I am loving snails!

I don't know why, but snails have really been catching my attention.  Wanted to share my latest creation.  This is an image from Ching-Chou Kwik called Dandelion Fields.  The snail was a challenge for me but a lot of fun to color.  I tried to create an atmosphere of night and magical twilight which is why the dandelions are glowing.  It's my next development phase - how to do backgrounds.  Oh well, I hope you like her and her snail!

These are the supplies I used for this card:

Copic Markers (the colors used are pictured below)
Distress inks - Dusty Concord, Chipped Sapphire, Stormy Sky, Mustard Seed, Crushed Olive and Forest Moss
Wild Orchid Crafts flowers and lace
paper from my supply
wooden heart embossed with Fran-tage embossing powder

Xoxo,
Jo

I Get Carried Away!

Sally and Her Snail

I made this sweet card for a new, but already very dear friend.  She's an amazing artist, and it surprises me that she wants hand made items from me.  I did enjoy coloring this one up.  The stamp is a rubber stamp from Stamping Bella called Tiny Townie Sally and Her Snail.  I thought the saying was appropriate, because I really have been carried away by her personality and kindness.  It is from the hostess set Time to Celebrate by Stampin Up.

These are the markers I used to color Sally and her snail.  I used watercolor for the background.

Xoxo,
Jo

Copic Marker Holder Case

I think one of the challenges anyone has with Copic markers is how to store them and make them useable.  I like to be able to find my marker quickly, but I also like to be able to transport them.  I've tried the Art Bin and the grid made from lighting covers but quickly noticed that my markers don't fit in the slots straight and are "very tight".  The Copic Bag is nice but all the markers are thrown together making it hard to find the marker you want quickly.  So I've searched high and low for a bin and then asked my husband to make inserts for it.  This is the result:

There are slots for 374 markers.  Plenty for all the Copic colors plus additional pens or markers. It's great because you can lay it down or on it's side while you are coloring.

And it comes with a great lid that latches shut with the handles.  Transporting them is very easy.

The boxes are for sale on my Etsy site TJandThings.  They are available in smoke, teal, pink or purple transparent bins.

Also available is an insert for the Copic bag.  It has slots for 274 Copic Sketch markers. 

***UPDATE ****

Bins that hold Copic Originals, Spectrum Noir, and Promarker markers are here!  You can order it from TJ and Things on Etsy!

xoxo,

Jo

*Shipment will occur 3-5 business days from date of order due to the hand made nature of these holders.

Father's Day 2015

It's fun making my husband a card, but it's also challenging because cards for men are so "plain" to me.  For this one, I used Big Guy Grilling by Mo Manning.

His shirt is paper pieced with Kaiser Craft paper called Sears & Son.  Copics used are:

Skin E13, E11, E21, E00, E000

Pants, Hat and Charcoal Bag  B99, B97, B95, B93, B91

Grill R59, R39, R29, R24, R22

Glove and Grass G99, YG67, YG63, G28, G24

Hamburgers, Sandals and Utensil Handles  E49, E59, E57, E35

Silver C7, C5, C3, C1, C0

xoxo,

Jo

A Friend that Does Her Own Thing

Do you have or have you had a friend that just dances to her own music?  I have one leaving to hike the Appalachian Trail all by herself for 4 months.  I thought this card was fitting for her.  The image is Diva by Mo Manning.  I just purchased her yesterday after seeing her at the Kit and Clowder retreat.  Chelsea is definitely one of a kind and this sweet girl exudes that attitude, only in a dress instead of hiking gear.

Colors used:

Skin E04, E11, E21, E00, E000

Hair E18, E15, Y21, YR23

Dress BG10, BG53, BG57, BG75, BG78

Boa BV00, BV13, BV08, 100

xoxo,

Jo

Happy 23rd Birthday to My Daughter

This is a birthday card I finished up after a wonderful retreat with Kit and Clowder in Anaheim, California.  With all the chaos in trying to pack everything up, I totally forgot which Copic colors I used.  But the image is Let Us Eat Cake Sweet Tooth from www.tiddlyinks.com

xoxo,
Jo

Hannah Is An Angel Now

A friend that I graduated with lost his 22-year old daughter, Hannah, to a senseless murder while she was at Indiana University.  It was the week of the Little 500 and she was celebrating with friends.  They were all graduating in two weeks.  She left her friends around midnight and no one heard from her again.  They found her body the next day.  I will never understand the evil that exists in our world.

