How To: Emboss With Dies

Hello there, a few weeks ago I had a few of my lovely blog readers mention that they struggled to emboss with dies (as appose to cutting with them). So today I thought I would do a quick tutorial for you. I only have the Cuttlebug to show you on but the concept is the same with the other machines. What you need is a tan mat (doesn't actually have to be tan in colour but most are, the one from Sizzix is grey though). This is a sheet of rubber that causes the metal in the die that would usually cut, to bounce off and emboss only. You can get the tan mats from a variety of places, most manufacturers of dies sell them.

 

Here is how you do it ...

 

 

The sandwich for the Cuttlebug is: A Plate, B Plate, Tan Mat, shims (if using them), cardstock, dies face down, B Plate. I hope that may have helped some of you. Thanks so much for visiting me today. Hope you have a lovely day!

How To Use A Stamp Positioner

Hello there, today I have a little tutorial for you on how to use a stamp positioner and how I use it for slightly different purposes. I had a viewer of mine mention that she struggles to use it so I hope that this will be helpful.

Here is the video:

 

PRODUCTS USED:

InLinkz.com

As you can see I use it for various purposes and I love it! It makes lining stamps up so easy and also great for stamping two layers if the first one wasn't a good impression or for seeing where you might want to stamp in general.

 

Thanks so much for visiting, hope you have a lovely day!

Aligning Stamps With Co-Ordinating Dies

Hi all, I have had a few requests to show how I use stamps with co-ordinating dies. There two main ways to do it; First you could cut the die out and then stamp over it directly, a stamp positioner would be helpful for this method or the method I use I use is to stamp the image first and then make a template with the die and cut it out. Using this method you can get a perfect placement of the stamped image inside the die cut.

 

Here is the video showing how I do it:

I forgot to add in the video that you can also use the template you have made over and over again. I like to keep mine stored with the stamp set.

Hope this was helpful to a few of you, thank you so much for watching!

Copic Colouring

So, after recieving requests to see how I colour using Copic Markers I have finally made a video. I need to add that I am not Copic Certified and this is not a teaching video, it is just to show you how I colour images using my Copic Markers.

The image is by Some Odd Girl and I have printed it on to Craftwork Cards Softies CS in Alabaster.

Apologies that I am not speaking on it, I had meant to but when I came to edit the video and add the vocals I realised I didn't have a microphone to add it.  I did add a soundtrack but You Tube seems to have disabled it. If you visit my channel and view directly from there I can hear the sound but if you view the video embedded below I can't, not sure why that is?? Either way I apologise.

Here is the link to my You Tube channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/misschelleshort

I hope that this may have helped some of you, thanks for watching.

Good Luck Teddy

This card has been made for one of my mum's work colleagues who is leaving to go to a different department within the same company. I have stamped the Whipper Snapper Li'l Standing Teddy out on to white CS and coloured with Copics {please see below for how I coloured him in} I then stamped the greeting below from the Woodware Mixed Greeting set, mounted to green CS and added to a white square card blank with DST. Ribbon wrapped around {from Dies to Die for} and secured with a button and linen thread. Prima flowers which have been coloured with a Copic marker added with BG pearls. I hope she likes it!

I thought I would show you the way I colour with my Copics:

I first used the darkest of my colours - E57 to where I wanted the darkest shades

I then went over and out a bit with the next darkest shade - E55


I then went over the whole thing with my lightest shade - E53

I then tend to blend in more with the two lightest shades - you can see this on the teddy's arm and legs

I then coloured the scarf and the ground using G40 & G82 - again using the darker shade first

Apologies for the rubbish photos but I hope some of you may have found it helpful!

STAMPS: Whipper Snapper, Woodware. Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black. CS: Craftwork Cards, Bazzill Basics. ACCESSORIES: Dies to Die for ribbon, button from Silly Monkey Crafts, Stampin' Up! Linen Thread, Prima Flowers, Basic Grey Opaline, Copic Markers.

