Kuretake

Join Nikky for some amazing colouring and rubberstamping techniques with our Kurecolor Alcohol Markers and Art & Graphic Twin pens. We've put some new colour sets of our alcohol markers together just for this show! Fresh, modern tones that are perfect for crafting.

You can also catch Kurecolor marker demos on Nikky's two other shows on Sunday. Tune into the Polkadoodles shows at 9am and 2pm ahead of our main event at 5pm.

Take a sneak peak at what's on the show HERE!

Valentines Tag

2012-02-14T09:39:00.000Z

Hi everyone, it's Laury here!

Today, I would like to show you a tag made for the Valentine Day. I started with a blank tag and stamped the background. I glued some strips of different papers. You may use die embossed paper to add some dimension. The pink border is made with the Dark pink Zig Clean Color Real brush. The heart is drawn first with a white pen and on top with the Zig 2 way glue, before it dries up I added glitter powder.

Here is a close up to give you an idea of the shimmering effect but does not show well on the picture.

No H2O No Life

2012-02-13T12:15:00.000Z

Hello dear all!

My name is kissinia

I decided to find a non-traditional approach to the Valentines Day.

What about shades of blue and some metallic accent instead of traditional pinks and reds?

So, today I would like to share with you my Valentine's themed series of ATC.

The concept behind it is that there is no Life without Love!

There is another issue about life - Water!

So here we go!

No H2O, No Couple of essential elements = No Life!

This is what I created using

WaterBrush H2O

ZIG artist Sketching pen

ZIG Art and Graphic Twin

ZIG Posterman Waterproof

ZIG Painty Metallic

ZIG Calligraphy Metallic blue

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great Day!

Kuretake Challenge 1: Valentines! ♥

2012-02-09T16:11:00.009Z

Welcome to the very first Kuretake Blog Challenge!
We're getting all sentimental this month with a Valentines theme!

With so many different Kuretake products, the sky really is the limit in terms of what you create! We'd love to see whatever you come up with using our products, be it cards, scrapbook layouts, mixed media, doodles, watercolour, home decor...whatever you like as long as you've used Kuretake or Basically Bare items (or even better..both!) and it has Valentines theme.

For our first challenge we will be picking 3 winners at random. Here are the prizes!:

1st Prize
Set of 12 ZIG Art & Graphic Twin pens

2nd Prize
Basically Bare Timeless Tabs Booklet & Stackabellies Owls

3rd Prize
Set of 4 ZIG Memory System Writers

So embrace the love, get creative with Kuretake and you could win!

A few little rules:

1. Blog posts must mention Kuretake and/or Basically Bare and which products have been used.

2. You must link to the actual blog post, and not just your blog.

Here is what our Design Team has created to give you some inspiration!
Please click their names/photos to check out how they created these on their blogs.

Miria

Jaine

Please submit your entries below.

GOOD LUCK!

Design Team Call: Kuretake ZIG are looking for new US Design Team members!

2012-01-24T21:38:00.002Z

Do you love ZIG pens, and want to be part of the Kuretake Design Team? Well, here's your chance!....

We're looking to expand our US Craft Design Team so are looking for crafters based in the US and Canada that are either familiar with ZIG pens or enthusiastic enough to start using them!

We're looking for cardmakers, scrapbookers, mixed media artists and anyone that uses ZIG pens in a creative way! You don't have to be on any Design Teams at the moment (everyone's got to start somewhere!) but you do have to be enthusiastic and committed to using ZIG pens in your work

What we ask from our Design Team members....

Actively promote Kuretake ZIG products on your blog by regular use and mention of our products. (At least 3 posts a month)
Be active on facebook and/or twitter
Participation in challenges run by the ZIG blog (won't be more than a couple a month)
Make samples for workshops, demos and exhibitions
Be willing to run your own workshops (with our support) and demos for stores (if possible)

What's in it for you?

You'll be one of the first crafters to get your hands on new ZIG products (and we've got LOTS planned!)
We'll add your blog link to our blog, and share your work on our blog.
Our Design Team are a super friendly bunch, so you'll be joining a fab team and we work hard to support and promote the work of our DT members
We're really just beginning with our US Design Team so here's your chance to be a part of something new and BIG!

If you would like to be considered for a Design Team position, please email me with a link to your blog and a little bit about you by Friday, the 24th February*. We'll announce our new DT members the following week.

*Date extended!

Our new Design Team members will join for an initial period of 6 months, with the possibility of this being extended.

ZIG Links

2012-01-20T10:36:00.000Z

Making a hat pattern - Millinery Musings

Valentines Day Blog Hop - Scrap and Fibrofacts

New Products: Kuretake Comic Pen Nibs - Jetpens Blog

Tropical Chocolate Box - Scrapbookers Paradise

Using Watecolour Pens - Crafty Drake

Flourish Friday Procrastination Quote - Jane Farr

Colouring Wooden Earrings - Decufantazje

Winter Wonderland Challenge, Birthday - Amanoamano Miria

Henry Mit Muffin - Flatis Bastelleien

Masked Ball - That's Life

Come and visit us at CHA! Booth 2600

2012-01-18T09:48:00.000Z

We're excited to be exibiting at CHA Winter at the end of this month!

29th January - 1st February

Come and visit us at Booth 2600, we've got some great Make n Takes going on at our booth as well as a sold out ZIG Workshop on the 28th January.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Buffy

Get in touch with me on Facebook!

ZIG Links

2012-01-06T11:28:00.000Z

New Kuretake Pen - Nikiraart

Erupting Glasses - Life Imitates Doodles

ZIG Letter Pen Cocoiro Review - Pen Addict

How to start a sketchbook journal - Jenny's Sketchbook

Wreath for anytime! - Basically Bare Blog

Kurecolor and Buncho Watercolour - Donnassama

ZIG Cartoonist & ZIG Kurecolor - Paigeedraw

Maddie's Dresser - Scrapbookers Paradise

Always follow your heart - That's Life

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:23:00.000Z

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!
Hope you have an amazing day.

