Doodling with the Super Brush

It's summer time, it's hot, and I'm busy. I'm sure that none of you have those problems :) July is one of our busiest months each year, and this year is no exception. Time seems to be zipping past, and I still have so much to do...

For the next two weeks I'll probably have pretty short posts, since CHA will be taking a lot of time. However, short but sweet is sometimes the best. This is a simple technique that works with the Sketch or Ciao Super Brush Nib.

Perfect Drops

With the side of the brush, gently touch your tip to the paper. That's it. That's my tip.

What? That's all? You're probably thinking that was a lame tip. You need to think outside the box and I'll show what you can do with that tip.

Look at the shape created by the side of the tip. It is a perfect drop. If you push gently it will be fatter, if you are quick it will be thin. If you're not careful it will be a blob. Practice till you get the "perfect" drop shape.

Put two drops next to each other and you have a quick heart. I know Sharon Harnist has shown this technique a few times on her blog- if you dig back to February she used it on her calendar.

Draw a dot and put drops around it, you have a perfect flower.

Add drops with the point out and you have a star.
Dots and drops can build up to a lot of things.
I make perfect dots by touching the brush tip straight down and pushing. It won't destroy your tip if you do it gently. The super brush is very flexible and will bounce right back. I've never ruined a tip using this technique, and some of my markers are really old, but they still give me lovely drops and dots.

Think borders, accents, simple alterations to existing patterned paper, the potential is limitless, though this is a very simple technique. This is fun to do on 3-D items as well, like boxes, paper bags, fabric, purses, leather. Are you getting ideas yet?

Note: When building up shapes with the drip-points in different directions, turn the paper not your hand.

That technique is all good and well, but to really have fun, you need to take it a step more. Remember, you can't ruin a marker when you touch tip-to-tip, so now try the same thing only this time, why don't you touch a second color to the tip of your marker?

Now you can make two-tone drops. Oooooooo! Did I finally give you an idea that you hadn't seen before? perfectly blended little drops for any project.

Two tone flowers, butterflies, stars, hearts, drops, borders, patterns, can you think of more ideas? This little two tone flower's stem and leaf were made with a melon Spica glitter pen (enlarge it to see the sparkle).

The lines on the butterfly were drawn with a multiliner. See how simple that was, and your little butterfly looks so cute! This is a perfect springtime embellishment to your papercrafting. What if you do a pile of leaves with your fall stamping? Just make a drop on it's side and add a stem with a pen. If you make the shape first, then outline it with a pen people will think you made the outline first, then colored it in, but you'll know it was hand-drawn.

Have fun playing!

Image: Artwork drawn with Multiliner and photocopied onto Neenah Classic Crest paper. Notice how I used dots instead of a soft shadow? This would be perfect if he were going with a patterned polka-dot paper or if you just want to try something simple that looks different. The blades of grass were made by gently flicking the brush as if it really were a paintbrush.