The one thing I do know is that God has us in his hands.  It has never been more evident than in watching my former classmate, her father, through Facebook.  The grace and spirit of this man, father, husband and friend is indescribable.  I never met Hannah but she must have been an incredible young woman.  There was no funeral, but rather a celebration of her life.  Her younger sister said she spoke to Hannah about death in one of their many talks together, and Hannah didn't want a funeral.  She wanted people driving up in limousines and laughing and talking about her life.  That is what they did.

I have witnessed her father not give into grief but embrace the wonderful 22 years he had with her.  He has shared many pictures of them together.  They are snapshots of memories he has of his wonderful life with her.  What a testimony of his faith.  I am humbled.  There are no worries or struggles that can match what he has gone through.  I have no reason to do anything but praise, just as he has done.  I only hope to live my life in the way he has exhibited through these difficult times.  God has a beautiful child with him right now and one day another beautiful soul will rejoice when he joins her.

I could not attend Hannah's celebration.  So I made a card as a tribute to her.  Hannah had long black hair. She was a member of Gamma Phi Beta, a sorority whose colors were purple and green.  My goals was to create a representation of a small portion of Hannah in the card.

I purchased a digital image called Clouds of Glory from AmazingPicturesbyMTP from Etsy for the background and used Photoshop Elements to layer an image from The East Wind, also Etsy, called Angel.

The following Copic colors were used on her.

Hair - C9, C7, C5, C3, C1

Skin - E000, E00, E21, E11, E13, E04, R20

Eyes - B37, B34

Wings - C1, BG000, BG0000 Wink of Stella Clear Glitter

Dress - BV08, BV13, BV02, BV00, BV0000, YG25, YG23, YG05

The floral leaves are dies from Shabby Flourish from La-La Land Crafts' April 2015 project kit.  I used seam binding and colored it with distress inks from Tim Holtz.  The flowers, paper and ribbon are from my stock.  The Fly High Hannah text was created in Word.

May God keep us all safe!

Thanks for looking,
Jo

Organization Update

My husband made the embellishment shelves I wanted, and they turned out great.  There is a 12 foot section of wall in my scrapbook room that was blank and I've been saving it for shelves.

  

    

And here is the embellishment wall that was added.  I love that I can see all my flowers, buttons and scrap ribbon and just grab the items I need.

He also made a topic bin for me.  I purchased an art bin from the local office supply store.  He took the dimensions of the bin and made this beautiful Copic sketch marker holder.  Umm, yes, I love this.  It can lay flat or on its side while you are using them.  The lid clips securely on and has side handles that snap over the lid to make a more secure latch.  It has 374 slots which is more than enough for all the Sketch markers and a few extra slots for Molotov pens and black liner pens.

I am a lucky girl!  

xoxo,
Jo

A Little Community Celebration

I love coloring.  I love my scrapbook room.  And I love this gal named Alyce Keegan over at Kit and Clowder.  What a great little community she has put together.  She did an Academy Awards night and asked her Facebook members to put together any art project that displays what Kit and Clowder means to us personally.

What I love about this community is that everyone is so creative and more importantly, so positive towards one another.  It truly does inspire me to keep crafting and share my projects with the group.  And even though the community is 6000 members, it promotes everyone to be an individual and to soar in what they love to do.  It has been a fun place to meet new friends while doing something I truly enjoy.  Thank you so much Alyce for your vision and your truly unwavering commitment to the group.  As a side note, you really do need to sleep!  :-)

The stamp is called Show Girls from Lost Coast Design.   I colored one of the girls to symbolize each of us as individuals even though we are part of a group of so many talented women.

Copic colors used with the middle dancing girl:

Skin:  E000, E00, E21, E11, E04
Corset:  R08, R05, R02
Stockings:  R08
Shoes:  N6, N4
Background:  Copic Air Brush with BV0000

The word "Inspire" is a rub-on that I bought a long time ago and the "Friends & Fun" rubber stamp is a $1 stamp that came from a bin some time ago.

xoxo,
Jo

Sexy Valentine

I've been a little busy with the installation of my new shelves with embellishments.  My husband is such a carpenter and he has been getting my custom embellishment shelves installed for me.  Needless to say my scrap room has been a little messy, but it was so worth it!

Below is the card for my hubby!  He deserves a little "sexy" in his life.  Don't you think?  We are going to spend the night away from home for Valentine's day, and I wanted to make sure I had a card for him on our get-a-way.

The image is Holy Shirt from Slinky Tart.  She's so cute and sexy!  I picked her because she has short hair like me.  :-)  I hope I did her justice with the coloring.  

Skin:  E13, E11, E21, E00, E000

Hair:  W09, W07, W05, W03

Shirt:  R39, R37, R29, R24, R22

Stockings:  C04, C02, C00

xoxo,

Jo