Here is one last festive project, from our Export Sales Executive, Charlotte.

Festive Napkin Rings
by Charlotte Deykin

Some festive questions....

What do you love most about Christmas?

The expression on my little boy’s face when he sees that Santa has been! And spending time with my family.

What's your favourite Kuretake product for Christmas crafting?

The Gold & Silver Painty FX markers – their metallic effect is lovely!

What are you looking forward to most in 2012?

The Euro 2012!

ZIG 2 Way Glue

ZIG Kurecolor Ink: Red
ZIG Emboss Pen

ZIG Emboss Powder: Queens Gold

Kuretake Ribbon: Black & White

Heat Tool

Cardboard Tube
White Paper
White Card

Sponge

1 Cut the cardboard tubes approx 2 inches long.

2 Cut a strip of paper to cover the tube and stick using ZIG 2 Way Glue.

3 Once dried, pour some red ZIG Kurecolor refill ink onto a sponge and use this to cover the outer and inner cardboard tube.

4 Cut strips of white ribbon and attach to each side of the tube.

5 On a piece of card, colour in a section using the ZIG Emboss pen big enough for you to cut out the buckle. Sprinkle with ZIG Queens Gold emboss powder and heat using the heat gun.

6 Cut out a buckle, or alternatively I used a square and a weave paper punch.

7 Cut a strip of black ribbon to go around the middle of the tube. Affix the buckle to the black ribbon and stick this around the tube.

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 24: Hanger for your Christmas tree

2011-12-24T15:30:00.000Z

Kuretake ZIG H2O waterbrush, ZIG 2 Way Glue

Fabric

Napkin or tissue paper

Stamp

20cm of lace or ribbon

Filling

Instructions:

Using a heart shaped stamp, stamp twice on your napkin or tissue paper and once on your fabric. You may use a white or color napkin or color your white napkin. Using your heart as a template cut an additional heart in fabric.

With your waterbrush outline your stamped image (on the napkin) and when still wet, you may easily tear apart the 2 sides.

Using the Zig 2 way glue, adhere it on your fabric

I glued part of the stamped napkin on the stamped fabric.

Sew the 2 heart shape and add some filling.

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 23: Merry Christmas by Nikky Hall

2011-12-23T11:34:00.001Z

Zig Metallic Calligraphy pens

White Card

Wink of Stella Gold and Silver

Draw a circle onto card with a pencil (a CD is an ideal size).

Roughly sketch out your Merry Christmas text in pencil to ensure you get the layout right around the circle.

Then taking a gold and silver metallic Calligraphy pen and using the 3.5mm tip, add gold colour to the tip of the silver by gently pressing the gold halfway onto the tip.

Holding the silver pen at a 45 degree angle now trace over your text. Break down each letter into sections. Use the fantastic printable guides and tutorials on the Kuretake website to help you and refer to the A-Zig Calligraphy book.

Don't worry too much if your spacing isn't correct as we can resolve this later. Now add some little swirls onto the ends of your letters to make it look fancy.

Practice this "S" shape on some scrap paper. Once you can get the shape, draw a centre dot and starting from the centre point turn your paper each time to make a flower.

Now add lots of flowers around the edge of the circle on your card. Once you're confident, change the tip size to make some smaller flowers and change colours. Try to make the positioning quite random.

Keep going and build up the design, each time turning the paper as you create your petals. Finally, add some swirls to the circle to finish. You can add little berries to the flower centres. Add some sparkle with a Wink of Stella pen!

Merry Christmas!

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 22: Nikky Hall's Magical Kurecolors

2011-12-22T10:00:00.003Z

Selection of Zig Kurecolors & blending pen, Clear Mushroom stamps from Polkadoodles, Wink of Stella Gold pen, White Zig Chalkwriter pen, Memento inkpad, Zig Alcohol inks - clear blending solution

Using the memento inkpad, stamp your images and create a little scene by adding lots of trees and bushes.

Kurecolor alcohol markers change colour as they dry so it's really useful to make and keep a colour swatch chart every time you buy new colours. The handy storage wallets are already in pre-selections of bright and muted tones. I store mine in colour families within the wallets in numerical order but if you struggle with putting colours together you will find the pre-selected colours really helpful as it makes selecting colours that work together really easy peasy.

There is no right or wrong way on how to colour but with I tend to work light to dark depending on the image I'm colouring. For this image I will use a lot of the skintone colours to give me a nice soft look to my project but I try to restrict my colour palette to less than 10 colours as I find when too many are involved you can end up with a garish result with too many colours clashing. As you can layer Kurecolors you can achieve as many colours as you wish by simply mixing colours together and this means all the colours in the palette you use will work together well. The Kurecolor markers have a really precise point which is far more accurate than many other markers and means you can get right into fine details.

The Kurecolor blender is an awesome tool for achieving soft blending techniques. If you find the colour you have is a shade too dark, add some of the colour onto the tip of the blending pen and then sweep across the image in small circles to spread and blend a more muted form of the colour.

You can also use this technique to mix colours together - simply add 2 colours onto the blender to make a third variation and get a lovely smooth blend when you colour. The colour will simply flood out of the blender as you use it so you will never spoil the blending pen, you simply reload the colour again if you need more.

Kurecolors have brilliantly strong pigments and give super-rich coverage but not all your projects have to be vibrant and strong. I want a more muted, softer look to my project so I decided to try out an idea I've had for a while...scribble some blue onto a piece of acetate or acrylic block (as a palette) and then add some clear blending solution, mixing with a paintbrush.

You need to work quite quickly as alcohol ink does dry very fast, but take a paintbrush and swirl the colour across the sky to give a really soft look which looks a bit like watercolour! Great technique, it worked so well! If you run out of colour or it's a little patchy just add more blender and blend it around until you're happy. I ended up with a really soft wash which looked broken up by clouds. If I'd done this any other way it would have taken me ages and lots of blending!
Now start to add some more colour and foliage colour - don't forget you can mix your colours together which I find handy when I'm trying to get the right tones for foliage.

