Hi friends! Nothing will help you grow your skill as a painter better than practice. I love to paint on watercolor greeting cards because I can put in some practice and have something pretty to send!
This practical practice will mean you will always have a greeting card on hand when you need it too! Watch the video for the step by step beginner lesson.
Supplies available at sponsor Jerry’s Artarama! Use coupon code: frugal20FS49 for 20% off $49 + Free Shipping (Excludes: Sale, Super Sale, Egift Cards, Buy It Try It’s and Vendor restricted items. Look for the green coupon eligible icon on the product listing.
Stamp supplies: Ink cubes in colors: blue lagoon, ocean mist, turquoise sea, cherry red, Happy birthday stamp (the set I used “Celebrate Today” was retired) This set would be cute for this card, Clear stamp block
Want to learn more way loose watercolor flower painting techniques?
Check out my Watercolor Floral Workshop and join hundreds of other students painting gorgeous watercolor floral motifs. You will learn how to paint a variety of flowers and arrange them in wreaths, bouquets and swags to create infinite floral combinations! Once enrolled you have lifetime access so you can return to the lessons time and time again to practice or refresh a technique. Click here to learn more or enroll today!
Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! A few weeks ago I needed a couple of birthday cards for my brother-in-laws and I made these:
If I am making cards for women or nobody in particular I tend to reach for pinks and peaches and feminine motifs but for some crazy reason when I make cards for guys I try different stuff but you know, I would like to be on the receiving end of cards like this too so instead of calling them “masculine” cards I’ll call them cards for everyone!
I used a couple of stamp sets by Stampin up I’ve had in my stash for a while but have never used (oh the shame and yet sadly the fate of too many of my stamp sets) and I went to town with stamps and inks and mists!
Watch the video to see the full tutorials including the beautiful backgrounds I ended up covering.
Supplies:
Stamps (Stampin Up) The lighthouse stamp set is still available but the shells are retired. Contact your local Stampin Up Demonstrator to purchase. If you don’t have one my friend Wendy Cranford can help you out (Not sponsored)
Which one was your favorite? To be honest the shells were really annoying me, I had a hard time lining them up and I didn’t love the results. The lighthouse stamp set was a lot of fun and I will use it again many times. I love a set I made make a quick card with! I hope you enjoyed this and til next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! Today I am painting my Amaryllis! It bloomed this week and I wanted to be sure to capture it before it went by. I used gouache, watercolor markers and colored pencils in a 6″x9″ sketchbook but feel free to use what you prefer any size you like!
I will have a real-time tutorial of this painting on February 1st in Critique Club. Join today for $5 per month and not only do you get 2 real-time tutorials from the Sketchbook Sunday series but you also get to submit 2 paintings a month for an in-depth critique from me to help you with whatever you are working on and improve as an artist! Click here to learn more or enroll today. Thank you for your interest! Now on-to the video!
Gouache (Arteza) Phthalo blue or Prussian blue, crimson or carmine, scarlet or vermilion, Mid yellow or cadmium yellow, white. *common names used for colors so you can cross reference with your sets. All colored used can be found in the Arteza 24 set but they also have a 60 color set and metallic set of 12 if interested. **11 of the metallic colors are in the 60 set. ***Currently the set of 24 is a lightning deal on amazon for $14.78! Deal ends at 6pm EST according to Amazon.
Water Based markers (Arteza real brush pens) I used a deep red/maroon, Bright Red and olive-green
Hi friends! This card can be used for any occasion including Valentines day. You can use up some of your stash and have fun too!
Watch the video to see how and feel free to adapt the design using supplies you have on hand.
This video is sponsored by Rubber Stamp Tapestry Use coupon code: LINDSAY and receive 15% off your retail order of $10 or more of peg stamps, peg stamp sets, and unmounted stamps! Coupon expires a week from this video publication. Continue to receive great deals by becoming a PegStamp VIP here. As a PegStamp VIP you’ll get a weekly deal via email plus links to fabulous tutorials by me, Lindsay the Frugal Crafter and other designers
This was fun to paint. Don’t forget to step away from the painting after you salt it. We can often be hasty and not be happy with the way a painting is turning out to our eyes and then we mess with it. Just let it dry and come back with fresh eyes. Especially with a loose style we can think it is a hot mess even when it’s looking good. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! I started in on this project first thing yesterday morning after sending my kids to school and finishing my coffee. I had so much fun working on this that I forgot to have breakfast and lunch, in fact I worked on these until it was almost time to start dinner!
