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Friday, 24 February 2017

New toys!

I finally got a set of Zig Clean Colour Real Brush Markers - yay!! There's a long way to go yet in terms of blending, getting used to lighter touches, using the right paper (thanks to me finding tips on Loll's blog it's Strathmore Mixed Media paper you should use) - and a whole raft of stuff. But, this is my very first play - put your sunshades on, it's BRIGHT!:
There were a few hiccups along the way, which I'll confess to as we go.

I used:

 - 4.25" x 5.5" white card blank, side opening

 - piece of black card for the outer 'frame'

 - piece of Tim Holtz 'Distress Watercolour' cardstock onto which I stamped an edging of flowers

 - the flowers were stamped using a stamp from the Tim Holtz 'Flower Garden' set and Ranger Archival Black ink

 - at this point I really wish I'd then embossed the outlines, although I did go to the trouble of making a mask of the flower (using a snippet of Woodware Mask-It sheet) and using that when stamping the flower outlines

 - then I coloured in the flowers using Zig markers and a water brush. Walked away when I realised how bright and stark the flowers looked without any real shading - I now have the Strathmore Mixed Media paper which I hope will be better for blending

 - on returning I then stamped the sentiment and botched it up - walked away again

 - stamped the sentiment onto a piece of fresh card, several attempts. I now know that stamp is distorted right at one end and leaves a little smudge - a stamp now destined for the bin sadly (tee, hee - I popped my watermark over the smudge to hide it in the photo above!)

 - trimmed the piece of white card with the best stamping of the sentiment I could manage

 - fussy cut the flower border and glued it to the edge of the sentiment panel

 - glued the whole image/sentiment panel to the black panel on the card front

 - still didn't look right to me so I followed one of Loll's ideas and added white dots to the flowers, using a white pen

A long way to go - but it was great fun playing - despite battling a ripped nail which is all bound up making my right paw less dextrous than ever! Embossing the outlines is going to make life much easier and I hope the Strathmore Mixed Media paper which has a vellum surface will help too. It certainly feels lovely and smooth!






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32 comments:

  1. Karen P24 February 2017 at 00:59

    Beautiful stamping and colouring Di, I love my set of those stamps they have to be one of my favourite all time sets now. I prefer hot pressed Fabriano but it's what I was trained to use when I used to go to art classes. We all have our favourites, have fun playing with your new toys xx

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    Replies
    1. Di24 February 2017 at 09:31

      I have a pad of that hot pressed Fabriano hidden away Karen. I never liked it, sigh.

      Delete
  2. scrappymo!24 February 2017 at 02:12

    This card is so beautiful! i love the brightly coloured flowers. I do not use enough bright colours on my cards. i always love them on other peoples cards so do try at times to loosen up and go bright...but it is hard to do it when you are not used to it...teehee

    I know what you mean about binning a wonky stamp. I have had to do that too...I think it is best to bin them as otherwise you try to compensate for the wonkiness and it is sometimes a waste of paper with the number of attempts it takes to get a clean image...at least for me!

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  3. Preeti D. (aka Dutt Preety)24 February 2017 at 04:15

    This is lovely and cheerful :) love the sentiment and congrats on your new zig markers
    xoxo
    preety

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  4. Loll24 February 2017 at 06:48

    Congrats on your new Zigs!! Great job! The mixed media paper works for me. The biggest thing is to use VERY little water. Just a whisper of water. :) Then the colours will have a smooth blend. And you only have to use a little swipe of colour from the pens and then blend out with the damp brush. Your zigs will last a lot longer, and you can control the brightness that way too. Sorry, unsolicited advice. :) Your card is really beautiful and bright ... and so happy! xx

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  5. Jane24 February 2017 at 07:24

    Great first piece Di....such lovely vibrant colours xxx

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  6. Jane Willis24 February 2017 at 08:15

    Well I love the bold bright colours! Bold and bright has its place, especially among summer flowers.
    Was the stamp that went funny a clear stamp? I've found recently that a few of my oldest clear stamps have been acting very oddly. With some the plastic goes rather hard and brittle and turns pink, and with others they actually seem to MELT even though they are stored in cool conditions. Sometimes one end melts a bit, but I tried to pick one up the other day and it had melted into a kind of goo that completely disintegrated all over my fingers!
    Jane

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    Replies
    1. Di24 February 2017 at 08:34

      It certainly was a clear stamp Jane! Thinking about it, not so long ago I had to ditch a much loved Christmas sentiments set. Luckily I could find a replacement set, no luck so far with this one though. It's a relief to read from you and others that I'm not alone though 😊

      Thanks!

      Hugs

      Di xx

      Delete
    2. AlisonC24 February 2017 at 17:37

      I've had a few stamps disintegrate into a gooey mess too. They were my oldest(and much loved ones) I think possibly acrylic rather than photopolymer, I may be wrong about that though.
      Bright, cheerful card Di, and we look forward to the experiments on the new paper!

      Delete
  7. ellyscard creatief24 February 2017 at 08:34

    Gorgeous card and beautiful coloured flowers.

