Storing your Dies ...

Hi Everybody,

I am always being asked where I get the plastic pockets from that I store my dies and stamps in.

I got loads of them from Amazon a few years ago but they came from the US and the company no longer ship to the UK 

So I started to search for a new supplier as they are really a handy way to keep all your dies together. 

The smaller ones are simply CD pockets and you can get them anywhere. But the bigger ones are really strong and a good size at 6x8.

Sadly I have not been able to find any ... BUT ... Sue Symons has been doing some research also and she has found this video on YouTube and sent me the link. I am so happy to be able to share this with you and so here is the video ...

I hope you enjoy this and give it a try for your own storage solutions. I will certainly be making some of these for my self and will let you know how I go on 

A big thank you to Sue for sending me the link and also to Ann Melvin the lady who did the video in the first place .... MWah !!!!

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

More on Spectrum Noir

I have been asked some questions concerning the  Spectrum Noir Pen System,  and so the best place to answer them is here,  as many people are starting to collect them.  They filled a real gap in the market for an affordable colouring system and are well within most peoples price range.

There are 12 sets of  6 pens and they are  Pale Hues,  Blues,  Pinks,  Browns,  Reds,  Purples,  Cool Greys,  Warm Greys,   Greens,  Yellows,  Turquoise, and  Essentials.

They also come in packs of  24 and they are Darks.  Lights,  Brights and  Pastels making 168 in the complete collection.

But in the video Spectrum Noir Introduction  I said that you don't need all the pens and that the best way to get started with them was to buy the six pen sets.

These will give you an excellent colour range to get started with ... and when you feel more confident and  you like working with the pens then you can extend your collection.

The set I would advise you to get is the

Pale Hues.... as this is probably going to be the set you will use the most for all your skin tones.

 

Then the Essentials and two more of your choice will get the ball rolling.

Some of the questions were concerning the way the pens are numbered so let me explain  ...

 

When the pens were  first introduced  the numbering system  was different and  it was altered a few months ago.

 

But if you go to the Crafters Companion  website you can order a complete set of tops for your pens with the new numbering system  ... free of charge.

 

The pens are divided up into colour groups and the Letters tell you which group they are in.

 

For example  .....

 

PL is Purple and the numbers are the strength of the colours with 1 being the palest.  

CR is Coral and they go up to CR11 with that being the deepest, strongest colour in that group.

TN is Tan and they are from 1 to 9 with the colours as described ... palest to strongest.

TB is True Blues and they are from 1 to 9

DG is Dark Greens running from 1 to 4

 

To aquaint yourself  more with the groups you can download the  Colour Blends Chart from this link to Crafters Companion and  you don't need to be a member to get it.

 

Scroll down to Spectrum Noir and click  view to find the Colour Chart.... click the link and scroll again to Colour Blends, download it and  print it off  onto the same kind of paper that you will be colouring on and keep it with your pens ... you will find it invaluable when you want to choose colours from the six pen sets. 

 

This is another chart that you can download and this will give you the groups and colours for every pen in the whole collection.  

 

It is the A4 pre coloured Colour Chart and again very useful to keep with your pens ...  and you can see all the groups at a glance.

Storing them horizontally is best and remember that once you have purchased this system ... it is yours for life.

 

They are re-fillable and the nibs are replaceable ...  and if you coat your new pen tops with clear nail varnish the numbers won't wear off.

 

 

This storage system shown here is not just for Spectrum Noir as it can be used for all your pens.

 

One of the questions I was asked was the best way to store Promarkers.... well I stack my system on a slant and place the pens so that the pointed end is to the back.

 

This gives you more to grab hold of to get the pens out but unfortunatly you won't be able to see the pen colours with the Promarker  pen  design.

 

Hugs xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pen Storage System.

Before I went on holiday I was asked by Crafters Companion if I would like to do a guest blog post for their Spectrum Noir Blogspot ... and of course I was delighted to do so. 

There are many good tips about the pen system and how to get the best from it and if you like Spectrum Noir pens then it will be useful to visit their blog often.

They have featured the videos I made on colouring both pale and  dark skin tones.

As a  "Thank You" to me,  Sara Davies, the owner of CC,  sent me a complete set of the storage trays.

Crafters Companion have developed these for the Spectrum Noir range.... but they will take any pens that you have.

So together with the numbering system to the pens and this neat way to store them I now have a really tidy desk when I have completed colouring in my images.

And it is  easy to see which pen is missing and replace it into the correct spot.

Take a look at the video and maybe this Marker Pens Storage System could be just what you are looking for too.

Hugs xx

Car Boot buy

In the glorious sunshine over the weekend we went  bargain  hunting at the local Car Boot sale.

Now I know this is not to everybodies taste and most of it is junk .... but whatever the junk is,  to somebody else it could be a treasure.

I was looking in paricular for a  spice jar rack and  we  wandered  around with no luck.

Then  on  the  very last stall there it was ... shouting at me to buy it ..... so I did.

It cost me a couple of  pounds and it needed a really good clean,  but here it is scrubbed up and polished and  already in use.

It is  sitting on my worktop  with all the  little pieces  to be used  whenever I need that little embellishment to  adorn my card.

Another good storage idea ... though not a car boot buy ... is to use up the empty cases that your CD's are bought in.

They have lids and a central post to keep everything together.

This one has had my little paint pots glued to an old CD  and each disc will hold six of the pots.

Then when you are finished painting  just allow them to dry out again and then stack them in the holder,  pop the lid,  which is just visible behind,  back on. 

You will be able to store about four layers in the smaller holders.

This is one of the taller ones and it houses all my glues.

They all sit neatly on the tray and the lid keeps them all safe and clean.

Then when they are getting low I can store them upside down to make sure I get every last drop of the precious glue.

This recylcing is much better than throwing things away ... you just need to look at things in a different way.

Now how many of you have said   "Oh!  I've just thrown one of those away ...."  Tut Tut !!

Hugs xx