Koh-I-Noor Progresso Woodless Colored Pencils

Can I just say these pencils blend like butter!  This panel took me several hours to complete, but I love how it turned out. 

I stamped the background stamp onto Bristol Paper and then began coloring.  I took pics as I went, the next few pics will give you a look at the progression of the coloring.

Once I completed the coloring I did some blending with Gamsol to smooth out the colors.

I'm not sure if I will leave this panel intact and create a square card, or if I will cut it into pieces for several cards.  For now, I have it propped on my desk for inspiration.

Links to Products Used:

Tsukineko VersaFine Pigment Ink Pad - Onyx Black AZ | SSS	Strathmore - 9 x 12 Bristol Smooth Paper Pad - 20 Sheets SB | AZ | SSS | MFT	Simon Says Cling Rubber Stamp ORNATE BACKGROUND SSS	Art Alternatives Sandpaper Pencil Pointer AZ
Crafter's Companion GAMSOL BLENDING SOLUTION Spectrum Noir AZ | SSS	Pro Art BLENDING PAPER STUMPS Size 4 SSS	Koh-I-Noor Progresso Woodless Colored 24-Pencil Set AZ

Making My Mark with Zig Writer Markers

Coloring with marker has never really been my wheelhouse.  I own a number of different types of markers, but usually, when I color with them I find the end result disappointing.  This card was a better experience than most.

I started by stamping the Simon Says Cosmos Background stamp with VersaFine Smokey Gery Ink onto Bristol Smooth Paper.  I really do like the Bristol Smooth Paper for coloring.

I started with just a few colors, but then added more as I progressed.  I used Evergreen for all of the stems, and Splash for the bright blue background.  For the flowers, I used Butter for all the centers and then created two-marker color combos the petals colors including and in no certain order - Powder Blue, English Lavender, Plumb, Baby Pink, Platinum, Bluebonnet, Pure Violet, Evergreen, Hyacinth.

Once the coloring was complete I added a little bit of Wink of Stella to the flower centers.  Then I stamped "Miss You" from the My Favorite Things Love is in the Mail set, using the same VersaFine ink, onto a pennant cut from white cardstock using the Stitched Pennants dies from Verve Stamp and glued it to the card.

Links to Products Used:

Kokuyo Tape Glue Dot Liner Long tape, Refill cartridge 5 Pack, AZ | SSS	Kokuyo Tape Glue Dot Liner Long-Blue AZ | SSS	Stitched Pennants Die Set MFT | Other Shops	Tsukineko VersaFine SMOKEY GRAY Ink Pad SSS
Kuretake - ZIG - Memory System - Dual Tip Writer Marker - 48 Piece set SB | AZ	ZIG - Memory System - Wink Of Stella - Glitter Brush Marker - Glitter Clear SB | SSS	Strathmore - 9 x 12 Bristol Smooth Paper Pad - 20 Sheets SB | AZ | SSS | MFT	My Favorite Things LOVE IS IN THE MAIL Clear Stamps SSS | MFT
Simon Says Cling Rubber Stamp COSMOS Background SSS	Fiskars PREMIUM CUT LINE Paper Trimmer 12 Inches SB | AZ | SSS	Ranger Ink - Inkssentials - Reusable Non-Stick Craft Sheet - 15 inch by 18 inch SB | AZ | SSS	Tonic Studios - Tim Holtz - Stamp Platform SB | AZ | SSS

Handwritten Notes & Why To Write Them

Handwritten notes are a dying art.  Why?  Because we text, IM, email, Tweet, SnapChat, and the list goes on and on.  The short answer is we do everything digitally.  We just don't take the time to drop a note in the mail anymore, but let me ask you this - does it make you smile when you find something in your mailbox beside junk mail, subscriptions, and bills?  You just smiled and shook your head yes, didn't you?  That right there is the number one reason we should take the time to drop that note in the mail.

I asked the question - What are your whys for not sending Happy Mail? on my Facebook page the other day and these are the answers I got back:

• I always forget
• I tell myself I'll do it tomorrow
• I don't ever have stamps
• I don't know what to say
• I think about it but I just never follow through
• I'm lazy

Let me share a few tips and ideas to encourage you to send a little snail mail now and then.

For the "I always forget" crowd - Create an outgoing mail station in your house.  Somewhere that outgoing mail can always be laid, somewhere near your keys, somewhere you'll see t and grab it on your way out the door.  This area should include a box for outgoing mail, a place for stamps pen and maybe even a calendar.  On the calendar write important dates.  Once a month sit down and write out your cards for the following month's occasions, put a date in the top right corner of the envelope for the week before the event so you can be sure to mail it on time.  Don't worry you can cover the little date notation when you add the stamp and no one will be any wiser to your new found ways.   

