STAEDTLER GIVEAWAY!!!!!

The fabulous folks at STAEDTLER have supplied us with another generous product giveaway!

In celebration of Spring and Mother’s Day, 

we have collected an assortment of STAEDTLER product for you.  

This “Spring Sampler Set” contains the following: 

2 Karat soft pastel chalk sticks, 

2 Marsgraphic Duo brush markers, 

3 Karat watercolor pencils, 

2 triplus fineliners, 

1 triplus color marker, 

1 pigment liner sketch pen, 

1 double-ended calligraphy marker, 

1 watercolor pad, 

1 sketch pad and a creative brochure (Note: product colors may vary). 

The retail value is $28 and there will be 

2 chances to win!

To enter all you have to do is 

1 - join this site using the tab at the bottom of the page (or this link),

2 - leave a comment on this post telling us how you would use these remarkable products.

Drawing is on on Mother’s Day (May 13, 2012)


GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED


Please check out the other Design Team members blogs here: 
April Derrick * Linda Abadie *Lisa Somerville * Dana Colbourne 

 Good Luck and Happy Easter and Mothers Day!!!!

The Never Ending Saga of Blue Haired Mom

Some of you had questions about this painting and the enlargement / reproduction process, so I thought I'd go over it in detail. It's a great way to create copies of your work for alteration or enlargement. Although Lazertran is a bit hard to get a hold of, (and even harder to get someone to put through a professional copier) but I'm sure there are other water-slide decal papers out there. 

I am going to gush a bit about 

STAEDTLER's multi coloured metal leafing .

It's a pretty cool product and creates an amazing impact with a teeny bit of work. Love this stuff.

This is how I made my piece.

This is a scan of the original painting. It is 20cm X 20cm square and I used Genesis heat set oils on canvas to create it. It's a self portrait. Me as an anime type character. 

I copied the original image onto four sheets of Lazertran water-slide decal paper and followed the instruction for application onto a canvas surface. I used Golden artist mediums and varnishes to keep things as archival as possible. This reproduced piece has been enlarged to 61cm X 61cm, more than three times the size of the original piece.

I took this shot so you can see the deep brush strokes I made using Golden clear gels. I used the gels to seal the piece and create some texture and interest on the surface. It also is super great for adhering rhinestones. I do like me some bling. Some torn photocopies of the enlarged original were decoupaged over the piece to give it a Frankenstienian feel. I used the Golden artist mediums right through.

I also choose the super cool STAEDTLER  leafing in multi colour flakes. I applied their gold leaf size in broad swirly brush strokes and followed the instructions on the package to stick on the multi colour metal leaf flakes. It creates interesting depth. Looks like I've distressed the leafing with chemicals and oxidized it, but it really is just one easy step. These techniques can be easily transferred to many different applications like altered art cards, greeting cards, furniture refinishing like table top decoupage, book cover art or memory book pages...... the list is endless. I'm even thinking of trying something like this on a pair of pumps.

This is the same altered image after extensive computer editing. Seems I just can't leave well enough alone. 

Always gilding the lily..............

The Painting Bug

I love to paint, but haven't made time to for ages. Somehow setting aside time to paint feels selfish. Don't get me wrong, I'm equally smitten with sculpting, sewing, building, cooking, sketching and anything else that involves making something...... but I think painting is the root of it all. I miss it. Mom has been going through some old negatives and cleaning out computer files and these images of paintings past were found....... Thought I'd share... and maybe adding it here will help motivate me to get some colour down on something. I'll keep you posted......

An eye study in Genesis heat set oils. I love this medium. This was a study for a class I was teaching.

I had forgotten all about this. It's a detail from a house sign I made as a commission forever ago. This part was just a small piece of the whole plaque. Who doesn't love aliens?

This is a self portrait. The original was Genesis heat set oils. Then it was transfered via Lazertran and enlarged to another canvas and doctored up with STAEDTLER gold leaf and Japanese papers. (I used to wear blue contacts and dye the tips of my hair blue.)

This is a floor mat I created to teach trompe l'oeil. I used Golden artist acrylics and featured their beautiful mica flake line.

Mock abalone with Golden artist acrylic again. This time featuring their interference colour. I still use these paints often when I create dolls. I use Genesis because it can be manipulated on STAEDTLER's Fimo and heat cured right along with the clay, and Golden when I make my eyes to create a realistic sparkle.

Just need two minutes to rub together and a topic to focus on......

Any ideas?

Lemon Aid Nail Art Youtube Video Tutorial.

This weekend I worked on getting a video tutorial up for these summery lemon aid nails.

Here is a link to a tutorial on how I made the nail canes. I used STAEDTLER Fimo.

Go to the Makeitwithme youtube page for a full video tutorial of how I applied these nails and others.

Do you think I should add 3D flowers?

45

This is me......

Today I turned 45......

It was AWESOME!!!!

I would like to say thank you to everyone who had a hand in getting me this far.

You know who you are......

I love you all.

Marsgraphic jr and Embossing Powder Backgrounds for Polymer Clay

I really enjoyed the last dragonfly project and wanted to try to use the STAEDTLER marsgraphic jr watercolour markers with the clear embossing powder to create a watercolour washed background. I love the way it turned out and think there will be many applications for this technique in future project planning.

It reminds me of the colour hidden on the inside of sea shells.

