Perfect Pearls...continued...

Thanks for the comments. I'm glad that you enjoyed the info I shared yesterday.

A few questions came up...so I decided to continue with Perfect Pearls talk today...

Can the distress reinkers be used in the mini mister without Perfect Pearls...YES! The color does not break down. It makes a GREAT simple background. Any color works well.

Can the Perfect Pearls be used in the mini mister without the reinkers? YES...take a look...


I wanted a light background for this stamp, since I knew I'd be using black ink and a dark background would not show off the stamp.

So...this background is Perfect Red Perfect Pearls mixed with water only...no additional color from the reinkers.

After I stamped Santa...I thought he needed a little green.

You can touch your finger to the Perfect Medium pad & apply it whereever you want to add more Perfect Pearls.

See the green around the top? That's how that happened. Apply the Perfect Medium with your finger & brush the Perfect Pearls directly over that area & MAGICALLY...the pearls only stick where you added the Perfect Medium.

Here's a little tip for applying Perfect Pearls to a tiny area...Use the Cut & Dry nibs! Touch the tip of the nib to the Perfect Medium pad & you can add a tiny spot of shimmer anywhere you choose....Easy!

Here's another use for Perfect Pearls in water. Sorry...this photo doesn't look good...I had to delete it...so you'll have to trust me here. HA!

Put Perfect Pearls in water in the mini mister & mist dark cardstock. Try Sunflower Sparkle...turquoise...heirloom gold...for a quick shimmery background. It totally changes the look of the cardstock. It's a total WOW!

There was a question @ CHA about using Krylon spray to set the pearls. It's not necessary. Just a very light misting with plain water from the mini mister, sets the Perfect Pearls. No smelly sprays are needed.

My new BFF Jessica sent me an email yesterday. She played with Perfect Pearls and used them over embossed paper for a fun background. Check it out! Thanks for being brave Jessica & sharing your art!

Anything I forgot??
Ask away!!
wendy

As promised...PERFECT PEARLS play

and a little ink...stamping and grungeboard too.

Let's get started...

1. Using frayed burlap distress ink on a blending tool, cover the tag. Always apply the inks from the craft sheet into the tag for a blended look.


2. I learned @ Ranger U, that the distress reinkers can be combined with water & Perfect Pearls in a mini mister, to make a color shimmer solution.

I used one dropper full of Broken China reinker & a bit of perfect green Perfect Pearls. Fill with water to the "R" in Ranger, to leave enough room to get the solution mixed.

Mist this onto the tag & dry with the heat tool.


3. This mister has tea dye reinker with water & heirloom gold Perfect Pearls.

Mist this onto the tag & dry.

4. Adding layers adds interest.


5. Stamp over the tag with Coffee Archival ink & the cool studio 490 stamp.

Try using 2 colors of ink for backgrounds. Again...this adds more layers & thus more interest.

Always use archival (or the new pigment ink) for stamping. If you decide to add more pearls or water later, your image won't be ruined, since the archival ink is waterproof.

Now...this looks like pitted old metal.


6. Using Jet Black Archival ink, stamp these flowers onto a sheet of plain grungeboard and cut out. Tim's Tonic scissors are great for cutting grungeboard.


7. When using grungeboard to make dimensional art, always stamp & color the back for a professional look.


8. Save your bits of leftover grungeboard for layering. I always color the edges of the grungeboard with black. Any light areas in a vintage piece immediately draw your eye there & detract from the vintage look.

The flowers are colored with Vintage Photo distress ink. Another favorite...

Curl the grungeboard & it MAGICALLY stays in place.

Glossy Accents works great with grungeboard.


9. Mask the poinsettia & use just the scrolls.


10. Ink the edges with black soot and pen stitch around the edge of the tag.

Stamp a saying.


11. This shows the Perfect Pearls shimmer a little better.

12. TADA!!!!!!!!!! Done.

Pretty easy & oh sooooooo much fun.



So there you have it. Perfect Pearls vintage looking backgrounds.

Try other combinations of Pearls and reinkers. Tea dye reinker is a favorite. So is faded Jeans...and then Peeled Paint and burlap...try fired brick for Christmas projects.........mix them with any color of Perfect Pearls. The possibilities are endless.

