We are so incredibly delighted to welcome our friend Brandi Kincaid to The Classroom for her first guest post!!!
Brandi is the ridiculously gifted artist behind many of the Essentials by Ellen stamps & dies, including the Leading Ladies! And she is also a very talented maker who has recently discovered Copic markers. Today Brandi had created an adorable custom bookshelf card, using some of her latest designs that will be available this coming Sunday, February 4th!!!
Hi, Everyone! Today I’m sharing a sneak of one of, yes you heard me, one of the TWO (hooray!) Leading Lady stamps releasing Sunday, February 4th!
Some of my very best friends are Cat Ladies, so I knew I had to put some of the pieces of this set to work right away. Because I’m a newbie when it comes to Copic Markers, I’ve found that I do better when I color a lot at one time. The more I color in one sitting, the more my hand relaxes and the better it gets. I’ve still got so, so far to go, but I’ve found this really helps. Stamping a bunch of sheets of paper, coloring them in while watching a great movie (or two), and then cutting them out also gives you a big stash of awesome pieces to work with when you want to make a quick card. Plus, a handful of these adorable die cuts can make any heart happy.
For this card, I was inspired by two things: the amazing woodgrain paper, and the memory of seeing my friends cats being mischievous climbing all over their shelves, getting into plants, and hiding in any open box or bowl. After deciding to make a bookshelf and fill it with all my favorite stamps from this set as well as previously Leading Ladies, I decided to go against my usual solid white background, and make a little wallpaper for behind the shelf. I used Copic markers from some soft squiggly flowers, and these are the colors I chose:
These little blob of floral springtime were quick and easy, but also kind of fun! As much as I LOVE my solid white backgrounds dotted with stamped pops of color, a bit of something different is fun, too.
The fun part was deciding what I wanted to add to the shelves. I knew I’d have at least a few of the cats from the new set, but I also decided to grab some of the previous Leading Ladies and have them share some of their awesome accessories. Here’s what I ended up with: three cats, a potted plant from the Plant Lady, a bowl from the Baker Lady, books from the Cozy Lady, a fishbowl full of fish, and a sentiment stamped to look like it’s been framed.
For the fishbowl, I colored a piece of paper with Copic Markers, and used a circle die to cut it out. I trimmed both ends so give it a flat base and a titled opening, which meant it might look a little tipped, like the kitten was trying to get inside. I used the fish from the new set and those adorable tiny blue sequins to decorate the bowl, and because I was dying to make it look like a glass bowl, I grabbed a piece of clear acetate plastic from some packing and cut it to fit around the paper bowl.
For the bookshelf itself, I cut a rectangle and a few strips from the woodgrain paper, and made sure to add the strips, or “shelves” with foam dots to raise them up just a bit and make it easier to add the items later. Here’s the thing, if you love organizing shelves in your home, doing the same on a card is just as fun!
It was so fun to tuck a cat behind the plant, inside the bowl, and the one little guy who’s trying for a little midday fishing.
I can’t wait to share the full new Leading Lady sets with you, but until then, maybe you’ll start day dreaming up a paper shelf of your own, and what you might fill it with!
Supplies:
***The new Essentials by Ellen Leading Ladies - Cat Lady & Dog Lady will be available on February 4th!***