Things you will need to create this project:

STAEDTLER Fimo effects glitter white 052

STAEDTLER marsgraphic jr watercolour brush markers

various garden themed stamps

Gold sparkle embossing powder

Clear embossing powder

I made a ball of Fimo effects glitter white clay and flattened it. I rolled it out a bit to make sure it was even before I pushed the stamp into it. I baked the piece for 10 minutes at 270 degrees and let it cool completely before the next step.

I filled the stamped area of the clay with gold glitter embossing powder and baked the piece at the same temp as before for another 10 minutes and allowed it to cool.

I made a 1/2 cm worm of Fimo and added it to the edge of the piece.

Next I made little Fimo balls and pushed them into the worm edge with the back end of a paintbrush. I baked the piece again for another 10 minutes and let it cool.

I dusted the edge of the piece with more gold glitter embossing powder and made sure that I kept the background of the piece clean. I baked it again for 10 minutes and let it cool.

I used the marsgraphic jr watercolour markers to add some colour to the background of the piece. You can see that I did get a bit of embossing powder onto the background. The colour won't stay on the cured embossing powder. Next I coated the piece with clear embossing powder and baked it again for a final 10 minutes and let it cool off.

I really like the resulting uncontrolled colour application. Maybe next time I'll use some iridescent embossing powder to add a glimmer of shine. 

Love the versatility of these markers.

Polymer Clay and Embossing Powder Enameling

I really like the depth I can create using STAEDTLER Fimo and marsgraphic jr markers with different embossing powders. I want to keep playing and not do my house work. This really is a whole lot of fun. I can imagine a bunch of these little garden critters made up to create a halo or tiara of beautiful sparkling hair embellishments. Have you tried using these products together yet?

Things you will need to create this project:

STAEDTLER Fimo effects glitter white 052

STAEDTLER marsgraphic jr watercolour brush markers

various garden themed stamps

Scalpel

Gold sparkle embossing powder

Clear embossing powder

medium grit emery board

cream colour felt

Fabri-tac adhesive

large hair clip

I tried to get a good shot of the baked piece for you but I don't think I've quite been able to show how cool this turns out. This shot comes close and shows how the markers behave just like watercolour.

Roll out some of the Fimo to about 1/8th cm thick and stamp your design deep into the sheet. I loaded my stamp with a gold pigment powder so you could see it. Yours won't show colour.

Use a scalpel to cut the shape out and bake it at 270 degrees for 15 minutes and let it cool.

Load the baked and cooled Fimo pieces with gold embossing powder. Use your finger to brush away any powder not in a crevice. Bake the piece again for about another 15 minutes at the same temp and let it cool.

With a medium grit emery board sand away any of the embossing powder that is on a high point of the design.

Use the marsgraphic jr markers to add colour to the piece. The colours will blend and mix when baked so don't worry about adding detail. It will all melt into a beautiful watercolour effect.

Add some clear embossing powder to the top of the piece. I used my finger tip to smooth the powder out and make sure it was as even as possible.

This is what the piece looks like after another bake session. I left it in the 270 degree oven for another 15 minutes and allowed it to cool completely.

I glued the piece onto a hunk of felt and trimmed away the extra felt with some sharp scissors.

Then I used another piece of the same felt to glue the Fimo piece onto a large hair barrette but you could certainly glue it onto a hairband or a brooch back or make a pendant for a necklace. This is a great technique and I can't wait to spend more time with it. I would also like to try this on other colour background clay. 

Wish there were more time in the day!

The March Hare.

Here's a really simple Easter Brooch to make with the kids. 

Things you'll need to make this piece:

STAEDTLER Fimo air basic in white

Basic sculpting tools

paper towels

Acrylic paint in pink, a flesh tone, black and white

several small paint brushes

white glue

pink sparkles

E6000 jewelry adhesive

Large brooch back

Roll out a 5cm ball of clay and flatten it onto your work surface. I work on parchment paper because it's so easy to clean up.

Make two worms and attach them to the top of the flattened ball to make ears. Blend the seam where the clay meets by gently rubbing with a damp piece of paper towel.

I used my finger nail inside the damp paper towel as a sculpting tool. I made a ridge just inside the edge of the flattened clay ball.

I used my stylus tool to make a smile. You can use a pencil tip if you don;t have a stylus.

Next I drew some eyes and eyebrows. Keep everything smooth by cleaning the surface of sculpting debris with a damp paper towel.

I rolled a small ball of clay for the nose and stuck it right there in the middle of the face. Let this dry overnight.

Paint the bunny suit part of the brooch any colour you'd like. I chose pink.

Colour in the skin any fleshy tone you think will work.

After the paint is dry, add a coat of white glue to the bunny suit and sprinkle glitter over it. Let it dry and add a second coat of glue and glitter if you want to.

Paint in the eye nose and mouth details using a fine brush

Leave a thin black edge around each eye and fill the center in with white.

Add a black dot to the middle of each eye.

I also added a fleck of white to the top right corner of each pupil to add a gleam of light. Use a soft brush to drybrush some pink onto the apple of each cheek. Dry brushing is easy.... Dab a teeny bit of paint onto the tip of your soft brush and rub most of it off by painting in circles onto your pallet paper. When you have most of the paint off of the brush you can swirl it over face again and again until a thin soft bit of colour begins to show up.

Add a brooch to the back of the piece and voila..... you have a cute festive brooch to wear over the Easter Holiday.