Once I'd built the colour up I decided to make my lanterns light up. Use yellow 106 in the centre of the lantern and then using the blender pen swirl round and round the head of the lantern in a circular motion to spread the light. Then take the same colour and add touches of it where the glow would be picked up on the house and on the mice etc.

Remember to add the casting shadows and glows too for added effect. Again I used the paintbrush to get the wash across the grass in the front of the picture. Take a white chalkwriter pen and highlight along the lanterns and anywhere you feel you need to get a little contrast. Finally, take a yellow or gold Wink of Stella pen and add to the lanterns and windows and some of the flowers for a little sparkle.

Finally make up into a project for any occasion.

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 21: Nasreen's Metallic Christmas Card

2011-12-21T10:00:00.002Z

Today Kuretake staff member Nasreen has a Christmas card tutorial for you! Nas started working for Kuretake in sales, and moved over to our Marketing team in April. Nas's sister, Alyea also works with us! She did the Fabricolor Babygro tutorial on Door 14.

A few festive questions...

What do you love most about Christmas?
The holidays and spending time with family and if we’re lucky the snow!

What's your favourite Kuretake product for Christmas crafting?
The Wink of Stella glitter pen, I love the gorgeous fine glitter and how you can add a bit of sparkle to any project without the mess of glitter

What are you looking forward to most in 2012?

Going to New York for my friend’s 30th

Metallic Christmas Card

by Nasreen Akhter

ZIG Calligraphy metallic silver pen
ZIG Painty FX medium silver
Kuretake crafting scissors rockies
Kuretake gem accent stickers blue
Kuretake photo tape 60
Kurepunch small ice crystal
Kurepunch medium snow crystal
Kuretake satin ribbon blue
Kuretake scrapbooking file 6x6”

Blue card (1 x 4x4” and 1 x 4.5x4.5”)

1 In pencil, draw a triangle on the 4.5x4.5” blue card, making sure you leave a centimetre border around the edge.

2 Using the ZIG Calligraphy metallic silver pen, fill the triangle with flourishes and flowers to create a Christmas tree, please click here for a practice sheet on how to draw the flowers.

3 Using the Kuretake Crafting Scissors Rockies, trim the edges. Add Kuretake Gem Accent Stickers on the centre of the flowers.

4 Trim 3 edges of the Kuretake Scrapbooking File 6x6”. Use the Kurepunch Medium Snow Crystal and Kurepunch Small Ice Crystal to punch out stencils.

5 Use the Painty FX Medium silver to stencil the Scrapbooking File.

6 Add Kuretake Gem Accent Stickers to the centre of the snowflakes. Tie a bow with Kuretake Satin Ribbon blue and stick it down on the side of the Scrapbooking File with Kuretake Photo Tape 60. Stick the Christmas tree on the centre of the Scrapbooking File.

7 Write your seasonal greetings on the 4”x4” blue card with the ZIG Calligraphy metallic silver pen, you can get some ideas from the lettering practice sheet. Stick the card down on the inside centre of the Scrapbooking File.

Thanks, Nas!

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 20: ZIG Painty Santa decoration by Jo Williams

2011-12-20T10:00:00.005Z

Today we have a special project from Jo Williams, of Muddy Puddle Crafts. We're a huge fan of Jo's colourfully painted wooden products!

Painty Santa Decoration

by Jo Williams

A selection of ZIG paint markers:
ZIG Painty

ZIG Painty FX
ZIG Painty Twin

ZIG Woodcraft markers

1 Use a ZIG Painty, or Painty FX to colour in Santa's hat, and the star in red

2 Use the white ZIG Woodcraft marker to colour in his beard

3 Using a flesh coloured ZIG Woodcraft marker, colour in his face

4 Outline the sign with a green ZIG Woodcraft marker

5 Once dry, add some finer details. The ZIG Painty Twins are great for adding fine lines.

5 Allow to dry completely and hang on the tree!

Thanks Jo!

You can find more of Jo's wonderful work on the Muddy Puddle Crafts website, Facebook and Twitter.

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 19: Basically Bare Angel Decoration by Sarah Hurley

2011-12-19T10:30:00.003Z

Angel Decoration

by Sarah Hurley

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for dropping by to open today's window, so much inspiration already! and today I'm sharing an Angel Tree Decoration made using Kuretake & Basically Bare Products...

Basically Bare - Bare Basic Hearts - Set 1, Bare Basics Wings, Dress Me Up Clothes. Kuretake - Posterman Pen - Silver, Wink of Stella Pen - Blue, Angel Face Free Download (below) and Tinseltown CD - Sarah Hurley, Tattered Angels Spray Mist - Old Lace , Glitter Star - Craftime, Stickles - Star Dust - Ranger, White Acrylic Paint, Silver Thread, Strong Adhesive, Foam Tape, Pokey Tool.

Firstly, paint the largest chipboard heart and the medium wings with white acrylic paint and set aside to dry. take the canvas skirt from the dress up set and mist lightly with a pale gold shimmer spray (I used a Tattered Angels one)

Print off the Teal Snowfall paper from the CD and using the medium chipboard heart as a template cut out a heart shape. Stick this to the larger painted heart in the centre. Use the Zig Opaque Pen to edge the largest heart in silver.

Lay the heart onto a foam mat or piece of polystyrene or foam and use you pokey tool to make a hole in the top centre, thread through a piece of silver thread or embroidery floss and tie in a loop.

Line up your angel onto the heart, once you are happy with the layout, adhere the wings first using a strong adhesive, layer the dress and face using foam tape to give your decoration some dimension.

Using your Wink of Stella Pen in Blue, add a feathered affect to the wings and some extra shimmer to the edges. Finish by adding a glittery star to her hair and some clear stickles to her wings for extra shine and sparkle!

Once your stickles are completely dry (preferably overnight) then hang on the tree or in the centre of your Christmas Wreath!

