Spring Into Strawberries

I'm tired of winter, you think all this 'stuff' will get done because you are trapped inside, but the truth is it's cold, you're mildly depressed, and you just want to eat. Any creative spirit is used up in the kitchen coming up with new comfort foods, and any energy is used up cleaning up after cabin fevered kids. You don't even read as much as you think you will, because your brain has shut down due to the grayness of the world. So, yeah. I am ready for spring. The sun has woken my spirit, and the rain has stirred strawberry girl in me.

I made this card using a card sizzix that is shaped like, yes, that is a strawberry. I colored a lovely image of a strawberry girl from Mosdigitalpencil.com who I adore. Stamped some strawberry themed add-ons from Unity Stamps, and added bling from Prima. 

Not too complicated, but I am a simple girl. I thought let's just plug right in and get started. What you might hope to learn from this card is how to color a stamp, using artist pencils, mineral spirits, and blending stubs. 

First you must color in-line, using the stamp as your guide, you will follow the lines with your color of choice, do not fill in. Color only along the inside line. It does help to do one color at a time, finish the process and then move onto the next color. I also prefer to start with skin and then move to darker colors, mainly because I will re-visit the skin. So, you have in-lined the skin portions with some shade of human color. (I like to store my mineral spirits in a jar that is stuffed with a natural sponge, this way a can dip the tip of the blending stubb easily without over saturation) Take you clean blending stubb and moisten the tip with mineral spirits. Working in circles pull the color from your in-line into the image. Lighter areas will occur centered, which is a natural lighting affect, if you were an artist. Using a fine sand paper sharpen/clean your stubb between colors. While coloring the skirt I used excess color on the stubb to blush her cheeks. you can also do an eyeshadow affect this way. When you master this you will start to blend colors right there on your image.