WELCOME TO BLOGABELLA

it’s DT THURSDAY SISTAHS! with TRACYBELLA!

Hi Everyone!  Tracy here.  Today I am sharing a quick and easy technique to make a watercolor  background.  You can use whatever watercolor inks/paints you have but today I am using Tim Holtz Distress Inks.

 

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Here is what you need to get started.  I’m using Budding Chick Stamp and Budding Chick “Cut it Out” Die. You will need a 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ piece of watercolor paper. For backgrounds I use a cheap paper – Artist Loft. For Images I use Canson or Strathmore. The inks that I used are: Tim holtz Distress Inks in Broken China, Faded Jeans, Peeled Paint and Bundled Sage.  You can use the pads or reinkers. If using the pads just stamp onto a piece of plastic or something non-porous so that you can lift the ink with your brush.

 

pic 1

 

Because I dry my paper between layers – I have this piece of board I use so the heat doesn’t damage my table. You can do whatever you normally would do.  I then tape the edges down. This helps in keeping the paper flat and not getting wonky when adding water to it. You can use painters tape, I just use some old washi tape.  I like washi because it doesn’t tear the paper.

 

After you have your paper adhered, wet the paper with plain, clean water. Then lift some of your Peeled Paint ink and start dabbing onto your paper to create the “grass area”. Do the same above with the Broken China.

 

pic 2

 

After you add in your inks – heat your paper to dry it. You could just let it dry naturally but I’m antsy and when I work on something, I want to complete it. If you do not let your layers dry in between your inks will get muddy!! You have to dry in between layering.

 

pic 3

 

Now you can go on top and add in a couple of dots of the Faded Jean and Bundled Sage. If it’s too harsh just add some water to the top and let it spread out a bit. You can also take a paper towel and dab it.

 

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On my final background you can see that there are couple “bleached” out spots. After I added my 2nd layer of colors, I dried it again.  Then I took my brush, added some plain water to it and flicked it onto my paper.  Let it sit for 10-30 seconds and then took a paper towel and dab the background.

 

Now onto Coloring the Budding Chick. Below are the colors I used. Sorry for the blurry pic….my camera did not want to cooperate!

 

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After your image is all colored you will then cut it out using the Budding Chicks “Cut it out” Die.

 

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Add some foam squares to the back to “pop” it up.

 

 

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I finished off my card by cutting out the background with a stitched border. Then used a heavy adhesive, like scor-tape, all around the edges to adhere my background. Watercolor paper can get a little wonky, taping it down as we did in the first step will help though!  Just use a good strong adhesive.
Next I added a small flagged sentiment and finished it off with a button.

 

Here is the final card:

pic 10

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

it’s WONDERFUL WEDNESDAYS WITH….

Paulineabella!

Last week I was unable to post as I was travelling from Montreal back to Toronto.. so TODAY you get 2 amazing INSPIRING stunningly gorgeous cards which will want to make you RUN… i say RUN …. to your craftrooms!

Here, Paulineabella used I’LL always have your back STUFFIES... I mean.. that BOW?  the BLUSH on da ELLIE’s CHEEK?  I cannot.  nope.. wont.  It’s so gorgeous!!

illalwayshaveyourbackjune15

and HERE Paulineabella used EDNA with a CUPCAKE on top.. SERIOUSLY?  I can’t SQUARED.  Those dimples in da knees? A little TOO close for comfort #ifyouknowwhatImean  .. LOVE

ednawithacupcakeontopPAULINE

I so hope that these cards inspire.  Make you wanna colour.. craft.. tear paper.. cut paper.. stick embellishments on something 🙂  Because that’s the effect it has on MOI.

speaking of MOI…

MWAH!

Em

Marker Geek Monday – Copics & ProMarkers!

Time for your weekly dose of Marker Geekery! 🙂

Today’s Marker Geek Monday post is a bit of a follow up to last week’s post, in which I talked a little about keeping things simple and also about finding comparable colours in other marker brands. This week I am revisiting the same image ROW OF BUNNY WOBBLES, keeping the colouring simple again and also providing some colour matching info for Copic Markers & Pro Markers.

