So here it is, Barb!

*ACTSA is the ACT Stamper’s Association and we meet in Turner on the last Saturday afternoon of each month, except December. Lots of stamping, inspiration, demonstrations and afternoon tea. So if you are a Canberra stamper, perhaps you would like to join us in January?

Share this post:

I am lucky enough to have my own room, though it’s not dedicated to just scrapbooking (it’s also my home office) it is my own space to create in and I love it. There was limited space for photos in the mag, so I thought I would share with you some close ups of my favourite storage solutions.

My room is built around a 6 metre long desk and storage cube unit that is perfect for my needs. I can swap the boxes around whenever I like (this is an older picture below, but it’s a bit messy to photograph in full at the moment!!)

I do like most of my supplies hidden, but there are some things I need in close reach!

On my worktop are a couple of cute bowls that hold my most-used tools. Tapes, scissors, ink and glue. (and my copic aircans and refills) Not the prettiest solution, but I think the bowls are cute and it is certainly functional.

I love these woven baskets – big enough to hold a bunch of my current favourite 6×6 pads. A card-making must-have! I have them in a few different sizes (the baskets, not the pads!). One of them holds random embelishments that I want to use asap so it works for me to have them on my desk instead of hidden behind a door or in a drawer.

And of course my copics I am on the lookout for a better solution, but for now this works just fine.

Don’t you just love the lime green!!!??

Share this post:

We are all improving with our Copic colouring now – but sometimes we still make mistakes!

Here’s a couple of common ones and how to avoid them and fix them:

Colouring outside the lines

This one is easily fixed.  Use the chisel end of your colourless blender  to push the mistake back inside the stamped  lines. Don’t colour over the stamp, just up to it.  The trick is to try and push the colour back under the stamped edge, hiding it beneath the ink line. For stubborn colours, let the blender dry between applications & repeat.

Blotchy colouring

Blotchiness is the result of unevenly saturated paper.  Try to maintain consistency of pressure and saturate the paper  well. Colour in small, even circles, working quickly, but not rushing. Try to avoid changing the pressure. If you are varying the pressure, you will also be varying the amount of ink released.

Flip the page over to get a good idea of how well you are doing – even, consistent colouring will look almost as smooth on the back as it does on the front.

Uneven colouring

This happens when you allow areas to dry as you go. Particularly troublesome on large areas such as backgrounds, it is difficult to maintain wet edges while you apply colour to the whole  image. Darker patches occur when you colour over something that is already coloured and dried. When working in a circular  motion, you are constantly re-colouring areas but are doing so while they are still wet. Moving quickly will help to ensure you avoid dried areas.

 Repairing your mistakes

Any of these mistakes can be fixed at any time – even weeks, months or years after making them.

The best way to disguise these common colouring problems is by colouring over them in a smooth consistent manner once you are more confident. The streaky colouring below was repaired in three ways. First, by colouring over it in the same colour. This makes your work darker though as you now have two layers. Next we coloured over it in a lighter shade. (or you can use the colourless blender) this has resulted in a colour very similar to what was originally intended. The final option is to colour over it in a completely different colour, which may be a good solution if you weren’t happy with the colour in the first place! Either way, they are easily repaired so don’t stress! It’s only paper after all!

Don’t forget to grab your final Copic Club kit!

Share this post:

Your various ink refill bottles can be used for more than just topping up a dry marker. Think of them as alcohol inks in their own right and experiment with creating backgrounds and custom embellishments. They are available in hundreds of colours so the possibilities are endless! Today I am concentrating on a soft effect which would work well for skies and water but you can be very bold in your colour choices and come up with something quite dramatic and colourful. Dripped or dabbed straight out of the bottle, or applied to an ink dauber, felt pad or sponge, it is great fun to play with and you can use the results as unique backgrounds in your projects. Glossy paper or other shiny, non-porous surfaces such as acetate give the best result – your normal colouring paper will soak up the colours as they fall, and you will not get the lovely marbled effect that glossy paper will provide.

Prepare an area to work in – this could get messy! The technique itself is really very simple – just allow the ink to drip straight out of the bottle and onto your glossy surface. (image #1) Randomly splash the drops around, changing their size by squeezing on the bottle to let more ink come out for larger blobs or moving the bottle around quickly to catch just a tiny splash.

Change your colours every now and then to fill in the gaps but stick to 2 or 3 colours per project – too many and they can quickly mix to a brown. Don’t apply too much to start off with – let it dry every now and then to see how far it will spread. Let the blobs overlap – where they touch each other you get a mixed colour and a lovely watery effect. Try sponging on some colourless blender to help mesh the colours.

I have used BG10 and B0000 for my marine look. Ideal for this mermaid card!

Don’t forget – the FINAL instalment of your Lime Tart Copic Club is now available. Choose your own colours and stamp!

Share this post: