Four "Art supply Myths" debunked & Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July to all of my American readers!

In honour of the fourth, 4 "Art Supply Myths" debunked:

The art supplies are mixin' with the craft supplies Baby! I've just realized that I've had these "art supply myths" that have been keeping me from getting really artsy fartsy, so I thought I'd share them--in case they help you get artsy too! :0)

Myth #1: Art supplies are for real artists not me

• Excuse the expression, but "I call bull$#!^" (hehehe!) We Cardmakers, Scrapbookers, and other Crafters are artists too! We deserve to play with all of the "real" art supplies.

Myth #2: Art supplies are much more expensive than craft supplies

• You'd be surprised how remarkably affordable some art supplies are, especially if you can find a store that sells to art students.
  

• There are different quality grades to suit every price range. Student grade is a great option.
  

• A little will go a long way: one gorgeous paintbrush, for instance, can cost you a little but rock your world a lot. It can make a huge difference in painting with reinkers & other good schtuff. Looking for really intense colour? You may want to add artist quality paints to your stash.
  

Myth #3: Art supplies and craft supplies don't mix

• Maybe this is just a myth I've suffered with, but I've had all of my art supplies stored in a whole different room...and because I'm intimidated by my blank canvases I've left them lonely. But the supplies are mingling now & I'm having a riot muckin' about.

• You can mix 'em all up: gesso and pastels acrylic paints and reinkers and pearlex and crystal effects....reinkers with watercolours...gel mediums...whatever you like!

Myth #4: Art supplies are difficult to use

• The skill set for stamping is similar to that for artsy fartsying. :0) If you've ever painted with reinkers you can easily paint with watercolours or acrylics. They have a concentration of colours that is lovely. Adding pearlex to them will make them shine. If you're intimidated by painting, you can use embossing to make it easier (paint stays in the lines) or use markers to easily colour an image embossed on gesso paper. I slopped markers on gesso'ed cardstock & was really happy with the results. (Tutorials to come) :0)
  

• If you've brayered a stamp with ink, you can brayer one with acrylic paints or Lumiere or gesso! for a new look. The texture is fun & original.
  

• Some techniques are even easier and more effective with art supplies: For instance, what I love most about Gesso is that it makes getting an interesting image much easier than it is on plain paper. You can brush gesso on thinly, or you can scrape it on thickly to lend an ultra neat texture to the colours you add on top of it.

• Acrylic Gesso made this stamped image textured & it made it a breeze to cut out. (It makes the paper strong & pliable in a plastic-y kind of way.) I would've torn the delicate stems if the cardstock wasn't treated with gesso before I stamped & cut it out:

(Click the photo for an up-close look at the texture) :0)

• Better still, Gesso creates a kind of waterproof paper that repels ink just enough to make mistakes correctable/erasable. If you go out of the line like I did (in this project that's coming up this week) you can use a damp q-tip to clean up:
  

You can't do that with plain cardstock! :0) I can't wait to show you all of this schtuff with gesso that I've been mucking about with! (I'm gesso nutso!) There's even more ways to use your crayons & a lot of it is cuttlebuggable too!

Thanks for stopping in & I hope that
you have a blast--with whatever supplies you like to use! :0)