Winsor & Newton ProMarkers happen to be one of the brands of marker that I own a selection of, alongside my Copic markers. Since I had a little difficulty finding colour comparisons between the two for last week’s post, I thought I would spend a little time playing with the markers and come up with some suggestions of my own. I don’t own a complete set of ProMarkers, so this information is based on the selection I do have available. I have created a colour match chart which you will find at the end of this post.

ProMarker Colour Map

Stamping Bella Bunny Wobbles ProMarker Colour Map

A few observations I made while testing out the ProMarkers and colouring the ROW OF BUNNY WOBBLES image:

  • Ink seems to go on a little “wetter” than Copic. Lines seemed more liable to smear and ink seemed more likely to bleed over the image lines.
  • When using the same paper I prefer for my other alcohol based markers like Copics, I found that with several layers of ink the fibres in the paper started to break down and “pill”.
  • I found it more difficult to create depth in shading than I did when using Copics for last week’s post.
  • Colours that appeared a good match for Copic shades based on a small one layer sample look quite different when compared after layering.
  • Because of the differing colour systems and varying properties of the different markers, it is unlikely that colour matches will be exact.
  • The ProMarkers do seem to dry easily to a nice streak free finish, which is great when covering larger areas.
  • The ProMarker colour range does include some nice “light” or “pastel” options that I feel are lacking in the Copic range, particularly in the Yellows. I found that the Yellows were the hardest to find a close colour match for in the Copic range.

ProMarker & Copic Marker Colour Match Suggestions

Here is a handy reference chart I came up with based on my comparisons of the ProMarkers I had available with my Copic marker collection. Please bear in mind that the appearance of colours will be affected by a number of factors, including the tone of the paper you colour on and your colouring style. As such, these are suggestions based on my own observations, which I hope you will find helpful.

Marker Geek Monday - Copic & ProMarker Colour Match Chart

 

Other Alcohol Based Marker Brands

As soon as I can, I will be working on some similar information for other marker brands that I have available to me, so please watch this space!

Spectrum Noir users may find THIS CHART created by Corinne Jones and Irene Sherman useful!

Thank you for joining me again this Monday! I hope I’ve helped inject a little colour into your day. Do get in touch to let Emily and I know how you are enjoying this post series! Drop us a comment below, or tag your colouring pics on Instagram with #markergeekmonday so we can check them out.

NOTE: Next week Marker Geek Monday will be taking a little break, but don’t worry, there will be plenty of colouring inspiration as the June 2016 release previews will be happening! Make sure you join us starting on Saturday 18th June, you definitely won’t want to miss out. 😉

MWAH!

Elaineabella aka Marker Geek

It’s BELLARIFIC FRIDAY sistahs!

Ohh what a week.. let’s hope next week is bettah shall we? LOL

Hope you’re all doing well!

I do have some good news… the good news is that we will be starting SNEAK PEEKS for our new release on JUNE 18th!  yeppers.. and our release day will be my BIRFDAY (what could be a better present to me) on June 25th.  I think You will be AMAZED.. and NOSTALGIC at this release.. to say the least.  I’m not giving any other hints.. n’uh uh.. nope.  NO WAY HOSE-AY.  don’t bug.  cuz I WILL NOT cave.  LOL.. ok maybe I will at some point.. not sure… time will tell 🙂

Ok enough blabla

This week’s Bellarific Friday theme was a MOJOBELLA SKETCHYPOO

mojoBella 12

Let’s see what our AMAZING BABEROONIS came up with shall we?

AliceWERTZAbella used TINY TOWNIE PENELOPE and her PENCIL

aliceWERTZabella

our JUNE guest designer Carlabella used Tiny Townie ANABELLE needs your ADDRESS

carlabella

Danabella used GARDENING CHICKS

danabella

FAYE-WJ-abella used TINY TOWNIE BREE loves BUTTERCREAM

fayeWJabella

Kerribella used MACARON BOUQUET

kerribella

Lesliebella used TINY TOWNIE MELISSA loves MOVIES

cut it out and stamp bundle!

lesliebella

Sandiebella used UPTOWN GIRL SABRINA loves the SPA

sandiebella

Shelabella used TINY TOWNIE HAYLEY the SUPERHERO

shelabella

Stephabella used THE CHOIR

stephabella

Tracybella used TINY TOWNIE HEIDI needs a HUG

tracybella

TracyMACabella used THE STUFFIE GANG

tracyMACabella

SOOOO GORGEOUS!!!

check out the BOTTOM OF THIS POST to see our INLINKZ contributors!

and now for next week’s theme?