I've also included the angel face I designed for this here as a free download (below) one colour and black and white if you would like to colour it yourself, so that you can make the same one. Alternatively if you have a 1.5" circle punch it will make a head the right size for you to decorate.

Please do come and share your Kuretake Christmas Creations over on the Facebook page, we'd love to see them!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and an even sparklier New Year!
Sarah x

Kuretake Advent Calendar Door 18 - Basically Bare Sparkle Decoration

2011-12-18T10:00:00.004Z

Basically Bare Sparkle Decoration

By Dee Paramour

Basically Bare Gears Set 1
Art and Graphic Twin Pens 303 Shadow Mauve and 660 Deep Violet
ZIG Metallic Writers 124 Violet and 102 Silver
ZIG 2 Way Glue Pen
Kuretake Satin Ribbon Packs KU404-2 and KU404-5
Kuretake Gem Accent Stickers Light Blue SBGAS-7 and White SBGAS-10
Copier Paper
Cosmic Shimmer Mica Powders Blue Pearl and Lilac Pearl

How to make

Step 1

Roughly cut pieces of copier to fit the 3 largest sizes of gears from the Basically Bare set, two for each size. Scribble the pens on a pallet or old tile and mix in some mica powder with some water. Use the blue pearl mica with the shadow mauve pen and the lilac pearl mica with the deep violet pen. You will need to mix quite a lot and you may also need a second coat to get a deep colour. Screw the pieces up while they are still wet them gently flatten out and allow to dry.

Step 2

Cover both sides of the largest and smallest gears with both coloured papers. Cover one side only of the medium sized gears with both coloured papers, one colour on each gear.

Step 3

Fix a piece of purple ribbon to the largest gear. Fix to both sides to form a loop. Punch a hole in the smallest gear and tread another length of purple ribbon through it, fix the ends to the largest gear opposite the first loop. Fix the middle sized gears to the largest gear, one each side.

Step 4

Draw lines on the medium sized gears crossing the centre point using the violet and silver metallic writers. Decorate the lines with gems from the packs. Tie small bows with light and dark blue ribbon and fix to the centre of both sides of the small gear. Fix gems round both sides of the small gear.

Wishing you all a happy crafting Christmas

Dee

Kuretake Advent Calendar Door 17: Tracie's Picture Canvas

2011-12-17T10:00:00.005Z

Picture Canvas

by Tracie Steeley

Hi Everyone.

Its Tracie here and I am so pleased to have been asked to make a project for you. I love personalised home decor, and with having small children anything that captures the magic at christmas whilst they are small is a must for me!

So this personalised Christmas wall canvas ticks all the boxes and its super simple to make too, the fab thing about it is that it same project can be re-made for any occasion by changing the photo and the words, for example a wedding photo and first dance song lyrics or wedding vows would make a great anniversary gift, or a nursery rhyme and baby photo would be a lovely addition to a nursery! The pens from Kuretake are so easy to use and work perfectly everytime so you know that creating something like this will be fun and easy!

You will Need: -

A canvas of your chosen size (mine was 8x8)
A suitable photo and coloured card to mat it on
Double sided foam pads
Wink of Stella pens in BLACK and CLEAR
Zig Calligraphy pen in PURE BLACK
Metallic Writers in GREEN and RED
Zig PaintyFX in SILVER
Pencil, Eraser and Ruler
Lyrics to a suitable song - I chose "Santa Claus is coming to town"

Step One

Mat your photo and use your pencil to lightly draw lines on your canvas, I spaced my lines about an inch apart.

Step Two

Using a pencil lightly mark where your matted image will go, Then using the Calligraphy pen write out the lyrics to your song around it. It doesnt matter if your writing isnt perfect, its personal and thats what counts!

Step Three

Using the Metallic Writers doodle sprigs of Holly onto your canvas, use a black wink of stella pen to outline the doodles and and highlights with the clear one.

Step Four

Add your photo to the centre of your doodled canvas

Step Five

Finally using the silver paintyFX pen draw a silver border around then entire piece, and write a heading, I chose my little boys name, but the date of the photo would be nice too. Then add little silver dots to finish off

I hope you have enjoyed my festive make and I would love to see your versions of it!

Happy Holidays!!

Tracie xxx

ZIG Links

2011-12-16T11:21:00.001Z

Best Christmas Wishes Part One - Basically Bare Blog

Our tradition layout - Pretty Plz

Polkadoodles quick Christmas card - Amanoamano Miria

Dulce Navidad en Sweet Card - Ceciscrap

Shadow Mountain Road - Nikiraart

Heute startet auch wieder eine neue - Flati

It Bleeds - Doodlers Anonymous

Sweet Christmas - Lo Shakerato Alberto

Christmas Rally now open - Illustration Rally

Drunken Stampers Challenge - ASW Crafting

Etiquettes - Blog de Laury

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 16: Cookie Cutter Batik Christmas Card by Wendy Evans

2011-12-16T10:00:00.001Z

Cookie Cutter Batik Christmas Tree Card

by Wendy Evans

Batik artist Wendy Evans has created this Christmas Tree card using Kurecolor inks and hot wax.

What is Batik?

Batik is the traditional art of using dye and hot wax on cloth, although paper is also sometimes used. Wax is applied to areas of colour that you wish to keep, and patterns and designs built up by alternating the dye and the wax. You can find lots more info on Batik here.

Kurecolour inks:

Lemon yellow 102

Cobalt Blue 304

Pink 225

Green 508

Blender B.1

Paper: Plain white

Iron and Paper to remove wax at the end

Batik Tjanting

Wax

Christmas tree shaped Pastry / Cookie cutter with a wooden peg for a handle

1 Dip edge of a tree shaped cookie cutter into hot wax using a wooden peg for a handle.

2 Print wax-resist onto white paper to give a tree outline.

3 Draw dots and stars in the background, using a tjanting filled with hot wax.

4 Fill the tree shape with a mixture of blue and yellow ink; use blender to give different shades.

5 Paint pink in the background, around the tree, and blue around the edges.

6 When dry, draw more dots and stars over the pink background and draw more detail in the tree; as before using hot wax.

7 Paint green ink over the tree.

8 When dry, draw more detail on the tree, using wax.

9 Paint all over with blue ink.

10 When dry, iron work between sheets of clean paper which will remove the wax-resist.

You can find out more about Wendy's work and Batik in general on the Batik Guild Website.

