Wednesday 31 August 2016

Pingu

It's been a while since I played with a WRS image. This one's new and I do have a bit of a soft spot for pingus so I just had to have him!  I love his cute little expression but I think he's going to struggle to hide that huge pressie behind him!  I've also used Goo border edge die to look like dripping snow.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx




Monday 29 August 2016

Let the Festivities Begin!

I've been in Christmas mode this weekend and have coloured this happy little chappie to feature on a clean and simple design.

I've added a sentiment and some stitching, but that's about it.

Simples!



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx




Thursday 25 August 2016

Angel Gabriel

Wow, I'm been overwhelmed with the comments left on Tuesday's colouring post. It was lovely to read your comments and how much you liked the post, which was really something very different for me to undertake. To be honest, I did quite enjoy doing it too, but I'm still overwhelmed by the feedback I've received.  Thank you all.

Today's post is 'back to normal' for me and it's in support of the new challenge at As You Like It Challenge where the theme is to use your favourite shaped card-base.  Although I use mostly 6" square card bases, the shape created by my Go Kreate nestie die is my absolute favourite and I don't use it anywhere near enough.  I love the curves, and the fact that despite being so ornate it still stands really well as a tent fold.  So, I've dug it out today and have created a little nativity scene card using a sweet image that I don't remember inking up before.



Card Recipe:

I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx




Wednesday 24 August 2016

I was feeling brave ....

The first (and only) time I used this image was just over a year ago, and I've been scared off using her again since then. The dress freaks me out and I really struggled with it.  Her hair wasn't much less daunting but I must have been feeling brave because I've tried again.  I'm still not convinced that it's much better but I really do love the image. It was made for a lovely lady, who I know likes pink, who's celebrating her birthday.  :0)


Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx




Tuesday 23 August 2016

Dropping the Shopping (and a review)

I've been inspired by Aileen to write a review on the Docrafts Artiste pens that I bought last month, which gave me an ideal opportunity to have another play with them at the weekend.

In order to really decide how I feel about using them, I decided to colour the same image in four different mediums; Copics, Derwent Inktense Pencils, DI Reinkers and the Artiste Markers.

I'm certainly not an expert in any of these products, nor am I connected to any of the companies in any way (a girl can dream though, right!).  Although I am more confident with those that I use most often, I'll try not to let my comfort with my most frequently used mediums bias my comments.

The image I've used is called Dropping the Shopping by Lili of the Valley.  I chose this mainly because it included skin, hair and clothing as well as something cute and furry!  I thought all of these elements would give me a better range of colouring challenges upon which to make my comparison.

So here goes .....

Copic Alcohol Markers 

I thought I'd set the benchmark with the medium I find quickest to colour with in order to determine where I wanted the shadow & light and also to choose my colours. So my first sample is using Copics.  These are the only medium which are alcohol-based, rather than water-based, so I stamped with Momento ink onto smooth white card.

I've actually not used Copics for a few weeks, so it wasn't as easy as I'd thought!  To intensify the comparison challenge I decided to include some 'white' areas, and also outline the whole image with blue to give it a bit of 'pop'.

As usual, the pens were easy to blend (although I do find red the hardest to blend well) and I tried a couple of different techniques, including 'dotting' the grey to shade the hat and cuffs.

So, the bar is set, and although I think I could have tried harder with the pleats in her coat, I was fairly pleased with the end result.

So here's the Copic entry:




Docrafts Artiste Watercolour Markers

While I was in 'marker mode' I thought I'd dive straight into the Artiste marker pens.  These are watercolour pens, so I stamped with Stazon onto my preferred Langton watercolour 300gsm card. 

The first noticeable difference to Copics was the range of colours.  I have the 36 colour set so had to decide which colours were going to give me the best comparison to the Copics (erm, yes, I may possibly have slightly more than 36 Copics in my collection!).  For example, when I use Copics to colour skin, I use up to 7 different pens, but with the Artistes, I only had 3; a skin colour, a tan brown for the shadow, and a pink blush for her cheeks.  It probably helped that there was a relatively small surface area of skin on this image, but I think that the shading turned out ok, and she even has a little bridge on her nose where I popped in a bit of extra shadow, just as I'd done with the Copics.

