I might just be slow…

Hi friends! I learned a great tip from my friend Marty Owens about metal watercolor palettes ta hold half-pans. My new Prima watercolor were sliding all over the place and I couldn’t figure out why. I though maybe they would just wiggle about until there was enough paint gunk to glue them in place but little did I know I just had them in wrong. Watch the video to learn the correct way to put your watercolor half-pans in the palette so they don’t move:

This tip will work with any of these metal palettes, oh and BTW I went to look up how much the metal palette cost without the paint and it was $27! You can get the set full with prima paints from Hallmark Scrapbook for $21.99! Yep, cheaper than empty and you can always replace your pans with a finer quality paint as you use them up. Mind you these paints are very vibrant and nice but I would still rate them more of a student grade, they are very similar to Koi.  They are a good value. That’s it for me, we have new stamp school coming up tomorrow so I hope you stop back by for that and til then happy crafting!

 

Let’s Draw a Mason Jar & Poppy in Watercolor Pencils

Hi Friends! I was asked by several viewers to review the Mondeluz watercolor pencils from Koh-I-Noor and I recently got a set to try out. In today’s video we will try these out and paint this (follow along with whatever watercolor pencils you have.)

Watch the video for the full review and demo:

I have tried a lot of pencils, and like many others I like them, they cost less than many of the artist brands but the quality is really nice too. If you have other watercolor pencils that you are happy with you don’t need these but they are a solid bet if you are looking to invest in some. You might be able to snag them at a big box store with a coupon and they are also reasonably priced on Amazon which is not always the case with art supplies. Have you tried these? What do you think, let me know in the comments and til next time happy crafting.

PS, because I know someone will ask, I don’t like them as much as the Spectrum Noir Aqua Blend pencils I just reviewed (those are totally rocking my world right now!) but they are still nice none the less:)

 

 

Hey Chickadee! Pen & Ink/Watercolor

Hi friends! Tonight we are going to do a simple sketch in ink and watercolor.

It is a fun way to make a cool painting, learn how in today’s video:

Supplies:
Dip Pens
India Ink
Watercolor paints (Grumbacher transparent watercolor pan set of 12)
Brushes: 1″ wash, #8 round, #4 round
Watercolor paper
Reference photo by Rodney Campbell

I use Grumbacher transparent watercolor pans for this tutorial. I also used this paint set on my magnolia painting here.
Review:
These are not my favorite paints but they did the trick on the painting. They conform to ASTM and have a toxicity rating of 0 with no known harmful chemicals. To me these seem like a childrens paint. The retail price for the 12 set of colors is $35 and for 24 colors it is $53. This seems too expensive for this quality of paint which feels more like a childrens tempera cake type of paint. A better buy at around the same price would be Cotman watercolors.However if it was all you could find or if you got a good deal on it it would do. That said if this set was $10 I would consider it a good buy because there is a lot of paint in the pans it seems.

Pros:
Convenient
Nice colors-plenty of mixing opportunities
Includes a brush and the palette has a nice mixing area.

Note: Grumbacher makes fine paints, but for me this set fell short and seems more like kids set. I recommend trying their Academy (student grade tubes) or Finest watercolor (tubes) for a better quality product.

Cons:
Price: Retail $28 seems high for the quality
The colors can be hard to liquefy but you can spray the palette 5 minutes before painting to help the paint liquefy.

I hope you try this fun technique, I definitely want to play with my dip pens more. If there is a product you would like to see me review please let me know in the comments below and I will see what I can do:) Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Happy Little Clouds…

Hi friends! Today’s video is long BUT not really if you consider that you can paint a 16″x20″ oil painting along with me in less than an hour.

Supplies:
Canvas (16″x20″)
Oil Paints: Titanium white, Cadmium Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber and Alizarin Crimson
An assortment of hog bristle brushes
Oil Pastels for sketching
Reference photo

I hope you enjoyed that tutorial and you try painting it yourself, I want to thank the folks at Lava Soap for sponsoring this video and til next time happy crafting!

LIVE Watercolor Lesson by Request!

Hi friends! We will be live again today at 12:30 pm ET for a free watercolor lesson! I asked you what you wanted me to paint in the live show last week and it was a landslide vote for the magnolias (that I did in the short video last week) in watercolors.