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 15: Sharon's Christmas Dinner Table Treat Box

2011-12-15T10:31:00.004Z

Today our Sales Order Process Team Leader, Sharon has got some great ideas for your Christmas dinner table!

A few festive questions...

What do you love most about Christmas?

Watching my grandchildren open their presents, being with all my family.

What's your favourite Kuretake product for Christmas crafting?

Using the Wink of Stella to add subtle glitz.

What are you looking forward to most in 2012?

Watching the Olympics and the excitement of it being held in England

Dinner Table Treats

by Sharon Ledgister

Kurepunch small: Photo Anchor

Kurepunch medium: Leaf Punch

ZIG Art & Graphic Twin: Black, Olive Green

ZIG Calligraphy Metallic - Gold

ZIG Wink of Stella: Clear

ZIG 2 Way Glue

Kuretake Gems

Empty matchbox

Card/Paper: red, green, black

White paper

1 Cut a piece of the black card/paper to the same width as the length of the matchbox. Use enough to wrap around the box, leaving a small overlap

2 Apply the ZIG 2 Way Glue to the sides of the matchbox, wrap the cut black card around the box tightly, and stick down the overlap.

3 Paint the inner box with the ZIG Art & Graphic Twin pen, covering the sides, and leave to dry. You can colour it the same colour as your card or with a different colour of your choice.

4 Cut out 12 pieces of the red paper with the anchor punch and 3 pieces of the green paper with the leaf punch

5 Draw veins on the leaves with the green ZIG Art & Graphic Twin pen. Stick the leaves to the top of the box with the 2 Way Glue

6 Arrange and stick 6 of the red punched anchor pieces in a circle layer. Tip: Lay 4 pieces as a cross shape first, then add the other 2 pieces. Layer the other 6 pieces in the same way but arrange in the gaps left by the first 6.

7 Cut a piece of white paper to fit inside the painted box and write either a Christmas greeting or maybe a small joke inside the box

8 Using the Wink of Stella pen, draw over the petals of the flower, and around the shape of the leaves. To add more twinkle, keep applying

9 Stick the gems to the side of the flower, and pop a small sweet or other treat inside for your guests!

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 14: Alyea's Christmas Babygro

2011-12-14T10:00:00.003Z

Today is the turn of Kuretake staff member Alyea! Alyea is one of our Export Sales Executives, and has been with Kuretake for 8 years!

A few festive questions....

What do you love most about Christmas?

The great Christmas feeling and of course the Christmas Sales.

What's your favourite Kuretake product for Christmas crafting?

I absolutely love the NEW wink of Stella markers, they are great and easy to use and add the perfect sparkle to all my Projects without the mess

What are you looking forward to most in 2012?

The Queens Diamond Jubilee and all the street parties that come with it

Baby's First Christmas

by Alyea Fardoose

This project is simple to create and would make a great personalised gift this Christmas!

ZIG Fabricolor Opaque
ZIG Writer

ZIG Laundry Marker (optional)

1 Create a design you wish to use, on a piece of card using the black ZIG Writer.

2 Place the card in position in between the babygrow, making sure you can see the black outline of the design. Colour the design using the Fabricolor opaque markers.

TOP TIPS

When using the Fabricolor Opaque markers, make sure that the first colour is dried on the project before applying different colour on top or next to the design- this will stop the two colours bleeding into each other.

If you don't feel confident enough to apply colour directly onto the vest, you can use the ZIG Laundry markers in Pink-VN-100 to trace the design first on the body vest and then start colouring in. Any lines created with this pen will disappear in 3-4 days!

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 13: Santa's Key by Emma Williams

2011-12-13T10:26:00.000Z

Santa's Key

by Emma Williams

Hi everyone ~ it's Emma here!!

I hope that you've been enjoying all the Kuretake tutorials so far, and that you're inspired by all the lovely creations that you've seen here on the blog.

Today, I'm here to show you what I've made ~ SANTA'S KEY TAG ORNAMENT ~ perfect to leave ready and waiting for Santa to find and use, on the big day!!!!

So, here's how I made it and a list of everything you'll need:

Basically Bare ~ Stackabellies Cupcakes

Zig Art and Graphic Twin Pens

Kurecolor Pen ~ Brown

Zig Millennium Writer Pen ~ Black

Zig Writer Pen ~ Red

White Cardstock Tag

Red Ribbon

A Key (I used an old key that I found in a car boot sale)

Holly Punch

Adhesive Pearls

Using the Art and Graphic Twin Pens, scribble some ink in various shades of blue onto your craft mat and mist with water.

Pull your tag through the spritzed inks, mopping up all the colour that you've applied onto your craft sheet.

Once you've done this, you'll be left with this gorgeous marbled effect to your tag, which you now need to set aside to dry or, if you prefer, you can use a heat tool to speed up the process.

Once the tag is dry, apply colour directly from the Art and Twin Graphic pen, to your chosen stamp ~ I used a snowflake stamp for my tag and then, stamped the image onto the opposite corners of my tag, top and bottom.

Using one of the shapes from the Basically Bare Cupcake pack, colour the bottom section using a brown Kurecolor pen.

Next, colour three small, dome shaped circles using a red Zig Writer pen, these will become your holly berries for the top of your cupcake.

Now it's time to assemble your cupcake, using the Basically Bare pieces, red berries and some holly leaves, punched from green textured cardstock.

Attach the assemble cupcake using a strong adhesive to the bottom left hand side of your tag, slightly overlapping the edge.

