Derwent Inktense Colouring Samples

More samples from my experimentation with the Try-It Colour Sheets. This time, I will be showing sample images coloured using the Derwent Inktense pencils. These are really bright and erm... for lack of a better word - intense! 


The bright colours are just so yummy. You don't really get an idea of how bright the hues are until you wet them with water. I have heard that there are some crafters and artists who use OMS with these pencils, but I have yet to try that. I like the ease of using just water to release those bright bright pigments.


Take a look at the samples and see how different they are from the watercolours:

The next set of photos I will be uploading will be those coloured using Graphtint pencils from Derwent as well. They are such a special series of pencils that have a slight sheen to them. Let me know what you think of your Derwent pencils if you are also using them =)

Samples Coloured using the prototype Try-It Colour Sheets

I have completed my rounds of testing with my Try-It colour sheets. I am so in love with this idea of creating these sheets for my workshops and online shop. I think it simplifies my preparation for workshops and reduces so much bulk in terms of colouring materials that I have to bring to the workshop venues.


I am planning to post the many images I have coloured using the three different sets of pencils in separate posts as there are so many to share =)


The A5 size of Try-It sheet of Derwent Watercolour pencils I used allowed me to colour all the 46 test images and have colour left on the sheet for more images! 


Colour sheet after use:

All the images I coloured using the Colour Sheet after I die-cut most of them:

A close-up look at several of the images:

I took the photos in a not-so-well lit room and placed them on top of my laptop so the lighting was quite terrible. I adjusted the brightness in photoshop and hope you can see the colours properly. Let me know what you think of them. =)

Try-It Sheets Prototypes for Watercolour pencils

I have just finished testing the various ideas I have in creating Try-It colour sheets for the different brands of water-soluble medium that I use for my watercolouring. I have decided on the type of paper as well as the size of the sheets etc. Here’s a sneak preview at the various types that I will be offering for sale on the site:

Derwent Watercolours – Set of 72

Derwent Inktense - Set of 72

Derwent Graphtint - Set of 24

I stamped  many images on 8 separate sheets of A4 paper and repeated that for each set of pencils I was testing. Here’s a glance at all the stamped images I used:

I included different types of images that I use: scenery, cute animals, florals, butterflies, baby themed and people. That should give you an idea of what the colours are suitable for the various types of images you may use. There are a total of 46 images in different sizes as shown.

I will be posting the details of the test I did for the Try-It sheets in upcoming posts. Do keep a lookout if you are interested in this product. I am intending to expand the brands of pencils as well as type of medium such as Twinkling H2Os.

Have a great crafting day ahead!!

Try-It Colour Sheets for Twinkling H2Os and Cosmic Shimmer Watercolour Paints

The paints finally dried on the acetate sheets after more than a day of waiting. To keep the tests the same, I used the same image on A4 paper and proceeded to colour the images using the paints I dabbed onto the acetate sheets.

Cosmic Shimmer Set 3

Twinkling H2Os Set 1210

 

I have an extra set of Twinkling H2Os that I purchased in 5g jars when I could not purchase them in 10g jar sets. I made another purchase later and now have these 12 colours duplicated and decided to play with them for these tests.

The cosmic shimmer watercolour sets come in sets of 8 and I used Set 3 for my tests as the colours are all so bright and cheery. I did not really take the trouble to ensure that the dots of colours are of the same quantity when I did the tests. I will have to find a way to ensure that the dots are more or less of the same concentration and quantity etc before making them available for sale.

The results of cosmic shimmer watercolour:

The empty acetate sheet is placed at the lower right corner to show what it looks like after all the paints are used. The amount of watercolour available on the small test sheet was sufficient to completely colour 19 images. I think that is quite a good amount of colouring material for a trial. 

Close-up shots of the cosmic shimmer colours:

I am not sure if the photos do justice to the shimmery effect. They just look so yummy =)

The results of the Twinkling H2Os:

There were more colours on the Twinkling H2Os palette and I managed to complete all 24 images on the A4 sheet.

Close-up shots:

I am considering creating these simple and portable palettes for my future workshops so that I will not have to carry large boxes of colouring materials around. In addition, I am planning to start offering sample palettes for sale so that one can get to try the colouring medium before spending money on a whole set. 

I am also planning to start creating card kits for sale and have these palettes included so all that is required to start putting the cards together would be adhesives and a water brush to colour the images.

I would love some feedback on these ideas for the palettes and will likely be inviting testers for these palettes. If you are keen to be a tester, do drop me a comment with your email address so that I may contact you. The testers will have to be residing in Singapore though.

Cheers and have a great crafting day ahead!

Try-It Colour Sheets

I saw samples of Try-It Colour sheets from Daniel Smith watercolours over the weekend and thought of making some using acetate and Twinkling H2Os and Cosmic Shimmer watercolour paints. I also thought it would be a good idea to scribble colours using different brands of watercolour pencils on a sheet and start offering them as Try-it colour sheets. With these sheets, you can try various brands of watercolour mediums before buying the full set of materials. I had to wait for the Twinkling H2Os and Cosmic Shimmer paints to dry before I could see how well the paints adhere to the acetate surface. 


In the meantime, I tested two different samples using a water-soluble crayon and a set of Swiss Colors watercolour pencils. I wanted to get an estimate on the amount of paint I actually get from a sheet of scribbled on colours. I decided to use identical stamp images on an A4 sheet of paper and see how many of the stamp images I could colour using the the Try-it colour sheets.


This is the look of the two sheets I started with:

  

The tags were cut using a sizzix die as I thought I ought to have a standard sized sheet if I am to offer them for sale. I am not sure how to report the actual size of the tags so I placed it on a sheet of A4 paper with the stamped images for comparison.

With a waterbrush, I proceeded to colour the stamped flower images. This is the result I got for the two different sets of colours.

For the watercolour crayons, it was actually a set of 30 but I decided to choose 8 colours to try as the tag was not very large. With the watercolour pencils, there are no names of colours or numbers and so I decided to place all the colours tight together on one face of the tag. With the watercolour crayons, I was able to colour a total of 11 images while I was able to colour 16 images with the watercolour pencils. 


I would say this is quite a successful experiment and goes to show that the amount of colouring material on the tag is quite substantial for a trial and should allow for a fairly good test of the colours.


What do you think of this idea of mine? I shall do a similar test using the Twinkling H2Os and Cosmic Shimmer paints once they are dry.

One blanket done, one more to go

 just finished a baby blanket for my friends' baby. It was done about a month ago, but I only completed the photo transfer to my laptop today. It is long due to be posted.





The blanket was made using about 29 balls of organic baby yarn from Japan. The yarn is so pretty and soft and amazing to work with. I took the pattern from an online source, working in alternate colours so that it looks like multiple bands of rainbow. I decided to make a rather large blanket so that the baby can use it for quite a few years before a larger one is required.

I have started on another one for my niece who is turning 3 this June. She has outgrown the one I made for her when she was an infant. I plan to make one that is approximately 1m wide and 1.5m long. The new blanket should last till she is in Primary school. I took this photo about 3 weeks ago when it was about a quarter done. It is much longer now at about 1m.




I love the lace pattern that I took from another pattern meant for a shawl. It is going to be a challenge to block the blanket after it is done.

What do you think of the 2 blankets? I would love some advise on how to block the lace blanket after it is completed.