August 24, 2016
6 Comments
Hello Sistahs and Happy Wednesday! I’m a child of the 80’s and when I saw the stamp Uptown Girl FARRAH Loves FLASHDANCE I just knew I had to like totally have it!
I wanted to go totally 80’s with this card and to achieve the bright neon colors, I put aside my Copics and pulled out my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I just love how saturated and bright they are even after adding some water to them. To make the card a little bit more fun, I decided to make a shaker window with bright neon sequins. The background paper is this fun iridescent paper that really catches the light. I’m sure I had some sort of outfit that had that texture on it back in the day! For details on what supplies I used and how I created this card, pop on over to my blog: www.owlbecrafty.blogspot.com
Before I go, I just have to share the inside of the card. That sentiment is just too perfect! Can’t wait to give this to one of girlfriends from grade school. It will be like totally perfect!
Hope you all have a great week and I’ll see you next Wednesday Sistahs!!
Jenny
August 23, 2016 2 Comments
Hey folks, Elaineabella here! It’s Tuesday again, so I’m back with my giant spotlight ready to shine it on some of my favourite stamps in the Stamping Bella collection. We have a fantastic range of images, old and new, and they all deserve a lot of love and attention! Hopefully today I can either inspire you to pull out some of the stamps in your collection and get them inked up, or to add some new to you stamps that you may have previously missed! Where possible I’ve also added links to useful content to help you colour and create with the stamps.
The Uptown Girls range has been a favourite at Stamping Bella for quite some time now, and those leggy lovelies have found their way into many stamp collections across the globe. In 2015 we introduced you to their little sisters – The Tiny Townies. I think it’s safe to say they found a place in all of our stamping hearts too! It’s no secret, I am a sucker for cute, so I absolutely love the Tiny Townies. I also have four young nieces so the Tiny Townies are definitely earning their place in my stamp collection. 😉
Let’s take a look at some of my favourites so far.
First up is Petunia Gets a PiggyBack:
This one puts a gorgeous little Tiny Townie with our lovely Petunia Pig from The Woodsies collection. Such a fun image, and as usual Em put a lovely sentiment in the set with it. Use the image with the included sentiment for a great friendship card or a cute and sentimental card for a young relative. Or pair the image with another sentiment for a fun any occasion card or birthday card. You can see more of Petunia the Pig in my Spotlight On The Woodsies post!
Here’s a gorgeous card from Stephabella!
Watch me colour Petunia gets a Piggy Back below or in HD over on YouTube.
Our adorable little bookworm Tiny Townie Dorothy the Dreamer is definitely one of my personal favourites.
Simple reason – she reminds me of me! I’ve been a bookworm since I can remember. Substitute the cuddly monster for a dog and this could almost be a photo. 😉
The quote stamp on this card comes with our little bookworm’s big sister – Uptown Girl Rebecca Loves to Read.
I think Tiny Townie Bree Loves Buttercream might be one of my favourite images to colour.
It’s that giant cake. Love it. No. Wait. It’s the big ruffled skirt. It may also be those pigeon toes. Can’t resist.
Check out Fayeabella’s fabulous card. Love that all that yellow. So bright and happy!
Watch me colour Tiny Townie Bree Loves Buttercream in the video below or in HD over on YouTube.
Also for a step by step guide to colouring those big puffy ruffled skirts, click through and check out my recent Marker Geek Monday post: Marker Geek Monday Copic Colouring a Ruffled Skirt Step by Step and Colouring Video.
Feisty little Tiny Townie Hayley the Hero is another firm favourite.
So cute and so determined. She’s going to take on the world, she’s going to succeed. Or she’s going to give her brother a super wedgie. Maybe both, not necessarily in that order.
Michelleabella made a fantastic card featuring little Hayley.
Next up, our festive Tiny Townie Jenny Feels Joyful!
