I had to laugh...*enabler alert* too...

I've been accused a time or 2 of being a tease...

but...

I think I've met my match...

I told you that I have submitted all my art to Blossom Bucket,

my new creative partner...

Cindy (Blossom Bucket's owner) posted the photo below...

showing THE ART that I sent to her...

SORT OF...

this should be a very fun TEASING time

leading up to January's CHA!

Cindy...YOU are bad too...

this made me laugh...

I LOVE IT!

what's a post without a REAL photo???

here's a workshop that's coming up...

it debuts @ Buffalo Stamps & Stuff, in NY next weekend...

QUEEN Patti also chose this workshop for The Queen's INK in October...

we actually *build* a free standing shelf, using my new art parts film strip frame, art parts rulers & metal...

I changed up this class to include a new technique...

making a cool custom background, using Claudine's sticky back canvas & gesso...

and we'll add tim's distress stains, inks & studio 490 stamps of course...

and my fav Rock Candy Crackle Paint...

buy the large bottle (no brush) & refill the smaller one...

which does have a built in brush...

it's a better value...

this is LOADED with art parts, as you can see...

I think it will be fun...

now, the ENABLER ALERT...

as STAMPtember comes to an end...

Heidi gave us a code that will take $5.00 off your order...

at Simon Says...

use all lower case....code stamp

so, if you NEED some art parts...or stamps...

or stuff...

I *thought* it was my DUTY to give you the code!

now I'm off to finish the kits...

and the packing...

Fed-Ex will be here soon...

have a GREAT inky weekend...

make art!

wendy

ps...even though it's hopeless...

GO BEARS!

I'm THRILLED to announce...

a few weeks ago I announced that I had licensed my art to BLOSSOM BUCKET.

they will magically transform the art into items for the gift industry, which will be released in July @ the Atlanta gift show...

all 21 pieces of art have been made & sent...

now we wait...to see the real deal...

it's a very exciting step for me...

here's THE NEW NEWS I've been so excited about...

Blossom Bucket & I have teamed up

and I will have my own signature line of

studio 490 style EMBELLISHMENTS

with them!

here's the part you'll like...

they have their booth space reserved @ CHA!

that means the embellishments will be released in January!

so that's NOT a long wait at all...

YIPPEE!!!

I've designed LOTS of embellishments with my stamps & art parts in mind...

giving us LOTS of fun creative options...

these EMBELLISHMENTS will be cool for card makers, altered art makers & scrapbookers too......

and...

there may just be a surprise product or 2 coming...

I'm over the moon about this...

because I thought we had to wait 'til July...

but it will be JANUARY too...

...YIPPEE!

Cindy is the owner of Blossom Bucket & I immediately liked her when we met...

she is well respected in the gift industry...

believe me...I CHECKED...

she's been in business over 20 years...

the quality of their products is awesome...

I checked that too...

all the ideas for the embellishments have been sent...

so, this explains my lack of blogging for the last few weeks...

let me just say this once more...

YIPPEE!!! I CAN NOT WAIT 'til CHA!!!

ok...moving on...phew.........

thanks so much for your excitement for KITS FOR ART...

I'm glad you're happy!

I've been answering emails from store owners about how to order...

(right from Stampers Anonymous)

and many have said they are ordering today...

since the KITS are completed & ready to ship,

I expect to see the kits in stores & in on-line stores VERY soon...

I'll keep you posted...

again... I thank you for being excited too!

next stop on this art adventure is back to

Buffalo Stamps & Stuff...

Sharon has chosen 3 fun classes,

including MY all time favorite...

Ranger Inks II, studio 490 style...

this is MY MOST FAVORITE class to teach...

I taught a 4 hour version of this class there before,

but it's now expanded to 6 hours of inky fun...

plus there is a pizza lunch included...

we gotta have energy to MAKE ART!

I LOVE this class, because by the end,

I can really see that each person develops their own individual style...

each person has access to the same products,

but no 2 tags look the same...EVER!

I LOVE IT & that's what it's all about...

developing YOUR style...

this is another fun class...

this one is for The Queen's Ink....in October...

inspiration station...

using ton's of art parts, studio 490 stamps, grungeboard & tim's embellishments...

and the kits come in this fabric bag, which we also alter...

time to get in full speed ahead...

kit making mode here...

I think I'll see if I can *recruit* Rick for some assistance...

