Just Playing Around . . .

Yup, that's a big set of colored pencils, and unlike a few things I own, it was not the result of a weak moment on ebay. It was an ebay purchase but rather an intentional one for which I patiently watched and waited. For $49.99, I bought a set of 120 Prismacolor colored pencils that sells a discounted price of $96.99 on Dick Blick's website. Full retail for this set is over $150. I probably didn't need a set quite this large, but I thought it was a good deal, and now I have what I've always wanted in a set of colored pencils - a good selection of greens. Every other set of colored pencils I've ever owned has had a couple of shades of green, grass green and lime green. I tend to favor shades of olive green, and this set has them, so I'm happy. Now, I just need to set aside an afternoon and sharpen them all! They're all arranged by color family, and should stay that way if a couple of little boys don't come across them.

As I've mentioned before, I enjoy exploring other blogs. There are some phenomenol stampers out there who put my stuff to shame. There are also a lot of people who know a lot about a lot of different subjects and share the information in the form of tutorials. One tutorial I happened upon was about using Gamsol odorless mineral spirits and a paper blending stump for blending Prismacolor pencils. This weekend I ordered the Gamsol and a couple dozen blending stumps from Dick Blick.com, a website that sells art supplies at discounted prices. The order came today, which is where the "just playing around" came from. For my initial "experiment," I grabbed the first set of lined stamps I came across, Love in Bloom, and proceeded to color my image and then blend the colors with the mineral spirits and a blending stump. It worked like a charm, with the colors looking so much nicer than had they simply been colored in. Now, I'm anxious to try it on a more detailed image. While I don't suspect that I will become a colored pencil artist, it's nonetheless fun to learn new ways of doing things. The biggest challenge was getting the child-proof cap off the Gamsol and then punching a hole in the metal cap on the can. This was the first time I'd ever ordered something considered hazardous. It arrived wrapped up pretty tight. Highly flammable, it's definitely something I'll keep high on a shelf, and when using it, I won't be coloring by candlelight!

That's the end of my jabber for tonight. If I had enough energy to turn my stamped and colored image into a card, I would, but it's not in the plan for me tonight. I'm exhausted and heading for bed. Last night, my after-dinner nap backfired on me, and I still wasn't tired again until around 4 a.m. I was mad at myself all day! Thus, I'll sleep tonight and make cards tomorrow night. I'll talk to you again then!