My favorite Perfect pearls colors?? Heirloom gold, perfect gold, turquoise, sunflower sparkle, perfect green...and blue smoke.

Here's another tip...
Make these backgrounds, then stamp flowers or leaves on them & cut them out for custom embellishments. they're great for cards or layouts.

I hope you enjoyed this.
Take the time for some Perfect Pearls play...you'll like it!
wendy

5 photos on Friday...

Thanks again to all those who sent photos. I appreciate it a LOT!

Ann sent this shot showing a portion of the Stampers Anonymous booth. Tim now has 50 sets of stamps. How cool is that! I'm wayyyyyyyyy behind with only 7 sets! But...the next series is on the drawing board! YIPPEE!



Here's a demoing photo from Sharon. That's Patti Behan (second from the left). She works for Ranger. On the far right is Cecile, my friend.




Another demo shot...Linda ( Scrapbook Friend'z) is straight ahead in the blue.

YIKES!! When did I get soooooooo old?? Wouldn't you think SOMEONE would "photoshop" out the wrinkles?? Nice friends, I have...NOT!



Now on to the art...

This was fun. I was wondering how I could combine Ranger's new Snow Cap white pigment ink with other products.


The stamping was done with Snow Cap white & then I used Ranger's distress inks over it. I like the look of the pastels.

The flower is worn lipstick, the petals are peeled paint & the background is faded jeans.

And the stamps you ask??? studio 490, of course! "Journey" is tim's, the background, flowers & leaves are studio 490.

And I almost forgot this. I got several emails telling me that the links on the left @ the Stampers Anonymous site all lead back to page 12. I forwarded this info to Jackie. Give her a bit to get this fixed.

Until then, just use the arrows on the bottom of each page. they are working just fine.

And for the questions about the acrylic covers for studio490 stamp storage...I've asked Ted & Michelle to let me know the prices & when they will be available on the site. I'll update here when I hear back from them.

Here's one of the demo tags I made using Perfect Pearls and Ranger's new Picket Fence (white) crackle paint.

The flowers is by Maya Road.

The flower center is tim's Idea-ology philosophy tag & the stem is a studio490 stamp.


I rubbed frayed burlap distress ink over the flower to accentuate the cracks. It's hard to see, but I used the Perfect Medium pad on the petal edges & added some Perfect Pearls. Magically, the pearls only stick to the Perfect Medium, so you have total control of the shimmer. FUN stuff!

Perfect Pearls were mixed in a mini mister with some faded jeans reinker & water to make the background. I'll show you how in a blog posting soon.

That's it for today!
Have a GREAT ARTY weekend!
wendy

Meet Mr and Mrs Stampers Anonymous and Rick too...

THANKS so much to everyone for sending all the photos. I'll post more later...

OK...as promised...FINALLY...meet Ted & Michelle. Isn't she adorable?



And here's my sweet hubby...I'm thrilled that he could come & see the enormity of CHA. It's hard to describe it to someone who has not seen it before.



These are my friends from my LSS....Scrapbook Friend'z in Bloomington, Illinois. Well...not the guy on the left, but I think you'll recognize him. Linda Cain is next to me...



Margie sent better booth photos. Here's one...



And around the corner...




Here's another studio490 stamp project using grungeboard and my favorite Distress inks. I think this would make a fun class.

Anyone interested? I'll be in St. Louis, Boston, Madison & Texas soon...Do you want this as one of our classes?? TALK TO ME!

EDITED! SORRY for not giving enough info about class locations...Here are the specifics...

Bloomington, Illinois @ Scrapbook Friend'z August 9
St. Louis @ For Keeps Sake September 6 & 7
Waxahachie, Texas @ the crafty Scrapper October 10-12
Bloomington, Illinois @ Scrapbook Friend'z October 18
Topsfield, Mass @ Absolutely Everything Nov 1 & 2
Madison, Wi @ the convention @ the Alliant Energy center
classes are Friday November 21 and I'll be demoing for Stampers Anonymous on Saturday & Sunday the 22 & 23.




And a special request...PLEASE...

For those of you who emailed me & have already ordered studio490 stamps(THANKS)...I'll be waiting here patiently (NOT) to see what you created.

SHOW ME!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!

