Blending Colored Pencils

Lots of folks seem to have a problem with colored pencils.  I will tell ya right now, that as of this time, no company has sent me any freebies for which I speak for.  Whatever opinions I share are from product that I have purchased, tried, and gained my own opinion on.  So...

Right now, my favorite colored pencils are PrismaColor.  They are pricey!  But, you can use your JoAnn Fabric/Hobby Lobby/ or Michaels Coupon and get them at a significant discount.  I seldom get any of my art supplies at full price.  IF something is on sale for 30% off and I don't have to have it right then, I will wait til it goes off sale and use that 40% off coupon the next week.  Save money, purchase more!  lol

I am going to posts these pictures using the PrismaColor Premier Pencils....

In this first photo... take a look at all the Tuscan Red that I put in.  See how it deepens that back area to make it appear to be going down into the back... see how it goes to being really dark to much lighter touch with the pencil.  In the end... this will be the darkest part of the flower.  In the next picture, below, you are gonna see where I start to put in the highlights... the Orange.

Looks pretty bad right now... right?  Hang in there... I am going to add my base color, (Magenta) the color that you want the overall flower to be.  See below....

Here is where I added just a bit of the Magenta color... above.  Then, look below, I deepen the Magenta by just coloring more...  I do very light motions and a lot of time, I will do it in circular motions.  You don't wanna just scribble it in there.  No part of blending pencils will cover up all the scribbling that I have seen some folks do. 

In the above picture... You can already see how that Tuscan Red is starting to blend in with my base color of the Magenta.

Here is the flower after I put all the color in and started to blend...

These are the colors that I actually used on the flowers.

Here, you can see that I have started blending the flowers with the blender that PrismaColor sells.  Every now and then, you will need to sharpen off the color on the blender, or wipe it off on a different sheet of paper to keep from dragging the color from one area to another.

OK... Now that we have been through it once... I want to take you down the path again with something that doesn't have the same light and dark, but several different shades.  This one actually goes from White to Tuscan Red.

Can you see the part to the right and above my finger that looks kinda like scales?  That is actually where I colored with the White. (above photo) That is the build up of the wax in the pencil that you are seeing in the reflected area.

Here, I moved in just a bit and put in the Hot Pink.  Doesn't look so hot, but that is what is on the side of my Premier Prisma Colored Pencil.  Moving on....

Now, this one has the Process Red added....

Above... I added in the Scarlet Lake.  Below, has Tuscan Red added.  I also want to add that I do try to do all of one thing at a time.  I want to be sure that I am doing all of a particular flower with all the same colors with all the same pressure on the pencils in this case.

Each time I added color, I tried to do it in an overlapping fashion and in a light small circular motion.

This last photo shows after I went all over with the blending pencil and then added the little bits of Tuscan Red to the dot area.  

BIG TIP - practice on some paper first.  These Premier pencils have a soft core and wax added in the production of them.  That is what makes them so easy to blend.  Once they are blended, it is harder to go back and add more color, but it can be done.  All papers have some sort of "tooth" to them.  In the blending process, you are flattening out that "tooth".  So, the smoother your paper, the less tooth and the fewer layers you are going to be able to pile on.  I have seen pictures done with these pencils on very very find grit sandpaper that look like a photo!  These pencils are amazing.  Again, take the time to do some coloring from light to dark on a scrap of paper and blend it.  You want to get the feel for it before you go to your project.

Some of you may be asking... what if I don't have PrismaColors?  How do I get it to blend?  Ok.. still the same principles apply...  Start light and go darker.  Overlap the light areas so that they blend into one color.  There are little papery things called tortillion sticks.  This youtuber put it nicely....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-pzgAu9Fm0

So, when you use colored pencils, you can still blend.  No matter the brand.  Practice going from dark to light, and do it lightly.  Overlap those light areas, use the blenders.  

Hope this helps.  Let me know if you have questions in the comments area and I will get back to you.

-Pam

Washi Tape Holder for Scrapbooking and Crafting

So... we all go through several changes over time as we look to see what will work best for our crafting/scrapbooking area.  I just made a change that I love, truly!!!!  I knew that I wanted something to hold my tapes where I could get to them.  I didn't wanna put them on a spring rod and not be able to have it in my hand, I didn't want to toss them in a drawer or have to rummage through a basket any more either.

I knew that I wanted something like a gutter that I could just attach to the shelf and let it hang down.  I had seen that done for ribbons (though my ribbons are all in a book now, but that should be another blog posting! lol).  I knew that the guttering I had seen was too large, but I also knew that there had to be a solution out there somewhere.  So, off to HomeDepot I went, they should know me by name by now.

