Bella Carta at Art 'n Soul: CHA Sneak Peeks from Webster's Pages, Graphic 45 & Spellbinders

Webster's Pages just released a 'sneak peek' of another fabulous paper collection that will be introduced at CHA . . . Country Estate! I see some beautiful cards and other paper crafts with these papers! For some reason, the pics of this collection may show at the bottom of today's blog entry (don't ask . . . if I knew, it wouldn't be at the bottom but rather here instead).

Webster's Pages Spring Market has shipped and I'm hoping will be at the store by the end of this week.

Graphic 45 has unveiled a small 'peek' of their new collection debuting at CHA . . . Le Cirque:

"Dazzle and Delight"

"Bohemian Floral"

"Greatest Show on Earth"

Here are two of the new CHA releases that Spellbinders is debuting at CHA . . .

S4-310 Labels Eighteen
MSRP: $24.99
Dimensions:
1: ¾ x 1″
2: 1⅜ x 1¾″
3: 2 x 2½″
4: 2⅝ x 3⅜″
5: 3¼ x 4¼″

S4-324 Ribbon Banners
MSRP: $19.99
Dimensions:
1: 3½ x ⅝″
2: 3⅝ x ½″
3: 3½ x ½″
4: 3⅜ x ½″

While going through the Spellbinders' blog and Debbie Olson's design for Spellbinders' Blog Frenzy that began today, I saw an earlier posting on her blog that featured Copic markers on a new Karen Lockhart stamp release that is (or was!) at Art 'n Soul. (If there are no more, Karen Lockhart stamps are one of the 'open catalogs' this month at the store . . . lucky you!)

Violets in a Teacup -- from Debbie Olson's 'Thinking Inking' blog on January 3, 2011:

Welcome! I haven't forgotten my blog password or anything like that; I've been trying to get ready to leave for Oregon for a couple of days to work on a Copic class. This afternoon I took time to [are you ready for this?] Just. Color. Yes--color!
Lockhart Stamp Company had released some new 2011 stamps, one of which was begging to be colored. Of course I had to oblige. . . I used the African Violets in a Teacup stamp and the Copic markers shown in the stepped out photos below.

First I colored the blossoms and their centers. (Don't worry; I came back later to add more contrast.)

Next I colored the leaves. I had decided that my light would come from the left.

I used the G20's to color the teacup and added shadows with the cool grays and the BV00. The dirt in the cup is colored with E21 and E25. See my little cup handle shadow? I'm not sure it's exactly right. I think that the handle shadow would have to be more squaty and compressed than it is, but it's staying that way for now.

I added a bit of color around the cup with blues and blue-violets, softening the edges with my colorless blender.

I darkened a couple of petals as well as the shadows after I cut the image out with a Spellbinders Standard Circles Small die template. The background is stamped with Papertrey Ink's Background Basics: Sheet Music set.

That's it for tonight--thanks for stopping by!

It's also "that's it for tonight" for us . . . I'm hoping to post some pics of Cindy's two new classboards that she has asked me to post on the blog . . . and some pics of the Penny Black stamps that arrived today . . . on the blog tomorrow.

VELLUM