I find it so hard to believe that it is already November! It is now down to the last minute card making efforts for this holiday season. I put together a fairly simple project this month that should not take too long for you to complete. What I love about this design is how the ribbon pulls it all together.
I began the color scheme based entirely on the colors in this ribbon.
As you can see I defined the Snowy Tree image using the Copic colors above. If I were to create all ten cards included in this kit at the same time I would do each step on all ten images at the same time. You will be amazed at how quickly you can color when following this method.
I then added the depth, or layers, to the colors. I used the colorless blender to soften the edges of the blue on the snow and added my darker colors into the "recesses" or shadows of the images. I then came back in with my light colors to soften the edges.
To add a little texture and "fuzz out" the edges on the greenery I used my Prismacolor LimePeel pencil. What I mean by "fuzz out" is I color in tiny little circles going "outside the lines". This really helps fill in those spaces that might feel empty and it gives the whole image a soft feeling. I also added just a hint of Goldenrod to the birds being the second layer of Y21 didn't add quite enough "zip" to the birds and I didn't want them to get too dark. I often bring out my Prismacolor pencils just to complete an image. I love the combintaion of Copics and Prismacolors.
When you focus in on the photo above you can see the Liquid Applique that has been added to the snowy sections of the tree. As you can see a TINY amount goes a LONG ways.
Immediately following, before the applique has time to dry, I sprinkle on a dusting of Crystal Snow Glitter.
After allowing it to dry for only a couple of minutes I hit it with my heat embossing tool and puff up the applique. The longer you allow your applique to dry before heating it, the better it will be at holding it's own after puffing it up. So if I were to send this out in the mail I would probably let it sit overnight before hitting it with heat. Being I was in a time crunch though I just popped it up almost immediately. A wonderful tip for those who accidently "squish" down the applique is to reheat it. It will bring life back in to it immediately.
An additional little touch that just didn't photograph well was the texture that was added to the lower portion of the Holly Berry notecard. I inked the Victorian Pattern backgrounder using Memento red ink and stamped the image directly on the red cardstock. This subtle addition of color on the lower half does add a beautiful additional layer of pattern that is not overwhelming to the card.
The last thing I did was to run the Dill cardstock through my Swiss Dot Cuttlebug Folder. This is my all time favorite embossing folder and I am assuming that most of you have it. If it is something that you see a need for and would like me to add these to our store please just drop me a line (customerservice@ellenhutson.com) and we will see what we can do to help you obtain these. I'm only guessing that there are plenty of places that you order from, but I could be wrong - LOL!
I hope that you enjoy making this month's special packet. If you get bored with using only the tree you can easily replace it with the Cranberry and Popcorn or Della Robbia images.
