Paper and Fiber Arts



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Showing posts with label coloring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coloring. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Stenciling With Markers

 

Here are two cards made with the same stencil and dies. The stenciling was done with two different types of markers. 

First, the card with the negative piece of the 'hugs' die cut was colored with Karin pigment brush markers. These are non-pumping, meaning you shake them and they are ready for painting onto the cardstock.
The Decobrush markers contain opaque acrylic, non-toxic organic pigment-based paint. I wanted to use them as line art, rather than fill in the shapes. This worked great for all except the purple, which leaked under the stencil. That is an operator error issue and had I dabbed off the paint onto scrap paper, it wouldn't have occurred. 

Hero Arts Stacked Circle Stencil With Karin Paint Pen Marker



Cute circle embellishments were used to cover up the ink blobs and to add interest.  Using small white circle off-cuts from my stash, clear dots, and colored sprinkles elevate the fun and color on this card.
The second card is made with the same stencil. This time the shapes are colored in with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. These are waterbased and provide a concentrated pop of color.
Initially, I was going to assemble the card as pictured above. To cut the Altenew 'hugs' out as a circular piece, one needs to use a circle die that is large enough to go around the perimeter of the word. You can make the circular frame as large as your largest circle. However, I like to make it about as narrow as the lettering. Having a set of nesting dies helps so you can audition the sizes before actually cutting. In the end, the black piece was cut using the nesting circle and the 'hugs' die, and a white piece with just the sentiment, as pictured below. I like the color peeking out from under the clean and simple top piece.


Thank you for stopping by. Have a colorful day!

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. BY CLICKING ON THEM AND PURCHASING PRODUCTS THROUGH MY LINKS, I RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION FOR THE REFERRAL. THE ITEM WILL NOT COST YOU ANY MORE BY GOING THROUGH THIS LINK.


Products Used:


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Monday, July 3, 2023

The Background Determines the Aesthetic

 When designing a card sometimes the background determines the aesthetic. Both of these cards use the same Hero Arts' Cobblestone Bold Prints stamp. The lighter-colored card was stamped with black ink onto white cardstock. The cobblestones were shaded with gray colored pencils. The card pictured below was stamped with Versamark onto watercolor paper without cleaning the stamp first. The residual black ink on the stamp mixed with the sticky watermark ink to create a light gray color. By using clear embossing powder, it maintained that color while sealing it in.

To give the background an antique look, I blended brown ink with a blending tool. It gave the background a nice patina which then informed my decisions about layering brown cardstock underneath and using kraft paper for the sentiment tag. 
The background also influenced the choice of Copic marker colors for the flowers. Here is a picture of the blossoms that I thought I would use. I didn't end up using the tall, thin floral spray or stem.
I wanted to keep the background light with the pencil shading on the card pictured below. It seemed somewhat somber and old-fashioned, so it was turned into a sympathy card. It could also be used as an encouragement card for someone who prefers muted tones.

Both cards have layered cardstock using Gina K. Designs Master Layouts dies and the wonderful stamped bee image from the Hero Arts Sweet as Honey set. The 'sending hugs' die is a retired CTMH product.
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Friday, June 30, 2023

Bubble Wrap Embossing


Accidental Embossing

An interesting thing happened when I laid a piece of mini-bubble wrap onto the card front when running it through the die-cutting machine to cut a smaller panel. I was trying to maintain the shape of the white splatters and hoped the bubble wrap would absorb enough of the pressure to keep the splatters intact. That did not happen but it created a fun, new look - Bubble Wrap Embossing! The picture below shows it in better detail.

Embossed with Bubble Wrap
The images on this card are stamped on a panel that was eventually cut to size using the Gina K. Master Layouts die set. The kraft cardstock layer was also cut using the set. After stamping the large floral image from the Altenew Tranquility Rose set and masking it to stamp the leaves, I decided to add the wonderful bee from the Sweet as Honey stamp set from Hero Arts. Then using Copic markers, I colored all of the images. This looked nice but a little flat. I put the mask back on the rose and ink blended with leftover ink on my blue blender brush. It still wasn't quite right. At this point, my go-to is either white or black splatters. The black ink was absorbed too much, so I used Dr. Ph Martin's bleedproof white to add a bit more interest. This looked great! Then I realized that I needed to cut the piece down a wee bit. 


It would have been possible to do it with a paper trimmer but I like the edge that you get with a die. And then the bubble wrap experiment happened. I really like the bubble wrap effect. What wasn't appealing was the smooshed splatters. When things go awry, my next go-to is adding bling. The sparkly stars and sequin pieces saved the mess and added a sort of magical element to the card.

If you give embossing with bubble wrap a try, I'd love to see it! Happy card-making!


THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. BY CLICKING ON THEM AND PURCHASING PRODUCTS THROUGH MY LINKS, I RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION FOR THE REFERRAL. THE ITEM WILL NOT COST YOU ANY MORE BY GOING THROUGH THIS LINK.


Products Used:

Sweet As Honey Stamp Set - Hero Arts Website


Master Layouts Dies - Gina K. Website


Permanent Black Ink - Altenew Website

Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleedproof White - Dick Blick Website
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Thursday, June 29, 2023

Venetian Neighborhood Using Three Different Coloring Techniques


This Hero Arts stamp is an amazingly detailed large stamp that is perfect for many types of coloring techniques. I could have chosen more but stuck with three very different ones to showcase very different looks. And one of them is kind of a failure.


