SOS116: for the boys

this week at shopping our stash it's the kind of challenge that's both awesome to play AND awesome to just go around seeing what everyone else has made. we're making cards with masculine designs, because you can NEVER have too many guy cards, or too many guy card ideas, am i right?! here's what i made:

(patterned paper: ek success, basic grey, glitz designs + vintage ledger paper adorned with CWS stencils; spray ink: mr. huey, glimmer mist; other ink: ranger distress inks, colorbox chalk and pigment inks, stewart superior india ink; felt stick-on ferns: prima; vintage green velvet trim + a scrap of brown grosgrain ribbon from m+j trimmings; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

last week i had an excellent SOS-related real-life event, when my lovely teammate michelle and her fabulous kids came to visit! we had lunch, we toured the palatial bergold estate (lol!) and then michelle taught me some of the tips and techniques she uses to color with prismacolor pencils. (if you check out her blog, you'll see why i was THRILLED to have her expertise all to myself, in a "housecall"!) here we are at my kitchen table, in the midst of my own personal prisma training:

here are the images we worked on, we concentrated on hair and faces... with an emphasis on shading and blending... and blending... and blending!  turns out the biggest thing i was doing wrong up til now is trying to "do it all" in only a few layers. you have to start reallllllllllllllllllly light and build up. you also use MANY MORE COLORS than i ever imagined! each of these ladies has 6 shades for her skin, and nearly a dozen in her luxurious long hair. well, michelle's (on the left) has luxurious long hair, mine (on the right) isn't quite as impressive. but i definitely learned A LOT, and i treated myself the next day to a few extra pencils at michaels, so i can practice more.

(both digital images by tiddly inks)

michelle also brought me this gorgeous gift box that she made FROM SCRATCH; no silhouette here, just luscious papers and a boatload of talent! the crocheted flowers were inside... three guesses who made those... NOT me, lol! :)

speaking of uber-talented creative people i ♥LOVED♥ meeting irl, the lovely amy tsuruta send me a gorgeous house-warming card and a few little goodies i can't wait to dive into:

 

and of course all of you darlings are invited to visit, as well! in real life, if you're coming to new jersey or new york; or virtually... at shopping our stash, where we've got our GUY CARD MOJO on... and we hope ♥YOU♥ do, too!!! :)