Special Delivery

I love to color, so I'll be honest and say that preprinted and precolored images aren't my first choice when it comes to cardmaking, but I adore these Sepia Toppers from the Charlie's Ark line... these come 6 in a package, 3 each of 2 designs, and there are 4 holiday designs to choose from at this time. You can leave the cards as is, or alter them according to your style with inks, pencils, sponging, paints, or whatever it is that makes your work uniquely 'you'.

This is the set I used for my card, which is called Special Delivery. I just couldn't leave it alone - I was itching to color Charlie... so I pulled out my colored pencils (I prefer Prismacolors, but I have a variety of other brands thrown in my collection, too) and a sharpener. I used very sharp pencils and colored very lightly (my friend Jacki says 'tickle the paper'... if that gives you an idea of the pressure!). This is the result!

I added a little dimension using a large stylus, by embossing over a foam pad. I also made some cuts in a few places with a craft knife, and popped up corners for a 3-D effect. I used a glaze pen from Sakura in the window areas, and added a sprinkle of Polar White Flower Soft here and there. I embossed around the edges of the topper too, using a Scor-Pal. Those details show better in the photo below...

I hope I've given you some ideas! Cheers - Dina