HUGE thanks to Cindy @ Blossom Bucket for inviting me to join her company!

do you see why I couldn't sleep?

plus...

in my spare time, I've already sent some NEW stamp images

to Zach @ Stampers Anonymous...

have a great day & as always...

I hope you can...

make art!

wendy

ps...The Bears suck...boo

you asked...we listened...

I'm THRILLED to introduce...

studio 490 KITS FOR ART!

we've had so many requests for kits...

store owners want them for in store classes

& for their customers to take home too...

groups of friends have asked for them for "girlfriend get togethers" so that each person can work on the same project...

people who have not tried ART PARTS asked for a trial package...

everything needed to complete a project...

we've had lots of requests for a kit that can be completed @ home...(in your jammies!) at your leisure...

we've had requests, so that several can be made for gift giving...

you asked...we listened...

each "kit for art" will contain all the art parts & Clearly for Art needed to complete the project.

also included in the kit are complete instructions, a supply list & some step out photos...

you'll just need to add the inking, stamping & your own embellishments...

you can follow the instructions exactly, or customize it with your choice of colors and stamps...

the first kit is the cover project from book #5...

since we've had a MILLION requests for that one!

here's the kit insert...

kit #2 will be released November-ISH and will be a project that is not in any book...

I have an idea brewing...

it will make a great gift...

with the holidays not too far away...

it's not too early to start thinking & creating...

the kits for art will only be sold thru stores...

I won't be selling them...

the kits are all made, they're sitting in Cleveland

& are READY to ship...

yippee! NO WAIT...I LOVE that!

you KNOW I have zero patience!

sad but true...

I'm anxious to hear your thoughts...

also...Stamptember continues over @ Simon Says...

the interview I did is posted today...

you can find it here...

and don't forget...

the SALE continues thru today and includes...

studio 490 stamps, art parts & Clearly for Art too...

don't miss out!

I'll be back on Monday morning with a

HUGE announcement...

this is THE NEWS that made me too excited to sleep...

YES...it's really THAT GOOD!!!

I can't wait to share with you...

have a great day &

make art!

wendy

ps ...GO BEARS!

celebrating STAMPtember!

Happy STAMPtember...

my dear friends @ Simon Says Stamp are celebrating all month long...

today on their blog, they have a very sweet write up about how we met...

and even a photo of Rick...

you can check it our here...

to help them celebrate, here's the video I promised...

they also have it posted on their blog,

so you can see it there too...

just in case I didn't do it right here...

if you are done laughing...

did I sound like a DORK???

let's move on to the SALE INFO...

25 % off all studio 490 stamps & art parts too

thru Sunday!

YIPPEE...THANK YOU HEIDI!

and everything is IN STOCK & READY to ship!

plus if you are a ewv group member...

there is something special for the group...

that info is in yesterday's post...

if you need my favorite art parts scissors, that I used in the video...

or the large art parts flower...

or the art parts truck...

or some brand new stamps...

it's a GREAT shopping day!

the interview will be posted SUNDAY on their blog...

along with some photos of my studio...

so...POP back in on SUNDAY!

pop back here too as I'll be announcing the...

YOU ASKED

WE LISTENED top secret scoop...

yep...ON SUNDAY!

until then...

happy shopping...

get some goodies so you can...

make art!

wendy

ps...Heidi has a giveaway...

I do too...for a random commenter.

news flash!

just a heads up...

if you are a member of

the "everything wendy vecchi yahoo group"...

I just got INSIDER INFO of a SPECIAL happening

for the group members only...

just saying...it's seriously...AWESOME!

you can join here...

THANKS!

make art...

ps...it's a GIANT sale! don't tell that I spilled the beans.

what happens on the blog...

stays on the blog!

got it?

a quick hello!

in my head, I had planned a longer post for today...

but you'll get a VIDEO...(if I did it right!)

fingers crossed...

TOMORROW...

the editing is FAR from perfect...

but if it makes you laugh, that's just fine with me...

there were LOTS of BLOOPERS that I chopped out...

but I couldn't fix the biggest one...

you'll see...

and there will also be a Q & A type interview too...

so, please pop back in on Friday!

in the last few days, I've had a few questions about the acrylic storage binders for my stamps, so I thought I would include the info here...

plus I NEEDED a photo for the post. LOL!

I designed these to store LOTS of stamps in a small space, plus I wanted an easy way to use them. no digging thru a box...

that's NOT convenient...plus it's a time waster...

this system works well...

just flip throughout the storage sheets, like you would flip thru a book...

use the stamp & return it back to the storage sheet...

the cling stamps stay nice & secure...

