Acrylic Watercolors

I have been playing with watercolor crayons and my acrylic blocks, making backgrounds for cards. I decided rather than spray the crayoned blocks with water, I would spray them with mists.

I colored with 3 different blue watercolor crayons. Then, I sprayed the block with Sea Glass Glimmer mist. Unfortunately, you can not tell from the photo, but there is a slight shimmer to the background. This is a fun and addictive technique - just remember to use a lot of water or mist.

Acrylic block Watercolors

I was playing with my watercolor crayons and acrylic blocks, making backgrounds. A simple and fun technique that takes no time at all. You can color on your block with the crayons, spray well with water, and stamp the block on paper.

For the above card, I colored in blocks on the acrylic block. I stamped the watercolors onto paper and allowed it to dry. Then, I trimmed and stamped to make the card. You can also color in a specific pattern to be used with a specific stamps.

I placed my block onto a rubber stamp and colored in the image.

I sprayed the acrylic with water and stamped it on paper:

Here is the completed card:

Tuesday's Tip

I have seen a variety of seasonal items on sale recently, especially stickers. You can get great prices on sticker sets at your local store. One way to get more mileage from holiday - actually, all - stickers is to cut them apart. you can mix and match a variety of greetings.

Some Final Photos

Just a few final photos from CHA, the it will be time to move on. A note - I strained my back just before heading to CHA, so my creative time will be limited...poor timing for me!

These next couple of photos are from Graphic 45's Little Darlings paper line:

These next 2 are from their Olde Curiosity Shoppe - which I LOVED:

And, some bird love form the DCWV people - all made from paper!

New Line from Ranger

Ranger has picked up the Dyllusions line from the UK. I remember seeing advertisements for Dyan's stamps, sprays and paints in the UK stamp magazine "Stamp It". No paints at this point, but there are a set of very brightly colored sprays, rubber stamps (by Stamper's Anonymous) and stencils (made by Crafter's Workshop).

Took a photo of the sample display - I think the artwork looks a lot like Teesha Moore's work:

I must say, I like the bright non-sparkly colors of the sprays. I was able to try them out at the Crafter's Workshop booth and they spray wonderfully. Fairly fine mist, no huge blobs and no clogs (like another brand). I have been using Crafter's Workshop stencils for years - and love the new designs (as well as some of the stamps).

CHA - Pink Paislee

I was in the Pink Paislee booth at CHA looking at the new paper lines. For a soft travel look, they are coming out with London Calling. This line would work for almost any travel photos - including most of Europe.
However, the line I was excited to see was Christy Tomlinson. Christy owns Scarlet Lime on-line store and does wonderful texture-y work. I have been following her blog for awhile now. What I love about her - free style, the fact that she uses her fingers a lot! No neatly manicured nails in her videos - she is keeping it real! I am not the only one with paint and ink all over! She was demo-ing with her new line of papers and rubber stamps (made by Unity).

She made a canvas using papers, paints, mediums, stamps, etc. She was fun to watch and was great at giving people ideas on how to use and teach with her lines. Very refreshing from watching many demonstrations with designers who simple made things. Below is one of her finished canvases:

The images are from her paper line. And, below are the papers...

You can check her out here. Congratulations to Christy - what a great adventure!

Stamping Gear

I was watching a demonstration in the e.k. success booth at CHA that I thought was pretty clever. As a veteran of the many generations of stamp positioners, I know they came be tricky. Stamping the same image in a circle using a Positioner can take practice and some time to get right. Soon, you can purchase the Stamping Gear for some fun projects from scrapbooking to card making to canvas/wall art.

The above photo is of the Stamping Gear. It will retail for $39.99

The kit contains a circular gear, an oval gear, center pieces, a stamp handle and 4 sets of foam mounted rubber stamps. However, you could use any non-wood mounted stamp as long as it fits onto the stamp holder. I was thinking words and alphabet stamps might be fun.

Here are some samples in progress. You could stamp a scrapbook page, card, canvas, fabric, and wrapping paper. What do you think?