This is what I ended up purchasing.  Bottom Door Seal.... 36" long.. perfect!  Light weight, about seven dollars easy to install and I didn't have to paint or do anything to it.

This also comes in different lengths and colors.  My area was 36", so this was perfect.  You can see in the top picture that there is a back area that goes up the back of the door, that is what I screwed into the front of the shelf.  There are the little rubbery parts hanging down, and I was going to cut those off, but they really don't bother me... so I got lazy and left them.  Then, on the very front is the little rubber tube, and I knew that would hold the rolls on like the curve of the guttering.  I thought about using a couple yardsticks to make the "L" shape and then just glue straws across the front, but this was already done and just so easy.  Let's move on.

The above picture has the info on the packaging so that you will know what you are looking for if you decide to do this little project.   Please post in the comments if you do this project and would love to see a photo of it... did you find it easy?

Took everything off the shelf and put it down on the floor... marked where the holds would go.  I have plastic covered my table and shelves, so it does mean that the holes had to made in the plastic and fabric before I could screw the thing together.  IF I don't, the screw bites into the fabrics and twists it and just tears it up... I have experienced this first hand.

I didn't wanna drag out the drill and bits, so I just hammered in a large nail and then pulled it out.  Hole made and ready to move on.  There are five holes and screws that come for attaching, I only did every other one.  It is so lightweight that I knew that three would be plenty.

Wow... just realized how dusty that shelf is.  Here it is attached... very fast and easy!

This is just to show you looking from the back, part of the thingy sticks up over the top of the shelf.  I knew that it was a bit wider than what I needed, but I also knew that with what went on that shelf that it was gonna be ok.  You know how you can just expect something to go wrong on a project, no matter how simple?  Well, it didn't.... this went just like clock work, very easy!

This is the shelf put back up with the "bits container" and tv back up on it.

This is just a close up.  I was so glad that they sent little "white" screws that blended in so well.

Here is the shelf with the holder and the washi tape all in place.  You can see that I had to put the glittery washi over to the side, yes... I have too much washi.  Yet, I did notice that I need the reds and oranges!  Also, in the "bits" container right behind the tape, Those four drawers that are pulled out have my small clear decorative rolls of tapes that I got from China off AliExpress.  They are just cheap stuff that don't get used often and they fit there just fine. 

Here is a close up of how well the tapes fit in the Door Seal... perfect!  Also, you can see that there is a paper and ring there to the right top of the photo...  These are cut down index cards that have samples all my washi, where I got it or who made it... all hole punched and ready to look at if I need to.  I had made it when the tape was all in a basket as a reference.  I see no reason to just toss it out... it does include those rolls from China, so it is still useful even though I can see all the good stuff!

So, hope you enjoyed this little run through, maybe you could leave comments below of what you use or how you organize your washi or other supplies!  I like hearing from my readers!

-Pam

Wool Balls for the Dryer

So... did ya miss me?  Lol... Yes, it has been a long Long LONG time.  I had typed out a long paragraph on what all had taken place, but that really isn't what the blog is about.  Let's just jump into what this one is gonna highlight...

Wool Balls for your Dryer.  I dunno how many of you have ever even heard of wool balls, but they are out there or you can make your own and they work wonderfully!  I am that picture person, so there will be lots of photos coming up.  What is a Wool Ball?  It is yarn, specifically WOOL yard, that is wound into a ball, put through a process and used in the dryer.  Why use a Wool Ball?  It puts space in the dryer as it tumbles around to dry clothes faster, the wool will absorb some of the moisture from the clothes and dry clothes faster, and it has helped take out the static cling.  Some folks even put oils in the balls to make the laundry smell better.  So... let's get started...

Just get some wool yarn and the craft store.  Here I will remind you, use the online coupons from the craft stores and never pay full price.  If it is already on sale for 30% off, wait til next week and use that 40% off coupon!  That little 10% will add up over time with your different purchases.  The larger percent of wood that is in the yarn, the better.  I got some that was 53% wool and was a lot of work in the end.  Go for the gold, find that 100% or even better yet... go to the thrift store and get an old wool sweater that says dry clean only... Be SURE it is 100% Wool... more on this later.   (oh, in the photo below... do you see that flat purplish grey stuff under the scissors?  That is what "felted" wool looks like.  I will talk about it in a bit.)