The second main difference between the Artistes and the Copics was the brightness of the colours. I could possibly have used brighter colours in the Copics, but almost all 36 of the Artiste colours are bright, and there are no 'dusky' shades.  This makes the image instantly appear brighter.

When using the pens, I found that I didn't need to add very much ink before 'dragging' it out with my waterbrush. It was easy to add layers (using the same colour on top of the last layer to add depth and shading). I only used the brush nibs, but they are exceptionally fine and therefore accurate, and can get into the smallest corner to add colour.  It was also easy to add a bit of shading to the gathers at the base of her coat. 

There were relatively few colours suitable for the furries, but I used two separate shades of brown on the pup and he turned out a mahogany colour.  The 'white-grey' was fairly easy to shade, and the ink watered down really well to give just a hint of colour where I wanted only a subtle softness. Even the blue halo around the image was easy, although the blue was a fairly dark hue, so I ended up swiping the water brush down the pen's brush nib and adding the ink off the water brush instead of directly from the marker to make it lighter.  I guess I could have scribbled some marker ink onto an acrylic block and picked that up with my brush, but I was being lazy!

Overall, the pens were as easy to apply as Copics, but blended via water.  I feel that water-colouring looks softer and I found it easier to blend away harsh lines without washing out the colour which I sometimes suffer from with Copics when blending a lighter shade after a darker shade.



Derwent Inktense Pencils

The pencils are the medium that I'm least comfortable with.  I love how other people use them with great effect and I love the softness of shades that I've seen achieved.  I invested in a fabulous set of Inktense Pencils a while ago and they've seen very little use because I simply don't feel confident using them. However, I've bitten the bullet and included them in my colouring comparison.

The range of colours is huge (I have the beautiful wooden boxset of 72 pencils), and I love that they blend with water rather than the paper-stumps and Sansodor, but I do find that I can't always blend out the original area that the pencil makes on the paper and it leaves a feint line that is still visible after a lot of furious blending.

In order to do the 'halo effect' around the image I used my watercolour brush to take colour from the pencil and then transfer it from the brush onto the paper rather than applying the pencil directly to the image. This seemed to reduce the problem of the un-blended lines. The colours were a bit dusky and gave the image more of a vintage look.

One of the main problems I found was that even if the paper was only fractionally damp, the pencil lines were worse and if the pencil itself got wet, then I had to say goodbye to any hope of blending. However, I did find then that I could use the brush-to-pencil application method really easily to great effect.  

As well as loving the effect that I'd seen others' produce with them, another reason that I actually bought the pencils originally was their portability.  I couldn't take my reinker pallets with me when I left the house because the inks are far too runny, so I was limited to Copics if I wanted to colour anywhere than at home.  Saying that, hubby wasn't too impressed when I sneaked the rather bulky wooden box into his suitcase (I was travelling light with all my clothes in just hand-luggage) when we went on holibobs earlier this year.  Men just don't understand a crafter's obsessions!  I could've taken them out of their box to make them less bulky, but the box actually doubled up as an image protector and kept my images flat and safe from dog-ears in transit too. :0)



Distress Ink Reinkers

So lastly I've used the medium that I'm most comfortable with, my Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers.  I have 55 of the dinky bottles of inks, (eek, I've never counted them before) stored in 2 of the Tim Holtz palette trays.  On the downside, they have practically zero portability (I just about manage to take them outside onto the garden table, but even then once fell foul of a gust of wind that took hold of the tray and gave me a multicoloured gravel path and an empty palette.  If you prefer you can, I believe, use the ink pads instead and grab ink with your paintbrush by pressing ink from the pad onto an acrylic block (or the lid).  However, the reinkers are more cost effective (and I don't want 55 ink pads) and their lack of portability is more than compensated by the range of depth and shadow that can be achieved.  You can get an amazing array of style using these inks, from beautiful, soft, romantic, subtle hues (see the lovely Squirrel's amazingly delicate colouring) to the higher contrast effect that is all I seem to be able to achieve (despite my occasional attempts to take a leaf out of Squirrel's book and "keep it soft").

