Comparing Alcohol Markers

Cindy here!  Do you use alcohol markers in your scrapbooking or cardmaking?  Alcohol markers burst into the scrapbook scene a few years ago and now many consider them to be a staple of their crafting.  My first experience with alcohol markers was about 4 years ago when I first tried Prismacolor markers. When I blogged about how much I love them, a friend commented if you compare Prismacolors with Copics, the Copics win hands down.  Ever since then, I've wanted to do a side-by-side comparison to decide for myself.  I finally got the chance when a friend brought her Copic Sketch markers along during our recent scrappy get-together.

The first thing I noticed is that the basic nibs of the two brands are quite different.  The Prismacolor's wide end is somewhat wider than the wide end of the Copic, and the fine tip of the Prismacolor is significantly smaller than the fine tip of the Copic.    

 

I should mention that Copics can be refilled and the nibs can be replaced (or exchanged for different sizes).  Neither of these is true for the Prismacolors.  But my goal was to compare the two brands as they are sold.  While I'm sure that there are many people who switch out the nibs on their Copics, I'd guess that there are at least as many people who use the Copic exactly the way its sold, especially given the cost (between $5 and $8 per pen).  

People who love Copics rave about how well they blend.  I was curious to see if there was a noticeable different in blending between the two brands.  I drew lines, colored designs, and filled in some images. I did not find much of a difference between the two.  What I did notice is that it was much easier to fill in tiny parts of a stamped image with the fine tip of the Prismacolor compared to the brush tip of a Copic.      

 

Next, I did a word art project, inspired by Artisan des Arts.  There's a tutorial on her post.

 

I made a second project, filling in all the spaces to see how it would look and to really give the pens a chance to show what they can do.

After all that experimenting, I came to a conclusion: I actually prefer the Prismacolors, mostly because of the fine tip end (which can be bought separately for Copics).  I can see a lot of reasons why the Copics are so beloved.  They are an excellent product, and the environmentalist in me really likes that they are refillable and the nibs can be replaced without having to throw out the whole pen.  The price tag of a Copic Sketch is daunting at double the cost of a Prismacolor, but for serious artists who go through pens frequently, they are probably more cost-efficient in the long run.  

What about you?  Copics, Prismacolors or a different brand of alcohol marker?

VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES

   Cathy Dippolito
   Dolores Schaeffer
   Cindy deRosier
   Marlene Murphy
   Lesley Walker
   Gael Spence
   Sarah Routledge
   Sharon Fritchman
   Tanya Ham
   Sheila Burns
   Pam Callaghan

Photoshop Elements Photo-Editing Tutorial

Hi There, Sarah here and today I'm sharing a photo-editing tutorial with you about how to convert a photo to black and white but then re-reveal a certain colour element from the photo. I used this technique on the photo that I used in my "Those Eyes" layout, created using the ScrapThat! March Kit.  I converted this photo of my son to black and white, but then revealed his beautiful blue eyes!

Here is the step-by-step procedure to create this photo effect using Photoshop Elements.

1. Open the picture you want to edit in Photoshop Elements.
2. Crop the photo to the size/shape you want. For this I chose a 5x5 crop to get a square photo.

3. Under the “Layer” tab, choose “New Adjustment Layer” and then “Gradient Map”. This will create a black and white layer over your original picture, converting the image to black and white. 

Note: If your image isn’t black and white, check the Gradient Map options in the Layers palette on the right side toolbar and ensure the correct (i.e. black and white) colour profile is selected.

4. We’re now going to restore the colour to the eyes of the photograph. On your layers palette, the gradient map layer has two thumbnail icons. The thumbnail on the right is the layer mask, which lets you alter your adjustment by painting on it. White will reveal the adjustment, while black will block it. Zoom in on the eyes in the photo so they fill your workspace. 

5. Choose the brush tool from the left hand toolbar, adjust the brush size (top toolbar), and set the opacity to 100%. Set the foreground color to black (shortcut to do this is to press D, then X). Now click on the layer mask thumbnail in the layers palette and then begin painting over the eyes in the photo.

6. If you’ve coloured outside the "lines", you can fix it easily. Switch the foreground color back to white (press D then X), undo the colouring in the areas you want. In this photo I fixed some of the skin colour that was showing on the right eyelid.

7. You can set your zoom back to 100% (or fit screen) to see the result of the revealed eye colour.

8. As a final finishing touch, we’re going to add some graininess to the photo to make it look a bit more “vintage”. Under the “Filter” menu, choose “Noise” and then “Add Noise”. 

9. Set the noise amount between 3-5%, and make sure “Gaussian” and “Monochromatic” are checked.

That’s it – you’re done your photo editing - here is the final photo!

I hope you found this tutorial helpful! Please leave a comment and a link if you decide to give this a try!

VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES

Cathy Dippolito
Dolores Schaeffer
Cindy deRosier
Marlene Murphy
Lesley Walker
Gael Spence
Sarah Routledge
Sharon Fritchman
Tanya Ham
Sheila Burns
Pam Callaghan

Just For Fun

Hi, it’s Gael here today and I would like to share with you a layout I created recently.  This layout was really created “just for fun”.  I just fell in love with the beautiful Little Miss papers from Bo Bunny and I had an idea of what I wanted to create when I first saw the papers.