An INSPIRATION PHOTO!

inspiration 4- June 17

use any of the colors.. the sandy beach.. the rocks.. anything that inspires you from this GORGEOUS photo.. I wanna be there. hmph.

mwah!


it’s DESIGN TEAM THURSDAY with KERRIBELLA!

kerri1
Good morning and welcome to my first DT Thursday for STAMPINGBELLA.. Now this is my second attempt..First was a video that did not work so I took pics and did it again.. The pics are listed in order.. So for this technique you will nee a few things
Gamsol-Odourless Mineral Spirit
Prisma Pencil- White
Blending Stump
Kraft Paper
Memento Ink Black
STAMPINGBELLA IMAGE
Image I used EDNA the DIVA kerri2 kerri3

Ok here you are going to take your White Pencil and outline your cloud..Whee you want it to appear darker..Take your blending stump dip it into the Gamsol and blend the White out towards the centre..

kerri4
After blending this is what it will look like..Using your White Pencils if you want more colour reply and blend out once again… kerri5
Now you have fluffy White Clouds..this is the same technique I used when colouring in the ruffles on the dresses.. kerrri6

Moving onto the BOA I do the same technique I took pics to show you the steps

kerri7 kerri8

Once you have your colouring the way you want it feel free to add glitter to make it sparkle..

Just a few reminder the STAMP OF THE MONTH is still up for grabs..I’ll Always have YOUR BACK..you save 20%  If you have time join us for BELLARIFIC FRIDAYS as well..Thanks for stopping by and I hope this helps if you have any questions leave me a comment and I will try to answer them..HUGS

 

it’s CUHRAZY TOOSDAY sistahs!

Every FIRST TOOSDAY of every month we select several stamps to share with you at INSANELY crazy prices.  This is our THANK YOU to you for your loyalty.. and to give you an excuse to do some GUILT FREE shopping 🙂

The prices last 24 hours only .. it’s so great to add to your collection, to buy for gifts for people who want to get started or who are already started.. just a fun way to spend a TOOSDAY. lol

come visit us!  www.stampingbella.com

crazytuesdayjune2016

and don’t forget our stamp of the month  “I’LL ALWAYS HAVE YOUR BACK” stuffies.. 20% off all month long!

june2016banner2

MWAH!

Em

it’s MARKER GEEK MONDAY!

Hey folks! Time for another Monday with me “Marker Geek” aka Elaineabella. I hope you are all still enjoying these weekly posts. If you’ve got any questions you would like answered or topics you would like to see covered in future posts please do get in touch via the comments section and I will do my best.

 

Before I get to the colourful fun, I’d like you all to join me in wishing our Chief Bella (Emily) all the very best. She’s having a rough time right now, as you may be aware from reading her blog posts here. Not only is she dealing with personal stress, she is working hard to bring us even more fantastic stamps to play with. Lets make sure she knows how much we appreciate her!

 

It has been a crazy week, and I’m working on a few larger projects for future posts, so today I’m keeping it simple and sharing a very simple bonus colour map for one of Stamping Bella’s fun BUNNY WOBBLES images. I’m also hoping to inspire you to “keep it simple”, so read on!

2016_stampingbella_bunnywobbles_web_copic_colourmap

 

The rubber stamp I used is ROW OF BUNNY WOBBLES. So. Cute. They also come with a row of Easter eggs, but the bunnies on their own are perfect for so many occasions.

 

Keeping it simple!

 

As you can see, I kept the colours very limited on this one, challenging myself to do as much as I could with just a handful of markers. The beauty of alcohol based markers like Copic Markers is that due to their translucent properties, they layer beautifully so that you can achieve depth and variety even if you don’t have a wide selection of shades. So don’t worry if you can’t blow your budget on a full set of markers – build your collection slowly and really get to know them.

 

Make sure you read right to the end of this post, as you will find some additional waffle about alternative marker brands, and some pointers for getting colour matches including a link to a very useful resource for Spectrum Noir users.

