Marker Geek Monday: Oddball Witch Colouring Video!

Hey folks! Today I’ve got a new Copic colouring video from the latest release to share with you!

First, here’s another look at the card I created for the release.

Now watch me colour Oddball Witch in the video below or in HD over on YouTube!

Love this stamp set! As always, I say a witch isn’t just for Halloween. 😉 You can buy the stamp set and coordinating die set HERE.

Catch you later!

~Elaineabella

Marker Geek Monday: Spooky Haunted House Card

Happy Monday! Elaineabella here with a card to share today. I decided to play with the Haunted House stamp again, giving it a spookier look this time around.

Love this stamp! I stamped in a pale ink, then coloured it using Copic markers, finishing off with Polychromos coloured pencils (mostly Dark Sepia) to add extra texture and shadows. The background is Copics, with some Colourless Blender splatter, and Distress Ink in Black Soot at the edges to create the vignette effect.

The sentiment is from the fab Fall Sentiment Set, heat embossed in Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder.

Copic Markers Used:

Ground: BG93,BG96,BG99 Sky: BV29,BG78,BG75,BG57 Door/Windows: BV25,BV29,FV2 Wood: E43,E44,E47 Walls: BG70,BG93,BG96 Roof Tiles: C4,C6,C9

That’s it from me for today! Catch you tomorrow for Spotlight Tuesday.

~Elaineabella

Marker Geek Monday: Oddball Snowman & Thanksgiving Colouring Videos

Elaineabella here! I’m working my way through editing and uploading the colouring videos for the NEW RELEASE. I’ve got two more to share with you today!

Oddball Snowman Colouring video:

Watch me colour him in the video below or in HD over on YouTube.

You can find the Oddball Snowman stamp and die sets HERE.

Thanksgiving Oddball Colouring video:

Watch me colour her in the video below or in HD over on YouTube.

You can find the Thanksgiving Oddball stamp and die sets HERE.

Happy colouring!

Elaineabella

Marker Geek Monday: Tiny Townie Bonnie & No Line Colouring

Elaineabella here with another Marker Geek Monday for you! I had hoped to have a completed card to share with you today, but my desk is covered in cards for the new release previews which start this week! I do however have a coloured image to share with you, and a little reminder of some previous posts that might help you out with “No Line” colouring.

For today’s colouring I stamped Tiny Townie Bonnie loves Bows, who you can currently grab at 25% off as the August Stamp of the Month Offer! Be quick though, offer ends on 31st August.

Adorable, isn’t she? A little “no line” colouring was just the thing for my funk – it always presents a challenge and wakes the brain up a bit. For some tips and more examples featuring Stamping Bella stamps, check out these posts:

Happy colouring! If you have given no line colouring a go with Stamping Bella stamps, pop a link in the comments section below, I would love to see!

~Elaineabella

Marker Geek Monday: How Do You Find Your Spark?

Elaineabella here, wondering how we ended up on Monday again!

Before I get into today’s topic, I want to thank you all for your responses to last week’s topic – Marker Geek Monday Approaching Colouring. It is fascinating to hear from you, and get some differing opinions and ideas, as well as to hear some similarities. I hope you will join me again today, and let me know your thoughts on another key issue we all seem to face from time to time.

I’ve mentioned a few times recently that my mojo has gone wandering. Where exactly it has gone wandering to, I have no idea. I also have no clue as to when it plans to return. This happens sometimes, and it is often linked to my general mood and things going on in daily life. Creativity can be such a sensitive, flighty, creature. It is also the case that the creative spark can be present, but the motivation to do the work has gone on strike. It would be fair to say that I mostly tend to experience the latter. The ideas are there, the focus to settle down to work and the energy to see it through have gone AWOL. An abundance of ideas seems to exacerbate the problem and create a sense of complete overwhelm.

What often works for me is to take the pressure off. This can be tricky, with commitments that need to be met, and lots of behind the scenes work in need of completion. I find that allowing myself to let some of the less urgent, non-priority work and creative ideas slide for a while often helps. I’ve seen it referred to as “refilling the well” – taking some time to relax and do other things we enjoy, allowing the inspiration and motivation to come back naturally. I make notes of ideas that come to me during this time, and act on them when the spark returns.