DCF 1.0

You can watch the live stream or the replay in the player below but if you want to chat with us live be sure to watch from the YouTube watch page.

Sponsored by Jerry’s Artarama http://www.jerrysartarama.com/

Supplies:
Turner watercolors

Watercolor Pencils

140# watercolor paper

Mimik Kolinsky brushes

Water, paper towels

Reference Photo by Eloise Mace from Paint My Photo

I am using a more professional set up today, it should make the video sharper and clearer then ever before, Wish me luck and happy crafting!

PS if you have a request for what medium I should use next week leave it in the comments below!

Can’t Wait for Spring Flowers?

Hi friends! I can’t wait for spring either so I decided to make some faux flowers using crepe paper from our sponsor Papermart!

Watch the video for full instruction on making crepe paper forsythia flowers and painting the wine bottle vase.

Supplies:

Crepe Paper
Wine bottle (empty and clean)
Chalk finish acrylic paint
Antiquing wax or brown paint
1″ Foam brushes
Tree branches collected from the ground
Hot glue gun and glue sticks

I love projects where I can recycle and use items from nature. If yellow is not your thing try pink, white or blue crepe paper and make cherry blossoms or dogwood, it’s up to you! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Stamp School: Faux Tile and Watercolor Marker Tips & Techniques!

Hi friends! I have lots of techniques packed into this simple card!

Feel free to adapt any of these techniques to your next card. Don’t worry if you don’t have exactly what I used, you can improve with the supplies you own but if you want the stamps I used you can get them at our sponsor ArtNeko, mention The Frugal Crafter when you order to save 10% on any order or get free shipping on orders over $50!

Supplies:
Stamps (Art Neko) Flowers, Dragonflies
Watercolor paper
Glossy white cardstock
Colored cardstock
Clear Resist ink (Ranger)
Brown waterproof ink (Ranger Archival)
Blue (or color of your choice) Dye ink
Soft Brayer
Scoring board (Scor-Pal/Scor-Buddy )
Watercolor/waterbased Markers  (The skinny ones with the real brush tips are Zig Clean color Real Brush Pens in sets  or individually) (The fat ones with 2 tips are Spectrum Aqua also here)

Directions:
1. Score a 1″ grid on glossy cardstock. Stamp design with resist ink and set aside to dry.
2. Stamp flowers on watercolor paper using waterproof ink. Color image with watercolor markers using the techniques shown on the video. Let dry, then trim and corner punch the panel.
3. Use a brayer to roll ink on the embossed glossy cardstock, then polish with a tissue to remove excess ink and reveal the design.
4. Layer up the panels on your cardbase and adhere.

See all of the fun things you can make when you try these techniques! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

 

What’s a Pocket Letter?

Hi friends! Viewers have been asking me about pocket letters for a while now. The Pocket Letter trend was founded by Janette Lane as a way to send goodies and notes to current or new pen pals. The notes and goodies are housed in baseball card page protectors. There are swap groups you can join too and the movement is worldwide. I started out having no idea what I was doing but finished with a project I was happy with:

It feels like a cross between cardmaking and project life and artist trading cards. Best of all it is a social craft, you make, swap and collect them. It is easy to store the letters you receive too because they will fit in a standard binder!

I tried out the new Pocket Pen Pal dies from Scor-Pal and they made the process of creating the pocket letter quick and easy. You can save 10% on these dies with coupon code: frugal10 Watch the video to see the entire process.

Video!

Supplies:

• Pocket Pen Pal Dies & Sleeves
• Scor-Tap
• Scor-Pal scoring board
• Paper and Cardstock
• Assorted embellishments

Directions:
1. Die Cut all dies in the Pocket Pen Pal series from cardstock.
2. Trim out tags and decorations for pattern paper.
3. Gather supplies and goodies to share.
4. Assemble the crafty goodness and slide them into the page protectors

I hope you give this craft a try! I want to thank Scor-Pal for sponsoring this post, use the code frugal10 to save 10% on the Pocket Pen Pal dies and accessories! They are wonderful for artist trading cards, gift card presentation and cardmaking too! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!