Hop Art Studio

Blendabilities Markers Skintones

When  you order your new Blendabilities markers you'll want to learn which combos to use when coloring people. So I made you a cheat sheet. 

You can find them HERE 

And here's a fun new SU! video tutorial for you to try. 

 

Fiona's Flowers

Copic Markers - Y17, Y35, E23, E37, E25, E79, E50, E53, R20, R17, YG03, YG63, BG96, C1, C3, BG15, BG72, RV21, RV02, RV55, RV66

New gal I've drawn for Hambo Stamps. All profit benefits OWH.

You can find her at Fiona's Flower Hambo Stamp Digital Store

I thought I'd take some pictures while I colored her in. 

(I tried taking a film of one card I was coloring and well....let's just say...it turned out awlful! But I'll try again.)

 

Copic Creations Challenge 42 - Something New

It's time again for another  Copic Creations Challenge. Hop on over to the blog to see all of the awesome cards that the team made.

We used the beautiful illustrations that you can find at Prairie Fairy Designs. I used Geisha. Isn't she lovely? I couldn't wait to start coloring her in.

My card is large, 5 1/2 x 7 1/2.

I printed the image out on Neenah Classic Crest 80lb using my HP printer. 2 images on the page. Then I sprayed it very lightly, with Plaids clear acrylic sealer. If you spray too much your Copics will not soak into the paper and you won't be able to blend. Try to spray evenly and quickly.  You can also try Krylon fixatives.

Skin: E00, E11, E21

Hair: E71, E47, E49

Robe: R17, R59

Blend over the darker color with the lighter color. I use the tip of the lighter color to pick up the darker color to make my blending smoother. If you have a 3rd color (medium tone) you can use that.

On the second image I colored the parasol.

Parasol:YR31, YR23

I added V06 to the shading of the robe. This helps to deepen the red adding a richer look than just using a darker red. I colored in the dress.

I used the blender to add texture to the skirt.

Dress/collar: V06, V12

Sash: YG03, G28

I cut out the image. I went around the edge using Prismacolor Premier Black Brush tip marker.  The tip is much smaller than a Copic, making it ideal for this application.

Here I place the cut out image on top of the parasol to make sure that the shading is dark enough.

I begin the process of Stippling the background colors. 

Background; W5, W3, W1, W00, O

First you start with the W3 all around the image, pressing the tip down and up on the paper, creating dots. Then you go over the W3 dots with W1 dots extending the area out towards the edge of the paper. Then you go over the W3 dots with W1 dots extending the area out more. Finally you go over the W1 dots with W00 dots, extending the area once again. Now go back around the image using W5, making dots. Go over this with W3 to soften the dark areas a bit.

To make the areas where the gray blends into the paper softer, blend over it using your 0 (Blender marker)

I adhered the cut out image using 3D dots.

Coloring Techniques Book!

Welcome to the Coloring Techniques for Card Making Blog Hop! Today we wanted to introduce you to a brand new, must-have book that has been written to help shed some light on some of the hottest trends in coloring techniques in paper crafting today.

 

http://www.anniesattic.com/detail.html?code=701020 )

Coloring Techniques for Card Making features three of the most popular coloring techniques in card making today--water coloring, colored pencils and using alcohol-based ink markers. Each chapter showcases one particular technique and includes an introductions that will help you choose the products that are right for you, and will walk you through the steps to creating one of our featured projects. Easy-to-follow instructions, detailed materials lists and helpful coloring tips will make it easy for you to achieve stunning card-making results. As a bonus, enjoy a chapter that focuses on ways to highlight and accentuate your projects with products such as glitter and gel pens, shading techniques and methods for creating the look of texture with color.

   

Here's one of the projects that I created for the book. I love using Prismacolor Pencils on colored cardstock and the grapes were perfect to showcase that technique. 

Card stock and stamp set from Gina K. Designs; printed paper from Webster’s 

Pages; Palette fast-drying ink pad from Stewart Superior Corp.; colored pencils from 

Prismacolor; Copic markers from Imagination International Inc. 

We are pleased that you have joined us for the hop! Be sure to leave a comment at each blog along the way to be entered for your chance to win a free copy of Coloring Techniques for Card Making!
The designers who are participating in the blog hop are as follows:

Keri Lee Sereika - www.pinklemonade.typepad.com

Debbie Olson - www.debbiedesigns.typepad.com

Jeanne Streiff - www.inkypaws.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com

Trudy Sjolander - www.truesgiftsfromtheheart.blogspot.com

Asela Hopkins - www.hopartstudios.typepad.com

Broni Holcombe - www.bronih.typepad.com/splashesofwatercolor

Kathy Menzies - www.thecreataholic.blogspot.com

Christine Okken - http://christinecreations.blogspot.com

Dawn Lusk - www.dawnanewday.blogspot.com

Laurie Wilson - www.clearlydelightful.typepad.com/clearly_delightful

Sherrie Siemens - www.sherrie-cardcreme.blogspot.com

Chrissy Le - www.paperinkcolor.blogspot.com

Copic Coloring Video - Apple "Fruitful Harvest"

I did it! I tried to make a coloring video. It's by no means perfect. And I really didn't plan it out. But I wanted to see if I could film myself and use my IMovies program for the first time.

When you watch this understand that I only own the 144 Ciao markers and the 12 new very light markers. That means that I may not have some of the intermediate colors that you may see other people using to get their colors to blend. Instead I get really creative! 

Also, I really spent a lot of time blending the apple, going back and forth between three colors. I think this is good for those of you who want to watch blending in action. Reds take a bit more effort to blend than other colors, so be patient when working with them. Also if you make a mistake reds don't disappear as well. 

I had some background noise when I was filming it so I had to replace it with music. If you don't wish to listen to Elton John or David Bowie than just mute it.

Let me know what you think and if you think I should make more. It really was a fun learning experience.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Beast Friends!

 

I'm a huge fan of Hambo Stamps. I love all of their images. Being the mom of two boys I love to be able to find stamps that are perfectly suited for boys. 

,This dinosaur-monster is great! When my 13 year old saw him stamped on my paper he just had to ask if he could color him. Since I had stamped several of this image I gave him one to work on. He made him green with yellow spikes! Way cute.

I used CPS- Card Sketch Challenge, for this week, as the inspiration for the layout. I love using sketches to motivate me to create something. There are often times when I get a creative block and the sketches are exactly what I need to get me started.

(I decided to go with the darkest color next and then follow that with the medium to blend.)

Finishing my blending with the lightest colors.

All done! I'm going to have fun with this little monster, coloring him all kinds of ways. 

Copic Markers- V000, V12, V15, V17, YG11, YG63, Y08    

  
 

Copic Creations Challenge 30- "Other" Paper

 

This week Copic Creations Challenge Blog is covering the technique of using “other” papers for coloring your images with Copic markers.   This includes any “other” paper ~  vellum, glossy, kraft cardstock . . . actually, any color of cardstock, watercolor paper, design/patterned paper . . .  any paper that is not “normally” used!   I used  ColorMates Paper -Dark Totally Tan. It's a lot more absorbent than the white card stock I normally use. Some would call it's "softer".

Make sure to head on over to the Copic Crations Blog to view all of the wonderful cards that the design team created. We have a great sponsor for this weeks challenge Stampavie. The prize will be 3 stamps images!

 


   
Copic Markers - YR31, Y15, YR04, R27, YG03, E57, YR0000  

Copic Creations Challenge 29 - Animals

 

I'm so excited to be able to use a digital stamp image from one of my favorite stamp companies Hambo Stamps!

This weeks challenge at Copic Creation Challenge Blog is coloring animals. And Hambo has really fun stamps, perfect for this challenge. I used this adorable Prince frog digital for my card. Hop on over to the Copic Creation Blog and see all of the gorgeous samples that the design team created.

               
 

Normally I color the entire body with the light color, but in the first picture I decided to just color in the light areas and leave the darker areas untouched. Just something different. I still went over all of the image using the lightest color to blend.

 

Copic Markers - Y11, YG03, G24, BV0000, BV00, BV13, Y17, YR23 

Copic Creations Challenge 26 - Coloring Black Hair

 

This weeks challenge was coloring black hair. I actually used my Copic Black marker! Something that I almost never use. Usually if I'm going to color black hair I have been adding brown or used BV marker. I'm so glad that I tried to use something outside of my comfort zone.

The image is a wonderfully cute one by The Greeting Farm and they are giving away an awesome prize! Hop on over to Copic Creations Blog for all of the details and to view other gorgeous samples by the talented design team.

I printed it out twice and colored the hair separate to give him more dimension.

Click on the images to view them larger. For the skin I used E00, E21, R20, and E33 for the freckles.

      

 
 

I used C00, C1, C3, C5, and 100 (Black) for the hair.

 

All copics used were C00, C1, C3, C5, 100,E00, E21, R20, E33, Y17, G02, G000, 0

White gel pen for the highlights.

Coloring a Bride- Copic Markers

At one of my classes I was asked how to color a brides dress. 

So I pulled out a drawing that I had done some time ago 

and tried a few different markers to color in her dress. 

Thought I'd share what I came up with.

 

(Skin pair of colors is skin colors)

(Click on images for larger version.)

(JPG of the brides for you to download) 

   

Copic Creations Challenge 22 - Coloring Embellishments

 

Another fun copic challenge this month from Copic Creations Challenge Blog. This time it's coloring embellishments using Copic markers. Because Copics are alcohol based they are permanent on most surfaces therefore making them a wonderful tool to change the color of anything you want to put on your creations. For my card I colored white pearls using BV29 marker to make them appear black.

This weeks sponsor is DZ Doodles Digital Stamps. Go to the Copic Creations Challenge Blog to find out how you can enter to win a $25 gift certificate from DZ Doodles and 4 Copic markers of your choice from 7 Kids College Fund.

So hop on over to the Copic Creations Blog and drool over all the beautiful cards!

