Saint Patrick's Day ATCs

Hello wonderful people! In todays blog post I will go over the steps I took to make these cute little Saint Patrick's ATCs! I think that they came out really really well! But I will let you be the judge of that. 

Supplies:

Corrugated Paper

Gold Leafing

Repurposed Tagboard

Quickie Glue Pen

Glue Sticks

Double Sided Tape Applicator

Embossing Powder

Chalk Pastel 

First, I printed out the images that I would like to use. This is the St. Patrick image that is the focal point of the ATC. I thought about doing one with rainbows and maybe a pot o' gold but I wanted to think outside the box. I wanted to make something that is totally unlike anything that people would have in their collection. 

I took the images that I printed out and mounted them onto a heavy cardstock (this was actually packaging from vellum - so "found" cardstock). I used scissors to then cut these out. I think I did a pretty good job. It can take awhile for more complicated designs, but this one wasnt too bad. 

Once that was done, I took the Quickie Glue Pen and drew around St. Pat's halo. Working in sections, before the glue could dry (aka turned from blue to clear) I added the gold leafing onto the surface. Once I went all the way around the halo I let it dry completely (long enough for me to work on the five other halos) before taking a soft brush to the leafing and knocking off the extra that had not glued down. I really like the glue pen because it allows me total control of where the glue goes. This is amazing! 

Then, I moved to working on the backgrounds of the cards. I used corrugated white paper (found this at Crafter's Warehouse in the clearance section) and double sided taped that to the repurposed tagboard. Interesting story about the supports. Have any of you ever ordered stamps from the USPS either online - or over the phone? Well, when they send the stamps, there is a piece of this tagboard in the package with them. It is not too heavy nor too light. Love love love this stuff! 

Next, using the glue pen again, I went down one edge of the card, and before the glue could dry, I applied gold embossing powder. Then I heated that powder and moved onto the next side of the card. Did I say that I made 5 of these? Once I was done with that whole ordeal, I moved onto the chalk pastels. 

The chalk pastels I have are full sticks, square in shape. I just took this and ran it up and down the ribs of the white paper. Then using a soft brush I blended them into the surface. This created the background for my St. Pat icon. 

I used double sided tape to stick down the image to the background and TADA I have 5 wonderful ATC to trade. I ended up keeping one just because I liked it so well. I usually do not make series of 5 but I think that I might start doing this more. Especially with the more popular themes AKA steampunk, bookpages, any holiday etc. 

Thanks for reading! 

Inktense are the BEST pencil EVER!

Mushroom Goddess before water

After water

I love Inktense pencils. I started with the primary colors and then bought a few more. And a few more, until I nearly have them all. So I have decided to post a blog boasting about the wonderful properties of these pencils.

First, the bright INTENSE color that awakens with just a touch of water is amazing. I have a Koi waterbrush that I use for blending. You could use a paintbrush or spritzer to wake up the paint but I prefer the waterbrush simply because I don't have to sit next to a glass of water and dipping the bristles in continually. A little water can go a long way. I like my color to stay on super thick so I use less water than I could. 

Watercolor or mixed media paper has been my favorite application for this pencil. Using Micron pens to outline the drawing (I know what my next blog can be about now lol) because they are permanent when dry. 

I still have yet to test this rumor I hear that Inktense can be used on fabric. I have seen videos from Derwent but I am lazy and need to watch them. I plan to run an experiment and see into the overall longevity of the stain etc soon here in the future. Until then I will just have to talk about the best pencils ever!!!

Seriously, even when coloring with these the ink feels nice over the paper. Kinda slick and nice. Not like scratching charcoal over paper or anything but smooth like warm butter on toast. This makes me happy. The smoother ones just glide on so that means that the layering is pretty easy; which makes blending a breeze. 

I keep my shavings and sprinkle them into a wet background and WALA you have an instant cool looking patterns. Derwent has a shaver/cup system made to grate their Inktense blocks into a cup. You can create a wash with the shavings or sprinkle for a faux texture look. Freaking AMAZING line of products I say. 

I heart Inktense!  

Derwent Graphitone Water Soluble Colored Pencil

I have a thing for pencils. Yes I do. And if they're water soluble its even better! Graphitint pencils are water soluble tinted graphite. I have the line of Inktense pencils as well and use the graphitint for my more muted end of the color pallet. I chose just a few for my purposes and played around with them on Strathmore Mixed Media Cards, outlined with Micron pens and glazed with FW Acrylic Ink.  

Before water.  

After a hit from my bladder brush.

This is a closeup after I painted the acrylic ink over the top of my pencil drawing. I have the shimmering series, which are a kind of interference color, so they are translucent and shiny. In fact its hard to see that they're there until you see it from just the right angle. It looks amazing! Whats nice about the artists cards is that they come with envelopes so sending them out in the mail is a breeze.