1. I cut all my paper by hand, I draw a line out to square the paper off with a ruler and that is how I do it! Now my question is what kind of cutting tool is the best to use that is not too expensive to get my cuts more evenly?
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I have the Fiskars Paper Cutter that is sold in the Stampin' Up! cataloge (and I think you can get the same one at Michaels as well). I LOVE my paper cutter and am always able to get straight cuts with it!
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2. I have no idea what kind of paints, colors, colored pencils are the best to color in your images? I normally use colored pencils but sometimes they are just not bright enough for the image and then I get discouraged. Any suggestions?
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Oohhhhhh - there are a LOT of coloring options out there!!
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There's waterbased markers - I have Stampin' Up!'s markers and really like them (plus they're great for coloring on the stamp and then stamping with) and I've heard good things about Tombow's markers (I've personally never tried them)
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There's Pencil Crayons - you get better results if you use odorless mineral spirits with them (find out more about those HERE). The BEST brand is the Prismacolor ones - you can get them at Michaels, a lot of art supply stores and even All That Scraps carries them (Crayola pencil crayons will work with OMS as well as other brands but like I said Prismacolor is the best brand in my opinion!).
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Watercolor Pencils - these are OK. To be totally honest it's been well over a year since I've used mine.
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Watercolor Crayons - I have Stampin' Up!'s Watercolor Wonder Crayons (LOVE them), and Lyra makes really good ones as well. I use these quite a bit.
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Alcohol-based markers - there's 2 major brands out there - Prismacolor and Copic. I've tried both and I prefer the Copics mostly b/c I like the barrel shape (I have the CIAO ones), there's more colors and b/c my hubby bought me the set as a gift! If he hadn't bought them for me I would probably be still using my Prismacolor markers b/c I never had issues with them (I really need to sell them as they're just sitting here unused - yet another thing on my to-do list). Markers like these are definitely a pricey option - you really need to think about how much you will be using them if they're something you can't easily afford. I really love my Copic markers and use them a LOT so they are worth it for me to have them.
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This was just a brief outline of SOME of the coloring options out there - there are so many ways to color in stamped images that it would take me too long to list every single thing! These are the ones I use the most (or don't in the case of the watercolor pencils LOL).
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3. Square scalloped edges? I see a few of these cards with the square scallopped edges and from what I see it isn't a punch? Or is it? Is there a place out there where you can purchase these seperately without a punch?
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I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to - but I'm thinking something like this (the second card in this post)? These are made with a Nestabilities die. You buy them in sets and you need a die-cutting machine to be able to use them (I have a CuttleBug). There's a variety of shapes out there - you can see them on the Spellbinders site
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I also have a blog and how do I get more people to sign up to my blog etc. or even visit my blog I am having trouble with that.
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Participating in bloggers challenges, getting your blog listed on the Stamping Top 50 site, and exchanging links with other bloggers can help (not guaranteed but it should help...). There are also blogger groups out there but I don't really know much about them as I'm not in any - I assume a lot of them are invite-only, or maybe you have to ask to be on them, or start one of your own! :o)
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I have recently purchased a Cuttlebug like you use and I was under the impression that I could use the Fiskars texture plates with it.
They are very thick plates and I don't see how I could use them. Do you know if I have to buy something different to be able to use these plates.
They are very thick plates and I don't see how I could use them. Do you know if I have to buy something different to be able to use these plates.
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I did this post and this post on this some time ago - I have the BISK but since it's no longer available you need the Sizzix Texturz Starter Kit - it has the silicone rubber and the Impressions pad that you use with your CuttleBug.
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I have a hard time coloring my bella's to look as nice as yours. What is your secret? What do you use. I was using water color pencils and a blending pen. Mine look messy.
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I mostly use my Copic markers to color them in. At other times I've used my Stampin' Up! markers and have even used watercolor crayons and watercolored them (I pick up the color from the crayon with an AquaPainter b/c the tip is fine enough to color in the small details of the Bellas). It just takes practice and at times you need to go slower on some of the more detailed images (I love to color so I don't find them tedious to color in at all!).
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I have a question about this technique. When you embossed the red cardstock with the embossing powder, what did you use to get it to stick to the card. As a beginner at this, learning the various "tricks" is the biggest challenge. (the SUPERfast card post)
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I used VersaMark ink - I pressed the ink pad down all over the red card stock, poured on the Iridescent Ice EP (it's basically ultrafine glitter mixed with clear embossing powder) then heated it with my heat tool (making sure to hold the card stock with tweezers since I was heating the entire piece and didn't want to burn my fingers!).
