You can paint this card and envelope in under 10 minutes. I used Inktense watercolor pencils but you can use any watercolor pencils or crayons you have or even kids watercolor paint! Watch the video to see how:
BTW the large-and-in-charge butterfly stamp is made by Tattered Angles and the smaller butterfly used on the envelope is by Stampin Up. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Oh, get your mind out of the gutter! Geez. :D I’m talking about my watercolor crayon/pastel/pencil rack! I mentioned last week how my friend snagged me 2 of these beautiful display racks from a gift shop going out of business and ever since I received them I wanted to fill one with my watercolor crayons, pastels and Gelatos. I haven’t been using these supplies much lately and I find when I rearrange my supplies I am more inspired by them. Since it is Wednesday (albeit LATE, but it is STILL Wednesday in the States) I decided to share my share my creative chaos with the rest of the What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday world or as I love to call them my “craft hoarders enabling group” LOL!
Well, the rack worked, I couldn’t wait to play with my crayons (what am I, 5?!?) and I did and made a video tutorial on how to use watercolor crayons and water-soluble oil pastels. I use the Portfolio Oil Pastels by Crayola, they are a steal of a deal (I paid $8 for a 24 pack on Amazon) and the work like a dream! The watercolor crayons I use are by Caran d’Ache and are pricey but I’ve had my set for over 10 years, I’ve used them quite a bit and they hardly wear down at all. This video starts with a basic sketch, coloring and blending with a wet brush. Anyone can do this!
What do you think? Are you ready to give it a whirl? Typically when I work with watercolor crayons I take quite a bit of time but I wanted to show you some basic stuff you could do quickly and easily. The frame I made for the painting is also a snap and I made a quick video on that too but you will have to wait til tomorrow to see that (I have not even taken the video off the camera yet!)
Let me know if you have any questions and til next time happy crafting!
Howdy folks! This week on Oriental Stamp Art they challenged up to try the Triple Time Stamping technique. Here is a card I made using a huge Far East set of clear stamps I got on sale for $2.50 at oriental trading company, regularly $15, score!
So basically you stack up 3 panels of white cardstock and stamp a design over all three, then take apart the panels and mat them with color and stick them to a card base, yep folks, it is that easy! I saw a really cute tutorial for it on this blog, I love this lady’s French Canadian accent, she reminds me of my “Grammie”
On the above card I used SVG cutting files from Lettering Delights and SCAL software with my die cutter. Using the Sizzix Eclips this week had really psyched me up to do some more cutting!
For the burst of color in the background I used a color Spritzer tool (Stampin’ Up!) I have had it for a while but it did not always work for me but then I found out I did not have my marker pushed through far enough, The nib of the marker should protrude father than the “blow-hole” on the spritzer. I have now used this with all of my brush tip watercolor markers with success!
Since it is What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday here is a peek of my desk. The kids started school today so I have some real work laid out. I have artwork that needs to be framed in the tubes and lying flat on my workbench. I do not like to have other people’s artwork in my studio with the kids around. So all of my framing jobs have to wait until the kids are in school LOL!
Well, I’m off to get my car’s oil changed and do a bit of shopping and have lunch with a stampin’ friend, til next time happy crafting!
Howdy craft lovers! I honestly have no idea what I am going to do with this card It is square and thick and a bit heavy so it might not make it through the US postal system too well. I just couldn’t stop embellishing it LOL!
It was one of these “putter” cards, I just kept puttering on it, adding a twig, a bead, some clay embellies…it sat on my desk for 2 days and I swear I stuck something else to the poor card every time I walked by. I still think it is kinda pretty though.
The stamps are from Stampin Up! and I’ve had that set for over a year and havent used it ?!? I know, pretty strange for me because I usually use my stamps as soon as I get them. I’m sure I will use the more now, the first ink is the hardest, am I right?
Boy oh boy, am I ready for spring! I am using flowers everywhere and when I saw an advertisement for Basic Grey’s new loopy felt flowers I had to see if I could make them myself. How did I do?
They are fun, easy and only take seconds. All you need is craft store felt sheets, you know, the .25 cent kind and a pair of scissors and a dob of glue. Honestly, they cost about 2 cents each to make so why not give it a try. Watch the short video to see how:
Here are the written instructions: Fold a 1.5″ x9″ strip of felt in half the long way. cut slits every 1/8″ (you can use fringe scissors to speed things up) then roll up the strip and secure with hot glue. You can cut leaves from green felt and add them if you wish. If you want a flower with a round center just use a 1/2″x4″ strip of felt and roll that up into a coil then attach the folded fringed piece and roll as before. Easy peasy!
More tips!!!
I loved the background paper I made the other day, so much that I did not want to cover it up so I stamped a magnolia collage stamp on top. Here are some tips for stamping on pattern paper
1. Color the image with regular wax-based colored pencils (like Prismacolor or Crayola) the colors, especially the light ones, are opaque and will block out the pattern underneath. Color firmly to blend.
2. Frame the image by using a reverse mask. I used Post-It notes to make a frame around my stamped image and sponged (a make-up wedge works great!)on brown ink. When you remove the post it note you have a pretty frame just like magic and you can still see parts of your beautiful paper!
3. This probably goes without saying BUT, use a dark ink on a patterned background so it will show up
One last tip!
Mix and match your frame and sentiment stamps for snazzy new looks! I have had this oval frame from Rubber Stampede for years, I love how well it pairs up with the Stampin Up stamps I just got this month. That oldie is not moldy anymore!