I had fun creating a scene where I could then include the little girls off the papers.  I started by using the Prima mask to create the wall and then embossed with the brick embossing folder the top ledge of the wall.  The grass was hand cut by just cutting V randomly into the paper.  The gate was cut on the cricut using an SVG file.

The layout is actually designed to sit on a shelf.  I reinforced the fold between the 2 pages to enable it to be slightly angled so it will stand on its own.  I thought after I’d created it I should have actually done it on canvas, but too late by the time I’d thought of that. 

The reason I enjoyed making this so much was there was no pressure on capturing a moment or ensuring I was enhancing a photo, it was all done purely for fun. 

Thanks for looking
Gael.


VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES
Cathy Dippolito
Dolores Schaeffer
Cindy deRosier
Marlene Murphy
Lesley Walker
Gael Spence
Sarah Routledge
Sharon Fritchman
Tanya Ham
Sheila Burns
Pam Callaghan

A Fun Way to Add a Circle to your Layout!

Hi there---Sheila here!  Today, I am going to show you a fun way to add a circle to your layout.  Circles seem to be big right now, but even bigger is the trend of creating your own background...scrapbooking is really becoming more like art class, and I love it! 

The first thing I did was grab one of my "masks" from studio calico, some mist, and a piece of paper left over from cutting a circle on my Cricut. 

 Then, I placed the paper OVER the mask and positioned it where I wanted it on my layout.

I didn't love the pink mist that I originally picked out (pictured in the first photo), so I grabbed some purple instead, and mixed it with a little white mist---DON'T be afraid to mix your mist and use it like paint!  It is capable of much more than being sprayed!

After I painted this mixture on my mask and within my circle, here is what I got:

It was a little blotchy in some places, but I like the imperfect look---luckily!

Then I grabbed one of my favorite stamps and a darkish-purple ink pad.

Begin rolling the stamp over the circle. The paper helps you not to go over the edges of the circle.

Almost done...

Voila!  And you know from my first post here at IFS, I love dripping some ink over everything.  So that's what I ended up using the pink for.

After you finish your circle, it's simply a matter of deciding where to put your pictures and embellishments.  Here is how my final layout turned out:

Here are a couple of closeups:

 Oh, and the doily you see above?  I cut that out of some Prima packaging!  Yes, I am a hoarder :( 

I know as a scrapbooker, it took me a long time to get out of my comfort zone of ONLY using patterned  paper and premade embellishments.  Once I strayed into the world of inks and altering paper and embellishments, I had so much fun!  Hope you'll try this---remember, you can make whatever you need or want---even a circle for your next project!  Thanks so much for stopping by today :)

VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES
Cathy Dippolito
Dolores Schaeffer
Cindy deRosier
Marlene Murphy
Lesley Walker
Gael Spence
Sarah Routledge
Sharon Fritchman
Tanya Ham
Sheila Burns
Pam Callaghan

Designer Showcase: Focus on one color

It's Wednesday, my how time flies. Pam with you today for another designer showcase... this time pages and projects focusing on one color. It doesn't have to be monochromatic or just one color (it can be those things if you like), but rather focusing on a certain color within a layout. How many times have you been tempted to just create a page with mostly one color, but see lots of patterned papers that would fit too? Here is your inspiration for going with one main color!

Lesley created this wonderful page based on the color lavender. Don't you love how this makes the photos pop even more. Hand cut flowers add so much pretty dimension here. This layout is special because it was treasured and looked at on a dresser at hospice before a family member passed away.
BRIGHT IDEA #1: Add a white (or light) paper pleated frame around your photo to emphasize the photo even more!!

Sharon created this next page. She really did a great job with pinks and dark pinks. They match the photo colors well and the scallop shapes match the balloon shapes (cool huh). Love this. She used pink because they were participating in the Women's 5K classic.
BRIGHT IDEA #2: Add touches of brown to your pink page to really add definition. Check out those adorable flowers and border!

Here is Gael's page focusing on one color. She used mostly white here with a white title backed with black. This is just like the title... gorgeous. The amount of detailing and lace just emphasizes how much she loved this photo.
BRIGHT IDEA #3: Take one light color from the photo and put it on the page. That small amount of yellow from the flower is GREAT! It draws your eyes right to the accented color!

Here is a very pretty card by Tanya. What I love about this is the softness of the buttercream color along with some lavender! Dress up your card with a couple of brads.

BRIGHT IDEA #4: Add a white border around your main color along with a light accent to your card. This will really focus in on that main color of your card.

Here are two gorgeous pages pages by Sarah. In this sweet puppy page, you can see Sarah chose to focus on browns. This is especially cute because it matches the dog's coloring. I just love those flowers accented on this page. Don't you just want to say "awwww"?
BRIGHT IDEA #5: Add a banner to your page that is the same color as the main color. Look at how cool that looks, especially with two rows!!

