Hey y'all. Happy Thursday! Just one more day until the holiday weekend. Woo-Hoo!
Know what else is just a day away? The end of our Spooktacular Savings Promotion. If you join my team before
Well, I got to thinking of when I first started and how I would have used that money to it's best potential. I wasn't doing any digital designing back then, so I would have definitely gone for traditional product. I already had a little cardstock and a few stamps, what I didn't have was ink. Now as you can imagine, it's hard to stamp without ink! I only had a few colors so I was really limited in what I could create. That's where the idea of the markers and this week's EWT came in. I had heard that you could use wax paper and our SU Markers to "watercolor" designs and new I wanted to try. So I sat down and created this card-
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| Thinking of you Card featuring Wonderful Winterland Stamp Set and Storytime DSP |
How sweet is that image!?! It actually only has the Momma duck and one little duckling but I wanted an extra sweet baby so I used my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig and added the third one in. So easy! I stamped them in Black Staz-On so I could water-color them and not have the inked outline bleed into my colors.
This is a very Clean and Simple layout, can you believe it, two in one week! I chose my color palate from the Storytime DSP that I used to cut my flag. I think it's 3/4" wide. I attached this to my Wild Wasabi base with a little Tombow and left just the ends free so I could give them a little curl for dimension and the appearance of motion. I stamped my ducks in Black Staz-on, everything was inked/colored with my SU Markers. After stamping my sweet little family I used my Apothecary Accents Framelet to cut them out. I colored them in (Tutorial to follow) added the snowflakes, from the same set and the snow to the ground. This panel was then adhered with Dimensionals. Two buttons from the Brights pack, which I got for Free, were adhered with Mini-Glue Dots. Faux thread was added by coloring between the button holes with my White Gel Pen. My sentiment is from Easy Events. It says "hello baby" but I only inked the word hello with my Wild Wasabi marker. I stamped it on a piece of Whisper White c/s and punched it out with my Oval Punch. The edges were sponged before attaching it to a piece of So Saffron c/s that I punched out with my Scalloped Oval Punch. This was then adhered with Dimensionals and my card front was completed.
Here's the inside-
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| Thinking of You Card featuring Winter Wonderland and Teeny Tiny Messages |
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| Don't you just want to pick him up and put him your pocket? Ok maybe your pocket's too small but I bet your purse isn't! :) |
Here's a closer look at the focal point-
I've talked about watercoloring with the Blender Pens before but always with our Classic Ink Pads, using the ink in the lid method. As much as I love that Technique, it can be a little expensive to get all the pads at one time. In fact I got the Many Marvelous Markers before I got most of my pads for that very reason. I just wish I had know about this months ago, I might have waited a little longer to get all my pads and bought more stamps and paper first.
Here's a few numbers for you. We have 38 core colors. Each pad is $5.95. If you buy the pads individually (a little at a time) you would pay $226.10 for them all. If you buy them all by color family they are $49.95 a piece for the colors and $39.95 for the Neutrals because there are only 8 of those. That's a total of $189.80 for all 38 core colors. However if you order the Many Marvelous Colors pack, you get all 38 core colors in a handy dandy tote that not only closes securely but has extra slots for your 10 In-Color Markers as well. How much for all this inky fun? You pay just $109.95. That's a 42% savings over the individual sets and a 53% savings over buying them individually! WOW!!! Yes! You read that correctly! By purchasing the Marker Set you save between 42 and 53% over purchasing the pads.
What can you do with the markers? I'm glad you asked. They are dual-end markers so you can use the brush tip to color images (direct to paper), and you can use the fine tip to either color in smaller images or for journaling. You can also use the markers to apply color directly to your stamps, it works equally well for solid or line images. And now I'm happy to show you that you can also watercolor with your markers. So while it may take you just a little longer to ink up your stamps with markers than the Clasic Ink Pads it's a Great option especially when you're just starting out or a little strapped for cash, and let's face it these days, that's a lot of us. Isn't it nice to know you can come here and find out something other than just the newest thing about me that makes you Lol? You live and you learn and maybe just maybe you come around here every-once-in-a-while and stumble upon something new and fun.
