Sunday, October 12, 2014

Prismacolor Pencils or Faber-Castell Polychromos

Image by Rick St. Dennis, scene by My Craft Studio, put together in Craft artist 2 by Carla Brooke
After enjoying Prismacolor pencils, but putting up with the broken leads and wax bloom, I tried a new pencil and I'm loving it! I believe the Faber-Castell Polychromos have a richer pigment and blend better than the Prismacolor and there is no need for the gumso or mineral spirits. These vibrant pencils are break resistant, waterproof, non-smudge and match the company's other color lines. The pencils have a creamy texture and the color saturation is wonderful. They are easy to use, blend well and even erase. They are excellent for coloring, very smooth and accurate. I love the ability to mix color and create my own shades.  I have also used my Prismacolor pencils for a color I don't have in the Polychromos. Prismacolor pencils are wax based and Polychromos are oil based.

I only have the set 24 and would enjoy owning the whole 120 pencil set! I plan to fill in with single pencils ordered in the future, from Dick Blick. My set came from a company on Amazon.com.

The card at the top, the image of the girl and the toys around her was color with Faber-Castell Polychromos and just a bit with Prismacolor for the colors I currently do not have.


Come back to my blog to see the next pieces done using Polychromos!


Friday, October 3, 2014

Holiday Lamppost Card

Ever since I first spotted the Sizzix Holiday Lamppost die, I've wanted to buy it and design a card around it. Finally, I ordered it from my favorite scrapbook store. Of course due to the holly leaf on the front of the lamppost the December holiday cards are a natural for its' use. Without their addition a scenic would work well too.

I used it for an unusual holiday card, with the addition of a tinted piece of filler plastic for the lighted area.
Supplies:

Cuddlebug Machine
Jim Holtz Alterations Sizzix Bigz Die - Holiday Lamppost 657469
D'vine Swirl embossing folder
Impression Obsession cover a card brick stamp
Tinted sheet plastic
White cardstock
Black cardstock\
Green cardstock
Red cardstock
Stazon Brown solvent ink pad
Red pigment ink pad
Zip two way glue
3 in 1 Beacon advanced craft glue
140 lb.watercolor paper
Foam demensionals
Scissor
Large and small acrylic blocks
Small Xmas sentiment stamp
Card base





Cut lamppost with Cuttlebug machine.

Glue parts to lamppost.

Trim plastic for light.

Cut dimensionals to size and secure.

Ink stamp with brown

Rub watercolor paper onto large stamp and pickup ink.

Stamped leaving white area for paper snow.
Put embossing folder through Cuddlebug for snow design.

Hand rip embossed paper for the look of snow.



Glue paper snow in place.
Stamp small piece of cardstock with sentiment and rub ink on edges of cardstock.
Glue sentiment

Ready to glue to card base.

Finished set of 4 cards.