Thursday 4 January 2018

Stamping Techniques 101- Stampin' Blends


Hello, and thanks for joining us again for the January edition of the Stamping Techniques 101 Blog Hop.

This month we are focusing on the wonderful Stampin' Up! alcohol markers - BLENDS.
If you love colouring, you will be amazed at the results you can achieve, and if you are new to colouring you can just follow a few simple steps and you'll be colouring like a professional. 

I have chosen the stamp set "Garden Girl" to demonstrate the technique I use for colouring with alcohol pens.  You may see a number of different ideas throughout the blog hop and I'm sure that you will find just the right one to suit your style. The image is stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black ink (water based) and I've stamped on Whisper White card stock.

Stampin' Blends are alcohol markers and that means you will need to treat them a little differently to the water based markers.
#1. Always replace the lids as soon as you have finished using the marker - alcohol evaporates quickly.
#2. I like to start with a light colour and BLENDS make this easy as each of the colours comes in both a LIGHT  and a DARK pen/brush.



The colours I used for the dress are  
Pool Party: Light
Pool Party: Dark
Bermuda Bay: Light

I find that many of the colours blend nicely together and through experimenting you can create new colours by overlapping and blending the Stampin' Blends.
MY PREFERRED TECHNIQUE: 
I start with the lightest colour, then add the next lightest and finally add the shadows using the darkest of the 3 colours. You can then further blend all these colours by overlaying some more of the lightest colour ( Pool Party Light) 

#3. By adding all these layers we are saturating the paper with alcohol and you will find the colours bleed through to the back. Work on a piece of grid paper.

It is important that you start a little inside the stamped outline as the colour may bleed a little outside the lines if you are too close and the paper becomes saturated.

Below is a photo of the back of the card stock after it has been coloured  with the alcohol Blends. This is what is supposed to happen so don't worry, but do always work on an additional front for your card, not directly onto the card front.



Colouring hair and skin is always a little difficult, but again you can experiment with what works for you. As a guide I like to use:
 Ivory
Crumb Cake Light
Pink Pirouette Light
and a touch of Bronze



Colours used to create the hair are:
Daffodil Delight: Light
Daffodil Delight: Dark
Crumb Cake: Light
Crumb Cake: Dark
Bronze

The completed card shows how you can blend different colours as I have done for the background.

This background uses Pool Party: Light and Pink Pirouette: Light. 

As these colours are close to being Complimentary Colours, you may be able to detect a slight neutral effect where the colours overlap. Notice also how white the shirt looks - that is just the Whisper White paper.




BLENDS are a very useful investment and one of the benefits is that colours you use frequently can easily be replaced as you can buy each colour individually.
I have a list of all the products I used for this card and they are readily available for purchase via my

I have also created a video showing how I add the colour . You are welcome to view this and hopefully it will be of some help to you. Colouring is such a personal style and I don't presume to tell you how to do it, but sometimes it is good to get some ideas of where to start.
I haven't mentioned the Colour Lifter - a handy pen that helps remove little slips and  takes colour away to create gorgeous highlights. I didn't use it this time, but keep an eye open on some of the other posts to see how it works.

Stampin' Blends Video

https://youtu.be/J6nu1G2rPmU



I hope you will invest in some Stampin' Up! Blends. They will take your colouring to the next level and you will get hours of enjoyment from using them.

You can purchase the Blends as a full set, or you can buy them individually - whatever suits your budget. 

If you started the Blog Hop with me please continue on to the next blog to see more creative uses of the Stampin' Blends, and watch out for hints on great ways to use them. Make sure you hop to all the participants - you wont want to miss all the fun ideas and hints.

You will love these pens!

https://caringforstamps.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/stamping-techniques-101-stampin-blends.html





·      Amanda Fowler
·      Ann Craig
·      Carmen Sahadat-Morris
·      Delys Cram
·      Heike Vass
·       Leonie Schroder
·       Libby Dyson
·      Pam Jorgensen
·      Robin Merriman
·      Tamra Davis

Product List

9 comments:

  1. Beautiful colouring Ann and great tip using the crumb cake..never thought to do that!

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    1. thanks Delys - colouring is my favourite past time.

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  2. Wow Wow Wow... Totally stunning coloring!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Heike - still getting used to the Blends but I am loving the strong colour.

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  3. Your colouring is amazing! Love all the tips.

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    Replies
    1. Can't help myself Pam - water colour (and now Blends) are my favourite form of colouring.

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  4. Wow! Such beautiful coloring! I have blends-envy. :)

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  5. I think you are a professional color-er for sure! Amazing work!!!

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  6. Wow, wow, wow!!!! Thanks for sharing!!

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Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I hope you found something to inspire your creativity. Let me know you have visited by leaving a comment. I would love to hear what you think about my craft projects.
Live in Australia? You can purchase Stampin' Up! products via my On-Line Store?
Best wishes, Ann.