Spill Ink on Your Project?

I have had a request for more tutorials here on The Creator's Leaf, but I have to tell this tutorial was not a planned one. This is a post of necessity.

Off and on for the past week I have been drawing - and adding to - this 8" x 8" tangle. A little here, a little there, as I had the time. Last night I was happy with where the drawing had arrived and pulled out my copics to start some coloring.

I was rolling along fairly well until this happened. Do you see it, just there? (I sound like Hermione to Ron, "you have dirt on your nose. Just there. Did you know?") My pinkish copic was working very well as I colored parts of those zingers, then all of a sudden a big blob of color popped right out and onto my paper. I had no chance to even react. The marker just spit that color right out onto my drawing I've been working on for a week. Needless to say I was not happy.

So not happy. I grabbed my blender and tried to salvage some of the area, this was the best I could get the blob reduced to. I was so not happy. I can't even tell you how not happy. I shut everything down for the night and went to sleep.

My original thought last night was to throw the whole project in the trash, thankfully I didn't do that. I've told my kids over the years something I learned from my dad - that typically nothing is broken so badly that it can't be fixed, or mended, or altered in a workable manner. So. I woke up this morning with the thought that  - shoot! I can totally camouflage that blob! So out came my trusty little circle template. I had circles spaced around the project already, I just decided to add another. If I  hadn't already had circles figured into the drawing, I could have certainly added them at this point. I just needed to figure out a way to salvage what I already had - by adding something else. Pulling out an existing element and making it work in this blobby area.

In my haste - and probably partially due to all the cold medicines I'm taking - I didn't even realize I drew right over the top of the zinger stem. I also drew into the leaf - which I did realize. Ugh. So I grabbed a small tip pen and drew hash lines along the edges of some of the leaves to camouflage the error. 

To cover up the line through the stem - I added lines to all the zinger stems. Not a big deal, an easy fix. Then I drew another circle to go around that pink blob.

Finished coloring the circle, added some hashlines to a few other leaves to balance the drawing out, and I had my pink blob repaired and good to go.

Then I finished up the coloring with some other copics, At You Spica glitter pens, and my Wink of Stella glitter markers. Love those pens!
So, if you need to cover up a blob of ink - or a portion of your drawing that didn't turn out like you expected - look for an element that is already present in your drawing. Perhaps you will find one that you can replicate in the problem area to camouflage/fix it. And have fun!
(The idea for this drawing came from artwork of my friend Marizaan Van Beek. Marizaan is a fellow CZT who lives in South Africa.)

Confused About Twinchies?

There are still several sets of twinchies I want to share with you. Fifty-four of us are swapping these little two-inch pieces of art and - as you can well imagine - it is hard to make a little two inch piece of paper become spectacular. You don't have a whole lot of room to work with in two inches. (There are a whole world of people who make inchies - I couldn't even imagine. Haha! Good for them, I say!)

So. Where did I start? 
Where do I many times start? 
I can hear Nancy Wigley chiming in here - I start with Dylusions Ink Sprays.   Yes, I do know there is other product on the market but why go there when I get these bright, luscious, beautiful colors with Dylusions? Seriously. 
When I am working on projects I save any scraps of paper in a ziploc bag and add to it as I go. There is always a scrap bag on my work table. (It's usually buried, but it's there.) Twinchies are a great way to use up some of that scrap. Some of the pieces I used already had color on them. (I don't waste scraps with pretty color on them. I horde, uh, save them.) For the ones that didn't - I spritzed water onto the pieces, followed by spritzes of a couple different colors of dylusions. Then you just let it all sit for about 10-15 seconds and watch those colors blend. A paper towel blotted to the paper surface will stop that mixing/blending action. Remember - if your color is too dark when it is dry or almost dry - you can lighten it up with another spritz of water. Dylusions are not color fast. They will start reacting again when you add 'wet' product - be that water or another color. 
You will notice some of the tiles above have designs on them. Take your dry colored tile, lay a stencil over the top, hold it in place, and spritz water over the top of the stencil. Let it sit for 5-10 seconds, then carefully lift the stencil and watch the color lifting start to work. After about 15 more seconds, blot the tile with a paper towel - and continue to watch that color lift leaving behind the design of whatever stencil you used. Remember - dylusions inks are not water fast, they react with wet product. So take advantage of that and make it work to your benefit.

