Lazy or Energetic Coloring - You Choose

You should have options when it comes to coloring. Maybe you just have a few minutes to make a card, if you're like me and only remember a birthday card on the way to a birthday party.

So I have four cards today, starting with the most lazy and quick coloring method all the way up to real coloring where you take a little more time and add details.

So do you remember this video? This is one of my favorite lazy coloring methods. I tweaked it just a bit for the first card today.

If you have a very detailed image that you don't want to take the time to do detailed coloring on, this is a quick way to make it look arty. You need a MISTI to make this work well.

1. Stamp the image on watercolor paper with Blueprint Sketch Distress ink, or your favorite water reactive ink.
2. Spray the image with water until the ink moves to your liking
3. Dry the paper and overstamp with Nocturne, or the same ink as I did in the video linked above.

I used this beautiful new stamp set, with a sentiment from the same set.

Now let's say you have just a few more minutes - you can do what I call "cartoon style" Copic coloring - no blending, no layering, just bold color in select areas. Combine that with stamp images in colored ink and you still have a lot of color for very little effort. I stamped the bear from this stamp set in Amalgam ink. I used two markers here - R29 and B02 to color the bear from this set, and I used Wild Dandelion ink to stamp this image. I stamped the sentiment from this set in Nocturne. The bear set does come with matching dies.

 Then, for slightly less lazy coloring, you can combine regular, preschool-style coloring - no blending, just stay in the lines, with the cartoon style coloring, where you just add slight accents of another color. I stamped this image in Amalgam Ink, and then colored it and cut it with the matching dies. The paper is from this awesome black & white collection.  The sentiment is from this set.

 Now let's say you've just had your Wheaties and you are ready to take on a little more involved coloring. I had a lot of fun practicing skin tones with this incredible tutorial. You start on the skin with what seem like crazy colors, and then you tone them down a bit - it ends up so rick and realistic. I colored this STUNNING new image exactly as the step by step explained and I really had fun. I added some white gel pen highlights, and then cut her out with the matching die. I put that on this striped paper and onto a Desert Storm card base. The sentiment is stamped in Nocturne and is from this set.

The best way to get comfortable with any coloring - simple or complicated - is just to COLOR. But you can make pretty cards in two minutes or two hours, depending on what you have time and energy for.

There's another set in the Picket Fence release today that I didn't have time to play with yet, but it's adorable. DONUT miss it :)

Sierra Girl Coordinating Die - Picket... [ PFS ] Beautiful Girls - "Sierra" - Picket... [ PFS ] You searched for weathering - Picket... [ PFS ] Have A Cheerful Day - Picket Fence... [ PFS ] Have A Cheerful Day Coordinating Die... [ PFS ] Spotlight On You - Picket Fence Studios [ PFS ] A Bear Kind of Winter - Picket Fence... [ PFS ] A Bear Kind of Winter Coordinating... [ PFS ] Forgot To Say Thank You - Picket... [ PFS ] Cookie or Donut? - Picket Fence Studios [ PFS ] Have A Wonderful Wintery Day - Picket... [ PFS ] A Dose of Vitamin Sea - Picket Fence... [ PFS ] A Dose of Vitamin Sea Coordinating... [ PFS ] Copic Sketch Marker R29 LIPSTICK RED... [ SSS | ELH | MFT ] Copic Sketch Marker B01 MINT BLUE [ SSS | MFT ] Tsukineko VersaFine Clair NOCTURNE... [ SSS | CST | ELH ] Sakura CLASSIC WHITE Fine Line 05... [ SSS ] Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad BLUEPRINT... [ SSS | CRF | JGG ] Gina K Designs WILD DANDELION PREMIUM... [ SSS | GNK ] Gina K Designs JET BLACK AMALGAM Ink... [ SSS | GNK ] GKD Patterned Paper Pack- Petite... [ GNK ] Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White [ GNK ] Neenah Environment 100 LB SMOOTH... [ SSS | CRF ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSW | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ] Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth [ AMZUS ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for... [ BRG ] Mudder 10 Pack White Buffer Sanding... [ AMZUS ] Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675 [ SSS | ART | AMZUS ] XL Stamp Storage Pockets [ ELH ] Essentials by Ellen Storage... [ ELH ] Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets... [ CHC ] Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC [ ELH | SSS ] Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two... [ SSS | ART | BLIC | ELH ] Ink Off Cloth [ INK ] Latest Release Archives - Picket... [ PFS ]

And I put out a little technical video this week, so if you are a blogger, you might want to check this out. It's an easy way to create class lists and gift guides or favorites lists using LinkDeli.

Hope your weekend has some fun built in.

Loveyameanitbye.