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Showing posts from August, 2022

March 2025 Procreate Designs

Looking back on the art I’ve been making for the past few months I’ve done quite a bit of digital work.  I started really delving into Procreate when we went on Vacation earlier this year, and I haven’t stopped exploring the possibilities since.   While planning for our vacation in late February and early March of his year I opted to take only my camera and iPad.  No knitting, no sketch book, no art supplies.  This was the first time I’d ever taken only my iPad, with the intent of creating art while on a vacation.  I had a plan to limit my supplies and challenge myself to only using procreate.  My plan worked, I learned a lot about procreate and I enjoyed to process.   The biggest thing I learned was how very freeing being able to sit on the couch or the porch at night with just an iPad and a pencil was.  There was no figuring out where to put supplies, or how to juggle a sketchbook on my lap, or being confined to the table.  The other bonus ...
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My Copic Tools - The Hex Chart

We've talked about what I wish I'd known and we've talked about my swatch book . Today we're going to discuss Sandy Allnock's Hex chart .  I was a later adopter of the hex chart and today I'm going to talk about how I use mine. Above is my hex chart for my Caio markers.  If you're really observant you may have spotted my two small errors.  I wasn't willing to color my chart all over again, so I drew a couple small arrows to show notate the colors I transposed.  Ok, housekeeping out of the way, on with the discussion.   I use my hex chart as more of a color wheel than I do for color selection.  I often start with colors in mind and select colors from my swatch book, but when I want to blend something a bit more unusual or if I use a marker that I don't have a "blending buddy" for I turn to the hex chart.  For example one of my favorite blends is B99 with BG09.  These are both deep dark shades and they create a stunning dark blend.  I a...
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Shop Your Stash - Big Butterflies

Today's card is a revisit of the same Gina K Multi-Color Inking that I used in this Techniques Used post and in this butterflies card .  I'm sharing the third look at this technique to share how different stamps will give you variations.  I have three cards in this post today. I'm not ashamed to admit this was the first time I used this big butterfly.  It's from a Sixix & Tim Holtz exclusive for Michael's, that I've had for years.  When I say shop your stash, I want you to know that I practice what I preach.  I used the same butterfly stamp with its coordinating die on all three cards.   The two yellow/orange blend butterflies were created with Distress Inks in Pumpkin spice, Fossilized Amber, and Black Soot.  I really love the way the Distress Inks work in this technique.  The blue butterfly was inked with Gina K. ink in Ocean Mist, Tranquil Teal, and In the Navy. I wanted the butterfly to be the focal point of these cards so I kept the...
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Making Your Own Stencils - 4-H Thank You Cards

Two years ago, Hubby surprised me with a Brother Scan and Cut for my birthday.  This machine has freed me from the concept of needing to purchase matching dies for any of my stamps.  It also gives me the freedom to cut all kinds of things, including my own stencils.   Prior to having a scan and cut I'd made stencils using dies with card stock and making paper.  While great for a single project, they often aren't reusable for any length of time.  I've also used acetate to create reusable stencils, which are a great option.    Having a scan and cut was going to be a game changer in the stencil-making arena.  While searching for mylar sheets at Michaels, I asked one of the associates and she said they didn't carry what I was hunting for.  Then she smiled and said but I think I have a solution.  She lead me to the poster board section and showed me the translucent plastic poster board.  Score!  This associate knew her stuff!...
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Ink Blending - Brick Backgrounds

While I was writing yesterday's post, my memory sparked and I thought about some of the brick backgrounds I've created with ink blending.  Sometimes I build an entire card, like the butterfly below, and sometimes I just build backgrounds like the THX card.  Building backgrounds is a great way to try new techniques with no pressure.  The first brick background I created in 2018.  I masked the white butterfly with a Post-it note mask made from a butterfly die cut, then laid the brick stencil over the top.  I applied Distress Inks in Aged Mahogany and added a bit of shadow with Hickory Smoke.  I removed the bricks and added a light layer of both inks to tone down the white of the grout.  Splatters of water and splatters of Perfect Pearls in gold were added before removing the butterfly mask.  I drew on a few branches, some to represent antennas, and added the butterfly body.  From there I stamped the sentiment, matted the panel on black, and the...
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Playing with Distress Oxides - Masculine Color Blends

Ink blending has to be one of my favorite techniques, but I don't want to blend just any ink.  I'm a Distress Ink & Oxide addict.  I have ALL the colors in both and they are by far my favorite inks.  Today I thought I’d share some ideas for masculine blends.  Don't fear the dark moody colors, they often make magic. Chipped Saphire, Forest Moss, and Crushed Olive make for a moody blend.  Great for a night forest scene.  The above panel was blended, splattered with water, and then splattered with Chipped Saphire and Crushed Olive. Aged Mahogany, Ground Espresso, and Forest Moss create a beautifully rich blend.  This panel was splattered with water and then gold Perfect Pearls.  Walnut Stain, Rusty Hinge, and Mustard Seed build a bled with a more fall or western vibe.  This panel was splattered with water and some copper Perfect Pearls. If you find yourself in a bit of a creative dry spell, I would encourage you to get out your inks and play...
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My Copic Tools - Swatch Book

I recently talked about What I wish I'd known about Copics , today I'm going to start a series on the tools I use when working with my Copics.  Make no mistake, I love my Copics, but there was a bit of a learning curve and tools have helped me learn to work with my markers and improved my blending skills. My swatch book came before Sandy Allnock's Hex chart .  I created my own swatch book, inspired by a few ideas I'd seen.  I wanted my swatch book to be grouped by color family in a certain way.  When I designed my book I included a check box for tracking refills and a "C" for the colors available in the Caio style.  I have the Caio collection of colors, all 180 of them, so why did I care about including other colors?  Because I share nearly all my craftiness with my bestie over at By Grace Everett , and she's invested in the Sketch style.  I included all the colors, except the fluorescent colors.   Once I was happy with my simple design, I t...
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Shop Your Stash - Ink Blending Clouds

I'll start by saying sometimes I forget what I have in my stash.  Several weeks ago I got a little carried away ink blending clouds and discovered that I have two sets of cloud stencils.  The possibilities are totally endless, whether you have one cloud stencil or several.  Things kind of started to snowball as I began the "what if I..." game.  I started adding rainbows and birds and more clouds.  Oh my!   This beauty started with layers of ink-blended clouds.  I learned a few things playing with this technique:  It's easier to keep white space in the clouds if you blend from the top down with the top being the "sky".   Vary the way you position your stencil, this will create a more organic look. Using a blender brush will result in a softer more cloud-like feel.   After blending my clouds using Prize Ribbon Distress ink I started thinking about the tiny birds I'd seen Yanna use when she made these cards .  I knew I d...
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