Miss R has recently become interested in secrets. Anything promised to be insider information is appealing to her — so much so that she’ll often tell me she has a secret, motion me to c…
I used Tim Holtz distress paint, ink, crayons, crazing medium, Ranger Ink texture paste and Dina Wakley's Daisies Stenc...
By now most of you should know that I LOVE color and my favorite part of the creative process is adding color to my art. While I enjoy us...
Being so used to painting with acrylics, Alcohol Ink was a new and scary challenge for me… I was worried about losing that control of where you wanted the colours to go, but the movement and …
Creating a unique batik look using melted crayons and dye. A vintage craft.
Making wax crayons with earth pigments
Got crayons? All that fun foam in the Cuttlebug has me thinking of other things to do with embossing folders. I'm not sure if this is a ...
Create your own tropical leaf paper banner using the free templates. This tropical leaf banner is perfect for luau parties and tropical decor.
Use styrofoam sheets to create an indented image, then roll on printmaking ink and press down on paper to create a print.
I’ve had the alcohol inks out recently and spent some time trying to get soft wavy patterns on craft plastic. I have seen several artists who do this technique beautifully but I am very much …
Hi! I've made a tag with one of the amusing birds from Tim Holtz' stamp set Bird Crazy. The background is made with Distress Crayons. ...
Genius Tricks to Transform 7 Common Art Room Leftovers % %
I still have some ceramic tiles left from my last run to the hardware store, so when I remembered I had saved the contact paper heart f...
welcome to week five of my Q+A demo series on facebook live. each week the Q+A demo will focus on a specific product/topic…
Specifically, Copic Pens. I read endless reviews about using Copic Pens on various stamping and scrapbooking sites and finally decided to try them. I went down to my local art supply store and, oh …
By now most of you should know that I LOVE color and my favorite part of the creative process is adding color to my art. While I enjoy using the latest and greatest supplies, my passion is finding creative and unique ways to push simple supplies. Today I thought I would share a handful of my favorite tips and tricks for using crayons! I love crayons and while it's pretty common to see them used in all kinds of kid's projects, I think they are TOTALLY AWESOME for adults to use! Crayons are super affordable, really accessible (the grocery store sells them) and the best part is that they come SO MANY colors. My favorite crayons will always be Crayola. I am typically not picky about the brands of my supplies but when it comes to crayons, I only buy Crayola! And once I bring a new box home, I organize and sort all my colors- this helps find what I am looking for when I sit down to create. I also keep a sharpener on hand. For me, I like a really nice sharp crayon for coloring. While a large box of crayons comes with a sharpener, I like using my Generals All Art Sharpener. The best part of sharpening crayons is that you end up with a whole bunch of colorful wax shavings that can be melted and used in a variety of craft projects. While I typically use crayons to add color to my drawings and mixed media projects, I do think they work great for adult coloring. Keep in mind that different paper will look and feel different with crayons. When I add color to my black and white drawings, I am always looking for ways to layer, blend and get brighter color. My goal is to always try to make get my coloring not look like I am using kid's crayons! One of the best tips I can share is to blend those color starting from light to dark. I always like to lay down a light layer of color. Then I go back over that color with a darker color and then again with another layer of dark color. The result is color has a lot of depth, variation and it looks a little more like colored pencils Keep in mind if you are adding color to your own drawings, it helps to draw in permanent ink. This will keep those lines from smudging or bleeding when you are experimenting and playing with crayons. A favorite technique of mine is using baby oil to blend the color. A while back I shared the baby oil trick that you can you can use to blend colored pencils (HERE). And guess what?!?! You can use this same technique with crayons. Start by adding dark saturated color to your drawings. Next dip a cotton swab into baby oil and use it to blend that color. You will be able to blend and soften all those rough edges and use colored pencils a little like a watercolor (or water soluble) pencil. Keep in mind that different paper will react in different ways with this technique. Thinner drawing paper or printer paper will absorb the oil quickly and can soak through a little so make sure to place a scrap piece of paper under your work. Thicker paper like card stock or watercolor paper is less absorbent and will produce even brighter and more saturated results. I've found different colors have VERY different results. The reds, blues, purples and pinks blend really well. While yellows, oranges and greens tend to be a little more challenging to blend. I like to recommend testing your colors to see the results before working on a final project. For those wondering if the drawing paper will get oily, the answer is just a little bit but not enough to be really obvious. P.S. I've got a video tutorial over on my YouTube Channel where you can see this entire process in action! Head on over to check it out HERE. You can also use this technique in reverse! Start by scribbling all over a piece of paper. Add paper oil to the surface and run a cotton swab in circles. The swab will pick up the color. Use the swab to add light layers or washes of color to your drawings. Grab a crayon and shade over the top of that light color. The oil on the paper will enable you color in a really smooth velvety way and get rid of all those tell tale crayon strokes. Another trick (that might seem really weird) is heating up your paper before coloring. I grab my art hair dryer or a heat tool and warm up an area of my drawing. While the drawing is still warm I use my crayons to color. The result is smooth and "melty" color that quickly covers and saturated the surface. I repeat in different areas of my drawing until complete. You can also reverse this technique and create a colorful background. Again, start by heating up the surface and while it is warm, start scribbling- the crayons will warm up and melt just enough to create rich, velvety color. I used these backgrounds to paint over the top. Since crayons are made of wax, they will resist pens but acrylic paint, gesso and india ink will work great for adding layers to the top of that color. Ok you guys! I hope I've convinced you to grab a box of crayons and get creating! Looking for more inspiration? coloring with baby oil and crayons VIDEO colored pencil tips and tricks more crayons tricks my favorite ways to color kids markers tips and tricks homemade crayons
This painting technique is so simple and yet so very beautiful.
