Where To Start With Scrapbook Ideas
With so many products available for scrapbook ideas you may find yourself in a situation where you just do not know where to start. If you are new to scrapbooking then the basic materials you will need are as follows:
Scrapbook paper
Adhesives
Cutting materials such as a craft knife and paper trimmer
Pictures
A Scrapbook
These items are the foundation for any scrapbook.
When you first decide to go shopping for products for your scrapbook ideas I would recommend you start out buying items in small quantities. This way you can play around with different products and work out which ones you prefer before spending a huge sum of money. It also gives you a chance to experiment with different craft materials.
Select bits and pieces that you find attractive and inspire you. Have a picture in mind before you shop so you can purchase paper and items that will correspond with the picture you are going to be placing in the scrapbook. You may even consider taking the picture with you making selecting embellishments to decorate the page even easier.
You will need to make sure all of the items for your scrapbook ideas are protected in some form so ensure that you only use materials that are scrapbook safe and acid free. This will maintain your scrapbook pages and prevent them from deteriorating over time.
Before you leave the house to shop for items for your scrapbook ideas make sure you write a list. It will be extremely tempting to buy vast amounts of papers and embellishments. Not only is this very expensive but it can leave you feeling overwhelmed and unsure what one of your scrapbook ideas to use.
Ideally you need to have a theme in mind so you only purchase items that match and compliment each other.
If it is your first scrapbook then I would recommend that you do not purchase complex or fiddly craft items as you may find the whole thing extremely difficult and end up being put of scrapbooking altogether. It is far better to begin with basic materials and purchase ready made embellishments before you try to make your own.
Over time you will learn how these are put together and before you know it you will be saying ‘I do not need to buy that, I can make it myself!’
If you really do not know where to start it may be worth enrolling in a class to learn some basic principles of scrapbooking. Most craft shops offer classes that will help beginners and show you how to use what you have resourcefully as well as provide you with lots of scrapbook ideas.
Vicki Churchill writes for a site that specializes in scrapbook ideas http://www.vickisscrapbookideas.com providing you with excellent tips and ideas for creating stunning scrapbook layouts
Materials Required For Watercolor Painting
My attitude toward materials may be summed up by paraphrasing the old adage that just as you can’t be a good carpenter without good tools, so you can’t be a good watercolorist without good materials.
Even the beginner, who must spoil and throw away a lot of paper, should not start off with too cheap a grade of paper. Adequate machine-made rag-content papers are available for practice. However, as soon as possible, the beginner should switch to a good handmade paper. Such paper not only takes paint better but shows up whiter at those times when the paper becomes an integral part of the design, such as when painting snow scenes.
It also pays to be consistent in the grade of paper you choose. This makes it possible to evaluate your work as you progress. After you’ve learned to achieve a certain effect on one grade of paper and find that it doesn’t work on another grade, you’ll understand the importance of this point. By using the same grade, you can, under ideal conditions, achieve the same effect rather consistently.
In the beginning you may want to use a lightweight unmounted paper, say 72 pounds. However, you will soon discover that it will tend to buckle when heavy washes are applied. The resulting wrinkles can be most disconcerting when you are trying to paint reasonably straight objects such as telephone poles, fence posts, and piles. I have found the 300-pound weight to be nearly wrinkle-proof.
In choosing paper you must also consider its texture. Surfaces from very smooth to rough are available. Selection is usually based on the technique employed by the artist. I use the rough paper almost exclusively because I find it of great help in softening edges, creating textures, etc. I prefer the 300-pound d’Arches rough or the 300-pound AWS rough. The d’Arches has a slightly yellowish tint, whereas the AWS is pure white. Both are handmade and of the same high quality.
Sandpaper it used chiefly for scratching off paint in areas where more white is needed.
Masking tape is used to cover those areas of a painting that you wish either to leave as white paper or to paint later on. Maskoid serves the same purpose for small areas.
Butter knives are very useful as tools and, because of their blunt edges, are particularly handy for scraping off paint softly for textural effects.
Although there are many colors of fine quality available, I find that for my work Rembrandt colors are the most satisfactory I use the following watercolor brushes: 2-1/2 inch second grade camel hair and 1-inch Grumbacher aquarelle which are flat; 1-inch, 1/2-inch and 1/4-inch short-hair flat bristle brushes, made for oil painting; numbers 12, 8, 5, and 2 red sable Winsor & Newton or Grumbacher round watercolor brushes.
Additional equipment needed by the watercolorist are a soft cosmetic sponge (fine-textured and natural – not rubber) ; a water container; paint rags; hand mirror ; a low sketching stool; kneaded and sand erasers; HB, 2B, and 6B pencils; drawing board; tube of rubber cement; paint-box and mat knife.
