tips Archives - Studio Katie

The Color Guide to Tombow Dual Brush Pen Sets

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.

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.

Art Journals

3 Ways to Use the Tombow XL Blending Palette

Today I wanted to do a little product feature of Tombow’s new XL Blending Palette and show you some of the ways that you can use it! The concept of the blending palette isn’t a new one, they’ve been selling their original Blending Palette for quite a while, but they’ve just come out with this new size and I love it.

The XL Blending Palette is an 8×10″ sturdy laminated card with a nice white surface (to see and blend inks) on one side, with a Dual Brush Pen color chart and blending tips printed onto the back.

Let’s see a few ways to use the XL Blending Palette:

Technique 1: Blending the Colors.

This was one of my favorite things about the smaller Blending Palette, and the XL Blending Palette just gives me even more room to play around with this technique.

Here’s how to blend the markers and get some ombre style lettering:

1: Apply a darker color of ink to the Blending Palette.

2: Pink up the dark ink with a lighter color marker, make sure you’ve pretty well covered the lighter tip in the darker ink.

3: Letter onto your paper with the lighter marker. As you write, the darker ink will wear off, and your marker will go back to it’s original ink color.

The Dual Brush Pens are self cleaning, so all you have to do is write with them, or scribble on a piece of paper and they go back to normal. This technique won’t hurt any of them. 🙂

Technique #2: Watercolor Drips.

While not actually watercolors, the Dual Brush Pens are water reactive, so they can act similar to watercolors and can be used for many of the same types of projects as you would the paint.

For this technique you’ll need the XL Blending Palette, a Dual Brush Pen, a misting bottle with water and a journal.

1: Apply a generous amount of Dual Brush Pen ink to the top third of the XL Blending Palette by scribbling it on.

2: Mist with water, and tilt the blending palette so that the ink runs down toward the bottom a little.

3: Lay flat again and lay your journal face down on top of the blending palette. Press down to transfer the ink and then lift up.

4: Let dry.

I found a new EASY way to make a drippy “watercolor” page. How: scribble ink onto @tombowusa new XL Blending Palette, mist with water and let the ink run downwards. Next place your journal fave down onto the ink to transfer it, and then lift it back up! 🎨so much fun!💗 The XL blending palette is brand new & available in @tombowusa’s VIP box, but that’s supposed to sell out SOON. 😬 you can find the link to it on my blog. . #Tombow #tombowusa #tombow2018dt @tombowusa #tombowvipclub #dualbrushpen #archerandolive @archerandolive Notebook #bujo #bujoinspiration #bulletjournal #dotgrid

A post shared by Katie Smith (@studio.katie) on Jul 25, 2018 at 7:48am PDT

As you can see below, I didn’t have any ghosting/bleeding through to the next pages of my journal. You want to make sure you don’t use TOO much water or they could ghost through, but the pages in my Archer and Olive notebook are very thick so I didn’t have that problem.

Technique 3: Mixed Media!

The XL Blending Palette is so handy for mixing mediums on! Here I’m using Dual Brush Pen ink to color Modeling Paste.

1: Scribble the Dual Brush Pen ink onto the blending palette.

2. Use a spatula to mix a little bit of modeling paste into the ink.

3. Use the spatula to apply your new colored medium through a stencil (or however you want to use the modeling paste!) onto your art journal page!

4. Remove the stencil, and wash the stencil, spatula & blending palette.

So there you have 3 fun techniques you can use with the Blending Palette, but those aren’t the only 3. Feel free to experiment and play with the palette to see what you can do!

Here are a few more projects I’ve used the Blending Palette on:

You can find the XL Blending Palette available for purchase here.

DIY

5 Tips for Using Colored Pencils on Wood

*This post is sponsored by Walnut Hollow and Tombow USA and includes affiliate links. By purchasing through these links, I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you. With that in mind, I only ever promote products I love and use.*

Hey y’all, today’s blog post combines two of my favorite brands: Tombow and Walnut Hollow!

