of the dark lines are. Where the most lines are is where you will place the darkest colors, like in between the two large flowers. Adding that dark color really adds to the drama and make the image pop!
Okay, lets blend one more time. This time I use R83 which was my mid range pink and go over the petals in circular motions to blend the darkest color in, but not going all the way to the end as I don't want to lose my highlights. I am just blending the R83, R85, and R89 together.
And for the very last time I use R0000 to go over the entire flower blending in small circular motions to bring everything together and smooth out any rough edges.
I do the leaves exactly the same way as I did the flowers. I use 3 greens. The first layer is a custom blend I made using YG03 + Colorless blender in a 3 to 1 ratio. I use this to base the leaves. I then add YG03 around the outer edges leaving the centers with just the base color. Next I used YG17 to add deeper shading around the outside, but not covering up all of the YG03 I laid down in the previous step. Lastly I use the base color to go over the entire leaf blending all three shades together.
And here is my finished card. I've used this gorgeous silk ribbon from Flourishes, Basic Grey paper from the Sugared collection, and Prism card stock for matting and a card base.
I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and my time here in the Limelight. I have had a wonderful time and great experience and I appreciate every wonderful comment that I have received! Thank you so much for visiting me here! Have a wonderful weekend!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
We've really moved!
The celebration is underway at our new blogging home on the web! Today marks a very special day... Jan Marie's Birthday!
Hop on over to our NEW BLOG to see our new stamp set in honor of her special day and help her take a trip back in time!
Hop on over to our NEW BLOG to see our new stamp set in honor of her special day and help her take a trip back in time!
It's a Celebration!
We have a little secret here at Flourishes and we can't wait to share and celebrate! Tomorrow is our fearless leader, Jan Marie Caruso's birthday! Let's all sing! Ok, maybe not. But, we can light the candles... literally... on a brand new set drawn by the talented Becky Fleck!
Introducing.....
Let them Eat Cake!
Introducing.....
Let them Eat Cake!
Becky did have a few words to share about the inspiration behind this beautiful set!
Much to my mother's chagrin, I am a tomboy through and through. I think the last time I wore pink was my wedding and it was with a great deal of protest. Naturally, anything girly or frou-frou just doesn't resonate with me. When Flourishes asked me to create this particular stamp set, I had just seen the Marie Antoinette movie with Kirsten Dunst (and now you're probably wondering WHY I watched that movie, but that's an entire novella all unto its own). Suffice it to say I was feeling a bit "inspired" after seeing the story about the life of this ill-fated queen. Her battle cry, "Let them eat cake!" motivated these designs and I hope you enjoy stamping with them as I much as I did creating them. Now if I could only talk Flourishes into some sort of camo stamp set ...
Hhhmmm. Camo? Not sure about that one Becky! :-) Being the good sport she is, Becky even made a card for Jan to send along cyber well wishes for a great year! Isn't it darling?
If you'd like a peek at this set in the store -- it's there for the taking! Just click HERE to see.
Get ready! Tomorrow, it's the Senior Design Team's turn to wish Jan a fun-filled birthday! We plan to hop along with fun and games that even YOU can participate in! So, hop on back and see what we have in store for Jan!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
We've made the move!
Flourishes Newsletter has officially moved to our brand new site! Click HERE to see!
Also, if you follow us on Google Reader, there is an icon on the left side of the blog asking you to Join This Site with Google Friend Connect. We'd love it if you clicked on the Join this Site button. It will keep your Google Reader subscription running smoothly, so you never miss the happenings at Flourishes! We will also be offering a little candy -- and only followers/friends will be eligible! So click and join us today!
Also, if you follow us on Google Reader, there is an icon on the left side of the blog asking you to Join This Site with Google Friend Connect. We'd love it if you clicked on the Join this Site button. It will keep your Google Reader subscription running smoothly, so you never miss the happenings at Flourishes! We will also be offering a little candy -- and only followers/friends will be eligible! So click and join us today!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC55)!
It is time for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC55)! Thanks so much for playing along with us last week in the "All About Me" challenge!
It is the last Tuesday of the month so we have a guest challenge host! This month's guest host is Iwona Palamountain (Chupa). Iwona comes all the way from Australia with her challenge! Thanks so much for being a challenge host for us this month, Iwona! Iwona is challenging us to use flowers! Whether they are printed flower designer papers, stamped, punch created, or store bought, put some flowers on your card this week! We would love to see what you create!
Let's go see what Iwona created using flowers!