Here is Sarah's second page. You can see this focusing on a red tones. There is so much cool stuff to look at on this!! All of the doilies and lace, makes for a perfect wedding page.
BRIGHT IDEA #6: If you are focusing on red, you will see how good this page looks with some soft orange! I wouldn't think to add it but I just love this look.

Sheila created our next page. You can see it is focusing on gorgeous oranges! Her scalloped border is just perfect with those accented flowers. They frame the photo perfectly. :)
BRIGHT IDEA #7: Use a black and white photo and see your photo pop right off the page. Orange looks SO good with black and white!

I hope you like our designer showcase this week! Do you have any focus on one color pages? If so send 'em to scrappingpam73@yahoo.com and I will featured them!!


VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES
Cathy Dippolito
Dolores Schaeffer
Cindy deRosier
Marlene Murphy
Lesley Walker
Gael Spence
Sarah Routledge
Sharon Fritchman
Tanya Ham
Sheila Burns
Pam Callaghan
 

How to extend your photo to make a scene on your scrapbook page

Good morning fellow scrapbookers.  Sharon here.  I am very excited to be posting for the very first time here on Ideas for Scrapbookers!  I want to show you how I made one of my favorite  layouts, very simply, just by extending my photo onto the scrapbook page to create a scene on your page.

I started with the photo that inspired my page. Here is the picture that I wanted to use - it was taken on Easter Sunday in our backyard, and is of our daughter, Anne:

When I looked at the photo, I was struck by how much she has grown in the past few years, and wanted to create a special page to commemorate this.  You can pick any photo that inspires you!

I started with Echo Park "So Happy Together" patterned paper that I had in my stash:

I used this paper because it had a cute scene already started.  I didn't want the (cute) truck in my scene, but I wasn't worried because Anne's picture was going to cover it up.

Next, I decided that I wanted to extend the fence in the background of my photo onto my page.  I did this by cutting up an old piece of Dusty Attic chipboard that I had on hand.  You can use stickers, or whatever you have, or you can even draw your own fence it you want to!

I used the right side of this chipboard piece in the past, and this one was just waiting to be used.  So I cut it up and used the pieces to make my fence.

I had some burlap left-over from other projects, and I pulled it apart to make my "grass."  

Finally, I also had some Donna Salazar patterned paper that looked just like the deck, so I cut it to look like the deck complete my scene.

I added a sticker strip from the "So Happy Together" collection to the bottom of my scene.  I wanted to create flowers there.

and to finish my title and journaling, I used some very old Daisy D's rub-ons that I had from years ago!  I wanted to continue with the "whimsical" feel by used these fun rub-ons!

Next, I put everything together to make this simple and easy layout:

Thank you so much for stopping by today and taking a peak at my page.  I hope that you can find inspiration to make your own scene!  It's really easy!

VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES
Cathy Dippolito
Dolores Schaeffer
Cindy deRosier
Marlene Murphy
Lesley Walker
Gael Spence
Sarah Routledge
Sharon Fritchman
Tanya Ham
Sheila Burns
Pam Callaghan

Creative Ways to Use Film Strips

Hi, Marlene here.   This strip of pictures were taken right before my daughter became a "teenager" (KWIM) and just prior to braces. We had a great afternoon at the mall and commermorated with the photos.This clip of photo booth pictures has been hanging on my fridge for years, it was even moved from one fridge to another.  It was starting to show some exposure wear, what better way to preserve it than scrapbooking?

The strip is an odd shape to work with and could easily get camophlaged with a lot of elements so I added bits of black.  The strip is double matted to enlarge and emphasize the pictures.  The see-through "negative" strips help add black and subtle color.    You know those 12 x 12 sheet protectors that are exactly 12 x 12 ?   You can insert the paper in the sleeve but, if it has anything on it, it will not fit. (Pioneer, you deserve the mention here.) I found a use for one. After separating the sides of the sleeve, I applied several colors of alcohol ink with a sponge dauber to color one layer of the clear plastic.   For each embellishment, the outside frame of the filmstrip was cut twice with my Cricut using the Mickey & Friends cartridge.  I ran the filmstrips through a Xyron 510, carefully removed the extra glue then placed one strip on top, lined up the bottom strip over the top with the altered plastic (inked sleeve) in between.  The excess plastic was trimmed from the piece to use as an emblishment which looks like a filmstrip negative.

For me, my Thickers like my flowers are never the right color so I try to keep lots of white on hand to alter to my specific need.  My alcohol ink had been languishing for some time so it was time to use it and it is a great way to color any shiney surface.   I wanted a blue title to mimic the uneven dyed color of the hearts and did not have any Thickers even close to that color.  I did have a white shiney set and applied three different shades of blue in stages to create a mottled title to match.  To work with the letters without using up the adhesive, I placed them on a Non-Stick Craft Mat, afterward they adhered perfectly to the paper.

Here is the finished page. 

VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES
Cathy Dippolito
Dolores Schaeffer
Cindy deRosier
Marlene Murphy
Lesley Walker
Gael Spence
Sarah Routledge
Sharon Fritchman
Tanya Ham
Sheila Burns
Pam Callaghan