Hand Lettering...Which Pens I like best

Hello all!  What's this?  A craft related post.  I can't believe it myself.  I've taken pretty much a hiatus from everything crafty.  We've had a lot going on in our lives the last month.  I've really been enjoying hand lettering lately.  I usually sit at the table in the evenings when Erik and I catch up on our days and write.  It's relaxing for me.  I also set up a tray and night and practice while we watch TV.  Currently, we are watching Sons of Anarchy.  It's really good.

I know I have a TON of practice to do.  I just wanted to share some things I'm using with you guys.  There is a ton of information on the internet.  Tons and it's easy to get overwhelmed.  I've always like handwriting and been interested in all kinds of fonts, etc.  What gave me a good jump start was a class I took from Studio Calico called "Love Your Lettering" by Jasmine Jones.  She gave a lot of really great tips.  She suggested using this pen:

I actually love this pen.  It has a drag to it that I like.  I also like the thicker tip.  I can't decide which pen I like more.  This one or my Sharpie.

I love that the Sharpie is so smooth when it writes.  I also like the fine tip.  I get that this is opposite of what I love about the Papermate.  It's just that I really like them both for different reasons.

As I was getting started on the hand lettering, I was filling in the downstrokes of the letters to make them appear more "Calligraphy" like.  To be honest, it was time consuming so I decided to try my hand with brush pens.  I started with this one.

I got two of them.  One was black and the other was True Blue.  They were good pens and I like the dual tip.  However, I noticed a difference between them.  The black marker was firmer than the colored one.  I heard a lot about the Tombow brush pens.  I decided to try them out.  You can see the pen in my first photo (Hello November).  I love this pen!  Love it!!

This pen is awesome.  It's firmer than the Prisma Colors so it's easier to control.  It doesn't have a strong odor..which sitting for a couple of hours and writing the smell can get to you.  I also really love the thin tip.  I used it in the picture above to write Roald Dahl.  It took a bit to get used to the brush pens, but I like the results far better than drawing the letters and filling in the down strokes.  It is far less time consuming and looks much smoother.

I should mention that I am also writing in a tracing paper pad that I bought at Target. I like that the paper is slippery and the pen slides nicely over it.  It's thin enough too, that I can put a paper with lines underneath as a guide.  I might buy a sketch book eventually, but I'm happy with the tracing paper for now.

Well, I hope this post helps if you are interested in hand lettering.  Have a great day.

Making a Mini Accordian Album

This is a little album I made for my Memory Works Guest Designer Projects.  It was really super easy, and I'm going to give you written instructions on how to make.  I hope they make sense.  Anyhow,  here are the supplies you'll need. 

*2 small square chipboard pieces.  I used mine from the MW Express February 2010 kit.
*Zip Dry or other adhesive
*Patterned  Paper
*Cardstock
*Scoring tool
*Ribbon and embellishments of your choice
(all of my paper supplies are from the Memory Works Express Kit February 2010)  Go here for more products.

Steps:
1.  Apply adhesive to the chipboard pieces and adhere the cardstock or patterned paper.  Let dry, and trim with an exacto knife.
2.  Measure your chipboard pieces.  Mine were 3 1/2 by 3 1/2.  You need the cardstock to fit inside.  So cut your cardstock into 3 x 12 inch strips.  I used 2 strips. 
3.  Score your strips every 3 inces.  And accordian fold them.  Adhere the two strips together to create one long piece.
4.  Adhere the accordian strips to your chipboard pieces, and decorate the pages inside.  You could put quotes, notes, or small pictures inside.

So, there you go.  I hope this made sense.  I would like to have taken some photos to go with this, but I'm out of time.  Somehow, it's hard to get things done with sick kids.  Imagine that.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me. 

Using Perfect Pearls and Ranger Inks

Here is the card I'm going to show you how to make.

Supplies you will need:

Cardstock

Ranger Mini Misters

Ranger Distress Inks

Embossing Gun

Perfect Pearls

Stamps of your choice

Plate

Paint Brushes

1.  First, you will need to make a mixture of Perfect Pearls and water.  Place a small amount of Perfect Pearls in the Mini Mister and then add water.  Shake to mix well.  Test it on a scrap, to see if you like the way it looks when you spray it.  If it's too glittery, add some more water.  If it's not glittery enough, add more Perfect Pearls.

2.  Ink your stamps with the Ranger Distress Inks.  Then, stamp your images onto a sheet of cardstock.  It is okay if the entire image is not stamped.  When you wet the ink, it will spread and blend together.  I stamped 3 butterflies for the card using Black Distress Ink.

3.  Spray only your stamped background image with Perfect Pearls.  I let mine air dry.  This allows the ink to blend more.

4.  Now, we will color the butterflies.  We are going to watercolor with Distress Inks.  Press your desired ink colors onto a plate. 

5.  Spray the ink with the MiniMister full of your Perfect Pearls Mixture.  Mix with a paint brush.

6.  Paint your butterflies and then heat them with an Embossing gun to dry. 

7.  Cut out the butterflies and place them on your card. 

So, there you go.  If you have any questions, leave a comment and I will answer them. 

Technique Week-Distress Inks

Okay, ladies.  This week I wanted to share a technique with you.  I wanted to show you how to use Distress Inks.  They are one of my most favorite products ever!  I use them all the time on layouts and cards.  Here are the supplies you will need along with some of my favorite colors.

Instead of showing you how to use them, I'm going to let Jennifer McGuire do it.  She is the expert.  So, why reinvent the wheel.  Here is the link for the video.  I know this is a little cheaterish, but I'm squeezed for time this week.  I'm by myself again, and I have lots of projects to finish up.  So, I hope you learn something interesting.  These products are really and truly products I use ALL the time.  Here's the link to my website, where you can find more Ranger Products.
Ladies, I really appreciate all of you.  Have a good evening, and a good week, if I don't get to post again this week.