I’m no colored pencil expert, but I’ve been trying to learn them more, and lately I’ve been liking the look of colored pencils on wood, so for this project, I’m using Tombow’s Irojiten colored pencils on a Framed Sign by Walnut Hollow and I’ll be sharing with you 5 of my best tips for working with colored pencils on wood:

Supplies:

Wood surface. I’m using a Framed Sign by Walnut Hollow.
Colored Pencils. I’m using Vol 9, & Vol 1. of Irojiten Colored Pencils.
MONO Sand Eraser
Colorless Blending Pen.

Tips for using Colored Pencils on Wood:

Tip #1: Start sharp. I prefer to work with a sharp pencil, I find it gets into the woodgrain easier, so I sharpen mine vigorously and don’t let them get dull. The good news? Tombow’s Irojiten Colored Pencils are specially made to allow them to obtain a super sharp point that lasts a long time, so you won’t have to sharpen very often during the project!

Tip #2: Sketch it out. I do a practice sketch onto paper, and then sketch it lightly onto the wood before going over it darker with a black Irojiten Colored Pencil (from Vol 2). If you don’t like freehanding, you can also use transfer paper to draw a design on.

Tip #3 Make a mistake? Use the MONO Sand Eraser. This eraser acts like sand paper on the wood, so you can quickly sand off the mistake!

Tip #4: For an easy abstract background, Go with the woodgrain. Just follow the lines in the wood and color them in different colors, like I did on this project. I love that every wood piece is different, so your backgrounds will never end up the same with this technique.

Tip #5: Blend the colors by using the Colorless Blending Pen over top of the colored pencil. This marker will burnish the lead and make the colors shine a little bit more. The Irojiten’s are artist quality pencils and have such a lovely creamy texture.

A post shared by Tombow USA (@tombowusa) on Jun 26, 2018 at 2:09pm PDT

If you have any questions about this technique, leave them below!

Tutorials

How to Plan Crafts in your Planner

*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.

Hello everyone, Today I wanted to show y’all how I use my Happy Planner as a craft planner to organize and plan different crafts projects!

If you want to make along with me today, grab your favorite planner, and some Tombow TwinTones and let’s get started:

My first tip is to use the planner how it works for you, not necessarily how it’s set up. Rather than using the days of the week to plan my daily schedule, I write in notes and lists regarding my current projects using the TwinTone markers. I love the extra fine tip (0.3 mm!!) for writing small supply lists!

The TwinTone markers come in 2 different sets with a total of 24 colors, which is super handy for color coding your projects!

My next tip: include sketches! I have added a bunch of graph paper into my planner that I can use to make larger notes and sketches on using the TwinTone markers. The Happy Planner sells graph paper that easily fits into the planners, so that made it easy for me, but you could also add graph paper into ring bound binders without too much trouble.

The TwinTone markers have a water-based ink that doesn’t bleed through the paper, meaning that I can use both sides of the graph paper!

When you’re planning out a project, remember to include what supplies you’ll need, whether you’ll need to print out photos or patterns, and reminders to take photos of the finished project!

So, That’s it from me! How do you organize your projects? What planner do you use?

Uncategorized

How to Make A Mini Album Scrapbook – Mini…

As a scrapbooker, I think I’d have to say that one of my most favorite things to make is a mini album! I love using travel photos and making a small album to document the whole trip, rather than having 10+ 12″x12″ layouts. I know everyone doesn’t feel the same way, but I love them.

If you’ve never made a mini album before, I think you should give them a try!

I’m putting this blog post together for anyone wanting to put together a mini album for the first time, or anyone who just wants a bit of mini album inspiration!

Mini Albums don’t have to be one specific size. Personally, I think that as long as they are smaller than about 10″ they can be considered a mini album.

Choosing the Mini Album base:

If you want really simple, I want to suggest starting with a pre-made album! We R Memory Keeps has some really great 4×4″ albums.

