Love Letters In March

Hello Shimmerz Letter Lovers!

I have a mini tutorial for you today.  Lettering goes hand in hand with Shimmerz Paints.  There are endless options to combine paints and sprays with lettering, either brush lettering with a brush using the paints, or painting/misting the background and writing with similar techniques using brush markers.  Combining mediums creates endless possibilities.

Today I am creating a background with a variety of Shimmerz Paint products, in my Bible, and then adding Brush lettering, using a brush marker!...  So much fun combining the two!!!

I will share my project first, then include the mini tutorial of some brush lettering basics.

I prepared my page first using Clear Gesso.  Not all Gesso's are suitable for lettering on as they are usually made with a gritty texture (which will ruin your pens)  Art Basics (Prima)  has a beautiful clear gesso that is lovely and smooth and perfect for writing on!

I sketched out a large heart and painted it in with a water brush using a watery mix of Inklingz. 

(solid watercolour with gorgeous shimmer)

I always keep a paper towel near by to either clean off the residual paint from the waterbrush, or to dab off excess paint.  I added water as necessary and dabbed until I got a lighter centre to my heart and a darker outside,  creating a dimensional feel to the heart!

Let that dry and next starting on the outside.  I chose a yellow Aqua Huez 

(flat, solid watercolour- no shimmer)

A good amount of water is added to create a distinct watercolour feel.  I added several layers here to get an uneven colouring.  Letting each layer dry before adding more!

I added other colours as well.  Enter Creameez!

(solid, creamy and slightly shimmery water colours)

After that has dried I added my lettering using a brush Marker 

This one is a Pentel Touch and a Pigma Micron 01.

 Now for the Lettering!

This can be done by anyone but it really does requires practice.  As with anything the more you do something, the better you get.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Keep practising!

February Love Letters for Oakley

Hello Shimmerz Friends.

Today I sat down and lettered a piece to send to Samantha for her new Baby.  Little Oakley is arriving anytime now and we all welcome this precious little boy into the world.  We have all been eagerly awaiting his arrival, and many prayers have been said for his safe delivery!

This art work is a lovely poem that depicts the joys of being a Mum and the reminder to take it slow, soak it all in and enjoy times spent loving our little people.

See the Video below.

A quick how to....

I used Canson 220 Drawing Paper for this project.
1-I wrote out the poem arranging everything how I wanted it to look.
      Because on my first draft the text did not sit evenly on the page (the final sentence was too low) I       got out my lightbox and traced it a little higher up on the page making it fit better and appear               more central.
2- Using a water brush and several aqua shades of Shimmerz, Coloringz and Vibez, I mixed some             colour's and added others directly to my palette, mixing with water if necessary to thin down the         consistency.  I selected a couple of shades of grey  (Vibez- taupe of the morning and                             Coloringz-a shade of gray.)  I also added a little white acrylic paint to make the aqua colour a              little more opaque.
3- Using a fine tipped water brush I started writing out the words, I dipped the brush in other colours         as I continued each letter to meld the Aqua's and the Greys together.

As with any Brush Lettering or modern calligraphy styles the whole deal with creating the letters is with the consistent 'heavy down,' 'light up' technique, which creates the thick downstrokes and the thin upstrokes giving the text that unique look that is reminiscent of Calligraphy.  This just being done with a regular brush.  (You can, of course get a similar look from Brush markers.)

There are many worksheets on Pinterest that you can download for free, but practice is definitely key!

What ever you do Have fun!!!

See you next time,

Love Letters In October (#5)

Hello October!

I have a new Love Letters Video for you today.
With all the busy-ness in everyday life, it's so nice to sit down and just play.

Creating things that are easy, loose, not too structured....just letting the paint do its thing......Its fun. Thats all!

In this video you see how simple it is to let the brush make its marks.  Add water and watch the paint move.  Mix Aqua Huez (flat colours) with Inklingz (shimmery colours) and see how the shimmer responds.  Its really a process of getting to know your paints and the specific colours (they have a habit of behaving differently!)  Its relaxing and very therapeutic!

You will need
Paper that is thick enough to be able to handle a bit of water
a round brush  size 6,8 or even 10
Gesso to seal the page (I used clear)
Shimmerz Aqua Hues, Creameaz or Inklingz in colours for flowers and leaves
Water
Pencil/eraser

watch the Video Here.....

TIPS.....

Gesso your page first.

This gives you room to move as the paint sits on top of the surface rather than soaking in.  This means you are able to move the paint around, even when it has dried.  Remove completely with a baby wipe!  (cool!!!)

Let the brush make marks.  Push it and drag it.  You will be surprised how many flower and leaf shapes the brush is able to make on its own!!!  Practice on scrap paper to get a feel for it.