 BV02, G00, RV02, Y00, C1, E53

BV04, G02, RV02, Y02, C3  

BV17, G05, RV34, Y15, C5, E33

Blend the layers of color together using your lighter shade of markers. The lighter marker will cause the darker colors to fade somewhat so you will need to go back over the darker areas with your darkest marker. Then go back over it, lightly, to blend.  
 

 

Copic Creations Challenge 19 - Fur

Happy New Year! It's that time again for another Copic Creations Challenge. This time the very talented designers will be highlighting coloring fur. Hop on over to Copic Creations Challenge Blog to see all of the wonderful cards! This challenge is sponsored by Squigglefly.com, a great digital stamp company.

With the rag I used the Blender Solution on it to lighten areas and then took E33 and smeared it on the rag then applied the rag carefully on the image. Areas are then smoothed over using E33.

Saying by GinaK Designs.

Copic Colors - E31, E33, E37, R02,0, B00 and B0000

Flourishes Limelight - Strawberries

 

So excited to share one more project using Flourishes beautiful set "Strawberries" Hop on over to 

Flourishes Blog and you can see step by step on how I created this card. I have also include a PDF file of the tutorial for you to print out. Enjoy! 

Copic Creations Challenge 14 - Coloring Black

Ever wonder how in the heck do you color something that is black? Well, now you can see some amazing samples on the Copic Creations Blog. The wonderfully talented design team has done it again. There is a big variety of how to color things that have black elements in them.

I used the truck from my set The Journey as the focal point.  I stamped the truck using Memento Tuxedo black and then covered it with a mask that I made using Eclipse tape. I stamped the rocks and grass (also from The Journey set) I then created the clouds using an acrylic template that I made from a round scallop punch. I used a sponge and dye based inks over the template to create the clouds. Then I started having fun coloring with my Copics. 

Copic Markers - B12, B0000 - Sky

                      - E33, E43 - Wood and dirt road

      - YG63, G21 - Grass (to create the texture I dabbed Blender on a rag, pressed it onto the                                                    green, then I added YG63 to the rag and pressed it over the green)

                  - W1, W3, W5, W7, 100 - Truck, wheels, and rocks (colored in the order that I listed. 100 was only added to the very dark areas and only by touching W1 or W3 to the tip of the black marker.)

Papers - Ginak, Bo Bunny and Basic Grey

Now it's your turn to try to color something black. Go to the Copics Creations Blog and post a link back to your post and you could win a $25 gift certificate,  sponsored by Ellen Hutson of the Classroom.

Coloring Trevor Tutorial - Copic Creations 13 - Pumpkins

Happy October 1st! Boy did September fly bye or what? Yikes!  

This adorable image is Trevor from All That Scraps. I had a blast coloring him in! Hop on over the see all of the gorgeous samples that the  Copic Creations Design Team  has done.

I used the Blender Marker to create the stripes in his cute little sweater. I took my blender and brushed it across the fibers on a scrap piece of washcloth and pressed it onto his jeans to create the white washed look.

Copic Markers: Pumpkin - Y38, YR68, E08, G24, G28

Skin - E50, E53, R20

Clothes, Hair - B32, B95, R59, E57, C5, 0

Fruitful Harvest - Blog Hop!

I'm so excited to share with you a little notebook that I created using the pears from my newest set for Ginak Designs called "Fruitful Harvest". This was an idea that popped into my head while I was setting the dinner table. Yes, we set the dinner table with a tablecloth and silverware. I have a centerpiece that has some really pretty beaded fruit in it. And I thought, "Why not make my stamped images beaded!"

To create the beaded look use Alene's Tacky glue and a small brush. Brush the glue on top of the colored images. Pour clear micro beads on top of the glue. Press down with fingers. 

Copic Markers: Y0000,Y00, YR20, YR02,YG03, G07, E35

For even more inspiration with the Fruitful Harvest stamp set, head over to to my dear  friend Deb Felts . She's sharing a beautiful card with us tonight too! Then, take the time to check out all the other GinaK Design Team Member's sharing projects tonight on their blogs:

Carolyn King Emily Giovanni Erika Martin Gina Krupksy Jessica Fick Kurtis Amundson Lee Murphy Lynn Mercurio Melanie Muenchinger Theresa Momber

and our CenterStage spotlight designers:

Geri Utterback Shelly Wilson

Copic Creations Challenge No. 12 • Copic and Prismacolor Pencils

 

Today I'm sharing with you a gorgeous, and very detailed image, by Stamps Happen. I'm sure you are familiar with this artwork distributed by Janlynn. Janlynn Corporation is offering a $50 gift certificate along with a bag of goodies. So hop on over to Copic Creations for all the details and gorgeous examples by the design team.

I first stamped the image onto Ginak Pure Luxury Ivory Card Stock using Memento Black Tuxedo Ink. It has a nice smooth surface, perfect for both Copics and Prismacolor pencils. I used Copic V000 to color in the Lilacs and YG03 for the leaves. (Use the colored label on the front of the stamp as a guide.)

I stamped the image again and colored the Fairy dress and wings and hat. I used E00 an E21 to color the skin. 

I will be cutting out the second fairy to place on top of the first image.

These will be the base colors for the Prismacolor pencil. 

I start adding the PC pencil.

I used PC932(Violet) and PC908(Dark Green) to add the dark areas to the leaves and the lilac.

I added the shading to the fairies wings and her hat.

I used Gamsol to blend the pencil lines. Gamsol has no negative effect  to the Copic coloring. You will need very small paper stumps for all of the detail work.

I'll  post the photos and let you follow along. You can see how the pencil lines become smooth when you blend with the stumps and Gamsol.

You can really see in the close up of the wings how the pencil looks like before and after the Gamsol is added and the pencil lines are blended.

Next more colors are added with Prismacolor pencils to create shading and highlights.

I use Pc 913 (Spring Green), White, PC1011 (Deco Yellow), and PC1035 (Neon Yellow) to add more colors to the wings and the leaves.

I added PC1011(Deco Yellow) around the outer edges and paper around the image. I used a large blending stump and Gamsol to blend it smoothly.

Next I added PC1034 (Goldenrod) for more shading and to tone down the yellow.

I cut the fairy out, adhering it on top of the base artwork.

Copic Markers: E00, E21, YG03, V000, E17

Prismacolor Pencil : PC932, PC908, PC913, White, PC1011, PC1035, PC1034

Grapes- Markers and Colored Pencil

 

I want to share a technique that I like to use. It goes back to my college days when I worked with pastels. We always worked on a piece of paper that was other than white. The color of the paper would help to set the tone of the pastel painting. 

First thing you need to do is pick a colored card stock. Usually these papers are softer than the ones we normally use to color with our Copic markers. Softer, means that the fibers are longer therefore more absorbent. Just keep that in mind when you are coloring.

I chose a soft yellowish paper by Colorbox. Then I stamped the grapes from my stamp set for Ginak called "Fruitful Harvest" using Memento Tuxedo black ink pad.

I colored in all the grapes using V12 and then added V15 for the shading. I added more V15 to the lower grapes to make them darker. 

Remember to use V12 to blend the areas where V15 meet it.

Next color the leaves using YG03 with shading using G24. Make sure to blend where the darker shading meets the lighter color on the leaves using YG03.

Now the fun part! Adding highlights

Using a Prismacolor White pencil you start to color in areas that you want highlights, lighter areas.

If you do not to see pencil strokes, I personally like them, you can use a paper stump and Gamsol to blend the white pencil strokes. It  doesn't react negatively with the Copic coloring. Very cool!

The last thing I did was add more color pencil around the outer edge of the illustration to bring some shading. I blending it with Gamsol. However, after doing this I noticed that the paper soaks up the Gamsol and doesn't blend as nice as it does on tighter papers. So I would try it first on a scrap piece of paper before you shade around your final colored piece to see if you like how it will look.

This also applies to the the Markers. Because the background paper is colored the color of the marker strokes will look different. So please try the colors that you want to use on a piece of scrap piece of paper first before you color in your image.

I will be teaching a class using all of the images in my new stamp set this week and we will be making them into cards. 

Teachers Make a Difference

Thanks everyone for your wonderful post on my last card. I really appreciate hearing all that you have to say. I will announce the winner of my new set later today.

Have you been enjoying all of the wonderful preview samples made by GinaK's design team? I know I sure have. They are so incredibly talented. I have to say that being on GinaK's design team has been a wonderful experience.

I made this card using my set Fruitful Harvest and Rupa's new set Back to School. You can see previews for her new set at Gina K's blog.

I stamped my apples using  Memento and colored them in using Copic markers. I love my markers! Can ya tell...hehehe. My hubby sometimes will see the artwork after it is colored and say to me "Nice watercoloring". Ha! I say, it's marker. Gotta love that. Not having to bring out the brushes and the paint. So handy to sit there and blend away with my markers.

I used two of Rupa's new stamps, the paper clips and the saying. I stamped the saying twice -in red and black- and then cut them out. Using a dimensional dot to make the apple pop up.

Copic: R27, R59, R22, R17

          Y21, YR04, YG63, Y02

Love Pink

I post a color combo every Friday for our Florida Group on StampTV. It's a fun way to end the week and inspire the stampers in our group.

A few weeks ago the particular combo was shades of pink. It's fun to try to do a use a monochromatic color palette.

I stamped the daisy from my set for Ginak Flowers for Daisy using memento ink and colored it in using Copic Markers.

Ahhhhhhhhh ha! I took pictures as I colored it in. I colored the entire flower using RV000 and shaded using RV10 and RV13. Using the RV00 to blend the darker colors. Sometimes when you used a very light color 000 you will really fade out the darker shading as you blend. While the areas are still a bit wet go back in with the darker colors in some areas to bring back the contrast.

Don't forget to color in the stem using YG23. This is a really nice color for foliage.

I used Y21 for the center of the flower and added the shading using Y28. Then blended it in using Y21.

I finished the flower by adding some diamond glitter to the center.

I have a ton of ideas swimming in my head this week. So hopefully I'll be able to get them down on paper and share them with you soon.