1. that blue paper comes off...

it's a protective coating for shipping...

2. I have 10 sets in my large binder...

3. YES, 3 giant binding rings are included in the package, along with the front & back covers for the large binder...

4. the small binder comes with 2 giant binding rings, since the small stamp sets have 2 holes...

5. the large binder will hold both the large sets & the smaller sets too...

the small stamp sets were designed to fit...

here's one of my older large ones...

4. the easiest way to alter the cover...

so that you can hide the adhesive is...

lay your chosen paper under the cover, but do not glue...

then, arrange & glue your embellishments onto the front...

when you turn the cover over, you'll see exactly where to add the adhesive to hold the background paper in place...

and no adhesive will show this way...

Now FINALLY...

here's the RANDOM WINNER chosen from the

ART FROM THE HEART blog hop for my friend LADY DY...

CONGRATS to...

sherRae said...

Such a clever use of product! Thanks for sharing.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2011 10:45 PM

please email me with your shipping info...

(wbv1213@me.com)

in other breaking news...

I ***HOPE*** to have an announcement for you next week...

the title will be...

YOU ASKED...

WE LISTENED!

I spoke to Ted yesterday & a few little details need to be finalized, but we're almost there!

since we've had LOTS of requests, we expect to make LOTS of people happy...

that's it!

see you tomorrow!

until then...

make art!

wendy

ps...mr weatherman...

please turn the heat back on...

38 is WAY too cold...

thank you...

a looming deadline...& an enabler alert too...

September 16 is THE final day...

all my art has to be in Ohio @ Blossom Bucket...

so...that explains my lack of blogging this past week...

YIKES...BUSY...

my poor old brain is on overload!

let me explain...

our initial plan was for 12 pieces of my art to be magically transformed into gift items...

however...

the plan changed & the boss said...

DO MORE!

so I completed 21...

a huge YIPPEE!!!

those 21 ***things*** will be released in July...

and...there's more ***ART*** that is top secret...

I'm telling you...I've been VERY busy...

I ***think*** the top secret stuff will make up for my lack of blogging, when you see it...

believe me I'll spill ALL the beans just as soon as I get the word from the BOSS, Cindy...

this is KILLING me...........

SERIOUSLY. KILLING. ME.

ok...I wanted to pop in & let you know that my friends over @ Simon Says are having a 15% off Ranger sale...

SATURDAY & SUNDAY ONLY...

ALL RANGER PRODUCTS!

so if you've been NEEDING tim's NEW STAINS....

or some of Ranger's new cool KRAFT TAGS...

some of the NEW ARCHIVAL INK colors...

my most favorites...

Vermillion...

SIENNA...

SAFFRON...

French Ultramarine...

if you don't have coffee or olive...

they're on sale too...

anything RANGER!

do you need some of Claudine's Gesso...

it's COOL STUFF...

or some of Claudine's sticky back canvas...

I'll be posting about this soon...

and don't forget the NEW Perfect Pearls Mists...

bling in a bottle...

and last but NOT least...

THE CRAFT SCRUBBIE...

how did we live without this little gem?

they make GREAT guy stocking stuffers...

they remove grease from hands like MAGIC!

it's never too soon to start the holiday ideas...

ok...I'll be back next week with the WINNER from the last post...

and hopefully I'll be able to include a photo of something...

arty...

until then...

sending healing thoughts to everyone affected by 9/11...

now...

make art!

wendy

ps...GO BEARS!!!

HUGE congrats to LADY DY...

she's celebrating her store's 10th birthday!

her store is ...Art From The Heart...

Lady Dy is my counterpart across the pond...

she is Ranger's senior educator in the UK...

her style is quirky & eclectic...

it's REALLY OUT of the BOX...

and actually,

I'm quite certain that Dy doesn't even know

that there IS a BOX! LOL!

LOVE YOU DY!

Want to know more about the celebration?

then head over to Dyan's blog for all the juicy details...

to Celebration, Dyan is having 5 birthday blog hops.

You should have reached my blog from

Dina's blog...

and you are on the RANGER blog hop

inspired by Dy,

I challenged myself to come up with something unexpected & a little out of that box...

it's a new fun way to use some art parts...

here's my result...

look closely & you'll see that I used some art parts wings

and an art parts mustache to create this flower...

tada...

turned upside down & stained green...

the mustache looks like it belongs on the flower!

if you'd like to play along...

grab a beverage, your craft sheet & let's get inky...

use tea dye distress stain to ink both pieces of the large art parts flower pot...

dry...

tea dye stain used on art parts looks like vintage terra cotta...