That’s all for today, I am having friends over to craft tonight so I must clean up the crap..er craft room! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
How do I love watercolor pencils? Let me count the ways:
They are inexpensive (esp. compared to Copics!)
They last FOREVER!
I can let me kids use them and not worry about them getting damaged.
They blend with ease.
I can control them in my tiny stamped images much better than traditional watercolors.
No mess!
And they look great even on cheap cardstock LOL!
Here is a quick card I made for my son to take to an ice fishing birthday party yesterday:
I love sock monkeys and that particular stamp is from Oriental Trading Co.(I loved it so much I paid full price for it!) One thing I want to mention about the $15 stamp sets from OTC is that they are huge! You get a 8.5″x11″ sheet full of stamps and they come on a 3 ring hole punched sheet that I can put directly in my binders and they have good sales too, many of the huge sets I have purchased from them have been between $3-$7 and if there is a problem with anything (like a stamp missing-it happened once) they send out a replacement ASAP. And I am not being compensated to say that;)
OK now on with the show…
Today I want to show you how to color and blend with watercolor pencils. I am using inexpensive Georgia Pacific cardstock, Derwent colored pencils, Stampin Up Basic Black ink and a Stampin Up blending pen. Use what you have. Any watercolor pencils, smooth cardstock and archival ink will work. I’ve tried many blending pens and I find SU to be the best as the nib does not wear down. If you don’t have one you can use a round nylon paintbrush. Dip it in water then blot it on a towel before blending.
Tips!
Most watercolor pencils are good, in fact, Staples office supply sells a set of 24 in the drafting section that are very nice and since you can blend you do not need that many colors. I had the ones from Staples before I received the set of 72 Derwents (pictured) and then I gave the staples set to my niece.
You will get darker colors on a rougher paper because the tooth of the paper will grab more pigment, it will also wear down your pencils quicker. But don’t let that worry you because they last for YEARS! I’d use the blender pens only on smooth cardstock because the rougher watercolor paper will fray the tip of the blender pen. Try a nylon (the gold or white bristle ones) paintbrush for watercolor paper work. You need a firmer brush for watercolor pencils than traditioal watercolors.
Don’t overwork the cardstock, blend it once and leave it, if you keep going back you might “pill” the paper. You will get the feel of how much pencil to add before blending after a few tries. Practice!
If you like the ease of watercolor pencils but want more intense color I recommend the Inktence line of pencils by Derwent. They are super vivid and you can layer colors over each other without lifting up the first color. I use them more often than my traditional watercolor pencils because I like the bright.
So, what do you think? Are you ready to dig out your watercolor pencils yet? I hope so! If you have any questions leave a comment and I will answer. It is going to be a very cold windy day in Maine today so I think I will hunker down with a cup of tea and my watercolor pencils, how about you? Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…well, that’s nice and all but my favorite things are of course a little more artsy. I was looking at this card I made in June but had not posted (I had to wait to post it because it was published in the Winter 2011-2012 issue of Rubber Stamp Madness) and I realized that it used some of my favorite things.
Melon Mambo ink and Button Embossing die (Stampin’ Up)
So, what are your favorite crafting supplies? Leave a comment and let me know, I can’t wait to hear! Have a great weekend and til next time happy crafting!
Phew! What a day (and it is not half over!) we have been to the eye doctor, Christmas shopping, an indoor bounce house and now we are home to take a breather before heading to the mechanic to get an oil change and have snow tires put on. I hear it’s gonna snow tonight, and tomorrow…. With Thanksgiving traveling coming up I need those snow tires on. (Let’s face it, no one wants to go to the vegetarian’s house for Thanksgiving LOL!) So, what does all of that have to do with frugal crafting? Absolutely nothing. But it does explain why all I have time to do today is post a simple card I made a couple of weeks ago…I’m pretty sure I haven’t posted it yet
I printed the jars out on cream cardstock (staples) then colored it with really light markers and stamped the hearts (stampin' up!) inside. Stamp twice without re-inking for two shades of red. The cheeky envelope stamp is by Judikins-Love it!
Charming eh? I have been searching high and low for a canning jar stamp and haven’t found one I liked or was large enough (So I think I need to design a set) but in the meantime I found a beautiful freebie vintage clip art at the Graphics Fairy. You can download it free here. Nifty.
In closing please disregard the run-on sentences, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors and look at the pretty card. Til next time happy crafting!
I used a cute little house stamp set I got a few years ago as a Sale-a-bration freebie from Stampin Up! but never used it until I put all of my tiny stamps out in the open (yes I took those wood SU! stamps right out of their package!) and put them in printers trays. This card went together in minutes. I used some homemade seam binding, an embossing folder, die cut and a bit of cardstock, nothing fancy. Did you notice I actually used a stamp wheel? I love having all of my stamps out in the open now because I USE them, you can see my stamp storage re-do on this post.
Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Hi there! I needed a few quick kid cards for birthday parties a few weeks ago and came up with these:
I used the vintage cupcake clear stamp set from Pink Persimmon to make them. I filled a sweet treat cup (Stampin’ Up!) with jaw-breakers and adhered it to some circles cut from paper scraps. An upside down cupcake wrapper served as a Hot-Air Balloon basket. Quick and easy and the kids loved it!
So, what does all of that have to do with frugal crafting? Absolutely nothing. But it does explain why all I have time to do today is post a simple card I made a couple of weeks ago…I’m pretty sure I haven’t posted it yet 