I am going to share some fun ways to use inks on a gel printing plate but I will also offer tips if you have other supplies because I don’t think you need to have exactly the same stuff as me or anyone else to make good art! I did some embossing with embossing tinsel which is basically an embossing powder with glitter mixed in. You can try making your own by mixing a tiny bit of glitter in a container with embossing powder (about equal parts) and test it on a scrap before adding it to your project. Or you can add some glitter glue over your project when you are done. I shy away from glitter glue as no matter where I put the projects to dry I always manage to smear it but you are probably more coordinated than me! Watch the video for a full tutorial and feel free to snag these ideas and make them your own!
This tutorial is sponsored by Top Flight Stamps! SAVE 10% off your next order with coupon code: thefrugalcrafter10 *USA orders of $50+ ship free!
Make sure you paper is very dry before stamping or your powder will stick everywhere. I actually ironed my inked papers to flatten them and make sure they were really dry and flat prior to stamping. Also if you are having trouble punching or cutting paper try drying it with a heat tool as it will wick away and moisture and make cutting cleaner.
Use an “embossing buddy” and this is just a fine powder to dust on your paper to remove static and wick up any pesky moisture on your paper. I made my own by sewing a little cotton pouch and adding a table-spoon or 2 of cornstarch and stitching it shut ( you can also put corn starch in an old sock and secure it closed with a rubber band, it will work just as well!) then pounce or wipe it across your paper before stamping. You can also buy a premade one for about $6 at a craft store.
Preheat and work fast! Embossing tinsel can scorch easily and it can be hard to tell if it is set because it is not really raised like a normal embossing powder. It’s an embossing powder & glitter mix and the embossing powder acts like a glue for the glitter so you just want to melt and move on. Glitter is a plastic and if you overheat it then it will burn so heat up the gun for a few seconds and quickly heat the image moving as soon as you see a subtle change in shimmer.
Have fun and don’t fret a badly stamped image or a bit of wayward embossing powder, that’s just fate telling you to glue an embellishment there;)
Have fun with your supplies and til next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! Want to improve your art? The way is simple, I’ll explain in today’s video!
So the next time you feel like you are afraid that you will ruin a painting go for it anyway. You succeed or you learn! Don’t get stuck in a rut. Art is here to bring you joy and growth is the way to happiness and the way to avoid burnout in your hobby.
Just a reminder, if you feel like you want some help along the way with feedback on your current art projects check out Critique Club. I give personalized feedback on your paintings and you get two real-time tutorials per month in the group. Click here to learn more or sign up!
Hi friends! It’s that time of year again. Time to clean up after all of the Christmas crafting and wrapping and get organized for an inspiring new year! I was talking with my friend Marta over at Maremi SmallArt and it turns out we both needed to get out crafty act together so we challenged each other to clean up our spaces and then do a video about it. Her craft space is half of her living room separated by a large shelving unit and mine is in the back corner or my unfinished basement. We both have different amounts of different things and different needs that we have to address so you are sure to find ideas for your craft space in our videos.