Another reason I went ahead with this wool, NOT 100% was the price.  I ended up finding some that was on clearance, and there was a sale with coupons... yeppers, only paid $1.49 a skein.  That was a steal and I bought out that Hancocks!  You can see in the picture above that it isn't quite "wooly" enough to felt very easily.  But, I have done felting before and knew that.

Here is where I failed you!  Photos!!!  Oh dear me...  ok, you got all the balls rolled, one skein per ball.  Slide it into pantyhose or knee highs and tie it off, put in the next one, tie it off,... keep going till you get them all done. IF you get a really good wool, it will be very "fibery" as if it were coming undone before you even put it in hose, that is why you need the hose... to keep it all together through the wash and dry. I toss four in my dryer at a time, so I did four of these at one time.  Run them through HOT water with a couple of large towels, no soap, just the wash and spin cycle is needed.  Then, toss it all in the dryer on HOT heat.  What you are trying to do is to get the fibers to start fusing together, almost like a melting.  This process is called "felting".  I had to wash and dry my Not Quite Wool Balls in the washer and dryer about four times to get them to start felting.  Then, I just left them in the hose the first couple times I used them to be sure they were done.  IF you use real 100% wool, you won't have that problem.  But, who wants to open the dryer to a ball of unwound yarn!  I figured better safe than sorry.   These don't last forever, as a while... dunno how long, over a year anyway... they will eventually turn into a sold ball and just not absorb like they did in the first.  Next time, I am springing for the Real 100% Wool!

I have also still had some static cling, another case of the "not so wool wool".  All in all, I like having the wool balls.  I do see my dryer on for a shorter period of time.  Now, IF I could just find a way to speed up that dang washer.... but, it is one of the economic ones, so it will just have to take a while.

I will be back sooner that later.  Planning to blog at least once a month this year.  Yep, already a month behind!  But, things are going better around here and I will be back soon!  Be sure to let me know if make any felt balls and how you like them.  Don't be too frugal... get that 100% wool!

-Pam

Scrapbooking Tour ....

As usual, there will be tons of pictures... so go grab a snack while they download.  Also, if you are not a follower, you can take care of that and then you will know when I post each time.

I will start with the room as a whole, then break it down, and then end with the overall look again.  IF you have any questions, please feel free to ask them down under comments!  Ok... hold on, here we go!!!

This is my working area.  We will start the tour with the left side and do a sweep around to the right.

These are my stencils... seems that I have a box of them in the closet also, but these are the ones I use the most with scrapbooking.  The blue clip hangers are on an "over the toilet" toilet paper holder.  I got it for just a few bucks at Home Depot and the guy there actually drilled the hole in it so that I would be able to put it on the wall.  They love it when they see me coming!

This is down under the stencils... Prisma Color Pencils that I got one year with my birthday money.  I don't use them much, but want to get back into using them more.  Battery operated pencil sharpener... I use this all the time!  Edged scissors just crammed into a solo cup.

Traveled to the right a bit.  Blue stencil is for lines and just hangs in the dead space on the wall... have never used it, but have started a project that I think it will be getting used a lot in.  The white rectangular plastic container to the left is from mom's stash of containers, has squares all across the bottom like a strainer....it was just the size for my tapes, hand fan, and other odd things in little cups with lids.  The blue stacking thing is also from mom's stash.  Mom died the end of 2013 and we are finding all sorts of treasures at the house as Daddy is having us go through.  Anyway, it holds all my hole and boarder punches. This is all setting on a board that is going across a childhood bench that my mom's mom's dad made.

There it is... it is a brown bench that is toddler size and just fits in this area.  Under the board are two "frozen meal containers" that house my washi tapes and writing utensils.  Thanx to my Dad for the idea to put the board there and just keep going up the wall!!!  Under the set is another container from Mom's stash... inks, misters, and water colors.  Then my sticker machine with extra refills behind it in a basket.  The little gray felt basket is full of containers with tiny buttons, brads, and that sort of thing.

We have moved to the right, still on the desk top...  This was a great find at one of the hobby stores.  Was cheaper to use a coupon and get the entire thing than to get the containers by themselves.  I took the front off, put two rulers under the front to make it tilt back slightly and it fits in the spot perfectly.  It houses all my paper stuff... cut outs, punch outs, sizzix and cricut extras, ephemera packages,...

Still moving to the right... my daughter convinced me to tear all the pages out of the small pad of paper, note sized papers and cards.  They all fit in these two containers.  Good call, Sarah!!!  Behind these are a basket full of inspirational wraps, cards, and goodies that Sarah brought back for me from her two year stay in So.Korea.