Here's what you need for this week's EWT- Black Staz-On ink pad, Marker/s in the colors of your choice (I used SU obviously so I can only attest to how well they work with this technique), Stamp set and card stock in your preferred color and here's where the magic happens...Wax Paper, Yep, you read that right, good old fashion Wax Paper. I bet you've got some in your kitchen cabinets right now. Tear off a piece, get your other supplies and get ready to have some watercoloring F.U.N.!
Here's what you do ( I wish I had more pictures but it's kinda hard to color with your right hand and take pictures with your left at the same time)
1- Stamp your image in Black Staz-On. Trust me on this...you can't use regular ink from a pad or marker for this. Well, I guess technically you could but all of your colors are going to come out wonky as soon as they hit the outline because they're going to mix with the black. Ask me how I know. Yep I forgot to stamp in Staz-On one day and couldn't figure out why my Marina Mist was all of a sudden a violet color. *SMH*
2- Chose your color palate. You can only prep one color at a time, so decide which color you want to start with. Take the "brush-tip" end and color a small circle onto your wax paper. You will have a small pool of color, like the color in the lid technique, it will just be a little less wet.
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| Using Wax Paper & SU Markers to Watercolor |
For my card I used Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Sahara Sand, Baja Breeze and Bashful Blue. I used the Sahara Sand to give a little depth to the ducks. Look on the bellies and heads and you can see a little bit of shadowing. The Bashful Blue was colored lightly, just a wash of color really, for the snowflakes and the snow on the ground. I then used a little Two-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds to maximize the effect.
3- Using your Blender Pen, dip your tip into the pool of color on your wax paper and then color in your project. You may want to test the depth of color on your grid paper first. I usually dab off a small amount before applying the color to my image because I like to be able to layer my colors to get the depth of color that I want. Remember- you can always add color but you can't take it away. How easy is that!?!
4- Re-apply the color to the wax paper as needed to complete your coloring.
5- Smile when you see what you've created and smile even more when you think about the joy and the smiles it will bring to its recipient!
This is really an Amazing use of these pens that I loved so much to start with. I love my Classic Ink Pads, don't get me wrong, but if I had known about this technique last year I would have $189.80 in more stamps & extras and I would be getting the new improved pads to boot. If you are looking to maximize your crafting dollars this is one way I highly recommend. If you sign up as a demonstrator you can get all these colors plus a pack of 3 Blender Pens and still have just over $5.00 to spend on accessories like some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter or 2 packs of Dazzling Details Glitter Adhesive, a $125.00 value for just $99. Oh and remember that Spooktacular Offer I told you about?
Here's what you get-
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You get everything you see here, Stamp Set, Frame, Stickers, Rhinestone Jewels, Bakers Twine and Ribbon. Ok, if you choose Clear Mount Stamps instead of Wood Mount the Mounting Block doesn't come in your kit, but I'll throw that in as my gift to you. Then you're ready to get creating. You'll even be invited to my House for an Exclusive Party where we'll design our kits together. Not a Halloween person? You can simply paint the frame a neutral color and design other layouts that you can change up for each season/holiday.
That's all I have for you today. I hope you liked today's card/technique and I hope it inspires you to try something new. Get out your wax paper and markers and have some fun. If you have comments or questions about today's technique I hope you'll leave me a message below. If you need supplies you can hop on over to my Online Store and get them delivered right to your door or better yet click on "Join the Fun" and get started saving on all of your crafting supplies.
Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! If you liked today's card and want to leave me a little blog love below, your comments make my day every time. I read them all. Thanks so much for the support and encouragement! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card the buttons are here on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! Till next time-
Remember- Life is
often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not
about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.
Be Safe,
Shan
