the creative closet by cindy lawrence

Charity Blog Hop - and a Give Away!

Hello, crafty & creative friends!

I'm excited to be a part of this wonderful blog hop that is all about one of my very favorite things in the whole wide world...GIVING!  We want to inspire you to think outside the box with your gift giving this year.  Perhaps instead of yet another gift of flowers for Mom on Mother's Day, you might consider a special gift to a charity of your choosing in Mom's honor.  ...something that could make a REAL difference.  Isn't that a fun & beautiful idea?!!  

There are SO many truly wonderful charities out there, and you're sure to discover some new ones on today's hop.  I chose Samaritan's Purse as my charity of choice.  This is the same organization that does Operation Christmas Child each year, filling up thousands and thousands of shoeboxes with all sorts of wonderful goodies to send to children all over the world.  Many of those children have never ever received a gift, let alone a shoebox full of gifts!  My family has participated in this for many years, and it is always lots of fun for us to choose the special items to go inside.  We always include a photo of our family, along with a personal note, and we are even able to track where our shoeboxes end up.  We have tracked ours to Columbia, Ukraine, and this past year to the Dominican Republic.  It is an amazing program, and one that is great for your kiddos to get involved in!

The Samaritan's Purse organization does so much more too!  Read on to learn about who they are:

Mission Statement

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They do so much good around the world, and I'm thrilled to be a small part of that!  An easy way to get involved with this wonderful organization is via the Gift Catalog.  You simply choose a gift, such as "Feed a hungry baby for a week.", "Restore sight to the blind.", or "Help a poor farming family."  There a many, many options!  You can give the gift in honor of another person, which is when it becomes a perfect token to tuck into an Easter basket or Mother's Day card, etc.  
I chose the following gift:

The number of children in serious crisis around the world is staggering...and heart-breaking.  When I think of how we live in such comfort and luxury here in the US, I am reminded of how important it is to not forget those who are less fortunate than we are.  If we each help just one person, we will have made a huge impact in this world!

They sent me this sweet card for me to give to the person in whose honor my gift was given.


I created a card today using Mo Manning's Wagon digital image in honor of my gift of rescuing children.


This little sweetie's forlorn expression just called to me.  She's just waiting for someone to come along & pull her in her wagon.  The floral patterned paper is from Chickaniddy Crafts Scrumptious collection.

I colored her using a wide array of Copic Markers, including the 6-Piece Ciao Skin Set, which is all I used on her skin.  If you're looking to get started coloring skin with Copics, get this set!  It's a perfect combination of light to dark skin tones.

Here's a look at the other Copic Markers I used on my project:


If you look closely, you can see that I added some texture to her baseball cap.  I did that by coloring it up first (before any other part of her is colored), and then spritzing a piece of denim fabric with Colorless Blender solution and pressing it briefly down onto the colored hat image.  Voila...texture!  Love that technique!

I do like to decorate the inside of my cards as well; so here's a look at the inside:


The stamps & sentiments are from Power Poppy's Simply Camellias stamp set.

Before I go, did I mention that there are PRIZES on this blog hop?  No???  Well, check it out!

How awesome is that?!  

To get in on the prize packages, you'll need to leave comments on each of the blogs on the hop between now & Wednesday, March 22nd.  Winners will be announced on Sandy’s blog on Thursday March 23, along with a total amount we’ve raised together!  

I SO hope we've inspired you to do a little charitable giving, and maybe get a little creative with it as holidays, birthdays, and special occasions come up.  I can think of no gift that would make me happier than knowing a gift was given to someone in need in my honor.  THAT is the best! :)

Here's a full list of today's charitable blog hoppers.  If you haven'd made it through them all yet, you'll want to grab yourself a cup o' java, and start back at the top of this list...and enjoy!

Sandy Allnock  

Lisa Stein

Caryn Davies

Carly Tee Minner

May Sukyong Park

Lisa Spangler

Aimes Gray

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Ellen Hutson

Julia Stainton

Emily Midgett

Taheerah Atchia

Joanne Soukup

Melissa Miller

Libby Hickson

May Flaum

Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!

