Sorry I am so late today and this is a very short post. My reason and excuse is that my head is still spinning with all the things we learned from Linda Williams on Monday and Tuesday at the Groovi Retreat.
I also have not done any photos today, because what I am working on right now are the two fabulous projects from the retreat. The plates we used are really under wraps until they are officially launched on 2nd May.
I also started a challenge from Maria before I went down to Kent and I have just irretrievably messed it up. So I will have a good night's sleep and start again.
One tip from this mishap is that you should test everything out on scrap parchment before applying it to your masterpiece, especially flippin' gel pens. The white ones and I do not get on, they always give up halfway through an important line, or when you are trying to add highlight to an eye or a gem. Other people find white gel pens they swear by. Not me! They all hate me.
Somewhere last week, I read that Posca pens are good and more reliable, so I got a white one and used it to add a tiny white dot on a very small bird eye. I am impressed. It was dry almost instantly, stayed on top and did not sink into the background colour. This was on parchment.
My gold gel pen was also a disaster and kept stuttering and stopping, which does not make gold outline tracing very easy. I found another pen to go over the problem lines, only to find that it flooded out, making the lines thick and ugly. My fault! I did not try it out first.
However, I am not broken hearted about it as I had made several mistakes with the gridwork. So now I need to do the job properly without trying to cut corners. Photocopy the design and attach the parchment still instead of trying to hold it still with one hand while trying to control a dodgy gel pen with the other. Then concentrate on the design and count it properly.
So what I am trying to say is that unless you are a real expert like Linda Williams, Tina Cox, Josie Davidson and the others who have been doing it for a long time, do not try to cut corners. It rarely works. Try your pens and pencils out first. Test your tools to make sure they are giving you the design you want. Do not rush your embossing. You will not be really happy if you do.
Have fun.
4 comments:
Oh dear still struggling with gel pens. It is a shame that you have spoilt your piece of work, it was coming on nicely. Still I am sure you will not be defeated. xx
Oh dear, sorry you have had so many disasters today but you could say it was research in to what can go wrong with a project so you could pass the tips on !! Have a good nights sleep & start again with fresh eyes in the morning.
Gel pens, especially white ones, don't like me either. I always mess up a 'gem' with the gel pen!xxx
Hi Margaret.
Oh dear let’s hope you manage to retrieve your gel pen disaster. But it’s a learning curve. I’ve not tried gel pens on any parchment. But I’m assuming your talking about the original way parching was done. Looking forward to see eventually what you’ve done.
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