I feel Christmassy just looking at her. Notice those Cool Chicks have managed to insert themselves into the picture again. There’s no shaking those guys. Seriously, they just fly right back. I say fly, I mean flap their little wings ineffectually and bump into things.
Love Michelleabella’s beautiful card.
Adorable little Tiny Townie Blossom loves Balloons is utterly squishable.
That dress can be a fun challenge to colour if you want to add the folds and colour the pattern. Might have to include it in a Marker Geek Monday sometime soon!
If you want to see how I created the cloudy sky background for Blossom on this card, pop on over to my blog post for the step by step guide: Simple Cloudy Sky Background with Stamping Bella.
Finally, a particularly adorable stamp set – Tiny Townie Melissa Loves Movies.
Yep. There they are again, all over the place. Can’t even watch a movie in peace. So cute though. Must be a scary movie, look at them all peeking from behind their wings. Well, I think one of the ones under the chair is actually hoovering up popcorn with his beak. Judging by the one under the chair with his face fully covered it HAS to be a horror movie, or an Adam Sandler flick. 😉
This one comes with the fab “best friend” sentiment as pictured, but I think it would make a fun card for anyone. It would be fantastic on a card for a young family member who loves movies – maybe with some tickets or a cinema gift card inside!
Love the way Paulabella coloured this one in her soft, cozy style. *happy sigh*
NOTE: Our fabulous Kerribella shared a helpful colouring tutorial in the last DT Thursday post, featuring another fantastic Tiny Townie – Sally Rides Her Snail. Click through to check it out: DT Thursday Colouring Skin Tones with Derwent Inktense Pencils. Of course the tutorial would apply to any character image, so give it a go with some of the other Tiny Townies!
Hopefully I’ve inspired you to add some Tiny Townies to your collection, or if you already have to get them stamped up!
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
August 22, 2016 10 Comments
Hey folks! Elaineabella here with another Marker Geek Monday post to kick off a week of colouring fun.
If you missed last week’s post you may want to click through and check it out – Marker Geek Monday: Give Your Cards the WOW Factor with a Galaxy Background. In the post I shared my step by step technique for colouring a night sky or galaxy effect background using Copic markers, along with a video that includes audio commentary. I also shared some card samples and suggestions for other images in the Stamping Bella range that would look amazing with a similar background.
Today I’m taking a break from my markers and sharing some inspiration and tips for working with coloured pencils. Because it is so important in the colouring process, I’m focusing on PAPER CHOICE.
As with most mediums, when working with coloured pencils the paper you use will make a huge difference to the results you can achieve. Choose a paper suited to the medium you have chosen, and you will more than likely see an immediate difference in how well you are able to work with it.
If you usually colour with alcohol based markers like Copics and are now branching out into colouring with pencils, you will almost certainly want to choose a different paper to work with. The smooth papers that work so beautifully with markers are not ideal for pencil work, as they don’t have much for the pencils to grip on to. Laying down colour and blending will be tough. This doesn’t mean you can’t use pencils in conjunction with your markers – if you are enhancing your marker work and adding finer details on top, the paper shouldn’t present a real problem, but for colouring an entire image, you would do better to select a more pencil friendly paper.
Papers which are suitable for coloured pencil work will have some “tooth”.
When referring to paper, “tooth” means that the paper surface has some texture. The texture gives something for the pigment to catch on and allows you to build up a nice rich coverage of colour. The paper has tiny hills and valleys on the surface. As the pencil hits the hills or ridges in the surface, they catch the pigment.
A rough texture will allow for more layering, but will also require more layering to ensure an even coverage. A very smooth paper will take less layers before the pencil has nothing to hold on to. Something in between is ideal, allowing for layering but not having a visible texture that will be hard to cover.
TOP TIP: Don’t forget to keep your pencils sharp – this will help greatly with laying down colour, especially on a paper with some texture as it will allow the pigment to get into the valleys.
