The Town Scrapper's Prima Ballerina (and an encouraging word on colouring mishaps!)

Good afternoon friends! Time for the weekly Town Scrapper Challenge...this week we're calling for you to use Spellbinders Nestabilities on your project! I've also got a little surprise for you today...my project features a sneak peek of a soon to be released exclusive Town Scrapper Victoria Case Stamp! (Fair warning...this is a long post today!! So feel free to grab a cup of coffee or tea and get comfy!! lol)

There are a few new stamps on their way to the Town Scrapper shelves...this one is my absolute favourite! I have a soft spot for ballerina stamps as one of my daughter Ainsleigh's passions is dance. She started ballet at the tender age of four, and she will be turning eleven in January. Over all those years, her love of ballet has only grown. I love watching her dance...we recently had observation week at her studio and the Christmas Open House is fast approaching. This ballerina stamp by Victoria Case is so beautiful, and I just had to colour her the moment I got my hands on her. :)

I decided to make a shaped card this week...Nestabilities are perfect for this! For the card base, I used the largest die in the Labels 8 set. The ballerina was stamped on Neenah Smooth cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers. The design paper is all from My Mind's Eye (Holly Jolly). She was pop-dotted on layers created with Spellbinders Petite Ovals Small and Labels 10. I topped it all off with bow...tied of course with my Bow Easy. For finishing touches, I added some Stardust Stickles, a few rhinestones and a sentiment from Whimsy Stamps. (I used Spellbinders Petite Ovals Small and Fancy Tags for the sentiment.)



Copics: Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Crown: YR31, Y17, E35 Tutu: R20, R22, R27, R46, E59, G82, G85, G99

I absolutely LOVE this stamp, and this ballerina will definitely be making an encore appearance on my blog! She is so versatile and I cannot wait to ink her up again soon. :)


Ok...here's where I'm going to share about my colouring conundrums. (LOVE that word!! lol) Sometimes, I run into problems while colouring but I'm usually too stubborn to start over. I tend to keep working at something until it is "passable" in my eyes. This little ballerina was giving me quite the difficult time! First of all, my paper seemed to act a little funny...it does that once in a while. There are spots on her tutu where the ink behaved badly and refused to blend or lay down smoothly. I also didn't achieve the highlights and depth of shadow that I was attempting to create. Stardust Stickles to the rescue there...I coated her tutu with them!! I had planned to do that anyways, but I hoped it would help conceal some of those troublesome areas too. I also had MAJOR issues colouring up the ballerina's tights...they ended up being my greatest point of frustration. I just couldn't get the right combo for the "ballet pink" shade I was going for...my daughter Ainsleigh only wears those tights like three times a week, so you'd think I'd be able to nail it. NOPE. I just kept layering colour upon colour upon colour...with no success. It kind of turned into a big mess. So, in the end I just decided to give her red tights (went over everything with my R27)...not at all what I wanted, but I didn't have time to start over. I also ended up loosing all of the shading I had been working on. Then I figured her pink pointe shoes looked silly with the red tights, so I made them green. Again, this was not what I had pictured but sometimes you have to change plans to salvage a project. SIGH.

I am sharing this with you friends, because we ALL have difficulties and frustrations with projects sometimes. We have grand visions of how our project will turn out, and sometimes the end product just doesn't measure up to our expectations. We usually just post our "best" stuff...but I think sharing some of our pieces that presented us with difficulties is beneficial too. Making mistakes is all part of the learning process...and I make a TON of them!! Don't be discouraged though...it is just colouring after all. You can always start fresh again tomorrow, armed with the new knowledge you have acquired through trial and error. My best advice when you're frustrated??? Walk away! lol Have a cup of tea and forget about your colouring for little bit. Return when you are refreshed, calm and ready to tackle it again. Also, make sure that you have the free time to sit and colour for a while...if you are rushed and feel pressure to "get it done", then chances are you may not be colouring at your best. My project today is a prime example of this...my time was tight, and so I rushed it a little. In the end, I made errors that ended up costing me more time in the long run. Had I tried out my colour combos on a scrap piece of paper first, perhaps I would have ended up with the results I had first envisioned. Remember...this is ultimately supposed to be fun and relaxing!! For me, it is also typically a stress-reliever...a way to unwind at the end of the day. If you're not smiling while colouring, just take a break. Be encouraged...and never craft angry. hehe

We'd love to have you play along with our Nestabilities Challenge this week...you just may be the lucky winner of a brand new Town Scrapper Victoria Case stamp! If you are in need of some new Nestabilities, Phebe has a wonderful selection of Spellbinders at The Town Scrapper and right now, ALL NESTABILITES ARE CURRENTLY 35% OFF. You can contact her by telephone at 519-882-0623 or via email at info@townscrapper.com to arrange a visit or to place an order. She also has many other wonderful stamp companies and product lines in stock...just perfect for all those crafty loved ones on your Christmas list. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today friends, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your Friday!!

Blessings (and happy crafting!!),

Melanie

Stamps: Town Scrapper exclusive Victoria Case "Ballerina", Whimsy Stamps sentiment
Ink: Memento, Copics, Black Soot Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, My Mind's Eye (Holly Jolly)
Embellishments: Rhinestones, Ribbon, Stardust Stickles
Tools: Spellbinders Petite Ovals Small, Labels 8, Labels 10, Fancy Tags, Bow Easy