Another consideration is that these bottles of inks last ages because you need so little ink on the paintbrush. I've been using them for years, often on a daily basis, and I've not even used a quarter of a bottle of any of my colours yet, even those I use most like the browns.  A single drop from the pipette lasts months and they don't evaporate on the palette either.

Like the pencils, you have to be uber careful if you find you're adding another layer on top if the previous layer isn't quite dry because it will bleed. Worse, and far far far worse than any of the other mediums I've mentioned above, if you don't allow one colour to dry before colouring a neighbouring area you are at a high risk of colours bleeding into each other.  This can sometimes be saved with a clean damp brush and blotting with kitchen paper but is heartbreaking when it happens, especially if you've coloured most of the image.  I did have a small mishap (*ahem* purely in the name of research for this review, of course) on the bottom left corner of the purple bag, but I blended it with water to wash it down, and then the blue halo faded it a bit more, but that happened because I added the blue halo before the purple was dry, which can take some time.

Overall, despite their challenging mishaps, and lack of portability, the inks are still my go-to colouring options, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be getting rid of my Copics, Inktense pencils or Artiste watercolour markers anytime soon!




Side by Side

As a final comparison here are all 4 finished images side by side.  The Copics are on smooth white card, and the others, all being watercolour mediums, are on Langton which is a bit creamier in colour. My lamp was also in the top left corner of my desk!
  1. Top left : Copics
  2. Top right : Docraft Artiste Watercolour Markers
  3. Bottom left : Derwent Inktense Pencils
  4. Bottom right : Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers



And finally:

Here's a finished card using one of the images.  But can you see which one?  No prizes for guessing, so it's just for fun, but let me know in the comments section which medium you think I've used on this card! :0)

More importantly, I'd love to hear what you think of the review, and if you have any other questions on any of the above mediums. If you've made it this far down the article, I hope this has been helpful, especially if you're new to any of these colouring tools.





Card Recipe:
My card's been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx




Monday 22 August 2016

Furry Babies Bat

This is the 4th of my 4 bambino cards using the new images from  Lili of the Valley.  This one's called Furry Babies Bat and I've kept the design quite simple with a starry strip of patterned paper and a stitched border around the image.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx




Sunday 21 August 2016

Bunny Cuddles

I'm a bit late posting today but hopefully you think it was worth the wait as I'm rather pleased with how this bunny turned out .  He's a cute new bunny from LOTV, and the bunnies are some of my favourite characters that Lili of the Valley design, so I was really happy when I found him. He's a baby image, but I think he's adorable and could be used for other themes too. Particularly if someone likes bunnies.  Like me! :0)

I've made a teeny card for him, folding a single large die cut nestie in half and popping him on the top.  The papers are actually from Snow Princess, a Christmas set, but I love using them for non-Christmas projects too as they're so pretty.



Card Recipe:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx




Saturday 20 August 2016

Baby Rocker

Today I'm sharing the second of my new baby cards featuring another new image from Lili of the Valley called Bunny Rocker.  I particularly love this image because I love LOTV's bunny images. I've also featured him on a die cut card base which is my favourite shape.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx




Friday 19 August 2016

Furry Babies Kitten

I've made a small batch of baby cards recently and will bore you share them with you over the next few days. Here's my first one, featuring a cute little furry baby in a kitten costume.  The adorable image is available as a digi from Lili of the Valley.



Card Recipe:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx




Thursday 18 August 2016

Snowman Fun

It's time for a new challenge at In The Pink and this time we want to see some sparkle.  For me, sparkle means Christmas, so I've inked up a couple of images which haven't seen ink yet and created a simple scene.  I coloured the main image using DI reinkers but chalked in some pink sky beyond the hills.