Copic Markers: Y28, Y21, RV000, RV10, RV13

Stamp: Flowers for Daisy (GinaK Designs)

Coloring Strawberries

I had a chance to sneak into my little stamp corner of the world and create a few things yesterday. I swear I'd go nuts if I didn't get a few minutes to myself each day!

I love these strawberries by Ginak. You can find them here Summer Harvest. 

I used a Memento black ink pad to stamp the image and colored it in using my Copic markers. If you still are having trouble coloring with Copics find a instructor in your area or search online. There are a lot of wonderful tutorials on how to use Copic markers. Remember that each artist finds a way that works best for them. I have had email links sent to me showing me that this is how so and so does it, and asking  "why do youdo it your way?" Or "that's not how I learned to color with Copics!". I never ever get offended by such comments. Why? Because that's just how I am. I don't get easily troubled. And I recognize that nothing is sent or said to me to criticize me but rather to help inform me. And I appreciate it. I learn from every thing that I read and see on Copics.

Remember, Copic markers are just a tool. Just like watercolors and colored pencils are. You take the tool and you learn how to use it. There's no right way or wrong way on how to use it just as long as you practice enough with them to get proficient. (That being said, there definitely are tips on how to use the tool properly but it's up to you to learn which method works best with your style of coloring.)

I work from light to dark and blend using my lightest colors over my darks. Yes you can color from dark to light but this just isn't the method that works best for me. I've tried it other ways but I tend to treat Copic coloring like I do my watercoloring. I love layers. And I think it gives the coloring more depth when I work over top of another color.

I used my Nestibilities to cut and emboss around the image. Then I sponged around the edges using Close to Cocoa (SU!) with a sponge dipped in the ink.

The pink background paper is embossed using a Cuttlebug folder. The green paper is already embossed.

Stamps: Summer Harvest

Ink: Memento Black
Cardstock: GinaK, SU!
Accessories: Folder (Twigs), Ribbon
Tools:Nestibilities Circles/Scallop Circles, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Twigs)
Copic Markers:0,W3, G 94, YG23, Y15, R37

Faux Watercoloring

It's fun to be able to use a tool in a new way to create something similar in feel to another tool. This time I wanted to use my Copics to get a watercolor feel.  

To create the look of water coloring you will need a very thin, absorbent paper. I used cheap Walmart Georgia Pacific General purpose 20lb paper. I  have also used parchment paper before, it does however bleed alot! Please make sure to put plenty of scrap pieces of paper underneath the image you are coloring.

First, stamp your image, I used GinaK's Wreath_Of_Wishes , using black Memento ink. 

I colored in my leaves and stems using YG63, the flowers using RV14 and the centers of the flowers using Y21.

Then I went back over the leaves where they meet the stems adding more green. No blending. Make sure to color over the black lines. If you color inside the lines you will have white areas where you did not color.

Now flip your artwork over. The image will be very diffused looking and lovely. This is a wonderful technique to use on flowers. You will get a very soft looking image. Just like your had watercolored it.

Looking at the closeup of the leaves you can see the areas that I went over again are darker. Remember that the paper does bleed so be careful when coloring not to over saturate the areas you are coloring. You need to practice on a scrap piece of paper first to figure out how much pressure you need to apply with your markers to achieve the bleed through you want.

I can definitely see this technique being used for backgrounds. With the focal image stamped on the front.

For the card I created I stamped the saying from the stamp set in the center of the Wreath using Always Artichoke (SU!).

Stamps: Wreath of Wishes (GinaK Design)

Ink: Memento
Cardstock: Anna Griffin, SU!, Georgia Pacific
Accessories: Ribbon, Buttons 
Tools:Nestibilities
Copic Markers:Y21, YG63, RV14

Coloring with Copics:Tomatoes

I actually remembered to keep the camera next to me while I colored in an image. So I thought it would be a great time to share some step by steps on coloring with Copics.

Don't these tomatoes look yummy? Just off the vine, with that sun kissed glow. MMMMMMM...MMMMMMM.

This is a cute set by Ginak called Summer Harvest. The stamp is one single tomato. So after I inked it up with Memento ink and stamped it in the center of my paper I also created a mask. I placed the mask over the center tomato and then stamped 2 more.

Paper really matters when you are coloring with Copic markers. I recommend that you try several different ones until you find one that works best with your style of coloring.

The first thing I did was put down a good layer of Y11. Making sure to really cover the area evenly. Then I added some YR61. I think that it's important to remember when you are coloring something in that the object is not flat but dimensional. Often it picks up colors from its surroundings. Try to use more colors when you work, not less. (Unless you are trying to make it purposely look flat, color book.)

Now I begin to add contrast to my illustration. I start adding YR16. Wow, did I just scribble like a 2nd grader? Why yes!

I'm going to be blending and blending and blending. Eventually all the layers will be nice and even so it's okay if the YR16 is not covering the surface nice and neat.

I'm going to go over the YR16 with the Y11 and the YR61 several times until I am satisfied with the look.

Now I've really lost it! I'm adding a deeper color, R17. Remember that depending on the paper you work with, and in my case I like the ink to bleed a bit, the colors will meld together. By applying the Alcohol marker over top of an area that has already been colored you are re-activating it and you will be able to make it "bleed" again. This is a good thing. That's how the colors meld together so evenly. And why you need to stay away from clay coated card stocks. The colors stay on the surface of the paper.

I begin to blend the red into the YR16 by using the YR16 over top of the R17. I prefer to use my chisel tip when I blend colors that are more intense like the red I'm using. I'm able to really scrub the areas of color together. Copic markers will not cause the paper to pill like watercolors do. So don't worry. Scrub away! (Do try to stay away from the edges of the image. Remember, depending on how absorbent your paper is, the ink from the marker could bleed over to the outside of the line.) Also, I go back in and feather red up into the areas (you can see this in the tomato on the left of the picture.) I will go back over this and soften the lines.

I'm almost done! I now go back over the yellow highlights working the marker back into the darker areas, plus I also added YR16 to help the areas not get too light. Between the last and this picture of the tomatoes you can see that there are no longer any lines left where the different markers have met. You have to have patience and let the markers work for you and blend over areas. Stopping to see how they are progressing before you add more marker.

For the leaves I used YG00 and YG63. First I color in all the leaves and stems using the lighter colors then I add the shadows with the darker green.

I like to work from light to dark blending with the lighter marker over top of the darker color. The Ciaos are wonderful for beginners because all the colors are chosen so that they blend really well together and most are a couple of digits apart. You really don't have to think about it working, it will.

I go back over the darker areas of the leaves once everything is blending to give them more definition.

I hope you enjoyed my tips and tutorial. Remember, practice, practice and more practice.

Stamps: GinaK "Summer Harvest"

Ink:  Memento Black
Cardstock: SU!, Mat packs
Accessories: Faux Pearls
Tools:  Scallop Square punch (for the corners)
Copic Markers:Y11,YR61, YR16, R17, YG00, YG63

Coloring With Sharpies

I found a post on SCS about using Sharpies to color in your stamped images instead of Copic Markers. Now I already was familiar with this, having seen a wonderfully done video on YouTube, but I thought that I should investigate it a bit further.

I love to experiment. Especially when it comes to coloring mediums. Since my background is in fine arts, with 7 years having worked in the Graphics field, I'm no stranger to all the different mediums out there and how to use and combine them together to create lots of different looks. But to be honest with you Sharpies was never on the list! LOL

So I gave it a shot. As you can see from my card the results are rather similar to Copic coloring. There are however  some exceptions.

Sharpies do not blend as easily as the Copics. I had to really go over the areas a lot for the lines to blend smoothly.

The tips of the Sharpies are not flexible. Since I haven't used them much I do not know how well they will stand up to all the blending and coloring that you need to do to achieve a nice even layer of color.

Sharpies have a very strong odor. They are dye + n-propanol (71-23-8)+ n-butanol (71-36-3) + diacetone alcohol (123-42-2). Copics are dye + ethanol alcohol (77%) + n-propanol (8%) + isopropanol (4%).

I have a feeling that the pens will dry out quickly for me as I do a lot of coloring. I have had my set of Sharpies for a few years and some have already begun to dry out.

I noticed that with the blending some of the Memento stamped ink areas of the images did bleed. I've never had this happen with my Copics.

The metallic Sharpies are way cool! I can see using them again on other paper craft projects.

Sharpies lids do not match the ink. So you will have to make a reference sheet to see what the colors look like before you apply them to your project.

When blending with the sharpies, or even when coloring in an area, make sure that you use the whole surface of the tip. This way you will be applying more dye to the papers surface. Also, use the side of the tip when you are blending. This makes it much easier than if you used only the point.

Sharpies come in limited color choices. (I had to use a much darker green for shading in his face than I would have liked.)http://www.sharpie.com/enUS/Product/Sharpie_Fine_Point_Permanent_Marker.html

Sharpies are not refillable.

I was able to use Copics colorless blender to remove a mistake.

If you want to try creating a Copic blended look without buying Copics than I think you should go right ahead and experiment.

But please understand that you are limiting yourself to growing as an artist when you make a choice to use something that is limited in it's use. I learned to color with alcohol markers using  Prismacolor Markers, which have a much bigger learning curve do to the broad chisel tip. (The smaller tip dries out rather quickly.) With a lot of practice I have become very good at using Prismacolor markers. But now that I have Copic markers I realize that I made a mistake and should have spent the money more wisely on Copic markers instead. They are easier to use and because they can be refilled I will never be frustated again when the tip dries out. And oh all the color choices!

(To view the smaller images just click on them and a larger window will open.)

You're My Best Friend!

Today's the day. I get to announce the winner of my new stamp set and you get some fun sneak peaks from Gina's design team!

The winner is..... Susan W

"I have a personal, intimate relationship with water damage.  It has plagued me throughout my life, following me from house to house.....Can't wait for the sneak peek!! Pick me!"

Email me Susan so I can get your address.

I know I've been a bad blogger lately but I promise I'm gonna change! This has been a very challenging year for me. A lot of personal changes. I've done some serious reflecting and I want to turn a new leaf on some things.