*Feel free to skip this paragraph if you just want to get to the decluttering. If you want to know the nitty-gritty or the “why” that inspired my decluttering journey over the past 2 years read on:)
You may remember about two years ago I embarked on a decluttering journey following the popular Konmari method from the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I needed a change. I was spending so much time on my computer, and making videos and so concerned with social media that my health and well-being suffered. I saw a loss of views online as a personal attack and the harder I pushed on YouTube the worse I felt. I would shop and share what I bought because Haul videos did better than my actual tutorial videos. Don’t get me wrong, I got a high from finding awesome deals and sharing the purchases with you but I started to notice that I forgot about many of the things I bought and only used a fraction of it. I also was stockpiling more than a reasonable amount of my favorites. That book could not have come at a better time for me. I also was suffering from chronic lower back pain made worse by my sedentary lifestyle. I needed to move more and have less. Every time I went into my art studio (a space that used to bring me such joy) I felt oppressed, sad and overwhelmed. I need to deal with the huge amount of stuff I had hoarded and get rid of the stuff weighing me down. You can see the entire process of my Konmari craft room clean up here. Long story short my back started to feel better until I was totally pain-free due to a combination of daily exercise and less time on the computer and I feel refreshed when I enter my craft space instead of oppressed. I also launched my online school and brought my husband into my business. It’s amazing what possibilities appear when you don’t have so much stuff in your way!
And now, on to the tour! You can watch the video below!
And here are some photos! I repurposed and thrifted most of my storage items but if they are still available I will link to them. Affiliate links may be used which provide me with a small commission if you purchase an item at no additional cost to you. Thanks! I did want to mention that Consumer Crafts has a lot of specialty craft storage for less and with coupon code SAVEJAN19 you can save 15-25% and orders over $49 ship free *coupon code good through Monday 1/21/19
***I also wanted to warn you NOT to buy any storage if you are decluttering until AFTER you are done because you will probably have more than enough to suit your needs once you part with things you don’t need.
As you walk into my space to the left is my stamp storage. My wood mounted stamps are on a shelf made of 1×4 pine and then there is a sturdy utility shelf of binders holding stamps in page protectors organized by theme. When I need a stamp I grab the binder for that theme, say “trees” and l can see what I have as easy as flipping through a catalogue. I do no other cataloging of stamps although some people find it handy to have a computerised list.
I was able to clear over half a shelf of space once I emptied my binders and sorted and got rid of what I knew I would never use again. Some things I had used so much that I was tired of and other things had outgrown their usefulness like excess stamps for children’s themed cards as my children are teens and I rarely make birthday cards for little kids. I kept my absolute faves and passed the rest on. Next to that is a work bench (hollow door on 2 saw horses) where I can sit and work on jewelry. I have a 9 cube storage unit with fabric bins from the dollar tree for yarn and accessories. I had the yarn in 3 huge plastic totes before and I never used it because it was hard to get to. I am hoping to use the novelty yarn on cards and other crafts as well as embellishments on hats and such. If it turns out I don’t use it then it can go next year! Nursing homes and libraries with knitting groups gladly accept donations. My jewelry supplies are also stored here as I sit and work here. My radio and older laptop on top of my jewelry storage for entertainment as I work as I like to have chatter in the background. Under the bench I keep my EdenPure space heater (No, I don not run it under the bench or leave it plugged in when I am not there. BTW I have tried an oil filled radiator and one of the box style ones and this is by far the best I’ve used.) and 2 plastic carts with shallow drawers that hold tubes of watercolor paint, templates and other supplies.
Next to that is a chest or drawers with my brushes on top and in the shelf above I have jewelry tools, my YouTube play button I received when I reached 100k subscribers and other decorations and stretched canvases are above. The plastic baskets hold mounted and foam alphabet stamps.
Next to that is where my large yarn totes used to be. I took a small shelf that was on the jewelry bench and put it where the totes were and my Stampin Up stamps are there. Honestly I didn’t think to go through them but I probably should. I like those sets though because it is easy to grab a set and create without much bother. On that is an advent calendar I repurposed hold buttons and a parts bin of stained glass shards I use to make fused glass pendants, a tub of wooden spools and ink sprays. In other words things I don’t need to be handy. I have a stool if I want to sit at my easel to paint. I was glad to get rid on the bulky totes because now I can put up a 6 foot folding table if friends want to come over and craft!