Since I am a tangler - I went back and added various tangle patterns to the tiles. Some are more elaborate than others. This wasn't one of them :). I loved the little fish and how well he turned out. (He came from a stencil.) I went simpler and just added tangle bubbles to his water, leaving the fish to be the focus of this twinchie. There are so many things you can do! So - save your scraps (or hack up a big sheet and have fun!) and get to making some twinchie awesomeness! Cause it's fun!

Cue the Warthogs

Cue the warthogs and meerkats. Ready the lions, zebras, and giraffes. Prep the elephants and wildebeest, cause it's the circle of life. Hehehehehehe!
Circle of Life lyrics by Tim Rice

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun,
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done.

There's far too much to take in here,
More to find than can ever be found,
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round.

It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope,
Through faith and love,
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle,
The Circle of Life.

It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope,
Through faith and love,
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding,
In the Circle,
The Circle of Life.

A little more twinchie fun today, this time in circles. 

I used watercolor paper - Bristol Smooth from Stathmore - 

and Dylusions Ink Spray, Wink of Stella Glitter Pens,

and At You Spica Pens.

More Underwater Twinchies, APR #95

Under the Sea (continued from yesterday) ~ The Little Mermaid ~
Down here all the fish is happy as off through the waves they roll. The fish on the land ain't happy, they sad 'cause they in their bowl. But fish in the bowl is lucky, they in for a worser fate. One day when the boss get hungry guess who's gon' be on the plate.
Under the sea, under the sea, nobody beat us, fry us or eat us in fricassee. We what the land folks loves to cook. Under the sea we off the hook. We got no troubles, life is the bubbles, under the sea. Since life is sweet here, we got it beat here, naturally. Even the sturgeon an' the ray they get the urge 'n' start to play. We got the spirit, you got to hear it, under the sea!
(Kind of long, but here's the rest.)
The newt play the flute, the carp play the harp, the plaice play the bass, and they soundin' sharp. The bass play the brass, the chub play the tub, the fluke is the duke of soul. (Yeah) The ray he can play the lings on the strings. The trout rockin' out, the blackfish she sings. The smelt and the sprat they know where it's at, an' oh that blowfish blow.
Under the sea, under the sea, when the sardine begin the beguine, it's music to me. What do they got? A lot of sand, we got a hot crustacean band. Each little clam here know how to jam here under the sea. Each little snail here know how to wail here. That's why it's hotter under the water. Ya we in luck here, down in the muck here under the sea.
Going to add this post to the weekly Artist's Play Room challenge. Jenn encourages us to 'art' and share it in the play room. Why don't you head on over here and check it out.
*  *  *  *  *  *
Twinchies are tiny pieces of art that are two inches square. A whole bunch of artists on facebook are currently involved in a twinchie swap. I can not wait to start receiving beautiful pieces of art from all over the world - literally! These are just a few of the twinchies I will be sending out. More tomorrow.
These twinchies were made on watercolor Bristol smooth from Strathmore, color comes from Dylusions Ink Sprays, and sparklies are courtesy of Wink of Stella Glitter Markers and At You Spica Pens. Click on photo to see a larger view.

Twinchies Under the Sea

Under the Sea ~ The Little Mermaid ~
The seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake. You dream about going up there, but that is a big mistake. Just look at the world around you, right here on the ocean floor. Such wonderful things surround you. What more is you lookin' for?
Under the sea, Under the sea, Darling, it's better down where it's wetter, take it from me. Up on the shore they work all day. Out in the sun they slave away, while we devotin' full time to floatin' under the sea.
Twinchies are tiny pieces of art that are two inches square. A whole bunch of artists on facebook are currently involved in a twinchie swap. I can not wait to start receiving beautiful pieces of art from all over the world - literally! These are just a few of the twinchies I will be sending out. More tomorrow.
These twinchies were made on watercolor Bristol smooth from Strathmore, color comes from Dylusions Ink Sprays, and sparklies are courtesy of Wink of Stella Glitter Markers and At You Spica Pens. Click on photo to see a larger view.

Therapy Has Begun

I started physical therapy today for my achilles tendonitis. 

Whoa! Stretching, pushing, pulling, straining.

And that was just the assessment.

If you were wondering about the two larger hearts -

they are from a paper punch I have.

Punches both hearts at the same time

and I just put my chop in the centers. 

Tangled a bit, made up those balloons,

threw on a little washi tape and called it done.

