Weekly Deals

May 13Weekly Deals

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	Etcetera Designer Series Paper Item # 130129 Regular Price: $13.95 CAN Discounted Price: $10.46 CAN
	Perfect Pennants Bigz Die Item # 123126 Regular Price: $40.95 CAN Discounted Price: $30.71 CAN
	This And That Epic Day Designer Series Paper Item # 130814 Regular Price: $13.50 CAN Discounted Price: $10.13 CAN
	Flower Garden Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Die Item # 123113 Regular Price: $9.95 CAN Discounted Price:$7.46 CAN
	Tasteful Trim Bigz Die Item # 120893 Regular Price: $52.95 CAN Discounted Price: $39.71 CAN
	3/16 Inch Corner Punch Item # 119871 Regular Price: $8.95 CAN Discounted Price: $6.71 CAN
	Bbq Blitz Ensemble - Digital Download Item # 130863 Regular Price: $13.95 CAN Discounted Price: $8.37 CAN
	Retro Fresh Designer Journaling Tags Item # 133526 Regular Price: $5.95 CAN Discounted Price: $4.46 CAN

Happy 75th Birthday!!

Last Saturday we had a surprise 75th Birthday Party for my beautiful Mother-in Law at a local hotel.

There were lots of visitors and lots of surprises to brighten her day!  

There were all her children, many grandchildren and great grandchildren, all her siblings and their spouses, cousins, dog show friends and many more!

The hotel staff were wonderful and took great care of us and the food they provided was excellent. 

Tips and Tricks on Monday

I have shared these tips before, but thought that they were worth a re-post to remind us.  

Stamping Tips and Tricks

If your stamped images aren't turning out as  you'd like, read these tips for an instant improvement!

1. Use the right kind of ink for the job

Knowing what kind of ink will work well on the surface you're stamping on is the first step to clear, crisp images that won't smear. 

2. Fully ink the image

Unless your goal is a distressed or fuzzy image, verify your stamp is fully inked before stamping your image.  Use pad to stamp for large stamps. 

3. Don't guess on placement; use your tools

Use gridlines on acrylic blocks to help you line up multiple clear stamps and perfectly place your images, or, if you're using a rubber stamp, reach for a stamp-a-ma-jig.

4. Stamp straight down; lift straight up

It sounds like a no-brainer, but many of us have the tendency to rock our stamps when we place them on our cardstock or lift them up. Practice stamping in a straight down, straight up motion to create clear stamped images without that annoying "halo" effect.  Stand up for best results. 

5. Clean your stamps

When you're quickly moving from one fabulous creative idea to the next, it can be hard to remember to clean your stamps. But if you do, they'll last longer, accept ink more readily, and stamp cleaner images.

6. Condition your stamps

If you aren't happy with the quality of your stamped images, try going over the surface of your stamp with a large eraser in order to give your ink a little texture to grip to. This is especially effective with larger stamps, and it works on both clear and rubber varieties to give you crisper images.

Freezer Paper

Ok, so I know you are thinking.....what will this girl come up with next.....

Or perhaps you are thinking more along the lines of ......this girl has lost her marbles.....this is supposed to be a paper crafts blog. 

Well hold on.....I have not lost it. (yet) 

I am here today to share a SUPER AWESOME tip for you:  

FREEZER PAPER

I saw this tip on the internet, and decided to check it out for myself. 

Use plastic coated freezer paper as a mat when you are spritzing, or using any messy craft medium.  When you are done, simply toss it. 

Well I went in search of this and found it at Dollarama for a buck. For that price I could not lose. 

It works amazingly well.  And this roll will last a LONG LONG time. 

So long for my yearning for a Tim Holtz craft mat at a cost of over $20.00.....hello Freezer Paper :)

Try it- your gonna love it! 

Holiday Carryover Items.....

The carryover items from the holiday catalog will be retiring on June 4.  

There are many GREAT holiday stamps that you can get an early start on your holiday cards.!

If there is anything you want, please make sure you order it prior to June 4.  (My next order goes in tonight) 

Here is the link to what is available:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By0GIzTZOMJCdkE3dkIzSTI3QUE/edit?usp=sharing

New Blendabilities Markers

This post is designed to give you a bit of insight on the new Stampin’ Up! Blendabilities Markers.  You are going to LOVE these markers- they are the BEST coloring tool available!  

I have gathered lots of information from the internet on various sites, and simply compiled it here for you. 

WHAT ARE BLENDABILITIES MARKERS?

Blendabilities are like copic markers, which are alcohol based markers...whereas  Stampin' Up Stampin’ Write Markers are water-based. 

The alcohol allows to you fully saturate your paper thus making it easier to develop rich colors and to blend colors- and NO LINES or unintentional darker areas!

Blendabilities have a brush tip and fine tip similar to Copic sketch and ciao.

Blendabilities come in sets of three coordinating shades (light medium dark) designed to specifically work together and blend beautifully. There is also a set of skin tones as well as a blending marker.