Next to that is my die cut area and cutting bench. My paper trimmer and Scor-pal sit on top as they are used daily and next to that is my 12-year-old Big Shot I also use about daily. It is on a computer monitor stand and I keep dollar store white plates I used as palettes stacked under it. I have a bench vice that holds a magnetic dish where I place dies in use so I don’t lose them. My electronic cutters can be pulled down and used on the bench (after removing the trimmer and score board) and my laptop can go on the monitor stand if I am cutting a computer file. I move the magnetic dish if using my computer there just to be safe. Bulky items are stored below.
Working your way around my table I have a tower of framing and packaging supplies, then cardstock in a vintage record cabinet. In the cabinet the cardstock is stored in thick, sturdy job ticket holders so the corners don’t get bent. In the corner a utility shelf with workshop teaching supplies that I keep packed up and ready to take with me (I clean and repack after each workshop so I know everything is in working order) as well as other bulky supplies I do not need to access daily.
Then you can see the cube units that make up a freestanding “wall” between my husbands workshop and my art space. I also have curtains tacked up to keep his sawdust out. It ain’t fancy but it works. 🙂
I love how useful these various cubes are for storage. I keep my pencils/crayons in tins by brand and just bring over the tin to my table as needed. All of the things in this open storage gets used regularly and I like seeing where it is so I am reminded to use it. Pattern and specialty paper is also stored here with the exception of mulberry and vellum because that is a bit fragile so they are in closed accordion files on the bottom shelf with my stamp binders. The blue trays hold projects in process. I have watercolor and alcohol markers in a pen display I bought from a scrapbook store going out of business and I have a turnabout from harbor freight to hold daily supplies like blending sponges and adhesives. I have a plastic tower of various paints and mediums, my photo area is on top and the rack under the orange fabric folds larger paper pads and sheets of pastel and drawing paper.
Under my desk on the side where I usually work I keep supplies I reach for often. I have a cart of shallow plastic drawers that hold ink pads, scraps of white paper for stamping and my pegstamps. I have a trash can and 2 bookshelves with my watercolor palettes, inks and on top of that, full size inkpads and water buckets.
On the other side of the work table I have my fabric supplies, an iris cart of embellishments, embossing powders (BTW here is the awesome embossing powder technique book I mentioned in the video) and glitters and crates of canvas panels, school supplies and on top scrap papers sorted by color in hanging file folders. Here you can see how my work table is hollow door I painted sitting on top of 2 nine cube units. Fabric bins keep unruly supplies contained and neat.
Lighting and filming
I also wanted to mention that the best part about having my art studio in my unfinished basement is being able to mount all of my lights to the ceiling so nor cords or stands to trip on. I use clip on aluminum shop lights and daylight balanced CFL bulbs so my light is bright and true. My husband rigged up 2 camera mounts over my table that I can film from as well so I do not need to fuss with a tripod for overhead shots.
The video goes in more depth but if I showed you what is in every nook and cranny we’d be here all night! I hope you enjoyed this art workshop tour and I hope you check out Marta’s craft room tour as well. You will get lots of ideas from her space too! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! I always get a bit nervous when I post a tutorial that is over an hour-long on YouTube. People say they want in-depth lessons but people also see the length and don’t want to commit that amount of time to watch. I get it. I don’t get the dislikes on the video but that’s YouTube trolls for you, or maybe it is people saying that it’s too long. However I also got many requests on my Sketchbook Sunday time-lapse portrait for a real-time lesson so I decided to make a portrait painting that you can follow along with in real-time. It was longer than I wanted it to be but I think it is easy to follow. I truly hope you like it.
So if you were among the folks asking for a real-time portrait I hope you will try it.
Supplies (affiliate links may be used)
Watercolors (I use the Paul Rubens set of 24 in the pretty pink tin) Colors: Yellow ochre, Ultramarine, burnt sienna, crimson (the cool red)
Hot press watercolor paper: I am really liking the Fluid 100 6″x8″ eazy block. It is not too expensive and I have found a butter knife is the best way to remove the paper without damage.
Watercolor pencils if you sketch directly on your watercolor paper, this set has nice color for portraits
That’s all for today! If you enjoyed this tutorial please consider sharing it using one of the handing sharing buttons below. I hope you are having a lovely week and til next time happy crafting!
The Frugal Crafter Blog 