An Introduction to ZIG Cartoonist Range

Hello Kuretake fans, we hope you have had a lovely Christmas holiday! This week we bring you an introduction to Kuretake's ZIG Cartoonist range.

Check back on Friday to see  how the very talented artist and graphic novelist Al Davison uses this range in his art work.

If you have missed any earlier episodes you can check them out on our YouTube channel here.

Cherry Blossoms In Japan

It is no secret to those that know me that I absolutely LOVE the calligraphy pens from Kuretake.  Not only can they help you achieve some beautiful writing for your cards or scrapbooking but you can also create beautiful flowers.

I used the calligraphy heart blending collection to create the cherry blossoms on the layout.  I built the layout up in the centre with the papers.  I also used one of the corner punches to create a pretty border too.  Once I was happy with the layout I blended the pens together and started to create the blossoms.

You can create some beautiful bouquets using the blending of the pens technique.

Hope you have a creative day

Beckie :)

Konnichiwa To You All

Hi Everyone, it's Kim Dellow here with a Japanese inspired make using the ZIG Memory System Scroll and Brush pens.

The ZIG Memory System Scroll and Brush pens come with two nibs, one is a brush and the other is an indented calligraphy tip so perfect for a bit of calligraphy, both Italics and brush! But also great for some flowers too!

I did mark up my card with pencil lines before starting the 'Hello' in calligraphy, just for a little bit of guidance for the writing.

I used two flower forms for the Sakura, the first one uses a ZIG Memory System Calligraphy pen to do the 'C' petal then I used the Brush end of the ZIG Memory System Scroll and Brush pen to add more detail.

The second Sakura uses the a bit of blending of a light pink onto the darker pink ZIG Memory System Scroll and Brush pen.

and then I used the blended scroll to draw 'C' shapes.

I cut out the Sakura and shaped them with a large ball embossing tool before sticking them onto the stems drawn with a green brush nib.

The finishing touches were added with some touches of pink on the Italics calligraphy with the brush nib and then writing the 'Japan' brush calligraphy with the brush nib.

I do love a bit of cherry blossom!

Thanks for popping in.

Kim

December Winner

We hope that all our readers had an amazing Christmas and your enjoying the festive period. You may have seen that this month we held a competition to find our best homemade decoration using Kuretake products. Our Winner is Alicia Lafuente with this wonderful Christmas house.

Alicia has used ZIG Metallic Writers, Emboss Scroll & Brush, Calligraphy pens and BrusH2O.

Lucky Alicia will be receiving £50 worth of Kuretake products.

Lampshade Doodling With Zig Brushables

Hello Kuretake Fans!  

We hope you have had a wonderful and peaceful Christmas!

Today I am here to show you a lampshade I made using the Kuretake products.

This started out life as a plain flat packed paper lampshade.  I used the Zig Brushables to doodle on some flowers.  These pens are brilliant as they don't bleed which is perfect when working with these sorts of lampshades!  

Once I was happy with the position of the flowers I used a brown Zig Brushable and drew in the branches.  For a touch of sparkle I used some of the Zig Wink Of Stella pens over the edges of the flowers.

These lampshades can be adapted for any room in your house, you just need to get those pens out and start doodling!

Have a crafty day

Beckie :)

Winter Sign With Beckie Wagner

Now, I know I have told you before I am terrible at lettering by hand. Hopefully with this project it will not take away from the overall enjoyment for my fellow crafters. Even though my hand writing stinks, I think my little sign is adorable. It is perfect for that friend who is into the country chic look to hang on her door or kitchen window.

My sign was very easy to make. Let me show you how to make one of your own with supplies you may already have in your craft room.

First, pick a sheet of your favorite paper. I like to use the 6x6 pads as they have a small pattern print on them. Those pads are perfect for a small scale project like this. Next grab some 20 gauge craft wire, glue, 4 craft sticks with the ends cut off, and finally a few different flavors of markers. I have my trusty Kuretake ZIG! Writer in black, Wink of Stella, and Calligraphy Metallic pens to add shimmer, shine and depth to the sentiment. Each one of these pens can be found together in the Memory System Starter Set for maximum value.

On the backside of your paper, glue all sticks down. Make sure you put a bead of glue on the edge of the stick so it will adhere to the stick above. Once dry, trim the paper to the size of the sticks.

After daubing the edges with ink to give an aged look, I penciled in my sentiment. I used the pencil before because I just don't trust my handwriting. Then take your Writer (using the 1.2 mm side) once you like how it looks and trace. Going over and thickening the lines where you want to add a little more style. I traced again with the Wink of Stella pen to make the black shimmer, then added depth to the letters with the silver Calligraphy Metallic pen.

To get my mini sign to hang, I punched a hole on each side. Thread the wire through and twist the ends to keep them secure.

I finished it off with a few buttons to match the paper. It would also look cute with a couple die cut snowflakes, don't you think? Well, there you have it, a mini Christmas sign to hang. It won't need anything too strong either, as it's very light.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you liked today's project. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions. I would also love to have you stop by my blog, The Happy Card Encouragement Factory, sometime. We have cookies! Have a great day and happy crafting!

Supplies:

Writer in black by Kuretake

Wink of Stella in clear by Kuretake

Calligraphy Metallic in silver by Kuretake

Peppermint Collection by Crate Paper

20 gauge wire

craft sticks

Christmas Tree Decoration with Margie H

On KURETAKE ZIG's post today, I created a 3D holiday ornament using ZIG Emboss Pen and ZIG 2 Way Glue to come up with this...

