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Search the archive, three years of Inklings.
Ask the Artist
Our Artist in Residence, Dina Kowal, answers your questions
March 19, 2025
Q: Lorraine asks: "Just wondering how everyone organizes their pencils. Does it matter to you if you're coloring one image with several different brands?"
A: II have all my pencils stored in zippered cases by Global Art - each case holds 120 pencils using a series of elastic loops. When they're put away, they are separated by brand, and stored in an order that helps me keep inventory and know which colors need to be replaced soon. I don't worry about mixing brands when I'm coloring but it is important to know how each type of pencil performs and how they interact. If I'm mixing wax- and oil-based pencils, I usually color with the wax pencils first since the core is softer. After that, I'll burnish layers down with oil-based pencils, which have a harder core.
March 12, 2025
Q: Maggie writes: "I love the Easel Card however I'd like to make it a2 size. I don't know the measurements, HELP!"
A: Here are the measurements for both orientations! For a vertical card, start with a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of cardstock and score at 5 1/2" and 8 1/4". Your card front piece will measure 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". For the horizontal card, start with a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of cardstock and score at 4 1/4" and 6 3/8". Your card front piece will measure 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".
March 5, 2025
Q: Travelswithpaper commented: "I would love it if someone teaches us how to make scratch paper!" (Scratch paper was used in the recent Magic Embossing Reveal tutorial).
A: Cook22 posted several suggestions under the tutorial (thank you!!) so I will share those here: "It's possible to make a DIY version of this style of paper by colouring white card with wax crayons (gelatos also work) and painting over it with black acrylic paint. Some people add a couple of drops of dish soap to the paint. Allow to dry totally before using. I've used this both for scratch art and for embossing and sanding." She also mentioned one of my older Mix-Ability challenges where I gave some ideas for creating scratch art - check out the MIX76 Scratch Art challenge for a video and more inspiration.
February 26, 2025
Q: Liza asks: "In the Easter Basket tutorial, where would you get 15" patterned paper for the basket base?"
A: There are a few ways to do it. First, you could tape two strips together. The distance around the basket is 13" so you probably only need 14" to wrap and overlap. You could hide the taped seams behind embellishments or at the corners. Another idea would be to cut scrapbook paper from one corner to the other on the diagonal. If you don't want to deal with a long strip or strips of paper, you could cut panels to cover each side. The long sides would be 1 1/2" x 4 3/4" and short sides would be 1 1/2" x 1 3/4". I'd probably cut the panels 1/8" - 1/4" smaller to show a little border of the base color.
February 19, 2025
Q: Tera asks: "What is your 'oh no!' moment while creating?"
A: Mine would have to be either gluing a panel onto the wrong side of the card base or trying to gracefully excuse a cat that jumped into my lap as I was applying glue or paint to a project.
