Friday 28 August 2015

Wk 35 - Anything Goes/Backgrounds - Colouring Challenge at Graph'It markers sponsored by Stamping Boutique

Hello Colouring Fans! Welcome back to another new week at Graph'It Colouring Challenge!
This week we are thrilled to be sponsored by the fabulous

http://www.thestampingboutique.com/

Make sure you pop by and have a snoop in the lovely Stamping Boutique digi store and grab yourselves some great digis!

This week our challenge for you is
ANYTHING GOES/
BACKGROUNDS
We would love you to show us some unusual backgrounds you've created for your images but we know this is not something everyone does all the time so if not - then Anything Goes!
You have until 11th September to enter the challenge and winners will be announced the following week.
We have some great prizes for you this week! 
PRIZE 1: 2 fabulous digis from the Stamping Boutique - but, If you use a Stamping Boutique image for your entry you can win an extra digi from the Sponsors store!
TO WIN: - random winner from the Design Team's Top 3 favourites, chosen by random.org

PRIZE 2: Pack of Graph'It Markers
TO WIN: You must be in the UK and a random winner will be chosen by Random.org - please add (UK) to your name on your challenge entry.



Before we get to the inspiration we are excited to announce that we have yet another new stockist for Graph'It, so you can now purchase your markers from 
CULT PENS who also ship International so if you're overseas it's a bonus! 
You can also grab an awesome deal of buy 3 GET ONE FREE
over at Cult Pens right now so have a look Here
You can also purchase Graph'It markers through good Art and Craft stores across the UK, France and Europe...

We are also looking for a couple of Guest designers to join us here at Graph'It so if you love your Graph'It markers and would love to join in with us simply add GDT after your name when you enter on Mr Linky!
So let's get to the inspiration....

Yvonne - Hi there everyone! I got to play with Princess Jennifer Latte Bubble Bath.  Now we were challenged to make interesting backgrounds so I picked this for my colour palette:
I attacked my poor image and cut out the inner frame and round the image itself. I then scribbled some markers onto acetate, spritzed with some Mix It Fluid, swirled it around and pressed the card onto it.
The markers used are as follows:
Skin: 4105, 4125, 3110
Hair: 3105, 3110, 3160
Bath: 7215, 7130, 7170, 6130, 6140
 Towel & Headband: 6130, 6140
Latte: 9102, 9100, 9500, 9501 blender
Bubbles: 9501 & blender
Background: 6130, 7125, 7115, 7170 Mix It Fluid

Caroline...As we were challenged to make an interesting background I was a bit worried as I hadn't really done this before so this was really new for me... but once i got started really enjoyed the challenge.  I used Princess Jennifer Latte Decorating the tree....this was my colour palette...


Graph'It colours used: background colours 7185 ,7175, 7165, 7150, 7145 , snow 9100, 9110 and blender pen, tree 8270, 8250  8220 ,5210 5245, 5150, 5245, 7250, 7220, 6130, 6120
face 4150 ,4120, hair 1270 , 1130, box 3140 , 3125 latte 1110, 1130
White Graph'It Shake marker for stars

Nikky...I didnt follow a colour palette this week, I kind of forgot if I'm honest haha! I was playing around with a few colours and came up with this cool background effect which I have fallen a little in love with. If you want to know how I did it you can check it out below for more details, it's VERY easy when you know how!  I used the same image as Caroline Princess Jennifer Latte Decorating the tree....
I love how when you just play around with different things you discover the new and awesome stuff and then wonder why you never did that before!
In my excitement I forgot to write down the colours as I was creating but to be honest I didnt use that many, but from memory they are
Background: 7290, 7280, 6140, 2150, 1180
Tree - 7290, 7280, 6140 plus 8280 over the top which made it go this lush green colour
Girl - 4145, 3105 skin, hair 3125, 3180
Outfit - 5260, 5280
Graph'It Shake White marker
Mix'It Fluid