THANKS!
Make ART!
wendy

What an AWESOME experience!

Where do I start?????????


I wanted to post yesterday, but since I took NO PHOTOS, I had to rely on friends sending me some. Let's get started..........


FIRST...

This was a TOTAL thrill...seeing my stamps debut in the Stampers Anonymous booth.

ALL the images are up on the site now, but later this week there will be projects posted with each stamp. Click on a stamp...get an idea for free........ I LIKE that!

One thing that I forgot to mention before is that each studio 490 set comes with a color copy of 20 projects to jump start your creativity.

This isn't a good photo, but I hope you get the idea.

Here's what the Stampers Anonymous/studio 490 display looked like........Sales were beyond my wildest dreams. After the first day Ted & Michelle said..."get going on set 2"! YIPPEE!!!!

I did have a photo taken with Ted & Michelle. I thought it would be fun for you to see Mr & Mrs Stampers Anonymous. All I need now is for some kind soul to send me that photo.

Here are the RANGER booth GIRLS. Sorry...I have no photos of the BOYS.



This was taken @ Gino's East after our "girls night out" dinner.
I LOVE ALL these girls...oh...and ALL the boys ( Justin, Alain, Tim & Joel) too.

The Ranger demoing was a TOTAL blast. I thought I might NEED the paramedics right before the show opened, but once I got started I calmed down & had a ton of fun.

I got to meet so many new friends & I FINALLY got to meet some of my blog friends. FUN!!

Perfect Pearls were a hit. I also showed some fun techniques with Ranger's new pigment inks. Both are MUST HAVES!

Another thrill...I got to see my Maya Road friends again. Talk about an amazing booth. The samples there were incredible.

Here are some closeups of a few of my favorite new products...




I LOVE the colors & the quality of these flowers. I'll be ordering a boatload........The felt are so cool. Each bead is sewn on individually. I'm glad that's not my job...Look @ the suede ones...double stitched...YUM!

These trims are even cuter than I expected. I knew they were mini, but when I saw them in person........WOW!! TOO CUTE!


This shows the size as compared to a dime. I LOVE the muted colors. Yep...add those babies to my order!

I got a sample of the new Maya Mists...wait 'til you see these. I tried charcoal on a chipboard flower. You get FULL coverage and it was dry before I put the lid back on. I WILL be getting ALL the colors. Next, I tried it on grungeboard. PERFECT! It took about a minute to dry...again...I LOVED the coverage. Talk about making things quick and easy.

Ok...that's the update so far. I'll be back soon with more photos...(if I get some).

Thanks so much for all your kind comments.
wendy

studio 490 stamp storage!

I LOVE stamps & I LOVE to keep things organized...so I'm in LOVE with this guy...

Here it is...the custom acrylic storage album...made just for studio 490 stamps. I altered mine the minute it arrived...

You get the front & back covers & the 3 large binding rings. It's the perfect storage for all 7 stamp sets. It's EASY to flip thru to find the stamp you need. Easy to travel with...for classes & crops.

It's about 6 x 13 inches... and just think about the possibilities for customizing it. You can coordinate it with your studio decor or be totally wild with your color choices...

I added my name on the back cover in grungeboard...but in my haste to get it mailed off...I forgot to take a photo...DUH...but I will take one when I get back.

Ranger's new pigment inks are PERFECT for stamping on the acrylic. For some reason the stamp doesn't slide as easily. I'm not sure why...I'll ask tim...but it's much easier to get a perfect image. And if you don't...it cleans off with water. But...stamp, heat set & it's permanent. I love the look of the matte finish on the acrylic.

Here's the inside of mine. I used grungeboard on the front, but kept the inside flatter...

The stamp storage sheets will be fun too. I don't have a photo to show you, but think about this...

White...6 x 12...with a cool BLACK SCALLOP on the right side.

These storage albums will be available thru Art Gone Wild/Stampers Anonymous... I made a different album for their booth display.

Here's a peek...before it was finished...

Now on to some Maya Road photos...

These are some of the inside pages of the garden journal...

New Maya Road stamps...new chipboard trim...and a few studio 490 stamps too.