Have a beautiful & charitable weekend, friends!

God bless!

~Cindy

 

Coffee, Shadows, & Shading

Hello crafty friends!

I have had this sweet Coffee digital stamp set from Mo's Digital Pencil for quite some time now, and finally got a chance to get it inky.  I thought this would be an especially fun card to send to a friend who shares my affection for a good cup of coffee.

I printed the image in black on X-Press It Blending Card, and colored it with the following Copic Markers.


I used a lot of different shades on this one, so I could achieve some good depth in the shadows and great contrast from the darkest shadows to the brightest highlights.  Making your image look realistic and pop off the page is all about light source & contrast.  

One of the very best tools you can get your hands on to help you understand lighting placement is the Shadows & Shading book, written by the fabulous Marianne Walker.  It is a MUST have!


This book will help you to understand basic shading & the rules of lighting.  You'll also learn to break down complex images into basic shapes that can easily be colored, and learn some shadow color theory as well.


It includes four clear light guides to help you plan out your shadows & highlights.


I used the Linear Light Guide to color up the image on my card today.


The angle I place the guide at represents the direction the light (in this case, the sun) is coming from.  So, for my image, I chose to have the light source coming from the upper right corner.  Therefore, I colored the image with most of the highlights on the right and the shadows on the left.  Look at her skin for a clear illustration of this.

If you struggle with light & shadow when coloring your images, or simply want to be a better colorist, I highly recommend the Shadows & Shading book!

Before I go, here's a look at the inside of my card.


The patterned papers I used on today's card are from Jen Hadfield's Warm & Cozy collection.  I'm kinda into that collection lately. ;)

Thanks so very much for stopping by today, friends!

Have a beautiful day!

~Cindy

Taking the Mystery Out of Choosing Copic Colors

Hello friends!

Today, I have a card made using a sweet digital image from Mo's Digital Pencil.  This one's called Janny Texting.  We all know what the top of our teenagers heads look like, right?!  Haha!  Such a different world they're growing up in.

I wanted the image to really stand out on this card; so I kept the papers simple and the embellishments at a minimum.  The patterned papers are from Chickaniddy's Scrumptious Collection.

Let's talk about that image and how I chose my Copic colors.



I began with the skin, which is always a good place to start when coloring people.  Since the skin is often the lightest part of an image, it is best to color it first.  

If you have been taught anything about the Copic numbering system, then you have probably heard of a 'natural blending group'.  A natural blending group is a group of markers that have the same letter in the code, the same first number in the code, but different last numbers in the code.  For example, look at the colors I chose to color the hat & jeans on my image.

As you can see in the photo above, the letter code is the same on all three markers (B for blue), the first number in the code is the same on all three markers (9), and the only thing that is different on each marker is the last number (1, 5, & 9).  The letter tells us what color family the marker is from, in this case blue.  The first number tells us how pure the color is, or how much gray the color has in it, 0 being the purest color & 9 having the most gray mixed in.  The last number tells us the value of the color, or how light or dark the color is.  As you can see the markers get progressively darker as the last number increases.  That B91 marker is lighter than the B95 marker, which is lighter than the B99 marker.  Any natural blending group of markers is a great choice to work with together!  To choose your own natural blending groups, simply choose markers that have the same letter (color family), the same first number (saturation or how much gray is in the color... No gray = fully saturated color.  The more gray you add the more desaturated the color is.), and different last numbers (value, or how light or dark the color is).  Easy peasy, right?

Now, let me talk with you about branching out from natural blending groups.

Let's look at the colors I chose for her orange cardigan.

