Blank canvas

anything you can paint on can be a canvas right....of course it can.

Take for instance this washing powder box...

I made a loop from really stiff wire and poked the ends through the back of the box, twisting it and taping it down inside.

I glued the box lid shut and then covered the box with masking tape. Wrapped one way and then a second coat the opposite way.

making sure the wire loop at the back stays free.

Finally i added some thick gesso, leaving it deliberately rough. of course you could put it on smoothly if you prefer.

You can hang it up or have it free standing..
now just need to think of what to paint on it...any ideas???

Circle Journal

So at the beginning of the month Tracey's journal arrived at my house. (click on her name to go have a nosey at her lovely blog and learn all about her wonderful shop)

I made a list of things that I had worked out about Tracey, from her stuff on F/B and on her blog. Things like pink,blue,hearts,flowers,butterflies and zentangles...her only dislikes as far as I could see are yellow and orange.

So I started thinking pinks,blues and butterflies....and this is what I came up with.

I sprayed the page with Dylusions inks and added some Brilliance ink pads.

I lightly stamped some large foam flowers into the background,added a text stamp,next I pushed some gesso through a flower stencil.

I sprayed over the flowers with more ink, and finally sprayed some Shimmerz spray over the page.

Next I found a butterfly poem and tried it out for size on scrap paper.

It just fit, so I copied it out onto the pages.

next I drew a large butterfly and once I was happy with the shape I copied it onto watercolour paper.

I folded the paper again and cut out some sections.

I coloured the front with water colour pencils and added definition with a black pen and white gelly pen.

I coloured the back just using ink pads blended together.

The whole thing was quite flimsy, and my idea was to paint on 3-4 coats of matte medium on each side to strengthen it. however i knew brushing on the glue would smear the watercolour pencils, so first I gave it a light coat of spray varnish to seal it. Then I added 4 coats of clear drying matte medium to each side.

Finally I glued the body part of the butterfly into the book, leaving the wings loose so they can be lifted to read the poem.

side view..

The wings do lie completely flat so that the book will shut, but their weight makes them bend slightly when the book is stood up which makes them seem more 3D.

This is the tag I made to go in the pocket.

the book has now been sent onto the next member of the group and I await another journal to work in...

52 pages 2011

Page 39.crayon


Definition=a pointed stick or pencil of colored clay, chalk, wax, etc., used for drawing or coloring.

What colour crayon are you? What does this say about you? What will you draw/write?

I have been meaning to show you some awesome happy mail that I received from the equally awesome Donna-do-dah ..just lookie what she sent..

First up a seemingly random little booklet full of knitting patterns, however i happen to love this bag pattern, so I think i will make it. Also one of Donna's beautiful arty faces made into a laminated postcard. I just luuuuurve her faces..

Next up an assortment of giraffy goodness and ultimate glee..

Just look at that wee stubby pencil, it has gone in my bag of giraffe 'stuff' that will get made into a giraffe book one day. The giraffe with the huuuuge feet is now hanging on my painting bag, he's prollly high from the fumes by now.

But the large giraffe was handmade by Donna herself, now admittedly he's not a very conventional looking giraffe, but then Donna isn't conventional..thank goodness...and she know that neither am I.

I am a little worried about his lack of eyes, so I will add some..

finally the most fabulous junk/smash journal ever...

It is jam packed full of treasures, hidden pages and pully out bits...i cannot even begin to describe just how cool it is., and these photos do not do it justice. I may have to make a short video showing you just how marrrrvelous it is.

go HERE ... to see Donna's photos of the insides.

52 pages 2011

page 37..Release

Ok I am almost back up to speed, just this weeks to catch up on now.

So first I gessoed my page, good and thick with ridges.

Then I coloured it with neocolors and pencils to resemble painted wood.

look at that yummy texture..

On separate paper i drew some linked chain and a padlock. I coloured them using prisma pencils. i glued the onto the page and added my title.

finally i printed my journalling and glued that to the back, before putting a blue wash over it with neocolors.

52 pages 201

Page 36. Unique...