One resolution for the new year-more tutorials on my blog.

So lets start early!

I stamped one of my brand new images from my stamp set "Framed Friends", on sale December 11th using Palette Noir black ink. As you can see I stamped the cute little guy twice. I used GinaK fabulous new paper Pure_Luxury as the base.

Next I used my Copic markers to color in the images. As you can see in only one of them I just colored the puppy. Now I could have continued to color him in using more Copics to add more layers. But instead I'm switching on you!

Go ahead and pull out those beautiful Prismacolor pencils you have hiding in a drawer. We're going to use them to create dimension.

I began by coloring in the trees. Gently I started adding the green over top of the Copic colored areas. By gently, I mean, don't press so hard on the paper. You want to lay the pencil color down slowly, building the darker areas about gradually. You'll see more of this when I detail in the puppy.

Use Periwinkle to color in the blue sky. Make sure to leave some areas of the intial Copic background showing through. You don't want to completely color overn it. Do you see how I picked which colors to go over top of my Copic coloring?

Yep! That's correct, a Prismacolor pencil that is a shade darker but similiar in hue to the Copic. I did not color in the puppy.

Our next set of pencils will be used to color in the second puppy. I began by coloring in his cheek using Hot Pink. Go softly with your pencil as you will continue to add more and more colors.

As I worked on my coloring of the puppy I went from light to dark colors. Adding a lighter color over the top ones will allow for the lines to defuse and your pencil lines disappear.

Once he was all colored in I cut him out and I darkened in his eye and 3 dots on his nose using a marker.

Here's a closeup. Can you see how blended the pink is with the browns? That's done by using soft strokes over and over again until all the lines are gone. What you are left with is nice blended pencil marks.

I wanted to use my Puppy for a masculine card. It's nice to have images that not only can be used for our girlfriends and childern but can also be sent to are male friends and loved ones.

I used the branch from my set Christmas_Blessings to add a little bit of that woodland flavor to the card!

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and I plan on sharing more with you in the future.

Now hop on over to GinaK's fabulous design team for more sneak peaks.

http://creativepad.typepad.com/creative_pad/2008/12/gina-k-designs-day-1-sneak-peek.html

http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com/2008/12/gina-k-preview-day-1.html

http://onehappystamper.typepad.com/stamping_inspirations_wit/2008/12/gina-k-preview.html

http://stampamaniac.blogspot.com/2008/12/gina-k-sneak-peek-day-1-ladybug-treat.html

http://emilygiovanni.com/?p=2484

http://stampinmama.typepad.com/stampin_mama_a_mama_that_/2008/12/ginak-sneak-peek-day-1-framed-friends.html

http://iembellish.blogspot.com/2008/12/sneak-peeks-day-1-puppy-love-and-more.html

http://stampedbyhand.blogspot.com/2008/12/gina-k-previews-begin.html

http://www.stampinkub.com/blog/?p=730

http://melaniemuenchinger.blogspot.com/2008/12/sneak-peek-framed-friends.html

http://craftingtheweb.blogspot.com/2008/12/gina-k-preview-day-1-framed-friends.html

And don't forget to Say a Big Happy Birthday to Kurtis when you visit his blog!

Friends

Yeah! An embossed detailed image colored in using Copic markers (with a bit of Prismacolor). Thanks for all the tips. You guys are always so great.

This is a Stampin' Up! set that I was able to purchase. I don't know how I missed this one. How old is it?

I'm really having fun learning all the potential of Alcohol based markers. All I need now is to build up my collection. Oh darn! LOL

Tammy asked- "I was under the impression that you could not use the alcohol-based markers with an embossed image as there would be a reaction. You didn't have any problems?"

Thanks Tammy, I honestly didn't think about it. I just did it! I had no reaction what-so-ever. I know that I can not color embossed images using Gamsol because it dissolves the embossing. But when I colored the image here, even while going over the lines, nothing happened. I'll have to try and experiment some more and see if there is a reaction to the Alcohol based markers. Hmmmmmmm

Watercoloring Daisies

Did you know that you can use other papers for watercoloring? One paper that I love to use is Stampin' Up! Shimmering White. (I use to be able to use Whispering White, but the new pack I just bought doesn't work! Did they change the paper? Hmmmmm) You have to be very careful when you try to use other papers besides watercolor paper as they are not as strong and the top layers will rip or tear.

Shimmering White seems to hold up very well.

I stamped my Daisy Vase using Stazon black and heat set it.

I use soft sable brushes when I watercolor. I use small round, medium round and flat brushes. I have used Aqua-painter brushes, and they work well, but I like to have more control over the amount of water on the brush tip. With the Aquapainter you can tap the tip of the brush on a napkin to get rid of some of the extra water that you have squeezed out. Also, make sure to squeeze water to the tip and wipe off the extra color onto a dry napkin before you change colors.

A lot of times you will often rush right in and color in the image and leave the background for last. I like to do the opposite. I like to create a nice muted background and then go back in and work the main image. I always use clean water and a brush to wet the are that I will be working on before I apply any color. Why? Because watercolors are a very fluid medium. You want them to look soft. So when you wet the paper first you allow the pigment that you apply to spread out over the paper instead of staying put where you first place it. (Just be careful, you want the area wet - not soaked!) Only wet the areas that you want to color, not the entire surface of the paper. I used SU! More Mustard ink for the background color.

Between colors I use my heat gun to dry the areas that I just finished. Why? Because the new colors you add next will migrate into the wet areas. Not the dry areas. Wet the vase and add Bordering Blue. I moved the pigment around the wet surface.

I colored in the flowers. These areas are very small so you do not need to water the areas first. Just make sure that your brush is damp so that the layer of pink you apply is light in color. You want to build layers of pink, from light to dark to give the flowers more dimensions. When you have very little water on your brush it is called Dry Brushing. The colors you apply when you dry brush are more intense and you have more control where the color goes. (When dry brushing an area make sure that the paper is not wet!)

Have you ever Tole Painted? I use to cut wood, seal it and paint over the surface. One of the techniques of Tole Painting is floating color. You only add paint to one corner of a flat, moist, brush and when you apply the paint to the edge of the area you are coloring it creates a colored area that goes from darker to lighter. You can do the same with watercoloring. I dip one edge of the flat brush into the ink pool and use that dipped tip along the outer edge. (Make sure to first wet around the entire area that you are coloring, going out wards to the edges of the paper.) This creates more concentration of color  closer to the black line, softer towards the outer edges. (Take the wet brush as you are applying the color and push the pigment outwards. This help ensure that you do not create a hard line.)

You now dry brush pink over the lighter layer of pink that you added earlier. You want to  add more color towards the center. I use a very small sable brush. I also use dry brushing to add Mellow Moss for the stems. If you do not feel comfortable using such a small brush you can color in these areas using a marker. Just make sure that the areas are completely dry or the pigments will migrate to the wet areas.

You can see where I've added some pink and green areas on the glass vase. Glass is reflective and therefore it's never just one solid color. It reflects colors that are around it. Therefore, pinks and greens from the flowers this time.

Using Pink Passion I colored in the table top. With Mellow Moss I colored in the stripes. I used More Mustard for the center of the flowers. I used Moss to add shadow areas on the yellow centers of the flowers.

I added green over the pink top to mottle the look of it and create more depth and shadow.

If after you are finished you find that the paper has wrinkles, and it most likely will because it's not very thick, heat it to dry it completely and place it under a heavy book. It should flatten out nicely.

I hope these tips are helpful. Watercoloring is all about layers. Layers over layers. Wet on wet. Details using Dry brushing. And practice, practice, practice!

Don't forget to hop on over to Gina's blog to get a preview of Melanie's adorable new set "Little Tees" http://blog.ginakdesigns.com/

My First Challenge!

 

Sometimes simple appeals to my inner muse. KWIM? I want nice, clean, uncluttered. I loved all of the suggestions for a challenge. I thought for my first one I'd keep it simple. And of course I'll be including some goodies!

I used the Fern image from my set Botanical_Dreams by Gina K Designs. I created a mask on a scrap piece of copier paper. I stamped one leaf using Palette Noir Black ink and masked over it. I then stamped another fern over top of it. I continued this on down the piece of paper.

I started to add color to the leaves. First with Copic E31  and then Copic YG95. A lot of time people forget that you can use colored markers over top of colored papers. You can use any markers for this, they don't have to be Alcohol based. (I've done this before using  Prismacolor Pencils and SU! Markers.) Always test your marker colors out on a corner of the paper or on an extra piece of the paper  the same color as the one you will be coloring on. Remember that the color of the paper will affect the shade of the marker when you color in your image.

I next added Prismacolor Marker Eggshell around the inside edges of the leaves. This left the actual color of the paper as the highlighted areas.

I then added Prismacolor Marker Goldenrod around the outer edges and filled in between the leaves. I will then be filling in all the way around the outer part of the paper. I wanted the leaves to stand out.

Once I had everything covered I used my Coluzzle to cut out an oval shape. (Does anyone else still use their Coluzzle? I swear I can't seem to find templates or the blades in any store.)

The ribbon I used is actually the back side of the side you are suppose to use. Isn't it cool! Love how fuzzy it is.

Now for the challenge. Here's the sketch for the card I created.

Using this template as a guide, uupload a card to the Splitcoast_Galleryand  put AH01 in your keyword section. Please use Botanical Dreams, if you don't have Botanical Dreams then you can use any GinaK stamp set you may have. (Please, for this challenge use only GinaK stamps.)

(You don't need to stick with a card for this challenge, you can also create a scrapbooking page. Just make sure to include stamps.)

You have until Sunday July 21, 12 pm (EST) to post your card. I will go through the gallery and put all the names of the cards posted into a drawing.

The lucky person will win my next set! And that's not all. You will also win a set of Kohl i noor pencil, gamsol sample and blending stumps! Plus.......

I will be picking 2 more names and they will each receive a free surprise goodie bag.

I will announce the winners on Monday.

And please check back on Tuesday....there's something really special I'll be announcing.

