Beautiful Card Designs Made Easy

July 19, 2012

More tutorials on the way ...

In the pipe line there is a tutorial on colouring clothes with Spectrum Noir ...  but I have been asked about other skin tones  .... and that is on the way too.

But they all take time and  I am happy that the response to these  vidoes has been so well accepted.

So thank you for all the lovely emails and comments that I have had.

Darker skin tones are something that many people are afraid to try and so I thought  it needed a tutorial  all by itself.    I have tried to stay with the colours that are available in the six pen sets to save some  expense ...  and I will of course give you the list of the pens used.

I have been colouring for a long time and it is only the product that is new. So if you have bought the pens then hopefully you too will have got something out of these tutorials that can be of help.

This is another image from Mo's Digital Pencil and the "Bling" is a Diamante Swirl from Want2scrap

Hugs xx

July 18, 2012

Copyright Infringement ...


This a quick post and no pictures and is to get out the message from Maurie J Manning.  

This is the wonderful artist whose magical pencil creates the beautiful images that I have been using for my videos.

It would appear that someone has been stealing some of her drawings and altering them. Maybe changing them fro boys to girls or vice versa, or altering the clothes that some of the characters are wearing.

She has also been adding her own name to the images to sell.

Can I urge you please that if you should wish to purchase any of Mo's drawings to colour them for yourself then you only buy them direct from her website ... Mo's Digital Pencil  and this link will take you to all the wonderful characters that Mo has on offer.

I have such respect for any one that can create such beautiful drawings and my personal view is that to steal them and claim them as your own is despicable.

Hugs xx

July 17, 2012

Pearly Baby

I hope you are not getting tired of these babies  ... though with such a lovely image I don't see how you can.

The next video in this series will be about clothes and I will show you some tricks with the pens to get the different looks.  It will be added later in this week  because at the moment my "Film Crew" is rather busy.

Around the edge of this card I have added the look of pearls ... but to use the real thing would cost too much

And so I have used glue to produce the look and the video   Create Your Own Pearls   will show you how to get the look and save money in the process.

Clicking the picture will  enlarge the photo  for a better view and I have varied the size of the pearls for greater effect.

 The charm on the left of the card is a silver baby shoe and I have added it to the  tag  with a silver mobile phone cord.

The number is fabric and raised on foam pads.

I have made the card to an 8" square as that gives lots of room to add the border, and I embossed a square onto it first.

I have added an "A" frame to the back to enable the card to stand ... and I don't need to add an insert to the card doing this.

The   Spellbinders Fancy Tags 3   has the addition of Nestabling around it and that is from Want2Scrap

I am pleased to tell you that my Spellbinder and Nestabling videos are featured on the Want2Scrap Blog page and I thank them for the compliment


Earlier this week I mentioned Micro Glass Beads and I have had several emails asking me about this product as it is quite new. The link will take you to a more detailed explanation and how to use them on your cards.

Hugs xx



July 16, 2012

Spectrum Noir and Hair ...

Continuing with the series on the Spectrum Noir Marker Pens ... and still using the same baby image that I started this series with ...  today I have added the next one  ... for colouring her hair.

Click to Enlarge
The only thing extra that I have used is a fine liner pen to get the wispy strands in the babys' fine hair.

I have really enjoyed colouring this image and you can get your own from Mo's Digital Pencil  and this link will take you to her website.

The video was added to the website this morning and here is the link if you would like to see it.

Spectrum Noir Hair  is one way to get the fine hair look for this particular baby

Of course not all hair is done this way and hope fully over the next few videos I will be able to cover  a lot more.

I really hope that they are helping those of you that are new to this colouring system, and they are available online from  Crafters Companion.

That  link will take you to the UK based website and if you are in the USA try this one instead  .... Crafters Companion USA   

And if you live somewhere else then you can try either address and see if they ship to your part of the world.... or maybe your local craft shop will have them in stock.

And if you know the pens already and have worked with them a lot ...  and know or have your own way of working with them ... then just ignore my ramblings !!

Hugs xx




July 15, 2012

Tip for pen tops...

Since the videos have been added for the Spectrum Noir pens I have had many emails about them.

But one of the things I said in the video was about my disapointment with the numbers wearing off the pen tops very quickly, and so making it awkward to identify the pen at a later time.

Well the problems has been solved by a lady who watches my videos  and she sent in this very simple tip to stop that from happening.
She suggested that when you buy the pens ... and before you start to use them ... coat the top of each one with some kind of laquer.  And so I raided my cosmetics and found some clear nail polish and set to work doing just what she had said.

I covered both ends to every pen that I had ... and then I did the same thing along the barrel of  some pencils that I needed to keep the colour groups on. 

It took a little whitle to dry but once it was I then had the perfect preservation for all my Spectrum Noir Pens.

So thank you to Miriam for this wonderful tip and it is one that I am sure many many people will follow as well. 

Hugs xx