A 5-inch by 7-inch sketch pad is another useful adjunct to the sketching trip for thumbnail sketches preliminary to working on the main picture or for pictures to be finished back in the studio. This also serves as a record of the amount of work you have done during the year.
Now it only remains to begin painting!
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Poinsettia Rubber Stamps – The Perfect Stamp For Christmas
Poinsettia rubber stamps are becoming one of the most popular stamps to purchase around Christmas time. They can be used to create stunning Christmas card ideas and can also be used when creating Christmas scrapbook page layouts.
Typically a poinsettia has red, pink or white leaves and a green stork. Due to a Mexican legend the poinsettia is associated with Christmas. It is said that many years ago a young child wanted to give a gift to Christ on Christmas eve but had no money. The child picked some weeds that were growing by the side of the road. After taking the weeds to church and placing them there the child told the congregation that god should gratefully receive the gift as it was given with love. The weeds bloomed into beautiful red and green flowers and the congregation felt that they had seen a miracle.
Poinsettia rubber stamps can come in a variety of sizes. Respectively the price will depend on the size of the stamp itself and more often than not the larger the stamp the higher the price.
One of the great things about Poinsettia rubber stamps are that you can use them to create beautiful decoupage images. Simply stamp the image more than once and decorate as you wish. The next step is to cut out extra leaves and apply them by using 3d foam pads.
Poinsettia rubber stamps are usually quite large. If you are using this design for your Christmas card making ideas then generally having this image on the front of the card is more than enough and will need very little further accessories to finish it off.
Poinsettia rubber stamps can also be used to create stunning background papers for either card making or scrapbooking. Experiment with different stamping techniques to see which one you like you best. By adding a few bits of ribbon and maybe some glitter soon you will have some stunning original designs that will really stand out and also keep with the Christmas theme.
When purchasing poinsettia rubber stamps or any stamps for that matter always check that the quality is good and there are no defects with the stamp. Also double check that the image has been mounted onto to the wooden block correctly and is in line with the image on the top of the wood. Occasionally when stamps are made the image on the top does not match the image underneath causing many problems when trying to line the print up.
To keep your poinsettia rubber stamps in pristine condition it is vital that you clean them after every use. Always remember to store them away from sharp objects to avoid any of the rubber being damage as this will affect the image when printing.
Vicki Churchill writes for a site that specializes in card making ideas http://www.vickiscardmakingideas.com providing you with excellent tips and ideas for rubber stamping and many other tricks and techniques.
Materials Required For Portrait Painting Explained
The materials needed by the beginner for portrait painting are but few, but these should be of excellent quality and carefully selected. The materials required are: a canvas, a selection of brushes, linseed oil and of course a wide selection of paints. Once you have these materials you are ready to go.
Canvas
I prefer linen. It is a great aid to good painting, as the paint moves more freely and does not pull all the oil out of the pigment, leaving the painting dull and flat. However, for demonstrating and practice I quite often use good grade (hard) cotton.
Many students use prepared “panels” of canvas mounted on heavy cardboard. Each should be given a light coat of white shellac. Professionals more often prefer canvas bought by the yard or the roll and tacked onto the canvas stretchers obtainable at all dealers. I recommend this, or stretchers with canvas already in place.
Brushes
Like the Old Masters I choose the round bristle brush and use the side of it to apply the paint with a scratching movement (except when drawing the eyes and other fine details). This allows all the tones to come together in a soft blend, and your pigment will stand out and sparkle instead of pasting down to an enamel effect.
With brushes known as “flats” and “brights” – both of them thin – there is a tendency to flatten and paste down the color unpleasantly. Also, the flat stroke will invariably leave raised edges which call for some care if they are to be blended properly with the surrounding tones. (I do, however, use a flat brush for drawing.)
Care of Brushes
If you paint for two or three days in a row, just stand or rinse your brushes in kerosene. (Don’t stand them for long on their points.) When storing them for any length of time, wash them thoroughly with soap and cold water. Make sure the paint is out at the heel (next to ferrule).
Mixing Medium
I have found students more confused about this material than any other. Some have read so much about mediums, and have experimented with so many, that they have not had time to learn to paint!
For the present, forget prepared mediums. Use artists purified linseed oil. Modern methods of refining have overcome nearly all of its former tendency to yellow. If you want a heavier medium to make your paint stand out from the painted surface, substitute stand oil, which is sun-thickened linseed oil. Though turpentine is a popular medium, especially when mat (dull) effects are wanted, avoid it as it will thin and wash out the desirable dense quality of the pigment. Its only legitimate use is in the drawing stage for wiping errors from the canvas.
To obtain full advantage of the natural brilliance of your paint, use it as it comes from the tube. If it refuses to spread or move freely, mix in a minimum amount of linseed oil.
Now you are ready to paint!
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