I began by choosing the color that I wanted the cardigan to be, which in this case was YR07.  I then chose my highlight and shadow colors.  I chose YR02 as the highlight color, which is part of the natural blending group for YR07 (why?  because only the last number is different).  For my shadow, I decided to add a bit of gray, and cool off the color just a bit.  Shadows tend to be on the cooler side; so adding a bit of gray creates a more natural looking shadow.  In this case I jumped up from a 0 in saturation to a 2.  Both the highlight & midtone markers have a saturation of 0, meaning they are pure, fully saturated color with NO gray in them.  By jumping to a 2, I've added some gray into the shadows & desaturated the color.  Make sense?  To make it as easy as possible on yourself when choosing colors, simply remember to add some gray into the shadows to create a more realistic colored image.  It really isn't too complicated once you get the hang of it.

Let's look at the colors I chose for the shirt & shoes.

Once again, I chose the color I wanted the shirt & shoes to be first.  In this case, that's BG45.  I most often choose my midtone color first, as that is the color that the object actually IS.  I then choose my highlight color, BG11.  That color is both lighter than the BG45 marker AND has less gray (aka: more pure color) in it.  Finally, I chose my shadow color, BG57.  More gray AND darker.  So, this trio of markers is from the same color family (blue green, hence the BG), but changes in both saturation and value....getting grayer and darker with each marker.  Choosing markers like this is NOT hard, my friends.  No math is required, I promise!  Just add more gray as you choose your darker colors, and you will have a natural looking blending group with deep, beautiful shadows & bright highlights.

Now, there's one color family that does not play by the rules, and that is the E family, otherwise known as Earth tones.  I would have to just about write a book to explain all of the differences to you; but I will simply say this.  Each natural blending group in the E family has a different undertone...sometimes VERY different.  So, when changing the saturation (first number), you may or may not have successful results.  A little bit of trial & error will have to happen before you settle on colors that work well for you.

Here's a look at what I chose for the skin:


Once again, I stayed within the natural blending group for the highlight & midtone colors, and changed the tone entirely with my shadow color.  As I said, earth tones don't play by the same rules as the other colors; so a little experimentation goes a long way.

Here's a look at my hair color choices for the image above:


Same color family (earth tones), and the same saturation on the highlight & midtone markers (4).  I jumped to a 5 for my shadow marker to change the tone a bit, since hair is never just one tone.  As you can see by the last number on each marker, the colors get progressively darker with each marker, highlight being the lightest (3) & shadow being the darkest (9).

So, perhaps you won't be coloring any people images.  Maybe you only like to color nature scenes.  Well, then you'll want a good selection of greens and browns in your kit.  You'll want a minimum of two markers to blend together, but preferably three, which is what I've used here on each section of the image.  Next, don't feel like you have to stay within those natural blending groups.  Add a little gray into the shadows to give your image more depth & realism.

There is an excellent tutorial on the Copic website with everything you need to know about Copic Color Theory.  I highly recommend reading it!

Here's a great reference guide for choosing your own Copic colors:


I do hope this has helped you with choosing your own Copic colors.  First decide WHAT you like to color, and go from there.  Choose those mid-tones first (usually markers ending in 4, 5, or 6), and then your highlights & shadows around them, usually in groups of 3 markers.  Add some gray to the shadows if you like, or stick with natural blending groups if you'd prefer.

Be sure to check out the Copic Color Chart for a look at all of the colors together in their natural blending groups.

That's all folks!

Have FUN choosing your Copic colors, and have even more fun COLORING with them!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

~Cindy

 

I Believe!

Hello friends!

Today's card was made using the oh-so-sweet Santa's Hat image from Mo's Digital Pencil.  I made this one quite a while ago, and completely forgot to share it with you all.  

I printed the digital image with my inkjet printer, and heat set it before coloring.  I colored it with Copic markers, and added some fluffy white Flower Soft to the hat.  I just love the dimension and realism it adds to the image!

The card base is Electric Red from My Favorite Things, and the white layers are X-Press It Blending Card.  Some fun striped patterned paper, red pom pom trim, and a pretty snowflake finish off the details.



The snowflake was die-cut with the Let It Snowflake die-namics.  I added chunky clear glitter to it, and a pretty irridescent rhinestone to the center.



