Tutorials Archives - Studio Katie

DIY

DIY Enchanted Iridescent Stenciled Tray

[According to FTC regulations, I must disclose to you that I did receive free product and payment from DecoArt in exchange for this post, however all opinions and project tutorial are my own]

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Hey y’all! It’s been a while since I posted a fun mixed media tutorial, but I’m back today with one! I really wanted to show you this cool product that released this year: Americana Enchanted & Enchanted Shimmer. These are acrylic paints with an iridescent shine that I just love. They are new from DecoArt, now at Michaels! I used them to make the DIY Tray below. Here’s a short blurb about them from DecoArt:

The dazzling glow of iridescence has made a recent appearance in many industries; fashion, automobiles, jewelry, art, & more. Many crafters want to add the look of this special glow to their own pieces. Americana Enchanted is an iridescent topcoat that can create this magical look. Americana Enchanted Shimmer delivers the same iridescent look with an added subtle glitter effect, but still quite distinct from glitter paint itself. Create projects that pop with shimmer and iridescence with these translucent topcoats. Millions of luminous particles recreate the unique sparkling shimmer of a butterfly wing, as they dance in shifting angles of light. For the most dramatic effect, use over Enchanted Ultra-Black Basecoat or other dark paint colors.

DIY Enchanted Iridescent Stenciled Tray

Okay, time for the DIY!

Supplies:

Wooden Tray (The tray I’m using is from Walnut Hollow)
Enchanted Ultra-Black Basecoat
Americana Enchanted or Enchanted Shimmer, Available in five 2-oz shimmering colors
Paint Brush
Paint Knife
Blending Palette
Stencil (I used these 8×8″ Succulent Stencils from DecoArt)
Gel Medium

What are the differences between Enchanted and Enchanted Shimmer?

Enchanted is an Iridescent Topcoat Acrylic, it’s more of a solid shine rather than glitter.
Enchanted Shimmer is an Shimmering Iridescent Topcoat Acrylic, it is less opaque, with more of a iridescent glitter effect.

I swatched them in my sketchbook, as you can see below. Iridescent paints work best over a dark background and are nearly invisible over a white background. The color will shift depending on the angle of the light.

I also tried mixing Enchanted in with some different mediums with mixed results: Modeling paste dries white and it dulled the iridescence slightly, whereas gel medium dries clear, so it let the Enchanted paint do it’s magic while still adding some texture.

(Above: Enchanted on the left, Enchanted Shimmer on the right.)

Step one:

Shake the Ultra-Black Basecoat well. Using a wide brush, paint your tray with the Ultra-Black for a dark base. Let dry.

Step two:

Use a palette knife to mix a bit of Enchanted Shimmer in with Gel Medium on your palette. I recommend about a 40/60 ratio.

I’m using two different colors of Enchanted for this project: Violet and Magenta.

Step three:

Use the palette knife to scrape the gel medium/paint mixture through your stencil and onto your tray.

It’s helpful to have some baby wipes or paper towels on hand to wipe off and excess paint you might accidental get past the edges of the stencil.

Note: I love the texture that the gel medium adds, however, if you want to use Enchanted as a more solid look and avoid streaky brush stokes, Use a soft brush in long vertical strokes and while still wet, brush over in long horizontal strokes for a uniform finish.

Step four:

Remove stencil, wipe off, and repeat, adding designs across your tray.

Step five:

Let dry. As it dries, you’ll see the white fade away and the magic iridescent start to shine!

I wish you could all see these stenciled succulents in person, because seeing how the Enchanted paint changes in the light is so cool. Remember they’re Now available at Michaels, so go grab some and get crafting!

Want more DIY’s? Check out some of my past DecoArt projects:

Reviews

How to Organize Your Tombow Dual Brush Pens +…

This post contains affiliate links, which help pay for this site. That being said, I never promote anything I don’t love! If you purchase using them, I might get a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Let’s say you’ve recently gotten the big pack of Tombow Dual Brush Pens, how do you organize them? I’ve had mine for a while, but I just got a replacement set (perks of being a part of the design team.) and wanted to do show you how I organized them!

organize your Tombow Dual Brush Pens & Learn what those numbers on the side of each marker mean! @tombowusa @studio.katie

Color Designation Numbers:

First let’s talk about what those numbers on the sides of the markers mean:

On each Dual Brush Pen you’ll find 3 numbers. These are hue, chroma and value.
For example, the first 2 digits denote the hue and chrome, so 00 to 10 are yellows, 10 to 20 are greens, etc.
The last number on each pen marks the value of each color, with 0 being the lightest and 9 the darkest.
The grey/neutral markers are numbered slightly different so you have to keep that in mind. Instead of the first number they have an N for Neutral. This is followed by 2 numbers: the first is the value, 1 being the darkest & 9 being the lightest (opposite of the colored markers where 9 is the darkest), and the 2nd number denotes the temperature of the gray from cool to warm. 1 being cooler, 9 being warmer.

