Hi friends! Today I played with Brusho Pigment Powders. They are fun but there is a learning curve with them. Watch this in-depth video of experimenting and fun!
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I really enjoyed this box and I am glad that they send me colors of brusho I didn’t have already. I really need to explore this medium more if I want to be competent with it, I lack patience just letting the powders do their thing. I think it would be good to take a day and just play with these and work on a lot of paintings at once so I don’t overwork any. What do you think? Have you used these? Have advice? Let me know what you think and til next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! My busy last few weeks has caught up with me and I have to cancel today’s live stream. I am sorry for the inconvenience. While on the couch sick I got the chance to play with this super cute (an inexpensive) set of watercolors I found on Amazon for $19 (I have the 42 set but they have smaller sets starting at $13) and they are delightful! The waterbrush that comes with it is nice too, I painted these doodle flowers with just the brush that came in the kit.
You don’t need a lot of water to get color of the thin pans and since you don’t need much water you can close them right up again with no sticking. I wouldn’t recommend pre spraying these colors but you don’t need to. I bought this because I was curious and someone asked me to review the “nomad” painter that was advertised on instagram (for $50-$100 for the same thing!) and I suspected the companies selling them in instagram were just having them drop shipped from Amazon so I wanted to make sure my peeps didn’t get ripped off. The paints are good but why pay $60 when you can pay $19 and there was even a coupon on Amazon today to take off an additional 8% that wasn’t there when I ordered last week. I also thought these would be fun to bring for the kids on our upcoming camp trip (although I kinda want to keep it for myself LOL!) I’ll do a proper review after I have used them for a while and let you know how fast the color wear down. They remind me of peerless how some colors swatch differently than they look in the pan) but the pans are thicker and the ultramarine granulates too! some color are similar to others but it doesn’t bother me as they are popular colors I am likely to use. I hope they don’t jack up the price on these fabulous paints, I think they are ideal for summer travel and gifts. I have no lightfast info on these so they might be best for sketchbooks and cards. I am also curious about refilling this set with my own tube paints.
I also wanted to let you know that tomorrow is the last day to save 50% on my Watercolor Flower Workshop, use the coupon code FLOWERPOWER if the discount doesn’t appear.
I am also leaving the June art up in the shop for one more week as I will be unable to ship out anything next week so you have a bit longer to decide if you wanted an original painting from that collection. That’s it for me today! Sorry for the random post LOL! I hope you are enjoying your day, have a nice weekend and til next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! I just wanted to pop in today and let you know that Ever After 2018 starts in just a few days! See below for discount code!
Ever After is a magical 4 month immersive fairy tale themed workshop led by Tamara Laporte at Willoing.org. I am one of the instructors and my theme is wizard of OZ. My lesson will teach you how to paint this using watercolor, colored pencil and Pan Pastel.
There are several ways to take this course, you can do this year’s tutorials only, this years tutorials and style development lectures or bundle this years tutorials with other Ever After workshops. You can see all the options here. And through July 5th you can save 20% with coupon MAGIC2018!
I hope you will join m along with 15 other talented mixed media instructors for 4 months of magical fun on Ever After 2018! Happy Crafting!
Hi friends! Today we are going to make these fun cards!
The coloring is the same process for both but I show the “Beside the Seaside” one in the video because the larger design shows up better. I hope it give you some ideas for using your stash of colors!
Video!
This tutorial is sponsored by Top Flight Stamps! SAVE 10% off your next order with coupon code: thefrugalcrafter10 *USA orders of $50+ ship free!
Directions:
1. Stamp images with Versafine Clair Acorn ink and let dry or heat set.
2. Color with Brusho. Try wetting the paper and sprinkling in the powder and using it like a watercolor.
3. Add mermaid marker for sparkle and watercolor crayon for depth.
4. Add detail with a fine tip paint pen.
5. Select paper and create your card!
Finished card sizes: 5.5″x8.5″ and 5″x7″. I hope you enjoyed this longer card making video and til next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! I have been wanting to go through my watercolor brush collection, get my brushes all in one place and see what I had. Since I have a full studio/supply storage area in my basement and an art table in my office stuff travels and sometimes I have doubles where I don’t need then or am missing something upstairs that I do need. I sorted all of my brushed by type and shared a pic on Instagram. I also made a flower doodle testing out some of the brushes.
I asked my IG followers if they would be interested in a brush tour and they loved the idea, I decided to make it a live stream and asked my hubby to monitor the chat and send questions my way as they came up. What we ended up with was a really in-depth watercolor 101 brush talk and demo. If you ever wanted to learn more about watercolor brushes check out this video! Feel free to let the video play as you create or do chores as most of the info can be absorbed audibly. I apologies for the furnace and telephone ring towards the beginning but that clears up soon. Actually our furnace went kaput yesterday so a newer quieter one will hopefully be in out future and I’m going to see about heating my basement studio while I am at it! Wearing a coat to work in the winter is getting old LOL!
Brush overview:
What is a brush?