My Little Bit About Copics

I have had a few questions about Copics again recently so I thought I would just add my little bit on here in the hope that it helps a few of you. As you can see from the photo below I have a mixture of Copic Ciaos, Sketches and Originals. I like all three really but it was just what was available to me at the time, I like the Ciaos as they are a little cheaper than the other two but they do come in less colours. I started off with the Ciaos and built up the colour families with the sketches and then got a few of the originals as I was unable to get the colours in the sketch type at that time.

I store mine in these acrylic desk tidies, if you buy the sets these are what they come in. I myself just buy the pens seperately so bought these for them to be stored in. I got mine from All That Scraps in Canada and Cult Pens here in the UK which is where I buy the majority of my Copic pens too. I try and store them in their colour families so it easier for me to find when colouring an image.

In terms of colouring I use a thick cardstock - mostly the Softies range from Craftwork Cards. As this is so thick it will dry my pens out quicker than using thinner cardstock but persoanlly I like this cardstock and it works well for me. I would love to know what card you like working with using Copics? I always stamp with Memento Tuxedo Black as this has never run for me. I used to use Airondack Pitch Black but I did find that it did run on certain cardstocks. I definately wouldn't recomment Stazon though for Copics, that defiantely does run.

So for choosing the shades that I want? Well I tend to pick one colour and then pick the shade below and above. So for example here I have chosen R83 so I have also chosen R81 for the lighter shades and R85 for the darker shades.

I personally add the darker shades first and then add the next darker shade over this and run a bit further over and then the lighter shade. I used to do it the other way around but have been doing this recently and feel it works better for me. I am happy to do a mini picture tutorial of how I colour but there is so many about I don't think it would be worth it for any of you!! A tip I would say is that some shades of colours you can go over again and it will become darker and you may not need to use a darker marker but this does not work with all the colours. Although the more layers you add the darker it will become. I use greys if I want to colour black as the black pen is so dark you cannot shade with this. I use the blender pen for correcting mistakes and also for shading around the image for sky/grass.

I pick the colour I want to use from my Copic Colour chart. I have a blank one which I have added the colours that I have beside. I find this great for trying to match the colour to my cardstock/patterned paper that I want to use in the card I am making. Please feel free to e-mail me for one if you don't have one.

Well, I hope this may have helped some of you. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have and if I can help I will, however I am far from an expert using these pens!

Colour Pencils and Sansodor

Another colouring technique that I have actually only fairly recently starting using is using Sansodor mineral spirit with colour pencils. I personally use Derwent Coloursoft pencils but I know a lot of people use Prismacolor pencils from USA. Sansodor is a make of mineral spirits by Winsor & Newton. When I first started, I used an odourless mineral spirit but for some reason it didn't seem to blend the colours that well which is why, with the help of Sue, I managed to get hold of some Sansodor.

First of all, like how I do my watercolouring, I see where I want the shadows and the light and then in the case of this image, I want the shadows around the edges with lighter in the inside to give a roundness to the character. I have gone around the inside of the lines with the pencil.

I then dip my paperstump into the Sansodor. A paperstump is just a rolled up bit of paper that has a blunt end is great for using with mineral spirit to blend the colours in. I have used a paint brush before which also works well but I like using the paperstump better. With the paperstump dipped into the Sansodor I use the end to blend the colour into the centre of the image. I find that circluar motions work best for me! As you can see in the first picture I have just coloured half of the ducks tummy in.

I then carry on with the rest of the image. I generally colour all the bits that are the same colour and then go on to the next. I also usually go from light to dark as some of the colour does stay on the end of the paperstump.

I would say to use farly thick card or watercolour paper as the mineral spirit do seep through a bit on to the back of the card, it does dry qucikly though. So that is it! again, I hope that it has helped a few of you! Happy colouring!

Watercolouring

Since I started up this blog people have always been complimentary about my colouring (thank you!) and a few people have asked me how I colour my images in. I thought I would do a couple of quick tutroials about how I colour my images in. I would just like to say that I am no expert at all and I would still love to improve my own colouring technique!

First of all I thought I would show you how I colour using watercolour pencils. I first decide where I want the lighter areas and the darker ones. If I want the image to be lighter in the middle, like for this image, I go around the insides of the outline of the stamp using my pencils.

