Hi everyone, it's Colleen here :-)
We have a NEW release out called Reason to Smile and, believe me, you will have reasons to smile after seeing these gorgeous digital designs! There's something for everyone in this release! To shop, click here.
For my card today, I'm using the I Be-Leaf In You digital design. I thought this would be gorgeous to create a slimline-sized card and color!
The first step was to upload the file to Photoshop and then embed both leaves in either corner of an 8.5x3.5 sized card panel. Once I aligned the leaves where I wanted them, I embedded that adorable sentiment right in the center. Then I printed it on Neenah Solar White 80 lb cardstock with my laser printer. Here is what the leaves look like before I placed them onto my card panel. There are so many ways this design can be used!
Next comes the fun part - coloring!
I wanted my leaves to have depth and dimension, so I chose a variety of Copic colors in hues of green, yellow-green, and blue-green. I used the lightest shades on top and moved to darker shades for the leaves that were tucked behind. This way the darker leaves look further away. The Copic colors that I used are YG01, YG07, YG09, G02, G17, G46, BG 13, BG49, and BG78.
TIP: When using alcohol markers on your digital designs, be sure you're using high-quality cardstock that can absorb the bleeding from the markers. Also, be sure your ink from your printer is fully dry before coloring so that the ink doesn't bleed.
It was so relaxing to sit back and color! Once my Copic coloring was finished, I decided to add some color to the background by ink blending around the leaves with Catherine Pooler's Chiffon, Limoncello, and Sauna. I kept the section around the sentiment lighter so that it's highlighted!
The final step was to die cut my card panel using Gina Marie Designs Pierced Big and Little Chain Slimline dies to add interest and depth to my card panel. I finished with Metallic Pearls Gold from Pinkfresh Studio.
I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial! And keep in mind that Varada's designs are made so that you can just download and print! But I like to show the various ways that digi designs can be used! To shop Varada's new release, click here. To visit my Instagram page, click here.
Thanks! ~Colleen