Amidst the Sorrow Comes a Time to Get Busy Again

The year 2012 is past, and hopefully the challenges that came with it.  My neck injury from the April car accident is better and the case is now in the hands of the attorney.  The pain persists at times and I guess will for awhile yet.  I had gotten back to my favorite thing, Copic coloring and cardmaking but then came the worst day of my life........

When Mom passed away on January 9 our world stopped. It's been five weeks already, yet it's been only five weeks.  Perception of time has a way of getting all twisted; it seems like her passing was so long ago, yet the memories and even the scent of her are still so fresh.  The suddenness of it, the urgency of trying to revive her with CPR, and the finality of the EMTs picking up their gear tears at my heart every minute.  The sorrow and depression has been so deep I haven't been able to put my mind to work on anything else.  There's much to do but so little energy.  Knowing my mom, she would be diving head first into her favorite activities or redecorating the house.  I'm not much like Mom that way, though I have begun the huge tasks of going through her craft room and photos --- we are alike that way.  

I know Mom would be disappointed if I didn't get busy with the cards again.  She always expressed how proud she was of my creativity and talents.  So, getting back to my passions seems the right thing to do.... and more joyful than cleaning or packing away her clothes (I just can't do that yet.)

Last summer I started combining my Copic coloring with photography when I created a sketch from a photo then colored that sketch with Copics.  Mom was so enthusiastic about this and she came up with a new name for this project.... OMG! It's Me! because when the subjects looked at these portraits on their cards, their first response was "Oh my gosh, it's me!"  The last one I did before Mom passed was her favorite. It is a portrait of a dear friend, Harold, hidden behind a Santa face.

Using my Cricut I created the beard and hat, then did some tricky positioning to make sure Harold's eyes and nose were partially revealed.  

Harold's daughter, Ginger, is also our friend and I wanted to see how quickly they would recognize the man behind the beard.  Neither of them knew I was making this for them for Christmas.  They, and all the friends around us, instantly recognized Harold in the card..... Whew!

Inside the card was this matted frame-ready portrait.  (I really need to stop taking photos with artificial light!)

The photo I used was taken by a mutual friend on Harold's 90th birthday last year.  What a good looking man!  

The previous cards with this technique are"

So, Mom, this post is for you.  I am going to get busy again.  Every portrait and every card will have a piece of you in them because my talent came from you!

My Brother's Birthday Card

This weekend I had the rare pleasure of celebrating my brother's birthday with him.  Over the years we have lived far apart or the date landed during the middle of the week.  But this year the stars and moon came together in the right sequence and we were able to get together with his wife, our mom and stepdad, my hubby, and friends.  This also gave me the fun of seeing his face when he opened his card. 

Once again I made a sketch from one of my own photos then colored it with Copics.  I'm having so much fun with these and they are quite the surprise for the recipients.  My brother is very low-key and the raising of his eyebrows with a surprised "oh" was enough for me.  Plus the fact that he kept the card sitting up in front of him all through dinner.  In other words, he loved it!

He loves sock monkeys and I found this sentiment online, which so typically describes him, too, especially the part about his expression never changing.

This is the sketch before I colored it. 

This is the photo I used for the sketch.

It's been a great weekend here and I hope yours was, too!

Now for this post's question to contemplate......

What world record would you most want to establish if you could?

Another Photo to Portrait Birthday Card

It's been a busy couple of weeks here in Branson, including hosting our dear friends from Phoenix for a few days.  That was very fun with lots of shopping, dining out, walking, talking, playing cards, and did I mention shopping?  There is so much to do here and the leaves have been turning to brilliant reds, golds, and oranges.  Perfection!

Yesterday was our very good friend Steve's *0th birthday (let's just say he is a year younger than me!) and I made a very special birthday card for him.  Steve is one of the most talented singers here in Branson and particularly enjoys singing for the dinner crowds at Mickey Gilley's Texas Cantina, next to the theater.  I've enjoyed taking my own photos and turning them into sketches then coloring them with my trusty Copics.  Here is what I did for Steve.  

This is the finished card.  Lots of layers and dimension.  The back paper is from my scrapbook stash.  The gold sheet music, black musical notes, and piano keys came from the DCWV "Performance" matstack.  And Steve's image colored with Copics.

The sketch came from Photoshopping the picture and adjusting the drawing to a level of detail that I could color comfortably.  As I do more of these I intend to make less detailed sketches.  Even though I've done artwork all my life, sketching images is not my best suit, but I love the coloring.  I have found my niche in this technique and really enjoy it. 

This was the snapshot I took of Steve while he was performing.  He hates -- I mean HATES -- having his photo taken and didn't know about this one until I gave him the card.  He might not like being photographed, but he was blown away by the image on the card! That was very fun to see. 

So, once again, happy birthday, Steve!

Thanks everyone for stopping by.  I hope you are having a great week and that this beautiful fall season is bringing you crisp temperatures, crisp colors and even crispier piles of leave to jump into! 

Happy Birthday, Norma Jean!

Today is my dear friend Norma Jean's birthday.  Last night we celebrated with friends and enjoyed lots of laughs, delicious food, and wonderful live music by our talented friend Steve Crawford.  I wanted to do something special for Norma Jean and since she loves bling I knew the birthday card should be filled with it.  I also have some fine photographs of this lovely lady, so I selected a favorite, converted it to a digital sketch, then hand colored it with my Copics.

Here is the photo...........

Isn't she beautiful?

Here is the sketch........... 

Of course the watermark wasn't there.  :)

Here is the finished easel card..............

Lots of bling!

Norma Jean's hair is snowy white with a shine like a halo!  I used silver Liquid Pearls over the Copics and added a few streaks of white Enamel Accents by Ranger.

The letters are by Sticko and lining them up was more challenging than the coloring!  Materials I used include red textured card stock, black glitter paper, large swirl by Prima, and pieces of assorted rhinestone sets.  The labels are cut with Nesties dies. 

Norma Jean loved the card and was clearly surprised.  That's the best thing about our craft .... bringing smiles and good feelings!