Archive for November, 2009:
Sports Challenge Winner & Update on Snow
Congratulations
Maria of Joyful Stamper
You are the winner of a $10 gift certificate of Sunflowers and Dragonflies line of stamps
Update on Snow
I have received so many personal messages on concern regarding Snow. Thank you all so much.
It has been one month since Snow was found unconscious and spent the weekend in the London emergency clinic. We found a new, and well loved vet, who put her on a trial of holistic medicine and food. Aside from finding blood in her stool, she has been perky and happy. Until today.
This morning we woke up and found Snow lethargic and slowly slipping away once again. She couldn’t walk, hold her head up, or keep her eyes open.
Unfortunately, our new vet was out of town. Lucky for us, another vet (in a nearby town) looks after things when my vet is out of town, and as luck would have it, she just attended a Vegas conference on portosystemic shunts. Basically, Snow’s system is not cleaning out the bad things via the liver, so she is poisoning herself.
The vet told us that Snow is a very unusual case because she presented with a shunt problem at an early age. Typically shunts do not appear for 3 to 4 years. Typically the symptoms Snow showed today, show up after a meal. Snow’s symptoms show up on an empty stomach. Because Snow isn’t a textbook shunt case, liver disease and an ulcer is suspected. Blood work was done and showed the same problems that she had in London a month ago.
An ultrasound will be arranged at the teaching university in Guelph, 200 km (160 miles) away. Hopefully we can have it within the month.
Late afternoon, the vet called to speak with me to get an update on Snow, and made herself available if we need her through the evening or night.
Snow was started on her lifetime regime today: 2 antibiotics, 1/4 tablet of pepsid (a full size pill is smaller than 1/4″), and special canned reduced protein diet. Snow won’t be able to enjoy her pea-sized pieces of cheese or scrambled eggs any more. I was very happy to hear that Snow can continue to eat her favourite snack–raw carrots.
Her Medi Cal diet pushes everything through her system very quickly which is extremely important with liver disease.
It’s now bedtime, and I’m heading to bed with Snow. She is happy and ate two big bowls of food in the afternoon and evening. After a good nights rest, she will be back on her feet begging to be picked up and loved.
Needless to say, that shortly after you read this, I will be making a thank you card for the Vet in Forest. She and her staff were terrific.
Subscribe to the comments for this postSD Challenge 17: Oh, Canada
Oh, Canada, our home and native land…..
Welcome to this week’s SD17 challenge called Oh, Canada. How is my card related to this theme you ask. Well, I’ll let you ink on a little secret. Sunflowers and Dragonflies Creative Designs custom makes stamps, and in doing so I created a very large Canadian flag stamp for someone, and kept one for myself. I then cut out the maple leaf, which is what you see above. The nice thing about my stamps is that you can e-mail me and ask me to make any of my designs smaller or larger. Isn’t that a cool feature?! My DP is BasicGrey’s Indian Summer and the sketch is this week’s Splitcoast Stampers sketch.
I don’t have any of your stamps, so I can’t do this week’s challenge. Not so! Nope, all you have to do is think about what Canadians have in their country. For example, do you have an animal stamp, a tree stamp, a house stamp? You get the picture. Let’s see what you can come up with. You have until Friday at midnight.
Please link your project to this post, and mention Sunflowers and Dragonflies in your post.
In October 2007 I did a tutorial on cracked glass. This is a mini tutorial of that same tutorial.
Stamp out your image.
Colour with watercolour marker.
Blend with water and paint brush.
Use a variety of colours and continue colouring and blending until happy. The next step was missed when I shot this tutorial. Heat emboss with three layers of ultra thick UTEE.
Find a cozy spot in the freezer–next to the ice cream, and let your image freeze for 30 minutes.
Scrunch your cold image and see it crack.
