Invitations

So...I will be posting my own pictures soon, but I thought you'd like a peek at the invitations before "soon"...

My friend, and very talented illustrator/designer, Seyoung, blogged about the invitations.  See her blog post:

Seyoung's blog post on my invitations

Gamsol!

I found this technique while browsing a few paper crafting websites...and I love it! I had to try it, and I've been playing around with it for the last few days (when I can spare a moment). Here's the process:

First, pick a stamp, and stamp it.  I recommend using a good ink that won't smear.  P.S.--I found this stamp at a thrift store for $0.50.  So cool!:

Second: Color it! I chose to color this fancy lady's undergarments red with some orange--and I use Prismacolor pencils:)

No need to get all fancy with the coloring...just add colors where you think you'll want them according to shadows or whatever.  You can really play with this as you learn.

Here are a couple of close-ups so you can see what's going on with the pigment...

Next:  Get your gamsol out!  Gamsol is an odorless mineral spirit...I hear you can substitute this with mineral oil(?) although I can't personally say if that is true or not.  This bottle cost me about $3 at an art store in town, and you won't use very much at a time, so I'd say just get this if you can find it.  

You'll also need a blending stick (these are made out of rolled paper), and nail files (to clean off the stub of the blending stick when it gets all colored)

Dip the tip of the blending stick into the gamsol--you dont need very much!

Now this is the fun part--blend the colors however you want!  You'll get the hang of this as you practice.

Here's my lady.  I only colored part of her here--sorry!

Close ups of the blended pigment:

I love the way this stuff looks!

Super easy!  Let me know what projects you're doing or plan on doing using gamsol!