Yes, I know it's only July!

Well hello everyone, how are you? Harvest has started, so it is a bit of a madhouse around here! May have something to do with why I chose to colour snowmen in July!

Now, as I've mentioned recently, I treated myself to some new "toys" and today I thought I would share with you all the first cards I have made using them.

Firstly, here are a couple of snowmen coloured with Caran D'Ache Luminance pencils on Neenah Desert Storm by Crafters Companion, this was a pleasure to use and great as a pale Kraft card.

Hopefully you can see the sparkle on NOEL.  I used Wink of Stella Clear, which also gets a big thumbs up from me!

SUPPLIES:

Stamps: Snow Noel by CC Designs

Paper: Neenah Desert Storm - Crafters Companion

Colouring Medium: Caran D'Ache Luminance pencils, Wink of Stella Clear

Tools: Marianne D Creatables die, Spellbinders Grand Calibur, Memento Angel Pink ink, MISTI, Weathered Wood Distress Ink, Distress tool

Size of card: A1 USA (8.83cm x 12.38cm)

I enjoyed colouring this image so much I thought I would use it again with my new Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens......have you tried these?  They blend with each other, water, a Dove Blender and even Wink of Stella Clear - how cool is that!  For my first attempt I used them with a water brush and their fine real brush tip makes them perfect for working with detailed stamps.

Apologies in advance, I know you love colour lists, but this was my first time using these pens and I got so carried away I completely forgot to take note of the colours, sorry.

SUPPLIES:

Stamps: Details as above

Paper: Arches Aquarelle Hot Press Watercolour paper, Lily of the Valley Frosty Christmas pad

Colouring Medium: Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens, Distress Marker - Picket Fence, Kuretake fine water brush, Distress Maker Picket fence.

Tools: Memento Angel Pink ink, L'il Inker die, Spellbinders Grand Calibur, MISTI

Size of card: USA A2

Well that's all for now, happy colouring

Mr Magoo has nothing on you!

This one is for all the myopic crafters and artists out there - yep, I have the eyesight of a mole without my trusty contacts or specs!  And having just had my annual visit to the opticians today (no prescription change, yeay) I thought this goofy little guy was rather appropriate.

As is my thing these days, I have opted for the "no-lines colouring" technique.  This stamp is quite small and delicate and I felt dark lines would have overpowered the image too much.  I also kept the background very subtle, opting for pale colours and using a squiggly/dot pattern so the main focus is on Mr Turtle whilst he tries to impress the hamburger with his awesome chat up lines!!!

COPIC COLOURS

Turtle Shell/Burger Bun: E40, E41, E50, E70, YR30, E42, E43

Turtle Body: BG90, BG93, YG91, YG93

Glasses: B0000, C00

Hearts: R22, R35, W2

Burger: G12, G20, E31, E74, E77, E79, YG91, W2, Y32

Chip bag: B0000, C00, C0, C1, C2, C4, V20, YR30

Fries: E30, E40, E42, E44, E50, E51, E53, YR30, W6

Background: W00, W0, W1, W2, W4, BG0000, YR30

SUPPLIES
Stamps: Hamburger/Turtle??? by Peddlers Pack***
Paper: Personal Impressions Smooth White Card
Colouring Medium: Copic Markers
Size of card: 3.5inch/ 8.8cm square

*** Oh my, so many of you are asking about this little turtle and where you can buy him!  Now please be aware, I bought this wooden stamp many years ago from a store in the UK that has since closed.  I have sent Peddlers Pack an email today asking as to whether they still make this stamp and will post their response on this blog as soon as I hear from them!

UPDATE 29/7 
Sadly, Peddlers Pack have never responded to either my email or FB message.  Thankfully however, I have just been told by one of my readers that Peddlers Pack do in fact still make the stamp!  It would appear you need to call them directly and speak to the owner of the store to get it.


Thanks for visiting today, I hope this little guy made you smile - 'cause that's what art should do, right?

Age is just a number

Copic and pencil are currently my colour mediums of choice, however I have recently treated myself to some new toys............more on that in future posts!

But I have been feeling somewhat guilty that my collection of Shinhan Touch Twin Brush markers have been sitting on my shelf for yonky donks, unused!!!! Now these do behave differently to Copic, the ink is thinner and the paler colours behave like colourless blender, easily removing ink if the dark colour is still wet.  I had also been struggling with bleeding issues, as I am in the habit of adding a lot of ink and being much thinner it permeated through the card too readily.

So for a while now I have been toying with the idea of trying a more Post Impressionist style of colouring which I had a bash at whilst playing with my crayons over the weekend and wondered if it  would help to combat the issues I have experienced with the markers and here is the result of my first attempt:

In order for this to work well I opted for a no-lines colouring, stamping the little dinosaur with Memento Angel Pink...... and then proceeded to colour the chap layering the ink with little dashes/lines.  The way Shinhan behave they seemed to blend pretty well using this method, I may have a go with Copic and see how they work with this technique!

If you are unsure as to what I am trying to achieve, here is a self-portrait painted by Vincent Van Gogh, created with short lines of colour...........

.........and here is the inside of the card with a snarky sentiment and co-ordinating dots 

I am really happy that I have finally found a method that works for my other markers and I will certainly be using this technique again, it was such fun to do!!!

SHINHAN COLOURS:
Balloon: BG179, B68, B65, BG251, BG57

Hat: YR24, YR211, YR25, BR114

Body: Y222, YR26, YR32, BR104, Y223, Y141, BR102

Tummy: YR25, BR114, BR113, R135, R28, R131

Eyes: PB144, WG9

Spines: YR21, Y222, YR23

Spots: R16, BR111, BR101

Shadows: WG0.5, WG1, WG2, WG3, WG4

Foot: WG1, WG2, WG3, WG4

Claws: CG0.5, CG1, CG5, CG9, GY232, BR134

Teeth: PB144, BG3

Hat: B68, Y34, R16, BR115, BR113, WG1, WG2, BR134

For those unfamiliar with Shinhan Markers and their Colour Codes here is their colour chart:

SUPPLIES:
Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs - Birthday Dino, Taylored Expressions - Another Year Older
Paper: My Minds Eye - Quilting Bee
Colouring Medium: Shinhan Touch Twin Brush markers
Tools: Memento Angel Pink ink, Die Namics Blueprints 15, Personal Impressions Smooth White card, Spellbinders Grand Calibur, Enamel Dot stickers
Size of Card: USA A2

Thanks as always for dropping by, I hope some of you give this a go and please let me know how you get on.