Let’s see what the Design Team has in store for you this week…
Kim uses Canada Goose Swimming
Jennifer uses Canada Beaver
Beth used Canada Beaver
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Prismacolor Coloured Pencil
In a world where Copic marker sales are soaring, you may ask why I continue to love a coloured pencil aka pencil crayon. Linda Heavens of Heavens Created This is a prime example of how beautiful Copic markers work. Linda makes me believe I could do beautiful work with Copics, but in the end, coloured pencil wins. Why? Coloured pencil takes me back to my childhood where I would spend countless hours colouring. Child by heart, I get an overwhelming sense of peace and relaxation when I take the time to enjoy colouring with coloured pencil.
If you are following my Coloured Pencil free on-line class, you will need to have 6-10 Prismacolor coloured pencils. Prismacolour sets may be cost prohibitive, but there is a way around that. Simply visit your local art supply store (ie. Bear Creek Studio in Sarnia, Dick Blick) to select from a showcase of single coloured pencils. If you do not have Prismacolor on hand, any brand will do, but it will be necessary to purchase a colourless blender pencil (purchase at local art store, Michael, Hobby Lobby).
What makes Prismacolor so special?
Prismacolor coloured pencils are wax-based and blend with ease. The bright series has 132 colours, and lightfast has 48 colours.
Coloured Pencil Galleries
Prismacolor website gallery
Colored Pencil Society of America 2009 winners
Colored Pencil Society of America 2008 winners
Bouquet that resembles a photo rather than coloured pencil
Colour Pencil Resources
Coloured Pencil Blogs
Siti Nuriati (beautiful Lady Diana artwork)
Holly Bedrosian portrait artist
Gamsol/Odorless Mineral Spirits
In my coloured photo above, I used Prismacolor coloured pencil with Gamsol. Gamsol is an odorless form of turpentine. A little goes a long way, and your bottle will last forever. You can find this product in the art supply section at Hobby Lobby or Michaels, among the oil paint tubes and watercolour tubes. Look for odorless mineral spirits if you do not see Gamsol. Local art stores carry this as well.
To blend your colour you require tortillions, which are tightly wound paper sharpened to a point. You can purchase a starter kit which will have everything you need to get you started. If you don’t see a starter kit, have sandpaper on hand. Stores will have sandpaper hand-held blocks in the coloured pencil section. If you chose to buy your sandpaper at a hardware store, buy a very fine grit. Sandpaper is used to sharpen your point and to take off colour in you don’t have enough tortillions on hand.
Don’t miss out on my free on-line coloured pencil class, subscribe today
Flower Power Challenge Winner
Congratulations to my long-time reader
you are the winner of the Flower Power challenge
picked by Random.Org
Jeanette of H2O Creations
Ring Christmas Bells
Christmas ball hand drawn and coloured with Prismacolor pencil crayons and blended with a colourless pencil blender.
How to Use Coloured Pencil–a free online course
There are so many art mediums to chose from and if you are like me, finding which medium fits your style, time constraints, and pocketbook.   Personally, I started with embroidery and cross stitch and then moved into acrylic painting, scrapbooking, altered books, mixed media, polymer clay, and on and on. Sound familiar?  You may recall that I recently took a coloured pencil class with Bev Fish. It was during her afternoon session that a light bulb went off. Why not become a pencil crayon artist–I love the time spent colouring, and it is challenging enough to keep my interest.  I’m ready to explore new ways to use a coloured pencil, and am ready to push myself to the next level.  After reading my mini series, you may feel the same way.
Inspiration for a coloured pencil mini series came from Smita of Kreativity and Me, who lives in India. Smita wrote to me explaining that she would like to see tutorials using only the bare essentials because supplies are so difficult to come by and shipping is double what Canadians and Americans encur. My coloured pencil series is designed to be informative and inspirational, particularly for those of you who are living in secluded areas or foreign countries.
While today’s post is not a photo step-by-step tutorial, it is an introduction to the step-by-step tutorials that are to come over the next month. Think of this as a free on-line course as it will offer the exact information that I would include if I were to charge a fee.  Sharing makes me happy 
 For the enthusiastic artists, there will be homework. Please link me to your homework or send me an e-mail to beth@sunflowers-dragonflies.ca. I am available for questions and to critique your work if you care to do so.