Another approach is to push through, to show up and do the thing, whatever it may be. I have found less success with this approach, and it possibly depends on what the underlying reason for the lack of motivation/creative spark is.

Taking a wander through past creations can help, remembering the feeling of enjoyment experienced when working on them. Looking at other people’s work can help to inspire, although I find it can also have the opposite effect, so it is a case of knowing yourself and finding a balance.

Something that does help me significantly during these times is to reorganise my craft-room – going through, finding stamps and supplies that have been languishing under piles of other “stuff” and sitting untouched in boxes for months. The act of tidying up and removing clutter also tends to help me, as I get quite overwhelmed by mess when I’m trying to work and create. It doesn’t always work, but it is a useful approach to try!

What do you think? Do you often experience this problem? How do you deal with it? Do you find it stressful, or do you just go with the flow? Have you found that there are specific triggers for it?

I’m interested to hear your thoughts and experiences whether you craft purely for pleasure, have design team commitments and pressures, sell your cards etc.

Until next week!

Elaineabella

 

Marker Geek Monday: Approaching Colouring

Elaineabella here, in a sort of contemplative mood! I’m still in a bit of a funk, pulling together my samples and other behind the scenes stuff for the next Stamping Bella release, and trying to do a little creative jumpstarting on myself in-between it all. It just so happens that colouring can be a very good activity both to help keep your creative toe in the water, and to give your hands something to do while your brain picks over everything. I can recommend it!

Today I thought I’d open up a discussion with you about how we approach colouring. As with so many things, there is no one right or wrong way, and it very much depends on the individual, our preferences and also on what we’re hoping to achieve as an end result.

I’ve always been envious of card-makers that have the ability to mix and match patterned papers to create a perfectly coordinated yet still home-spun effect. Even more of the card-makers out there that manage to create a perfectly coordinated coloured image to go with the papers. It gives me a warm, cosy feeling looking at the photos of their cards and projects. Let’s not get started on the card-makers that also manage to create perfectly staged photographs to show off their cards. The green-eyed monster may break free! Just kidding – I love seeing their creations, and their beautiful photographs, and I’ve accepted that it just isn’t me.

I’m an impatient, fidgety creator that has an abundance of ideas and nowhere near enough energy to execute even a fraction of them. I get an itch to colour something, and want to sit and colour it, not sit and plan the perfect card. I grab my stuff, go with colours that come to me as I look at the image, and then work out the details later. I used to regret this every time I sat down to make a card with my coloured images, resolving to take a different approach next time, to be “better”. Sometimes I would actually try, only to find that the process sucked all of the joy out of it for me. Now, instead of trying to force myself to be someone else, I go with it. I don’t buy endless pads of pretty papers that make me feel bad when none of them match my colouring (I have a small collection of paper pads, and allow myself to feel like the planets have aligned when they match). Instead I keep things simple, and use neutrals, or use my Copics or Distress Ink/Distress Oxide collection to create coordinating coloured layers.

Over the weekend I felt the itch to colour one of my favourite Tiny Townies – Tiny Townie Hattie loves Halloween. I stamped her up, grabbed my coloured pencils and headed for the dining table for some relaxing colouring fun.

Hattie was stamped on hot pressed watercolour paper, then coloured using Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils with Winsor & Newton Sansodor blending solution.

Little Hattie is such a cute witch. She may have turned out a little Hermione Grainger-ish, because I’m currently listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks while colouring (again). Not that Hermione would be found riding a broom…

In fact, this isn’t the first time I’ve coloured Hattie using pencils. Here’s one from last year, equally unplanned, just an experiment playing with pencils on toned tan paper.

Both versions of Hattie will make it on to a card soon, in spite of the fact that I had no plan when colouring her, no papers in mind. Just me, flying by the seat of my pants as always, and that’s okay!

Now, I’d love to hear from you! How do you approach colouring? Do you get stuck in, with no plan, or are you more meticulous? How do you feel about it?

~Elaineabella

Marker Geek Monday Playing with Pencils & Blending Solution Options

Elaineabella here with a Marker Geek Monday post for you!

