Currently Browsing: Tutorials & Techniques

THE NEW COPIC COLOR COLLECTIONS HAVE ARRIVED!

Posted by: Kathy Jones | March 26th, 2012

Hello Everyone and welcome back to another Copic Tutorial here on the Flourishes Blog! With Easter just around the corner, I thought today would be a good time to feature the He Is Risen set recently released by Flourishes. Lilies come in many colours, however I thought I’d take the opportunity to use the brand new Candy Pink Collection!! YES – have you heard Flourishes has several new Copic Collections to add even more colour to your world!!!! Not only have I used Candy Pink, but also the new Pistachio and Walnut Collections too!

Stamp your image in Memento Tuxedo Black onto white card stock and use RV000 to colour the lily petal – but not all the way to the edge! These lilies have a white edge around the petals, so leave that edge white!

Next, take RV52 and colour the petal, but don’t go out quite as far as the RV000.

Next use RV55 to add the ‘stripe’ to the middle of your lily. You can then soften the edges by using the next lightest colour, RV52 and then RV000.

Add the lily spots by VERY LIGHTLY dotting on some RV66. You barely need to touch the paper to get little dots of colour!

For the stem and leaves, I’ve used the Pistachio Collection and began with G40. I always start with my lightest colour, it’s easier to add a little dark and build on that depth than to realize you’ve added too much dark and can’t get it lighter!

Add some G43 where the shadows would be, leave light areas for highlights.

Contrast is what makes your image really pop – don’t be afraid to add a touch of darker colour. Here I’ve used G46 to deepen those shadows.

I’ve used the Walnut and Creamy Collections to add a woodgrain effect for the Cross. Start by laying down some E51. I’ve saturated the paper using circle blending as this technique works better with a ‘primed’ surface’.

Next, use the SIDE of your brush nib to add flicks/stripes of colour of E53 and E55.

Next, use the TIP of your E57 marker to add little lines of colour, best beside the E55 stripes.

To blend your colours, do NOT circle blend!! Simply keep flicking the E53 and E55 over your image until you get the look you are going for. If you realise you’ve added a little too much of these colours, simply add some more E57 and keep going – your wood will just be a little darker and more aged!

Complete your image using the techniques above and make your card!

Colours used -

Lilies – Candy Pink Collection; RV000, RV52, RV55, RV66

Stems/Leaves - Pistachio Collection; G40, G43, G46

Wood Cross – Creamy and Walnut Collections; E51, E53, E55, E57

Stamens – Sunflower and Walnut Collections; Y21, E55

Small Blossoms – True Purple Collection; V20, V25

Many, many thanks to those of you who left such beautiful comments about my last tutorial, I’m so glad you enjoyed it and found it helpful!!! The time has finally come, I have made my VERY FIRST video for this tutorial, for those who find it easier to watch and learn – I’m a little nervous about it, so I hope you enjoy it….

Happy Colouring!!

Kathy

Copic Markers, Tutorials & Techniques | 17 Comments »

Just in case you missed it!

Posted by: Julie Koerber | March 19th, 2012

Today being the third Monday of the month, we’d normally be bringing you Allison Cope’s Stamps and Scaps column — showing you how to make beautiful scrapbook pages thanks to Flourishes stamps! But, Ally just sold the family business and in her words — hadn’t been able to touch paper for weeks! So we gave her the day off and instead are bringing you a – just in case you missed it feature!

If you missed Yvonne Hagane‘s Splitcoaststampers tutorial on how to watercolor with Distress Re-inkers, you’ll want to click the link and see her beautiful creation! Beate Johns actually gave Yvonne’s tutorial a try and created a video based off it. She gave us the A-Ok to post it here for all of you using Flourishes’ With Gratitude set. It’s a set you can’t purchase, but get for free once you spend $100 at the Flourishes store with our FLIP program. Click HERE for details!

Here’s a peek at Beate’s creation…..

and here’s a peek at her fun-filled video!

We’ll be back with another “Create with Me” episode next Monday, featuring the fabulous coloring skills of Kathy Jones! So… stay tuned!

Tutorials & Techniques | 2 Comments »

Fancy Borders & Nestabling Tips!

Posted by: Cindy Lawrence | March 12th, 2012

Hello Stampers~

How many times have I been asked how to get those fancy borders on my cards lined up so perfectly? Hmmm….a few.

Believe it or not, it couldn’t be easier! Here’s an example using the Friendly Reminders stamp set, where I’ve used a border punch on both edges of my card:

It really adds a lot to the card, don’t you think?

Here’s another card I made with April Showers, where I’ve punched just the left side:

To jazz it up a bit, I’ve added some pretty Green Rhinestones and Lime Braided Trim along the inside edge. Notice the rhinestone border around the Spellbinders Labels Eighteen die-cut? That’s a new product in the Flourishes store, called Nestabling. It is designed to coordinate beautifully with Spellbinders dies. Flourishes has lots of fun designs in the store right now!

I’ve made you a little video showing exactly how I make those perfectly matched borders AND how I adhere Nestabling to my projects. I hope you find my tips useful, and will try them on your own projects. Check out the video at the bottom of this post.Happy stamping, friends!

~Cindy

Embellishing, New Products, Tutorials & Techniques | 12 Comments »

Creating with Color!

Posted by: Kathy Jones | February 27th, 2012

Hello Everyone! Today I’m starting the new monthly Copic tutorials right here on the Flourishes blog! Each month there will be different ideas and tips to help you bring these divine Flourishes images to life. I *love* colouring these stamps and although I have yet to master the art of video tutorials, I’m hoping you will find inspiration through the following step-by-step tutorial.