The stamped image is a Venetian neighborhood. I wanted something with an old-world, vintage vibe because Venice has an old-world charm.  And because Venice is known for its canals, the first choice was a water tie-in - watercolor.  This was done on dry paper. If it had been wet on wet, it would look different. Experimenting and playing are part of the process.


Using Prismacolor colored pencils to color this card front took a bit of time. Or it could be that I was coloring while watching tv and I am not as good at multi-tasking as I thought! Coloring can be as time-consuming as you'd like. Many times, I use Gamsol when using colored pencils to blend the color.  This time, I did not use anything to blend. It gives a more cartoony look to the card. That is ok because I wanted to use a very modern-looking Catherine Pooler 'hello" die cut.

Hero Arts Venetian Neighborhood Stamped Image

It is funny how the backdrop to the card can make the card appear to be a different shade. I'm showing both to let you see that photography can trick us into thinking something is not necessarily as it appears in real life. The background of the card is actually a very pale blush-tan color, not pink as it appears above.


The last card was an experiment. I debated showing it because it isn't what I normally want to show on here. But, it is important for me to remember that even 'failures' have merit. The lesson in this card is that tiny lines are difficult to color with pastels if you expect to stay inside the lines. The end result is very messy and sketchy. If that is the look you are after, great! Pastels are messy. They just are. Ultimately, I decided to embrace the mess and accept that this card gives an old-fashioned, found-this-in-an-attic-trunk kind of vibe. To fix the pastels, I used clear gesso. This made the cardstock curl. The front is glued to a side-folding 4.25" x 5.5" card base. The card base helps to tame the curl but, as you can see in the photo below, it still isn't flat.
 


Whatever materials you use to color your creations, enjoy the process and have fun!



THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. BY CLICKING ON THEM AND PURCHASING PRODUCTS THROUGH MY LINKS, I RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION FOR THE REFERRAL. THE ITEM WILL NOT COST YOU ANY MORE BY GOING THROUGH THIS LINK.


Products Used:

Venetian Neighborhood Stamp - Hero Arts Website

Permanent Black Ink - Altenew Website

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils - Dick Blick Website

Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor Set of 24 - Dick Blick Website



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Monday, June 26, 2023

Stenciled Background with Die Cut Card

 

Hero Art's Sweet As Honey Stamped Images 

The stamp set did all the work on this card. The flowers, bee, and sentiment are part of the Sweet As Honey set. First, I used the alignment tool as a mask for inking the center square. The cardstock die cut from the Chain Link die was used as a stencil with a discontinued Shadow Ink for ink blending. The die-cut was taped to the alignment tool to keep the edges of the square crisp. 


Next, I stamped the images on top with black ink and colored them with Copics and a white colored pencil for highlights. Then I cut the piece down to size with Gina K.'s Master Layouts 1 die set. The set has two large rectangles, the largest was used for the black piece of cardstock. The smaller die makes the image nestled with a thin framed edge.  Lastly, the sparkle comes from a Sakura Gelly Pen and gold sequins.



THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. BY CLICKING ON THEM AND PURCHASING PRODUCTS THROUGH MY LINKS, I RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION FOR THE REFERRAL. THE ITEM WILL NOT COST YOU ANY MORE BY GOING THROUGH THIS LINK.


Products Used:

Sweet As Honey Stamp Set - Hero Arts Website

Alignment Tool - Hero Arts Website

Master Layouts Dies - Gina K. Website

Antique Gold Sequins - Altenew Website

Permanent Black Ink - Altenew Website


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Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Altering Elizabeth Craft Designs A5 Planner

 

Altering the Elizabeth Craft Design A5 Planner Binder with ink, paper, and colored pencils netted me a colorful, one-of-a-kind, Garden Journal. Adding the Planner Dangle made with shrink-plastic stamped images added another fun and unique embellishment to the project. The video below covers some of the processes with altering this planner.





First, let us look at the inside of the planner. The images are randomly stamped and colored. Alcohol markers and colored pencils took to the journal/planner covering equally well. The substrate is like a polyester/fake leather-like surface. It is called, "canvas" by the manufacturer but that refers to the color, not the material.  The picture below shows the original interior of the planner binder prior to any alteration.

These close-up pictures show the difference when using color all over or by coloring and leaving white space. The flowers with a lot of white space are softer and appear a little more pastel. The image above has white gel pen highlights.
I like combining floral and geometric images. It makes each of them stand out a bit more when there is variety. The circles will not be as visible once the journal is filled, but using something somewhat unexpected is another way to add interest.

Shrinky Dinks for Planner Dangle Charms

Tranquility Rose Stamped onto Shrink Plastic

Shrink plastic is So Much Fun! Stamping, coloring, and shrinking the plastic always causes me to be amazed at the transformation when I see the diminutive version of the project. These flowers were made to be charms for a planner dangle. The process is easy - stamp with Stazon, color on the rough side with colored pencils, punch a hole in each and then heat until they shrink.

Full-Size Stamped and Colored Flowers

It is important to remember to punch a hole prior to shrinking. It is possible to drill a hole afterward, but not to punch one due to the thickness of the plastic once it is heated.



Shrink Plastic Stamped Flowers After Heating












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