Watercolor Bookmarks!

Hi Friends! Small projects are a great way to try out new techniques. I used a combination of stamping, drawing and water-coloring to make these 3 bookmarks:

I used a few Caran D’ache watercolor pencils I recently purchased at MerriArtist, I ordered these and some other goodies last Saturday and got them on Tuesday! Fast service, great prices and wonderful customer service. I am not affiliated with them but they did give me a coupon code to share: 10off for $10 off an order of $100 or more and free shipping. Today I am reviewing the Caran D’ache Supracolor pencils, Caran d’ache water brush (a gift from MerriArtist) and Aquabee 90lb watercolor paper (a real bargain!) Have a look at the video for the tutorial and review.

Video!

After the picture was dry I cut it into 3 panels. I inked the edges and added some stamping with black ink. The edge swirls are by Autumn Leaves, the corner flourish is by Inkadinkado and the Chinese calligraphy is retired from PSX. When I was happy with the look I ran it through my laminating machine (I got my laminator from LTD commodities for $17 and the refill pouches come in a 100 variety pack for $5, another steal of a deal and it has worked well for me for a couple of years, unfortunately I could not find a link to this online.) You can also use contact paper or packing tape to laminate them even cheaper! The lamination really enhances the color and will protect the bookmarks (and your books) from color migration. I also wanted to mention the there is another watercolor pencil by Caran d’ache called “museum” which are more light-fast and expensive that are probably better in quality. I did not know about them when I ordered these or I would have bought a few to compare. I do not know how light-fast these are but the laminating will help prevent fading.

I think I see more bookmarks in my future! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Watermedia Review {pardon the mess}

Today I will go over the different water-soluble media I have with the exception of acrylics because they are a different animal altogether. I will show you what I have for paint, watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, ink sticks, pastels etc. I will compare kids supplies to artist’s quality and advise when to save and when to splurge. Here is a sampling of the media will will try out in the video:

I will warn you, I have a lot of water-media. I have been adding to my collection for 15 years and I teach art professionally so please do not feel bad if you do not have as much. Nobody would go out and buy everything at once, get a few items and try them out, see what they can do and add to your collection as budget permits. I hope this video will help you make smart decisions when buying your supplies:

If you have any questions about the products I showed in the video or want to add your recommendations for products please leave a comment. I think it would be impossible to have every kind of water-media out there (it would be fun trying to collect it though!) but I hope I covered all the types of media so you can see what will work best for you. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

I forgot the ballerina!

Hi Friends! I have to thank blog reader Kelly for reminding me that I never shared the tutorial on how to draw the ballerina from this art journal page. I posted the tutorial on youtube as soon as it was requested (odd, right?) but it never made it to the blog. I blame summer the kids are home from school brain, it is quite similar to “placenta brain” when you are forgetful and pregnant or having a “senior moment”  and since neither of those scenarios apply to me it must be “summer brain” LOL! Anyway, here is the tutorial:

Here is the link to download the photo I worked from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ballet-Ballerina-1853.jpg

I hope you try this fun approach to drawing and til next time happy crafting!

PS I am having “Scrapbook Week” on the blog starting tomorrow! I do hope you enjoy it! Please check back every day for motivation, support and tutorials!

WOYWW {my de-stressing kit}

Howdy friends. I’ts Wednesday and time again for What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday. I apologize as I won’t be able to visit many desks this week. We are still a midst the health issues here. There is a downside to being an optimist, you think, OK we will get through this week and we are golden! Then wham! Nope not quite, OK really just a few more days and good as new…nope…I never learn. I do think a week from now things will be a lot better, we have surgery this week so please send all the positive vibes you can our way. So anyway I made a little de-stressing kit, as in calming down not as in making things shabby LOL! I put my mini set of Caran D’ache watercolor crayons, a waterbrush and some watercolor postcards in a Ziplock bag and I can pull them out when I need a creative release. I sat on the porch and painted the other day, my kids joined me but I don’t know what they did with their paintings. I thought I would add some stamping to them, I stamped some squares on the rose one and was nonplussed with the result.

Other than that there are odds and ends from other projects around. The dumbbells are on my desk because I use them to weight down my tripod when I shoot a video. I have decides to just turn on the camera sometimes when I make stuff, it it is any good I’ll post it (even if it isn’t that good LOL!) no pressure videos and blogging for the summer. I hope I have uplifting news to share next week, we have a surgery to get through so wish us luck and thank you for all of the wonderful messages of support last week, I truly appreciate them;) Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

WOYWW: Check out my rack!

Oh, get your mind out of the gutter! Geez. 😀 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!