O' Christmas Tree Ornament by Margie Higuchi
Supplies - Cardstock: Darice; Stamp: A Jillian Vance Design (O' Christmas Tree set); Embossing Marker: ZIG Emboss Pen (KURETAKE ZIG); Embossing Powder: American Crafts (Silver Metallic ZING); Pearls: Want2Scrap; Die: Spellbinders Paper Arts (S5-028 Nested Pennants);Tool: ScraPerfect (the Embellie Gellie); Adhesive: ZIG 2 Way Glue (KURETAKE ZIG); Other: Silver Trim and Silver Cord

First I used ZIG Emboss Pen to cover the stamp image, stamped on cardstock and then covered with silver metallic embossing powder. Melt with the heating tool and cut/emboss with Spellbinders S5-028 Nested Pennants dies (I used die template #5, the smallest being #1).

Next I scored each die cut in half, using the tip as my guide. Fold each with embossing image inside.

With ZIG 2 Way Glue, adhere generously to each side of the die cut to a corresponding side of another die cut to create the dimensional ornament. Before adhering the last piece, add trim and cord with ZIG 2 Way Glue (Tip: hold it in place for a few moments and let dry). After it dries, adhere your last piece by applying glue on both sides and add pearls.

Here is another look at the finished project...

So easy to do and can be applied to many different shapes for some variety in decorating the tree! If you like what you see, bookmark KURETAKE ZIG Blog and LIKE us on KURETAKE UK FaceBook Page!

Thanks for stopping by!
MargieH

Christmas Sign With Beckie Wagner

I must be in the sign making mood. This is my second one and totally different from the first. If I think of this season in only one word, it is definitely "joy." The gently falling snow and Christmas trees with brightly colored lights everywhere you look. That's what this project reminds me of. The glowing pink, blue, and violet lights that twinkle in frosty windows this time of year that are breathtaking.

You will need a 4x4 white glossy tile, ribbon, glue for ribbon, and the "joy" mask in vinyl. I forgot to take a picture of my supplies. I apologize for that. I am going to have to start at the first step. The tiles are easily found in any home improvement store. You can purchase them in a case or singly if you just want to try this technique out.

Since I want my word to pop, I used my Kurecolor Ink in Pink (225) and added a few drops to the felt on my homemade alcohol ink applicator. I just dabbed on the ink till I achieved my desired look.

My tile after I put the mask down. It was hard to capture the vinyl on camera. The great thing about Kurecolor Inks are that they dry almost instantly. So the mask can go on right away, no waiting.

Next, I inked up the felt with Blue (317) and Violet (607) and dabbed away again over the mask. Wait a moment for the ink to dry to see if you want or need to cover any areas. When it was to my liking, I pulled up the vinyl.

I didn't have any ribbon to match so I used a white grosgrain dyed with the pink ink. The ribbon will take a little longer than the tile to dry. When it was dry, I glued it to the back of my tile so it will hang. That's it! Pretty much instant cute gratification.

Questions? Comments? Want to leave some love? Do so below. That makes us crafty bloggers very happy. Visit me at my blog when you have time – The Happy Card Encouragement Factory. Have a great day and happy crafting!

Supplies:

Kurecolor Inks in pink, blue, and violet

4x4 white glossy tile

vinyl mask (JOY)

ribbon

Mount Stewart Junior School

Earlier this year Kuretake donated its discontinued stock to the Mount Stewart Junior School’s Art Club, in Harrow. The discontinued stock included pens and traditional Japanese papers. 

 The club decided that they needed a new challenge and took it upon themselves to tackle the daunting task of Japanese culture. 

“Japan is a country that many people do not visit and for that reason I wanted the children to understand some of the country's traditions and in contrast to make the children aware of Japan's great contribution to the world of technology, which they come into contact with every day.

 The Japanese landscape is very different from our own.  Japan has a large population and experiences earthquakes and tremors.  It was a good opportunity to highlight engineering skills, used to design superb trains and bridges.” Joy Rickman, Art and Design Instructor

 

  
The club were inspired by the artist Emily Allchurch and her mix media imagery of Japan. This style leant well to having a collaborative project with many children working in a number of different mediums.

Each child was responsible for their own smaller project and researched their subject to create the best overall image that could then be added to the huge montage of work. 

  

“I enjoyed drawing the Blossom tree and colouring it. I learnt that Japan has amazing electronics, amazing buildings and the beautiful environments! I wish I could go to Japan.” Ola

 

 "The Japanese project was a wonderful experience for me because I was able to use two different brush pens as well as discovering new amazing techniques and textures" Zoya 
          

The club had many supporters along the way. The Japan Information and Cultural Centre and the Japan Society helped in the initial stages with providing as much information as possible so the children could really understand Japanese culture. The club also had the help of Gerald Craig a professional artist who donated time to help with research and other volunteers including Ria Qazi. 

                 

“I learnt that Japan has lots of specialities in theatres, electronics, cars and landmarks. I also learnt that you have to take time when you are doing art. I enjoyed seeing all of the parts being put together to make the big masterpiece.“ Chanel

“The Japanese project took three months to complete.  It would not have been possible without the extraordinary talent, patience and enthusiasm of the children and I am very proud that their hard work is to be displayed” Joy Rickma

“I did the Temple which is the largest wooden building in the world. It was an amazing experience and the angles were hard to draw but they turned out great! The pens I used were a pleasure to work with. The project was great fun.” Anuska

“I enjoyed myself by getting sticky, messy and creative I learnt how to use different techniques like blending colours.” Yashvi

 

Kuretake are so impressed with the level of talent and are overwhelmed by the time and effort the children of the Art Club took. What do you think? We would love to hear your feedback. 

To see all of the amazing photos of this wonderful project please visit our Pinterest folder here.