Iwona is using A Year of Flowers 2 stamp set. Iwona is a landscape artist and loves all kinds of flowers. She thinks it would be impossible to pick one favorite flower. However, for her card she did need to narrow down the choices. She chose the Morning Glory because it is one of her many favorites. With today's challenge to use flowers, Flourishes definitely offers many gorgeous floral images to choose from. Iwona watercolored the Morning Glories. She added Inkssentials White gel for highlighting. She stamped her image on a textured paper that makes the image look like it was colored on canvas. I love that effect! Iwona added some sewing to the edges and added touches of lavendar pearls to the center of the flowers. She finished her gorgeous card with a lush burgandy satin bow! Beautifully done, Iwona! Please check out Iwona's blog for more card details!
Check out the other FOF blog team designers to see which flowers they used for the flower challenge!
Cindy Haffner, Betty Wright, Dee Jackson,
Silke Ledlow, Maki Jones, and Barbara Anders
FTTC54 Winner!
Chosen by Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers: 11
Timestamp: 2010-02-23 03:10:55 UTC
Congratulations, Caryl P!!!
Stamps and Stitches
Please pm me at SCS under gbedwright for your coupon code!
Silke Ledlow, Maki Jones, and Barbara Anders
FTTC54 Winner!
Chosen by Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers: 11
Timestamp: 2010-02-23 03:10:55 UTC
Congratulations, Caryl P!!!
Stamps and Stitches
Please pm me at SCS under gbedwright for your coupon code!
The Friends of Flourishes blog design team are bringing you exciting and different challenges each week. Everyone can PLAY and anyone can WIN! Each week Flourishes gives away a store gift certificate for $10 to the lucky random draw participant. In addition to this, Flourishes also gives away a random monthly gift certificate for $10 to one lucky monthly challenge winner. So, if you did not get a chance to finish all of the challenges during the month, you still have a chance to win. Just link your card with Mr. Linky for each challenge completed! We also have the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday blog button to sport on your blog! If you need the code, check here.
Now, it is your turn to play! Here is what you need to know!
- Anyone can play whether you have Flourishes stamps or not. Of course, if you have Flourishes stamps, by all means, use them.
- Use keyword code FTTC55 when linking to SCS or public gallery.
- Be sure to use the Mr. Linky to be eligible for the gift certificate drawing!
- If you use either your blog link or online gallery, please give an active Flourishes Blog link.
- By all means combine this challenge with other blog challenges.
- The challenge runs from Tuesday, 12:01 am until Monday at 6 pm EST
- Enjoy yourself!!!
As always, thanks so much for stopping by and playing Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge with us! Your comments are always greatly appreciated! Your Flourishes Friends!
Our New Website: Please Be Patient
This just in from Marcella Hawley!
Hello Everyone! This is Marcella Hawley, and in addition to designing images for your stamping pleasure (he he!)—I also designed Flourishes brand new website. Hopefully you can bear with us for a few more hours. When a website moves to a new host,it can take a while for all of the elements and links to switch over. Some will happen automatically and many we will need to update manually (especially those in old blog posts).
The "SHOPPING" aspect of Flourishes may take a bit of time to work properly for everyone. For example, I am seeing everything as it is supposed to be, but some folks may not have everything working smoothly. The internet takes a while for new information to "populate" to web servers throughout the country and the world.
I will report back when things seem to be on the "up and up" throughout the site! Thank you so much for your patience, and for visiting us today! ~marcella
As Marcella mentioned, we are in a state of transition. But the good thing to note is our new website comes with a brand new blog that is directly tied to our store and tutorial library! Fun stuff! So, head on over to www.flourishes.org and check it all out! If you currently subscribe to our blog, you will want to update the RSS feed service that you use i.e. Feedburner, Feedblitz or Google Reader so that you don't miss out on any of the action!
Hello Everyone! This is Marcella Hawley, and in addition to designing images for your stamping pleasure (he he!)—I also designed Flourishes brand new website. Hopefully you can bear with us for a few more hours. When a website moves to a new host,it can take a while for all of the elements and links to switch over. Some will happen automatically and many we will need to update manually (especially those in old blog posts).
The "SHOPPING" aspect of Flourishes may take a bit of time to work properly for everyone. For example, I am seeing everything as it is supposed to be, but some folks may not have everything working smoothly. The internet takes a while for new information to "populate" to web servers throughout the country and the world.
I will report back when things seem to be on the "up and up" throughout the site! Thank you so much for your patience, and for visiting us today! ~marcella
As Marcella mentioned, we are in a state of transition. But the good thing to note is our new website comes with a brand new blog that is directly tied to our store and tutorial library! Fun stuff! So, head on over to www.flourishes.org and check it all out! If you currently subscribe to our blog, you will want to update the RSS feed service that you use i.e. Feedburner, Feedblitz or Google Reader so that you don't miss out on any of the action!
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