CHA in Anaheim

I just spent the past 2 days at CHA 2012 in Anaheim. Since it was my first show, it was a bit overwhelming! Of course, it did not help that I hurt my back getting ready to go Southern California for the show. I was walking pretty slowly! So what is out there:
- lots of new patterned paper coming out. Some of my favorites are from Graphic 45 and Pink Paislee.
- Graphic 45 ink pads in colors to match their collections (I think there were about 5 colors).
-Jolee's Boutique stickers will have a paper and embellishment line, French General.
- New Distres Watercolor markers, Tim stamps and dies.
- Tim Holtz eclipse cartridges.
-Ranger has picked up the UK's Dyllusions line of sprays and stamps. Crafter's Workshop will be manufacturing the stencils.
-Faber Castel will have boxed master sets of Gelato's and Fat Brush India Ink markers.
-e.k. Success has, what I think is one of the most innovative products, Stamping Gear.

I also saw a lot of canvas items - books, pre-cut flags, bags, and various embellishments. It was apparent that what was old was new again. Demonstrations at La Blanche stamps featured their stamps used with Ultra Thick Embossing powder and Versa Mark resist techniques.
For those die and stamp combination fans, Spellbinders has a line of dies that works with Heartfelt Creations Stamps. Inky Antics will also have some fun dies that work with their stamps.
My camera battery died on me, but I will have some photos up soon taken from my phone.

On the Road Again

Seems like I was traveling every other week during the last 4 months of 2011 and first part of January 2012. Tomorrow, I am off again to Southern California. Not visiting family or going to Disneyland, although I will be in Anaheim. It will be my first (although hopefully not my last) trip to CHA. I am curious to find out the newest trends for 2012, Many companies have been giving sneak peaks during the past several weeks, but I always like to visit the booths whenever possible. There will be 453 exhibitors - yikes! I have planned for Monday and Tuesday at the Convention center - mainly to take my time and, hopefully, see demos and do make-and-takes. As long as companies do not mind, I will take photos and report back as to some of the highlights.
Are there any companies you are interested in? Leave me a comment and I will try to accommodate your requests.

Mini Book Continued

Last week, I showed a mini book made from 12 x 12 card stock. The above photo is the completed project. The patterned paper on the front is cut to 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 inches. Before adhering the patterned paper to the front and the back, I glued down a ribbon closure. I stamped the snowflake frame on white card stock, cut it out and attached it with mounting tape, giving the cover some dimension.

The inside pages can be done a couple of ways. Since I wanted to use up some scraps of patterned paper, I cut each page individually to the same dimensions as the front cover piece. In the past, I have trimmed the pattern paper to span the center fold - approximately 2 3/4 x 5 1/2. I used a tree and snowflake punch to add embellishments.

I kept the design and embellishing fairly simple on this book as it will be a gift for a friend to use (possibly as a purse brag book). I also added a few title blocks on every other page. The card stock and pattern papers are by Stampin' Up.

Tuesday's Tip

I love using punches and dies in making cards and embellishments. Not only can you use the actual cut out shapes, but you can create your own stencils and masks. Run acetate sheets through your die cutter or punch. You will have a positive and negative image to use for sponging, spraying, painting. The acetate can be wiped cleaned and re-used!

!2 x 12 Book

I had previously shown a small book I made from one sheet of 12 x 12 card stock. It is super simple - first take the card stock and score it at 3 inch intervals (at 3, 6 and 9 inches). Rotate the card stock and do it again. It is a bit hard to see (although I took the photo at an angle) that the entire sheet of card stock is scored into squares. For this next step, I leave the card stock in the scorer. Take an Xacto knife and cut down at the 3 and 9 inch marks - JUST THROUGH 3 OF THE Squares. So, you will cut on the score line down 9 inches. At the 6 inch score line you will cut in the opposite direction of the other two, again just to the 9 inch mark.

Once you have made your cuts, you can remove it from the score tool. I use the Martha Stewart scorer and leave on the card stock because I find it easier to make straight cuts. You will then start at one side and make a series of accordion folds up the row. When you come to the point where the squares are joined, fold  on top of the next row and continue accordion folding.

When you have completed the folding, you will have accordion folds, and valley and mountain folds. It should look like the photo below:

You will then take the adhesive of your choice, and begin sealing the valley and mountain folds. Once those are closed, your book should look like an accordion book. You will be closing the accordion, by applying adhesive to the back side of the pages. The idea is to make a spine with the pages opening as a regular book.

