Christmas Challenge Winner!!!!

Hello Everyone!!!

I am so sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of the Christmas Challenge.  I have been away and had some technical difficulties posting onto the blog.

Nevertheless, here I am.... and before I announce the winner I'd like to say a couple of things!

Firstly, I hope you had a very merry Christmas and that you are enjoying the holiday season.

Secondly, I was absolutely blown away, firstly by the number of entries for this challenge....and secondly, by the quality of entries!!!! Your creations were simply amazing!

Thank you ALL for sending in your gorgeous creations.  I wish I could give a prize to each of you!

So now, without further ado, the winner this month is......#37-FIONA!!!

Well done!!! ... 

FIONA, please email us your address so we can mail your prize to you!!!! 

Thank you again for ALL your entries!

I wish you all a very happy New Year, and a healthy, colourful and creative 2012!!!

Lots of love .... Mandi-Lee
xxx

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Summer Challenge!

Here in Australia, Summer is well and truly upon us, so what better time to have a SUMMER CHALLENGE!!!  What does Summer mean to you?  Do you think of hot days at the beach, swimming in a pool, camping, bold blooms or just generally being outside and playing with the kids?  For our friends in the Northern Hemisphere who like to play along, perhaps this is just the challenge you need to escape from the cold and snow that you are experiencing right now?!

For my feature card, I've chosen to go with bright, happy colours and this adorable Beach Marci stamp by La La Land Crafts!  You can find the recipe for the card and the instructions on My Blog!

Copic Colours used - 
Hat/Float Ring/Swimmers - G20, G21, G24, Y21, Y35, Y38, RV55, RV63, RV66
Hair - E50, E51, E53, YR31
Skin - E000, E01, E11, R20

What's the Challenge?: Create a project (card, layout, off the page) using your Copic Markers to create a Summer  Project!!! Doesn't matter what image you use - let's see what Summer inspires in you!

Is there a Prize?: YES!!!  An Acrylic Block and pack of A4 Blending Card!!

Who can play?: This challenge is open to EVERYONE, including international!

How do you enter?: Use the inlinkz below to connect to your blog or online gallery and upload it prior to 6pm Monday 23th January, Australian EST (4am USA EST)!!!

I can't wait to see what you create!!!

Happy Colouring!!
Kathy
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Working With Reds

Hello Everyone and welcome to another CopicOz Tutorial!  Today I'm going to be talking about working with Reds.  Many people find working with reds challenging as the dense and intense colours have a habit of bleeding where you don't want them to!  I find that having a lighter hand and not over blending makes a big difference and also using a paper that is able to handle more ink helps a lot too.

Lets have a look at what I would do with reds.....
I've used Berry Sweet by Flourishes for my tutorial and have imagined the light source is coming from the upper right hand side.

First I lay down my base colour of R32, it really doesn't have to be very wet to saturate the paper, remember reds like to bleed and also, the colourless blender will not work well with reds, so you don't want to go outside the lines!

Next I've flicked in some R35 (I'm showing this before blending).  I find that using a Feathering action means not as much ink is laid down and therefore less likely to bleed! Then very lightly flick out with R32 to blend. 

Next I've added some R37 where the darker shadows would be, once again before blending.  If you are finding that your colour is starting to move where you don't want it too, leave it to dry for little bit so the paper isn't so saturated.

I like a lot of contrast in my images, so I've added a little R39 to make the berries look rounder.  Once again I've just flicked in a little bit and very lightly blended.

If you really want to deepen those shadow areas, try adding a little RV99 - look how much deeper those shadow areas are now!

One thing I always do with my images, is colour the red areas first.  Why? Well, if it does bleed and make a mess, at least I haven't spent a lot of time working on the rest of the image and can simply start again.

If you are struggling with your reds, here are some tips you may like to try.....

• Work on an absorbent surface, but putting clean scratch paper or paper towel under your work.  This will help absorb some of the excess ink.
• Try different paper!  A soft paper is much more likely to bleed.
• Use less ink - it doesn't matter if the back isn't looking smooth, focus on the front and don't over soak your paper.
• Feather blend or flick your colours rather than circle blend.  This made a huge difference for me.
• Let your layers dry before adding the darker colours as your paper can only hold so much ink before bleeding.
• Stay away from your edges so that a little bleeding will not go outside the line, remember due to the intensity of red, the colourless blender won't work to correct your mistakes.

I hope you've enjoyed today's tutorial and make sure you leave us a comment with a link to all your creations colouring with reds!!

Happy Colouring!
Kathy  :)Pin It