A Penny-farthing for your Thoughts...

Do we all know what a penny-farthing is?  Well, I knew what my card design looked like, but not what it was called.  You know, the funny bicycles with the large front wheel and the small back wheel.

I love this nut, she cracks me up!  I've started with a Copic marker color base of E30 and then dotted her with E31 as well as giving her a shadow on the bottom left side.

 

Here's a close-up of the Shopping Nut and you can get her here!

Directly from Wikipedia: The penny-farthing, also known as the high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, is a type of bicycle with a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel. It was popular after the boneshaker until the development of the safety bicycle in the 1880s. It was the first machine to be called a "bicycle".

Although the name "penny-farthing" is now the most common, it was probably not used until the machines were nearly outdated; the first recorded print reference is from 1891 in Bicycling News.   It comes from the British pennyand farthing coins, one much larger than the other, so that the side view resembles a penny leading a farthing.  For most of their reign, they were simply known as "bicycles". In the late 1890s, the name "ordinary" began to be used, to distinguish them from the emerging safety bicycles, and this term or hi-wheel (and variants) is preferred by many modern enthusiasts.

About 1870, English inventor James Starley, described as the father of the bicycle industry, and others began producing bicycles based on the French boneshaker but with front wheels of increasing size, because larger front wheels, up to 1.5 m (60 in) in diameter, enabled higher speeds on bicycles limited to direct drive.  In 1878, Albert Pope began manufacturing the Columbia bicycle outside of Boston, starting their two-decade heyday in America.

Although the trend was short-lived, the penny-farthing became a symbol of the late Victorian era. Its popularity also coincided with the birth of cycling as a sport.

Summer's getting a Boot from Me!

I've never used this Bugaboo boot and I guess I am thinking Autumn even though it's been 100 degrees Fahrenheit until lately.  We've gotten rain for our parched ground and that helped put out an enormous forest fire in the hills.  The smoke drifted all the way up to Lake Tahoe and when the wind changed, it was pretty nasty down here in the valley.  Both the tag and the boot have an Autumn appeal to me.  These images were so much fun to work with.

 Be sure to visit the challenge post at Die Cut Divas and enter the challenge using something new, some new technique.  It's all about NEW!

One More Watercolor for September

One more water color card for the month of September.  I think this card is a great Fall card and puts me in the mood to welcome a change in weather.

This technique was a Wet into Dry over Wet into Wet Background.  Remember that I am using water color paper.  I'm afraid I didn't get as much Wet into Wet background as I wanted to, but I really like how it turned out.  

Direct from our teacher, Susan, at The Stamp Art Shoppe, "Wet paper with brush and then paint directly onto stamp in various fall leaf colors.  Stamp several times in wet paper.  Dry thoroughly.  Paint onto the stamp agian making the colors a bit darker.  Stamp over the background image once or twice to add definition".   I was supposed to stamp an Asian poem in block over the leaves, but I forgot to.  It would have added more depth, but I'm good with this too.  I stamped a Kaiser Craft sentiment from a dear friend on the bottom right.  I really love the colors and sheer joy of Autumn in this card.  A fun technique and a very easy one.

I am entering this card into Open Minded Crafting Fun challenges.  I haven't entered a challenge in quite some time.  Great time to do so - the leaves are changing, time for a change!

Wet Watercolor onto wet paper (It's really a Flower, really)

Wet Watercolor onto wet paper

I took a class this month at my LSS and played with watercolors.  You never know what you'll get playing around.  Here's what Susan, our instructor, had to say about it.  "Brush paper with clean water.  Paint directly on to stamp with watercolors.  Stamp on to wet paper".  Now isn't that easy?  While the image is still wet, you paint with the background color (blue here).  It's easy to move the blue into the spaces between your painted flower.   When the watercolor has dried, you can stamp on top of your paper.  I used an open fence type stamp on the right and part of a "writing background" stamp on the left.  You can finish as you wish with your card.

NOTE:  I added some yellow, brown and orange to my original stamped image to bring out more color.

I hope you enjoyed my little watercolor here.  I'm in no way thinking I'm a grand painter, but I'm certainly working at having fun!

Day 4 and let's see the Shade

I loved watching the videos today, well, it just keeps getting better on our Copics online coloring class.

Sandy's video was such a great boon for visualizing the places to shade, what remains in the light, tips and tricks.  When I started with such dark blue colors, I thought it wasn't going to be anything but a big blob!...I was playing with colors out of my comfort zone, but I'm feeling a lot more confident now about using those darker colors.

Today, it was all about blending from the dark to the light on this particular image.  Kristina likes to move fast on coloring the leaves.  I love Kristina's statement about getting impatient on little flower images.  She asked us if it frustrated us to color flower images.  

Jennifer uses a non-directional light source - the light comes from her face.  She practices too and showed us a flower that she wrote "Yucky" across.  Fun fun video.

I was up for trying all kinds of colors.  today.  Hope you enjoyed today too.

