Spellbinders July Large Die Club Kit

I'm back with another club kit project! The July Large Die Kit from Spellbinders is a great all-purpose alphabet set - most of my larger alphabet sets are steel rule dies, so it's nice to have a set with individual dies. The letters are tall and narrow, giving lots of possibilities for longer words and options for longer cards! 

I had some fun with this slimline card - mine is 3.5" x 8.5", and that gave me lots of room to play with a set from my 'uninked' bin! This is the Little Painters set from Waffle Flower, and it's full of all kinds of art supplies and little critters to hold on to them. The brushes made a nice border along the length of my card.

When the panel was stamped, colored, and inked, I lined up the letters I needed along the edge of a sticky note. Since I needed the 'E' twice, I placed it in order so I had the spacing right, then moved it to the end for my first cut. 

The edge of the sticky note is easy to position on the card - I used my grid mat to help too.

Once the other letters were cut, I could position the second 'E' and run the panel back through my cutter.

I removed the cut letters and replaced them with slightly thicker chipboard cuts, then layered the pieces cut from the panel back into place. The result is an "eclipse" effect, where the letters are replaced but have a little shadow and lift underneath them.

The sentiment I used is from another favorite set - it's Crafty Comments from Inky Antics.

...and here are the club details, if you're not a member yet! My favorite perks are the extra sales and the 10% discount on the Spellbinders site (even on sale items!)!

Spellbinders Monthly Club benefits: 

 Past Club Kits at Member Rates

 10% Store Savings

 Members Only Offers and Deals

 Earn Creative Rewards for Each Purchase

 Monthly Inspiration

 Cancel Anytime

 Skip Any Month

 Annual Membership Gift

 Exclusive Deals 

Mix-Ability - Opposites Attract!

It's my turn to host the Mix-Ability challenge this week - if you enjoy mixing it up a little and experimenting with coloring mediums, come over and play along with us! We post every week, but you can pick any challenge that inspires you.

I have this amazing color wheel for reference on my desk, and I have been using it quite a bit when I choose beads for jewelry pieces -it's got some really handy pointers in the center for eye-catching combinations. For the challenge, we're pairing up complementary colors, which are just colors that appear opposite each other on the color wheel. 

I pulled out some old favorite stamps from my collection, these vintage art supplies (Calligraphy Pen 2, Liner Brushes, and Paint Tubes) and stamped them in black, then set up some masks for my coloring. These are some of my favorite sets from A Colorful Life Designs - they're the Marvelous Masks, and they come in a variety of shapes, with the stencils and cut-out mask pieces in the set. I used the Rectangles above, and the Banners on the other 2 cards.

The inks I used are Versafine Clair - I love this line! They layered very nicely too. The splatters were done with QoR watercolor, and a little diluted white acrylic paint.

Those sentiments - aren't they great? This is a set by Inky Antics that every good crafter needs. Tell them I sent ya!

I hope you're having a great week - I'm so ready for Friday!

Splitcoast Tutorial: Stencil Sponging

This week's tutorial over on Splitcoast is simply a review of stenciling basics: Stencil Sponging. We have everyone from beginners to industry professionals in our scope, and it's great to have a resource to point to! Some great tips in the video as well.

I love this gorgeous big bee stencil! This one is by Clearsnap, and it's from a set of 3 stencils in one of their Art Screens Trio series - this is really a great price for a set of 3 high quality stencils, and these ones are so fun! I love BIG images, and these are great for a card front or a wood piece - there are so many ways stencils can go!

ColorBox Art Screens Trio - Buzzy

I masked off each section of the bee to add in my colors - a lighter color first with a medium sized brush and a darker color with a smaller brush for more detail and shading. I used colored pencils to outline the wing sections, and then the wing outlines, to connect the legs and head together and to the body, and then to shade in the stripes on the bee. (Remember stencils are a tool - you can add in the details on your panel that needed to be removed to hold the stencil together!)  I used a Copic marker to add the shadow of the bee onto the panel. I used a wide range of inks, just choosing from the ones I have in reach on my desk: Distress, Distress Oxides, Versafine, and ColorBox Premium Dye.

The honeycomb stencil is a part of this set as well - I shifted the stencil around to add a couple of layers for depth, then came in from the edge with the ink as well to build up a background. This little sentiment is from a set by Inky Antics, and it was perfect!

Buzz describes my week so far - I am feeling a little overwhelmed and overloaded this week! Good things going on - I just need to remind myself to schedule pauses. Cheers, friends!

Splitcoast Tutorial: Pencil Indenting

 It's my turn to share a tutorial over at Splitcoast, and I wanted to take one more opportunity to show off the Chameleon Color Tones Pencils with a fun and easy technique - it's called Pencil Indenting, and it's a great way to add texture and finely detailed highlights to pencil coloring.

I chose a couple images from Unity Stamps by Phyllis Harris because her images always have such beautiful details and motion in them. (This set is called Life Is Better, and I used a sentiment from Inky Antics.) In this card I used the technique to add highlights to the little girl's hair and shirt and the puppy's fur. 

On the second card I used the technique to add a pattern to the girl's dress, then added highlights to her hair, the dandelion, and the seeds blowing in the air. (This set is called Every Breath and the sentiment is by Marcella Hawley.)

This was such a fun card to make, and the Color Tones pencils made color choices and shading so easy. I worked from light pressure on the image to very heavy pressure in the background, and they performed just perfectly.

I also used a battery eraser to add highlights to the images, which you'll see in the tutorial video - this is the one I have:

... and you can find it HERE on Amazon! I was playing with it today on PanPastels as well as Distress Oxide inks - it's a lot of fun and such a useful tool to have.

By the way - if you're interested in purchasing a set of Color Tones pencils for yourself, be sure to use this discount code!

Thanks for visiting me today!

Splitcoast tutorial: Stamp Carving Basics

It's my turn to share a tutorial over on Splitcoast - I thought it would be fun to learn a new skill, so I'm sharing the basics of Stamp Carving! I'll have a couple of posts today comparing some of the different supplies available, so be sure to check those out as well.

Here are the cards I made using the stamp I carved in the video - just a simple leaf.

Other stamps I used: Painted Thank You (Concord & 9th), Hattie Sends Love (Inky Antics), sentiment from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (my sets are separated now, and I'm not sure of the set - so sorry!).

If this hobby interests you, I hope you'll give it a try!

Inchie Phone Charm

I just wanted to make something for myself recently, so I created a little charm for my phone. I had bought up some Ranger Memory Frames from Eclectic Paperie when they were on sale, and this little 1" frame was perfect for showcasing some Inchie Art! A 1" Art Square is a tiny little canvas, but so much fun to work with.

This was my inspiration - my favorite (now chipped) coffee mug that holds my most used art supplies now. (It says Mama on the handle.)

I stamped and masked the mug image (link is below) on a white Inchie Art Square first, then colored with pencils around it and stamped some extra text. The small pen image was stamped several times over the mask too, then I added color and doodles to make some pencils and some pens and brushes.

The rings are part of the frame... I used an eye pin to attach a bead on one end, and some jewelry cord I got from etsy on the other end, and layered a 1" glass square in the frame to protect my work. Done! I love it.

Impression Obsession - Espresso Yourself

Inky Antics - Hattie Sends Love

Make something for yourself today!

Click here for more Inchie Arts products!