Inside, I added a layer of Smooth White card stock, a strip of patterned paper, a die-cut snowflake, and the sentiment stamped in Electric Red ink.  The sentiment is from the Pure Innocence Little Santa set.

That's all for today, friends!  Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Cindy 

Copic Coloring Guide Level 4 GIVE AWAY!

***COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED ON THIS POST.  THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!

Good morning and welcome to a very special blog hop!  I am excited to announce my participation and publication in the latest book in the series, the Copic Coloring Guide, Level 4: Fine Details! 

Authors Colleen Schaan and Marianne Walker have partnered up again with the team at Annie’s and some of the most talented artists and designers in the industry to bring you a quality publication packed full of techniques, theory, tutorials, and inspiration.  The 64-page book is the latest in the Coloring Guide series, offering information and educational material for crafters of all skill levels.

From light source to shading and shadows, to mixing mediums and tackling detailed images, this book shows how to take your coloring up one notch further… by focusing on the fine details.  All of the information is presented in an easy-to-follow format.

An included CD contains all of the hand-drawn images used in the tutorial section of the book, along with the assembly instructions for all of the projects.

Each participating designer is hopping today to give you a peak at their favorite project from the book - and a chance to WIN your own autographed copy!

I could not be ANY more excited to have a number of my projects featured in this book!  ...and that hollyhocks card on the front cover?  It's mine...squeeee!  (Pinch me!)  Here's another one of my favorites from the book:

All I'll tell you about this card is that the image is called Punkin and is from Mo Manning.  The rest of the details can be found in the book; so you'll just have to get it...heheh! ;)  In all seriousness, this book is chock FULL of fantastic coloring tips and techniques that you'll want to add to your repertoire for sure!

To help kick off the celebration of the new book... each designer on the hop is giving away an autographed copy of the book...signed not only by Colleen and Marianne, but by the individual designer too!  Please comment on this post for your chance to win your copy of mine.  I'll be running my give-away through 12am EST on Sunday, June 30th; so you have just SIX DAYS to get your name in the running!  The winner will be announced right here on Sunday afternoon.  Stop by the rest of the designers' blogs for more chances to win:

Jane Allen 

Michele Boyer 

Lori Craig 

Jennifer Dove 

Sharon Harnist 

Melanie Holtz 

Kathy Jones 

Cindy Lawrence  <---You are here!

Debbie Olson

Colleen Schaan

Marianne Walker 

Can't wait for your copy?

Copic Coloring Guide Level 4: Fine Details is now available at many stamping and scrapbooking stores. Visit your local store today and ask about availability.  It is also sold through the Annie’s catalog, accessible online at Annie's.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, friends!  Good LUCK to each and every one of you!

~Cindy

Sunshine in My Life

Hello friends!

Today's card was made with the Tom and Tilly digital image from Mo Manning.  You can pick it up HERE.  I like to think this will be my sweet hubby and I some day (not as far off as I like to think...ahem).  We just celebrated our 18th anniversary; so we're on our way... :)

I began with a Tangerine Tango 5-1/4" square card base.  The fabulous sun rays on the peach card stock layer were made with a Tim Holtz Sun Rays embossing folder.  I used it twice, die-cut the center with a Spellbinders Circle die, and sponged the rays with Tangerine Tango ink. The sweet sentiment is from JustRite Stampers' Romantic Sentiments set.  I added a fun little loop of blue striped ribbon to dress it up a bit.

I printed the image onto X-Press It Blending Card.  I hand-drew the giant sun setting in front of the happy couple.  I colored the entire image with lots and lots of Copic markers, adding texture to their hair, the wood bench, and the sky.  I then die-cut the image onto a Spellbinders Circle that's a bit smaller than the circle on the sun ray background.  I adhered the layers with Dimensionals to make them stand out from the background.

That's all for today, folks!  I hope you have a wonderfully blessed Tuesday!

Thanks so much for visiting with me today!

~Cindy

Blueberry Girl

Love this sweet Blueberry Girl image from Mo Manning.  Blueberry picking is one of the activities I look forward to the most every summer...love me some yummy blueberries!

