Holiday 2018: "Peace & Joy" Xmas Tutorial

Welcome to my blog & the start of my Holiday 2018 series!

It's Elina here & I hope you are having a wonderful evening.

Today's project is a simple card that packs a graphic punch.

What do you get when you add a reindeer silhouette & Distress

Oxide inks...

Click the video link below to find out...

If you enjoyed the video, please make sure to leave a "Like".

Here's a close up pic you can check out as well:

I have to be honest I really love how the background turned out.

I think it adds interest to the card & compliments

the main focal image.

Be on the lookout for more card backgrounds using my

Distress Oxide inks.

I definitely need to get some more colors to add to 

my collection.

But I digress, let me tell you the important

card making facts.

Card Making Facts:

Card Base- 4 1/2" x 5 1/2"

Black card layer- 4 1/4" x 5 1/4"

Image panel: 4" x 5"

Well since I listed the facts about card I might as well

list the supplies used.

Supplies used:

Distress Oxide inks- "Broken China" & "Cracked Pistachio"

Stampin Up "Gold Glory" embossing powder

Stampin Up Embossing Buddy

Gold gel pen

VersaMark ink

Recollections Christmas Sentiments stamp set

And that's it.

I hope you enjoyed this project & video.

Make sure to join me later this week for the second video 

in this series.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great evening!

Hugs

Fall/Autumn 2018: "Thankful to be me" Coloring Tutorial

Welcome to my blog!

Hi everyone it's Elina here.

I hope you are enjoying your evening.

Today marks the finale of my Fall/Autumn 2018 series.

The project featured is a deeply personal one for me.

I started this series to highlight the season.
This time around I decided to use this series to pay tribute to
the special people in our lives.
So my last project featured a tree to represent family.
This time of year we give thanks for our family.
We remember those who have passed, celebrate the newest members
& embrace friends who make life worth living.

But what I've noticed is that we often forget the most
important person of all: Ourselves.
It was with this idea in mind that I decided to
draw a portrait of myself.
This was not an easy one for me to do
let me tell you.
Just trying to capture my appearance as a drawing was horrifying.
To keep things simple I tried to capture the most
distinguishing characteristics that make me me.

My glasses was an easy one to draw as well as my
usual updo.
Where it becomes difficult is trying to translate the look
to reflect the season.
So I opted to draw myself as slowly dissolving into a pile of leaves.
A little trippy but it captures the fall theme.

For the coloring I tried my best to match the tone of my skin,
hair, eyes & glasses.
But then I chose to fade out the coloring on one side of my face
to create the illusion of dissolving away.
That part of the coloring was the trickiest.
I feel that I could have achieved that look if
I would have tried some different techniques but
it is what it is.

You can check out the pic below:

You can check out the coloring tutorial below to see how this came together:

It's taken me a long time to try to accept the person that I am.
And for me it's still a work in progress.
I have my good days & my bad days.
My days filled with regret & my days filled with joy.
But I try to take everything day by day.
I still judge myself pretty harshly but I'm
slowly learning how to lower that negative part of
myself that says, "You can't..."

My hope is to be able to love myself flaws and all
& just be happy.

I hope you enjoyed this project & thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,

Quick Update:

Hi everyone & welcome to my blog!

It's Elina here & thank you for joining me today.

I hope you are enjoying your Saturday evening.

It's hard to believe that in the next 6 days we will be 

kicking off the start of the holiday season.

Say whattttt?!!!! 

Honestly I haven't even begun my holiday card making.

I always say I'm going to start off early, get it out of the way.

But I get caught up with doing day to day things and next thing 

you know the holidays are peeking around.

Dang it!

I can tell you that it will be a mad dash to get them done in time.

Hopefully they will get mailed out too because I had one 

year where I made cards & forgot to mail them.

So it was Merry Christmas to you in February. :)

Anyways, so yeah, the holidays.

I'm trying not to overwhelm myself too much this year.

So I will work on what I can when I can.

And that has been my mantra for this year.

So that's pretty much it for this post.

Just a brief rant on what I would like to accomplish.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.

Hugs

Fall/Autumn 2018: Easy Watercoloring w/ Inks & Color Burst

Welcome to my blog, it's Elina here.

I hope you are enjoying your extended weekend.

Today's post features the second installment in my

Fall/Autumn 2018 series.

If you missed the video premiere last night,

you can click the link below...

I'm pleased with how the final card turned out.

During the filming, I encountered a few issues & was pretty close 

to scrapping the whole video.

My spray ink was clogged.

I love using my spray inks for various projects

but it drives me nuts when they clog constantly.