If you want to bind your own mini album, here are a few easy ways to do just that:

Binder Rings – just punch holes in your pages and secure them with 1 or more binder rings!
Spiral Binding– The easiest way to do this is with a machine, like a Cinch or a Bind-it-all. They’re a small investment but worth it if you plan to use them a lot to make scrapbook albums or journals.
Pamphlet Stitch– This is a simple way to bind together a stack of folded papers.

Choosing Photos:

I love making mini albums with event photos, like a camping trip, or a trip to a museum, etc. There is no rule book saying what photos you can or can’t use, however I like to keep the photos themed. Even if it’s not an event, try photos of pets, of your friends and family, instagram photos, etc.

Choosing Paper and Embellishments:

If you’ve done any scrapbooking, you know how to do this! The only difference between choosing embellishments for mini’s instead of layouts is the size. So don’t choose stickers or diecuts bigger than your pages.

For papers, I like to have matching themes throughout the album, so I love using 6×6″ paper pads! They’re a great size and have coordinating papers.

Other Tips:

When you’re putting the mini album together, try working one step at a time. Rather than doing one page and then moving on to the next, I do them all at once. For instance, I choose which photo goes with each paper, add on a mat to each one, add washi tape to each page and then go in and add stickers to them all, and then journaling.

Kam from Campfire Chic shared her go-to supplies for making mini albums

Try putting a kit together so that it’s quick and easy to put together without needing to look for “just the right” embellishment of paper.

Search Pinterest! When I’m looking for mini ideas, I hit pinterest. You can see my Mini Album board here.

Do you have a collection of mini albums you have made or are you making your first one? If so, I hope you found this post helpful! Share a picture of your latest mini album with me on social media!

Uncategorized

Art Journal Tools to Take When Traveling

Today I am sharing a post over on Caylee Grey’s blog. Caylee makes the most gorgeous mini albums, and is the co-founder of the Get Messy Art Journal community that I am always talking about. I love Caylee’s work so I am honored to be sharing a guest post on her blog today!

I wrote a blog post all about my favorite art supplies to take with me when I am traveling!

If you want to read my tips and learn what supplies I love, hop on over to Caylee’s blog and give it a read!

Uncategorized

DIY Quote String Art + String Art Tips

Okay guys, this is a project I’ve been wanting to do for quite a while now. I’ve seen some amazing string art recently (lots at CHA!) and I finally did it!

It also just happens to be “Pallet day” on the Hazel and Ruby blog, which means a bunch of us on the design team are sharing projects using recycled pallets. This is mine.

I decided to use a quote rather than doing a shape or image, and one of my favorite quotes is “Not all those who wander are lost” by Tolkien.

If you want to learn how to make a quote string art, here’s how:

Supplies: Wood to do your string art on, 1″ Nails, Hammer, String, Letter Stencils (I used Hazel and Ruby stencil masks).

1. Find your wood! There are plenty of different wood options for your base. You could use a wood canvas, a piece of plywood, or an old pallet like I did.

For mine I disassembled a pallet and cut the wood down the the size I wanted and then screwed them together on the backside using some scrap pallet wood. It was pretty easy, you can see how I did it in the picture below.

2. Paint your wood! This is totally optional, you may prefer the wood look. I normally love the wood grain of natural wood, but I didn’t like the dark color (too gloomy!) of this wood so I painted it.

3. Next you’ll want to decide on a quote and place letters on to your wood, spacing your letters equally and leaving about half an inch or so in between each letter.

Now you could print out and cut out paper letters to use as a guide, but I actually used Hazel and Ruby stencil masks and they were *perfect* for this.

(You can see in the photo below, I only had 1 W stencil so I used an M while placing my stencils, but when it was time to nail, I switched it to the other W.)

4. With your stencils placed, Take your hammer and nails and start nailing! You want to put nails in each corner of your letter, and then place them in between those nails as well, outlining your letter.