DAY 3 Putting a Little Gray into your Life

Putting a Little Gray into your Life isn't a phrase you'd think would be fun, but, when coloring with Copic markers, it just might be!  I set my task to complete at least one thing from each video tonight.  I'm happy with the first 2 cups, but I just need to blend that last cup to the right a bit more on the bottom right.   Sandy put us to work right away with coffee mugs!

Here's where we saw the differences in shading with gray (gray used on the right side)  I need to practice my blending some more, but this wasn't too bad with some of the colors I was using.  Interesting to color what would be different items that would be 3 D in real life.

Kristina showed us we can use different shades of gray on the same image.  You just have to play around.

 Each of these ladies added a bit more information or a different way to do the same technique.  How to choose which gray you want to use and which colors to use  I loved listening to Laura.  

You can see I have to much color and should have waited for the cup to dry, but I am so impatient.  Kathy is always thinking out of the box and delights in coloring.

I am soooo off to bed.  Another long day tomorrow with lots of meetings to help train and a little refresher too.  Have fun coloring.

DAY TWO - Coloring with Copics

Day Two of class and even though I didn't get to color many birds, I will try to practice this weekend. I don't need to bring the shading up on the chest so much, but I'm getting the hang of it.

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I don't think I would ever have used yellow with any of the colors on the butterflies if I hadn't taken this class.

Close-up of the more orange of the two and the colors I used. 

Close-up of the more pink of the two butterflies and colors.  The RV13 was on the body

I thought I'd try a blue butterfly.  I really think I like it.

I have been so enjoying this class.  I usually am too tired to even try something the first day of an online class, but this isn't so overwhelming, it's simply practice.   GREAT IDEA!

Online Copics Class Day ONE

I love how the class really just begins with a beginning basic course so you can just practice.

Don't worry about staying in the lines, practice.  I made some booboos with my last two balloon groups.  I think I am getting tired, but I put the shadow where the light should show on the first balloons.  But I didn't give up on shading.  I found some colors I would never have put together, but found they were fine.

The boxes are demonstrations of what only two colors blended together can do.  I wanted the 2nd box to be sharper and it definitely is. I think something between the two boxes in darkness of color would be best.  But it sure was fun coloring!

I am so happy I could actually participate in coloring Day ONE on Day ONE.  Watching the videos several times really helps.  I think this class would be great for anyone.  You can still register at http://www.onlinecardclasses.com/.  I can't wait for day rwo.

Gus - No Muss, No Fuss

I think Gus is funny and kooky and just in need of a good joke.  Remember the color wheel?  Well, orange and blue are complements and that's pretty much what I used here.

Complementary Colors: Those colors located opposite each other on a color wheel, as orange and blue.  I love how this dude turned out.  Basic Color Wheel here.

Remember to visit Die Cut Divas to enter the challenge HERE!

My Salted Card - Wet into Wet Technique

Sometimes you need a sympathy card.  The pink watercolor paper behind the notecard was painted with watercolor paint and sprinkled with Salt.  This is another watercolor technique I picked up this month at my watercolor class.  Totally FUN!

I brushed the watercolor paper with clean water, then picked up color with a very wet paintbrush.  I washed the color over the paper, keeping it fairly wet.  I had a choice of Epson salt or Kosher salt.  Kosher salt will make smaller dots on the surface of the paper. I hope you can see the dots in the paper that look like they might have been made with some kind of embossing folder.

The salt sits on the wet watercolor until the paper is dry.  You can just flick the crystals of salt off and voila!  Instant COOL background.  I glued the watercolor paper to the die-cut front of the card and then overlapped the front with a die-cut flower.

Closeup of the Epson Salted background

I am sorry I had to use it so soon after making this.  But it did turn out wonderfully.

Video Game Guy!

I thought this Bugaboo Digital gamer was fun and a bit crazy!  This is the first time I've ever used him.  And I wasn't going for a pink wall, but the color turns out a bit more pink than I thought it would.  Oh well, gamers really don't care about the walls around them.  That monitor is a bit small though.  I'm a gamer from way back and I thought this would be fun!

Have fun every day!

Remember to visit Die Cut Divas for our Challenge - something new.

Technique - Split Complementary:

Technique here is Split Complementary:

You are the Best

I used Red-orange the red orange color at the end of the word "Complementary" (find it on the color wheel and go directly opposite to the blue-green)   Blue and Green which are on each side of Blue-Green.  

  

A Split Complementary Color Scheme is made up of three hues. First you choose your main starting color and select the two colors on either side of its Complementary color, which is what I did. 

You can see that no matter where you start, there will always be at least one Tertiary color in your selection. Tertiary colors are blends and will make your resulting palette quite sophisticated with an infinite number of subtle mixtures.  This color scheme is extremely popular with artists and designers.  Lots of other information at Color Wheel Artist.

Watercolor - Wet onto Wet Technique

Wet onto Wet Technique.  Brush your paper with clean water and paint directly onto a solid type of stamp with your watercolors.  Stamp onto your wet watercolor paper.   You may want to add a bit more color, which I did.  Clean your brush and pick up your background color and fill in around your stamped image, careful not to overlap.  Let dry and add whatever background stamp(s) you wish.  I added an open wire stamp to the right and a written background on the left and tied with a raffia tie and mounted on a dark brown note card.

