Bear-ied in Paperwork :-) ,,, card making tutorial

A few days ago Steph at Simon Says Stamp asked me if I would make a tutorial on how I make my cards using a Gruffies stamp :-) A step by step 'how I do it' ! :-) get coffee ,,, long post !! :-)

We all have a different way we do things but I always start with a stamp that I want to use. I have chosen this very cute Bear-ied in Paperwork by Stampabilities



Then I decide a sketch, I always try to find a suitable one on one of the many challenges out there :-) for this card I thought Maya's sketch on the Sketch Saturday Challenge was perfect :-) Thanks Maya xx



I then stamp the image and shape it according to the sketch ,, in this case I used my Spellbinders Nestability Circle die.



The next step is to choose the papers,, I love the new Basic Grey Origins paper pad and accessories and I thought they would work well with this image ,,, a bit 'graph' like :)



I then trim and make any fancy edges, I used a Martha Stewart Arch Lattice Border punch.



As I have trimmed the paper I feel that the edges need some inking :-) I use the thin cut off strips to test the colours of ink that will work best. The vintage photo ink I didn't think was quite dark enough so I added a little black to it. I ink the edges of the papers and the image.



I always use a Tim Holtz blending tool to do this, I find they really are alot better to use than bits of foam that some people use.



Now I come to the strip across the center of the card ,,, I was debating whether or not to use ribbon ,, but then thought I could ink a plain piece of card and ink a cuttlebug script folder, it ties in with the image perfectly I think ,,, :-)





Now I am ready to start coloring. I am choosing to use Copic Markers , I love these pens ! :-) They are all in stock at Simon Says Stamp !! :-) I always keep my colour chart handy, as you can see it is well used !!! It really helps to color coordinate your images to the designer papers.



I strt with the skin tones first, colour all these areas with the lightest skin shade that you use ,, in thins case I used E000



then add a darker shade to the shaded areas ,, I used E00, then blend them together with the lighter E000 I added a little R20 to the cheeks and blended again with E000



now for the fur, I decided to make him a little honey colourd so used E11 and gave him a light colour everywhere



then added E13 and E15 to the shaded and then blended with E11 so there were no harsh lines



I used the same technige for the papers using E40, 41 and 43



I shaded the lower area with a Warm Grey, W3, and smudged the edges with a blender pen.



OK ,,, all done ,,,, now it all comes together :-) While I have been making this card I have been thinking fof what embelishments I have that will look good with this image ,,,,, what shall I find in my messy drawers ????

Start to assemble the card :-) think think ,,,, whats in my drawers ???



I use 3D tape for added dimension :-)



Oohh look what I found to use ,,,,,



This was on a recent parcel from Simon says Stamp !!! Perfect ,,,, recycling too !!! :-)

I also had some Tim Holtz Ideology mini paper clips and some Philosophy tags,, and some matchinhg Basic Grey Origins Epoxy Clips.



I thought that it needed a little something in the bottom right corner too. So I lightly stamped some numbers from the Tim Holtz Urban Chic set :-)

This card will be for Steph's Birthday I think :-) I know Heidi keeps her very busy and she must feel like this at times ha ha :-)

What do you think ?? I would love to know your thoughts ,,, have I rabbited on too much ,,, are you bored silly ?? Please leave me a comment ,,, the good the bad and the ugly :-)


I have a GORGEOUS blog candy sponsored by Heidi at Simon Says Stamp if you would like to take a peek it is at the top of my blog :-)