Ice Beary Greetings

Whiff of Joy came out with their Christmas images and I couldn't resist this adorable little bear. I colored him with Copics and added a bit of sparkle on the snow with some Crystal Stickles.

I love the Pendant Nestabilities die, ever since I saw my friend Sue use it here to create her stunning Christmas ornament. Then I saw Teri's card here and that's when I knew I had to get it.


What I didn't love was how the die wouldn't release the piece once it was cut. I kept wishing there was some type of Teflon spray that would just pop the piece out.

I finally solved the problem by putting a piece of waxed paper between the die and cardstock.

I also used a barbecue stick to poke out all the smaller pieces before sliding the stick under the die to help loosen the piece. Using a good quality cardstock helps, along with saying a little prayer.



If you've used them before, I'd love to hear your "sticky" solutions for getting your pieces out of your pendant dies.

Thanks for stopping by today! Whatever you do, I hope you have a fun weekend!

Stamps: Whiff of Joy
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Ink: Memento
Other: Copics, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Nestabilities dies, Stickles, pop dots, waxed paper

Hello, Gamsol!

Since I've become a fan of Copics, my Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol have been stashed away. I was struggling with trying to color Uru and Bird, a Whiff of Joy stamp, with Copics. I didn't have the right greens, and some areas are super detailed. I ruined a couple of images because R39 bled through the lines, and it's really hard to "push" red with the colorless blender.

I picked up a Prisma and started coloring, using the Gamsol to blend and before I knew it, the image was colored! I'd forgotten how much I like using Gamsol and probably have more shades of Prismas than Copics.

There's a tutorial here on the WoJ site, that combines using Copics together with your Prismas and Gamsol. You lay a flat base of color with Copics first, and then use the Prismas and blend with Gamsol for shadowing. You can't do it in reverse order, or the Prismas will ruin your Copics.

Now the Prismas and Gamsol have earned a spot on my desk. I'll be reaching for them more often for detailed images...or until my Oozak order arrives.

Edited to note: I tried using Gamsol on digital images and there was some smearing. Do a test run on some small images before tackling a larger one.

Supplies:

Stamps: Whiff of Joy, Stampin Up (sentiment)

Ink: Memento, Ranger

Cardstock: Stampin Up

Patterned paper: Daisy D's

Other: Prismacolor pencils, Gamsol, Nestabilities

Ribbon, twine and button (from Annie--thank you!)