Basic supplies will be listed so you can prepare yourself for what is to come in my other installments. If you haven’t subscribed to my blog, this may be the time to do so–you won’t want to miss what is to come.
Be Fussy:
Choose coloured pencils that are well centered. Look at the bottom of the pencil crayon to see if it is centered. Being well centered means less breakage.
Use the best pencil sharpener you can. Even a $2 sharpener can be the right one, if you chose what works well with your pencils. The piece that houses your pencil tip should be metal–not plastic. A good electric pencil sharpener works well too.
If Gamsol is not available, use a colourless blender pencil. A blender pencil contains wax and fillers, but no pigment. The pencil helps to smoothen out pencil lines. Not all images require the use of the blender pencil.
Use a high quality white eraser to rub out pencil lines and areas around the images. Pink erasers will smudge.
Use a kneaded eraser to help lift colour off an area. You can also lift off regular pencil lines if the line is too dark.
Choose paper that makes you happy with the final result. I purchase Staples 110 pound cardstock in a large package and have my local printer cut the paper in quarters for me. Not only is it convinient for me to have smaller pieces of cardstock on hand, it saves on my papercutter blade. Bev Fish introduced me to a finer paper from an art store. Check with your local art store and ask for paper that works well with coloured pencil.
Pencil extenders are a must with expensive pencil crayons; they allow you to use the pencil crayon up without wastage. See your local art shop.
Fixative helps to break down the excess wax that can make your image look foggy. “Wax bloom” can occur up to 7 days later. Although it can sometimes be wiped away, the hazy appearance will return. When using fixative, spray outdoors in a well ventilated area and spray two to three light coats rather than one heavy coat. Colour will become more vibrant after using fixative, so keep that in mind when colouring your image.
When not to be fussy:
Much to my amazement, Bev Fish came to class with buckets of coloured pencils that were not Prismacolor. And she was the teacher! Through Bev’s experience, she learned that children’s pencil crayons will work, depending upon the results that she wants to achieve. Overall, Prismacolor is the number one choice for most coloured pencil artists.
Tips to Get You Started:
- Keep pencils sharp. This allows the pencil to bury itself into the pits and grooves of the paper
- If your pencil lead breaks, use regular glue to hold the broken piece in place. It is a shame to waste a good piece of coloured pencil
- Avoid using regular photocopy paper or newsprint; it will not hold up to multi-layering
- Take a coloured pencil class. Learning from a professional is money well spent
This week’s homework
Learn to create shadows. This will help to recede certain areas and bring other areas forward which will create a 3-D effect.
Stamp a small image out twice, side by side as my photo shows. On one side lightly colour your image, and then go over certain areas once again with a heavier hand as shown in the photo above. Keep one image unblended as seen on the left hand side and blend as seen in the right hand side. I want to see what makes you tick, and helps me to understand if you have grasped the concept of where shadows fall. I learned this technique over 20 years ago, and had a great deal of difficulty, but once I grasped the idea, I ran with it.
You will notice the blond hair has dark brown coloured in the shadow area, rather than a heavier handed yellow colour. This is because yellow is such a pale colour, a darker colour was required to achieve the effect I was looking for. You may do this if you run into the same issue, but please be careful not to overuse a second color because this lesson is to learn how to create shadows.
How do I know where a shadow is cast? Imagine the sun shining down on these two sisters, above. There are areas of the dress that naturally fall leaving deeper areas in the folds. Deep set areas have shadows. Images that fall behind the main image are blocked from the sun, so those areas have shadow. For example, the areas around the hand, the decorative flower on the front of the pink dress, the sister that stands a little behind the other. Get the idea?
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me. You can leave a message right on this post or e-mail me at beth@sunflowers-dragonflies.ca Because I do have a full time job outside the house, I may not see your message immediately, but I do check my messages before and after work.
I hope you enjoyed the first of many posts to come on the coloured pencil.
I am grateful to the following:Â Bev Fish of Fishtale Studio and Colored Pencil for the Serious Beginner by Bet Borgeson
SD Challenge 16: Sports Rock!
