Today we are introducing another new JustRite Cling stamp set illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba, Adorable Dragon:
He sure lives up to his name -- isn't he adorable?!! You all have suggested to us that you need more stamp images for children and especially boys, so we hope this cutie will fit the bill! With the great variety of sentiments included in this set, you'll have birthdays, Valentine's Day, general hello, thinking of you or friendship card giving occasions covered!
And what about kid's scrapbook pages and teacher's gifts? This sweet dragon will definitely be popular around our elementary school, as a dragon is their mascot!! So that's the sample I've prepared for you today, a 6-inch scrapbook page of my youngest daughter at school orientation this year. It's been our tradition each year to get a photo in front of this dragon that's painted in the front hallway of our school!
Here's how I created the texture on Adorable Dragon. First, I stamped the image onto Copic's X-Press It Blender Card and used my Copic airbrush system to base coat him with YG93:
Alternately, you could just color him directly with the marker, but I like how quick the airbrush is! After airbrushing, I simply removed the YG color from where I didn't want it -- the wings, belly, tail, ears & back spikes, by using the Copic Colorless Blender marker. You could also mask the areas you don't want airbrushed.
Next, I experimented with a few different ways to give him some texture. First, I used the brush end of my Copic Colorless Blender marker to airbrush large dots of the Blender Solution. I held the marker fairly close to the paper. This yielded a soft effect (larger splotches):
Then I tried adding smaller dots, by just using the tip of the brush end of the Colorless Blender marker (shown above mostly on the tail). Remember, Colorless Blender Solution/Marker will REMOVE color, so experiment with the intensity by gently touching the marker to the color you wish to remove and then take the marker away and wait a few seconds -- you'll see the color slowly start to remove or "develop". It's similar to hand developing a photo, only in reverse! If you don't have the result you'd like at first, apply the marker again until you achieve the result you'd like.
Still experimenting, I wanted to try the effect of small bubble wrap. So I cut a piece about the same size as the dragon image and spritzed Colorless Blender Solution all over it. Working quickly, I laid the sprayed bubble wrap onto the dragon image and pressed it:
The result was exactly what I was trying to achieve! The bubble wrap allows the blender solution to remain wet just long enough to create the texture. Remember this, when you are experimenting with different items to create texture with your Blender Solution ... non-porus items (such as plastic, metal, glass or glazed tile/ceramics) will usually remain wet long enough to accomplish this technique, whereas the alcohol base of the Colorless Blender Solution will evaporate quickly when applied to porus materials, such as most uncoated papers. So if you want to try the effect of perhaps an embossing folder, use the actual folder and not a piece of paper that's been embossed with the folder.
Remember to apply the Colorless Blender Solution to the areas you want to have the effect FIRST, then color the rest of the image so that those areas you DON'T want to have the texture, won't!
After creating the texture, I cut out the dragon and finished coloring him to match the papers I wanted to use (using the Copic markers listed below). His wings and tail are highlighted with Buttermilk Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen:
I made his sign (the school's motto for this year!) by using Times New Roman 25-point font in the center of our 2-3/8" round Wood Stamper and framed it with the rick-rack border from our Stitched With Love set. These elements were inked separately with VersaMagic Dew Drop ink pads. Lastly, I used the small heart from the Adorable Dragon cling set to add a pink heart to the sentiment!
Blog Candy Alert -- Today, we'd like to know which ONE of our new 6 cling stamp sets, illustrated by Elizabeth Dulemba, is your favorite -- you can find them all at the top of this page! Leave a comment on this blog post with your answer by this Friday, November 19 at 9am Central, and if your number is chosen by Random.org, you'll win your favorite stamp set! We'll be introducing you to Elizabeth's Ellie Time cling set tomorrow on our 12 Weeks of Christmas blog hop, so we hope you'll check back for that!
{Dragon Scrapbook Page designed by Sharon Harnist}
JustRite Stampers®: CL-02060 Adorable Dragon, JB-09730 Stitched With Love, JB-08107 Times New Roman 25-point Font, 2-3/8" round Wood Stamper
Dies: Spellbinders Classic Circle Nestabilities-Lg 3 & 4 dies
Paper: Copic X-Press It Blender Card, Basic Grey Olivia & Oliver
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black; VersaMagic Spanish Olive, Aegean Blue & Pink Petunia Dew Drops
Copic Markers: YG93 (Olive Trio), Y21 & Y35 (Buttercup Trio), BG72 (Dark Blue Green Trio), 0; Copic Blender Solution
Accessories: Copic Airbrush System, Ranger Mini Mister, foam tape, sewing machine + thread