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  8. Alice (scrAPpamondo)24 February 2017 at 08:45

    Bright and vibrant flowers, beautifully coloured! Congrats on your new Zig brushes, enjoy them! :D I have never tried them, so I can't give you any trick :)

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  9. KandA24 February 2017 at 08:49

    Gorgeous card Di, I love the vibrant colours of the flowers. It's such a shame about the dodgy stamp as it's such a lovely sentiment xx

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  10. Jackie T24 February 2017 at 08:59

    Hi Di this is a gorgeous card the flowers are so pretty and I love the colours you have used. Take care. Hugs Jackie

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  11. !neke24 February 2017 at 10:20

    Those colors !!!!!
    Love it !!!!!!

    Ineke X

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  12. Swissie24 February 2017 at 10:51

    Wow! Wonderful, dear Di!
    Hugs, Liv xx

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  13. Lia24 February 2017 at 12:49

    Di, you did a great job. Love the colouring!!
    Lia, xx

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  14. Em Louise Fairley24 February 2017 at 12:51

    Stunning card, Di. Have fun with your new toys. I've treated myself to some too. Hopefully we'll both see a return of much missed mojo. Try saying that fast. Eeek!
    Hugs,
    Em xoxox

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  15. Elizabeth24 February 2017 at 14:42

    Hello Di, it's a beautiful card - despite your doubts. Enjoyed reading how you overcome the problems you encountered along the way - very clever too and thankfully you didn't need to toss those gorgeous flowers. Like the polka dot effect, of course :) Shame about the sentiment stamp though. Hugs, Elizabeth xx

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  16. Dr Sonia S V24 February 2017 at 14:54

    OOoh enjoy with your new toys Di!!


    Cheers
    Dr Sonia

    ReplyDelete
  17. Heidi MyLittleStampingBlog24 February 2017 at 15:52

    Very pretty, I love the little dots! I use the same paper with my tombow markers and it is really nice paper and makes coloring not so much of a chore. Enjoy your markers!

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  18. Aquarius24 February 2017 at 16:20

    Thanks for sharing all your thoughts about what makes up this card - well worth noting what you've said in case the Zig pens tempt me at some point. Shame about that faulty stamp - if appropriate to the card you could always add a teeny flower or butterfly over the wonky bit!!

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  19. Pat24 February 2017 at 18:42

    These flowers are so bright and pretty Di and your Zig Brush Markers will be great and it always takes a little time to adjust to how different markers perform, they are all different. How frustrating to have that problem with the sentiment too. I haven't had that happen with any of my stamps yet but I only started stamping in 2013 so we shall see. x

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  20. Fikreta24 February 2017 at 19:29

    its very beautiful card!
    hugs

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  21. Barb24 February 2017 at 21:15

    Your card looks lovely Di and I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with your new pens. I've been tempted with these myself but holding fast for a while. It will be interesting to see how you find the Strathmore paper. What a shame about your stamp as it's a lovely sentiment. Barbxx

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  22. Darnell25 February 2017 at 04:29

    How great that you got the Ziggies, Di! Aren't those colors the most vibrant?! I think they are amazing and I love your first card using them! I don't have the hang of thinning that vibrant color direct on the paper yet, so I often scribble the color on my acrylic block and pick it up with my water brush. Loll turned me on to the Mixed Media paper, too, and I love it. Have fun!! Hugs, Darnell

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  23. Whisper25 February 2017 at 12:13

    Oooo absolutely stunning hun, Luv Sam x

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  24. KT Fit Kitty25 February 2017 at 13:38

    This is beautiful! Congrats on your new toy! Looks like you've already mastered them! I haven't tried the Strathmore Mixed Media paper so please let us know how you find it works for blending!

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  25. Greta26 February 2017 at 04:52

    I adore my Zigs & need to get some more, so hope you'll love them, too, Di! In case it's cheaper, Bristol paper also works great & you can blend them with Wink of Stella instead of water for really yummy shimmer! Your brightly colored blooms are so happy!

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  26. Kathyk26 February 2017 at 10:33

    Fab make and such lovely vibrant colours too - enjoy playing with your new toys

    Kathyk

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  27. Craftychris26 February 2017 at 23:38

    I love the bright colours, your flowers look so cool! Speaking of cool, it's soooo cool that you have some Zigs! You lucky, lucky girl! xxx

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  28. Mrs A.3 March 2017 at 11:34

    Still trying to catch up after 4 days away and the Internet AWL. Just seen today's post (part 2) and realised I hadn't seen part 1 !! Anyways just a thought on the sentiment if you still have it (otherwise send Len out to the bin) as its is a clear stamp can you snip the last letter off that smudges making it singular rather than plural?? I think Friends are special Treasure works just as well hugs Me.

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    Replies
    1. Di3 March 2017 at 16:20

      I tried that one and it just didn't look right! Was really lucky and found one, just one, set the same for sale in the UK on line! Phew! Have kept the old set as back up in any case, it's a Hero Arts one and they don't come cheap of course.

      Delete

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