Then taking my waterbrush I drag the colour into the middle of the image whilst blending. If I want to add more colour afterwards I then either colour directly onto the image again with the pencil to build the colour up or take some of the colour off the pencil directly with my warebrush and colour onto the image.

I hope that this may have helped some people. With regards to the paper I use, I actually rarely use watercolour paper, mainly because I cannot find a colour that matches my cardstock. I usually use fairly thick card so that it doesn't warp with the water. The great thing about watercoloring though is that lots different types of card work well, smooth or textured. If I am using my Whispers brush markers to colour in an image I usually use this method too! I love watercolouring and it is probably the technique that I use the most.

Colour Pencils and Sansador (Updated)

I have heard loads of people raving about Sansador recently so I thought I would give it a go (yes, I know I am WAY behind everyone else!). A little while ago I bought some odourless mineral spirits and had a go with my pencils; it came out ok but not how I thought it would after seeing everyone elses lovely creations. Sue kindly gave me the info that I need Sansador by Winsor & Newton so I managed to get some in my lunch hour and had a quick play with these lovely ducks by High Hopes. I know most people use it with the Prismacolor pencils from the US but I have the UK equivelent by Derwent called Coloursoft.; these also have a high pigment but you do pay for what you get as these are quite expensive.

I have had a few people ask me how I actually used the Sansador with the pencils. I am afraid to say that I do not have the time to fully explain at the moment but I will definately see if I can do it later in the week ...

Basically, I coloured with the pencils around the inside of the lines and dipped my paper stump into the Sansador. In a circluar motion in blended the colour into the centre of the image. I wanted the insides of the image ie. the duck's belly to be lighter as I think this gives it a better shape and not so flat looking. If I wanted colour the other way around ie. darker in the inside I would have coloured there and draged the colour out to blend. I did have to dip the paper stump into the Sansador quite a few times, I don't know if this is normal or not though. Also, just one more quick point, the Sansador did seep through the back of the card slightly so be careful of any nice surfaces! I did dry absolutely fine though. Like I said I will see if I can get a better explanation done later in the week if you would still like one.

Nestabilities Dies and the Cuttlebug

I have had quite a few people ask me about the Nestabilities dies so thought I would add a bit here about them. First of all they come in 4 different shapes: square, rectangle, oval and circle. They come in both classic shape and scalloped and in two sizes: small and large. They are designed so that you can also add an embossed edge to the shape if you wish. You can use the shapes alone or together; depending on what look you are after you can use the small classics with the small scallops or the small classics with the large scallops. I only have the the small with the small as this is the look I have gone for. This also lowers the cost of buying them! Please see some of my cards below for the finished result.

I am only able to expalin how to use them in the Cuttlebug as I only use this machine. (I also have the Sizzix Sidekick but have not tried the Nestabilities in it yet). To use the dies in the Cuttlebug you need the following: the Cuttlebug, Nestabilities dies, Spacer Plate A, Cutting Plate C, 2 Cutting Plate B's, the tan mat from the Wizard Embossing Kit and 3 pieces of card the same size as the mat.

Here are the sandwiches you need:
For cutting, bottom to top:

Spacer Plate A
Cutting Plate C
Nestabilities die
Card with pattern/texture facing downwards
Cutting Plate B

If you want the embossed edge you need to then run it through again using the sandwhich below:

Spacer Plate A
Cutting Plate B
Nestabilties die with card still in
3 pieces of thick card
Wizard tan mat
Cutting Plate B

The embossing works best if using fairly thick card and also non textured card. I haven't been able to play around using different cardstocks yet. I really like these dies, they are good value for money and give a neat clean finish. I love that they can emboss too. You can actually emboss without cutting the die out but I haven't had a chance to do this yet. Please see Nichole Heady's blog for details. She has done a really great section on using the dies and using different machines too. The only slight problem I have come accross with these dies is that some of the metal comes off onto the sides of the die cut but this is minimal and can be scraped off. This should stop after the dies have been used a few times.