Zentangle Your Splash Inks

Permawriter and Splash Inks are perfect for Zentangle Collage Fun!

Doodling is fun!  I would love to do more Zentangles but I feel I don’t have the patience.  But I am so proud to have accomplished this just taking my doodling to another level.  AND – it wouldn’t look as fine as it does without the Permawriter and Splash Inks.  Makes the job easier and lots more fun!!!!  Added some extra elements to this for dimension and texture.  Can be used on a journal, as a book mark, altered art, and scrapbook.

Niji Supplies:

Permawriter

Splash Inks

Waterbrush

There is a lot of information on how to mix and use Splash Inks.  One is online at the Yasutomo website.  Then there is YouTube, and FB has a dedicated page to Splash Inks!  Tutorials, ideas, so much more.  Splash Inks are delightful!  Any color you want, you can have without buying a lot of different bottles of ink.  Just follow the recipe card and mix colors to your heart’s content.

Mixing Splash Inks is easy and fast. Just follow the recipe cards.

The recipe cards are comprehensive with how many drops of each color needed to create the hue you want.  There is a quick guide to what the codes are, like BL = blue.  I used my Niji palette to mix my colors, but larger batches can be stored in little jars or even spray bottles!!!

1.  Draw your favorite doodle or Zentangle with pencil.  Trace over that with the Permawriter.  Use a nylon, or kneaded eraser and erase all the pencil lines.  Looks like you drew it freehand!!

2.  Mix your inks.

3.  Use your Waterbrush and paint the colors you have created.

4.  Finish art after inks have dried by collaging elements, die cut words, or even adding wire and beads.  Die cuts are painted with Splash Inks!

5.  Enjoy or use art as you please!!!

Color Chart

The color chart has complete instructions including how to hold the bottle for ease of drops into your container!!!!!!

Just these few bottles create all the colors seen above!

Happy New Years!  May it hold all good things as well as creativity designing new art.

Cre8tivelea Yours – Lea

Origami Paper Collage

This is Quinn from QuinnCreative encouraging you to try collage with origami paper. I also used Splash Inks, Yasutomo’s gel pens, and a touch of the gold sumi-e watercolor paint.

Yasutomo’s Fold ‘Ems origami paper is double sided. One side is a print, the other a pattern. This was the star pattern, which worked well to give parts of the collage texture.

Start by choosing a sturdy watercolor paper–300gsm is good. I used cold press because it works well for the background. Spray the paper with water, both sides. You want the paper to be covered with a mist of paper, but not slick with a wash of water. The size of this piece is 6 inches by 9 inches. You can make it smaller to make it a postcard, or this size to create a journal page of a piece for framing.

Free-mix Splash Inks in a palette to make green, teal, and purple. If you want to mix specific colors, use the blending palette instructions that come with the inks.

Dilute the colors with water, then drop the colors onto the wet paper using a fat watercolor brush. As the colors spread, blend with a light hand, allowing the colors to run and mix. Keep the background light to contrast values across the finished piece.

Allow to dry completely. Select some coordinating colors from the origami paper. I like abstracts and a rustic look, so free-hand drawing loose flowers appeals to me. Cut the majority of the flower from the solid paper, then add touches of the patterned side for contrast, depth, and visual interest. Try several shapes rather than just one. It makes the completed piece look more natural.

Decide on the orientation of the paper–I used vertical (portrait). I placed the cut pieces of paper flowers in an arrangement that looked pleasing, then drew pencil lines for stems. Using Nori glue, I glued the pieces down, including leaves I had cut from the same origami paper.

Cut double portions of leaves, so you have a mix of dark and light. It makes them more interesting. As a finishing touch, I added a bit of gold watercolor shine to a few of the leaves and darkened the stems with a green gel pen. You can use the purple pen to add depth and give the flower petals some definition. Your work is now ready for signing and framing!

Origami paper makes a great collage element, too!

Quinn McDonald is on the Niji Design Team; she is a creativity coach and collage artist.