The paper that actually works for you will depend greatly on your colouring style, and what you are colouring. Papers with more texture will allow for more layering of colour, but may not be good for colouring details.
Different types of coloured pencil will also be best suited by different papers. Wax based pencils like the Prismacolor brand may be better suited to a softer textured paper, whereas oil based pencils like the Faber-Castell Polychromos brand may work better on a harder surface. Whether this difference will be greatly noticeable when colouring stamped images is debatable.
As always, I recommend testing as many papers as you can, in order to find the one that works best for you. The suggestions here include only papers which I have tried personally. Try papers you already have, inexpensive options and those readily available to you before going on a spending spree!
If using a blending solution with a paper stump or brush to blend your pencils on the paper, you may find that you can happily use a smoother surface than if you use just the pencils to blend on the paper.
If you also have some favourite papers for coloured pencil work, please do share them in the comments section below!
I had some fun colouring up a favourite stamp from this year so far – Stamping Bella Manly Chicks – using three different brands of coloured pencil, including one budget friendly option – Staedtler Ergosoft Coloured Pencils, to show that with decent paper you can achieve nice results even with inexpensive pencils.
TOP TIP: If you’re not satisfied with the results you’re getting in your coloured pencil work, rather than giving up or rushing to blow your budget upgrading your coloured pencils to a more expensive range, try evaluating and changing your paper first.
All three versions of the image were coloured on Daler Rowney “The Langton” hot pressed watercolour paper. No solvent/blending solution was used, just coloured pencils working from dark to light.
For more information and inspiration regarding working with coloured pencils, please see these earlier Marker Geek Monday posts:
Over on my own blog – Marker Geek – I also have a recent post discussing some of the differences between Prismacolor pencils and Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils, and my personal preference. The post includes a pencil coloured version of Flowersbehindmybackabella along with a full colour map showing the pencil colours used. Click through to read: Flowersbehindmybackabella Colouring with Polychromos Pencils vs Prismacolor.
You can also watch me colouring Flowersbehindmybackabella using Polychromos pencils in the video below or in HD over on YouTube.
If you try out the techniques shown in this post with your Stamping Bella stamps, be sure to share! Take a look through your collection, or add some more from the website and see what you can come with! We would love to see the results and hear how you feel about them. Show off your creations in the comments below and even better, share your own favourite tips with us. Let’s talk colour!
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!
If you’re on Facebook join us in our private chat group Stamping Bella Sistahood to share your creations there and chat all things Stamping Bella related!
Until next time, HAPPY COLOURING!
MWAH
Elaineabella
August 20, 2016 6 Comments
Hiya sistahs!
Hope you had a great week 🙂
Our posts this week, in my humble opinion, were so inspiring weren’t they?
Our challenge this week was an inspiration photo
so pretty!
Some sad news today, Our TRACYBELLA has stepped down from our design team.. She has such a busy life raising two teens, floating in her pool.. eating DELICIOUS pizza (you should follow her on FB LOL).. and taking classes and work! I don’t know how she does it. She was an amazing and integral part of our team and we love her dearly. I’m hoping if I beg long enough for her to ignore her children, her husband and her home that she will come back fast *hint *hint…
MWAH tracybella for all you have done for da team.. and for your CONTAGIOUS sense of humour and passion for so many things. MWAH MWAH MWAH
Now let’s see what the baberoonis came up with for our PHOTO INSPIRATION
Dana used our MASON JAR OF HEARTS stamp and CUT IT OUT DIE bundle
Faye-W-J-ABELLA used HONEYBEAR STUFFIES
Kerribella used FLOWER FOR A TRUE FRIEND
Sandiebella used uptown girl BRIGITTE the BRIDE
Shelabella used Uptown couple EMILY and RYAN under the UMBRELLA
Stephabella used MASON JAR OF FLOWERS
These are so so inspiring!
Now for our INLINKZ contributions.. click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the post to see all the wonderful contributions!
and now for the emailed contributions!