Now to organize my Dual Brush Pens I printed off the free 108 Dual Brush Pen Color Tracker from Tombowusa.com. Next I followed the chart from the back of their Blending Palette which actually has all of the marker colors on there from 020-N00 organized by their designation.

As I placed each marker in the case, I also swatched it onto the chart so that I will have a handy reference if I ever want to see all the colors together (and incase I need to know where it goes again.).

If you don’t want to swatch all of yours, Tombow also has a printable chart that is colored already. Get it here.

And that’s pretty much it! Knowing what the numbers mean can come in handy if you’re choosing colors to go together, choosing markers with a similar value makes for a lovely palette!

I hope you learned something! I learned most of this from classes with Marie Browning, and her book Brush Marker Magic.

Want some Tombow tutorials? Check out my online class, Tombow Techniques! or check out my Tombow archives here on the blog.

Tutorials

DIY Moon Phase Planner Spread

Hey guys! This is a project I originally shared on Tombow’s instagram account, but as you know I’m a huge space nerd, so I wanted to share it here too.

Today I’m showing you how to make a Lunar Calendar Spread in your bullet journal/planner!

Supplies:

Planner or Journal. For my planner this year, I’m using a Bloom Daily Planners Dot Journaling Planner. I added one of my Galaxy Girl stickers to the cover to customize it , but I love the marble background too.
Tombow Twin Tones
Tombow 1500 Colored Pencils
Ruler

Ste one: Use a ruler & Twin Tone markers to draw out 2 sections at the bottom of your page, and write each month name with 6 on each side.

The bullet tip of the Twin Tone is fantastic for monoline lettering (a single line, not a brush pen) like this. Draw 4 circles for each month, and fill them in according to the lunar calendar. Next Using a pink Twin Tone, I wrote out the dates for each of the moon phases above the circles.

View this post on Instagram

It’s @studio.katie back to show you how to add a lunar calendar in your @bloomdailyplanners planner. First step: Use a ruler and @tombowusa TwinTone markers to draw out 2 sections at the bottom of your page, and write each month. The TwinTone’s tips are fantastic for monoline lettering –you can choose between a broad and extra-fine on either side. Draw 4 circles for each month, and fill them in according to the lunar calendar. Using a pink TwinTone, I wrote out the dates for each of the moon phases.⁣ .⁣ Did you know we have a lunar eclipse this month? There’s a “Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse” on the 20th, so you can add that to your calendar too!.In my next post I’ll show you how to add a moon sketch to the top of the page! -@studio.katie #tombow #tombowusa #tombow2018dt⁣ ⁣💕 #bulletjournal #bulletjournaladdict #bulletjournaljunkies #bulletjournalcommunity #bulletjournaladdicts #bulletjournaling #bujo #bujojunkies #bujoinspire #bujoaddict #bujocommunity #bujolove #bulletjournallove

A post shared by Tombow USA (@tombowusa) on Jan 14, 2019 at 9:45am PST

Step two: Now let’s finish decorating the spread.

Trace a circle onto the top of the page, and lightly color it in with a light pink 1500 Colored Pencil. The trick to colored pencils is to color in light layers, so keep adding colors but not adding to much pressure as you work. Using a darker shade of pink, add in the craters of the moon. You can also pull up an image of the moon on your computer to use as a reference.

Step three:

View this post on Instagram

It’s @studio.katie here for one last step in your lunar calendar planner spread! Trace a circle onto the top of the page, and lightly color it in with a light pink @tombowusa 1500 Series Colored Pencil. The trick to colored pencils is to color in light layers, so keep adding colors but not adding too much pressure as you work. Using a darker shade of pink, add in the craters of the moon. . Don’t forget to add details! To finish the moon, use the fine tip of the black TwinTone marker to add in a few details and outline the moon. . And that’s it! Do you ever use colored pencils your planner? They’re nice because they won’tbleed through thin pages! #tombow #tombowusa #tombow2018dt 💕 #bulletjournal #bulletjournaladdict #bulletjournaljunkies #bulletjournalcommunity #bulletjournaladdicts #bulletjournaling #bujo #bujojunkies #bujoinspire #bujoaddict #bujocommunity #bujolove #bulletjournallove

A post shared by Tombow USA (@tombowusa) on Jan 14, 2019 at 1:48pm PST

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Katie Smith (@studio.katie) on Jan 14, 2019 at 7:02am PST

Don’t forget to add details! To finish the moon, Use the fine tip of the black Twin Tone marker to add in a few details & outline the moon.