Now...grab a cup of coffee & head over to the Maya Road site to see the ENTIRE NEW CATALOG...You can see all their new releases here. Print it out...look it over. TONS & TONS of really fun new products. I'm dieing to see their new acrylic albums in person...the stickpins...the Maya Mists...the new flowers & velvet trims..the new chipboard....Go have a look...

Ok...that's it. We'll be leaving shortly. Back later on Monday.

I'll have a report for you on Tuesday & HOPEFULLY this trip I'll actually USE the camera instead of just carrying it around.

Sorry to have teased you for soooooo long! I hope you've enjoyed the teasing & the photos...

Take care & MAKE ART!

wendy

Here's my garden journal...

How many favorites can a girl have?? This one is for sure a favorite... I showed a peek weeks ago, now I can FINALLY give you a better look.


This is Maya Road's suitcase binder. Click on the photo & you'll see tons of new Maya Road products and some studio 490 stamps too!



I LOVE the dimension that the grungeboard creates. Don't you just want to pick it up & inspect all the details?


Notice the new MR chipboard trim? There is one on the seam and I used another portion for the flower stem.

Naked trim is good...you have tons of options for painting...stamping...inking...sewing..etc.


Now the back cover. The grungeboard butterfly is a Maya Road stamp. It's one of my favorites...It fits on tons of projects.





Hmmm...what do we have here?? Some studio 490 stamps...
and MR chipboard letters on the cover.







It was fun to use just portions of the stamps (Maya Road and studio 490) on the individual letters for a collage effect. I like the look of random letters too...can't stay with just one font!




And the binder fits in this MR suitcase...well...it should...but I added 10 pounds of embellishments...so the binder needs to be displayed alone. It's too fat to fit...





This was TOTAL fun. I challenged myself to see how many Maya Road stamps I could fit on the suitcase top...tim's Fragments add dimension & they were a perfect fit.


How many stamps do you see??


If you inspect the trim...you'll see a cool new ruler stamp from MR. Cool...huh?


The flyspeck stamp on the top is studio 490. YIPPEE!





I'm using my suitcase for storage. These plastic containers are from Hobby Lobby.



There you have it...2 of my Maya Road CHA assignments.

Stop by & see all the wonderful things the design team has made for you. I GUARANTEE that you'll be amazed and inspired. It's booth # 3507!



Now about those Perfect Pearl tags...yes, I will show those better when I get back & I promise to do a little tutorial here.
Thanks for asking!



And that studio 490 stamp storage photo...tomorrow FOR SURE!!!!


I'll get it up before I head out the door!



Happy Tuesday to you.


MAKE IT COUNT!
wendy
ps...YIKES...this photo is on here twice & I don't know how to delete it...SORRY!

CHA demoing...........

YIKES!! It's THIS WEEK!!

My assignment from Ranger is to demo Perfect Pearls and the Adirondack line of products.

Hmmm...very interesting.

I had very little experience (ok...none) with Perfect Pearls until the last few days. So I spent 3 FULL days doing nothing but making technique tags and let me tell you...

I LOVE them.

I'll show you how to combine Perfect Pearls with Distress inks to make very cool vintage looking backgrounds. Add a stamp (maybe studio 490) or 2 and you have a very quick... fun ...EASY card.

I even used Perfect Pearls with tim's distress crackle paint...VERY interesting effect!

And...if you combine Ranger's new pigment inks with the distress inks... you get another totally different look.

Use Snow Cap White and a distress color to make wonderful pastels. NOT your normal pastels... It's a MUST have....but so is the Juniper...Cloudy Blue...Pitch Black... oh...and Butterscotch.

And an added plus, besides creating a matte finish...this pigment ink does NOT smell bad...

It works great on metal...I'll show you that too...and all of these!!




So, stop by the Ranger booth (#2935). I'd love to meet my blog friends and show you some fun PERFECT & INKY techniques.

Now about that studio 490 stamp storage system...if I talk to Michelle today, I'll ask her if I can show you...

It's really cool.......

I promise!!

Take Care!
wendy

Ok...just one more.......

little project.

And this really is little, but I managed to get 7...yes 7 studio 490 stamps on it. It's a 3 x 3 canvas that Linda found for us @ Dick Blick. There's something sooooo fun about small.




The black on the canvas is Ranger's new pigment ink. I'm in love with this stuff. But I'll save that info for another day...

