Witchy Stitchy Blog Hop – The Witch Tree

The Witch Tree Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

Welcome to the Witchy Stichy blog hop hosted by Carol.  We have very recently moved to a house which has some very old and very beautiful trees.  I think trees are quite magical.  Over the past couple of weeks, as I have been unpacking, I have been listening to them rustling in the wind and wondering what they are saying to each other, or perhaps whispering an idea of a story to me.

 

 

 

Witch Cauldron Watercolour Sennelier | Whims And Fancies

 

 

There is a forest where little witches live.  They are not the usual naughty witches you read about who stir up acrid potions in their cauldrons and harm others.  These witches take care of the forest and tend to the trees during the day.  While they do use their little cauldrons to make potions from the berries and herbs they collect, these are generally fortifying or healing potions.

 

 

The Witch Tree Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

That is why when you go to the forest during the daylight hours, you don’t see anything out of the ordinary.  However, if you were to venture deep inside the forest during the night, you would see the trees lit up by little pumpkins, inside which the witches live.

 

 

The Witch Tree Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The witches have painted vines and leaves all over the inside walls.  Once they return home and lights are on, the semi-transparent walls look magical from outside.

 

 

The Witch Tree Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The vines that grow around the trees shine silver when moonlight falls on them.

 

 

The Witch Tree Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The witches have also added enchantments to the trunk of the tree so the tree is not burdened by them.  The tree lives a carefree life, hugging and protecting the witches and singing rustling songs to them, and the witches care for the trees and guard them with their magic and potions.

So begins my little story of the Witch Tree.

 

Time For A Little Giveaway

 

Halloween is my favourite holiday and as a paper piecing designers, I am excited about giving away these two patterns to 4 people.  My giveaways are for my followers only.  If you spread the word on social media, you get extra entries per mention.  Please make sure you follow me and leave a comment for each social media mention.  Last date to enter the giveaway is October 11th, 2019.

 

Giveaway has now ended.

 

Stay tuned for at least one more giveaway this month!

 

 

The Witch Tree Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

Purchase Witch Tree

 

As for the this piece, I paper pieced the tree.  Once I set the block on a canvas and added the pumpkins, I started doodling with my silver and gold pens, thinking of the little witches and their forest full of trees.

The Witch Tree is now available in my shop if you wish to make one for yourself.  You can replace the pumpkins with flowers, leaves, fruits or any other embelishment your heart desires.

 

 

Carol from Just Let Me Quilt  hosts some of the best blog hops.   Thanks, Carol!!  

It not only gave me a much-needed break from the mayhem of moving, now I also have a Halloween wall art for our new home.  I am glad to have this as my very first project made in this home.  Off to a good creative start, I think.

 

 

Witchy Stitchy Blog Hop

 

A full list of the bog hoppers on Just Let Me Quilt

 

Here are a few of the lovely ladies who I am sharing my day with –

Creatin’ in the Sticks

Songbird Designs

For The Love Of Geese

Quilted Delights

Kathleen McMusing

Quilts By Joanne

Whims And Fancies – That’s me!

Janie G. – Hosted at Just Let Me Quilt

 

 

 

Have fun blog hopping!

-Soma

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.  Please pay a visit to some of them.  

 

 

 

Leave a comment

 

Tombow Markers – Review For Watercolour

Landscape Painting Tombow Marker Review | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Last month, quite unexpectedly, Mother Nature treated me to a weekend of rain. The sound of rain is like the calls of the mythological Sirens for me. Re-purposing John Muir’s quote – “The rain is calling and I must go”, and go I did. I put on my raincoat and my waterproof pants and went for a 4+ mile run, all the while feeling the rain on my face. I was so happy and full of energy after coming back, I painted this little scene.

 

 

Landscape Painting Tombow Marker Review | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Early this year in January, I got some art supplies for my birthday from my husband.  These markers were a part of it.

This review is specially for my Paint Party Friday peeps and anyone who loves watercolour or wanting to plunge into that crazy world.

 

Tombow markers are available loose, but they also offer a few sets.

 

 

Landscape Painting Tombow Marker Review | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The landscape set included 9 colours and a blender. 

They are water-based markers, so very easy to blend with a wet brush. I found the included blender to be useless.  It actually scuffed my paper when I used it directly on paper.

The markers only have numbers on them.  I found a chart on Tombow’s website which translates the numbers to standard colour names.  It’s a circular chart not ordered by number, so it was a bit tedious to find the names.

 

 

Landscape Painting Tombow Marker Review | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I applied the markers directly on paper, then used a wet brush to create the swatches.

There is no yellow in the set, that would have been useful.

A lighter blue would have been nice too.  The included blues diluted make very nice light blues. However, directly used on the paper, the initial strokes are too dark.

The colours change hue as they dilute.  So swatching them was very useful.

 

 

Landscape Painting Tombow Marker Review | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The markers are full of pigment.  A gentle dab on the porcelain palette deposited a lot of paint, which I was able to dilute into a much lighter shade.

 

 

Landscape Painting Tombow Marker Review | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I created a small sheet noting their behaviour.

 

 

Landscape Painting Tombow Marker Review | Whims And Fancies

 

 

1st row –

    • The markers blend very easily to create new colours.   Colours blended on the palette are less vibrant than the colours mixed directly on paper.

2nd row –

    • For wet on wet, I used a wet brush on paper and then added colour from the palette. The pigments move very freely.
    • To see if I can achieve a lighter shade directly on the paper, I drew 4 lines, and used a wet brush. While most of the paint diluted well, there was  still a faint hint of the lines on the paper.

3rd row –

    • When I needed to paint vibrant dark areas, it worked really well to use the markers on the paper directly, and then use water to move the pigments around.

 

 

Landscape Painting Tombow Marker Review | Whims And Fancies

 

 

1st row –

    • Here I applied paint from palette to dry paper, resulting in a softer application.
    • The markers themselves don’t work well on wet surfaces. They start fading very quickly.

2nd row –

    • I used brush-tips to write with two colours.  Blending them directly on paper with a wet brush created a beautiful effect.

 

The markers did stain my fingers.  The colours came off after a few washes.  If you are going to make food after painting with these markers, I suggest being a bit more careful when using them.

 

 

Landscape Painting Tombow Marker Review | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I first painted the scene on a Stillman & Birn paper. I couldn’t quite get it to work the way I wanted, specially with the tree.  The colours didn’t move very well.  They either got soaked in or lifted off.

 

 

Landscape Painting Tombow Marker Review | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I painted it again on a Strathmore 400 series watercolour paper. I really liked the way the markers behaved on that paper, it was a more fluid application.

Which one do you like better?

 

Overall I really liked them. They are full of pigment so a little goes a long way. Even on rough watercolour paper, a gentle application was all that was needed. Gentle touch also protects the marker-tips.

If you are thinking about learning watercolour, I think the Tombow markers would be great for that. You can start by drawing with the markers and then add water to blend / dilute the colours. For a softer shade, drop some paint on the palette, then use that with a wet brush.

 

Endless fun possibilities!!

 

Happy Painting!

-Soma

 

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.  Please pay a visit to some of them.  

 

 

Shop @ InkTorrents Graphics

 

 

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