Twice is Nice at CASology!

Wowsers! Who would have guessed that my cards would win in back-to-back weeks over at that the Casology challenge blog?? There are lots of fabulous cards and talent playing along each week. Can anyone say "cloud nine" :) 

With that said, I get to guest design again this week (woo hoo!). This week's cue card: TOY. My take on it:

Design defined:
Plenty of white space and some masking help to frame your focal image.

*DISCLAIMER: Long post ahead, but lot of details lol :)

I can't possibly be the only kid who had one or two...ok, maybe five or six... teddy bears that they totally loved! I knew this was going to be a Copic marker moment and my flicking technique...ummm leaves a few things to be desired. I really wanted to bring in the texture of the soft and fuzzy wool teddy like the Snuggle fabric softener bear (sad I had to use a laundry reference lol). Enter the dot technique of coloring. I found an awesome photo tutorial at the Copic Europe website...oooh, the goodies you can find on the interweb :)

The details:

1. Printed the teddy bear on Copic-friendly paper. I am still on the very first pack of Crafter's Companion Spectrum Noir cardstock I bought a year ago :) Let dry...let's be honest, hit with the heat tool :)
2. Used W1 as the base color to the bear, then dotted using E27, E31, E33, E37, and the colorless blender 0. Added color to his ears and cheeks using R11. Colored his patches using BG09 and BG57. 
3. To create the texture on his patches, I used the colorless blender pen to freehand the stripes. I did the same for the hearts on the ballon die cut.
4. Masked off the frame I created behind him and sponged in Mustard Seed Distress Ink. Then came the magic: I misted a large heart background stamp with water and stamped it onto the yellow frame. It lifts and lightens the ink...I bow down to Ranger Ink's genius :)
5. Finished the card by mounting the bear and the die cut string and ballon using some foam tape. The sentiment (fun and perfect for a beloved teddy bear) is from the Mondo Magnolia by Julie Ebersole stamp set. And, of course, a little Wink of Stella on the patches.

This card is loaded with fun techniques: Copic colorless blender pen drawing, coloring using dots, masking, and stamping with water. I think it's time to curl up with my teddy bear and take a nap!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and please pop in over at CASology...you can even win great craft stuff :)

Deidre