Features and Benefits

•       Alcohol marker
•       Leaves no streaky lines
•    Blend beautifully
•     Intense, vibrant color
•    Does not fade
• ·      MUST use Memento ink to stamp images- do not use STAZON it will ruin         your markers!
• ·    Whisper White cardstock
•       Have a fine and a brush tip
•       Tips made of durable nylon which means no fraying
•     Rectangular barrel so they will not roll away
•       MUST store flat so the tips do not dry out
•        Ink color is cap color
•     Caps fit snug so marker does not dry out
•      Caps click when closed properly
•      Designed to shade images light to dark
•       Come in a 3 pack- light, medium and dark shade- makes easy color matching
•        More affordable than other alcohol markers such as Copics

CAN BLENDABILITIES DO EVERYTHING A STAMPIN’ WRITE MARKER CAN DO?

Blendabilities cannot be used to color directly on stamps.  They dry too quickly for you to apply multiple colors. 

BASIC COLORING

 

Saturate it

To get the full depth of color, you cannot be afraid to saturate the paper.

Here's the front of the circles:

Here's the back - totally saturated!

Circular Strokes

Coloring in little circles will give you better coverage.  If you color back and forth, you will be surprised how often you will notice - often not until the card is entirely done - that you have white streaks where you didn't quite get everything colored.


Shading

The links that I have at the bottom of this post give you some very artistic examples of light sources, etc. to create amazingly realistic shading. 

Add caption

1. Give your image a light coloring with your lighter marker. 

2. Before it dries, add your darker marker around the edges.  If you do this right away, the "wetness" of the bottom layer will start blending the darker marker by itself.  Be sure to use circular strokes or lightly draw "feathers" toward the inside - you just don't want a defined line because it's hard to blend. 

3. Color over the whole thing again with your lighter marker. Keep coloring until you don't see the edges any more. Remember - saturating the paper is good! 

**BONUS**

Did you notice the gems on the card?  Did you notice that they matched?  Gems and pearls can be colored with Blendabilities!!!  Once you get a collection of Blendabilities, you never have to buy a colored gem or pearl again!

Basic Coloring Technique with Blendabilities Alchol Markers by Stampin’ Up!

Step 1) Stamp your image with MEMENTO ink and allow it to dry; or heat set with a heat tool

 Step 2) Pick your lightest color and fill the area you are going to be shading completely from edge to edge.  Working with the brush tip, move your marker in small circle strokes, this helps avoid streaking. 

You want to get nice even coverage. Don’t worry about getting the page too wet, the alcohol that suspends the ink is not like water, it will not tear up your paper. 

Step 3) Take your next darkest marker..  Add this darker color on top of your lighter color where you want your shading to occur.  If you are not sure where to put the shadows, try experimenting with edges and along creases for now.

Step 4) Come back with your first marker, the lighter one, and again using small circular strokes go over the area where the two colors intersect. 

The alcohol in the markers acts as a solvent softening the edges and blending the two colors together.  You want to work fairly quickly through steps.  Letting the inks dry in between makes it considerably harder to blend and often leaves your work blotchy. 

Step 5) You can finish with step 4 or you can go on and add the last, darker shade. 

Each time you will work back through your lighter pen to blend the colors together. 

Do not worry about contaminating the tip of the lighter pens they do not pick up the ink they just push it around. 

Here is the finished butterfly:

Slightly More Detailed Shading

Even without getting overly "artistic", Blendabilities make it amazingly easy to add a variety of colors to an image.
 

Layering up colors like this is quite easy.

1. The first step is to add the highlights in the darkest color (you could lay down a light color first to help blending.

2. Then add highlights in the next color.

3. Color over the whole thing with the lightest color - just color until it is saturated and colors are blending.

4. In the fourth tulip, I went back and added some of the darker color again - I didn't want it quite as washed out.  You can do this dozens of times.  Let's say I add too much of the red, I can color over it again with the yellow and add a little less red.  Blendabilities are very forgiving!

Shadows and Dimension

So far my examples have been filled-in areas.  Blendabilities are also excellent at adding shadows and dimensions. 

Again, I cannot emphasize enough that I am a VERY basic Blendabilities  user. 

I have put links below in which people create true art with perfect shadows and subtle skies.  I believe you can still create a wonderful card with these basic tips.

So, let's break down the shading on this snowman.  It should be subtle, but it makes a HUGE difference!

1. The first snowman has his muffler, hat and the little bird colored.  He's cute, but a little flat.

2. On the second snowman, I have taken a light gray marker and run it around the inside edges of the snow.  This gives the appearance of a rounded edge, giving this guy a little more dimension.

3. On the third snowman, I focused on popping him from the background.  A light line of blue sky makes him appear more "forward", giving it even more dimension!!!

These basic shading colors are a must-have in your collection.  I even find myself shading around solid stamps to pop them from their background. 

Coloring Faces

Start with an allover wash of lightest skin tone.  Add depth and highlights with darker shades.

**BONUS**

Did you notice the polka dots on her shirt?  I used a Colorless Blender. 

 I think this pen has been named incorrectly.  You do NOT need it to blend colors as I have previously demonstrated.  What it does is pick up color. 

 For her shirt, I just dabbed it around to pick up some color and lighten the polka dots.  I also know that it is used to pick up mistakes like when you color outside of the lines. 