Now, I know, it is still summer. Believe me, I know. I’m over it. Every year, around July/August I start longing for October, and I have a deep desire to colour all of the autumn related things. This works pretty well for all the release colouring I tend to do around this time (hint, I just finished the next release and it is brilliant), but not so well for getting all the fun summer themed stuff done. Oh well! Anyway, I’m still in a bit of a funk, but I’ve been feeling drawn to my coloured pencils, so I thought I would play around do a little autumn themed colouring.

As a follow on from my last Marker Geek Monday post HERE, I decided to use blending solution with my pencils again, which is something I fell out of love with years ago. Here, now, in 2018, I’m back in love. Hooray! I spent a little time testing out some of the blending solution options I have on hand, to see what worked best, with each of my coloured pencils.

I won’t go into the testing in full depth, but a few observations for you:

  • Out of the options I have on hand, Winsor & Newton Sansodor performed best, closely followed by Zest It Pencil Blend. The Sansodor seemed to move the pigment around a little more.
  • Copic Colourless Blender worked quite well, which is good to know in a pinch! Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) would also work.
  • I did not care for Turpenoid at all, and I didn’t find the results to be that great.
  • The paper you use, as always, makes a difference. It isn’t always a huge difference, but it is often noticeable. Moving the pigment around on my preferred paper vs a cheap plain cardstock was much easier, although the cheaper cardstock did also yield decent end results.

That’s it for now, I’ll leave you with today’s colouring and my dreams of autumn…

Stamp Used: The Littles Pumpkin Friends (coordinating die also available)

I stamped the image on hot press watercolour paper and coloured using Faber Castell Polychromos coloured pencils with Sansodor to blend.

Colours Used: Skin – Light Flesh, Cinnamon, Medium Flesh, Dark Sepia Hair – Bistre, Burnt Sienna, Dark Sepia Scarf & Pumpkin Stalks – May Green, Olive Green Yellowish Dress – Violet, Mauve, Dark Sepia Pumpkins – Terra cotta, Sanguine, Burnt Sienna Hedgehog – Nougat, Van Dyck Brown Fox – Nougat, Sanguine, Indian Red Ground – Bistre, Van Dyck Brown, Dark Sepia Sky – Light Ultramarine, Ultramarine

Note: One thing I remembered while colouring was that my least favourite thing about colouring using this method has always been colouring skin. It always turns out a little dirty/patchy looking to me. With that in mind, I’ll probably grab my Copics for that area next time, or use the pencils without the blending solution.

Over To You!

What do you prefer to do when colouring with coloured pencils? Do you use a blending solution, or just the pencils?

Share your personal favourite Stamping Bella creations with us. We LOVE to see what you’ve been creating with Stamping Bella stamps. Share a link to your latest Stamping Bella card in the comments below, or an old favourite you made a while ago. Tell us what your favourite stamps are. Are there any additions you would like to see to the range? Let us know!

Another way to connect is by joining us in the Stamping Bella Sistahood Facebook Group and share your pictures.

If you are posting your images online, we would love to see them on Instagram and all the platforms mentioned above. To make it easier for us to find you just use #markergeekmonday and/or #stampingbella as a hashtag. Even better tag me @markergeek and @stampingbella . We love it when you connect, so don’t be shy!

Until next time, HAPPY STAMPING!

MWAH

Elaineabella

Marker Geek Monday: Tiny Townie Fairy Garden Fairy House – 2 Ways with Coloured Pencil

Elaineabella here with a Marker Geek Monday post for you!

If you read last week’s post, you will know that I’m taking a little time to do some creative play and exploration with no pressure. The summer always seems to lend itself to this for me, possibly because the heat makes me quite lazy! I’m still playing and familiarising myself with watercolour, but in a very low-key way.

This week I decided to play with a stamp I’ve been wanting to revisit for a while – Tiny Townie Fairy Garden Fairy House. I love this stamp, and the whimsical storybook vibe was just begging for the coloured pencil treatment.