Bleached Leaves!

Get out!!!

Well don't actually leave, lol.

But stay here and click on this link

http://blog.ginakdesigns.com/2008/07/07/bleached-leaves--a-bleaching-tutorial.aspx

Is this card not the coolest?!!!!

I haven't used this technique in a long while and I absolutely love what Gina created using my fern leaf.

Thanks Gina!

Lavender Gift

A girl should never have this much fun!

I had this idea in my head since I received my stamps. I was dieing to create a soap gift set and I just couldn't wait to make it. And it came out exactly how I pictured it! Don't you just love when that happens!

I took pictures again as I created it (I'm finding that keeping my camera near by me when I'm making something is a good thing!)

I had this soap starter kit I had bought at Michaels last year. All you need do is melt the soap squares in a bowl in the microwave and then pour it into a mold. Really easy.

You can add fragrance or herbs or anything you want really, while it's in liquid form.

Now the first step may be a bit scary for some of you. So only follow along if you have a the nerve!

I removed the EzMount foam from the back of my Salvia stamp! Yep, I sure did....I figured if the foam came apart in pieces I could always add more back on. Why pull it off, well I wanted the impression of the Salvia (Faux Lavender...lol) on my bar of soap. And it needed to be thin. I lay the rubber piece onto the bottom of the plastic mold, stamp side up. I sprinkled some lavender around it and then poured the liquid soap on top of the stamp. When it harden I removed the soap and just peeled the stamp away. Rinsed it off, dried it and put the foam mount back on. Didn't hurt one bit!

I pulled out my Twinkling H2O's by LuminArte' (Forest Green and Black Cherry). Added a few drops of water into the little pots and with a small paint brush I applied green  and then the cherry directly onto the indentations that the rubber stamp left. (I'm not worried about the H2O getting on peoples hands when they wash....seriously who would ever think of using something so cute! And if they  ever did I'm pretty confident it would wash off.)

I measured around the outside diameter of the bar of soap and cut a piece of pretty purple scrap booking paper I had  and some fun natural handmade paper to wrap around the bar.

I wet my brush and started adding color directly onto the, now mounted, salvia stamp. Once all the color was on the rubber I huffed, a lot! To get it really moist again.

I then stamped it directly on to the handmade paper. I huffed again and stamped it a couple of times on an extra scrap I had, just in case, for later use. I love the way the extra ones stamped!

Oh my, the H2O's are so pretty and sparkle so nicely. I wish you could actually see how beautiful they look on the bar of soap and the card.

You can always buy a pretty bar of handmade soap and just create the band for it. You can stamp Friend, Dream, or Believe from my set. Maybe even make one of each! How cute would that be.

I created the front of my card in a similar fashion as I did the band for the soap. I just put the purple paper on top of the handmade paper and added some hemp cord.

I hope you like me sharing these ideas with you. I'm pretty excited to be able to create these things for you to use my stamps on.

Here's a chances to win goodies from GinaK Designs....

1- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=357245

2- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=357261

3.- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=357237

4- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=357259

Have a wonderful day!

Salvia-Botanical Dreams

Thank you everyone for your well wishes. I read each one on my site and all the ones on Gina's site! Boy over 500 post on yesterday's page on her blog. I was very touched by the comments. And just as excited to be able to be a part of her team.

I've been having a lot of fun with all the stamps. I love them all. Gina has some wonderful illustrators working with her and all the stamps are beautiful!

I wanted to share another card I created using my new set Botanical Dreams.

This is a Salvia bloom. But I can see it as lavender or another herb. Lots of possibilities.

I stamped the Salvia several times on Vanilla card stock using SU! Old Olive. Then I stamped it one more time using Versamark and sprinkled a combination (one pinch at a time) of pink, red and purple embossing powders. I heat set it.

I took my Coluzzle and carefully cut an oval around the image. I was careful not to cut out the blooms. I used my scissors to go around the blooms that extended outside of the oval.

Next I dipped a toothbrush into the lid of Creamy Caramel (SU!) ink pad. I had squished some ink onto the lid and added a few drops of water. I used my finger to flick the toothbrush and this causes splatters of ink all over the paper. I then sponged around the edge. Gives it a really nice look.

I've also been using my markers to color up Gina K's new stamps Kindred Kids!

They are so darn cute. I've made  7 ATC using them.

ATC's are a lot of fun. I've traded them and I love collecting them.

Check Gina's_Blog for more sneak peaks and links to her design teams.

Here's a couple of the kids I colored using my Prismacolor Markers. (Opps! Forgot to color the bee and flower...gonna get right to it)

Remember, check back tomorrow. I'll have a  Botanical Dreams set to give away!  

Botanical Dreams

When I left Cornish Heritage Farms I had no intentions of getting back into illustrating again, atleast not for a while. I really needed to step away, evaluate my goals and take time to really think about what direction I wanted to go. My family is always first. I left my career 16 years ago to become a SAHM. Being a full time mother and wife was more important to me than making money. And it still is. We sacrificed a lot for me to be able to stay home. And it hasn't always been easy making it on only one income. But the rewards, oh my goodness, are so many that I could never list them all. We are blessed beyond blessed. I'm happy that I made that decision years ago.

Did you know that I was Gina's first guest designer on her blog, April 2007? Did you know that I'm a part of Gina's Stamp for a Cause Design team? Well, it didn't surprise me that Gina called me, we have maintained contact over the past year. She's not only my friend but is such a sweet, talented and inspirational lady. I really think highly of her. We talked for a long time. She mentioned to me if I ever wanted to illustrate again she'd love to work with me. Gina is a very understanding person and said she'd be there when I'm ready.

Well, I'm ready!

My very first stamp set for Gina K Designs will be available June 20th.  I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.

Here's a sneak peak and a tutorial to boot!

This is one of the stamps from my new set called "Botanical Dreams". I had fun illustrating the Aster flower. They are so pretty.

The saying, well need I say more, touches my heart. It has a lot of meaning for me right now. I know that I will be using it over and over again.

After you read my blog you have to hop on over to the other wonderful design team members who will also have previews on their blogs of my new set - Joanne, Erika, Emily, Michelle and Melanie.

Let's get busy!

First I inked up my Aster flower using my Versamark pad on Prism paper. I sprinkled clear embossing powder over the image and heat set it. Oh so pretty!

I did this one more time but on my green paper.

I love discovering new products, expecially if they are affordable. Now you know I looooooooove my Prismacolor pencils. But I realize that a lot of people, especially now, can't afford them. Well, Gina is now carrying a very affordable alternative. Kohl_I_Noor Pencils.

I pulled out the white pencil to color in the flower petals on both the flowers I had embossed. It's super easy to color within the lines since they are raised up on the paper. Plus, the Kohl-i-noor pencils have soft lead so the pigment has no problem covering over the paper.

Next, I used the yellow pencil to color in the center of the flower. After the coloring was done on both flowers I carefully cut them out.

Do you own Shrinky Dink plastic? I love the stuff. It's always so fun to stamp something on it, color it in and watch it transform when heated up.

I stamped the flower twice using Stazon black and colored in the flowers using my Sharpie markers.  Before I heated up the plastic I made sure to punch a hole in the flower. I used the piercing tool (through the hole) to hold the flower down while I heated it.

Look how adorable it is! So tiny...

I attached some O rings to the flowers and then made earrings out of them. Now to place them inside the card as a gift.

I punched 2 holes on the white and also on the green paper. I adhered the 2 panels together and attached  black eyelets in the holes.

I needed the earings to pop out from the card a bit so I added some foam tape to the back. I love this type of tape. It can be used for so many things.

Seriously! Who wouldn't love a pair of these. I can see them in yellow, blue, green, orange, etc.

Oh and how about placing a cute rhinestone in the center for extra sparkle!

Once the panel was finished I attached it to the inside of the card.

Oh what a fun surprise to open the card up and find a cute pair of earrings on the inside. I'm tickled pink. LOL

I've created more, and more fun things for you this week. So come back tomorrow and then Friday....

Guess what?....

I'll have some blog candy....

Best Fishes

I'm not usually the superstitious type but yesterday, Friday the 13th, I was half way through typing up this article and when I saved it it was lost! No where, nada! Oh the frustration. So here I am again....one more shot, okay.

These little fish may look familiar to those of you who have been with me for a while, I colored them in here Prismacolor_Layers. This time I thought it would be fun to photograph as I colored them in using Prismacolor markers and pencils.

I made this handy dandy very professional looking chart for you to have. As you can see I only used 3 markers and 4 pencils. That's the beauty of coloring, you can mix thing up by just layering.

I received these beautiful fish images from a friend. I'm sure that they were all stamped using Stazon ink. I've never had any problem coloring them in. Alas, I don't own this adorable set.

The first thing to do was to color in 2 sets of identical images. All I did was color block them in. Nothing special. I always color with the fat tip of my markers. When I first got them I found it a bit hard to use that tip, but I was determined to figure it. After all, that's the most versatile end. And really, all it takes is practice and not giving up. I'm able to color even small areas with the fat end now.

Using Marine Green a begin to give the fishes some details. Shading. Do you see my coloring mistake? Yep, I colored over the big fishes large fin with my green marker! Opps! No worries I just took the Goldenrod marker and colored over the green. Looks okay to me!

As you can see I've taken the green pencil on over to the Goldenrod colored areas for it's shading.

Now I take my Periwinkle and deepen the color of the blue on the little fish. (Earlier I had mentioned that I had color blocked 2 sets of images using my markers. I am only adding detail with my pencils to only 1 of the sets of fish. The other set will be the base image of the card.)

You can really see how just adding a bit of colored pencil helps give the fish a more realistic look. Almost 3D.

Lets warm it up a bit! Too many cool colors, with all that green and blue. I use Hot Pink on their cute little cheeks and don't stop there. Adding some to only the fins. Almost as if they were sun kissed. (Okay, I know, they're under the water...lol.)

Using the Goldenrod pencil I start to add a bit to the blue. I don't know why, just didn't like how plain my blue looked and I felt it needed some yellow. Don't you think?