Type out your message to Santa, cut each word into individual pieces and then stick the wording to your tag using a Zig Two Way Glue Pen. Draw a thin line around the "Santa's Key" wording to highlight the words, using a black Zig Memory System Millennium pen.

Attach a key to the tag using some red ribbon and threads, tied into a bow. Finally, as a finishing touch, add some adhesive pearls to the "icing" on the top of your Christmas cupcake, add a touch of glitter glue to your holly leaves for that added sparkle and last but not least ~ hang in pride of place ready for Santa.

So, that's about it for my creation and I hope you like it.

Thanks for taking the time to look.

Happy Christmas to you all.

Emma xx

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 12: Basically Bare Snowy Angel Bauble By Kim Dellow

2011-12-12T10:00:00.002Z

Basically Bare Snowy Angel Bauble

By Kim Dellow

You Will Need:

ZIG Emboss Marker (Brush and Scroll)

ZIG Kurecolor ink 317, 304, B1

ZIG Memory System Metallic Writer Red, Silver

ZIG 2 Way Glue Pen

Basically Bare Basic Wings

Basically Bare Stackabellies Holiday Ornaments

Embossing folder and die-cutting machine

Felt applicator

Small cotton ball

White paint

Wire shaped into arms

Beads

Silicone glue

Glitter

Embossing powder

Heat tool

Hole Punch and eyelet

String

Step One

Paint the chipboard Basically Bare Stackabellies Holiday Ornament and when it is dry run it through the die-cutting machine in an embossing folder.

Step Two

Use the ZIG Kurecolor ink 317, 304, B1 to colour the embossed bauble.

Step Three

Now highlight some of the embossed pattern and the border with the ZIG Emboss Marker and add embossing powder and heat set.

Step Four

Using the ZIG 2 Way Glue Pen add dots of glue to the cotton ball and dip it into glitter and let it dry.

Step Five

Run the felt Basically Bare Basics Wings thought the die-cutting machine in an embossing folder and colour the embossing and edges with the Silver ZIG Metallic Pen, then add glitter with the ZIG 2 Way Glue Pen.

Step Six

Cut a curved triangle from some spare paper and colour with the ZIG Metallic Writers by using a sponge to apply the colour. Add glitter to the trim of the angel's dress with the ZIG 2 Way Glue Pen.

Step Seven

Punch a hole in the bauble and add an eyelet. Use the silicone glue to stick the angel parts to the bauble and add the wire arms with the beads. Finish with a silver thread through the eyelet.

Hope you enjoyed this festive fun and have a good Christmas.

Kim

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 11: Wink of Stella Christmas Tag

2011-12-11T10:00:00.002Z

We have a special Christmas Wink of Stella tag tutorial today from German Design Team member Sonja! As Sonja's post is in German, please use the translate buttons to the left of the blog to read in English or another language.

Wink of Stella Tag

by Sonja Wallrath

das Motiv (Whiff of Joy) habe ich mit dem Kreisschneider von Kuretake ausgeschnitten, der Kreisschneider ist mega genial,denn man kann damit für jedes Motiv auch die passende Mattung ausschneiden.

Für die coloration habe ich die ZIG Wink of Stella Glitzerstifte von Kuretake verwendet...

Diese Farben habe ich für mein Motiv gebraucht, ich male die Farbe auf eine Glatte Unterlage und nehme sie mit dem Wassertankpinsel auf, um sie dann auf meinem Motiv zu vermalen....

Schatten setze ich direkt mit dem farblich passenden Stift.

Ich liebe diesen tollen Glitzereffekt den die Stifte abgeben

Und zum guten Schluss mein fertiges Tag

Danke das ihr hier vorbei schaut

Thanks for stopping by
Have a look at my blog, there you can see more coloration with the lovely ZIG Wink of Stella Markers

ZIG ‘Wink of Stella', appropriately named by the sparkle this constellation brings to the sky, will bring an exciting element of sparkle to your scrapbooks and crafting projects.
13 shimmering colours, the ZIG Wink of Stella contains premium pigment glitter dust ink perfect for adding controlled glitter to your projects.
Wink of Stella is also compatible to blend with other members of the ZIG Memory System range!

XOXO Sonja

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 10: Little Christmas Boxes

2011-12-10T10:00:00.001Z

Little Christmas Boxes

by Jaine Drake

I hope you're enjoying the offers and tutorials which have been posted recently. There has been so much inspiration and I hope to offer you some more of that inspiration with my tutorial for little boxes.

For this project you'll need; a box template or pattern ( I used a box template from Kuretake for mine), a Clean Color Real Brush pen in your favourite colour or indeed any of the water based pens will work for this technique, a ZIG 2 Way glue pen, a stamp and some gold leaf flakes.

After cutting your box shape from the template, scribble some ink onto a craft sheet and give it a spritz with some water.

Mop up the ink with the box as if you were mopping up with a paper towel. Keep dipping and adding more ink until you're happy with the colour.

Load your stamp with ink straight from the pen and stamp randomly over the by now dry box. Let some go off the edge.

Highlight parts of the stamped image with your ZIG 2 Way Glue as well as any other parts you'd like to show off. Wait until the glue has turned from blue to clear and is tacky to the touch.

Dip the box into the gold leafing flakes and rub with your finger to cover all of the glue with gold.

Gently brush over with a stiff paintbrush to remove any excess flakes. Re-do any bits which you missed the first time and any further parts you want to cover.

Add your sweets or gift to the box and assemble with a pretty ribbon around the top.

Happy Christmas from Jaine

ZIG Links

2011-12-09T11:13:00.000Z

Last Christmas Card - Crafty Makes

25 days of Christmas - Cema1Cema

Kurecolors and Moleskin - Arch Frustrated

Winter Wonderland new challenge - Amanoamano Miria

Fancy favour bag - Nutz About Stamping

ZIG Calligraphy pen on cheap paper - Mandala 365

Crafty Boots Blog Hop - Bondgirl

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 9: Natalie's Christmas Stocking

2011-12-09T10:00:00.004Z

We're back with another Kuretake staff project!

Today is the turn of our Marketing Assistant, Natalie Hackett.

Nat joined the Kuretake Marketing team in June, she primarily works on the purchasing and marketing of our new ranges, recently bringing Basically Bare to the UK!

A few festive questions....

What do you love most about Christmas?

The FOOD!! Roast dinners, cheese and crackers, puddings!! Mmmm

What's your favourite Kuretake product for Christmas crafting?

Metallic Calligraphy pens, so festive to write Christmas cards with!

What are you looking forward to most in 2012?

The trip to the CHA Winter Show, my first business trip with Kuretake, meeting some of the Kuretake Co. employees and our American suppliers.

Christmas Stocking
by Natalie Hackett

Kurepunch Small - Holly
Kurepunch Medium - Angel
ZIG Fabricolor Opaque - Gold
ZIG Fabricolor Twin - Red
ZIG Fabricolor Twin - Green
Canvas Stocking

1 Using a red ZIG Fabricolor Twin, colour the toe, heel and top of the stocking.

2 With a gold ZIG Fabricolor Opaque stitch around the edge of the stocking

3 Using the gold fabricolor again write a Christmas slogan on the top, I cheated and used a template to write "Noel"

4 Finally create a stencil using the Kurepunch on card or heavy paper. I used the Medium Angel Kurepunch for the top design....

...and the

Small Holly Kurepunch although there are many Christmas alternatives such as candles and snowflakes!

Thanks Nat!

We've got more staff tutorials coming up next week....

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 8: Basically Bare Poinsettia Gift Tag

2011-12-08T10:00:00.005Z

Basically Bare Gift Tag

by Becky Dreyer

Materials Needed

Basically Bare Gears set 2
Basically Bare Stackabellies Paisleys

Kurecolor 534

ZIG Art and Graphic 72

ZIG Fabricolor Marker Red
Photo Signature Green & Red

Kuretake Ribbon

Here's How

1 Colour two of the paisley shapes with the Kurecolor Green Ink. Colour a felt and chipboard paisley with a Green Kurecolor.

2 Remove plastic protective sheet from a small gear shape. Starting from the centre, use a ZIG Photo Signature pen to draw a spiral to the outside edge. Colour the spokes with the pen. Bend up the cogs for some dimension.

3 Take a larger chipboard gear and colour with a red Art and Graphic pen.

4 Colour over a snowflake stamp with a brown ZIG Art and Graphic pen and stamp over the large gear.

5 Adhere the leaves to one edge of the large gear.

6 Adhere the small cog and decorate with some gems tones. Add to a decorated tag and finish with greeting and ribbon

If you would like to give this a try then pop on over to the Kuretake shop as there is a 30% off Basically Bare for 2 weeks from the 5th December.

And there's more as there is FREE delivery for orders over £15 in the Kuretake Shop throughout December!

Thanks for stopping by

Beckie :)

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 7: Calligraphy Christmas Envelope

2011-12-07T10:00:00.002Z

Today we have a special Christmas Calligraphy tutorial for you from the wonderfully talented Calligrapher, Jane Farr!

Calligraphy Christmas Envelopes

by Jane Farr

Hello! Jane Farr here to demonstrate how to add a few bits of fun to your holiday envelopes and cards using Kuretake ZIG pens.

ZIG Writer - Yellow

ZIG Wink of Stella - Clear

ZIG Calligraphy or ZIG Journal & Title - Red, Green

Using the chisel edge of a red Journal & Title pen, draw a slight and gentle “s” shape, keeping your pen angle consistent along the path of the stroke (as the dash marks indicate). Create a second “s” slightly overlapping the first, but be careful not to separate the points at either end as the bottom example shows. We are creating the leaves for a Poinsettia.

The steeper your pen angle, the narrower your leaves will be.

These leaves are narrow

These leaves are wide.

Draw five double “s” pairs. If it helps, make a center point with a pencil first.

Using the same technique, draw a few, smaller leaves in green. With the large end of a yellow ZIG Writer, add several dots to the center of each Poinsettia. Add a little sparkle to the yellow with a clear ZIG Wink of Stella.

You’re done! These little Poinsettias are a great way to dress up an envelope or gift card.

Next, let’s create some quick and easy holly leaves.

Using the chisel edge of a ZIG Journal & Title pen, draw two diamond shapes. The second diamond should be directly under the first. Keep your pen angle at approximately 45 degrees. Then using the bullet end of your pen, outline only the outer edge. Add a center vein and a few diagonal veins. With a red bullet tip, make 3 dots at the base of the leaf for your holly berries. The poinsettias or the holly leaves can also be made with either the 5mm or 2mm end of a ZIG Calligraphy pen.

Add a cluster of three Poinsettias at the upper left of an envelope and a single Poinsettia at the bottom right. With a straight edge, draw two lines with a bit of space between them.

Using the chisel edge of a red ZIG Journal & Title pen, letter the name of the recipient on the top line. Using the bullet tip, write a note or the recipient’s mailing address in the space between the two lines.

Have fun!

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 6: Star Decoration Tutorial

2011-12-06T10:00:00.003Z

Hi there!

I am Kissinia and would like to share with you something really cute and quick.

It is a very busy time of the year, Christmas is just around a corner.

I would like to show you how in minutes you may make your unique, simple yet beautiful embellishment.

ZIG Art & Graphic Twin pens
ZIG H20 Waterbrush
ZIG Posterman pen
ZIG Emboss Powder
Cardboard

1 Cut out the image of your desired shape. I used ordinary packaging.

2 Wet it a little bit using the Kuretake Water Brush H20

3 Peel of some paper to show the structure of your corrugated cardboard.

4 With the Posterman waterproof marker in white I slightly touched the edges of my star.

5 Using Art and Graphic Twin Marker I have added colour, which is blue in my case.

6 With the brush add some water to create a distressed look.

7 Add some more white if you wish with the Art and Graphic Twin Marker.

8 Using any embossing ink, apply it generously over your entire shape and sprinkle the Rainbow Sparkle embossing powder.

9 Use heat tool

Now you have your distressed, shiny and very rustic looking star.