This is such an easy card to make using a watercolor technique.  You would have no idea that the stamp I used is a flower image, well, maybe a little.

Enjoy the watercolor life.

Easy watercolor Wet on Dry Paper technique

I took a class on watercolor techniques at my local stamp shop, The Stamp Art Shoppe, in Roseville, California.  Susan, our teacher, also conducts Copic coloring classes.  She's super and a bit overwhelmed with a son's wedding in the near future.  We just love her.

Here is an easy peasy card because it is easy to make your colors go where you want them to.   Yes, this was no accident.  hehehe  If your paper is dry, your watercolors won't run out of control as much as a wet on wet technique.  Just a tip.  As Susn says, "it is easier to contain the color where you put it".  You put your wet media (watercolors blue and green) on the paper and tilt the paper so you get the drips and runs where you want them.  Now I wanted purple after I had the blue and green on, so that's what I did.  I added the purple, tilted the card and let it run.  I really liked the addition of a third color.  Let it dry and then stamp a large stamp to give it some cohesion and mount.  A ribbon here added some interest.

I didn't get the image stamped well here, but if I didn't tell you, you wouldn't have known it.  The happenstance of art!

I really do like the way this turned out.

Keys, Luggage, Camera

Keys, Luggage, Camera

I picked the camera brads up at either Michaels or Hobby Lobby.  I thought they would be perfect for a holiday.  You'd have to be going on holiday with that much luggage.  

The two keys are die-cut from an aluminum soda can. I thought the striped paper was striking.  The "hello" is a bit hard to see, but it works.  I colored the luggage with Copic markers.  Hope you like this.  I think it works.

Desk Scraps

Playing Around with some leftovers on my desk.  Of course, the tags are die-cut from a tissue box.  Behind the butterfly is a dress manikin.  They look rather dark and moody to me.  They really aren't.  I think I was in an Autumn mood.  They turned out not too badly for desk scraps.

One Technique, Two Cards

Another technique for me.  This Technique in using the color wheel is choosing analogous colors with one complement.  I used three analogous colors on this card, consisting of Yellow, Yellow-Green and Green.  I then used the complementary color of Green, which is Red.

I used three colors next to each other on the color wheel.   Taking a section from Dina Wakely's handout practice sheets, "These colors harmonize well and even blend into each other.  The effect is similar to a monochromatic scheme, but with more visual interest.  The gradual changing of the colors is pleasing and suggests form and depth". Another practice handout contained boxes again for practice using analogous with complement.  That's the technique I used here.

Analogous with Complement.  So analogous is 2 to 3 colors next to each other ont he color wheel.  You add a color that is complementary to the middle color or actually to whichever color looks best of the paint you're using, but usually the middle color.  A Dina Wakely moment please:  "This scheme gives you the harmony of the analogous scheme, and a bit of pop from the complement."  I think it works!

Bugaboo Edward Elephant - present with some Spellbinder die-cuts.

What a cute image - Bugaboo "You are the Best" with those wonderful Spellbinder die-cuts.

I hope the color wheels below are helpful.  The two circles directly below are from worqx.com

Complementary Colors: Those colors located opposite each other on a color wheel.

Analogous Colors: Those colors located close together on a color wheel

The wheel below I found by googling "color wheel" right here.   The color wheel is  really a wonderful tool.  I'm still trying to memorize some of the tertiary colors.  I'm not making as much headway as I would like, but try it.  Keep the wheel handy and you'll have an easier time deciding on your colors. 

A New Technique for Me

A technique in the making.  I couldn't make it to sign-ups at my LSS in time to grab more than one class, but that one class was FANTASTIC.  Who gave that class?  None other than Dina Wakely, THE DINA WAKELY!  I took this class in learning how to use the color wheel, really use it.  We all did journals which gave us a lot of space to paint and be messy.  Now it's homework time - MEMORIZE THE COLOR WHEEL!   The saddle card is my sample for the Die Cut Divas challenge.

Complementary colors are colors directly opposite on the color wheel, such as purple and yellow.  Today I'm practicing with yellow and purple, still working on the rest.  This is my first attempt to really use the wheel and also to use brown as a neutral, just like black and white and sometimes blue.  No, Dina did not say brown was a neutral, but I did and it's my card, so I'm claiming brown off limits on my color chart.. One of Dina's handouts put's it this way: "Complementary color schemes are visually exciting".  When you put them beside each other, they make each other appear brighter.  That certainly happened here.  The yellow became brighter.  Great contrast, right? 

I know the saddle and that little round thing on it look blue.  They aren't, but oh well, looks good anyway, doesn't it?   I even had the bright idea of using string for the rope over the saddle horn.  Patting myself on the back on that.

Bugaboo image is saddle with some great Spellbinder Labels 18

I'm memorizing the color wheel little by little.

I have never used the leaves die-cuts or this new digital from Bugaboo until now.  Be sure to visit 

Die Cut Divas to see what the challenge of the month is.