And that’s it! Do you ever use colored pencils your planner? They’re nice because they won’t bleed through thin pages!

Tutorials

Easy Rainbow Geometric Art

Hey y’all, I wanted to let you know about my latest tutorial for Tombow! DIY Geometric Rainbow Art!

DIY Rainbow Geometric Art by @studiokatie & @Tombowusa

Learn how to make geometric rainbow art using @tombowusa Twin Tone Markers with this tutorial by @studiokatie

I used Tombow’s new Rainbow Twin Tone Markers & Templates by Josie Lewis to create these “watercolor” geometric designs. Using the markers makes this super easy, because they dry a bit faster than regular watercolors, and are super vibrant.

Find the full tutorial on the Tombow blog here.

Art Journals

Dual Brush Pens + Gesso Mixed Media Art Journal…

Hey guys, I wanted to let you know that I have a new tutorial up on the Tombow blog (my first for 2019!) showing you how to create a Mixed Media Art Journal Background using Dual Brush Pens and Gesso.

This is a really fun technique for a colorful, but bright and airy background.

Click here to read the full tutorial on the Tombow blog.

Want some Tombow tutorials? Check out my online class, Tombow Techniques! or check out my Tombow archives here on the blog.

DIY

DIY Stenciled Wrapping Paper

(This post is sponsored by DecoArt, however all opinions are my own. I only promote products I love and use, and really enjoyed using DecoArt’s products for this tutorial.)

Hey friends! So, a fun fact: I’ve never done an advent calendar before. This year I really wanted to do one, and I also decided to create my own wrapping paper to have all 12 of the gifts be fun and matching!

I partnered with DecoArt to make this tutorial and show you how I’ve made my own DIY Stenciled Wrapping Paper! So let’s get to it:

Supplies:

Roll of Kraft Paper
DecoArt Polka Dot Pop Stencil
DecoArt Value Kraft Stencils: Believe, Joy, & Dashing Snow
DecoArt Americana Acrylic Paints: I used True Red, Carousel Pink, Cotton Candy, Sour Apple, Light Buttermilk & Lamp (Ebony) Black.
Paint Brush, Stencil Brush, and/or Sponge Dabber.
Painter’s Tape

I used Kraft colored paper for my DIY Stenciled Wrapping Paper because it’s 1. Cheap, and 2. easy to customize, but obviously you can start with any colored paper roll you wish.

Stenciling your gift wrap is so easy. I’ll be sharing some of my tips and ideas for putting together a cohesive gift wrap theme!

Step one:

An easy way to start your gift wrap is to stencil on a first layer. Use a stencil brush to fill in the polka dot pop stencil.

You can also hold down the edges of the stencil with painters tape so that it doesn’t move on you while you’re working.

Step two:

Now we’ll be layering on more designs!

I used a small paintbrush to brush on dashes around each polka dot on a darker pink and added some smaller white polka dots. Once that is dry, it’s time for one more layer. I placed the snowflake stencil on top and brushed True Red acrylic paint through that.

Step three:

Another easy background is to do some abstract brush strokes onto your kraft paper. Squirt a little bit of each color onto a palette & use a 1″ paint brush to add strokes of paint in lines across the paper.

Step four:

And once your brushstrokes are dry, you can layer another design over top like I did with the ornament stencil below.

You can keep your backgrounds pretty simple, such as just painting stripes onto the paper, or go more detailed. For the gifts below I painted stripes, and once the gifts were wrapped, I used a couple of DecoArt stencils on the top of each present to further customize it.

To number my advent calendar, I used a small paintbrush and Americana Acrylic paint to number 12 black tags and attached them to each gift.

You can also wrap the gifts and twine, add tassels & candy canes for more festivity!

My best tips to make your own DIY Stenciled Gift Wrap:

Tape down your stencil or use a sticky vinyl stencil.
Use either a stencil brush or a sponge dauber.
Don’t use too much paint, this is what causes your stencil to bleed. Instead, squirt a small amount of paint onto a palette, dip your brush/sponge into it, then pounce it a few times on a piece of scrap paper to get excess paint off before going over your stencil.

As I said, I made these as my own advent calendar, but now I think I’ll do some more stenciled gift wrap to use on my friends gifts. I love that everything from the gift to the wrapping paper is handmade!

For another fun Christmas project, check out my tutorial for Mixed Media Christmas Postcards!

Tutorials

DIY Christmas Postcards

Hey everyone, Today’s post is sponsored by The Hungry Jpeg. They’re a really cool website, with tons and tons of clip art, graphics, fonts, etc available to purchase (and some freebies).

For today’s project I’m using designs from one of their current bundles, The Winter Holidays Vol. 1, (which has over 2,600 graphic files) to make mixed media Christmas Postcards!