5. Repeat step 4 until you’ve done your entire quote.

I recommend leaving the stencils in place until you’re ready to string the letter and then removing it. That way you can see your words and not just a bunch of nails.

6. Time for some string! Start by tying one end of your string into a know on to any nail on your first letter.

7. Next you just want to wrap your string around that letter until you have it covered. You can go around the entire outline of the letter first and then going back and filling the inside in or just randomly wrapping it. Just make sure you have the outline done!

Once you’ve finished a letter, knot off your string and repeat steps 6 and 7 with the next letter!

Some tips from a first time string art artist:

Buy enough nails! I had originally only bought 1 pack (4oz) of wire nails to do this and only got about 1 third of the way done.
The more nails the better when wrapping! Especially on curved letters, the more nails you use to outline the letter, the better it will look and the more places you’ll have to wrap your string.
Take breaks! As I mentioned in the first tip, I underestimated the amount of nails I’d need. I also underestimated just how much hammering was involved. I had to take some breaks before I got a hand cramp!
String: I actually used embroidery floss for my string. On a practice piece of wood I used yarn- which while it produces a fuller/bolder look (than the thin embroidery floss) and is a little easier to see, I didn’t like how it was fuzzy. So it’s all up to you and what you like.

The Hazel and Ruby masks were perfect for using as a guide for where to place my nail! I’d definitely recommend them if you want nicely shaped letters!

You can find all 7 amazing Pallet DIY ideas by the Hazel and Ruby team here.

Have you done string art before? Any tips you would share?

Uncategorized

My Favorite Art Journal Supplies

I want to start sharing more of my art journal pages here on the blog, so I’m going to try to post tips, pages, and maybe even prompts every Wednesday. If you missed it, I recently shared my Reasons to Keep an Art Journal.

Today I wanted to share with you guys some of my (current) favorite supplies to use in my art journal.

My Basics:

Gesso.
Pencil.
Good black pen. My favorites are- Fine point Sharpie, Micron, and PITT artist pens.
Collage Papers- I use Hazel and Ruby’s pass the tissue papers, Book pages, and sometimes scrapbook papers.
Stamps.

Colors:

Acrylic Paint- I usually just use the cheapest stuff.
Watercolors- I use Studio Calico’s Mr. Huey set.
Design Memory Craft Gelatos- These are an absolute must have for me.
Alcohol Ink Marks- I have an assortment of Copics, Spectrum Noirs, and PrsimaColors.
Sharpies and other markers.
Imagine Crafts Irresistibles.
Crayons.

Other Faves:

Washi or Masking Tape.
Gel Medium.
Stencils.
Coloring pages or pages from my sketchbook.

I think that just about covers the supplies I tend to stick with in my art journal. I do a lot of drawing in my book, so I use a lot of markers, gelatos and paints.

Of course, the best supply is a good dose of inspiration!

What are your favorite supplies? Also, is there anything special you’d like to see in my new “art journal wednesday” posts?

Uncategorized

Reasons to Keep an Art Journal

As I’m sure you know (if you’re a regular reader), I love getting our my art journal and spending some time trying out new techniques and jotting down some thoughts. It’s definitely something I love doing.

It may not be for everyone, but if you’re thinking about starting an art journal, here are a few reasons why I like to art journal and why you might enjoy it:

First, what is an art journal exactly?
Well, I think it is whatever you make it. It’s up to the artist who is making it. However, basically it’s a journal where you combine words, thoughts, quotes etc with art. That can be painting, doodling, cut up magazine pages, whatever your style is.

For me, It’s a place to turn my feelings into art. To explore different mediums or techniques without fear of “failing” (because it’s hidden away in a journal), and a place to document quotes that really speak to me.

Why should you keep one?
Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, an art journal can be a fun way to document your life.