Doing Better, APR #89

My foot is coming along. Finally. That old achilles tendon is finally starting to feel a bit better. Of course I've been sitting for a week and a half now. Reading, playing my gameboy, checking facebook, and drawing a little here and there.

About 40 heated foot soaks, 40+ ice packs, and one can of BioFreeze and I can tell some difference. Getting up in the morning and putting that foot on the floor is still a challenge. Talk about pain!

But I'm getting there. I go back to the doctor this Thursday to see where we go from here. She is looking for a 50% improvement. I think we have that much. Praying we have that much.

And in the meantime, I draw. And for the first time in quite awhile, I am linking this up to the Artist's Play Room where Jenn lets us post whatever art floats our boat this week. This is what has kept me afloat as I sit here on my chaise lounge with yet another ice pack. You can check out the Artist's Play Room here at Just Add Water, Silly! (I love Jenn!)

Trying New Things

Wow! That's really big! You can see every line I drew and all my little slip-ups, too.  >,< Actually, I like the pictures being big so you can appreciate all the lovely color against the black backdrop of the blog :).
So, it's 2014 already. Seriously? What happened to 2013? Our family seemed to have a fairly eventful year: 
Jason and Bobbie blessed us with a beautiful little precious granddaughter in Frankie. She was five weeks early, and weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces. Beautiful and perfect in every way.
Kali moved to Maryland to attend culinary school and is on the way to realizing her dream of being a professional pastry chef. She is working at a world-class French restaurant in their pastry kitchen when she isn't at school. 
Mark continues to work at Shands and hunts every chance he gets, and I do mean every chance. 
Nicole and Dale are still enjoying life with all six of their children. Nicole changed jobs this year and seems to be enjoying life immensely. I love to read her and Dale's facebook statuses! They make me smile on a regular basis. 
I have had some health issues this year, and continue to work with them, trying to get things back to normal. It's been a very stressful year for me personally, but the family is all doing great. I continue my journey into the new land of art and creativity. My art was published in two books this year. I can tell you that it feels really strange to stand in a store and see your artwork staring back at you from a page in one of the books for sale!
Here's hoping that 2014 will see even more positive changes. Some new things, if you will. Kali will be finishing school and continuing with her two-year commitment to the restaurant. Little Frankie will celebrate her first birthday. I have artwork coming out in at least two new books this year, will be starting to co-write a book with a friend, and will continue working on my own e-book. 
May 2014 be rosy and bright for you and your family. May God richly bless you and provide for you in abundance as you honor Him with your life. Thank you for hanging in there with me and The Creator's Leaf in 2013! You are appreciated more than you will ever know! Hugs!!!
(A working note to myself: hits at 35,704 and 103 members.)

A New Year's Coming

These are the last three of my New Year's post cards for the swap. I used mixed media paper and cut my own 4" x 6" postcards - rather than buying them. In the last two cards I tried something new. Not sure how I like it yet. I used pen nibs and a speedball wand, which I dipped into Liquitex Acrylic Ink to draw the pink string and the green vines. Other colors in the cards came from Grumbacher Translucent Watercolors, Wink of Stella Glitter Markers, and At You Spica pens. It's almost new year's day. The cards are in the mail. It's a new record :).

Pkok Tangle, Sandhya Manne

Currently, I am working on postcards.  A few of us are involved in a New Year's postcard swap and I'm trying to get mine done and in the mail.  You might have seen yesterday's post where I listed how far behind I am.  I am one step closer now, haha!
Pkok is a new tangle from Sandhya Manne, one of our CZTs from India. Her work is always so beautiful and delicate.  I love this new pattern of hers! It just really wanted to mix it up with some merryweather (Sandy Hunter) and bales (Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas).
I cut my own postcard from mixed media paper. Color came from my Grumbacher Transparent watercolors. The sparkle is from Wink of Stella Glitter markers (which unfortunately doesn't photograph well.)

Butterflies in Flight

About two weeks ago, I posted this background and showed the steps I took using a stencil to lift the background color, forming the shapes of the butterflies. You can see that post here. From there, I started drawing in the butterflies with black microns. I added color with a fairly new product from Zig - Wink of Stella Fine Glitter Dust pens. I love them! They provide color, glitter, sparkle, and shimmer, and are transparent so you can still see the tangle lines through them. So much fun! I hope you enjoy my butterflies in flight!