Hidi Ho Neighbor!

Remember that line from Home Improvements! Oh how I was addicted to that Tim the tool man Taylor! That was back in the day before reality shows when there was something good to watch on TV! Ya, you might have guessed, I am NOT a reality TV show lover. I think I stopped watching TV when reality shows took over, but now there is Criminal Minds! Now THAT is good TV! Oh and of course, Dexter! And the Today Show and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. And if none of those are on the tube, I resort to the weather network, CNN or Criminal Minds on DVD...ya, I know I am kinda weird! Mark has said that if televison became extinct I would not suffer all that much, and he is probably right!

Alrighty, television commentary aside, I do have something LOVELY to show you! This is BEEBEE Bitybloom from Stamping Bella and just in time to get your groove on for Valentines Day.

I could just eat this one up. I coloured it last Sunday afternoon when Paulineabella stopped by for a visit. We were chatting about our card making process and I thought I would share mine:

1. pick an image and stamp it ...on Bella's BESTEST paper of course!
2. then I sift through my VAST collection of 6x6 pads and look for a paper that works with the image. NO going back here! Do it fast! Flip through them quickly, pick out maybe 3 or 4 possibilities then go back through those and pick one. That's it...DONE! It took me less than 5 minutes. The key here is to do it quickly and pick the first ones that catch your eye. If nothing catches my eye in the 6x6 pads, I go to my 12x12 papers but I KNOW that will take me longer!
3. pick out 2 or 3 papers from the pad to use as your colour inspiration
4. now you have your image, you have your paper, so start colouring. DO NOT think of the layout yet. Just colour!
5. now I have my 6x6 pad and my image coloured so I will look at my image again and flip back through the pad to see if there is something better than my original choices. Sometimes, I will pick something else, but will stay within the papers of that pad 99.9% of the time. I usually pick 3 papers but may not use them all.
6. now you have your image coloured, your final paper choices so NOW it is time to think about layout. Either work it yourself or go to the VAST number of challenge blogs out there to give you inspiration. Mojo Monday and Taylored Expressions are my two favs for layouts if I need a jump start. But most often I stick within my own style and comfort zone and do something really simple. Otherwise, it doesn't feel like 'me' if you get my drift.

So that's my process! Before Christmas when i was busy on all my cards I would colour like a mad woman and had several little 'packages' of coloured images matched up with paper stacked up and ready to be made into cards. I also find it more productive to spend a day or weekend just colouring, then the next day or weekend just putting cards together.

Now another reason to have a heafty stash of coloured images and matching papers on hand is that when a great sketch comes along you can just go through your 'reserve' and find one that works well with the sketch! Just like this week when we have a FAB sketch created by our one and only Kimabella!

Sadly, right now I do not have a stash, so that means I'll spend Saturday colouring, and Sunday making cards! And ONE of those cards will land in this sketch! Some of the other 'babes' have already posted the sketch so you've got a good head start! Get you finished card to Emily by next Thursday for your chance at some bella bucks and with a new BIG release for CHA those bucks just might come in handy!

Hope your weekend is productive! Later, Linda.