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CTMH March SOTM Blog Hop & Tutorial on Watercoloring
By Helen | February 28, 2011
CTMH’s March Stamp of the Month: D1454 Sensational Season reminds me of Beatrix Potter style artwork. This is such a pretty set to use on Easter greetings, think thank you’s, baby cards, and so much more. I can also see using the small eggs and basket to create your own random stamped paper.
Grab a cup of your favorite beverage, sit back and join us on a journey of amazing things you can do with this stamp set. There are almost 60 CTMH Consultants joining in on the fun…that’s a LOT of ideas that YOU can take and duplicate with this fun stamp set. If you arrived here from Wendy’s blog you’re on the right path.
Materials:
- CTMH Sensational Season D1454 – the March Stamp of the Month
- CTMH Sophia Level 2 Paper Pack X7131B
- CTMH Watercolor Pencils 3505
- CTMH Blending Pen 3174
- Versamark Ink Z891
- CTMH Black Embossing Powder Z670
- CTMH Designer Pink Ribbon Collection Z1384
- CTMH 3D Foam Tape Z1151
- CTMH Craft Heater Z555 (Heat Gun)
Tutorial follows…
For those that want to skip the tutorial “hop” on over to my friend {Kathleen} to see what she’s created.
If you get lost along the way…here’s the complete list of all hoppers.
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Are you inspired by this blog? One of the ways you can help support this blog is by ordering your Close To My Heart products through me. You can order from me 24/7 at: http://heleno.myctmh.com or email me at helen@hookedonstamping.com.
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Tutorial
When I saw this month’s stamp set, I immediately thought of Beatrix Potter and a watercolor look. CTMH has a wonderful set of watercolor pencils. There are different ways on how these pencils can be used.
All bunnies are embossed using the Versamark Ink and Black Embossing Powder. All three bunnies were similarly colored in using the Watercolor Pencils. The bunny on the far left was the starting point – it’s just dry Watercolor Pencils. It’s a pretty, soft look and could stand on it’s own as is. The bunny in the middle was gone over using the Blending Pen. The Blending Pen gives a lot of control and with the two different tips, more flexibility on getting into smaller spaces. The bunny on the far right was gone over using the Waterbrush. The Waterbrush and Blending Pen are very similar. The Waterbrush requires a bit more practice to control the water flow.
The Watercolor Pencils are packaged in a box that can be manipulated to stand up. This is useful when selecting colors. Tip: The directions for making the box do this are on the back of the box.
Let’s get started…to get the shading and detail in my images, I use the Watercolor Pencils to lay down color. Apply a darker layer of color where areas would be in shade, such as the bottom of the hand, chin and neck, and the back.
When coloring, determine a light source area. Think of the sun, and how the light hits the objects. The area where the sun hits will always be lighter, then the area where there’s shadows. It takes a bit of practice to think through what portion of the object or in this case bunnies and carrots would be in light or shadow, but once you start playing with it, you’ll see a huge difference in the final image.
After laying down the color, go over it with the Blending Pen. Start on the area you colored and pull the color into the lighter areas. The watercolor will flow smoothly. Tip: It’s easy to go back in and add more color by using the Watercolor Pencil directly on the image…or use the tip of the Blending Pen to pick up more color from the tip of the Watercolor Pencil.
Continue in this fashion until the entire image is colored. Tip: To clean the Blending Pen, just rub it on a piece of scratch paper or a paper towel.
For the background of the image, use a large paintbrush and dampen it slightly – you only want it barely wet. Use it to go over the background of the image. Now, using the same paintbrush, rub the bristles across the tip of the Watercolor Pencil to pick up, then lay down color for the sky. Repeat for the ground.
This is a variation on the Simple Expression pattern from the Wishes How-To Book for cardmaking.
Now “hop” on over to my friend {Kathleen} to see what she’s created.
Topics: blog hop, Cards, Sensational Season D1454, Sophia, Techniques, Tips | 16 Comments »
February 28th, 2011 at 11:17 pm
Helen – ADORABLE card!!!! Love the bunnies with Sophia!
March 1st, 2011 at 12:53 am
So cute! And thanks for the tip on the pencil box. I have had them for a year and didn’t realize they could do that…lol.
March 1st, 2011 at 7:18 am
What a lovely card and thanks again for all of your hard work keeping the hop together.
March 1st, 2011 at 9:10 am
Helen, such a great card and excellent tutorial on shading. I, too, teach my “students” the light source technique when deciding where and how to shade. Well done!
March 1st, 2011 at 9:59 am
Shading is so difficult for me. Thanks for the tutorial!
March 1st, 2011 at 1:43 pm
What a beautiful card and a great tutorial , thank you for sharing your talent with us.
March 1st, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Beautiful coloring on a very sweet card! Thanks for another awesome tutorial.
March 2nd, 2011 at 12:26 am
As always, a great site for learning and a great project!
March 2nd, 2011 at 1:02 am
Thanks for the tutorial Helen. Great card.
March 3rd, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Super cute card Helen & great tutorial!!
March 5th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
What a great tutorial! Super cute card.
March 6th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Thanks for the tutorial. I can wait to try this after seeing your work.
March 14th, 2011 at 12:46 am
What a fabulous card Helen! I always find your tutorials so wonderfully helpful also!! THANK YOU for always inspiring me so much with your awesome creativity! I so appreciate all your time and hard work to make our blog hops go so well too – lots of thanks to you!
March 14th, 2011 at 2:24 am
Helen, you card is just adorable and I have learned so much from your tutorial! I always love to visit your blog because I learn SO much from you!! Thank you for sharing all that you do!!
March 27th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
so cute and thank you for sharing your work!
March 31st, 2011 at 10:26 pm
great card thanks for sharing