The mini frame is from Maya Road's Foundations tin. The heart, the bird & the microchip heart are also Maya Road.

And you know I can not make a project without a grungeboard flower. ADDICTED I tell you!

So there's my version of mini...studio 490 style!

Have a wonderful ARTY weekend.
I'll be the chick in studio 490...
getting ready for CHA!
wendy
ps...oh........one more thing...

Just wait 'til you see the sweet storage system that is being made (by Stampers Anonymous) ESPECIALLY for your studio 490 stamps. I "altered" 2 of them yesterday...I LOVE keeping things organized & let me tell you...these are PERFECT & oh sooooo FUN!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyone interested in seeing them??

Guess what?? MORE flowers!

These are really fun. This is NOT my idea...I got it from Jessica Seppa. Sorry no blog for her, but if you call Maya Road to place an order...you'll talk to Jess. Tell her that I said "HI". She's a SWEETHEART!

***

So...these are wire flowers made by Maya Road.

I've painted them before and alcohol inked them to color and I've used them as is. But Jess said to fill them with Glossy Accents & you get this. Just place them on a scrap of paper & fill with Glossy Accents, then set aside to dry. When they are totally dry, cut off the excess paper. DONE!

***

It's a great tip, because they can be customized to coordinate with any card or layout, using just a scrap of paper. Try it!

***

And speaking of flowers...did you see the new Maya Road flowers coming out @ CHA? I'm sure they were made just for me!! The felt & the ones with the stitching had me drooling. Totally cool...check it out on their blog. Don't forget to leave a comment there...you just might win!

***

Hmmm...I wonder who makes that cool screen stamp in the photo?? Could it possibly be studio 490??

***

Here's the studio 490 stamp info for yesterdays card...

***

* The stamp on the kraft colored background is one HUGE stamp. Everything you see on there is on the stamp. I did the stitching to save you time. However, you can easily trace over the stitching to accent it or add dots from a glaze pen...This stamp is another favorite. You can also stamp it & EASILY use just a portion of it to make a number border...

***

* The lines on the circle...not perfect lines...vintage looking...LOVE IT! You can also stamp it, then turn it 90 degrees and stamp it again to make a plaid background.

***

* The roof is actually a corner stamp. Once again...look @ the potential...don't just look @ the stamp for what it's SUPPOSED to be. It looked like a roof to me & was a perfect fit for the chipboard house from Maya Road.

***

* Saying

***

* Flower border...it's fun to add rhinestones or pearls to the flower centers...

***

* Grungeboard flower...and on the right, you'll see that I needed a tiny accent, so I used just a portion of the flower...

***

* and last...the dots on the Maya Road Microchip arrow...those are from another stamp...I used just a portion of it... as a background.

********

Happy Thursday to you!

I'm headed to the studio...I still have TON to get done before CHA!

Take care!

wendy

ps...sorry for the look of this post. Mr Blogger would not let me change the spacing...grrrrrrrrrr...

One more studio 490 peek...

Then that's IT!

NO MORE!!! Hey...a girl has to have some secrets & surprises to keep you coming back!

Ok...here's the info on yesterdays card. The 8 studio 490 stamps are...

*The tree

*The large grid...a HUGE background stamp( looks like hardware cloth)

*The screen...HUGE background stamp (4 1/4 x 5 1/2)

*The saying

*The large heart...which can also be used as a background stamp for smaller pieces...see?? Versatile is what I had in mind...I like lots of options...

* the Poinsettia..this was suggested by Michelle! I didn't plan on any Christmas stamps, but I do love this set.

* Have yourself a merry little Christmas ...another HUGE background stamp

*and this one is barely visable...it's stamped on the tree on the right...a HUGE script stamp. It's from an actual journal dated 1914 and it's another flea market find.

Todays peek has...7! Check it out!





And can you see why I'm loving this job? JOB???

This is stamped on Maya Road chipboard (the house & microchip arrow)...inked with Ranger's inks...(Archival Jet Black, vintage photo distress and broken china distress)...grungeboard flowers and studio 490 stamps.

I'm in heaven!
Enjoy your day!
THANKS AGAIN for all the wonderful comments.
wendy

Christmas...studio 490 style...