I LOVE IT!

use peeled paint distress stain to ink

the mustache & the stem...

dry...

ink a pair of small art part wings &

a medium pair too,

using tumbled glass distress stain & dry...

I applied a second layer on the larger wings to make them a bit darker, since they are in the background...

add shading to the flower pot with rusty hinge,

using the blending tool...

use the blending tool with walnut stain to add shading to the right side & right lower corner of the flower pot...

and add a tiny bit of that walnut stain, to accent the wing tips...

use sepia archival to stamp

the lace background over both flower pot pieces...

dry...

the flower pot should look like this...

use olive archival to stamp the background over the mustache & the art parts stem/leaves...

dry...

use french ultramarine archival to stamp

the screen background over the larger pair of wings...

dry...

use french ultramarine to stamp the polka dot border over the smaller pair of wings...

dry...

paint a small wood block with the black paint dabber & glue to the back of the flower pot, about 1/8th of an inch from the bottom of the flower pot...

this creates a nice base & allows the flower pot to stand...

using grungeboard, die cut a label from

tim's bookplate die & use just the rectangle center piece...

ink with broken china distress stain &

edge with the gold paint dabber...

dry...

use jet black archival to stamp "make art"...

dry...

add some shading with walnut stain...

then glue to a memo pin...(I trimmed a bit off the end)

glue the flower pot pieces together...

assemble the flower as shown in the photo below...

I "swiped" some flower stamens from a silk flower & glued them

in the center of the flower...

thread a button with coordinating thread & glue to the mustache as shown...

add a small gingham bow to the stem...

glue the stem to the back of the flower pot...

add the memo pin saying...

the finished piece will look like this...

mine is displayed on a shelf & it's standing on 2 vintage shut off valves...

kind of reminds me of a venus fly trap... LOL!

***Before you move on -***

you will need to collect a letter from me which is I

This is part of an anagram of a RANGER product

Once you get back to Dys blog,

please email your answer to Ben.

So after leaving me a comment, you will want to move on to

Georgina...her blog is here...

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and that you are inspired to...

think outside the box and then...

make art!

wendy

ps... I almost forgot...

one random commenter will win little "something" from me...

good luck to all!

celebrate...STAMPtember...

I just wanted to quickly pop in with a few random things...

as you can see from the banner above,

my friends @ Simon Says Stamp are celebrating the entire month...

Here's how Heidi describes the event...

Stamptember (stmp-tmbr) is defined by Simon Says Stamp in this way...

an event intended to inspire, educate, and celebrate the greatness of rubber stamping. Part of the enticement of rubber stamping is that stamps can be used in creating or complimenting ANYTHING!

I agree...

that's what thrills me about rubber stamps...

in addition to being so much fun...

the possibilities are endless...

each time you use a stamp, it can be different...

you can read all the juicy details here

& see what's planned...

and what's a celebration without a prize?

check out the goodie basket that Heidi is giving away below...

so stop in daily for unlimited inspiration, giveaways...

techniques, interviews & MORE...

here's the link...

next FYI...

the classes are finalized for

Buffalo Stamps & Stuff in Amherst, NY...

my next stop on this art adventure...

Sharon has a fun weekend planned

for September 30-October 2...

and I can NOT wait to return...

it's an AWESOME stamp store...

and I get to see my friends again!

I'll be shipping tons of stuff for us to use...

LOTS of stamps, lots of inks & stains...

ALL my favorite stuff!

next FYI...

I spoke with THE QUEEN, HRH Patti,

from The Queen's INK in Savage MD...

Queenie (we're friends so I don't have to refer to her as HRH)

has chosen the classes for the royal event...

save the date...

October 15 & 16th...

this store is unique & AMAZING!

I LOVE it & everyone there!

and the last FYI...

I'm participating in a blog hop starting EARLY Saturday morning to celebrate the 10th year anniversary of my friend's store...

I'm expecting some very cool art sharing...

lots of eye candy...

I have a special tutorial planned...

with lots of step-out photos...

the project features a unique way to use my art parts wings...

combined with...

get this...

an art parts mustache!

sound interesting?

see you back here on Saturday...

who knows? I just may have a giveaway too!

now as usual...

make art!

wendy