 

A special note for readers using other marker brands:

 

Since I started writing this series of posts for Blogabella we have received a few questions relating to other brands of markers. While I have used and loved other markers in the past, Copic Markers are currently my “most reached for” for a variety of reasons. I recognise that some readers and fans of Stamping Bella may not use the same brand, for their own varied reasons. Unfortunately I can’t be all things to all people, but I do like to be as helpful as possible!

 

There is a wealth of information online, both free and available to purchase. Sometimes it can be time consuming and a little daunting to sift through it all, I totally get that. With that in mind I am hoping to give you a little help in this post and hope to provide some more useful information in some upcoming posts (watch this space…).

 

A great starting point for finding information specific to your chosen brand of marker (or any medium) is usually the brand’s official website. They may have a “Resources” or “Downloads” or “Information” section containing tips, colour charts and suggestions for colour combinations.

 

If you have a crafty friend that uses a different brand of markers to yourself, try swapping hand coloured charts so you can compare theirs with your own.

 

Spectrum Noir users will no doubt find THIS CHART created by Corinne Jones and Irene Sherman a very handy resource indeed!

 

Note:

  • Any colour matches that you find listed are unlikely to be exact matches for the Copic shades, but will be visually close.
  • The appearance of colours may differ on different papers. Some “white” papers will have a warmer tone, some a cooler tone. This will affect the appearance of the marker colours when applied to the paper (this is why creating your colour charts on the paper you use most often is also the best idea).
  • It is also worthwhile to note that different marker brands may have slightly different properties. Colours that look like a good match when compared as one layer may look quite different when layered multiple times.

 

I would always recommend that you use any colour combo information purely as a starting point for your own experimentation. Play with your markers, experiment with mixing different shades and colours and find what works for you! You may find that due to your colouring style, differences in paper etc. your results with any particular marker combo differ anyway, so don’t be afraid to make your own tweaks and find your own favourites!

 

TIP: if you have trouble finding a good match for a particular shade, try mixing a couple of colours together.

 

As always, make sure you stay in touch! Drop us a comment below, or tag your colouring pics on Instagram with #markergeekmonday so we can check them out.

 

MWAH!

 

Elaineabella

It’s Bellarific Friday!

Hiya sistahs!

Hope you are having a great week!  Well, things have taken a downwards turn over here.  hmph.  My father was in tremendous pain in his leg/hip area and after being x-rayed and ct-scanned,  they realized that the hardware that they put in him was defective/deteriorated and is rubbing against the bone. SO back to square one.  He is back in the hospital awaiting SURGERY #2 to replace the hardware with a new “system”.  It’s AWFUL sistahs.. first of all that I cannot be there until next week.. and second that he has to go through this whole Shlemazel all over again.  Oh well.. it could be worse, right?  We have to keep a positive attitude and keep strong.

Now for this week’s bellarific Friday our theme was to use your FAVORITE embellishment.. I can’t even count how many favorite embellishments I have .. If I could only show you a snippet of my basement and all my collections.. (#tooembarassed)

We have a GUEST DESIGNER for our Bellarific Fridays for June.. we have CARLA MURPHY! aka CARLABELLA.. remember her?  We all loved Carlabella so much.. then she decided to take a break.. hmph.  But now she’s back.. YIPPEE!!  You can take a looky at her blog HERE

Our baberoonis not only have the embellishment challenge but they also have to mix it with our STAMP OF THE MONTH which is I’LL ALWAYS HAVE YOUR BACK STUFFIES.. one of my favorite stamps EVAH.  Every first Bellarific Friday of the month, our babes work to inspire you on how to use our stamp of the month.. brilliant no?  me thinks yes!

Ok enough blabla

Here we go!

Here’s Carlabella’s card

carlabella

AliceWERTZabella’s card

alicewertzabella

Danabella’s card

danabella

Faye-W-J-abella’s card

fayeWYNNjonesabella

Kerribella’s card

kerribella

Lesliebella’s card

lesliebella

and da INSIDE!

lesliebellaINSIDE

Sandiebella’s card

Sandiebella

Shelabella’s card

shelabella

Stephabella’s card

stephabella

Tracybella’s card

tracyBELLA

TracyMACabella’s card

tracyMACabella

Tell me this doesn’t make you wanna RUN.. i say RUN to get this stamp.. colour it 35000 times and stare at it.. LOL .  I Can’t.