As I am folding and gluing, I try to line the pages up as closely as possible and use my bone folder to smooth out the pages. In my next post, we will discuss the page decorations!

Tuesday's Tip

It has been another crazy month - lots of traveling, movies and time spent with family. As things begin to settle down, I am looking forward to finishing some art started before the craziness of the holiday season. One concept I am reminded of at the start of the new year is that of practice. To get good at anything fro sports, cooking to art - one must practice. Make mistakes - have a sense of humor bout them and learn from them. No earth shattering recommendation for today - just practice your art and enjoy the process (and, hopefully, the results...).

One 12 x 12

I was reminded at a Christmas open house of a great way to make mini books from one 12 x 12 piece of card stock. I made several as gifts, all the recipient needed to do was to add her own photos. Although I made them from Christmas themed, this can be adapted to any holiday or occasion. One of the completed books is pictured below

This is the front cover - I have a ribbon wrapped around the spine. A sampling of the pages is below:

I used Stampin' Up card stock and Christmas pattern papers. I stamped, punched out, and cut out accents for each of the pages. In upcoming posts, I will share the step by step procedure.

Tuesday's Tip

It is a new year and i have decided to do some purging of supplies. We have a couple of stores that hold a Flea Market so you can sell your used stamps and tools. I have start putting some stamps aside, but was a bit undecided on a couple of them. I had used the a lot and thought their time was over. Then, I read an article from ClothPaperScissors of cutting up your stamps. I used to do this all the time - especially with stamps having an object and a saying. So, I started to look at some of the stamps I was planning on selling...a few would be perfect for this idea. Although it may sound like blasphemy, consider giving your stamps new life and get out those scissors!

Hark...

I was finishing my Christmas cards, trimming the music Washi tape. I was accumulating a bunch of triangular shaped bits of tape. I really did not want to waste it/throw them out (yeah, I know...). So, I decided to add them to a couple of blank journal pages as part of the background. After the cards were done, I pulled out the journal to finish the pages (I am involved in a monthly journal exchange and need to get going!). The music theme inspired me to make a holiday/angel page. I did some light stamping with Club Scrap's holiday stamps and added some spray mists. The larger angel was reduced from an angel graphic on a 12 x 12 Club Scrap scrapbook page. I cut the image from the card stock and reduced it on my computer. The end result was:

These pages came together quickly and easily - I think the bits of tape helped jump start my creativity. 

Background Play

I posted previously about a couple of on-line tutorials to jump start your creativity. One of which is the Strathmore Paper on-line classes. The current one is by Traci Bautista and cover background and doodling techniques. So, I thought I would give it a whirl, especially since it is free. I am working in a journal and not on a sheet of paper. For the pages below, I picked a couple of stencils and masks and set them randomly on the journal pages. I chose to use Shimmering Rain sprays as my first layer:

As you can see, just a random background. I let it dry and added a couple of different stencil and used a couple of stronger Smooch Spritz sprays:

I like the depth so far, so I think I will stop with the sprays. my next step will be to add some acrylic paint accents. I am thinking of adding in some blues/teals...

A Bit of Inspiration

The New Year means new beginnings. It also can be new sources of inspiration. There are 2 recommendations should be in need of a bit of help.

Strathmore Art supplies offer free on-line classes. I did several of these last year. This week began a 4 week mixed media class by Traci Bautista. Each week consists of video techniques, with a PDF of the class that you can download and save. Information can be found http://www.strathmoreartiststudio.com/

Another fun source of inspiration can be found at Nathalie's Studio blog. She has a series from a variety artist for a "Creative Jump Start" for 2012. So far, there have been 3 videos - all with great information. You can find her blog here.

You never know what will spark your creative muse, so may want to give these sources a peek!

New Year

Happy New Year! It is that time of year when a resolutions abound. Last year, my crafting resolutions centered around clean up and organization. Although I had my moments (or, more likely, my weeks!) i did a decent job on keeping with the need to clean up after a project and putting tools and toys away after purchase/usage. I will continue to work on these this year.
I have discovered - more likely, admitted to myself....out loud...so I had to pay attention...that I indeed have too much card stock. Blasphemy to some, I know...but the evidence is spilling off the shelves. I guess that takes us to another goal - buy less and use more! I have already started to accomplish this - at least the "buy less"part! How did you do with last year's resolutions? Made any new ones for 2012? Do tell!

