A bit more colouring and a Freebie...

...to help get you in the mood.

Nicecrane Designs have a wonderful collection of image sheets and this is one of the latest...

..."Enchanted Spring" which you can find here and if you hop on over to the Nicecrane blog, you will find some wonderful creations that the DT have used the images from this sheet on.

However, what do you do if you have something in mind and these images are perfect but the colours are not what you wanted...well, if you are a bit techy you can play around with them in one of the various graphic programmes that are widely available but if like me you are a bit of a numpty when it comes to things 'techy', what do you do?

Nicecrane have lots of lovely 'digi-stamp' images sheets and they are great to colour - you really should go and have a browse here.

I loved the image in the top left of the pre-view sheet shown above but it wasn't the colour that I wanted. The fabulous Ignacio sent me a digi-stamp version and this is what I did...

 ...I have coloured the image using Spectrum Noir alcohol pens. I have softened the colour of the flowers around the edge by making them more of a peach shade and I have changed the colour of the character's outfit to turquoise but that wasn't all that I did. Whilst colouring, I wondered what the image would look like in more sepia tones...

 ...using the brown-greys (BG) from the grey range and FS1 from the flesh range, I started to colour the image again...

 ...gradually adding deeper shades and starting to blend them in with the use of the FS1 and the Blender pen...

 ...the brown-greys come in 10 shades but I thought it would be too dull to leave it at this, so I added some of the lighter tan shades - TN1, TN2, TN3 and TN4 to brighten the image...

...and as you can see, this image looks very different from the first one I did with the turquoise dress.

Don't be afraid to 'play' with colour - what is the worst that can happen? You waste some time and possibly spoil a bit of CS but you will have learnt what works for you and what doesn't

Ignacio very kindly sent me a little something to share with you...

...here's your chance to grab your very own freebie - Download here.

I would love to see what you do with your freebie so please hop back here and let me see what you get up to......................................................................

Do you remember those...

...lazy, hazy days of Summer.

You know...the ones when you were a child and the most important things in your life were being able to play out in the garden, sit on the grass making daisy chains, checking to see if your best friend liked butter by holding a buttercup under their chin and listening out for the tinkling of your favourite ice-cream van.

With the very dull, wet Winter we have been experiencing in the UK those days seem so very long ago and you start to imagine whether they ever existed - luckily (or not, as the case may be) most of us have photos that our parents took to prove that they did...

I remember pretty Spring flowers bursting in the flower beds followed by the crowded shows of all the Summer colours.

If you feel the need for some of that colour in your lives at the moment, hop on over to the Nicecrane Design site as Ignacio has added some wonderful new design sheets to his collection.

 

From beautiful coloured studies like this...

....Flowers from Vintage books...

 ...Flowers from Vintage books II - to glorious coloured images like this...



...Henderson's Giant Flowers...

...and Henderson's Giant Flowers II - all the sheets are full of glorious coloured images for you to use in your card making and crafting.
However, Ignacio doesn't just provide beautiful pre-coloured images - he has a fabulous selection of digi-stamp images that you can colour yourselves...

...Our Village...

...but best of all...

..."Dandelion Clocks", a set that contains this adorable little chap...

 ...oh how he reminded me of those sunny days when we would pick the dandelion clocks and blow them so that we could watch the 'fairies' float off on the breeze...my granddad would get so cross if we did it in his garden - we didn't realise that we were spreading the dandelions and this would cause him more work trying to keep the lawn weed-free **chuckle**.
I thought this little chap was perfect to decorate this journal...

 ...so keeping it simple, I die-cut the image using a Spellbinders scalloped oval and inked the edge with Vintage paper Distress ink...

,,,this image is a lovely reminder of times past so I thought it went well with the time themed covering of the journal.

You really must hop over to the Nicecrane blog because the other DT members have been far more industrious that I have and there are some wonderful things to see..........................................

Sunshine, good company...

...and a fabulous morning crafting.

The weathermen promised a warm day but to be honest, when I left home this morning it was looking doubtful. It was chilly and misty and there weren't any signs that it would improve.

I was meeting my friend Hilary at Barleylands craft village for a morning of messy playtime at Pinnacle crafts. We met in the café for breakfast and by the time we had finished our coffees the day was starting to brighten.

Starting off with a piece of greyboard approx. 8x8...

...it was given two coats of white gesso...

 ...and blasted with a heat gun to speed up the drying because of the limited time available.

A selection of die cut shapes were cut from funky foam...

...and these too were given a good coat to gesso.
Whilst the die cut pieces dried, the base board was given some texture using stencils/masks and some texture paste... 

...and when this was dry, the die cuts were arranged and stuck down before being given a light wash with some more gesso.

The whole piece was dried very carefully using a heat gun - ensuring that the heat wasn't directed at any area for too long so as not to cause the funky foam to blister...

 ...and then it was coloured using mica sprays. I used Black night, Hematite and Ocean to create the shading that you see here.
I used 3 different stencils for my background...

 ...brickwork...

 ...and shattered glass.
This was how it looked when I finished applying the mica sprays...

 ...and again it was carefully dried.
I used a dark teal and patina shade of guilding wax...

 ...to highlight a few areas...

...giving it a gentle buff all over to bring out the sheen.

The piece has been sealed with a light coating of...

...Silver Spray & Sparkle.