First I gessoed both sides of my page with black gesso...it is super scrummy, inky black stuff...but a nightmare to clean up..

Then I drew some DNA strands..

I coloured them using pearlex watercolours and metallic pencils. Added some 'cells' and 'chromosomes' in the background...or as I like to think of them, blobs of glue and some pencils...

Then I made a magnifying glass...I used card and acetate. I wanted to use a glass watch face, but try as I might I could not get the watch to fall apart...

So what do you see when you take a magnifying glass to my unique DNA...

52 pages 2011

Page 35. Wilderness...playing catch up here.

I started by printing this photo that I took in Barnard Castle 3 years ago. I glued it to the page and washed over it with green.

Then I stencilled over it with green acrylic, using this new tree stencil by Crafters Workshop.

Next I added some leaf masks and dabbed more paint over them. I did the leaves on the back of the page too.

this is the back...

I then printed out the original photo again, and cut out the doors and windows, adding them to the leafy page.

I added a little white acrylic around the doors and windows then added my stamped title.

I printed my journalling, edged it with a trusty brown promarkers and glued it to the page, adding a little colour wash over it.

52 Pages 2011

Page 38. Author


Definition=a person who writes a novel, poem, essay, etc.; the composer of a literary work, as distinguished from a compiler, translator, editor, or copyist.

Have you ever thought about writing a book, maybe you started one, did you finish it..if not why not? Who is your favourite author?

Letraset Flexmarkers

I have been a fan of promarkers for a couple of years now, and I am lucky enough to have the full set of 148 colours. Father Christmas has been very good to me lol

so I was super excited to be asked to try out the new Letraset Flexmarkers. I was sent the first 24 colours to be released , had  a play with them and then was asked to demo them at the Great Northern Papercrafts Extravaganza in Harrogate last weekend.

these are the new marker pens..

There will be 72 colours eventually, 24 are available now in 4 packs of 6 colours.( Packs of 12 will be available in November) An added incentive to buy these for your marker collection, is that 51 of these colours will not be available in Promarkers....

None of the first 24 colours are available in Promarkers, so you do not need to worry about doubling up on colours that you may already have.

Here are the first 24 colours.

How pretty are they? perfect shades and tints to complement the main Promarker range.

So what makes these pens different apart from the colours? Well they still have the chisel end, but the new Flexmarkers have a brush end. They are roughly the same length as Promarkers, but chunkier.

You may have seen other brands that also have a brush end, here is a photo comparison. With these Flexmarkers you get a lot of pen for your money!

So what do I think of them? Well I could just say I love them and leave it at that, I mean I was given them freely and under no obligation to make this blog post....but I actually do love them.

I was a little wary of the brush end. I am not a great fan of Copics, I bought 5 to try them and quickly decided to stick with my promarkers. So I was very surprised to find the new Flexmarker brush easy to work with. Very little effort is needed, the brush does all the work for you. The clue is in the name, they are very flexible...

How daunting is it to pick up a real brush if you are not a trained artist..it is to me. These pens give you the feel of the brush, while still giving you absolute control. 

As much as I love the bullet end of my Promarkers, these new brush ends are perfect for blending wet on wet, by that I mean a layer of one colour laid down and while still wet another colour is applied next to it or over it and the two blended together. The shape of the brush means you can also achieve some beautifully fluid lines and shapes.

these new pens also have colour coded dots on EACH end, making each pen easily identifiable.

They use the same coding system as the Letraset Tria pens. If you are interested in learning about the coding system go HERE ..however you do not need to know how this works in order to enjoy these pens. Give yourself a chance to play with them and you will very quickly work out your favourite colours and how they work together. I can see how for dedicated artists, these colour codes would be handy, but  us crafters are driven by inspiration and instinct.

Are you thinking end dots would be a good idea for your Promarkers? have you, like me, sat for hours punching out little sticky dots and colouring them in to put on the ends?

well look at this fab new product, soon to be available from Letraset...click here...