Thanks from the bottom of my heart for all the wonderful comments about my stamps. I am totally thrilled with how they turned out.

Special THANKS to Ted & Michelle for this wonderful opportunity~!



Ok...let's finish yesterday first... I forgot to say that the base of the project is a 8 x 8 canvas....so larger than a card.



the 5 studio 490 stamps I used are...



The ticket... a dusty flea market find...

The leaves...a favorite of mine too...it's a great size for cards, but stamp 2 and make it larger for layouts like I did in yesterdays canvas. Here's what the stamp looks like.




The screen...can be used as a background...it's huge...or stamped over something that's been cut out.

The saying

The fly speck dots in the background...this too can be stamped over anything. I've been using the background stamps with Ranger's Jet Black Archival ink, then using Coffee Archival ink for the dots. The change in color adds another layer and more interest to the background. And...the best part...quick & easy.



Now...on to Christmas... studio 490 style...

There are 8 stamps total on this card...







The tree is designed the same way as the leaves...It's used 3 times on the card, twice on cardstock and once on grungeboard. After cutting them out, each was stamped with a different background stamp. Once again...easy to cut, as are the other designs. Another option is to stamp it over patterned paper.

It's easy to make the tree the focal point, by curling the edges of the grungeboard and layering it.

Now on to a Maya Road update...
Check out the company blog for SNEAK PEEK WEEK and see some fun new products, completed INSPIRING projects and be entered for a chance to win some FREE Maya Road goodness. FREE new products, BEFORE they are available in stores! How cool is that??

Any questions??

Did you find the 8 studio 490 stamps??

Remember..I LOVE comments!
THANKS!
wendy

introducing...stampers anonymous/studio 490 stamps!

I'm soooooooo very excited to show you the very first piece I made with...

studio 490 stamps. YIPPEE!!

So...without further ado...........here you go...




This piece had been in my mind since I designed the leaves... My idea was to have an outline of leaves that could be stamped on grungeboard (or cardstock), cut out EASILY and then overstamped with any stamp. I used the windowscreen stamp...but you can EASILY change the look by overstamping them with dots...text...plaid...script...actually any background stamp. I like having tons of options...it never has to look the same!

There are 5 studio 490 stamps on this piece. Can you spot them?
I gave you a hint above...

TALK to me...let me know what you think!
I'll be waiting to hear...AND...

Come back tomorrow for a Christmas peek...I love this one! I think it has 8 studio 490 stamps and lots of detail...
THANKS!
wendy
edited...
Andi guessed...
OK.. Five you say????
Hmmm...The leaves (thanks for that) YES!!
The dotted lines...hmmm...the screen on the leaves?? YES!!
The sentiment YES!!
The stitches...nope...that's the sewing machine...
The cool background (subtle) lines?...NOPE...that's the paper...
KEEP LOOKING...

stamp talk...

On to 2 more pages of the "my collections" album.



One of the other things that I collect is rubber stamps with the word ART. I can spot an ART stamp miles away!

Here's page 2 of the spread...loaded with Maya Road goodies...and a little crackle paint on the number.



And speaking of STAMPS... a little more about studio 490 stamps...

There are 7 "sets" total...and each set has a name...I used ART in each of the "set" names. See how this ties to the above??

I mentioned earlier that all the sets will be the cling mounted style....HOWEVER......Michelle said yesterday that they chose 17 to be available wood mounted too. So yesterday my job was to name those 17 stamps individually, so that they can be found in the catalog.... FUN.


And...wait 'til you see the white storage sheets and the storage album..ALBUM??

YEP...Hopefully they are on the way here for me to see too.

Michelle was happy with the (grungy) samples I sent..YIPPEE...and they have been photographed for the catalog and for the website too. Now they'll be packaged up & sent to Chicago for display in the Art Gone Wild/Stampers Anonymous booth, #3035. I'll probably faint when I see them there...never in my wildest dreams did I expect this...sniff...sniff... get me a kleenex!!

Ok...I'm done...

I hope your holiday "sparkles"...get it?
ENJOY!
wendy
ps..oops.......one more "stamp" thing...check out the grungy tag @ Darkroom Door. Rachel's stamps are great fun for grungeboard.