After a lovely morning crafting, Hilary and I went off for a bit of retail therapy and a spot of lunch.

When I got home I mounted the finished piece in a white square frame...

 ...and hung it straight on the wall...

...sorry the light wasn't that good by this point but I wanted to finish the project and get it hanging where it is going to 'live'.

What a lovely messy, mucky morning (aprons and gloves certainly came in handy) and I am really pleased with the result. Thank you Andy for lots of fabulous tips and ideas and thank you Hilary for making it a very pleasant day...........................................................................

Do you enjoy colouring...

...I do!

I love to sit and just colour stamped or digi images - it is so satisfying seeing them come to life.

My medium of choice is alcohol pens but I know a lot of folk shy away from these as they feel the colours are too intense - they don't have to be.

Earlier this week, Ignacio very kindly gave away a freebie over on the Nicecrane Design blog...

...which is perfect for trying out colouring techniques. One of the plus points of digi images is that you can print them onto most paper types and you can also chose a size to suit the technique you wish to try.

When using alcohol pens I tend to use a smooth white CS and depending on the detail of the image I will print at a size that will fit either 2 or 4 onto a sheet of A4.

If you have pens but are not confident in their use it is a good idea to take some time to colour a blank colour chart printed onto the CS of your choice...

...this gives you a good idea of how the colours will look. This is a Spectrum Noir colour chart that I completed and looking at it you would think that those are some very bold colours - not the sort of shades to give you more of a 'watercolour look'...don't be fooled.
Starting with the printed image...

...I usually start with any characters that are shown...

 ...I have some favourite 'go to' colours for hair - TN1, TN2 & EB3. Now as I said, I usually complete the character first but I thought I would show you that you don't have to do it in that order so...

 ...I started to fill in the background. As I was aiming for a softer look, I didn't reach for the browns to shade the tree with - I used the warm greys BG1 & BG2 and then added a touch of EB2 to give a touch of stronger colour. The blues were a mix of BT1, IB1 and some of the paler Blue Greys & Ice greys. The greens were limited to the first 3 shades of the Dull greens...

...at this point I decided to go back to the character and colour the skin using TN1, TN2, FS1 & FS7.
This is the finished image...

...all the pinks in the Spectrum Noir range are quite strong but by blending in some flesh tones and ice grey then using the Blender pen to take out some of the colour it is still easy to achieve that softer hue. The HB1 used on the dress was also softened by using the blender pen.

So there you go, it is possible to use alcohol pens to create a slightly vintage watercolour effect. Why not give it a go.........................................................................................

So what do you do with yours...

...I mean your old calendars.

I love the Deco Ladies that you can get in that well know high street card store. They are not cheap but every year I take advantage of their "Buy one - get one half price" so that I have one in the kitchen and one on my desk.

This is the 2014 one currently hanging in the kitchen...

...it is in a handy location so that it can be checked on the way out to the car.

The images are beautiful but when the year is over what do you do with them? It seems a crime to throw them in the bin (even if it is the re-cycling bin). So I chop mine up and retain the pictures for future use.

This is a card I made with the November image from the 2013 calendar...

 ...I picked the November one because my birthday is that month and it seemed a good place to start.
The image has been mounted behind an embossed frame...

 ...this was made from white linen effect CS...

 ...and run through the new 6x6 embossing folder from Xcut that is part of the current DoCrafts promotion. The red PP has been roughly edged with a stitch ripper (tip I saw in a magazine somewhere).
As you can see. I cut the oval from the centre of the embossed piece...

...so that it created an oval frame for the image.

The card was made using the following: -
Papermania 8x8 White card blank
Red PP from the Sew Lovely range (the previous DoCrafts promotion)
White linen effect CS
White card candi from Craftwork cards
Rose frame embossing 6x6 folder from X-Cut.

Why not see what you have available and do a bit of crafty re-cycling............................

If you want to get ahead...

...get a hat!

Or so the saying goes.

I have had these Nicecrane Design images for a while and when I saw the new Papermania Capsule range "Oyster Blush" I knew they would  go together for the effect I wanted to create.

DoCraft say; "Oyster Blush is Papermania's newest Capsule offering in a beautiful, subtle, blended colourway of white and oyster hues. This on-trend vintage collection is enhanced with a luxurious pearlescent finish, creating the perfect setting for traditional and shabby chic crafting."

So here are the cards that I came up with...

...and with the slightly mono-tone finish of the images it keeps the overall look quite soft.
I used the same basic layout for each of the cards...

...so that they link together as a set.
This shot shows the lovely pearlescent sheen that the PP has...

...and the crochet trim is also from the Papermania range. It is self-adhesive so very easy to use.
The 3 creamy white roses were a bargain that I picked up at The Range...

...12 blooms for just £1. I have used 3 on each card and the centre one is sitting on a Big Bloomer from the Papermania range - it has the same lovely sheen as the PPs.

I mentioned that I'd had these images for a while but Ignacio has lots of lovely new vintage fashion images available...

...Vintage Elegant Ladies II - here...

... Vintage Elegant Ladies - here

There are more vintage ladies in hats - here & here, as well as lots of other fashion images to chose from - here.

I've been MIA from doing much in the way of crafting recently due to painful wrists (thank you so much for all the kind comments I received - they were very much appreciated) - but the rest of Ignacio's DT have been busy and you can take a look at their fabulous creations over on the Nicecrane blog...............................................................................