Dina Kowal Creative: Polychromos pencils

Showing posts with label Polychromos pencils. Show all posts

Monday, August 15, 2022

Impression Obsession August Release

It's time for a new release from Impression Obsession! I've got a little bit of everything in this release - stamps, papers, and stencils! If you haven't seen the new release, you can find it all HERE - go check it out! I'll wait.

I'm most excited to have some Pooh stamp sets and a PAPER PACK to share - I think everyone knows that Pooh is my favorite thing ever, and when the illustrations from the first book by A.A. Milne went into the public domain this year I was sooooo excited to be able to combine them with my own work and bring them to you as stamps and papers for your card designs! Some of the paper patterns are the right size for jewelry pieces too - I have some ideas in mind when my supplies come in.

I have a couple of Piglet cards to share today!

For this first card I used a sentiment and accent stamp from the Piglet Eeyore Tree set - you can see the full image here! Piglet was very easy to fussy cut and he makes a perfect little focal for this layout. The background paper is from the paper pack, and I love it - I may have to make a paper pack of just textured/layered solids like this. What do you think?

By the way, if you love IO's hybrid ink, the Green Ochre ink is a perfect match for this paper color, and it's what I used on the sentiment and stars here. It wasn't in the original release so you might not know it's there - there was a second quiet release of more earthy tones which I love - I just got them myself!

My second card is a clean-and-simple look at the Piglet Candy Cane clear set - it's a nice big image and very fun and easy to color up! I used Karin markers here.

Here are the products I used on these cards - if any of these projects or items inspired you I'd love for you to use my affiliate links!

IO Products:

CL1137 Piglet Eeyore Tree clear stamp set

PP004 Classic Pooh Paper Pack

DIE1192 Stitched Slimline Layers 2 die set

DIE1163-ZZ Trims die set

IO Hybrid Inks

CS1136 Piglet Candy Cane clear stamp set

So from August 15th to 17th, the Impression Obsession Team will be sharing new projects with the NEW August Release stamps, dies, stencils and paper packs! You can find a list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog each day through the event. We will be giving away THREE Impression Obsession $25 gift certificates for the event - the more you comment through our Release Celebration the more chances to win! All comments for each of the event days will be open until Tuesday August 23rd at 8pm CT and all winners will be announced August 24th on the Impression Obsession Blog.

Thanks for visiting me today! Here's a list of blogs to visit for today's hop:

IO Stamps Blog

Anna Wight

Dina Kowal <<<<<<<< that's me!

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Tuesday, April 05, 2022

Impression Obsession On Sale Now Too!

As we anticipate changes and a new chapter for Impression Obsession, we have some overstocked items that need to move and make room for all the new things! The team will be showcasing some of these closeout clear sets and dies today - be sure to visit all the designers' blogs and especially the SALE section of the website to see what else you might need! If you see something you love, grab it - these closeout sets and dies will not be returning!

There are a few of my clear sets that will not return to IO, so I'd like to feature one of those today! I'm really sad about this sweet elephant, because I think he's such a cutie. There are quite a few of these sets left, so run and grab one if you agree with me! There are matching dies for the elephant, pole and 2 flags in the set too. Links are below.

I colored the images up using colored pencils, then added a little stenciling to the background. I just happened to have some elephant paper to match! The flag and pole are die cut and popped up, and so are the sentiment pieces. This is another set with several mix-match sentiment bits.

IO Products:

WP862 Extra Fun clear set

DIE702-Y Extra Fun coordinating die set

H13692 Baby Elephant (just in case you want the elephant in red rubber)

My post is part of a blog hop - you can find a list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog, and I have them linked below as well.

We will be giving away THREE unmounted grab bags for this hop, so the more you comment through our On Sale Now Hop the more chances you will have to win! Comments will be open until Tuesday, April 12th at 8pm CT. All winners will be announced on Wednesday, April 13th on the Impression Obsession Blog.

Remember: Effective May 1st, Impression Obsession will no longer produce red rubber single stamps. The final day to order red rubber single stamps (except Cover-a-Card background stamps, our popular Slimline stamps and select rubber sets) is 4/30/22 midnight EST. Look for new clear stamp sets, dies and other new exciting products from Impression Obsession coming soon!