welcome to week five of my Q+A demo series on facebook live. each week the Q+A demo will focus on a specific product/topic…
What are DISTRESS CRAYONS and why do you need them in your life RIGHT NOW?! Check out how to use distress crayons and EVERYTHING you can do with them here! Our favorite is the craft stamp that...
Blow you mind... or burst your bubble... or just BLOW BUBBLES! Begin Bubble Burst by Studying the way bubbles look... Click on the images below (from Google Image Search) What do all the bubble have in common? 1. Perfectly Round 2. Rainbow/iridescent- tints/pastels of the rainbow. 3. Rings of color- color is circular with the contour of the sphere. 4. White highlights/reflections from sun 5. Brighter & more colorful on the outside 6. Transparent to background in middle. See through when overlapped. 7. Seem to get smaller as they float further away If you REALLY study bubbles, you notice the top and bottom are a reverse mirror of each-other. The darks areas of the bubble are reflections of the world around it. What color IS a bubble? ir·i·des·cent /ˌirəˈdes(ə)nt/ adjective showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles. The dragonfly;s wings looked white until I noticed the green and purple hints as it moved on my hand. Learn Find colors that look iridescent. I like to use Prisma Colors because they blend well together. You really only need three colors (canary yellow aquamarine and mulberry) since they create new colors when you overlap them. This one below used only these three colors and white... Use crayola construction paper crayons or PrismaColor colored pencils. Get a circle tracer. Optional Video Lesson THis video was created for lower grade level using construction paper crayons.... This is getting more advanced now... This video really helped me take my bubble to the next level... This video is like the one before, but gets even more advanced... TRACING CIRCLES Trace 7 or more circle onto paper. Some can go off the page, some can overlap, some can be big, some can be little. HIGHLIGHTS Begin with the white colored Fall 2023 Tayden Sunshine & Madelynn Victoria, Shaunna, & Brooklynn ——— Fall 2022-6th grade Kaylee, Peyton, Justo, & Kiara Ashleigh Dixon Spring 2022 Camden, Cooper, landyn, Paislee, Ashley, kee’Mario Eduardo 6th grade Elva, Sumroot, Carl, Kenneth. Spring 2021 Emma, Ayden b., Estrella, Laney, Jaycee, Uriel. 2020 Fall 8th period Carol (big one), Terry, Grayson, Jeremiah and Kenzi 3rd period: Milo, Nathalie, Kelley, Alexandra, Jarezi, Valerie Aubrie and Avery Fall 2020 2nd period- Abbey, Ethan, Lucy, Audrina, Jaxon and Averie 2020 Spring 1st period Bubbles 2020 (above) Yuka, Desiree, Stephanie, Victoria, Sa’Niya, Rylee, Katie & Kaylynn 2nd Period Bubbles 2020 (above) Emmily, Mariana, Yareli, Lucy, Addyson & Moses 3rd Period Art 2020 Caroline, Danielle, Josilen, Bailee,Brooklyn & Brielle 4th period Bubbles Jackie, Krissie & Riley 8th period bubbles Makena, Breanna, Alexander, Preciosa & Tania 9th period Bubbles Luke, Maiyah, Nathalie, Gage, Shayla,And Jorja. MMS Art 2019-20 done with PrismaColor Colored pencils (above) These images below were done in 2013-14 at MMS with construction paper crayons Araceley 6th grade Chance 6th grade Garrett 6th grade Kimberley 6th grade Omar 6th grade Davion 6th grade It is all about experimenting... This was Davion's original picture. I actually LOVE it!... But, it did not look like bubbles to me. So, I instead will use it as a successful free center of his. I gave him the choice to redo it and capture a more realistic "bubble" quality. He did it with a wonderful attitude. But, his marbles are Marvelous! More Done later by my 7th and 8th graders... Brianna 7th grade Brianne 8th grade Cederick 8th grade Cheyenne 7th grade Ellie 7th grade Fernando 7th grade Haley 7th grade Haylie 8th grade Hugo 7th grade Juanita 7th grade Luz 7th grade Mariella 7th grade Shanna 7th grade Todd 7th grade TAKE IT A LITTLE FURTHER! with this lesson! See Here... http://tabithaannthelostsock.blogspot.com/2016/04/rainbow-p.html ____________________________________________________ Planning for this assignment took some creative experimenting, trial, and error... While toying around with the idea of this lesson, I originally liked they way the background of the real photos I found of bubbles was very blurry. So, I used the crayon resist method here. I drew the bubbles with white and baby blue crayons (make sure they are not washable!) and added some contour reflection lines inside. Then I used markers to sloppily add in a landscape using horizontal lines. Then I used a wet brush to go over the marker till it bled out making it blurry. The marker in the process washed off of the wax lines and left the bubble still visible (crayon resist method.). I did not like all the aspects of this first attempt, so I tried it on the black paper which I like much more.