10 Add some simple embellishments, like buttons, raffia or anything you would prefer. I painted raffia with the same Posterman waterproof marker in white.

And easily with no mess in about 20 minutes you have your star ready.

Next time I will show you what I made using this embellishment.

Thanks for stopping by.

30% off the ZIG Ultimate Memory Case!

2011-12-05T09:54:00.002Z

We have an AMAZING offer for you in the Kuretake Shop today!....

30% off our ZIG Memory System Carry Cases!

That's 48 ZIG pens for less than £85!

Includes ZIG Calligraphy, ZIG Scroll & Brush, ZIG Chalk Writers, ZIG Metallic Writers and ZIG Wink of Stella

It's the perfect gift for that crafty someone this Christmas!

Plus, it's free UK Postage as well.

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 5: ZIG Painty Christmas Baubles

2011-12-05T00:02:00.039Z

Happy Monday! Today's holiday tutorial was created by design team member Erin Bassett. She will show you how to transform simple glass bulbs into personalized bulbs you will treasure. It's also a great activity for the kids to do!

ZIG Painty Christmas Baubles

by Erin Bassett

- Colored glass bulbs

-ZIG Painty FX pen (white)

Note: You could also use clear glass bulbs and other colors of Painty FX pens!

There's only two instructions for these beautiful bulbs....

1. Doodle until you've filled up your bulb.

2. Have fun!!

Introducing the ZIG Cocoiro - The perfect stocking filler this Christmas!

2011-12-04T10:00:00.006Z

It's Day 4 of our Advent Calendar and we have a fantastic stocking filler idea for you!

Introducing the.....

Cocoiro Letter Pen!

The Cocoiro is our most stylish pen yet! With a choice of ink and barrel colours you can mix and match to your hearts content.

Step One - Choose your tip colour from 6 shades...


Fine Tip

Step 2 - Choose the body colour from 16 gorgeous colours

Mix and match to suit your mood!

To celebrate the Cocoiro arriving in the UK, we have a great offer for you in the Kuretake Shop!

Buy the refill tip and we'll give you the body FREE!

ZIG Cocoiro...

the perfect stocking filler this Christmas!

Retail customers: Interested in stocking ZIG Cocoiro? Give our sales team a call for more info: 01527 523799

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 3: Chalkboard Signs for Christmas

2011-12-03T10:00:00.003Z

Today we're sharing a festive video tutorial, from talented sign writer John Neal. John uses ZIG Postermans to create amazing window and chalkboard displays for businesses all over the country!

Here are his tips for creating your Christmas signs:

Make sure you check out John's amazing YouTube channel which is full of tips and ideas for your chalkboard and window signs.

We have a fantastic ZIG Posterman offer for you in the Kuretake Shop! Buy one Posterman Pen and get a Gold AND Silver Posterman Wet-Wipe pen absolutely FREE!

Have you used ZIG Postermans for your Christmas signs? Send us a picture, we'd love to see them!

Buffy

Get in touch with me on Facebook!

ZIG Links

2011-12-02T12:39:00.002Z

Merry Christmas Tree - Yakyart

One for the Lads - Amanoamo Miria

Romantic, Nostalgic - Decu Fantazie Galaxii

Polka Doodles Italian Christmas - Amanoamano Miria

Kalt wie eis - Flatis Bastelleien

Holy Pom Pom Batman - Ladybug Craft Sink

Experimenting with Paper Texture - Crafty Makes

Back to Work - Joan Sicignanos Fine Art

Watercolouring with Markers - Scraptime

Kuretake Advent Calendar - Door 2: Basically Bare Christmas Hanger

2011-12-02T10:36:00.001Z

Basically Bare Hearts Hanger
by Beckie Dreyer

Hello ... I have been having some fun with the Basically Bare Hearts to create a little hanger for Christmas.

Basicially Bare Hearts set 2

Fabricolor Marker Red

Kurecolour Alcohol Ink 508

Kuretake Ribbon

Christmas Greeting Stamp

Little Heart Stamp

Cinnamon Sticks

Buttons

Embroidery Thread

Needle

Filling

Here's How

1 Choose three of the canvas Basically Bare hearts.

On two of the smaller hearts draw a grid with a Red ZIG Fabricolor.

2 Colour in alternate squares to create the ‘gingham’ effect. Sew a button on to each one.

3 Choose a Christmas greeting and ‘ink’ with the ZIG Fabricolor pen. Stamp this on the centre of the largest heart.

4 Place a smaller heart over the top of the greeting to create a mask, then spritz with Kurecolor Green. Remove the heart mask. Stamp two little hearts to decorate the centre. Use the ZIG Fabricolor pen to dot around the edge.

5 Sew the matching felt heart shape to the back of each heart and add a small amount of filling.

6 Sew each heart to a line of Kuretake Ribbon. Tie on some cinnamon sticks to finish.

These hangers will look great on a tree on simply hung on the wall. I hope you have a fun time making one for yourself.

If you would like to give this a try then pop on over to the Kuretake shop as there is a 30% off Basically Bare for 2 weeks from the 5th December.

And there's more as there is FREE delivery for orders over £15 in the Kuretake Shop throughout December!

Thanks for stopping by

Beckie :)

Follower of the Month....

2011-12-01T13:42:00.000Z

This month's Kuretake Follower of the Month is...

Twitter Follower - Dawnydt

Dawn wins this Christmas bundle of Kuretake and Basically Bare products!

If you weren't a winner this month, nevermind, we have loads of amazing Christmas offers for you in the Kuretake Shop all through December!

Including free UK delivery for any orders over £15 and 30% off Basically Bare for the next 2 weeks.

Buffy

Get in touch with me on Facebook