Card Recipe:

Created for:


Sponsored by:



I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx




Wednesday 17 August 2016

Layered Lilies

I've been drooling over the Altenew layered stamps for months and so when the Layered Lilies landed on my doormat I was a teensy bit excited to ink them up.  However, I soon discovered that there was more to using these stamps than just the rubber!

I'd planned on using DI ink pads (and because I don't have any DI ink pads, I bought 2 pads especially for these stamps).  But when I inked up the clear stamps, the DI ink didn't give a good coverage and the images was horrendously spotty where the ink bubbled on the rubber. I tried sandpapering the stamp to give it some 'grip', washing it with a bit of soap, stamping with Stazon first, but nothing stopped the spotty inky image.

So I tried some of my Versacolour mini stamps (inks that I have only previously used to ink the edges of my image panels), and the result was perfect!!

Once I'd inked the main layers, I then used a pencil to darken the centres and add some streaks to the centres and edges of each petal.  Finally I used a tiny paintbrush to dot some DI reinker speckles into the centre and Stazon to stamp the stamens.

I was so pleased with how they turned out that I got a bit carried away and couldn't seem to stop using them, but instead of boring you with 4 separate posts, I've decided to bore you with all 4 cards in a single post, so brace yourself for a quartet of lilies!

Firstly I tried them in my favourite colour, pink .....



.... and I was really pleased with how they came out, but actually my next attempt, in blue, turned out to be my favourite .....


Thinking that I was on a roll, I tried them in purple next ......

... and finally in a pale golden brown colour:


Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx




Monday 15 August 2016

Gigi Thank You

I've been in a purple mood lately so have a pretty card to share using Gigi from Stamping Bella. I've used a couple of dies (stitched square and 'thank you') but left the design fairly uncluttered to keep the focus on the image.



Card Recipe:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Thursday 11 August 2016

Bunny Box Set

Today's project is to support the new challenge at As You Like It Challenge where the theme is to use your favourite flowers.  I really love Wild Orchid Crafts paper flowers, especially the Cosmos Daisy, Cherry Blossom, open roses and rosebuds that I've used today.  I have these particular flower combos in various colours and shades!



I've also made a little floral gift-cracker using a die from Lawn Fawn and matching papers:


And here they are together.  Unfortunately the ribbons were slightly different shades, but not as different as they look in this picture which seems to make them look far worse!



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx




Thursday 4 August 2016

If you want to be happy .....

Another quick post from me to day as I've just realised that I forgot to schedule this earlier! It's a simple card with a pretty paper border trimmed with a stitched border die and some twine.  I've added a speckle of liquid pearls on each scallop.




Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday 3 August 2016

I love you THIS much

This is another uber CAS make from me using Stamping Bella's Heidi Needs a Hug.  I love the look on the chicks' faces, especially the one she's snuggling! This was made for a very special friend and actually decorated a gift box rather than a cardbase so it was a little larger than my normal 6x6 shapes.



Card Recipe:
Created for:


I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Tuesday 2 August 2016

Special Delivery

I've got another delayed posting today with a baby card I made a while ago but haven't yet blogged. This one actually uses some Christmas papers which I love, and since they don't look particularly festive I think I can get away with them!



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Monday 1 August 2016

I'm an Acorn!

The bad news is that it's Monday again (boo) but the good news is that you may have seen that the lovely Squirrel is making her "Random Challenges" a little less random.  She's also created a group of Little Acorns to help her in the form of a design team and today is her first challenge!

It's a nice and easy Anything Goes so there's no excuse not to join in the fun over on her blog.

Since it's the first day of August, (cue blue skies, sunshine, flip flops, sandy beaches, ice-cream) I've created a snow scene bunny card to share with you!  ;0)



Please pop over to Squirrels blog to see the other creations by her talented (and slightly nutty) team of Little Acorns and, of course, join in the challenge.  It runs for 2 months so you've got plenty of time to get creative (nuttiness is a bonus, but it's not compulsory!).



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx