A blissful day...

...of colouring and catching up with friends.

The workshop at Pinnacle Crafts on Saturday was all about colouring. Andy (Pearson) had organised a day for folk to come along and enjoy a day of colouring and perhaps try out some colour combos or techniques that are usually outside of their comfort zone.

The first image we played with was very much a fun item...

...beach huts can be very bright and colourful...

...or a little more 'shabby'. I don't tend to use long, flicking strokes when I colour so this was a bit of a play for me - doing something that I don't often do.
Whilst folk were finishing off their beach huts, I had a go at this Mo Manning image...

 ...Penny Black have released 3 new Mo Manning images and this one that I found in Andy's stamp storage appeared to be of a similar theme but from an earlier release.
Most of the ladies had moved onto a butterfly image but I'm not overly keen on butterflies so I dug out a digi I had with me...

 ...this Saturated Canary image (I think it is called 'wine time') was a freebie with a magazine that has since ceased. I love this image and have coloured her quite a few times.
Although not a great fan of butterflies, I decided to have a go...

 ...mainly because it used the long, flick strokes again. The colours used on this butterfly were the Warm Greys from the Copic Ciao range of pens.

These were the finished images...

...I added some clear sparkle pen (Spectrum) to the lips and wine glass just to finish it off but it doesn't really show in the photo.

The last image that I started at the workshop was this elephant from a set of stamps by Hobby Art...

...I had only completed the head at the workshop but this is after a bit more colouring at home. It still requires some shading to a few areas (evening light isn't the best for this type of colouring) so it is not quite finished but I'm very pleased with the way it is coming along.

The café re-opened in the week but neither Hilary nor I were certain about the opening times. I arrived just after 9.00am and it was open and already doing a fair trade with the stall holders from the Farmer's Market. Toast & Raspberry jam with a latte went down very well - did I mention that the new owners are 'Tiptree Jams' (fabulous display of jams & chutneys for sale). Lunch time Hilary & I had Jacket potatoes & prawns and a lovely natter and then after class we popped back for a coffee and to purchase some of the lovely jams.

At the moment the café is offering self service only but at Easter they will be opening the rest of the restaurant area and waitress service will be available in that part - something to look forward to.

A fabulous day. Thank you Andy for a lovely workshop and thank you Hilary for a lovely natter.

The next workshop isn't for a couple of weeks but I think it is going to be one of Andy's messy ones as it involves ink - a fun day to look forward to............................................

It's Sunday...

...on the last weekend before Christmas.

After a week that has been horrid and fabulous - Santa arrived early.

Last weekend, the Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens arrived at Pinnacle Crafts but only in the blister packs. I umm'd & arr'd about getting some as I so wanted to have a play with some of the colours and was soooooooooooooooo tempted to throw a few of the packs into my basket. Andy (Pearson) said that he'd had a bit of a play with the Autumn shades and having seen the resulting sheen on the colours, my hands were itching to grab some of the packs. Sanity won when Andy said the boxed sets were due any day - I placed a 'pre-order' and was intending to be very good (unfortunately, one blister pack was determined to jump into my basket **rolls-eyes** so I had no choice other than to bring it home with me **chuckle**).

So this week started with me having had a bit of a play - the colours are lovely - but then it was pretty much down hill from there.

C2C (rail) introduced their new timetable and chaos broke-out on the network. Unhappy, frustrated commuters at the end of busy working days let C2C know in no uncertain terms that whoever came up with the new timetable and service allocation was a complete IDIOT and by Wednesday some amendments were announced. A good thing you would think? After all, the company were listening to its customers? Nah, after their tinkering, I have even less choice of services to get me home and now have to mess around chopping & changing trains as the only services that would take me all the way home no longer stop at the station I use for my homeward journey.

Coughs, colds & flu have hit the office which meant that our team meal was much smaller that had been planned for but the food was great. Everyone had a good time and it was a break from the office. Downside is, I now have a cold coming and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't develop into a full-blown chesty cough just in time for Christmas.

So needless to say, I was feeling a little grumpy when I set off to Barleylands yesterday. However, things soon brightened up as the boxed Sparkles had arrived at Pinnacles...

 ...lots and lots of lovely new pens to play with...

...over the Christmas holiday. They are out of the cellophane but I haven't actually opened the boxes yet - the 3 pens are from the blister pack that just had to come home with me last week LOL.

Today is Sunday and I have actually managed to have a bit of a lay-in. Something that I was very much in need of after a rollercoaster of a week.

The rail service is pants...boo!
Mum's new door is finally installed...yah!
Winter coughs & colds...boo!
Super friendly/helpful staff & friends at the craft village...yah!
Poor restaurant services at the craft village...boo!
New goodies to play with...Yipee!!!

Just 3 days to go before I start my Christmas break - I can't wait.....................................................

Pens, Pens...

...and MORE pens.

As regular visitors will know, I have a "thing" for pens.

Many folk would call it an addiction - 'My name's Toni and I'm a pen addict' - but it isn't as if I just collect them...I do use them. Although I will admit that some get used more than others.

Here is a collection that doesn't see the light of day that often...

...it consists of my Flexmarkers and Promarkers. The problem here is probably the storage. I bought a DJ's media case from Maplins (the electrical people) when they had them on offer. I had seen this idea used by a few folk in cyberspace and thought it would be the perfect solution to the Letraset wallet situation that simply wasn't working for me. The media case is great - it holds both sets of pens safely & securely and it is easy to see all the colours at a glance - but it is bulky. It has quite a large 'footprint' so takes up a lot of space on the desk when working and because of the lid it isn't ideal for uneven surfaces such as the sofa as the lid has a habit of slamming shut (a few bruised fingers soon put paid to that as a location for using this). The other problem with this case is that it gets buried under piles of stash and then it becomes too much of a chore to dig them out so I reach for a different set of pens.

The Spectrum Noirs live in their purpose made stacking storage and my original set sit on the desk by the PC so they are always 'to hand' for a quick bit of colouring. The newer set are a permanent occupant of my crop tote so that I always have a set of pens with me.

My Distress markers live in the tubs that they came in, except for the contents of the smaller tub - the 12 colours that came in there...festive berries, iced spruce, mowed lawn etc...were placed in a Letraset folder for safety so that I could use the smaller tub and I've obviously put them away for safe keeping. However, that has meant this year's new colours have had a place to live LOL The tubs are quite handy for carrying the pens as they are quite compact and will fit easily into a bag along with some bits for colouring - great if you want to take your colouring out & about with you.

My Copics live in their wallets. The complete set of Copic Ciao pens fits into 2 and a half wallets which means there is some space for holding a few spares of the colours I use the most...

...and it is surprising how compact the 3 wallets are for transporting about.

 

Storage of my pens has proved to be the reason why some pens get used more than others. If I can't easily get to my pens, they don't get used. If the storage isn't portable, the pens don't get used.

 

I've been looking at some of the newer pens that have hit the market and I think I've finally learnt from experience and one of my considerations as to whether these pens will find a home with me is - how will I store them?

 

The new pens from the Tonic Novo range look fab because of their shape (I still think these would be good for when the old arfa-ritis is playing up) but I'm not sure how I would be able to store them so that they are easily usable. Trimcraft have a range of pens out too but I've only seen ads in magazines so I'm not sure what would be the best storage for these. The Chameleon pens are quite long because of the 'mixing chamber' so this would probably affect how they can be stored (unless the complete set was bought in one go so that they are in their ready made storage box).

 

One thing I do know is that I can't work with everything chucked in a plastic container - my pens have to be in colour order and easily accessible (I know my distress markers are in their tubs but I can see the colours at a glance - so no problem).

 

So if you have pens that are not getting used - is it because you don't 'get on' with them or is the storage causing you problems?

 

Perhaps a different method of storage will have you reaching for your pens more often. Speaking of which - I wonder where that Letraset wallet with the Diestrss markers could possibly be.............................................................. 



More colouring...

...and playing with contrasts.

Where there are double pages of designs facing each other in the colouring books, I have been having some fun trying out different colour combos and different contrasts.

This page used mainly blues, greens and a touch of beige...

 ...I love the vivid tone of the new Mermaid Lagoon Distress Marker. In complete contrast...

 ...the facing page (which in this case is a mirror image) has been coloured using yellows and oranges - very different. The great thing about having the pages side-by-side is that you can compare the different colour combos.

This one is a work in progress...

...I have used pinks on the upper flower and mauves on the lower one. On this occasion, I actually went back to some shading & blending and was very pleased with the result.

So far, I have only used Distress Markers in these colouring books but in response to a question raised on an earlier post I tried some alcohol pens.

If you are wanting to colour the designs that are printed on both sides of the pages, alcohol pens are not really suitable as they do bleed through a bit - even the water-based pens will bleed through if you make the paper too wet. However, if you are not bothered about being able to use both sides of each page you can use the alcohol pens without any problem - although I would suggest that you place a piece of paper under the page to act as a bit of protection from staining another page.

If the thought of spoiling or having to choose which side you want to colour bothers you - don't worry - there are actually quite a few books available that have images only printed on one side of each page - I would still suggest some paper as protection though if you are going to use alcohol pens.

So go on...have a play and just 'chill' for a while................................................................

Almost at the middle of the month...

...and not an April post in sight.

How bad am I?

In fact, not a post since 23rd March...oops!

To be honest, this is the busiest time of year at work - performance assessments, Easter holidays - and there just doesn't seem to be enough time to do everything that I need or want to do.

Back on the 27th March, Members Weekend kicked off and I met my friend Hilary for a bit of retail therapy and a good chin-wag. I had intended to be good on the shopping front but there were some things that I had been wanting - so with 30% off it was too good an opportunity to pass by.

I have a lot of dies but not many of them are sentiment ones...

...so these came home with me along with a considerable number of additions to my Cosmic Shimmer collection. I have a whole new range of colours to have a play with.

 

Talking of colour, I was horrified to realise that I hadn't done any real colouring since Christmas...







 

...that is soooooooooooo not me. However, I have been having trouble with the old arfa-ritus and a couple of previous attempts had ended in the bin because a pen slipped when my fingers locked. A bright blue streak across the face of an image is not a good look. Where as I would normally complete a few of this size image in a evening, this Saturated Canary took me several days because every time the old fingers started to tingle I thought it safer to give it a rest rather than risk spoiling what I had done. The weather has started to warm up and things are improving so I hope to be back in full 'colouring-in' mode soon.

 



Another area of concern was the lack of availability of the new Ranger Distress colours. Cracked Pistashio was launched in January but my local retailer was told that due to demand their supplier would not be able to provide the range until mid/late April. It has been awful seeing all the wonderful creations that folk have made using the new colours and not being able to get hold of them myself. A very kind crafter even emailed me with a couple of possible suggested sources after she saw the comment I left on "Sir Tim's" blog. Imagine my delight to arrive at Pinnacle Crafts yesterday just as Andy was unpacking a delivery of these...

...happy, happy dance. The only thing that didn't arrive was the distress markers (sad face) but the latest news is that Abandoned Coral (Feb) and Mermaid Lagoon (Mar) should be arriving shortly...YIPEE!!!!!

Andy and I have been trying to guess what the next colour will be as we get to the next first Friday of each month. I was actually right this time - the April colour is a yellow, Fossilized Amber. Andy is hoping for a range of proper 'White' stuff (not the wash effect created by Picket Fence) and we both thought that his prayers had been answered when we saw the latest thumbnail on the Tim Holtz blog...but it turned out to be the announcement of a blank die pad that you can custom colour yourself using re-inkers - fabulous idea but the indications are that the cost will be quite high when they hit the UK...shame.

So I have plenty to 'play' with at the moment and plenty of stuff that needs to be finished off, just need the time to do it. Anyone else still struggling to catch up on the hour we lost going into BST?.....................................................................

Just where...

...did that week go?

I was going to be so organised and get some cards done for the "Catch the bug" Holiday Chaos event - yeh, right. Friday is here and I'm chasing around like a headless chicken.

Seven days, seven challenges...oh heck...where did the week go...

Saturday - Sparkle & Shine...

...plenty of bling on this with the clouds covered in Crystal Ice Stickles and some clear gems.
Sunday - Sketch...

...a bit of embossing on the card blank and then some gold edged squares topped with a fairy and finished off with a bow.
Monday - Colour challenge...

 ...using the colours from the selection given.
Tuesday - New release & Recipe...ran out of time.
Wednesday - Humorous Christmas...

...my favourite "JJ" relaxing in a glass - perfect for decorating a recycled gift bag.
Thursday - Christmas Critters...ran out of time.
Friday - Freebie Clean & Simple...ran out of time.

So I managed 4 out of the seven which is more than I thought I was going to manage.

Will someone please slow things down a bit...how can it possibly be Christmas in two weeks time...EEEEEEK!!!

But worse than that - it is the Toby carvery crop tomorrow and I haven't even made a start on packing for it.......................................................................................

A quick & easy...

...Christmas gift.

This time of year there are some lovely decorated mugs around but a mug on its own is a bit of a boring gift.

You could knit a "Mug Hug" to add to the gift but then you are covering up the design of the mug - what a waste. Or you may not be a knitter.

So why not dig out some suitable stamps, rubber, clear or digi and make some coasters.

You don't need very much...

...some CS, your colouring medium, something to seal the finished item and some cork. I used a sheet of adhesive backed cork but if you have some old cork tiles hanging around at home - make use of those.
I printed some of the Grace Drayton images onto Kraft CS...

...you can find a lovely selection of these cute images over on the Nicecrane Designs website...

 ...I then coloured them using Spectrum Noir alcohol pens...

...which against the Kraft CS gave a shabby, vintage look to the images.
The images were then trimmed to size and the corners rounded...

...before attaching them to the cork.
Add a couple of pretty mugs...

...and there you have it - a quick and easy gift that shows you have given it a bit of thought as you can 'theme' the designs to suit the folk who will receive it.

You all know that my photography is not the best in the world so the pictures above were taken before I sealed the images - to have to deal with shine as well as shadows in the wrong places was more than I could cope with on a Sunday morning **giggle**

Do hop over to the Nicecrane blog where you will find lots of lovely ideas from the DT and if Grace Drayton images aren't your thing, pay the Nicecrane design site a visit and have a browse - there are images there to suit all tastes...and if you don't colour or haven't the time, there are lots of pre-coloured images that you could use instead. Do hop over there and take a look..................................

Now this is worrying...

...I don't even remember buying this.

I dropped some change in my tote, accidentally, so had to pull virtually everything out of the tote to retrieve it - that's when I found this...

...such a cheery chap but he has never seen the inside of an ink pad.
I soon put that to rights...

 ...and stamped up a sheet ready for colouring.
I kept to traditional colours for this one...

...but haven't embellished the image in any way (yet) as I'm not sure what shape I want. There is really no point adding gems to the holly berries if I'm going to put the thing through a die cutting machine - have you ever seen the mess a Big Shot's rollers make rolling over acrylic gems?

I have added a touch of "Wink of Stella" to the body of the Snowman to make the snow shimmer but I think I'll be adding some glitter to the snow-flakes to give a bit of Christmassy bling.

Ho-hum, what shape do I cut you Mr Snowman? Decisions, decisions...................................................

Yesterday was...

...the Eastwood Carvery Crop - and Sunday lunch arrived a day early.

I actually remembered to take a photo of my lunch before tucking in...

...but you knew it had to be too good to be true; didn't you - I forgot to take a photo of the sweet doh!

Carol always sets aside a table where folk can display stash for sale - a great way of getting some pennies back on items that you no longer want...and a great way to grab some bargains.

Having coloured an 'Edwin' Magnolia stamp earlier in the week, it seemed fate that there were some Magnolias on the table - so how could I say 'no!'.

Hardly had the money left my hand than this little miss was out of the packet and inked up...

 ...the hair & skin are usually my starting points so they were the first bits coloured. Then came the choice of what colours to use for the clothing...

 ...and with this first one, I kept to fairly traditional Christmas colours.
One of the great things about attending a 'crop' is that your fellow crafters will often have equipment with them that they are willing to share...

 ...my friend Suzie had this X-Cut die set with her and Carol had brought along her Grand Calibre so I had a bit of a cutting session. Although the dies were small enough to go through a Big Shot/Cuttlebug, it made it so much easier being able to put the sheet of A4 card through the machine rather than cutting it up and running the risk of cutting the pieces too small or on the wonk.
I didn't stop at one image...

 ...this one was coloured with my favourite aqua shades and then I played with my "Wink of Stella" brush pen (clear)...

...I had intended to colour just the antlers and the bell necklace (which I did on the red/green image) but as you can see...I got a bit carried away and brushed all over the kraft matt on this one.

I now have two cute Christmas toppers ready to either be used on a card or some other 'make'. At last, I feel my Christmas makes are starting to materialise.

Hope you have been enjoying a crafty weekend............................................................

Try mixing it up...

...don't be afraid to use different colouring mediums on the same piece.

Ignacio of Nicecrane Designs, recently asked me to have a go at colouring images from one of his new collections - he wanted examples on white & a darker background. So I printed some images onto some smooth white CS and some Neenah CS in 'Desert Storm' (pale kraft colour).

Here are the images printed out...

...and as you can see, the subject matter is some playful pups.
Grabbing my Spectrum Noir pens, I made a start on the white CS and started with some basic shades to start things off...

...I swept over the background with some CG1 (citrus green) and started to colour the pup with TN3 & TN6 from the tan range but I wanted to try the image on the kraft CS...

...some white pencil quickly started to bring the image to life and some biscuit shades started to bring dimension to the image...

 ...but the pencils were not strong enough to create sufficient colour in the background so I decided to mix in some Spectrum Noir pens...

 ...as you can see, the pencils and pens work well together.
I returned to finish off the image on the white CS and kept mainly to the pens...

 ...except for the pup in the water - he was given a touch of white pencil to 'tone-down' the tan colour slightly.
Here are the two completed images...

...the colour of the background CS really does give a different effect to the two pieces but so does mixing your colouring mediums. I'm sure some of you have watched demonstrators colour with alcohol pens and then they will use pencils (Prisma colour/Spectrum Noir) to highlight specific areas. What I wanted to show here was the fact that you can colour different areas of an image with different colouring mediums to produce the finish that you want.

The puppy on the kraft CS coloured with pencils looks very different from the puppy on the white CS coloured with alcohol pens but each works in its own way.

This set of images (by Cecil Aldin) is just one of the many fabulous sets that you can find over at the Nicecrane Design site and if you are looking for some inspiration as to how to use them, the DT over at the Nicecrane blog have lots of super ideas to share with you - please do hop over and take a look................................................................ 

Same image...

...different colours.

Last month at the Eastwood Carvery Crop, I did quite a bit of colouring but didn't actually get anything made with the images that I had completed.

I love playing around with different colour combos on the same image as it always amazes me how different a change of colour can make something look.

This adorable little 'Miss' is from Lili of the Valley...

...and I have yet to finish her off. However, I did complete two other versions of this stamp...

...and I have made them into two very different cards.
I love the 'icy' feel that the aqua & silver colour scheme gives...

...need to get hold of some more of that CS and those flowers as I really do love this colour combo.
In this one, the image is coloured in a similar way to the unfinished image at the start of this post...

...and I have gone for a more traditional colour combo with a vintage feel.

The images have been stamped onto smooth white CS and I have used a variety of Copics and Spectrum Noir pens.

Talking of pens...did you see the Chameleon Pens on Create & Craft over the weekend? I was sooooooooooooooooooooooooo tempted but I didn't think the Bank Manager would be impressed as I've just had a rather large bill to deal with. I can assure you, it was very difficult resisting new pens to play with.

Never mind, I'm sure I'll get a chance to pick up these goodies when the old bank account has had a chance to take a breath..............................................................