Color my world with pencils...

Hello everyone! I know it's been more than a while since you last saw anything new from me. But, I just couldn't wait to show you some cards and tags I made using the techniques I learned in Paula Tracy's Beginner and Advanced pencil classes yesterday. I have told a lot of you about Paula's (Paula Bella) work on my blog before. My son Justin gave me a super Christmas gift - the chance to take both of Paula's classes at Scrappin and Stampin in Livonia, MI. The trip was only about an hour and 20 minutes away. Blue skies and 38 degree weather made for a smooth sailing trip. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't recognize Paula at first but her artwork gave her away. She's as fun and bubbly as she appears on her blog. The beginner class was a breeze but the advanced class was hard. I learned the most from this class though. Coloring and shading take many layers of color to achieve Paula's fabulous style. We were supposed to color 4 images in each class but we only finished three in the beginner and two in the advanced. That left us with homework.

The store had lots of Bella's on hand for us to purchase, especially the images from class. I couldn't resist the splurge and bought a few to try out at home. My first project was Pookie Lollipop.



She was fun. I really liked the glitter accents and the shading. Once you get the basics down you can build. Faces are always shades of Peach. Cheeks are always Carmine Red. Hair is Chocolate. Flowers are pink and Carmine Red and the flower pot is aptly Terra Cotta. Amazingly, some colors only need a small line of pencil that you pull out and across your image. I made this into a tag to top a baby girl present I have to send out. Here's a closeup so you can see the glitter accents.



I still used my Neenah Columbia Crest Solar White paper with my Memento Black Tuxedo ink. My new set of Prismacolor pencils were a necessity for the depth of color that Paula achieves. I have always used odorless mineral spirits I obtained using my company discount from LumberJack but I did purchase a small bottle of the real stuff called Gamsol. The most notable difference was the lack of odor even though the ACE brand says it's odorless. The DP is Small Wonder Girl by K&Company. The solid green paper that highlights my image is Martha Stewart and the pink is AC cardstock. The ribbon is from my Mary Maxim stash. I purchased a really great micro glue drop pen to attach the SU! Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

Here's the baby boy tag...



This uses the Birthday Boy, an image designed by Cristy Croll. I'll confess that this was much harder. Paula did not get to this image in class so we were left to do this on our own using the techniques she taught us in class. I'll tell ya that my hair is a little shaggy compared to hers so I'll have to practice some more but I'm sure that the recepient of thi tag won't notice at all. I loved the shades of green, blue and aqua. I paired this with green Martha Stewart paper, DP from Cosmo Cricket's Mr. Campy, and Bazzil cardstock. A doublesided satin ribbon finishes it off.

Here's a closeup for you...



Check back later for some pictures of our new kitchen.

Thanks for stopping by,

Cathy