To create the background: 
1. Important! Do NOT colour your image first!
2. Take a piece of acetate and with any colour, lay it over the image and then roughly trace around the outline of the tree and girl, leaving plenty of white space from your outline to the outline of the image. Turn over the acetate. This is important! If you don't, you will end up with your image back to front!
On a piece of scrap paper, lay the acetate with the outline side down away from you and then apply colour to the acetate, just applying colour here and there randomly with the chisel end, but keep an eye on your image design and follow your sketched outline and roughly where you would want the colour to be. Try not to muddy the colours too much, you want definition, especially if you want to create a glow. So as an example, with mine I did a yellow outline around the image and added the blues further towards the edges.
Now take the Mix'It fluid spray and lightly spray onto the acetate from about 6" away - all the colour will retreat into tiny bubbles like oil on water. Next, spray Mix'It quite heavily onto your uncoloured image to really wet the paper - the wetter it is the better, but play around because you will get different effects depending on what you do and how wet the paper is. WORK QUICKLY so the Mix'It fluid doesnt evaporate too fast.
3. Once the paper is wet (a couple of sprays should do it but you need to work quite quickly), lightly spray the acetate again, quickly turn over and apply it over the top of your image, aligning it to the image. Squidge and smooth it around so you can see the colour transfer and move on the paper, then remove it and see how you did! You will have loads of colour still left on the acetate so you can keep spraying and applying it to transfer more colour and fill any gaps as you wish. If you like, spritz again on the paper as well - the more wet the paper the more it will bleed so it's worth practicing to get a feel for it. You can still use your blender marker to push the colour around or apply other colours over the top with your markers if you want to - the choice really is yours as to what you want to achieve and what you're happy with.
Play around - as you can do this BEFORE you colour your image it doesn't matter if you get bleeding or it doesnt work out - just start again or keep going till you're happy with it! 

It's seriously addictive! Once you're happy with your results for the background then colour in the rest of your image - don't forget if you get any bleeding across the image you can push the colour back out again because GI's will move - I got quite a bit of bleeding on the fur areas of her outfit so I just used my blender to push back and on the tree I moved one colour out with another on the baubles so it didn't look a mess. Easy peasy and a great technique for loads of different things!

Claire C I've used this supercute image Princess Jennifer Latte Decorating the tree and added a stripey wallpaper background using my Graph'It markers.


Colours used: Skin: 3105,44125,150,4147
Hair: 3245,1230,1210
Reds: 5245,5215,5210
Greens: 8280,8260,8250,8230
Background: 7110, plus 9501
Baubles, 1180, 2150, 6170, 5245, 7130
I've also used Graph'It Shake pens in Gold and Silver, Mix It fluid and palette


Stunning makes from the team this week and we hope we inspired you to make some great background effects for your images too - go on, give it a try, banish those white spaces!

We'll see you again next week with last time's winners and more inspiration for you, can't wait to see what you make for us!
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Friday 21 August 2015

Wk 34 - Palette/Anything Goes - Colouring Challenge at Graph'It markers sponsored by Kenny K

Welcome Back! ...This week we are kindly sponsored by the wonderful digi store
So make sure you check out all the amazing images in store from them!
THE CHALLENGE RULES FOR THIS WEEK:
We would love you to include ONE of the colours below in your entry, BUT it's not essential, if you can't do it then Anything Goes! 
Such a different set of colours you wouldnt ordinarily think of putting together but as you can see from the feathers  - nature knows best - ALWAYS!
The Design Team had to use this palette this week - as it's so different I was really intrigued to see how it pulls together with an image!
You have until 28th August to enter the challenge and winners will be announced the following week.

We have some extra great prizes for you this week! Whoop Whoop!
PRIZE 1: $20 gift certificate to Kenny K's amazing store
TO WIN: - random winner chosen by random.org

PRIZE 2: Pack of 12 Graph'It Markers
TO WIN: You MUST FOLLOW the Kenny K blog come back and add KK to your name on your Entry and you will be added to the draw - we will check that you followed the blog so no cheating! A random winner will be chosen that has KK next to their name and followed the rules!

PRIZE 3: Pack of 12 Graph'It Markers
TO WIN: You MUST FOLLOW this blog and leave a comment on each of the DT's blogs using the links along with their images below - we will check our random winner has followed the rules so don't try to cheat LOL!

ENTER THE CHALLENGE HERE


Before we get to the inspiration we are excited to announce that we have yet another new stockist for Graph'It, so you can now purchase your markers from 
CULT PENS who also ship International so if you're overseas it's a bonus!

We are also looking for a couple of Guest designers to join us here at Graph'It so if you love your Graph'It markers and would love to join in with us simply add GDT after your name when you enter on Mr Linky! 
So let's get to the inspiration....

