PaperFections

Shadows & Shading

Hello Friends! Today I wanted to share a wonderful resource that often helps me with my colored image shading and contrast: Marianne Walker's Shadows and Shading book is great for beginners -- either papercrafters or general artists -- everyone who colors can learn something from it. This reference book helps you add shadows to give your images more dimension. The book does not teach you to draw, rather it helps you add shadows and shading to your artwork, for a more realistic look. It will help you understand different kinds of light sources and the difference between shading and cast shadows. The book teaches you how to properly color a variety of objects, from simple to complex, plus shadow color theory! It is not Copic-specific; rather, it is filled with principles that can be used by people who love Copic markers, or people who can't imagine coloring with anything other than their colored pencils, or people who wouldn't dream of using a medium other than watercolors. Seriously, it's good stuff for everyone! This wire-bound book comes with 4 guides printed on clear acetate to help you add shadows and shading properly on your own work. Simply place the overlay(s) on... Read more →

Planner Dashboard

Happy Friday, Friends! Summer is finally winding down here in south Texas and we've been a lot cooler (in the 70's, LOL!). So the cooler weather inspired a fun Fall project: A monthly divider dashboard for my planner! I hope you'll join me for all the details on how to create your own custom planner or scrapbook page with the Fuse tool over on Ellen Hutson's the CLASSroom blog today! Read more →

Watercolor Rose Background

Happy Friday, friends! Today I have a bold and bright watercolor background to share with you over on Ellen Hutson's the CLASSroom blog. I hope you'll join me there for all the details! It's homecoming weekend here already, so we're ready for high school Friday night football! What will you be doing? Read more →

Stamps on Sale!

Hello and happy Thursday! I wanted to pass along this fabulous tidbit of info to all of my stamping friends . . . 20% off ALL Stamps at Ellen Hutson LLC!! So don't miss out on those stamp sets you may have had an eye on . . . Get them before they are gone, because this savings applies only to currently in-stock items and only through this Saturday, Sept 17 at midnight Pacific! Click the coupon above or HERE to shop the entire Stamp Category! Read more →

Copic Studiiio App

Imagination International, Inc. is inviting you to beta test Studii!o, a new app for managing your collection of markers and connecting with artists! Simply answer a few quick questions (it will only take one minute!), to be one of the first users. Start HERE or click the graphic above. Read more →

Thanks in my Heart

Happy Friday, friends! Today I have another fun-to-create beautiful background card to share with you, using some fabulous new stamps and dies from Concord & 9th: (Click on any photo for a larger view. Bold products are linked below in the supply section). To create this background, I used my favorite new'ish toy, Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolor set. I've had the small 12-set of these professional watercolors for a while ... I wanted to test them out to see how I liked them. Well, to say I loved them is a huge understatement, so this sweet 36-set showed up at my door this week! I've also been enjoying creating stamped watercolor a lot lately, so I thought I would see if it could be done with these watercolors. Test results are in . . . it works great! Using a waterbrush, I used only a small amount of water to pick up some color from the dark pink color "cake" in the palette. Then I painted it onto the heart from Concord & 9th's Give Thanks stamp set, and stamped onto watercolor paper. If you are not pleased with the results, just add a little more water to the stamped... Read more →

Painted Thank You

Hello, happy Friday, and happy September to you all! I'm helping Concord & 9th celebrate their first birthday in the stamping world, today over in Ellen Hutson's the CLASSroom! I hope you'll join me there for all the details on how to create this easy watercolored thank you card, with gold heat embossed accents! I hope you will be enjoying a nice and relaxing holiday weekend! Read more →