Hi Everyone.
Y'all know by now that I have been complaining about being in a creative funk and having nothing to share with you? Well, I was doing some cleanup on my Mac today as I'm running out of disk space and noticed that I had multiple cards that I have made over the last few months that I haven't shared with you.
So, I am dusting off the card photos and will be sharing them with you over the next couple of weeks. Tonight is a bonus night as I have several cards that I made with the Altenew set – Parrot Paradise. I LOVE this set and am thrilled to see that they are releasing the dies to go with it, as I have been cutting it out by hand!
I love coloring this parrot image and have done it in several different ways with different color schemes. You have seen one of these cards before, but I don't think you have seen the others and I thought it might be fun for you to see them all together.
Here's the first one. For this version I used Altenew inks to color over the top half of the card and then used the same ink to stamp the palm leaves onto the bottom of the card, so the colors stayed consistent. I then use some of my Prismacolor pencils to color the parrot in shades of blue, turquoise, pink and purple. I fussy cut him and popped him up on foam dots. You can see that on the breast feathers, I tried to create a feel of texture and used more gradient colors on the wins and body. For the eye, I used some black Irresistibles to make the eye really pop.
I love the subtle colors of the shades of blues on the base and think the sentiment from the Crafty Friends set really explains how I feel. There is something about that wonderful feeling when you look at something you have created and realized that it came from nothing other than a stamp and a piece of paper – and here you have your own little art piece.
My second card is very different. I used the same elements for the card – but with very different results. Here I used strong colors for the leaves, over-stamping then down the side. The parrot is colored with much stronger hues, but i still tried to capture a little texture. I also flicked some of the colors behind the parrot.
On this card, I love the colors and how the parrot pops against the leaves. The turquoise borders help to highlight his main colors even more.
My third card is very different. This time I wanted to go with a lot less color variation and move to the yellows and oranges. I also didn't use the leaf stamps as I wanted him to be solely the focal point and not have any distractions. I colored this image with Prismas as well and used the online technique for him.
On this card I love the subtle variations in color and how you can see each individual feather in the wings. I also love the coloring on his face. Again the turquoise background allows the bird to pop.
Then, we have this version. Much stronger colors again but this time I used Copic markers. I love the very strong colors with the stamped foliage and the warm reds and yellows.
Then.. we have this one. Another clean and simple version. This time I stamped with versa mark and heat stamped with white embossing powder. I then used my Brush Markers to color in the parrot. I added a little light blue wash around it and left the rest of the card very clean and simple. This is another version that some of you might remember – it was for a one layer challenge across at Addicted to CAS.
Finally, there is this version – which some of you may already have seen. The colors are from an Altenew challenge. This was also colored with Copic markers – but so many different colors of greens, yellows, browns, turquoise. Again, a little splattering on the background to add more interest – and a strong turquoise border.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the Parrot Paradise showcase. I really do love this stamp set and will definitely be getting the dies when they are released tomorrow!
On a personal note:
Well…. still not much mojo… but I am forcing myself to get into my craft room later tomorrow as I NEED to make some Christmas cards 🙂
Also, it's so cold here – it literally dropped 40 degrees overnight earlier this week… so going outside isn't an option.. I'd rather stay warm indoors and force myself to craft 🙂
I'll be back tomorrow with my Addicted to CAS card. In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.
hugs
Jaydee
5 Responses
Wow Jaydee, these are just delightful! I love seeing all the different looks based on your colors and medium used. The softness of the yellow one in the middle with his outstanding facial coloring is brilliant especially! I can’t believe you’ve been cutting these by hand. I’m happy there’s a die now, what a time saver! Such a great image and I bet it’s just fun to play with. Maybe that’s the secret to mojo? ; )
Like you, I’m hoping to make a few special cards this weekend for Christmas. The rest will be photo cards with my crazy schedule but I have to let that go and move forward. Our weather is finally cold and our bus stop temperatures are in the teens. My son was forced to wear pants to school this week! Have a lovely weekend crafting!!
Oh my Jaydee!! Love these birds and all the ways that you’ve used them. So very different but each special in it’s own way. I love having the dies to go with whatever stamps I have as I never know whether I want to use as is or cut them out. I like to stamp and take with me to color wherever I might be and then put them together later. I seem to do better coloring if I do a bunch at a time and then work with them again another time to make them into cards. Loved everyone of these. I too need to get some more cards made – I’ve sent nearly everyone that I have done and I’m challenging myself to use the Milk and Cookies set to make some anniversary and maybe even a retirement card. I love getting a new set of stamps and dies and maybe some new paper and see what I can make come out of it. I rely on old sketches that have worked for me whenever I loose my mojo and eventually it comes back. Best to you!!
Oh, Jaydee, these cards are beautiful. I love how colorful in different ways each is. I’ve been away for almost a month in Australia and New Zealand and have missed your creativity. I’m glad to be home and able to make a few more Christmas cards. Have a wonderful day and here’s hoping your mojo is back with your sharing of these wonderful cards.
Jaydee… wow. What a stunning gallery of cards, and you’ve truly made this stamp set shine. Each is so different and gorgeous. I love the foliage stamps, too.
Gasp!!! My goodness, Jaydee…this is such a gorgeous showcase of your Parrot stamp! I love how you colored each one in such a unique way and how your coloring and choice of palettes are just beautiful! You have really done an amazing job using him as your focal point…I love every, single version!!!