So once I cleared the nozzle & began

spraying it sputtered & left blotchy patches.

My spray bottle filled with water was the 

saving grace this card needed.

Not to mention, it got all over my desk top

which had to be cleaned. Ugh.

Now I did enjoy using the Ken Oliver Color Burst powder.

I know that there are those of you out there

like really his stuff is amazing.

And I will totally agree with you on that.

I thought it was cool that after it's been dry

you can still spray it with water to soften the look.

Cool!

Enough rambling & ranting let's get back to the card.

Here's a close pic for you to check out:

I hope you enjoyed this card & video.

Stay tuned for the next video coming out soon.

Thanks for stopping by & enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hugs,

Fall/Autumn 2018: Llama with Java Coloring Tutorial

Hi everyone, it's Elina here.

Happy Sunday & welcome to my blog!
Today marks the start of my Thankful 2018 series.
I have been doing this series for the past two years.
I think it's a great way to celebrate the season &
remember the things we are grateful for.

To start this series off I decided to use an original
character I drew.
It's a cute little llama who is thankful for
the cup of coffee she's about to enjoy.
Let's be honest, we have to be thankful for
the things in our life that help us get through.
For me, Coffee is that beverage I am most thankful for.

You can check out the coloring tutorial below...

Mmm.. I can just smell the coffee goodness.

Here's a close up pic...

I kept the card design pretty simple to showcase the main image.
I will probably use this image again for my Holiday 2018 series.

The measurements for the card are as follows:
Image panel- 4 1/2" x 6 1/2"
Brown card layer- 4 3/4" x 6 3/4"
Black card base- 5" x 7"

I did add Wink Of Stella to the glasses, nose & eyes.
I like the sparkle it gives to the finished image.

I hope you enjoyed this post & video.
Thanks for stopping by & enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Hugs,

Halloween 2018: Sanderson Sisters Coloring tutorial!

Hi everyone & welcome to my blog!

It's Elina here & I hope you are enjoying your Sunday morning.

Today marks the fourth installment of my Halloween 2018 series.

I enjoy creating & coloring spooky images for Halloween.

I feel it's a great way to stretch your creative muscles

& re-use your stamps.

So for this post I colored a trio of witches (sisters to be exact).

If your a fan of this iconic movie you know which

sisters I am referring to.

And for those who are aren't sure I'll tell.

It's the SANDERSON SISTERS from the movie Hocus Pocus!

I was super psyched to get a chance to do this tutorial.

Hocus Pocus is by far my favorite Halloween movie!

I remember going to the theaters with my family to see it.

The Sanderson sisters are a funny bunch & there are so many 

iconic lines.

It's a Halloween must see at my home.

You can check out the video below to see how I brought these sisters to life:

I love how this turned out.

Now it took my ages to draw these ladies & it got 

pretty frustrating.

So I found an image online I could draw & it made so much easier.

So unlike my original drawings or stamp re-dos,

this image comes courtesy of Cartoon Cookie.

You can find her here at: cartooncookie.tumblr.com

I did change up the way they looked a bit.

I made Winnie's face more slender & gave Sarah a different outfit.

Here's a close up pic you can check out:

"Why was I cursed with such idiot sisters?'

Oh Winnie, we know she doesn't actually mean it 

cause we know she loves her sisters deep down.

I hope you enjoyed this post & video!

Thanks for stopping by & enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Hugs!

Halloween 2018: Creepy Doll Makeover!

Hi everyone it's Elina here & welcome to the 

third installment in my Halloween 2018 series!

This time I used a stamp from Stamp Anniething & 

gave it a "creepy" makeover.

I have to say I love challenging myself to 

stretch my stamps.

It's a great way to to get the most use out of the stamps

you own.

Although it is very tempting going in to the local craft store

& seeing the latest stamp offerings.

But if your on a budget, getting the most use out of what 

you have can save you money.

So with that in mind, check out the video below to see 

how I transformed the "Lorelei" stamp into a "creepy" doll.

I really like how this transformation turned out.

I must confess that I enjoy drawing creepy stuff but 

I am the biggest chicken ever.

You won't catch me in a haunted house. No way!

But safely drawing creepy things from the safety of home 

is just fine with me.

Here's a pic for you to check out:

I love how the Black Soot Distress Ink gives this image 

a look straight from a horror movie.

Nothing scarier than a creepy bear & an 

old rocking chair.

Makes you wonder what does she have in the box.

On second thought maybe not knowing is best.

I hope you enjoyed this post & video.

Thanks for stopping by & enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hugs,