And NOW for our amazing Sistahood using their favorite embellishments

Click on THIS post and scroll to the bottom to see this week’s INLINKZ contributions!

and now for our emailed contributions

margoS

Margo used Senior-ita GLADYS the superhero

 

 

DROOLWORTHY.

Now for next week’s theme?

A MOJObella sketchypoo! (all of our MOJOBELLA sketches are created by the amazing Julee from VERVE stamps)

mojoBella 12

Happy creating!!

mwah


it’s MARKER GEEK MONDAY!

Time for another dose of the best antidote for Monday: Marker Geek Monday! Let’s get colourful together and forget what day it is. 😉

 

Today I thought I’d talk a little about something a little less glamorous, but in my opinion totally essential in your colouring toolkit: COLOUR CHARTS!

 

A hand coloured chart is invaluable in both keeping track of your collection and when you are selecting colours to use for a project.

 

There are some different options out there. These are the two I use.

 

 

  1. Copic Colour Chart – this is available as a free download HERE on the US Copic Distributor’s website. The chart is arranged in numerical order, by colour family. This chart is perfect for keeping track of your markers. As you can see I also use it to track my refills by marking the colours I own refills for with a little “R” in the corner. Because the chart is arranged in numerical order it is easy to find the colour you are looking for and see where any gaps are.

 

2016_05_30_markergeekmonday_copiccolourchart

 

 

  1. The Hex Chart by Sandy Allnock – this is available HERE on Sandy’s website. The Hex Chart is not free, but at $5.99 it is a relatively inexpensive tool which I personally use on a daily basis. This chart is a completely different animal to the Copic Colour Chart above, as it organises the colours visually. This presentation of colours is incredibly useful for a number of reasons.

 

 2016_05_30_markergeekmonday_hexchart

 

 

As I mentioned above, the Copic Colour Chart is a useful way to keep track of your collection, and it was the only chart I used for a number of years. I keep a copy in my folder, which these days mostly serves as a record of which refills I already own, so I can avoid duplicating any purchases! Previously it served a similar purpose for the markers themselves. I no longer use the chart for selecting colours.

 

When the Hex Chart came into my life, it was a game changer! I have always enjoyed playing with mixing colours from different families and this chart makes that process a lot easier.

 

You may be thinking “I don’t have enough markers to make use of the Hex Chart yet”. I’d advise that actually, you’re in the PERFECT position to take full advantage of Sandy’s hard work. Included in the zip file you receive are both a black and white hand colour chart and also a scanned coloured version.

 

The coloured version of the chart is a great reference tool to aid you in deciding which markers to add to your collection. You can get a good impression of which colours will work well together, and perhaps more importantly you can see which markers you don’t need at all because they are so similar to others. For those of us with a complete or near complete collection this aspect is useful when we have a marker that needs refilling – if we don’t have the refill for that particular marker we can reference the chart to see if there are any good substitutes so we can keep colouring.

 

Note: the coloured version of the Hex Chart is not guaranteed to have 100% colour accuracy due to the nature of digital reproduction and if printed out, variation in individual printer calibration. With this in mind, it is still a very useful reference.

 

Due to the limited lightfastness of Copic Markers (this is variable – some colours will fade more than others), it is a worthwhile task to colour a new version after a period of time. I’d suggest perhaps once a year. Having a relatively fresh version of your colour charts will ensure that you are seeing as accurate a representation of the colours as possible.

 

 2016_05_30_markergeekmonday_hexchart_refresh

 

Periodically renewing your colour charts also provides an ideal opportunity for doing some marker maintenance. While you’re colouring your chart you might notice markers which need refilling or markers in need of some cleaning and maybe nib changes. Make sure you grab your beverage of choice and pop on something in the background to keep you entertained!

 

I hope you have a fantastic week filled with colour! Share your colour chart experiences and thoughts with us in the comments below or share pics over on Instagram using #markergeekmonday . Don’t be shy, we want to hear from you all!

 

MWAH!

 

Elaineabella

 

Disclaimer: I was not asked to write this post by Sandy Allnock, although I was provided with a copy of the Hex Chart to participate in her April 2015 blog hop. I have been using the Hex Chart since that time, every time I colour with Copics. All opinions are my own.