You can make beautiful "painted" tiles with Sharpies and rubbing alcohol. This full tutorial will show you how to paint with Sharpies and alcohol!
Hi! I've made a tag with one of the amusing birds from Tim Holtz' stamp set Bird Crazy. The background is made with Distress Crayons. ...
Think crayons are for kids? Think again! There are all sorts of great ways to use a box of crayons in your art- here are a few ideas... Go b...
Since it is the end of the year and almost the one year anniversary of my blog I thought I'd do a quick post of my Top 5 Posts of 2011. T...
Black silhouetted figures shield themselves from the downpour of vibrantly colored inks in these drawings by Chinese and French artist Marc Allante. As
Think crayons are for kids? Think again! There are all sorts of great ways to use a box of crayons in your art- here are a few ideas... Go b...
Why do I love crayon rubbings? Is it the historical significance that brass rubbings played in medieval times? Is it the memory of first grade making leaf rubbings? A little bit of those but the biggest reason is crayon rubbings are immediate gratification. No waiting for anything to dry. The only prep work is taking the […]
Did you know that when you mix a white crayon and watercolors you can reveal the most amazing hidden messages? These Crayon Resist Painting Secret Love Notes activity is full of a special surprise message to
Hi Everyone! I have seen so much activity using the Distress Crayons lately that I feel like I'm falling behind if I'm not using them everyd...
welcome to week five of my Q+A demo series on facebook live. each week the Q+A demo will focus on a specific product/topic…
I finally got some of the things I needed to get working on more projects, so here is the first of many projects to come. Inspired by my daughter's rag quilt, I decided to make some wall hangings to match! I love stitching and especially designing my own patterns. For those who are beginner stitchers, there's a lot of ways to stitch patterns. I like to do it the easy way. Hopefully I won't sound too confusing, but if I do please feel free to ask any questions you have! Ok, here we go: Supplies: Muslin (you can also use cream/white cotton sheets or light cotton fabric) Warm & White batting DMC floss Embroidery Hoop Embroidery Needle Scissors (you can use any kind, but I like the small sewing scissors when stitching. Everything can just fit on your lap!) Water erasable marking pen (you can also use the disappearing ink pen, but I didn't have much luck with it) Crayons Frame(s) Cut the muslin and batting to fit your frame. I just traced the back of the frame with my pen and cut it out. Doesn't have to be perfect, just has to fit inside the frame. Trace your pattern onto the muslin with your water erasable pen. It's okay if you make a mistake, just go over it again. It helps to tape your fabric onto your paper so it doesn't slide. Now for the fun part! Decide where you want to start with your pattern. Put the batting behind your fabric, and put them into the hoop. Pick the color of floss you want and cut off a length that you are comfortable using - around a foot long is pretty good, but you might want to start small if you are just beginning. I use 3 of the 6 strands, but you can use as many or as little as you want depending on the detail and size of your pattern. Then thread it through the needle. I apologize, I tried to take photos of how to do the stitches, but my pictures didn't turn out very well. So I will do the best I can at explaining it. The main stitch I use is the back stitch. Tie a knot at the end of your thread. One or two knots will do. Start from the back and poke the needle up through on the line. Put the needle down through the fabric about 1/8 inch or so away from where you started, following your traced line. Then bring the needle up about 1/8 inch (or similar distance) away from where you went down. Pull the thread through. Keep doing that until your stitchery is done, changing floss colors and starting new strands as needed. To end on an area when you run out of thread or are done, just tie it off in the back by looping your thread through a nearby stitch and cut it by the knot you just made. When your stitchery is finished, run it under cold water to "erase" the guidelines you traced earlier. It should come off fairly easily. Wring out the water from your stitchery and lay it out on a towel to dry. Once dry, iron it out and admire your work! At this point you can leave your stitchery as-is, or you can color or tea-dye it. You can color your stitchery with crayons, colored pencils or really anything you want to. I have only tried crayons, but I'm sure there's a lot of other options out there. Make sure your stitchery is completely dry before coloring. Kind of hard when it's still damp. Depending on the shade you want inside your stitches, lightly color inside your lines until you get the look you want. It's pretty simple. Just be careful if you have a darker color crayon next to a light colored thread (i.e. turquoise & flesh thread) because the crayon will color the thread. When you're finished, place a scrap of fabric or paper on top of your stitchery and iron it to set the crayon into the fabric. Then frame, hang up or display your finished product and enjoy!!
My new favorite thing - embroidery with color crayon tinting! I've put together a little step-by-step of how to color your fabric before you embroider.
Santa brought me a large pack of Inktense pencils by Derwent, so I decided to stitch a block design using my new IQ, and then paint it. This is a work in progress (WIP), but I thought I would shar…