Here are all the  images I colored. The top left are the base art. The bottom detail fishes are going to be cut out and placed on top of the base fish. Oh yea! At the last minute I colored in another fish for the inside of my card.

Fish have to sparkle. I reached for Diamond Glaze and coated my fish. They look so shiny. But that just wasn't enough. So I sprinkled some Diamond Dust and Gold Glitter (fine) on them. Tip: I dip the end of a small dry brush into the glitter pots and flick the glitter where I want it. This way I have more control than if I used my fingers. And you waste less this way also.

From the final picture you can see that I cut my fishes out and used dimensional tape to raise them up over the other fishes I had stamped earlier.

Hope you enjoyed following along.

So get out those markers and pencils this weekend and have fun!

Question asked about using Stazon and solvent based markers and smearing.

Yep, it will smear, however I do use Stazon from time to time. (I'll stamp a bunch of images for coloring later, often I'll grab my Stazon or my Archival black. Ha! I forget to label which I used on the image. So I don't know which image has Stazon or Archival when I chose how to color it.)

I'm pretty careful when I color and I color quickly. I also do not apply a lot of pressure on the paper when I color, maybe this prevents the smearing.

On this example I wasn't layering marker on top of marker. Usually, I have found, that this will have a tendency to cause the inked lines to smear the black around. If you aren't comfortable using Stazon please use something like Brilliance Archival Black. Sorry about the confusion.

Grateful Bunny

Oh aren't these pretty? I just love Prismacolor products and I bought this set a while ago using my Michaels 50% off coupon. Gotta love those coupons!

I had a chance to to try the SCS Sketch challenge for this week, SC178.

As I started to work with the image I picked, I decided to take photos. Hope you enjoy following along.

First I stamped the image using Archival Graphite Black ink by Tsukineko. The ink is a true black (IMO)

I pulled out a green pencil and with a small wet sable brush I touched the tip of the pencil. Then I started to add color to the paper. I'm not using watercolor paper, just SU! paper. After you apply one light layer of green go back and add green to areas that you feel should be darker. When working with watercolor you are building layers upon layers. Light to dark.

Just green in plants is sooooooo boring! You must add more interest. So I pulled out brown and mustardy yellow. Again with a wet brush I added layers of brown and yellow to the leaves. Keep your brush wet when working on the paper. Not soaking wet, but a bit wet. You want to be able to move the pigment, that you picked up from the pencils, about on the paper.

I stamped the image of the bunny again on another piece of paper. Now to color in the bunny. I picked up a brown that seemed to have a bit of red in it. I tested it on a scrap piece of paper to make sure it was the correct shade of brown that I wanted. I began to watercolor in the bunny. Make sure to leave white areas when you watercolor in an image for highlights.

Now pick up a dark brown pencil and test it on a scrap piece of paper. This will become the next layer to add to the image you are coloring. Remember to make sure that the brush stays damp so that you can manipulate the pigment on the surface of the paper, otherwise you will not get smooth transitions between your layers. Add the dark brown to areas that you know would be darker. (Think of the sun hitting the bunny, where would he be shaded and where would he be lighter.)

Awwwwwwww...what's a cute little bunny without some pink on his ears and nose! Add some to his ear, cheek and nose. As I'm working in the colors I'm going back over areas with a wet brush, blending .

I cut the watercolored bunny out. One thing I always like to do when I cut out an image is go around the outer edge with a black marker.

I just discovered these incredible new marker sets by Prismacolor (seriously, I need to work for them!LOL) These are tiny brush tip markers. Oh I hope they come out with more colors. They are wonderful for coloring in all those tiny images we so love. And it's great to go around the outer edges of images.

I bought my sets (Chisel and brush tip) from http://www.dickblick.com/zz221/50/. Not only do I love them but so do the boys. Keeping fingers crossed that they will start to include more colors.

Next I cut out the border from the bottom layer of the two images I had stamped. I used a new Xacto blade to do this. I always use a metal ruler when I want a clean edge with my knife. If you use plastic you will most likely cut into the edge of the ruler.

Once I cut out the border I did the same thing to the main image. Leaving only a small border of paper around it to frame it.

Once all the images where cut out I adhered them to the front of the card front. I added dimensional tape to raise the second image of the bunny above the bottom bunny and added diamond glaze to make him stand out even more.

I used Cuttlebug embossing Paisley folder, some fun velour ribbon, an embossed saying, french script background stamp, and paper piercing to the card to finish it off.

This was a fun card to create. Hope you enjoyed my explanation of how it was colored in.

Have a wonderful weekend.  

Watercoloring My Cactus

I'd like to share with you the images of the cactus stamp as it was watercolored in. Hope it's helpful.

First stamp the image on a smooth toothed watercolor paper. If the watercolor paper has too much texture to it you will not get a good impression from your rubber stamp.

I used Stazon Black. Any solvent based ink will do. Other inks will smear when you start to watercolor in the image.

I use different sizes of sable art brushes when I watercolor. This way I have more control over the amount of water that is on the bristles.

First I wet down the paper in the areas that I want to apply my ink (or watercolor paint). I like to do this because it makes the ink spread out more along the surface of the paper.

First layers of dye ink are SU! Mellow Moss and Rose Royal. On the flower petals I applied additional layers of Rose to darken them.

Second photo I started to add some more depth to the image but adding another layer of Mellow moss. I now added Summer Sun (Yellow) to the flower. I also added some green to the petals to create some shading.

Third image. I'm now adding more layers. The flowers have Really Rust and More mustard added to the center. You can see that I've added some yellow to the greens on the cactus body. This again gives the plant more depth.

I like to introduce more than one color to images that I want to look more realistic. I work in layers. Layers are truly important when you watercolor. But be careful. You don't want your image to get muddy.

How does it get muddy looking? By adding layers that are too heavy. Light layers on top of light layers create beautiful depths. It's all about practicing. The more you do it, the better you get. We all make the same mistakes at first. Trust me. I had many muddy watercolored paintings when I first began.

Fourth image. I now am adding Always Artichoke and Ruby red to the image. I wanted to deepen the color on some areas on the body of the cactus and the flower petals.

I think often the hardest part of watercoloring is trying to visualize where  the shadows will be. Where the highlights are. Remember, when watercoloring you go from light to dark. Layers are added to the areas that you want the shadows to fall and less, if no layers are added to your lightest colored areas.

Visualize the sun hitting the cactus out in the desert. Where would the rays be hitting it? Where would the shadows be cast?

Fifth image. I used a clean wet brush and went over the Always Artichoke layer. This helps to smooth out the colors.

Remember, I'm working rather fast. The paper is not completely dry while I'm doing all of this watercoloring. So it is rather easy to still move the pigment along the surface of the paper.

If you wait until the layers dry, you will get lines instead of a wet look on the surface of the paper, as I have here.

Tip: Don't soak your paper down with too much water. It just needs to be a bit damp when you start to color. If the paper is too wet then you get layers that smear together and get muddy looking when you start to add colors on top of each other. If the paper is too dry then you get layers that are too defined. You get what is called "dry brushing". Your paint brush needs to be wet but not soaking wet. Since we are generally coloring in smaller detailed images, you need to learn how to control how the pigment goes onto the paper. Unfortunately, there's nothing that can help but practice!

Here's the finished card  http://hopartstudios.typepad.com/hop_art_studios/2007/10/cactus-dreams.html

Hanging out

I'm going batty!

Naw, not really. But ya know once a month I sure feel that way. LOL ....shhhhhhh don't tell anyone.

I stamped Hambo's Flying_Bat twice on SU! Shimmering white card stock. Then I drew in a tree branch and colored it in using Prismacolor Grey 20%. I hand lettered the saying.

For the corners I used Marvy's Square Scallop punch (large) and created some scallop corners.

Just take a look at the pictures to see how I did it.

Really easy, actually.

Just cut the edges off of the square scallop. I used an exacto blade but you can use scissors. And check out the cute square that's left over! Oh the possibilities.

I love to use the supplies that I already own in new ways. Instead of going out and buying something.

Talking about buying.

I really tried to find something at Michaels to use my 50% off coupon. It seemed like such a good deal to not try to find something to use it on. But I just couldn't. Again, I just don't want to buy something and have it sitting there. So I gave my coupon to the check out lady at the grocery store. Brought a big smile to her face.

Worth millions!

Prismacolor Pencil Coloring (Thomas Kinkade)

I know a lot of people are curious as to how I colored in my Thomas Kinkade stamps (by Cornish Heritage Farms.) So I decided to share the process step by step. Hope you find it helpful.

1. Before you use your stamp for the first time, condition your stamp by cleaning it and scrubbing it several times. Using Stampin' Up! Always Artichoke ink up your rubber stamp. I use a roller for the larger images, however I have used just the ink pad and it works out fine.

What paper to use? I used a very smooth toothed gray paper that I found at our local scrapbooking store. I like SU! Whispering White also, it gives a really crisp image.

2. The first areas to color are your brights. I used Prismacolor Pencils Pink, Pale Vermillion, Crimson Lake and Imperial Violet. Refer back to the stamps label for correct placement of the colors. Work all the areas you can find that have these colors.

3. Now you can start adding more color. Using Mediterranean Blue, Limepeel, Marine Green you can start adding in the blue and green areas. While working with the blues and greens I keep adding more of the pinks, orange, red and violets. Remember you are layering colors on top of colors. Go into the pink areas and add some red and greens. Into the orange areas do the same. And so on. You want to create depth by adding layers of pencils.

4. I use short pencil strokes to color in the image.

5. Here's a closeup. You can better see here how these layers are beginning to be built up. I've added greens to the water (the reflection of the foliage in the water.) Purples to the sky.

6. I'm now introducing 2 more colors, French Grey 90% and Yellow Ochre.  The French Grey is what you use to bring out the details. This is the color I used to bring out all the shadows. The Yellow Ochre was used in the path, the trees and the grass. (And any other areas I wanted to highlight.)  Remember, to refer back to your stamp label for color placement and always go back and use other pencils you have used before to continue to add more layers.

7. Detail of with the new colors added in. Notice how the grey really helps to create the depth you are looking for in the drawing. With out it, the image would look flat. Make sure to sharpen you pencils in order to get into some of the finer areas. 

8.The final two colors added are Light Aqua and Grass Green. I used the Grass Green first. Make sure the point is really sharpened. You may need your reading glasses!  Add the wrought iron detail of the fence and the dome. Layering the Aqua on top of the grass green. (Let some of the darker green show beneath.)

9. Here you can see how all the colors have come together in the end.

Click on the images to enlarge.

Supplies:

Thomas Kinkade Garden of Prayer by Cornish Heritage Farms

Stampin' Up! Always Artichoke

Prismacolor Pencils: Marine Green, Pink, Pale Vermillion, Crimson Lake, Mediterranean Blue, Imperial Violet, Lime Peel, Yellow Ochre, Grass Green, Light Aqua and French Grey 90%

Speedball Roller

Smooth grain paper

Just remember, it's all about adding layers on top of layers. Using more than one color on top of another to create depth. And practice!

http://forums.cornishheritagefarms.com/gallery2.php/v/tkdt/tktgop/

Birds

I thought I'd first share the Bird cards that I designed using my new stamps. I hope everyone is enjoying the special offer that  Cornish Heritage Farms has on them until May 30th. You can find it here Asela's_Birds

I wanted to keep the style pretty consistent to showcase the stamps. I can't wait to play some more with the little birds.

I'm getting more anxious and bit nervous about the upcoming move. Oh you know how that is, "Will I forget something?", "What will we need for the trip", "Did I make sure to get everything done before we leave?" Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! LOL...I know it will all be fine.

Anyways, I first stamped the Large_Paisley_Backgrounder in an ink that was very close to the color of the paper. Then I went back with a white Signo pen and colored in the dots. The Birds were stamped in versamark and embossed in black. I colored them in using my Prismacolor pencils and Odorless Thinner. (Be really careful not to touch the embossed line or else it will bleed into the pencil drawing.) I used my Coluzzle circle template to cut out the birds. Then I cut out more circles 1/4 inch larger than the Birds circles and used my scissors to cut around it. I then used a Staedtler Pigment Liner 1.0 pen to draw tiny circles around the scallops. Very fun!

The smaller sayings fit perfectly in the SU! window punch. I used a large scallop scissors to put a curve on the larger saying.

I have been asked "How do you make your scallops so neat and perfect around a shape?" Well I'll show you. (But really there's no secret to it, just practice.)

Scalloped Circles Using Scissors

1. Cut out a circle using your Coluzzle Template (Or a punch) Then very carefully and slowly start to go around the outside of the circle using your scissors. (I don't always use a guide but you can score a small line with the blade of the Coluzzle cutter on the cut out circle. Or draw one in lightly with a pencil.) The key here is to go slow when cutting.

2. Always use the back end of the scissors to cut (where the joint is.) It's the sharpest point and you will get a better edge. (Atleast that's the case with the cheaper scissors that I own.)

Take your time and go all around the edge of the circle. 

3. Once you get close to the end of your cutting and you can see where you are about to join the scallops I want you to try to visualize how many scallops will be needed to complete the circle. In other words, how many do I need to make it look right! What you can do is fudge a bit. You can make a scallop a bit longer or shorter. It won't be that noticeable.

4. You can see that now I only have about 2 scallops left to cut. I will need to maneuver my scissors a bit to make that last scallop work.

5. And guess what? It doesn't always come out perfect. But that's okay. You can see here that my last little scallop is a bit higher than the rest. No biggy. Just turn the paper over and use your scissor to cut the scallop down some. (I used the scalloped edged scissors but you can also just use your pointed scissors.)

6. Voila! There you have it. All done and looking nice and pretty. Who would have ever guessed it didn't end up even.

When I get a chance (probably once I'm settled in Florida) I'll share how I make my squared scallops end up just about right.

(You can click on the images to make them larger

Prismacolor Pencils and Markers

I went off this morning to my hair appointment. Nothing feels better than having your hair cut. I cut it nice and short. Who knows how long it's going to take me to find a good stylist back in Florida. (Finding someone who understands how to cut naturally curly hair is a challenge, trust me.)

When I got home it was quiet and the whole apartment was bright and cheerful. I just couldn't pass on the opportunity to create something. So I pulled out the stamps I designed for Cornish Heritage Farms. I realized that they are the perfect size for ATC (Artist Trading Cards.) Yeah!!!

All the images are stamped in black and colored in using Stampin' Up! Markers and Prismacolor pencils. So much fun to do!

When I finished coloring them all in I cut around the edges using Fiskar's Scallop edged scissor. (Draw a pencil line around the edge of the card stock as a cutting guide.) Then mounted the pretty edged cards on a background color. Whaaaa laaaaaa...cute ATCs! (The sayings are all by SU!)

I realized after coloring them in that some people may not be aware that you can use Markers and Prismacolors to color in an image on colored card stock. So here's a tutorial. Hope it's helpful.

Prismacolor Pencils and Stampin' Up! Markers

First stamp your image using black dye ink. No need to use Stazon black as the image will not smear. You can use any colored card stock you want. Experiment.

1. Color

Color in your image using the markers, being careful not to overlap the strokes.(Only one layer of markers.) I used Cameo Coral, Mellow Moss, and Summer Sun. You will want to have a piece of scrap paper that is the same color as your background. Use this piece to try out different markers to see which colors work best. (Because the paper is colored, it will slightly change the color of the marker once it is applied to the image.)

2. Shade

Using the Cameo Coral marker you want to go back over the flower in the areas that you wish to shade. Using Pumpkin Pie you can add some extra color to the yellow. (Remember to try out how colors will work over each other first on your scrap piece of paper.)

3. Highlight

Now the fun part. Using Prismacolor pencils you can add some wonderful highlighted areas to what you have already colored in with your markers. The first thing I did with this particular flower image  is turn it upside down, with the petals facing me. (I did this also for any other flower that I wanted the highlights to be on the outer edge of the petals.)

What this does is enable you to color towards the darker shaded marker area. Feathering the pencil into the marker. I apply more pressure in the areas I want lighter, less in areas that I want to blend into the marker.

Sample 4. Continue to rotate the paper so that it makes it easier to add the highlights you want. I used Prismacolors Deco Pink on the flower hightlighted areas.

Sample 5.  Using  Prismacolor's Yellow Chartreuse I added some highlights to the green leaves and flower buds.

That's all there is to it! Have fun. Experiment and enjoy created beautiful images using your Markers with Prismacolor Pencils.

All stamps were designed by me and can be found at Cornish_Heritage_Farms.

(You can click on the images to get a larger size.)

Guest Designer & Contest

Oh I can finally tell you. I'm the guest designer for Gina K!

Is that not a wonderful way to end March. I tell ya, I've had the most exciting month ever!

When my Gina K stamps arrived I got busy creating. You can see my design at http://blog.ginakdesigns.com/ and http://stampingfreak.com/

I just had to share one of my cards, plus a tutorial.

(Scan all the way to the bottom for something really special, you won't want to miss out!!!)

Okay, I was loving these bunnies. I had seen some wonderful creations using them by Gina's wonderfully talented Design Team and I just couldn't wait to color them in. You can find them here  Stampinfreak

I stamped the bunnies on white card stock.

I then stamped the bunnies again on a post it note and created a mask. I covered the bunnies and stamped the background. (SU! set Polka Dots & Paisley)

I stamped them once again on a piece of white card stock then colored both sets with my Prismacolor pencils and Odorless Thinner. I just had to add some Liquid Applique to their cute lil' tails. I  then cut one bunny out and adhered it on top with Dimensional tape.

The cute frame is actually a Sizzix Die called Scallop Oval Frame. I cut 2 out. One from chipboard the other brown paper.

Background paper is Cosmopolitan Collection "Marquis Cut" by Making Memories

Gesso Dots

Supplies:

Liquitex Basics Acrylic Gesso (or any acrylic Gesso brand will work.)

Stampin' Up! Classic Stampin' Ink Refill ( I used Pixie Pink)

Stylus

Plastic tray (or any plastic type lid or tray)

Step 1. Squeeze a small amount of Gesso onto the lid. Gesso is fairly thick. Squeeze a small dot of ink next to it. (less is more, you can always go back and add more if you want a darker color.)

Step 2. Mix the colors together using you stylus. The Gesso will now be less thick.

Step 3. I feel silly saying this, but it's a really important step. You need to clean off the stylus. Leave no paint residue on the metal tip. You will get better dots if the tip is maintained clean between  marks.

Step 4. Dip the stylus into the paint. Making sure to hold it straight up and down. You want paint only on the tip.

Step 5. Tap the paint covered tip of the stylus onto the paper, making sure to keep the stylus straight.

Step 6. Repeat steps 3-5 for each dot. (If you don't wipe the tip after each dot your dots will get progressively larger as the paint builds up on the tip. This can be a good effect also, if that's what you want.)

Whew, you made it to the bottom of the page!!! Hope you liked the tutorial.

Now for the best part.

Gina's has graciously offered me a $20 gift certificate to her store http://stampingfreak.com/Home_Page.html  for one lucky person on my blog. Man she's the sweetest ever!

All you have to do is leave me a post by Monday April 2nd by 12 midnight (Pacific time) and I will announce the lucky winner on Tuesday April 3nd.

(Plus, I think I will also be picking out 2 more names and sending them a little something special!)

We'll Evolve

Here's the first card I created using my new Green Grass Stamps. Isn't he a hoot?!

I colored him in using my Prismacolor pencils and Odorless Mineral Spirits. I punched out 2 Marvy scallop squares and placed them behind him.

Oh, I like that Cuttlebug Swirl in black! I'll definitely be using it in black again!

For the tag I used Gina K's cute "Maybe We'll Evolve stamp." I thought it was absolutely perfect for this lil' Monster.

You can see in the closeup of the monster that I carefully layered and blended different colors to give him depth.