We are having a 20% off sale sitewide that extends through all of April. This includes all the already discounted dies and clear sets as well. Get those stamps you've wanted forever off your wish lists at a discount! Be sure to enter code 2022 at checkout to save!

Ready to hop on? Here's the list:

IO Stamps Blog
Laura Fulcher
Laura Williams
Susan Wymer
Angela Bode
Anna Wight
Dina Kowal <<<<<<< you're here!
Giovana Smith
Jeanne Streiff

Cheers!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, April 04, 2022

Impression Obsession On Sale Now Hop!

This isn't one of my sets, but I have always loved it and there are only a few left! The stamps are designed for repeating patterns and borders, and I love this solid style. I chose the strawberry branch to work with, and set my card panel up in the corner of my MISTI so that I could rotate it, stamping 4 branches into a little wreath.

I stamped using Versafine Toffee ink, which made a warm neutral-ish base color for the berries and the leaves. I colored over the stamping with colored pencils, then added a few highlights with a paint pen, brushed ink around the wreath in various pinks, then added a light ring of whatever yellow ink was in my blending brush to warm up the center.

I used a battery eraser to remove a few little dots around the wreath - I think you can see some of them above. The sentiment set I used is not in the clearance section, but everything on the site is on sale right now (look for the discount code below) - this was made to coordinate with a berry stamp, so it has a large 'berry' word along with 'sweet', and several small mix-match words that can be used to build a bunch of different sentiments.

IO Products:

CL738 Spring Wall Flowers

MC670 Berry Sweet

DIE013-J Mini Rectangle Tags 1 Die Set

My post is part of a blog hop today and tomorrow - each day (April 4-5) you can find a list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog, and I have them linked below as well.

Remember: Effective May 1st, Impression Obsession will no longer produce red rubber single stamps. The final day to order red rubber single stamps (except Cover-a-Card background stamps, our popular Slimline stamps and select rubber sets) is 4/30/22 midnight EST. Look for new clear stamp sets, dies and other new exciting products from Impression Obsession coming soon!

Ready to hop on? Here's the list:

Dina Kowal <<<<<< that's me!

Giovana Smith

Jeanne Streiff

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Splitcoast tutorial: Layered Retiform

It's my turn to share a tutorial over at Splitcoast, and I've got a fun new one for you - the Layered Retiform technique is a great way to make colorful backgrounds, as well as swatching your coloring mediums to discover new colors! Believe it or not, this sample was made with just 3 pencils...!

I used 4 Copic markers for the next background (the mouse was colored with Copics and pencil):

...and this one was done with watercolors. I used Copics and pencils to color the image, and whatever yellow ink was left in my blending brush for the background.

It was fun to pull out a few of my House Mouse stamps today! I have over 100 of them - eek! The sentiments I used are my designs - the typed ones are from THIS new clear set, which stays on my desk for all its useful sentiments, and the brushed words are from THIS older clear set (it's got a countdown on it, so I would guess it will not be around much longer but how CUTE are those snails!!)

Speaking of collections, I added a few new Winnie the Pooh jewelry pieces to my Etsy store this week! One has sold already, but there are still two, and I've had requests for Eeyore necklaces, so those will be coming soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Splitcoast tutorial: Pencil on Canvas

It's my turn to share a tutorial over on Splitcoast - when I was cleaning recently I found some test swatches on a piece of gessoed canvas where I was playing with different colored pencil blending techniques, so that's what I'm showing this week in the Pencil on Canvas tutorial! Here is the canvas panel I color in the tutorial video - these are stamps from IO, and I'll link them below. This whole panel is done with colored pencils! 😀

Different blending methods and tools produce different results, so be sure to check those out and play around with what you have to see what works best at your house.

Stamp links:

I didn't check first so both clear sets I used are discontinued. Gah! Sorry about that.

The peony set is gone, but there are individual rubber stamps by the same artist here:

J16438 Tree Peony Blossom

L16428 Peony

The Fred Said clear set is also discontinued (I'm so sad - it is one of my favorites ever!)

- BUT -

there are a few left if you RUN! They are 50% off and there are only 15 in stock.

WP915 Fred Said clear set

The sentiment is also available in rubber.