Fay used RAMONA and her WAGON
Maria used DAISY BASE for Edna Blows a KISS
Nancee used GIGI the giraffe stuffie
Amazing contributions!
now for next week’s theme?
a MOJOBELLA SKETCH!
all you have to do is follow the sketch and use a CURRENT Stamping Bella stamp and POOF you can send it over 🙂
Can’t wait to see what you all create!
We hope you’ve enjoyed checking out this Bellarific Friday post and are feeling inspired to try out our challenges!. If you do, make sure you drop by and share with us! You can get in touch in all the following ways:
Happy Stamping!
August 18, 2016 9 Comments
Time for another Design Team Thursday! This week we’ve got a fabulous colouring tutorial for you, from our lovely Kerribella, showing you how to colour Stamping Bella images using Derwent Inktense Pencils. There aren’t any obvious skin tone shades in the pencil range, so if you’ve been struggling to choose colours to use and how to blend them to create a natural skin tone this may help!
Hi, it’s Kerribella, and for DT Thursday today I am sharing my technique for watercolouring skintones with Derwent Inktense Pencils.
Supply List:
Inktense Colors:
After stamping your image using Staz On ink on watercolour paper, leave it to dry. Ensure that the ink is fully dry before colouring.
Take your Derwent Inktense pencils and starting with the Saddle Brown pencil draw a thin line of colour where you would find a shadow.
Wet your brush, making sure it is not dripping with water but just slightly wet. Work the line of colour out towards the center of the face. You may have to rinse your brush periodically as the center of the face should remain light. Before moving on let this dry. For this technique it is important to let the colour dry between each layer as you build up the colour.
Repeat this process for the rest of the skin areas.
You may wish to repeat the process twice to achieve the desired level of colour. I did, but try it and see what you prefer.
Take your Baked Earth pencil and after making sure your layers are dry apply a thin line and work the colour into the center of the face.
In the same way use a little Madder Brown to deepen your shadows, remembering to first ensure the previous layer is dry.
Using either Crimson or Carmine Pink apply a very small amount for the cheeks and blend out.
Here’s the completed image on a card!
TOP TIPS:
Always remember to let each layer completely dry before continuing. This will allow you to build up colour without it becoming a mess, as Derwent Inktense Pencils are permanent when dry.
It is easier to add colour than to remove it, so use colour sparingly and build up slowly.
Kerribella
We hope you’ve enjoyed checking out Kerribella’s tutorial and are feeling inspired to try it out yourselves. If you do, make sure you drop by and share with us! You can get in touch in all the following ways:
Happy Stamping!
August 17, 2016 4 Comments
Hello Sistahs and Happy Wednesday! For this week’s card, I decided to use a couple of fun techniques but I kept the design clean and simple so the adorable Uptown Girl Monique Loves Macarons was the focus. The first technique I used was no-line Copic coloring. I stamped the image in a Copic friendly light brown ink. I then carefully colored it in with my markers. I’m always a bit skeptical of how it will turn out at the beginning but by the end the results are so satisfying. It makes the image look more like a sketch. A little time consuming, but so worth it!
no
I searched for some patterned paper to compliment the image and just couldn’t find the right one so I grabbed my watercolors and made my own. I used a small square brush and carefully brushed lines across the paper. I didn’t mind if they weren’t entirely straight because it added to the whimsy of the image. I’m a big fan of this technique because it makes it a one of a kind piece of art. Here’s a close up of some of the details:
Lastly, I love the sentiment that comes with this set but I just couldn’t figure out a way to make it work on the front. I had some cute little teal doilies in my stash and thought they would be the perfect mat for the sentiment. So I stamped it up and adhered it to the inside of the card. I try to make the inside of my cards just as special as the outside. It’s like a bonus for the recipient!
Hope you all have a great week and I’ll see you next Wednesday Sistahs!!
Jenny