Winter is around the corner, and with it comes hockey.  In Canada we love to play hockey, and you can see our hockey beaver doing just that! Even beavers play them (hee hee). This week’s challenge is all about sports. Any sports you choose is good for me!
Kim Created a scrapbook layout with our Fish stamp.
Jennifer uses Fishing Beaver
So, are you up for trying our Sports Rock challenge? Anyone can play along! There are no limits on supplies. Deadline is Friday at midnight. Of course we’d prefer that you use images by Sunflowers and Dragonflies, but feel free to use other images. However, there is a bonus if you do use a Sunflowers and Dragonflies Image, you’ll receive an extra entry in the drawing for the weekly challenge prize!! So, if you have any S&D stamps it would be worth it to use them! Please post a direct link to your challenge project from either your blog or an online gallery to the Sunflowers and Dragonflies Blog, specifically on the Challenge #16 Blog Post, so we can view it. If you upload to an online gallery, please use the keyword S&D16.
This week’s prize
$10 gift certificate for Sunflowers and Dragonflies series of stamps
Come on, let’s see your cards!
Technique Junkie Renewels
All renewals to the TJ Newsletter to US addresses will receive 2002 pricing!
That is only $16.50 for renewals!! (Sorry, US addresses only) Hurry, though, this offer ends soon!
Want the CD, too? Renew and order CD7 for only $28.95 (US addresses only) — prices have NEVER been that low!!
One year renewals only at this price…(ie: no two year renewals.
To renew, send me an email and pat will get an invoice to you right away!  phuntoon@optoline.net
How to color embossed images, create unique Magenta Style cards and create 6″x6″ embossing
Whew, this tutorial took quite a bit of time, and I really don’t know what to call it. In this tutorial you will learn:
how to colour very small embossed areas
how to create a unique card using one stamp (this one is Magenta Style)
how to emboss an oversized card using two different embossing folders
While putting this tutorial together I coloured many images (which took over 3 hours) on a variety of coloured cardstock, and I shot this tutorial over a span of a week. Because of this, you will notice my tutorial flips aroundusing a variety of coloured cardstock.  Working on so many colours at once, I forgot what was for my tutorial, and what was for other occasions. I hope you do not find this confusing.
One very important note: Odorless Mineral Spirits breaks down the embossing and will cause smudging. This tutorial shows you how to colour without OMS.
Enjoy!
This is a Magenta Style stamp. There are other companies that create this multi layer stamp. You can stamp out your image with dye ink, or use VersaMark and embossing powder like I did. My card required that I stamp out my images three different times because of how I cut the image.
VersaMark is used when you emboss. Ink up your entire stamp and stamp out onto coloured cardstock, and sprinkle with embossing powder.
Heat emboss entire area.
Using a white pencil crayon, colour in the areas where you want to add colour.
When colouring your image, use three colours: pale, light and dark. When you colour in your image with the pale (lightest colour), do not colour in the entire area. Starting at the top of your image, drag your colour in little flicking motions. The larger the area, the longer drag you will have. Make sense?
Drag the light colour overtop of the pale colour. Do not take this colour right down to where the pale colour ended. Instead, pull down the colour just shy of where your pale colour ended so there is a subtle colour change.
With the darkest colour, repeat the above step. Because my image is very, very small, I just made the area immediately below my tip dark by pressing very hard and moving in a very small circular motion. You can see the gradual colour change on the flower to the right.
Cut your images out.
When you have a triangular image, you can paper piece your embossed background to make it look like one big embossing job. Each point touches the edges of my card. The open area is the area I want to cover with an embossed background, so I layed down my image to determine my cut lines. Ensure you have the pattern going in the same direction before you cut your paper.
Two corners have been adhered to the base of the card, and a third one is about to be adhered down.
For a unique look, use a second embossing folder. Adhere to the back of your image.
This is how the card looks when paper pieced.
Finish your card as desired.
Close up of colouring.
For a complete list of my tutorials, please see my Tutorial page.
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