So what can you do with these pens? well pretty much anything you can think of. The ink is exactly the same as Promarker ink, so you can use the new Flexmarkers on all your favourite projects. You can also use both Flexmarkers and Promarkers in the same project.

here are the samples that I took to Harrogate.

As you can see, not only can you colour in your stamped images...use a Memento ink pad for best results... you can also use your pens to colour in ribbons,lace,buttons,brads,flowers,stick pins.peel offs and stick on pearls. you can even make your own bakers twine!

Each project you make can be fully colour coordinated, no more searching for the perfect shade of ribbon...

White is your best friend.

 Smooth white paper no less than 100gsm

Smooth white cardstock around 160gsm works well

White ribbons, sheer,cotton,velvet,lace,satin

White buttons and stick on pearls and stick pins

Silver peel offs and silver or white brads

White crochet cotton

It is very important to use smooth card or paper, the best that you can afford, the beauty of these pens is the ability to layer and blend them. If you try this on cheap paper you will soon find the paper fluffs up, on a better quality surface you will achieve a smooth,streak-free image every time.

Obviously these pens will appeal to professional artists and designers...especially those who love Manga. I am a fan of drawing Manga, I love the eyes, and the costumes but  I was running short on time before the show, so I asked an artist friend to draw these for me.(See some of his other work HERE ) I coloured them using the new Flexmarkers.

One thing I must tell you about the brush ends, is that some of the paler colours do need 'priming' by this I mean you need to work them in a circular motion onto scrap paper for a few moment to get the colour flowing. Otherwise you will start to use them and think they aren't working as there is no colour. I promise you, the colour is there and will come through if you give it chance. You should only need to do this the first time you use them. My tip is to colour a little swatch with the chisel end, this should give you the true colour. then colour next to it with the brush end until the 2 swatches match in colour depth.

All in all these pens are a fabulous addition to my Promarker collection.

See the official page of Flexmarkers HERE...

So armed with my samples I went off to Harrogate. I was there as the doors opened, so I could find the 3 stands at which I would be working...it also gave me a chance to pick up a few bargains.

 

My first demo was with Tabbykat Designs  after that I spent an hour with Stamp Addicts. After a quick lunch I demoed with Stamposaurus before going back for a final hour with Tabbykat Designs.

The day passed so quickly, all the retailers that I worked with were very friendly and generous with the space they gave me, and all made me feel really welcome. I wasn't quite prepared for how busy it would be, and I had a sore throat by the end of the day lol

This was right at the end of the day, when the place had started to empty.

My best buy of the day was some of the Promarker Ultra-fine nibs. I had not had a chance to try them out before, so I treated myself to a couple of packets...They are fabulous..wow I am so glad letraset brought these out. You get 3 nibs in a pack, each one clips over the bullet end of your Promarkers to give you a fine liner.

 They effectively give you 3 thickness with each pen.

They are easily flushed through, so you can swap them from one pen to another.But in all honesty they are so cheap it is worth buying a few packets and having one nib for at least each main colour group.

Freebies

How would you like 450 freebies.. oh you would, well here you go then.

I have spent far too much time cutting up books, cutting out words and phrases and glueing them down onto sheets of card...

All for you!

Here are the original sheets, all gluey ...and believe me it wasn't just the sheets of card, the desk, the cutting mat and pretty much most of me was gluey too.

Here they are scanned and printed out. Firstly see them printed out onto white...you can either choose paper or cardstock....they don't look very interesting do they, I mean they are ok, but I don't love them...

But when you print them out onto cream....which I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND...all of a sudden they have so many possibilities...

450 possibilities....all these words and phrases for you to print out and cut up. use them on cards, on canvasses, in journals.... whatever you like.

Remember,print onto cream, they will look so much better. I am not sure how to explain it, on white they look like photocopies, on cream they look a bit more professional/arty...anyway, print them out and see what you think.

open this photo up, they really do look great.

And here is where you can get them. If you download them, please do let me know what you think of them.

DOWNLOAD LINK

 They are free to download, and free to use in whatever you make. However please DO NOT resell them.  Also please do not embed the download link anywhere, instead please direct your friends to this blog to get the link. Thanks.xxx