 Frankly, I have never had much luck with that, although I have seen great demonstrations. 

 You can see by the close-up of this little girl that I didn't even try to pink up the pink smear on her back!


TIPS AND HINTS

Does cardstock make a difference?

Yes.  Watercolor paper is the way to go- but Whisper White works very well too.

Does ink make a difference?

You will get smearing with Stampin' Up ink and Blendabilities.  

DO NOT use Staz-on with Blendabilities - it's alcohol based and will smear and get into the tips of your markers and ruin them..

The best inks that I use for Blendabilities coloring is Memento.  I have a black pad and a brown pad from each of them that I use every time I bring out the Blendabilities!  Make sure to let it dry well before coloring- or heat set for assurance that it will not smear.

OTHER LINKS and RESOURCES

Basic Copic use:
A book by Annie's Attic called Copic Coloring Guide (and also two new books on coloring nature and coloring people) is a very nice resource  It starts at the VERY beginning with types of markers and the coding on each one.  Then it goes through basic coloring and blending tips.  The pictures are nice and the card samples are basic, yet cute.  (Annie's Attic also has a good book called Coloring Techniques for Card Making that includes colored pencils, watercolors and even some basic info on Copics.)

Danielle, on her Neat & Tangled blog, just did this post with a video of her using Copics on a butterfly.  It's so easy to see the idea of circular strokes, feathering and blending when you see it done!  She also says she will be doing further posts on Copics.


For advanced techniques:

You will be blown away by the amazing fall leaves on this post on the Prickley Pear blog spot.  They give a dozen different color combos and samples.

Amy Rysavy, on her Prairie, Paper & Ink, has done dozens of videos on coloring with Copics.  She's in the middle of a series of Christmas cards that are amazing.  Amy is a true artist with Copics (as compared to my simplistic style).  Check out this post and video to see the attention she gives to a face!  Amy's blog is worth watching as her videos are detailed and informative.

This YouTube video with a great demonstration of blending techniques.  She discusses "palette blending" and "feathering".  This video and this one by Kristina Werner are great with faces and hair.

There are hundreds and hundreds of videos out there - I just selected these few to give you a taste of how Copics can work.

Wonder if this is how hubby feels.....

I saw this picture on the internet the other day and it made me chuckle. 

Then it made me wonder...

How many times has hubby taken me to a craft store, and opted to wait outside. (too many to count)

Now sometimes I might not be too long....but if I see someone to talk to or get engrossed in new products...that could be another story. (too many times to count again!)

Does he feel like I have left him out there to shrivel up and die like this poor fellow?  (God I hope not!)

So this funny picture that someone posted online...made me think and 
makes me appreciate my dear hubby even more!  

Love you Mike- thanks for your support and patience with my hobby obsession.:)

You and Me

Products I Used:

• Perfect Pennants Stamp Set
• Circle Punch
• Hearts A Flutter Stamp Set
• Smokey Slate Chevron Ribbon
• Strawberry Slush Ink
• Strawberry Slush Card Stock
• Smokey Slate Card Stock
• Smokey Slate Ink Pad
• Whisper White Card Stock

message from Dixie...

Hey Girls, it's me....Dixie. 

I just wanted to let you know about Mom.  Something strange is going on with her!  

She came home today with these two strange looking huge things:

 She put them on the floor and filled them up with my food and water!!!  

There is sooooooo much food and water in there!!!!

At first I thought she was going to leave me for a very long time, and I got scared....but she did not go anywhere, so I am ok now, but.... 

 I am confused!!!

I am not sure what is going on with my Mom....she is acting really strange and it looks to me like she is preparing me for something.  

I am not quite sure what....but I think it has something to do with this:

Ever since this book arrived she has been acting really strange- weird squeals - laughter - and comments like "oh I have got to get this!"  and " oh I cannot wait for the girls to see these!" 

Just thought I would give your girls a heads up....stay away from her for a few days until she recovers from the effects this thing is having on her!!!  I don't want you all to catch whatever she has got! 

So, I guess it is just me and the huge new containers of food and water for a while; until she gets back to normal!

See you all at class next week!  

Love, 

Dixie

Young Love

I made this layout for my April Scrapbooking Class. 

It features my two handsome step-sons and their beautiful girlfriends.  

My favorite part of this layout is the small punched hearts at the top of the layout- I punched them out of black card stock and used turquoise Stickles to bling them up.  

The flowers under the photos are a combination of purchase pre-made flowers and punched flowers that I made. 

A Simple Hello

I made this card using the Happy Congratulations Stamp Set.  

I love how you can choose your own colors for the inside of each lantern. 

Products I used:

• Naturals White Card Stock
• Chocolate Chip Card Stock
• Lots of Dots TIEF
• Congratulation Stamp Set
• Crisp Canteloupe Card Stock
• Bitty Banners Stamp Set
• Chocolate Chip Ink Pad
• Crisp Canteloupe Ink Pad
• So Saffron Ink Pad
• Coastal Cabana Ink Pad
• Perfect Pennants Thinlet Dies