It keeps you creative. If you make it a goal to play in your art journal every day, once a week, or even just once a month, you’re making a creative habit. It will make you think of new ways to document your life or turning your feelings into art.
It documents your life. I’m not great at keeping a regular written journal. I feel a bit awkward, like, “who am I writing to?“. But when I combine my words with a bit of paint that awkwardness goes away and I’m able to document my day, my feelings, etc.

It’s fun to look back through old journals. I personally love looking back through my art journals. Sometimes I read what I wrote that day, or find a quote I loved but had forgotten. Other times I just find an art technique I haven’t used in a while.
It’s calming. At least, for me it is. There’s something about drawing a face on a page and writing down my feelings that helps control my anxiety a little bit. It helps me to write down my dreams, or fears.
It’s fun! Who doesn’t love getting a little messy with paint or gesso? As a kid, I loved cutting out things from magazines. So, embrace your inner child and get creative!

Should you share your pages online? If you want. It’s certainly not a rule (there are no rules!). I do share most of mine, because I like to, but I don’t always share. If it’s a page where I wrote down something I don’t want to share, I just don’t post a picture.

Another way to hide something you don’t want to share is to use a photo editing software and to blur out your journaling. Then you can share the design/art part of the page if you want, but keep any personal stuff hidden.

How do you get started art journaling? One of my art journal inspirations is Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and she has a wonderful blog post here, about how to get started art journaling.

Just use what you have if you don’t want to buy a bunch of new supplies. Cut up magazines and adhere them to your pages, color with markers and crayons. However, if you want to buy more supplies, I will be sharing my favorite supplies soon, so check back!

Do you keep an art journal?

Uncategorized

Copic Tips and Resources

I’ve been getting more and more into using Copics. I’ve always thought they would be really neat to use, but at $7 a marker I was a bit hesitant to actually buy any and use them. I’m sure you can understand.

I bought a couple on clearance or with a 40% off coupon to play with and try out and I was not at all disappointed. I was hooked! So while my collection still isn’t huge, I was lucky enough to receive some as a birthday present (YAY!) so it’s slowly growing!

I’m still extremely new to coloring with alcohol ink markers, so I’ve done a lot of googling and pinteresting tutorials and tips. I figured I go ahead and share those with you here in case you to are looking for some tips!

First- what are Copics? They’re high quality alcohol ink markers. The alcohol ink allows you to blend the colors together unlike water based ink markers. They also have replaceable nibs and can be refilled.

Here are 25+ tutorials, tips and helpful info for using Copic and alcohol ink markers:

Getting started and buying markers:

Copic color chart– Copic Markers
How to use Copic markers– Debbie Hodge
How to buy Copic markers– Debbie Hodge
Copic markers you need in your starter set– Debbie Hodge
6 tips for getting started with Copics– Debbie Hodge
Copic Colorwheel– Copic Markers
Copic Swatch Book– Some Odd Girl

Copic Coloring Tutorials:

Copic Marker Techniques– Copic Markers
How to blend with Copics– Debbie Hodge
Copic Marker Blog (Lots of tutorials)
Coloring eyes– Some Odd Girl
Coloring gradients– Make it Crafty
Using the blending marker– Debbie Hodge
Adding Texture with the blender– Some Odd Girl
Coloring fabric folds– Marlena’s Paper Paradise
Color of the Day– Dove Art Studio
Coloring Black– I Like Markers

Coloring Hair and Skin:

Coloring Black hair– Some Odd Girl
Coloring red hair- Some Odd Girl
Coloring dark brunette hair– Some Odd Girl
Coloring blonde hair– Some Odd Girl
Coloring light skin tones– Copic Markers
Light and Shadows– Copic Markers

Copic Maintenance:

How to refill markers– Copic Markers
How to replace marker nibs– Copic Markers
Air brush system guide– Copic Markers
Copic Storage Bag– Some Odd Girl
Copic FAQ– PaperFections

If you have any favorite tutorials or tips, I’d love to check them out. These markers are amazing but they definitely take some practice.