Nikky....I chose the colour palette for this theme but I think I ended up deviating a little as I was trying to colour it from memory - clearly didnt work LOL! 
I loved this image although it was really detailed to colour with all the armoury....
 I didnt intend making a background for this at all but I somehow ended up with a mark on the base of the image so it had to be disguised. I decided as she was obviously a Secret agent waiting to pounce that she would be hiding in the wispy fog...this then ended up as steamy/foggy bubbles LOL..
 ..but we're all allowed a little creative licence, right....
To make the bubbles I coloured the base with 6109 and the background/sky with Glass and then usign the dropper, added drops of Mix'It Fluid to create the bubbles - the fluid disperses the colour beneath from the centre until it evaporates. I added some blue 6140 and some Orchid around the edges and kept swirling the circles with a blender until I was happy with it.   The fog/steam is created by smudging the Graph'It Shake White marker across the image with your finger.
 I was having a bad day and I actually got a mystery shadow under the right eye along the noseline which had to be disguised so I added some extra 4135 to her cheeks to blend it all in with the result that she is a lot more shadowed than intended but I quite like her this way...just wanted to show you that even the worst disaster you can usually get around somehow...

Colours I used:
Reds: 5210, 5215
Yellows: 2110, 2150, 2170, 2180, 9400
Blues: 6140, 6115, 6119
Green: Bamboo and Yellow 2150 mixed to create a mossy green as per the palette
Bubbles - Glass, 6140, Orchid, Blender, Mixing Fluid

Caroline.....I have used Delores D'ammage which can be found here, love this image it's great to colour....
 The color palette works great with these Kenny K images as they really take they bright vibrant colors.

skin 4150, 4145, 4135, 4125, 4105
hair 5215, 5230, 5210 plus gold shaker pen
clothes 7270, 7120, 7145
boots 8280, 8245, 8220, 1280
The background was made by using an embossing folder then using the same colors used color the digi i colored the triangles but then went over them with the blender pen to give them a shabby appearance as didnt want them to uniform and perfect.

YvonneI got to play with Brianna Blaster for this challenge and I have never ventured into colouring something like this before, but I loved it! She took me ages to colour but I loved it. I have never done 'ombre' colouring before either and of course left it to last so I am very very grateful it worked!  I was really pleased with how she turned out. 

I used the following markers:

Markers used are as follows:
Skin: 4105, 4125, 3105, 3110
Hair:  3105, 3110, 3150
Hat, Gloves and Boots: 8245, 8280, 8290
Arm Bands: 2120, 2140
Gun/Blaster: 7280, 7290
Blaster Pack: 2106, 2180, 2130
Cloak: 7290, 7280, 8290, 8280, 2180, 2160

Claire C I loved colouring this fun image and I adore the colour palette Nikky has chosen for us this week!  Once I'd coloured the image I masked him and used the tube from a biro to blow ink from my Graph'Its to create a background. I doodled around the edges and then I was very brave and wrote the sentiment lol

Here's a close up, I've added some dots to the background with  white and silver Graph'It Shake Pens and used the silver pen to give his specs some shine.


Colours used:
Skin: 3155.3145.3125.3105
Hair: 9905,9506,9502
Blues: 7170,7160,7130,7122, 7270,7240
Greens: 8280,8245,8240,8220
Oranges: 2140,2120,2110

Penni - I used Jayne Jettpack which can be found here.  I loved the colour palette Nikky chose and it suits this image perfectly. Here's the card I made....

I used the following Graph'It Markers

Skin - 4120, 4115, 4155, 4170
Cheeks - 4135, 4145
Lips - 5215
Hair - 3110, 3125, 3140
Clothes - Blues - 7119, 7115
Reds - 5210, 5215
Gold - 1250, 1280

Here's a close-up

Stunning makes from the team this week!

We'll be back next week with more inspiration for you and last time's winners but don't forget
The Challenge theme is to use one of the colours in the palette OR Anything Goes - the choice is yours!

ENTER THE CHALLENGE HERE

Ok, so it's time to announce our winners from week 31/32 Florals sponsored by Crafty Sentiments
Our random winner for a prize of Graph'It markers is
# 1 Denyse
Well done! Please email us here and quote code GIw3434001

Our Top 3 chosen by the Design Team are
#11 Julie G
#22 Lou Sims - such a great technique!
#13 Lucy

Our Random Digi Prize winner is
#17 Katie
Well done Katie! You've won fabulous digis from Crafty Sentiments - How generous!  Whoop whoop! email us here and quote code GIw34002 to claim please!

See you next time!