Supplies:

Graphics from The Winter Holidays Clip Art Bundle
Watercolor Paper or Cardstock
Gel Medium
Paintbrush
Gesso
Scissors
Acrylic Paint
Tombow Dual Brush Pen
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen
Black Ink Pad

For these postcards I printed out a selection of graphics, but I ended up only using the adorable bunny & polar bears from the Winter Forest graphics, and trees and poinsettias from Classic Christmas, and a few patterns from the Scandinavian Tale collection.

Step 1. Cut your watercolor paper down to 4×6″ pieces. I tore up some of the patterned papers and adhered them down onto the postcards. I usually use gel medium on mixed media projects like this because it sticks everything down well.

Step 2. Brush over the patterns with a very light coat of gesso, or white acrylic paint. This is just to tone down the colors and patterns.

Step 3. Cut out your graphics and decide on placement. Brush gel medium onto the backs and adhere them onto the postcards.

Step 4. Use the Dual Brush Pens and Fudenosuke to write on holiday messages, and add doodles.

Step 5. Rub the edges of each postcard along the black ink pad to darken the edges.

Step 6. Use a small paintbrush to add little polka dots of colorful acrylic paint.

And that’s it. I made these in a little assembly line by doing each background first and then moving onto the next step, but they’re all different. I really enjoyed experimenting with the variety of designs.

You can just add your message onto the back of your Christmas Postcards, address it, stamp it and send it off in the mail like any normal postcard! 🙂

You can grab The Winter Holidays Vol. 1. Bundle RIGHT HERE, and it’s only $19 until November 25th!

I was pretty impressed with the sheer amount of cute winter and holiday clipart that was included. I haven’t even gotten to print it all yet. I can’t wait to make a project with some of the cute Scandinavian designs.

Aren’t these polar bears so cute? They’re my favorite.

Reviews

The Color Guide to Tombow Dual Brush Pen Sets

Tombow recently launched three new limited edition Dual Brush Pen sets: Holiday, Desert Flora, and Citrus. I’ve gotten a few questions about how much color crossover there is with previous sets, so I took some time to swatch out all of the sets I have side by side to do a little comparison and I’m sharing the results here with you!

Tombow Dual Brush Pen Sets:

Citrus (limited)
Desert Flora (limited)
Holiday (limited)
Custom Pack (limited to the Sept 2018 VIP box)
Primary
Grayscale
Pastel
Bright
Galaxy
Secondary
Landscape
Portrait
Muted

That is:

130 markers in total.

67 Colors.

54 Doubles.

9 Blending Markers.

I had included the Limited Edition Custom Pack in my swatch, but now I’m realizing that it was limited only to the Sept 2018 VIP subscription box and isn’t available anymore. The Custom Pack included 2 colors that weren’t in any other sets: 703, & 373, but the other 8 markers are found in other sets.

Tombow also used to make a Manga set, but it’s not for sale here anymore.

So if you want all of the colors, it’s definitely best to buy the 96 pack. If you buy all of the sets, you’ll have to purchase the other 29 colors individually.

But I’m not saying don’t buy the sets. The Tombow Dual Brush Pen Sets are fantastic because:

They’re affordable! and Tombow also has great sales that make them even cheaper.
They have great color schemes that are so helpful when working on projects.
They are good for beginners or anyone starting out that aren’t sure if you want all of the markers yet. (but trust me, you probably will.)

Let me know if you have anymore questions about the Dual Brush Pens! Hopefully I counted all of these colors right! 😉

Want some Tombow tutorials? Check out my online class, Tombow Techniques! or check out my Tombow archives here on the blog.

Tutorials

Paint a Watercolor Constellation Portrait with Tombow Markers

Hey everyone! I have a new post up on the Tombow USA blog today: How to paint a Watercolor Constellation Self Portrait! I had so much fun with this project, and I’m really pleased with how it turned out. In the past I’ve always struggled so much with self portraits (why are they so hard??), but I used an easy photo tracing technique for this one! I used Dual Brush Pens as a faux watercolor, and the MONO Glue Pen as a resist!

Find the tutorial here.

For another fun post, learn how to paint galaxy hair here.

Also, some exciting news: I’ll be joining Tombow’s design team again for 2019! Yay! This means you can expect even more fun Tombow techniques from me in the future. In the meantime if you want to learn more about using Tombow products in your art, Check out my online class, Tombow Techniques! or check out my Tombow archives here on the blog.

DIY

DIY Wood Burned Hexagon Placemats for a Modern Thanksgiving…

Hey friends! Today I am up on the Walnut Hollow blog sharing a new DIY! Hop on over to the Walnut Hollow Blog learn how to make these fun Wood Burned Hexagon Placemats and to learn more about their brand new Creative Woodburner Tool.