While we are at this spot... do you see the two boards/legs sticking up there?  That was a 2x4x something that I had Home Depot to cut for me.  It serves as legs for the shelf.  I had one full sheet of lumber cut up for the table top and all the shelves.  The tabletop is on shelves from Target, and is wrapped in teal fabric and then wrapped in clear tablecloth fabric and staple gunned on.  Then, all the other parts are just painted teal with a bottle of craft paints.  Ok... back to the tour.

This is a basket that I already had... I put in the plastic storage containers for paper... you can see that I cut the tops off and put put labels on my tabs that I cut ... most used stickers are in there and it just slides out so that I can ruffle through for what I need.  No, this is not all my stickers... you are so funny to think that!

This is to the right of the stickers, just on the table but up under the shelf.  Papers that are organized by color and theme... thank you Sarah!

This is to the right of the large paper you just saw... I want you to see this side cause it shows it propped up on paint cans.  I have never had it fall off and it make it to where the two units are seen from the front as one large stacked container, even though it is two.  Make since??  Here... look below.

This is the front.  I got two of these desk organizers and just put one behind the other and stacked the back one so that I could see it better.  This is full of all sorts of do-dads, scissors, exactos, almost like a junk drawer that gets the once over every so often.  Hey, works for me.

Now, let's move up to the shelf above all this stuff....

These are those large plastic envelopes again.  This time, I used them for that purpose instead of cutting the tops off.  Each one has the papers and stickers according to the label.  These are things that I just don't get into that often,  So it was good to put them up a shelf and on the end.  That basket to the right is just some leftover stuff that needs to find a home.

Still moving to the right on that shelf... My homemade stamp organizer... thank you, Sarah!!!  Yes, she does a lot for me!!!  Then, solid 8.5x11 paper.  The organizer has extra tags, flower punches, and more do-dads...  Then, to the right is a small lunch box with all my crystals in it.

Just wanted to show you this...  It is a small binder.  I decorated some papers and just slid in the front.

I already had these smaller sleeves.  So, I just went on ebay and worked out a price with someone for the overhead transparencies.  Sarah went to stamping each one and then we stuck on the stamps.  She has a book for all hers too, but hers is the 8.5x11 sized book.  They work really well, it can be flipped through, pull out what I want and go to work.  IF one should fall off the page, the sleeve keeps it in the book til I find it and can put it back in place.

This is the small tv that we used to have in our bedroom.  There is no cable, and no stations... hubby got me a comcast plug thingy that lets me watch anything from my phone on it.  So, we can watch movies, youtube videos or anything else that we can stream in.

This hangs on the wall to the right.  It houses punches and cut outs according to what is printed or drawn on the front of each drawer.  These are two units that I had out in the garage at one time.  The bottom one is hung on the wall and the top one just sets on top in the grooves for stacking.

Now, let's head up to the next shelf.  This shelf is not as deep as the one below, but remember, I was using every bit of that single sheet of lumber for the entire desk and I wanted an extra deep desk.

Photo boxes hang off just a bit, but work perfectly up there.  3D art projects, extra sleeves, Big Bite,...

Ribbons, rick rack, lace.  Extra and ongoing books, and smashbooks.  Another basket of little cute letters, thank yous, and stuff from So.Korea.  

To the right of the desk is this Container Store cart that I got at a yard sale for $8.  Oh yes, I shop like that!!!  I did have to purchase a top and the casters, but so worth it.  Holds my cutting stuff!

The left side under the desk.. those bookshelf wire units from Target.  This one holds some printed 8.5x11 papers, scraps and paint chips samples.  Yes, I do ask for paint samples, and I purchase enough paint over time that they really don't mind.

The green container on the bottom was a $1 garage sale find and houses all my sticker alphas.  The trash can was from Mom's stash... I love that I can toss stuff at the top and it just slides in!

Here is my table top area... it really is rather large.  I am currently doing a smaller album with some of the 10,000 or so photos that we found.  I am doing a family tree project and just journaling a very small part of each family.  You can see part of this book and how this project is going in my last blog... or maybe it was the one before that... anyway... it is in here somewhere and rather fun to see!

And, that brings us back to the start.  Oh, there is an Ott Lamp there.  Works great when I am in there in the evenings.  Got it from a friend when his sweet wife died.   Look around, find free or almost free stuff... it is all every changing.  This is the longest I have had it like this and it is really working well for me.  Hope you enjoyed looking around and maybe are inspired by something here.  See ya in a  couple weeks.