PERFECT PAIRING VASES WITH COLOURED PENCILS
Yes, I’ve been having fun with my new Faber-Castelle pencils lately! What can I say – I’m teaching myself, with the help of online videos, how to use this wonderful medium. Plus, I thought why not keep the Floral Frenzy theme going? That of course refers to our recent Blog Hop and current theme challenge for Scrap ‘N Stamp. If you missed the Blog Hop, check out my post HERE. And to join the challenge, join the Scrap ‘N Stamp Facebook Challenge page HERE. Did I mention that there’s prizes to be won? Oh – that got your attention! *wink* Anyway, today I’m back to share 2 cards created with the Perfect Pairings vases, with coloured pencils.
FRESH FLOWERS
There’s nothing like a vase with fresh cut flowers! It just brightens a room, and depending on the flower, can also add a wonderful scent.
These are the 2 cards I created. I made 2, because I had such fun with the first one, I couldn’t stop! Has that ever happened to you? I coloured the blue one first, but then thought some people might not like blue flowers (though there are many in nature) so then I went with the orange.
FULL DISCLOSURE – FIRST ATTEMPT
Okay, time to ‘fess up! The above 2 cards were not my first attempts; they were actually my second and third! My first attempt was on white cardstock, and I think I discovered my problem – it was smooth, made for stamping, and there isn’t enough ‘tooth’ on that type of paper for the pencil to grab onto. Let me share my sad card, and you’ll see what I mean.
Pretty sad, right? I mean – I tried! But you can see how the pencil is all ‘scratchy’, and my blending attempts are brutal. After doing this card, that’s when I went ‘back to the video’, as they say in sports, and found that a lot of colourists recommend using coloured paper, such as gray or beige.
BLUE FLOWERS
So for the blue flower card, I stamped the image in a light gray ink onto a light taupe cardstock. I didn’t want a harsh black outline to the image.
For the flowers, these are the Polychromos colours that I used. White #100, Cobalt Blue Green #156, Cobalt Turquoise #155, Dark Indigo #157, with Cadmium Yellow #107 for the flower centers and Leaf Green #112 for the stems. Here’s a close up of the colouring – yes, you can see flaws & all!
ORANGE FLOWERS
This time I stamped onto a light gray cardstock, in the same light gray ink.
For these flowers, I used the following Polychromos colours; White #100, Cadmium Orange #111, Dark Cadmium Orange #115, Dark Red #225 with #112 Leaf Green for the stems. Again – here’s a close up of the colouring.
FINISHING THE CARDS
Once I finished having fun colouring – and it was fun! – I stamped the sentiments on each, using the Penny Black Sentiment Collection stamp set. Next, I layered each card onto coordinating cardstock panels and bases. I wanted to add a bit more texture to the front panels, so I tried flicking some white paint onto the front, but it didn’t show up very well! So then, I added some drops using Nuvo Crystal Clear Glaze.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
So – how do you think my self-teaching is coming along? I’d love to hear your opinions, and if you have suggestions as to classes or videos I should watch, please share! If you’d like to try your hand a using coloured pencils as a medium, I highly recommend it. It’s quite relaxing; I found the hard part is knowing when to put down the pencils!
As far as which pencils you should use, I think it’s truly personal preference. I haven’t tried the Prismacolor pencils, but I know a lot of people who love them. After having done some research on brands, I ordered my Faber-Castelle Polychromos from Amazon, as they had them on sale at the time. I found THIS ARTICLE from ArtTUTOR very helpful, if you’re interested in reading it.
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