Today, I thought I’d start with one of my favourite Flourishes sets – Butterflies and Blossoms! I thought this would be perfect for those of you longing for Spring and for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere where it is the end of Summer! The Clematis is such a pretty flower with it’s white stripe through the middle and this look is easy to achieve!

I’ve chosen Flourishes’ Hydrangea Collection, however to soften the BV00 even more and make the edges softer for the white stripe, I’ve laid down a layer of Colourless Blender ’0′ first.

Next I’ve added some BV00, flicking in from the outer edge to where the stripe would be. These images give great clues as to where that stripe would be with slight lines to guide you. When I say flick in, it means placing your marker on the edge and lift it up as you go towards the centre.

Notice the top flick, I’ve placed the marker to the paper using the SIDE of the brush nib and lifted it as I’ve flicked side ways which gives a triangle look. It is NOT like a tick as in the bottom of the picture. The trick is to have a LIGHT hand. You can always make it darker by going over it a couple of times, but harder to correct if you’ve made it too dark to begin with! If, instead of this triangle shape, you are left with a rectangle, then you haven’t lifted your marker enough. Remember, if you are having trouble flicking in a particular direction – move the paper! Make it as easy as possible on yourself! Practice this technique, it makes blending easier and you will also master your Feathering technique too!

Next I’ve flicked in a little BV02 although I haven’t gone in as far as I did with the BV00.

Next add in just a little BV04 on the edges and where the shadows in the petals would be (such as the creases/wave lines), but not as far as the BV02.

Always blend with your NEXT lightest colour. For example between the BV04 and BV02, blend with BV02. Instead of circle blending in such a small area, I once again use the flicking action, giving that soft edge. Keep adding your colours and flick blending (with a light hand) until you get the desired look! Once you are happy with it, use your colourless blender to go over the white stripe to tidy up the middle and give it that clean stripe look.

With the leaves, I’ve used the Green Grass Collection and laid down a layer of YG11 to begin.

Next I’ve added in some YG13 where I think the darker areas would be, in this case near the base and a little along the bottom.

Then add some of the darker YG17 to add the deeper shadow areas but not as far as the YG13 went, close to the base and along the edge. Flourishes images are beautifully illustrated and the shaded areas will often have more lines or darker areas where the shadows would be. Once again always blend with the next lightest colour. With three colours, blend the YG17 with YG13 and then blend the YG13 with YG11. Keep working in this way until you are happy with the look of the leaf.

For the butterflies, I’ve started with a base of Y21 from the Sunflower Collection.

From closest to the body, use Y35 to flick out, but not right to the edge, only about half way.

Next use Y38 to colour the outer edge of the wing – I wanted this to be a strong accent following the line of the stamp, so it was not blended, colouring only to the line illustrated. Then I’ve flicked out Y38 from the body, but once again not as far as Y35 – this gives the wings more depth near the body as well as more contrast. Flick blend until you are happy with the look of your butterfly.

This is a peacock butterfly which has blue spots on the wings, although they are naturally quite light. I’ve chosen B00 from the Sky Collection, but I wanted it lighter, so once again I’ve used the Colourless Blender to ‘colour’ the spots first and then added a very light coat of B00.

One of the things that makes an image really pop is the use of contrast. It’s the very light shades compared with the very dark shades that really make your colouring striking. Don’t be afraid to add that darker colour, even if just a little bit, you’ll be surprised how much more exciting and lifelike your image will become!

Finally, finish colouring all the petals, leaves and the rest of your butterfly and create your card!!

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s tutorial and have some fun using these techniques to create your own masterpieces!

Happy Colouring!!!

Kathy

HERE’S A LOOK AT THE COPIC COLLECTIONS USED:

Copic Markers Tutorial, Tutorials & Techniques | 16 Comments »

A new kind of Monday!

Posted by: Julie Koerber | February 13th, 2012

Note: Folks, Mondays will never be the same! Starting today, you can look to Mondays for all of your creative inspiration! From tutorials from our talented team to our Bring Back Beautiful Challenge to Allison Cope’s fabulous look at how to mix stamping and scrapping! We’ve got you covered. No More Monday moanin’ – you’ll soon be saying (thanks to Flourishes) T.G.I. MONDAY! We start this fabulous feature with the ever-so-talented Cindy Lawrence!

FUN WITH CARD CANDI!

Hello Stampers!

Have you seen the new card Candi in the Flourishes store? It is fresh out of the UK, and full of lots of wonderful possibilities for your stamping projects.

Today I have a video for you showcasing several ways you can use them. Please forgive me for the length of the video and the lack of editing. It’s actually a second take, as I accidentally deleted my first video as I was attempting to upload it to my computer…ugh.

For my first sample, I used the gorgeous Lenten Rose set, and a row of Icing Sugar Candi along the bottom border. I colored the Icing Sugar Candi with my R14 Copic marker from the Sweet Pea Copic Marker Collection. I also used Icing Sugar (colored once again) and red Patriotic Candi to make that pretty rose embellishment in the center of the bow. Here’s a close-up of the rose:

Here’s another card I made, this time using Copper Metallique Candi and the From the Desk Of set. I love the metallic circles on these!

The Copper Metallique Candies were a little pale for my card; so I colored them using my E29 Copic marker from Flourishes Flesh Tones 2 Copic Marker Collection.

The third card I made uses the pastel Iced Gems Candi as a way to frame out the image. I added a bit of glitter to each one to jazz it up a bit. That pretty shoe image is from the Feminine Charm set.