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Search the archive, three years of Inklings.
Ask the Artist
Our Artist in Residence, Dina Kowal, answers your questions
November 25, 2015
Q: Laurie wants to know: "Many of my stamps do not fit a die or punch because they are too large. What is a good way to cut an even border around a stamped image?"
A: Cutting around an image with scissors is called fussy cutting, a term we've borrowed from the sewing community. My best tip for cutting out images is to go slowly, and to move and rotate the cardstock rather than trying to angle your scissors around the bends. You'll find more suggestions about fussy cutting in this forum thread. Hope that helps!
November 18, 2015
Q: Kren wants to know: "We are going on a long trip and I thought it would be fun to take a sketch book or an adult coloring book along. I wondered what you would recommend to take in the way of coloring tools? "
A: Watercolor pencils are great for coloring on the go - they can be used dry or wet, so you can have different results with the same medium. I keep my pencils in binder-type cases with elastic loops, so they're easy to tuck in a bag and keep contained. I always save a loop for a waterbrush, and tuck in a few paper towels to clean color from the brush when I paint - there's no need for an open container of water, and clean up is so easy.
November 11, 2015
Q: Debi wants to know: "I would like to stamp different size circles on white cardstock but I don't have circle stamps. How do I do this?"
A: Found objects can be great stamps - look around for small lids and stamp with the edges to create circle outlines. Cardboard paper rolls work well, too. If you want solid circles, try die cutting your own stamps out of craft foam sheets (you can find instructions here), or create a stencil using circle dies.
November 4, 2015
Q: Marianne wants to know: "I understand masking when house painting. Can you explain masking as it pertains to stamping?"
A: There's an overlapping concept between house painting and stamp masking, in that with both concepts you're keeping color out of a certain area. The purpose for masking a stamped image is to make another image appear to be positioned behind it. It's a great technique for creating a little scene, with a little pre-planning to determine which image(s) will be in the foreground, and moving back to the background. You'll stamp your foreground image first, then create a mask by stamping the same image onto lightweight paper or a sticky note, and cutting it out just inside the outline. Lay the mask over the stamped image, and stamp the image that you want to appear in the background. Remove the mask and color as usual. Click here for a basic masking tutorial and here for more masking alternatives.
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October 28, 2015
Q: Cindy says: "I've tried masking and I love it. However when I try using a solid stamp, I always get a space between the "mask" and the new stamp I'm putting down. If I use an outline image it works fine; it's just when I use the solid ones. Is this just me?"
A: The masking halo is a result of the mask being just a little bit too large. When you create your mask for an outline image, you're probably cutting on the line or just inside the line, which corrects for the thickness of your mask when you stamp a second image. When you cut your mask for the solid image, try cutting inside the shape just slightly so the mask is just a little smaller than the stamped image. That should correct the problem.