A brush is made of 3 parts: A handle that can be made of wood/bamboo or plastic/acrylic, bristles (called a tuft) to hold the paint and a metal (bird quill or plastic) collar called a ferrule that holds the bristles securely to the handle.
What makes a watercolor brush different from other brushes for acrylics and oils?
Watercolor brushes are designed to hold a lot of water and paint so they are generally made with softer and more absorbent bristles. Because watercolor is fluid and paper is more fragile than canvas the hairs are softer and less stiff. Many brushes are sold as multi purpose (although I recommend keeping different mediums brushes separate once you have assigned them) so you can use soft golden taklon or nylon acrylic brushes or soft mops ment for oils for watercolor.
What kids of bristles/hairs are tufts made of?
Bristles are either natural (animal fur) or synthetic (plastic). Most natural hair watercolor brushes are referred to “squirrel” or “kolinsky sable” but they can use any rodent/weasel fur. If a brush is referred to as a squirrel it has soft, absorbent bristles that come to a sharp point when wet but has little spring or snap. If a brush is referred to as a sable or kolinsky sable it is an absorbent brush that is a bit springier but might not come to as sharp a point. Synthetic versions of those brushes will have the same attributes. Hog/boar bristle brushes are stiff and usually used for heavier paint like oils and goat hair is soft and sheds and is used often for Sumi-E painting. I don’t recommend goat, OX or hog brushes for direct painting. Synthetic brushes are made from plastics such as nylon or polyester (taklon.) The plastics are dyed, treated and flagged so they will resemble natural hair brushes and they have come a long way! Brush makers use a variety of thicknesses in their bristles in one brush to create a brush that has spring and carries watercolor well. My favorite of these faux fur brushes is the Creative Mark Mimic Squirrel and for a budget version try the Menta line from Royal and Langnickel. No matter what kind of hairs your brush is made of take care of it because it will last you for years if you only use them with watercolor.
What kind of brush shapes are available for watercolor?
Rounds: Your first brush should be a #8-#12 round brush that comes to a nice point. You can do 90% of all of your painting with this. You can get rounds from the tiniest size with short bristles for detail or long bristles (liners) for long continues lines to fat rounds that can carry a sky wash load of paint. Rounds are the most useful for watercolor painting.
Flats: These are useful for wetting the paper and applying washes as well as painting things like leaves and architecture. I recommend a 1″ and 1/2″ flat wash made from taklon. The Majestic line from Royal and Langnickel is excellent as is the Zen & Menta all media brushes.
Angles: These are flat brushes with a straight taper to the bristles at a shallow angle.These can be used just like a flat and whether you chose an angle or a flat is personal preference. I like angles for side loading as I can remember what side the color is on easily.
Filberts/Oval Wash/Cat’s Tongue: these are a flat ferrule brush that have the bristles tapered like and round (oval-shaped) and if the hair comes to a point when wet it is called a “Cat’s tongue” brush. An oval taklon brush is handy for flower petals and a cats tongue can paint wide washes and fine details and everything in between.
Mops: These are used to soften or blur large areas. They can tend to shed so not as useful for direct painting.
Quill: These brushes are named “Quill” as they used to use a birds quill for the ferrule. These are distinguished by having the soft (usually squirrel) hair attached to the handle with a clear plastic and wire element. These brushes are very absorbent and come to a fine point when wet.
Other specialty brushes:
Dagger: A steeply angled brush with a slight curve to the slope of the angle resembling a knife blade. Handy for some flowers as well as long lines and tree branches and grasses. If it has very long bristles it is called a sword.
Rake: A flat or filbert brush with alternating long bristles for painting fur and glasses. A Wisp brush is a more dramatic version of a rake.
Texture brushes: A deer foot stippler is a chopped off round brush that make marks in the shape of hoof prints. A foliage brush can be a flat or angle brush with thick stiff bristles meant for pouncing on tree leaves or bushes. *You can make these brushes by chopping off old battered flats and rounds!
Wedge/Triangle/Pyramid brush: This decorative painting brush is designed to make lovely leaves and flowers. I will be adding a section on this brush to my new course Watercolor Flower Workshop in July.
I hope this brush overview helps you pick the best brush for you and get more use from the brushes you already have. If you enjoyed the brush stroke demonstrations today and would like to learn to paint loose flowers effortlessly please consider my new Watercolor Flower Workshop course and save 50% through 6/30/18. Use coupon code FLOWERPOWER if the discount doesn’t show up automatically.
Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! First up I want to let you know I am live streaming a show and tell of my watercolor brush collection at 2pm eastern time on YouTube. If you have any questions or want to see a brush demoed please tune in on YouTube. And it’s sketchbook sunday! Here is what I did in my sketchbook today!
If you would like step by step instruction on watercolor flowers with brushstroke practice lessons please check out my new class Watercolor Flower Workshop and save 50% off through 6/30/18 *Use coupon code FLOWERPOWER if discount doesn’t appear.
Hi friends! Today I’ll show you how to make a large monogram for card using tiny stamps.