The fresh and fun patterned papers are from the Summer Splash 6x6 paper pack from My Mind's Eye.  I embellished the main panel with three white Candi's, which I colored with my B91 Copic marker and a coat of Glossy Accents to give 'em some pretty shine.  The denim ribbon is from Stampin Up.

The image was stamped on X-Press It Blending Card, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and colored in with the following Copic markers:

*hair= Y21, E50, E53, E55

*skin= E000, E02, E11, R20

*top= R24, R27, R29

*shorts, blueberries= B91, B93, B95, B99

*shoes= E40, E43

*bucket= C1, C3, C5, C7, W3, W5, E08

*ground= E33, E35

That's all, friends!  Have yourselves a fabulous day today!  We're in full back-to-school mode around here...Nick's second day of 9th grade and Abbi's first day of 7th grade.  Time sure does FLY, doesn't it?!

As always, thanks so much for visiting with me today!

~Cindy 

It's Your Birthday!

Today I have a silly little card I created for my hubby's birthday, which was a couple of weeks ago.  This cow image, aptly named Moo, from Mo's Digital Pencil is so stinkin CUTE, isn't it?!

I colored her with Copic markers on X-Press It Blending Card.  The sentiments, both inside and out, were typed up and printed out on my computer.  I don't have any good cow-related sentiment stamps. LOL

Here's the inside:

Cute, huh?

I'm keeping the details at a bare minimum today, friends.  I am back on the road again, this time to Dallas for Copic certifications.  I'm really looking forward to it! :-)

Have a terrific day, everyone!  I'll see you back here on Friday morning!

~Cindy 

King for the Day

I'm back with a card made using another of Mo Manning's fabulous images.  This one's called King for the Day.  I knew I had to have it as soon as I saw it.  It is the perfect image for Father's Day, and reminds me of my hubby when he gets a chance to relax.

I colored the image with the following Copic markers: E02, E07, E09 (chair) ~ E50, E11, E13 (skin) ~ C2, C5, C9 (hair & remote) ~ N00, N2, N4 (t-shirt) ~ BG72, BG75, BG78 (pants) ~ Y32, Y35, Y38, W1 (socks) ~ YG03, YG17 (can) ~ E44, E47 (chair legs)

The image was stamped on Copic X-Press It Blending Card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

The layout is this month's Sketch For You To Try.  The sentiment is from Flourishes.  The patterned papers are from Basic Grey's Max & Whiskers 6x6 paper pad.  I added a strip of burlap ribbon and a few metal eyelet accents to finish it off.

That's all for today, friends!  I'll be back here bright and early Wednesday morning for day one of Flourishes June release. :-)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

~Cindy 

 

You Rock!

Today was my oldest son's 23rd birthday.  How is that even possible?!

I made him this money holder out of a 6-3/4" x 8" piece of card stock.  I scored it at 3-1/4" & 6-1/2", leaving a 1-1/2" strip for the inside.  I used my Scor Buddy to score the decorative stripes in the papers, and sponged them with green and navy inks to make them stand out.

I used Mo Manning's Air Guitar digital image for the front of the money holder.  The words are from Taylored Expressions.

I printed the image onto Copic X-Press It Blending Card with my ink jet printer.  I colored it in with the following Copic markers:

Jeans - B93, B95, B97 & B99

Sneakers - G03, G05, G09

Tank - C1, C2, C4

Skin - E00, E11, E13

Hair E50, E25, E29

Tongue - R02, R05

Background - BG0000

I wrapped the bottom of the card with some pretty twine from The Twinery.  I also added three stitches to the upper left corner of the image panel with the same twine.  

Here's an inside view:

 

I used two 1/8" strips of Scor Tape to hold the bottom flap in place.  Now, the bill he actually got was significantly larger than this one; but we hadn't picked it up yet when I snapped this picture...and I just don't have $100 bills sitting around in my wallet. LOL

Have yourselves a fantastic day, friends!

Thanks so much for visiting!

~Cindy