Pretty Sweet ...

This little girl is from the "Pretty Sweet" CD from  PolkaDoodles  and I love the images on there.

The colour is not very good but it has been photographed under artificial light.

I much prefer them in natural daylight but it was getting late in the day when I did this.

The card has the Braided Ribbon  used along the bottom edge and the background panel has been embossed with the Paisley M-Bossabilities folder.

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts   and the Pearly Flourish is from Want2Scrap  

Before I go I just want to tell you that there are some new Spellbinders in at Save On Hobbies

These are some of them, at an amazing price, and hopefully we have now overcome the problem with the extra Customs charge.

Pictured here are the Donna Salaza Alphabet,  Creative Book Pages 2 ,  Hexagon Pinwheel Top Box,  and the  Square Petal Top Box

I have been making samples for these today and over the weekend I will be making some Videos to show you what I have been up to. 

Hugs xx

Green and White

I don't know if I have shared this card with you before ...  so if I have apoplogies and if I haven't then here it is and it is well worth reading the verse on the front of it.

The verse is from Clarity Stamp and it is really lovely and could be sent to many different people for many different occasions.

Send it to your mum for Mothers Day.  To your husbands/boyfriends for Valentines Day or a Birthday.

Send it to your daughter or son for any reason  ...  the posibilities are endless.

The background for this card is from an Embossing folder from Couture Creations and it called Seedling Nouveau ... and it is very pretty.  The fancy edge to the card is created with Spellbinders Classic Triple Scallop.

The centre piece is cut from the Layered Scallopd Posy with the largest die from the  Persian Motifs layered on top.

The ribbon has been threaded through a border created from the Classic Postage Stamp  and the knot covered with a Vintage button.  I love the metal corner piece at the top of the card.

I would also like to share with you a Blog post from Naomi over at  Creative Bug on the Loose  as she has opened a Digital Shop and has some really cute images there for you to buy.... as well as giving away a free image each week .....oh!  I love a "freebie" .... and I bet you do too.

Hugs xx

Some news ....

Have you noticed the new button on the right hand side of the Blog page ???? 

I have made it onto the Design Team for Paper Creators  and I have never done anything like this before .... so guess who is really pleased with herself.

 

I entered a card for this before I went on holiday and was very pleasantly  surprised  to have the email, to say I was accepted, waiting for me when I got home.

I am so pleased  and this is one of the cards that I have made for Debbies Blog

It is made from Centura Pearl card from Crafters Companion and the papers are a  lovely shade of green from a magazines' free paper stack

The paper Doily if from my stash and the Bling as always is from Want2Scrap

There is a pretty piece of Guipure lace under the image and it has been wrapped with white ribbon and the bow.   I have added Bakers Twine around the spine.

Pop over there to see the other cards that Collette,  the other new DT member and I have come up with,  and there will be lots more to come in the coming months.

 

This is using the  "Hanging Out To Dry"  image that can be purchased from the Paper Creators shop and there are lots of different characters for you to choose from.

 

Wish me luck  ....

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