D13759 Beginning

Here's another project that grew from this technique - I have a pad of canvas sheets that are gessoed on one side - I'm not sure where I picked that particular pad up but it's similar to this one on Amazon. I stamped the leaves (retired Spellbinders set) in a repeating pattern using IO Hybrid ink (these are great on the canvas - they dry quickly and no need to prep or heat set, also unbothered by water, alcohol, and blending solvents!). I colored the full panel with an ochre pencil and blended with rubbing alcohol, then colored in the leaves and blended with odorless mineral spirits. The spotting was added with misted Inktense blocks (grated) and splattered gold paint. I adhered the canvas to precut wood pieces that I got at Michaels, and sealed with a matte varnish. I'm adding them to my show pile for November! So easy, and each one completely hand colored and unique. Double sided too!

I'm feeling the stress of what I call Septoctember - I've got products to make for a holiday show, portraits to get done for Christmas orders, and Falliday Fest to plan for! Crazy days. Lots of lists. My brain is full, and that's when I start to forget things. Acckkk!

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.

It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Monday, June 01, 2020

Impression Obsession - Old is New

With such a huge collection of wonderful stamps from so many artists, sometimes the older stamps in the Impression Obsession catalog find their way out of the spotlight. We don't want them to be forgotten, so we like to feature them regularly. We hope you're inspired!

I chose this classic Tulip Bouquet image for today's card, and a simple friendship sentiment - all the things that are happening remind me how much we are really affected by separation and the inability to sit down and really converse deeply face to face. Now is a time for good conversations and learning by listening. And pretty tulips, before I get too deep! This stamp is one of the original IO images. I started off by stenciling a 6 block pattern with a brand new stencil from A Colorful Life - this new release has several background block designs which are great for CAS cards and breaking up solid backgrounds.

I added more texture to the background with a couple of stamps that live on my desk (G6148 Porcelain Crackle, L9724 French Word Background). I spritzed water, which caused some bumps to stay raised on the cardstock (happy accident, since I thought this was watercolor paper!), and dragged a light inkpad down the panel as well. The white spots were made with a Posca pen, just bonking it on my finger to cause the ink to splatter.

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details!
Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Topflight Stamps 3rd Birthday Hop!

It's Topflight Stamps' 3rd birthday! They are celebrating with a fun blog hop, and they invited me to hop too! If you're not familiar with Topflight Stamps, I hope you'll check out their site - they carry hard-to-find and beautiful products from all over the world, bringing them to one place so we can buy them soooo easily.

They're heroes.

Today, I hope you'll enjoy the hop! Everyone has made a beautiful project or two with a birthday theme to celebrate. If you're already hopping, you should have arrived here from Karen's blog. If not, you might want to start at the Topflight Stamps blog to take it from the top!

I've drooled over the stamps and stencils from Darkroom Door for a verrry long time, and Topflight has a great selection! Definitely my style - photorealistic, and perfect for collage, clean coloring, mixed media and more. I started off my card by stamping the Cupcake, then covered it with a fussy-cut mask. I taped off a horizontal line for my table top, then did a little Stencil Stacking for the background using the Arty Circles and Polka Dots stencils from their line.

I used colored pencils for my coloring - a variety of brands.

I really took my time on each section to be colored - it's been a while since I slowed down to color a card front, and I really enjoyed the process. (If you're new to my blog, I'm a professional artist, and most of my coloring is done on commissioned pet portraits!)

There was one other birthday stamp set I couldn't resist (and how amazing is it to be able to order products from Australia and the Netherlands in one cart?!), and that was this Sloths set from Craft Emotions. The set comes with 2 sloth images and then some extras - jungly leaves, a birthday hat, balloons, and some tiny circle and star accent stamps. So cute!

There are a lot of layers to my coloring, but here's one little trick for coloring the balloons - with the lightest color, I filled in a full shape for each balloon so the colors would overlap. This make the balloons look like they have a little mass, and a little transparency.

I did my coloring on watercolor paper so I could fill the background more easily with a wash of greens. When the panel was dry, I used some white acrylic paint and that Arty Circles stencil to create a little bokeh effect.

The sentiments on both cards are from a single sentiment block - I left the full stamp together, but masked off these 2 sentiments with sticky notes so I could just ink where I wanted.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

CELEBRATE and SAVE! Everything on the site is 25% off through the 29th!