Friday 14 August 2015

Wk 33- Palette/Anything Goes - Colouring Challenge at Graph'It markers sponsored by Kenny K

Welcome back to a new week and a new challenge!
We have something extra special for you all this week which means goodies galore up for grabs!
This week we are kindly sponsored by the wonderful digi store
So make sure you check out all the amazing images in store from them!

THE CHALLENGE RULES FOR THIS WEEK:
We would love you to include ONE of the colours below in your entry, BUT it's not essential, if you can't do it then Anything Goes! 
Such a different set of colours you wouldnt ordinarily think of putting together but as you can see from the feathers  - nature knows best - ALWAYS!
The Design Team had to use this palette this week - as it's so different I was really intrigued to see how it pulls together with an image!
You have until 28th August to enter the challenge and winners will be announced the following week.

We have some extra great prizes for you this week! Whoop Whoop!
PRIZE 1: $20 gift certificate to Kenny K's amazing store
TO WIN: - random winner chosen by random.org

PRIZE 2: Pack of 12 Graph'It Markers
TO WIN: You MUST FOLLOW the Kenny K blog come back and add KK to your name on your Entry and you will be added to the draw - we will check that you followed the blog so no cheating! A random winner will be chosen that has KK next to their name and followed the rules!

PRIZE 3: Pack of 12 Graph'It Markers
TO WIN: You MUST FOLLOW this blog and leave a comment on each of the DT's blogs using the links along with their images below - we will check our random winner has followed the rules so don't try to cheat LOL!

Scatty Jan Ohhhhh wow what a wonderful colour Palette and image I had to use this time - My image is from the fabulous Kenny K and is from the Steampunk burlesque collection and she is called Jayne Jetpack, Is'nt she fun! You can find her here.
Graph'It markers used
Skin 3120, 4125, 4135, 4145, 4150
Red 5210, 5215, 5220
Light Blue  7140, 7145, 7150
Teal 7290, 7280, 7240
Hair 1230, 1250, 1270
Green 8280

Cara I really love the bold colour palette we were given to work with this week .... bright and bold and perfect for my image too!  I used Brianna Blaster and she can be found here.

Graph'it used:
Skin 3120,3105,4155,4135
Aqua: 7290,7250,7220,7105
Reds: 5250,5220, 5215 warm grey for shadows)
Yellows: 1280, 1270, 1250
Hair: 3250, 3230, 1280

Anjie I just adore bright colours so this one was nice and easy for me. The fab image is from Kenny K and is called Delores D'ammage, isn't she fun!
The Graph'It's I have used are:
Skin: 4105, 4125, 4150, 3120
Hair: 2110, 2150, 2170, 8115, 8245
Ourfit: 7260, 7140
Mix it Palette

Kevin I really love these vibrant colours and this fabulous image called Groove Dude I really enjoyed colouring him up.
Graph'It Markers Used
Skin 3105.3110.3125.5120
Hair  9905..9909
Clothing 1210.2105.2110.7125.7130
Hat & Shoes 2105.2110.7115.7119

WOW!! Doesnt that colour palette work really well?!  Also really great for Male themes and for Christmas too!

We'll be back next week with more inspiration for you and last time's winners but don't forget
The Challenge theme is to use one of the colours in the palette OR Anything Goes - the choice is yours!

See you next time!
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Friday 7 August 2015

Wk 32 Inspired by Florals - Colouring Challenge at Graph'It markers sponsored by Make It Crafty

Welcome back to another Colouring challenge here with us at Graph'It Markers!
This is the 2nd week of our current theme which is
Inspired by Floral Tones
and this week we are extremely lucky to be sponsored by the amazing Make It Crafty! Make sure you go and check out their fabulous store for some great digis to use with our theme!

You can use any colours or combos of them to fit the challenge!
You have until Friday 14th August  to enter the challenge
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO USE OUR PRODUCTS TO ENTER - YOU CAN USE ANY COLOURING MEDIUM YOU WISH! 


PRIZE 1:  Random winner chosen by Random.org: Set of Graph'It markers
PRIZE 2:  The Design Team's favourite from the Top 3 will win a $10 Gift Certificate from Make It Crafty - How generous!  Whoop whoop! 

Before we get to the inspiration we are excited to announce that we have yet another new stockist for Graph'It, so you can now purchase your markers from 
CULT PENS who also ship International so if you're overseas it's a bonus!

The winner of our last challenge is at the end of this post but let's see what the team have made this week!...