If you’ve been following me here or on my own blog, you may be aware that I almost always use coloured pencil without any blending solution, using just the pencils themselves to layer and blend. A lot of people ask about this when I post coloured pencil work, so I thought I would have some fun, reacquaint myself with my blending stumps and blending solution, and do a little comparison for you! I also wanted to try creating something a little softer than my usual style.

Here are my coloured images. I used the same brand and colours of pencil for each. The only real differences are that I used Zest It pencil blending solution on the left hand image, and I opted not to try and add the sky on the right hand image. Both images were stamped using InkOn3 Fade Out No Line Detail ink.

Marker Geek Monday: Tiny Townie Fairy Garden House - 2 Ways with Coloured Pencil

I used the same combination of colours on both versions. The colours of the purple flowers came out a little differently, possibly because the blending solution allowed the colours on the left hand version to blend and the Sepia pencil I used changed the tone of the purple.

Both versions turned out nicely. Before making cards using the images I may go in and add the suggestion of sky to the right hand version, using the blending solution to help create the soft look. I prefer the texture of the door on the right hand version, but I find the flowers more appealing on the left hand version.

Over To You!

What do you prefer to do when colouring with coloured pencils? Do you use a blending solution, or just the pencils?

Share your personal favourite Stamping Bella creations with us. We LOVE to see what you’ve been creating with Stamping Bella stamps. Share a link to your latest Stamping Bella card in the comments below, or an old favourite you made a while ago. Tell us what your favourite stamps are. Are there any additions you would like to see to the range? Let us know!

Another way to connect is by joining us in the Stamping Bella Sistahood Facebook Group and share your pictures.

If you are posting your images online, we would love to see them on Instagram and all the platforms mentioned above. To make it easier for us to find you just use #markergeekmonday and/or #stampingbella as a hashtag. Even better tag me @markergeek and @stampingbella . We love it when you connect, so don’t be shy!

Until next time, HAPPY STAMPING!

MWAH

Elaineabella

Marker Geek Monday: Creative Funks & New Journeys

Since the release I’ve been in a bit of a creative funk, due in no small part to the heatwave here in the UK. Let’s just say, I’m dreaming of Autumn!

Instead of fighting my funk, I’m using this as an opportunity to slow down and do a little creative exploration. I can highly recommend it.

I’ve long been drawn to watercolour as a medium, but it doesn’t sit in my comfort zone. As someone who can be a little impatient, and somewhat of a control freak, watercolour is a bit scary! So, I collect and hoard the supplies, then make excuses like “no time”, “too busy”, “can’t do it”. I’m sure this will be a familiar story to many of you, whatever the medium.

The thing is…we don’t grow unless we stretch ourselves, and sitting in a comfortable little box won’t help with that.

So here goes! I’ve started playing by familiarising myself with my existing supplies, while checking out YouTube videos and some books that I already owned. Thankfully I also have some perfect stamping supplies to help the process, and I’ve been enjoying using those to start my exploration of watercolour.

The Danielle’s Swatch Kit collection is perfect for cataloging and experimenting with supplies. I’ve been stamping the Paint Chips stamps on off-cuts of watercolour paper, which is a great way to use up all those scraps. I’ll be sticking them in my notebooks/journals. It has been so relaxing to just stamp the swatches, fill them in, and then trim the pieces down. I’m taking it slow, keeping it low pressure, and enjoying the process.

Over To You!

What would YOU like to learn, but haven’t yet found the time or courage for? Have you already started a new creative journey? Let me know in the comments below!

Share your personal favourite Stamping Bella creations with us. We LOVE to see what you’ve been creating with Stamping Bella stamps. Share a link to your latest Stamping Bella card in the comments below, or an old favourite you made a while ago. Tell us what your favourite stamps are. Are there any additions you would like to see to the range? Let us know!

Another way to connect is by joining us in the Stamping Bella Sistahood Facebook Group and share your pictures.

If you are posting your images online, we would love to see them on Instagram and all the platforms mentioned above. To make it easier for us to find you just use #markergeekmonday and/or #stampingbella as a hashtag. Even better tag me @markergeek and @stampingbella . We love it when you connect, so don’t be shy!

Until next time, HAPPY STAMPING!

MWAH

Elaineabella