simple dreams

Crafting With Kids: Dab It

Today I used the same fishbowl as yesterday and just applied a different technique that I thought would be fun for any age. It is a technique that Tim taught us at Ranger U and so both kids and those of us who are "older" kids will all enjoy giving this a try :-D

I had to share a close-up of the fishbowl before beginning just to give you a better view of these splendid little creatures. 

To begin simply take three different distress ink pads and rub them on the non-stick craft sheet. 

Use a mini mister and spray the surface until you see little beads form. I love the weight of the tags we carry and so used the white tags for this project. They curl when you wet them, but then the flatten right back out when dried.  Simply drag your tag through this delicious little color field.

The next technique is simply scribbling and dragging a reinker tip through your color field before misting.

As you can see the color is so much more vibrant.

The tag in the center is a combination of the two techniques. I created it using the first method and then dabbed it in the remaining vibrant colors from the second scribble technique. It is magical to see what will happen with each new application. Not only will this be fun for kids, but it will be fun for us older kids as well ;-D

 
This photo is to share what not to use - as you can see I used Memento Ink on the first set of fish and when I applied my Rock Candy stickles, well... SO attempt number two using an appropriate ink for this project, in this case Archival Ink.

I should have thought about my finished project before selecting my ink - I knew I wanted to add Rock Candy stickles to my fish to bring up the glam factor. As you can see the Memento Ink was not waterproof beneath the stickles.

At Ranger U I learned that Rock Candy Stickles can be heated! Yippie - I no longer have to wait to allow this beauty to dry. It is the only Stickles product that can be heated - the shimmer that emerges as it dries is gorgeous!

To create the water effect in the fish bowl I rubbed Distress Ink on my craft sheet, lightly misted it and then placed the fishbowl atop the ink puddles. Neenah cardstock will curl, but if you use your Heat It tool to dry it and then drag it over a rounded hard work surface edge in both directions you can eliminate many of the wrinkles and curls that result.

We hope that you have fun scribbling and dabbing! The results can be quite beautiful.
 

stamps: Kim Hughes Ocean Friends

paper: Neenah Solar White

ink: Jet Black Archival Ink Pad

accessories: Non-Stick Craft Sheet, Mini Mister, Distress Ink Pad - Dusty Concord, Broken China, Wild Honey, Distress Reinkers - Broken China, Dried Marigold, Rock Candy Distress Stickles, Large White Tags

Template: Download Fishbowl Template 

  

Bluebird Sketch and Technique Tag #1 Card Details

Sometimes it is all in the details and this card had SO many little details that I didn't address in my post on the CLASSroom. Well, with those missing details came a lot of questions and so I decided I would just put together an additional post for those who would like to know more about these little details. I skipped these because my post was already REALLY long and I didn't realize that they would be missed - so here they are for those who would like to replicate this project or would like to try some of these "other" techniques.

 

To color the bird I opted to use watercolors. I select which technique I am going to use when coloring in my images depending on the final look I want to create. I adore this little bluebird and did a Google image search to see what the "true" coloring of these birds would be. Once I saw the pictures I felt that watercoloring would be the route to take. I then went and selected my patterned paper based on the color scheme of the bird. The Hopscotch Graphic 45 paper is delicious and perfect in color tone!

I am finding these papers to be SO easy to use in my cardmaking because one side always has a scale that is appropriate and the color schemes are summed up in one word - YUMMY!

 

I stamped my Bluebird using Archival Jet Black Ink. Next I selected Distress Ink (Faded Jeans, Broken China, Weathered Wood, Fired Brick, Old Paper, Vintage Photo and not shown, Scattered Straw) to color this image. I used the dropper that is attached to the lid in these bottles to place one little droplet of ink on my non-stick craft sheet. I left the bottles on my surface to help me determine which droplet went with each color. Then using my waterbrush I painted in my little bird. There are a number of tutorials on the CLASSroom that talk about watercolor techniques. You will find that the colors will spread beautifully on your papers in the areas that are wet. If you do not want your color to float past a certain line, then do not wet that area of paper.

 

I have had numerous questions regarding the flower that I used on this creation. I should have known that this would be a rather elusive little item that need more explanation. The new botanical line of papers from Prima Marketing are superb! I have placed them in a number of different sections in the store to try and make it easier to find and figure out what they are for. I have put this line in two spots - Specialty Papers and Die Domain: Accessories.

These papers are phenomenal to cut with the low profile dies. In this case I used my Nested Flower die. I then inked the edges using an Ink Blending foam and Antique Linen distress ink. As you can see I opted to use the sponge only, making it easier to manipulate and just use one corner to add color to the edges only.

 

Hmmm - what else did I miss. I used the sentiment included in this month's special value "Gardener's Hands". Each month Cornish Heritage Farms comes out with a Stamp of the Month which is a 20% savings. Once our inventory runs out on this item we will then need to order these items independently and at a higher cost. So purchasing them in a set is a "good thing" if you like both images!

Last, but by no means least is the image from the exquisite Rummage Bin set created by Julia Stainton - Ornamental Beauty. This is a must have set for me - I LOVE the architectural like images that are included - they remind me so much of my interior design days!

I truly do hope that this helps answer some of those questions I left hanging with my technique post on the CLASSroom. I will do my best to create two posts simultaneously in the future. I am trying to keep those posts on the precise technique I am trying to share and not make them too lengthy, but when I get an opportunity to create my mind just goes wild and I throw everything in to the mix, but the kitchen sink it seems - LOL!