For the "I don't ever have stamps" crowd - Did you know you can buy individual stamps at the post office?  You can also order sheets or rolls of stamps at usps.com and have them delivered to your mailbox. 

For the "I don't know what to say" crowd - Write to tell someone how much you appreciate the role they play in your life.  Try this tip I got from a comment on a post @mailitmonday did on Instagram last week, start your note with "I want to tell you that..." and go from there.  Remember your note doesn't need to be long and meaningful, just a note to say hi, thanks, love you, or thought about you today.  

Hopefully, these tips will help the lazy, lack-of-follow-throughers, and I'll do it tomorrow peeps too.  It's not easy.  Remeber it takes time to build a habit.  I'm not perfect. I forget, I get busy, and I even get lazy.  Then somewhere along the way guilt sets in and I go back to sending cards again.  

I've learned  I'm more of a "Happy Mail" sender than I am a birthday/holiday/anniversary card sender.  I look at it this way, lots of people remember to send birthday cards, Christmas cards and the like.  Why not be the smile on some random day, just to say "Hey, I was thinking about you."  You also have to do it without the expectation of receiving.

"Give without expecting anything in return, not even a thank you.  That is unconditional kindness...everything else is ego."

I hope this helps encourage you to send more handwritten notes.  One last note, don't let the excuse of "bad" handwriting be a factor.  It's the note that matters, not the handwriting.  Now, go send some Handwritten Happy Mail.

For the Love of Inktense Pencils

Lately, I've been working with the different color mediums I have in my creative stash.  I've owned my set of Inktense pencils for a while and only used them a handful of times.  In an effort to stretch my creative muscles, I pulled these pencils from the drawer and set about using them a bit this past week.  The Mother's Day card from Wednesday's post was also done with these lovely pencils.  Let's get to the card details. 

I started this card panel by stamping a repeating pattern with the WPlus9 Beautiful Bouquets Mums stamp using VersaFine ink onto Bristol Smooth Cardstock.

I started with the blue background using Sea Blue.  I layered in a few lines of color and then brought in clean water, adding more color as needed.  You can easily add color to wet areas by taking a wet brush to the tip of the pencil, picking up the pigment and then applying to the paper as needed.

I used all three of the greens in the set, Leaf Green, App;e Green and Teal Green, to create variation in the leaves.  Each type of leaf is a combination of two colors.  The berries are a blend of Fuchsia and Poppy Red, while the small pink flowers are Fuchsia.

The yellow mums are a base of Sun Yellow with highlights of Tangerine.  To create the variegated look I drew lines of the Tangerine on random petals, then I pulled pigment from the Sun Yellow and painted it over top to blend out the lines of already applied color.

Once the panel was completely dry I took a Micron 02 pen and outlined all of the images on the card.  This dark outline really made all the colors pop.

To complete the card I die cut the panel with the largest of the Stitched Rectangle dies from Simon Says Stamp, added a bit of Wink of Stella to the flowers and some dots of White Souffle Pen to the berries and flower centers, last, but not least I added the greeting.  This greeting is from the Simon Says Birthday Flowers set and was stamped with VersaFine Ink onto white cardstock.  I fussy cut it, leaving a thin white border and popped it up with some foam tape. 

I hope you enjoy how this card turned out.  I've linked to the supplies below.  Thanks for stopping by.

Links to Products Used:

Kokuyo Tape Glue Dot Liner Long tape, Refill cartridge 5 Pack, AZ | SSS	Kokuyo Tape Glue Dot Liner Long-Blue AZ | SSS	Scotch Indoor Mounting Tape, 0.75-inch x 350-inches, White, 1-Roll AZ	Simon Says Stamp STITCHED RECTANGLES Wafer Dies SSS
Tsukineko VersaFine Pigment Ink Pad - Onyx Black AZ | SSS	ZIG - Memory System - Wink Of Stella - Glitter Brush Marker - Glitter Clear SB | SSS	Derwent 12 INKTENSE COLORED PENCILS Watercolor SB | AZ | SSS	Sakura CLEAR Pen 2 Pack SSS
Sakura MICRON BLACK PIGMA PENS 8 Pack SSS	Sakura WHITE Souffle Opaque Puffy Pen SSS	Strathmore - 9 x 12 Bristol Smooth Paper Pad - 20 Sheets SB | AZ | SSS | MFT	Simon Says Clear Stamps BIRTHDAY FLOWERS SSS
Wplus9 BEAUTIFUL BOUQUET MUMS Clear Stamps SSS	Faber-Castell COLLAPSIBLE WATER CUP SSS	Faber-Castell COLLAPSIBLE WATER CUP SB | AZ | SSS	Ranger Ink - Inkssentials - Reusable Non-Stick Craft Sheet - 15 inch by 18 inch SB | AZ | SSS
Tonic Studios - Tim Holtz - Stamp Platform SB | AZ | SSS