Tis the Season

We are almost through the Holidays - January 1, 2012 is a day away. I always find it a difficult time of year to get into the Studio. Kids are home from school (college) and family time takes precedence. I have cleaning to do all over the house, including the studio. This is one of the times that I give myself something of a pass for creating. Given the different family activities ( and some travel), I tend to get caught up on magazines that have been stacking up. I dog-ear page corners, or tear out ideas to be tried during the new year. Do you get in some studio time or take a break?

Tuesday's Tip

As the year is drawing to an end, many of us think of cleaning, purging, and organizing. I have made a list of rooms in my house that need all of the above! As you are tossing old materials, keep in mind some things may be great crafting fodder. Recycle old phone books and magazines as background or unique "papers" on which to stamp and die cut. Old maps can be quite interesting in collage. Keep your eyes and mind open as you clean!

Merry Christmas to All

                     Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas - enjoy the time with family an friends!

Christmas Cards

Finally completed my Christmas cards - in the nick of time! I showed an "in process" shot earlier this month. I stamped the white glossy panel with stamps from Stampers Anonymous and Technique Tuesday, using Distress Inks and Brilliance Galaxy Gold. The mats and card are from Club Scrap. I die cut the deer and then embossed  with a snowflake pattern. A little Distress Ink was sponged on to add dimension. A quick die cut of a ticket, more inking and stamping, and a strip of  Washi tape - the card is complete!

In continuing with the Double Embossing technique, I used a Christmas tree border folder with my Top Boss pad and Big Shot. The embossing powder is an abalone pearl I bought years ago. The color and texture always look better in person. I decided I wanted a lighter look to the embossed background (the card stock was a dark green from Club Scrap). So, instead of clear Top Boss, I used Colorbox white pigment ink:

I liked the look of this combination much better...so I made a handful more!

Double Embossing

Here is one of the many gift tags I recently made. The background was created using an embossing folder and heat embossing. I inked up the folder with a Top Boss embossing pad and placed a glossy panel into the folder (glossy side to the ink). I ran it through my Big Shot. After dry embossing, I dumped some (very old) Embossing powder onto the panel and heat embossed. The technique is known as double embossing. I had a fun time trying different combinations of card stocks, inks, and powders. The swirl tag was stamped with Pool Adirondak ink on a white scrap and punched out using a Stampin' Up punch.

Tuesday's Tips

I have been discussing the use of everyday objects in stenciling/painting/stamping. I found a great technique from Christy Tomlinson of  Scarlet Lime. She used steel wool for a very cool texture effect. Needless to say, steel wool is on my shopping list!

Happy Birthday

My daughter turns 21 years old today. Happy Birthday, Megan!

Tag, You're It

Another fun little tag I made for a friend. Similar technique in that I created my own collage with winter/snow stamps and Distress Inks. The little round disc I bought years ago and used similar ones quite a bit. Then, they languished in my stash until just recently. I thought to imitate a little snow globe by filling the disc with glitter glue.

Tag Team

I have busy working on Christmas art - cards and tags, specifically! The cards are almost done and I am in desperate need to gift tags (especially since I need to get several packages in the mail!) I guess you can figure out what I will be doing today!
Earlier this week, a couple of my friends and I had our annual Christmas lunch and gift exchange. We call it "Christmakkah" - it was so christened many years before the TV show (The OC?) ever used it. I made a couple of tags early for Nancy and Tracy.

For this tag, I gathered together some small Christmas images and made my own Holiday collage. The background was colored with Distress Inks. The little charm is actually a green plastic disc game piece. The mini tree was stamped, the disc glued to the image and the then trimmed. I added foil tape around the edges. With all the fervor over Tim tags and his collage background, I thought I would make my own and save a few bucks! The greeting was stamped on a die cut ticket.

Tuesday's Tip

We are mid-way through the Christmas bustle. I am still working on Christmas cards, tags, wrapping, etc. I am not using any flocking or Flower Soft on cards and tags this year. It is a fun accent to use flocking for Santa's beard and trim. After applying the glue and a generous amount of flocking, place a piece of card stock, or part of a non-stick craft mat, over the top. Roll you brayer over the area a couple of times. Then, leave it to dry thoroughly. You should find that the flocking will stick better and provide better coverage. This will also work when using Flower Soft.