Scatty Jan  I used the beautiful image Exquisite Princess, My teamie Yvonne gave me a lovely colour Palette for inspiration for my colours- Adored colouring her in , such beautiful long hair


The Graph'It Markers I used were
Skin 3120, 4125, 4135, 4145, 4150
Blues 7130, 7125, 7101
Pinks 5140, 5130, 3120
Green 8150, 8160
Graph'It Shake Marker white

Anjie - The image I am using is Whisper Princess.
And the colour palette chosen for me to use was just gorgeous, so pretty!....
The Graph'It Markers I have used are:
Skin: 4105, 4125, 4150, 3120
Hair: 5110, 5115, 5120
Dress: 8115, 8245, 8270
Mix It Palette.
Nikky...I loved this colour challenge! Cara very kindly chose a great palette for me to try and emulate and at first I went 'ewwww I hate yellow!' then I went 'ewwww I hate GOLD!' Then I just picked up my big girl pants and went for it - that's what the whole idea of these palettes is about - instead of each of us choosing the same old colours week in week out and the same combinations, we have to choose something we may not normally go for. And this combo for me sure wasnt one I'd pick but boy! How lovely is it!! 
I love having all our amazing sponsors with us each week and this is our first week with Make It Crafty - I kinda chose this image accidentally and wow - that hair! It made me feel a little faint at first LOL! But it's all about breaking down your image into sections so you don't get overwhelmed, and just tackle one section at a time and work through it. 
This image is called Bella's Party and you can get here HERE....
The real challenge this week for me was how to incorporate the 'GOLD' from the palette, so it was a case of grab my trusty Graph'It Shake Gold Glitter marker and go for it!....
You can see the Gold Graph'It Shake marker more in the hair and on the clothing here. Because the glitter is encased in a clear acrylic medium it deposits really well but you can move it around with a paintbrush or even a blender or marker if you wish. The nibs are fine but not too fine.
You really only see the glitter once you move the paper around so it gives a lovely subtle glittery sheen but unlike some other products out there you CAN actually see it ok! It's also great to just push around with your fingers to get a little sheen and glittery effect. I dont like going too OTT but if you like you can allow it to dry and really build up quite a strong base of glitter by layering.
The Graph'It marker colours I used were:
Skin: 4101, 4105, 4125, 4150, 3105, 4145 & 4135 cheeks
Dress: 1140, 1180, 1250
Hair: 7220, 7240, 7260, 7280
Graph'It Glitter Shake GOLD
Graph'It Waterbased Brushliners (4pk) Greys

Cara I love the images we were given to work with this week... I chose Chantelle at the Races and she has the most stunning hair and outfit .. how I would love to look like that when I went out!!
So here is my lovely colour palette chosen by our boss lady Nikky.


I love this colour palette but I have to be honest I did find it challenging, i'm usually a bold and bright kind of girl ....


...and here you can see I was very naughty and completely strayed from the palette (oooops). 


Now for those of you who struggle with lighter softer palettes like me Nikky did give me a great tip to try next time and that is to work backwards and go from light to dark and that way you get to set out your highlights and hopefully wont lose them like I did!

The Graph'it colours I used were:
Skin:6140,3120,3105,4155,4115 and 4135 for the cheeks.
Hair, Feathers and flowers: 3290,3255,3250,3245.
Pinks: 5180, 5160, 5130
Green: 6170 (for shadows) 8270,8260,8250.

Kevin  I have used this fun image called  Aussie Santa the Floral colour palette I have used was picked for me by Team mate Jan.

Graph'It markers used
Skin 4155.4170.3105.3110
Hair 9500..9501..9503.
Clothing 1130..11.50..8210..8250,
Hat & Sandals 8270..8280..1150.

WOW! More fabulous colouring and inspiration from the team!
So time for our winners from last time, which was the 2 Tones challenge...
Our random winner who will receive a pack of Graph'It markers is
Well done! So please email us here to claim, quoting code: GIw3202
The entries for this challenge were superb and there was some great makes to fit the challenge so we couldn't just choose 3 favourites so we have had to make it a Top 5 this week!

and #16 Patty Sue you are the random winner! 
You have won a set of digis from our Sponsor Kenny K so please email us here to claim, quoting code: GIw3202


So don't forget - the challenge is 
Inspired by Florals

You can use any colours or combos of them to fit the challenge!

You have until Friday 14th August  to enter the challenge
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO USE OUR PRODUCTS TO ENTER - YOU CAN USE ANY COLOURING MEDIUM YOU WISH!