Large monograms make quite an impact and you can make them using what you have. I will also show you how to get a Christmas look from an everyday stamp set! It’s never too early to start those christmas cards:) Watch the video to see how!
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Use a pencil and rulers to draw your letter as large as you like. I used a ruler and a French curve but you can trace cups, bowls or anything you have handy! If you had large letter stencil you could use those as well.
Starting with the largest stamp in the set stamp the corners of the letter and then balance out the image across the line of the letter. Fill in with the other stamps going largest to smallest as you would if you were making a wreath.
. Accent with flat backed pearls, rhinestones or pens if desired.
Tip! You can use this design as a monogrammed note card or use it to enhance a tiny sentiment. You can even spell out a name with your large monogram letters and frame it for a unique gift!
I hope you give this idea a try and til next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! Yesterday I found myself in a town I have never really explored before with a few hours on my hands…
I was up early to drop my daughter Maizy off at a team building exercise with her high school basketball team (high school? I can’t even!) and I debated whether or not to drive back home to work and then come back to Orono to pick her up. Originally I thought the ropes course they were doing was 2 hours so I grabbed my travel painting gear and took her to the course.
When I got there I found out it was a 4 hour program so I was at a loss of what to do. When it was a 2 hour program spending an extra hour on the road (driving home then driving back) was wasting 50% of that time but with a 4 hour course I was only wasting 25% so I probably should go home and work. I’m so glad I didn’t “should” all over myself, instead I decided to drive around and see if I could find a nice spot to paint by the river.
I sat here for 2 hours and did 3 sketches!
I attempted the whole scene at first but was quickly overwhelmed by green so I decided to focus in on the rocks in the water. I love to paint rocks. Rocks are like the mason jars of nature, I can’t get enough. I zoomed in on these rocks with my phone. Believe me when I say your eyes can see way more details than your phone’s camera. Plus I love the sense of urgency you get when painting on location!
I love the way the rocks came out and rocks are something people always mention having a hard time with so I thought we would tackle them today! So bring your rock questions and your watercolors and let’s rock those rocks! Be sure to tune in at 12:30pm ET today (Friday 6/22/18) on YouTube to ask your questions to me and chat live with fellow painters.
Supplies: You can come as you are for this lesson but if you want the exact supplies I used or recommend see below:)
Watercolor: I’m using a Portable painter travel palette and Qor Watercolors in colors Quin Magenta, Cobalt Teal, Ultramarine, Diox. Violet, Sap Green, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna *I’m going to use my travel palette so you can see what I use when I am painting outdoors.
Brushes: 1″ flat wash, #12 round, this Mimik set as all you need *The round set I have is the Pseudo Sable travel set which is out of stock but this set looks good and is half the price
Watercolor Paper: For the painting I did in the field I used my Hahnemuhle sketchbook. It is a wood-based paper. It is pricey in the USA but cheap in Europe Mine is about 8″x11″ but I could not find that size on Amazon, only a smaller one. I suggest using any decent paper you have, it does not have to be top quality although I’ll be trying a cotton paper for the live show just to see how it compares:)
I am so excited to paint rocks with you! I truly think rocks are beautiful and we have such lovely ones here in Maine so I am proud to share a slice of out beautiful state with you:) I hope you enjoy it and it erases and rock anxiety you may have:)
So after spending 2 hours painting by the river it seemed silly to drive home just to drive back so I decided to treat myself to Thai food…
And I sketched the mason jar lemon water they served as I waited for my meal. It was my first ever cafe sketch LOL! What a lovely way to pass the time when dining alone, it sure beats checking my phone which would make me feel a little guilty that I should be home working and not out having a lovely day but as I mentioned before I was not going to “should” all over myself today:) I strolled around downtown Orono after lunch but since I really didn’t want to shop I went back to the park for one more quick sketch before returning to pick up my daughter.
My alarm to pick her up went off before I totally completed the sketch but luckily I got all of the details I needed in with black pen. I hope this post inspires you to paint rocks, or mason jars, or treat yourself to Thai food once in a while! Do something nice for yourself today!
Oh! one more thing I wanted to mention there is just about a week left to save 50% on my new Watercolor Flower Workshop so if you are interested you might want to grab it before the price goes up on July 1st. Use coupon code FLOWERPOWER if the discount does not appear automatically.
Hi friends! Today I am going to share a card that was a blast to make!
I love digging into my coloring supplies and just playing! Line art like this allows me to design my own coloring page, so if you want a project that will bring back memories for being a child and coloring for the fun if it check out today’s video!
This tutorial is sponsored by Top Flight Stamps! SAVE 10% off your next order with coupon code: thefrugalcrafter10 *USA orders of $50+ ship free!
Directions:
1. Stamp your scene.
2. Use a black pen to fill in elements if needed.
3. Color with watercolor pencils.
4. Stencil pattern over large areas if desired.
5. Add opaque detail with acrylic paint pens. Add brands if desired.
6. Ink edges and adhere to card base.
7. Decorate envelope.
I hope this inspires you to make a card and decorate an envelope today! Happy crafting!
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