In case you are wondering where that tag came from I made it by using my Marvy Scallop punch.

You will need an Exacto knife, cutting mat, metal ruler and a Marvy punch.

Here in step 2 I have drawn some pencil lines in where you will be making the cuts to create your tag. I wouldn't normally draw them in, but wanted to make it clear to everyone where to place the cuts.

In step 3 you place your metal ruler where you want to make the cuts. Have fun with this. (Move the cuts higher up the scallops for a different look.)

Using your blade you carefully make the two cuts.

In step 4 you can see the finished tag. And look at the extra pieces! Seriously how cute! I can see using them elsewhere on cards.

 

Prismacolor Layers

If you haven't tried coloring with Prismacolor pencils yet, you should. Now I know what you're thinking. A pencils a pencil. Nope. They are not all the same. I have been using Prismacolor pencils and other pencils for years. And I definitely prefer the quality of Prismacolor pencils when I am doing an illustration. The colors are always vivid. And the layers blend so well together. Some people will say that they don't care for them because the lead is so soft. Actually, IMO, this is one of their strong points. Sure the lead can break off when you sharpen it.  But if you use a good quality hand sharpener you tend to not have that problem (Prismacolor actually makes their very own sharpener, and it rocks!)

Cost. Another stumbling block for people. I know it's hard to spend that much money on pencils. But honest they last a long time. And there are lots of wonderful deals out there. Try here http://www.dickblick.com/zz205/08/ Or use your Michaels coupons.

Check out their site for more information and ideas. PRISMACOLOR

Layering with Prismacolor pencils.

Now you are not using Gamsol to spread the lead over the surface of the paper. Instead you are building up layers of color. Always start with your lightlest color. In example A I chose to use yellow as my background color. Since the fish has a rather large area I used SU! Summer Sun pastel and a sponge tip applicator to spread the color on.

You can also use PC916 Canary Yellow pencil. (Apply the color with a soft hand, not too much pressure.)

Once you have your background colored in you can start on the first layer. I chose PC909 Grass Green pencil.

Now when you are coloring I want you to think of the direction of the light on your image. Where is the light going to hit the fish? Which areas will be in the shadows and which areas will be highlighted? Think of the light coming from one angle and you should be okay.

In Example B I've drawn a closeup of the scales. You can see how I applied more pressure to the pencil at the bottom of the scale and feathered the color up to the top, into the yellow.

Example C I've introduced a third color, PC 933 Violet Blue pencil. I want the scale to pop out even more. So now I've added a darker color to the bottom edge.

Experiment with different colors. Don't just stick with grays and blacks for shadows. Use a contrasting color. Have fun!

Example D shows how just adding one more layer creates even more depth in the fish.

Remember to use a soft hand when layering the pencil.

(I did this example very quickly. To blend more and see less pencil lines just go lighter on your marks. You can go back over top of the blue in the face with a yellow pencil to blend more.)

Example E introduces the last color, PC929 Pink  pencil. The pink pencil is in the warm color family and the blue and greens are in the cool family. What I nice contrast on the fish! How boring he would be if he were only a "cool" fish!

I added some pink to the larger scale example so you can see that you can layer different colors on top of each other. Colors you wouldn't normally think would go together. The pink will take on a purple shade layered over the blue, orangey shade over the yellow. So fun!

Example F closeup of the finished image. You can see the greens, yellows, blues and pinks all working together to make the fish pop off the page.

Take your time layering. Go lightly. Building up as you color.

In areas where you want more intense color you can push harder on your pencil. However, once that area is colored in deeply it is much harder to layer more colors on top of it.

Have fun experimenting with your Prismacolor pencils and layers.

 

Creating a Banner

I thought I'd share how I created my banner on my home page. It's was really just trial and error for me. I'm really no computer wizard. I just click on a lot of options in the programs I have until something works. Smirk...ya know?

I upgraded my account to Typepad Plus because I was running out of space. And I really would like to share more pictures. One of the ways I was saving space was by chosing the option of not allowing picture pop-ups. With TypePad Plus you get extra websites. So I decided to start another one. By doing this I was able to experiment with creating a banner.

I used Adobe Photoshop. You don't need Photoshop 5.0 to create a banner. I used Photoshop 2.0. I did download photoshop 5.0's 30 day free trail, but decided to create my banner using 2.0. (If you have another program experiment with it. Or download Adobe's 30 day Free trail.)

First thing you need to do is take a picture of what you would like as the background of your banner. Or you can just pick a color in Photoshop. Or shot, for that matter anything else. (If you are using digital paper you downloaded online please contact the creator to see if it's okay to use on your blog.)

Open a new layer. Width: 13.403 inches Height: 2.778 inches Resolution: 72 pixels Contents: white (You can play around with the Height for different looks. Make sure that constraint porportions isn't clicked.)

This will be your first layer. Label it Banner.

Now open up a picture. This creates a new layer. (I used my RAK card picture from a previous post.) Click on your Rectangular Marquee tool and  use it to indicate on your picture what you want cropped out. You will see the "marching ants" border moving around the picture. Select crop. And the image will then crop to the size within the rectangular space you chose.

Choose the Move tool. Click on the cropped image and drag it to the the first layer. (The banner.) You may have to size it up or down within this layer, depending on what resolution the orginal picture was.

Now just play around with different filters if you want. You can watercolor it as I did or you can ghost it. Just have fun. Or you can leave it as is.

Select the type tool and position it over the banner layer, on top of your background picture. My "Hop Art Studio" is 120 pt. (This will gives you a starting point.) You can make it much larger or smaller if you wish. "Musings" is 36 pt.

Once you have the type face and the size you want then it's time to have fun.  Change the color, typeface, layer style, and effects. Play around until you have the look you want.

Once everything is just the way you want it then you need to save it. Save one copy as a JPG and another copy as Photoshop: PSD (PDD). (Oh don't forget this step, just incase you need to make changes later on you'll need the PSD copy.)

Once you have your image saved as a JPG you can then change the size to fit your chosen page layout on your blog. (Make sure you label each new size that is saved under a different name. If you don't do this and save it under the same name as the last one...thinking "Oh I'll just upload it in it's place", it won't work! Typepad will read it as the old banner, not the new one. Trust me this is wayyyyyyy important.)

So let's say you try out your banner and it's just not fitting right. What you do is open it up again in Photoshop and select Image, then Resize. Play around with Width size. REMEMBER to make sure that Contrain Porportions is not chosen. Changing the width, not the height. I'm sure there's a better way of doing this, but like I said I'm really no computer wiz!

If when changing the size you notice that your banner looks weird, then open up the PSD version you saved and only change the size of you background layer. Or create a new banner and click and drag all the elements to your new banner. There's always more than one way to do something!

Adding your banner to your home page.

Go to Designs. Then  to Change theme. Next to Custom Theme. General Page settings are :

Left 200 pixels

Center Fluid

Right 200 pixels.

(Now this is only if you pick a 3 column design, as I did.)

That's it really. No magic. Just a bunch of experimenting 'till I got it right. Hope this helps out. If you have any question please feel free to email me. I'll do my best to help out.

(Oh yea, make sure you pick a background color for your banner!)

Template Builder: Style: Page Banner

Aa

Background:

Border:

None Bottom Right Left Top Full Solid Dashed Dotted

Border Color:

Text Color:

Text Alignment:

Left Center Right

Text Style:

Bold Italic All Caps

Text Font & Size:

Arial Courier Geneva Georgia Helvetica Lucida Grande Palatino Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana Extra-Extra Large Extra Large Large Medium Small Extra Small

Optional

Use this banner image instead of a text title: blog hop art .jpg

 

Pencil Magic

I Love using my Prismacolor pencils to color in images that I stamp. Often times I will just layer the pencils. Crisscrossing the colors to create depth. I like to change the pressure that I apply with the pencils to make some areas darker or lighter. Other times I use a wonderful technique using paper stumps dipped into a solvent to blend and spread the pencil's pigments on the paper. A really great tutorial for this can be found on  the Splitcoaststampers website. Here's the link: GamsolMagic 

I wasn't able to purchase gamsol locally when I first wanted to try this technique so I bought Grumbacher's odorless thinner. It seems to work just fine. I try to use one paper stump for each color family that I am coloring with. This way the pigment that is on the paper stump does not mix with the color I may be using on the drawing. I've noticed that it doesn't take a lot of thinner on the stumps to move the colors around and blend them.

This little girl stamp is just too cute! I used  complimentary colors of Purples and Yellows to color her and the backgrounds in. The quilt is an open weave stamp.

Carving Stamps

When I was in Junior High School I had a great art teacher. She introduced us to so many different art forms and artist. She was a wonderful influence to many of us. One of the things she taught us was linoleum printing. I still have the prints I made and the the tools I used back then.

Today I can make my own stamp creations without using linoleum. Here's an example of how easy it is to create your own stamp. I quickly drew a flower in a vase with my pencil directly onto the eraser. Keeping the image simple is best. Later when you start craving you can add in the details. Remember that your image will stamp opposite of what you draw. So words need to be drawn backwards. One of the easiest things to use are  those cheap white erasers called Magic rub. I've been having a blast creating small works of art. A really good instructional book on the subject is "Rubber Stamp Carving" by Luann Udell.

Now all you need to do is gather up your Speedball tools and start carving. Always remember that what you don't crave out is what will print on the paper. Use the smallest cutting blade first.  Make outline cuts all  around the image. Then use the larger blades to cut out what you don't want to print on the paper. Once you have removed the rubber, ink the image and try it out on a scrap piece of paper. You can easily see what else you may want to remove when the rubber is inked.

Here are two examples.

The smaller one I used markers to only ink up the areas that I wanted to show. The larger example I inked the entire eraser, which gives it a wood cut feel.

I really enjoy working on these small art projects.

Larger sheets of rubber can be purchased at Art supply stores or on line. I ordered my tools from Dick Blick. I actually found larger sheets of rubber at Michael's! Can't wait to try them out.

Here are more examples of rubber eraser cravings I made.