In Process...

I am currently working on Christmas cards - as well as gift tags. I always think I will start during the summer, but that has never happened! Since I am a bit pressed for time, I thought I would use a die cut image to save steps and time. I use the Sizzix/Tim Holtz reindeer die to cut out the deer. The were then embossed and inked with Distress Inks. The other images were stamped in Distress Inks and Brilliance Galaxy Gold. I still have several more steps, but they are moving along! When you make your cards, are you a stamping purist, or do you use die cuts, stickers, etc?

HM Transparency

Last month, I was in Boston visiting my daughter. The weather was great and the Common and Garden were in full Fall foliage. While she was busy with classes, meetings,etc, I would wander about taking photographs. I thought some of the pictures would make a great Fall journal page. After inking, stencilling, and spraying mists,  I had to decide which photo(s) and what sizes. Since I like the idea of color peaking through, I printed the photos on plain, inkjet transparencies and cut them to size. They turned out fairly clear considering I do not have a transparency mode on my printer. It also started my thinking it would be fun to print up a bunch of different photos on transparency to use in journals and collage. Have you printed your own transparency? Give it try!

Pantone Color for 2012

This past year, pink was the premier color used in fashion and design. I have always liked pinks - they actually mix well with a number of neutrals, primary and secondary colors. The Pantone color announced for 2012 is an orange.

It is called Tangerine Tango. I have never been a big fan of the color orange. so I  will have to wait and see...

Tuesday's Tips

I was cleaning up a bit in my studio - needed room to start on Christmas cards. I found a couple of sample books from painting class. It reminded me why I had kitchen utensils in my studio! Spatula's and cookie cutters are fun stencils - and sponges create a variety of textures. Old graters make some fun designs as well. Next time you are purging your kitchen wares, you may want to give them a second life as an art tool!

A Little Stamping

It seems like a very long time since I stamped a card. I made the above card for friends who were married back in August. Yes, I am a bit late! I thought a something simple using similar colors to the colors of the bridesmaids dresses. Making this card reminded me why I became interested in rubber stamping - making my own cards. I am currently working on Christmas cards (about halfway done) and getting caught up on real life since I have been home.

Mr Bill

When I work in my Art Journal, I tend to use magazine page images. I have a couple of quirky magazines that I specifically buy to pillage-Juxtapose and High Fructose. These are not for everyone, but I do love the interesting graphics. I found a page of Bill Murray paintings that I could not resist. I turned them into a couple of Retro pages using Washi tape, transparencies, and patterned paper.

Elemental ATC

I made this ATC as part of my Elements swap. I thought, given that Halloween had just ended,  it would be a fun premise to explore. Pepto Bismol contain the element  Bismuth so I thought I would use it in conjunction with eating, The background was stamped with an old Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers food background stamp. All of the other images were stamped and cut out. A clever trick I learned from my friend, Elaine (a Stampin' Up demonstrator), is using the scalloped oval punch to look like teeth marks.

Tuesday's Tip

I always like to use stamps and/or materials in a variety of ways. It can help "justify" the purchase (I know you know what I mean!). Not long ago I bought cotton thread to make my own baker's twine. I have used it on a variety of projects. Since it is white, I can color it with markers, re-inkers, etc. I also found a great way to make flowers with the twine. Keep it flat and create a flat spiral circle. I put it on a piece of carpet tape to hold the circle tight. Remember to color the twine before you wind it around.

Yikes, it is so difficult to stay creative when you are traveling. It seems that I have been gone every other week since August. It makes for difficulty in finding motivation to create, and in finding the time to do it when so many real life issues need to be addressed!

We are getting to the end of the Periodic Table ATC's - and I was able to sneak a few minutes to get a couple of them done before the deadline (only 2 more to go after December 1st). I continued my usage of transparencies with Radon. They are great fun and I need to make a not to use them  more.

The transparency is used as the radon gas. I thought, to stay with the theme of invisibility, I would stamp the atomic abbreviation in Versa Mark ink.