Simplified Coloring

I’m not the best at coloring – I’ve admitted this many times – so I’m always on the lookout for little tips and tricks that will help me with this. One little such trick I’ve recently found works particularly well with the Santa Snacks Stamp and Cut: using a gel pen and kraft paper to do the majority of the “coloring” for me.  

I stamped four little gingerbread guys in Cup O’ Joe on Kraft paper, and then die cut them. With kraft paper, wet-based colored mediums tend to show up darker, so I used a lighter red Distress Marker to get the perfect ruddy red here. I then added some black for the eyes and buttons. For the white icing, I used a Sakura white gel pen – this saves me so much time and hassle! Since I used kraft for the base, and the white for the icing, I don’t have to do much coloring, like I would have to do if I stamped on white cardstock.

I adhered the little guys to piece of white cardstock that I had die cut a border with, using the Postage Stamps Infinity dies. I then stamped a sentiment, from Holiday Cheer, and heat embossed in White. The sentiment was die cut using a speech bubble die from Everything Smiles Stamp and Cut, and then adhered to the white cardstock as well.

 

Finally, I added a strip of red glitter tape to the side of my card base, adhered the white cardstock panel, and topped everything off with some red sequins!

Since rediscovering my white gel pen, I’ve found so many cool uses for it, that range from saving me time, helping me “color”, to just looking danged cool. ;)

Thanks so much for stopping in and God bless!


  • Leanne in Cali

    This is great! Love your ideas. Thanks for sharing!!

  • SarahC

    Very clever! It is a really cute card.

  • Barbara Chmura

    Darling CAS card! Love it!

  • Beverley Hollis

    Love these gingerbread men, so cute! It reminded me that I first started stamping, (nearly 20 years ago!) coloured cardstock for stamped images provided the colour instead of the wonderful array of colouring tools we now have. I was terrified of ruining a card by using coloured pencils or paints. I now happily combine mediums and it’s given new life to old stamps, including many beautiful Hero Arts stamps that took pride of place in my stamp collection. Thanks for this tutorial Clare, it’s a great combination of supplies. I love my white gel pens too, they make a huge difference to our cardmaking.

  • Kirsty Vittetoe
    Love…LOVE it!!