FLICK AND BLEND

Yesterday's "WORD" of the day was, "FLICK". This is a term used in the COPIC world. An artistic term, meaning use the side of the brush to lay down heavy ink and then swish up and lift off quickly. Or... something like that. We have cool colors, warm colors, various gray shading, base color, highlights and low lights! Then we have blending, feathering, creating textures and transparency techniques... "Oh my!" My head was spinning... I wanted to try it all! I took notes, scribbled a few sketches and played with some color.
Now, after two and a half hours of hair-splitting decisions of "to shade or not to shade"... I think I am a master! Hahaha.... NOT, NOT, NOT!!!!!
I picked up a couple shades of gray, to add more depth and life to my existing colors. Now to practice, and believe me, I need A LOT of practice! Best of all, a Thank You to Sally Lynn MacDonald for putting on a fantastic workshop.

The example I did in class...


A few extra trinkets and stamps I bought!

"DANGER DANGER!!!"

What a week! The tale of the beginning of the week.......
Wow! What a whirlwind day! I kept Grayson all day because Ashley (DIL) was having surgery. (It went well-she is home recovering/thank goodness) I went and picked up Ashlyn to go shopping (Grayson needed a few new toys for our house since he has outgrown the others). Any hooo... we ended up having to rush to Stanley Hospital because her fiance shot himself in the shoulder with a roofing nailer. 2 1/2 inch staple embedded into his right shoulder (straight into the bone-ouch!). Into surgery he goes. Anyway, he is home now - recovering. Dufuss! This is the second time he has done this. A year and a half ago, he shot his foot. Dufuss! Yes! I called him a dufuss! DUFUSS!!!!!
After all was said and done...... Grayson got to go to Walmart and he picked out a CAT front loader with all the bells and whistles! He's happy and so is Nena!

On with the week...Planned on going to the LSS for a little fun, too much on my plate for the day. Needless to say, nothing really got accomplished! Another day gone.
Imagine this... 4:30 am... you're sleeping and in the middle of a dream... next thing you know, you're lying on the floor. Hmmm.... note to self... "Get side rails for the bed". Yes, I rolled out of bed, hit the floor and took all the covers with me. Hurt like hell and all I wanted to do was laugh! I don't even remember what I was dreaming about! Was it good or bad??? Who know??? Scared the hell out of John! Poor guy!
Today I managed to clean off one side of my desk and put some stuff away. I stayed off ladders, kept sharp objects out of reach and didn't go near the stove! Didn't want to take any chances! Tomorrow will be a day of rest and hopefully, next week will be less dangerous!
Here are a few of the cards I promised you from my last posting. Enjoy!

"RESIST" EVIDENCE

Is that her? No..... it could be?...... looks like her.....do you see what I see?.....uh hum....well... I'll be! Dixie with COPICS in her hand! You forgot to reapply the resist medium to yourself today. Didn't you learn anything in Donna's class???? Ha-ha-ha!!!!! Never say never, as it will turn and look you straight in the eye, one day! I met up with Dixie at Stamper's Alley today, neither one of us knowing the other would be there.

FUNKIE MUNKIE VISIT

Yesterday was a fun day! I traveled to Greenville, SC with John. While he was working, I went to the FUNKIE MUNKIE SCRAPS store in Greer, where I met Stephanie, the owner. Oh, what fun and a very nice person. We sat for hours and talked about copics, crafting and our families. I am soooo jealous! She will be attending a class for certification on COPICS. She has 8 other certified people already in the store! Anyway, we played with stamps, inks and Copics. (She plays a lot, she's good) I picked up a few tips and saw all the colors available. Oh MY!!!!! I finished filling in my color chart to have a guide as to what colors I would like to get, to complete my stash. I found many of the colors are so close, you do not need them all. Mixing colors, "picking up" color with another gives you a multitude of choices! By the end of the day, I had added 7 new colors to my collection and a few new stamps. She has great stamps! Bella, The Greeting Farm (Love these) and Shirley's2Girls, just to name a few. How can I forget, I found the Renaissance Faire Collection, one of the new additions to Graphic 45 papers. One of my favorite companies. After a day of playing, it was supper at Cracker Barrel and on the road to home.

THE SPIRIT OF FALL

I dusted off and plugged in the silhouette for another creative day. Together with cutouts and COPIC markers I have ventured into a new mode. I think the Halloween cards, the fact that the days are getting shorter and the trees are ever slightly starting to turn color, has put me into the spirit of fall. I love this time of year. Cooler crisp air, the array of nature's colors and the idea of the holidays just ahead. It's time once again, to put away the summer things, put the quilts back on the beds and decorate my house with the color red! Oh, what a cozy feeling it brings! With all that said, here is what my inspiration led to. Enjoy!

LOVING THE WEATHER AND MY NEW COPICS

Oh my gosh! I am soooooo enjoying today's weather. Sunny, warm with a nice breeze. No humidity, hurray! I have opened my windows to let the fresh air in and hear the birds chirping. I would love this year round. I started the Thinking Inking videos today. Well, restarted I should say. I did one a couple weeks ago, but being busy with my sister's visit and the convention and life in general, I never did go back to them. So, today, I watched all six videos of weeks 1 and 2. I really like the water marking with distress embossing ink, a mister and stamp. So subtle, but a nice effect. Another first for me this week is COPIC sketch markers. Thank you Amy for enabling, I love these! I first thought, "Oh, just another marker." NO WAY..... these things are vibrant and blend beautifully! No streaks, unless you want them there. I think I will to have them all!!! LOL.... I wish.