Let layers dry (use a heat tool if you are not particularly patient!) and then add more to build colour and dimension!

outline with the lead pencil to define shapes and bring your painting to life.

The Lettering.....

As always layout your design lightly in pencil first (don't press hard as it's tricky to erase pencil on gesso) use a water brush or paint brush with a nice fine point.  You can see in the video that this gives you the option of pushing down heavily to get thick lines on your downstrokes and lifting to get light pressure on the upstrokes.  

(practice with a couple of different ones in your collection.....they don't all perform the same!)

Practise this

Heavy down

light up.

It's easy, but takes some rhythm to get the hang of.  

Practise, as with anything is key.

 Thanks so much for stopping in today.....Hope you can sit and relax with your paint soon!!!

Love Letters In September. Water Color Embossed cards.

Hello There.  Its the first of the month again and I have another video showing you an easy lettering project!  This one features Shimmerz Coloringz and embossing.

Check out the video below to see how its done!

As you can see, drawing the roses is quite easy, just squiggly lines wrapping around the centre bud, does not need to be perfect.  Draw the full flowers first, then tuck in segments of flowers that are sitting behind.  Add some leaves here and there and when you add the colour it will completely come to life.  

Tip....draw with the embossing pen under a light and you can see the 'sheen' of the embossing fluid.  Its a bit tricky to see your lines other wise!

(If you are not brave enough to try yourself you could stamp an image using embossing ink, and emboss with powder the same way!)

I cut my water colour paper to roughly 4 x 4 Inches and once my design was finished I added a stitching border on the sewing machine.

....AND, If you have been practicing your brush lettering then finishing these cards will be a breeze.

A little about the product....

Coloringz are a spray watercolour product much like Spritz and Vibez, but has no shimmer.  It sports vibrant colour, but is also transparent allowing a unique building of colour with repeat applications to create depth.  Today I used it like a liquid watercolour and dipped a brush into it (either poured into a palette or just dipped straight into the bottle.)  So easy!  

Find Coloringz in the Shimmerz Store HERE

Hope you will give this a try!

Take care, and enjoy September everyone.

Love Letters in August.

Hi all, Happy August!

It's the first of the month and I have another lettering video to share today showing you some basics of Brush Lettering with Shimmerz (Aqua Huez, Creameez or Inklingz) and the Aquash water brush.

Just some basics to get started.

The Aquash Brush pen comes with the 'Choose your Huez' sets.  It is essentially a brush pen that carries the water in its barrel making it the perfect paint brush for travelling or creating on the go.  It is refillable and self cleaning without the need for glasses of water. All you need is a paper towel and you can remove colour by wiping the paint off and gently squeezing.  You can dilute the paint as you go and it's handy to add small amounts of water to the paint pots as you work (when the water soaks in and the paint gets thicker)

Aqua Huez, Creameez and Inklingz are Shimmerz water based, solid paints that need water applied to 'activate' the colour.  Much like water colours, one easy way is to spritz all the pots with a spray bottle, before you start setting up and in a few minutes they have rejuvenated making the solid paints ready to use.

If you have ever wanted to learn Brush lettering then this is a good place to start.

Grab your copy paper, a brush and your Shimmerz and remember to pause the video if you need to take some extra time, or see something again.  It really is just a matter of practice.

This second video is just a super short 3 minute long video of some of the basic strokes to start with.
Fill your papers up with these drills.  You might find it tricky to master the thick and thin strokes at first, but it will come to you and you will get better.  Just keep at it!

 

Hope you enjoy learning to brush letter.  Its really fun to do!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Shimmerz Love Letters-July. (Ephesians 1)

Hey There!
It's the first of July (and our 15th Wedding Anniversary-Yay! :-) ) and with that I have another Shimmerz Love Letter Video for you.  This time in the form of some Bible Journaling!

A start to finish Process Video of this Bible Journaling Page Using my favourite Shimmerz Paints, Aqua Huez and Inklingz.  :-)

Edited to note....I notice post editing there is a little space in the video without talking or music, just a bit of 'uncomfortable Silence' lol, please excuse that part!

Such fun to just sit quietly and create!

Process....

1. Gesso your Page

2. Pencil in your quote/verse

3.Ink your text

4.Watercolour on top with Shimmerz Paints

5. Pencil in your florals /Images

6. Paint images with a fine paint brush or Aquash Brush

7. Add white highlight details with a paint pen

7.  Enjoy your page

:-)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Have a wonderful week.

Love Letters from Shimmerz

Hey there.
Something fun today!!

I am starting off a series of handlettering for Shimmerz Education.  Today is the first video with a Project Using Aqua Huez and Brush lettering.

We are starting with Brush Lettering.  

See how in today's Video :-)

Watch this space for the downloadable printable which will be available soon!

Hope you are inspired to play with some Shimmerz Paints!

Thanks for stopping by!