Shutter Card and My Newest Love!

Hey everyone!  Thanks for stopping by today. 

          I tell you.....it sure is great to be crafting again.  It's good therapy!  Today I have a few things to tell you about.  I'll start with this shutter card I made today.  It looks totally complicated.  But it is SO VERY EASY.  It somewhat resembles the swing card I posted yesterday, but differs when it's opened.  Here it is....

This is the view when it's closed.  I just love the owl punch!  It punches out everything you need for him!  Three sizes of circles for his eyes, the middle section and the heart!  And yes, I know I need to re-paint my fingernails.  Focus on the card-not my chipped nails ladies!

Here is the open view:

L to the O to the V to the E it SO STINKIN' Much!  I feel a camp coming on for interactive cards!  I have lots of ideas for them!

So, moving on to my new love that's quickly climbing to the top (up close to hubby and kids-but 1 step lower!)

      COPIC markers!  They are alcohol based markers that make them so incredibly blend-able with other shades.  So you can create highlights and shading on your line-art image stamps.  This markers are professional grade artist markers that are made in Japan and used by comic makers.  Hence the reason for the price-$6.49 a piece!  Needless to say my collection will grow by only a few markers at a time, but I'm such a life-er now.  I've spent hours on youtube (pathetic, right?  I know!) watching people do tutorials on how to color, blend, shade and highlight images.  I am a crazed lunatic now.  I always LOVED coloring as a child.  And now I can color everyday without feeling like I need to beg my daughter to bring out the crayons and coloring books!

So I bought a few new line-art stamps I fell in lust with while watching videos on youtube.  Bought my first 10 or so markers over the past few weeks and have been practicing alot.  I'm even taking a Copic Class at a scrapbooking store tomorrow!  Here's some of my practicing.

I just took a scrap of cardstock and stamped all my new images out so I could play and practice.  See the "sidewalks?" They are not part of the stamps!  I made them with Copics and a ruler!  My next step will be some blues so I can do blue jeans on them.
         Now........here's what I made for my daughter to give as thank you's to everyone who attended her birthday party.......

I've gotten much better than when I first started.  Do you see the gradual shading of the dark on the right side of her pants to the lighter on the left side?  And how her hair is lighter on top where the sun would hit it?  That's the look you want to go for with Copics.  And something you cannot do with water based markers.  That's actually several shades of browns blended together where you can't see the lines.  It gives images so much more depth and demintion instead of looking flat.  So what do you think?

Going broke buying Copics and loving it-
~J