goodbye 2011...

I was sort of sad when Christmas was over...

all that prep & anticipation...

over ...

in what seemed to be a flash...

it was a great holiday with family & friends...

and we did add some memories to our hearts...

I hope you did too...

I got happier when I realized that with Christmas over, we are getting SO CLOSE to 2012...

I am soooo looking forward to 2012!

and the first EXCITING event...

CHA...

prep here is in "full speed ahead" mode...

lots of projects...

lots of deadlines...

lots of private peeks & meetings...

lots of "making art" & lots of fun...

here's a very small peek @ my new line of embellishments with blossom bucket...

the line is called...

embellish your art...

the packaging will look like this...

unfortunately, I had to chop off the product that is attached to this card...

sorry...

card top...

insert product photo here! lol...

card bottom...

these are resin products, all sized to work perfectly with art parts & my stamps...

and with a BILLION other things too...

I have had so much fun making samples with them...

I'm expecting peeks to start in less than 2 weeks...

so not a long wait @ all...

YIPPEE!

in addition to the resin embellishments, there will be a few other *things* that I've been wanting/needing...

believe me...

just as soon as I get the GO AHEAD...

I will be sharing them here...

I am over the moon excited to share & to hear your thoughts...

when I talked about working on new stamps, back in October, I got quite a few suggestions for stamps & some questions too....

I pulled them out of the file...

because I NEEDED something to blog about...

here we go...

question #1. I collect cat & dog stamps. please tell me that you'll consider designing some...

ME...NOPE SORRY...you won't be happy!

question #2. you didn't make flower stamps this time & I want you to know that I/we need more...

ME...you WILL be happy! I LOVE flowers too!

question #3. will you consider more stuff for men please

ME...you WILL be happy!

question #4. more large backgrounds too

ME...you WILL be happy

question #4. how about a porpoise stamp & some aspen trees?

ME...you will NOT be happy!

question #5. make us lots more art parts with coordinating stamps

ME...you WILL be VERY happy...

question #6. are you doing another book for those of us who don't have classes in our area?

ME...you WILL be happy...

and here's a little scoop...

book #6 is a whole new LARGE size & format...

LARGER PHOTOS & LARGER TEXT TOO...

change is good!

question #7. I'm hoping for more large art part frame type pieces for gift giving

ME...you WILL be happy!

question #8. loved the kit idea. any hope of getting them monthly...

ME...YIKES...I gotta sleep sometime...

BUT...

I *think* you'll be happy with another 1 or 2...

coming soon...

stay tuned...

question #9. give us a little nugget. we won't tell HONEST...

ME...HMMM...ok...

this time I did lots of fun/humorous sayings & images too...

remember...

what happens on the blog...stays on the blog!

that's it for today!

with all this talk about new art stuff...

I'm excited to get into the studio to...

make art!

wendy

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

from both of us...

to ALL of you...

we send you our wishes for the best Christmas ever.

may the spirit of this day stay in your heart each & every day of the coming year.

I hope you can enjoy the day with those you love.

we are...

and...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to THE BEST HUBBY EVER!

today we'll eat cake...

tomorrow we'll...

make art!

wendy & Rick too...

faux crazed porcelaine...

a few weeks ago,

I showed how Ranger's Glue N Seal

could be used with tim's

rock candy crackle paint

to create this cool vintage look on glass...

the post is here...

here's another fun & EASY effect, using the same products...

this time it creates a faux vintage porcelain surface...

I started with this metal plaquette, which was too stark for the art I'm working on...

so...I applied a medium coat of matte Glue N Seal ...

then let that dry...

then I painted on a medium/heavy coat of rock candy crackle paint & let that dry...

when the paint had completely dried & cracked,

I rubbed the coffee archival ink pad right over the paint to accent the cracks...

they are barely visible until you add the coffee ink...

I just wiped off the excess with a paper towel & dried it with the heat tool to set the ink...

and the finished plaquette now looks like this...

it's very vintage...

with those little crazes resembling vintage porcelain...

it will be added to a CHA project...

you'll see it in January...

and speaking of CHA...

I'm expecting my new line of Blossom Bucket embellishments to arrive today or tomorrow...

YIPPEE!

so if you hear about an earthquake in Illinois...

don't be alarmed...

it's just me jumping up & down...

I contemplated sitting out on the driveway to wait...

but it's mighty cold out there...

all the projects are finished for book #6 & the instructions are completed too...

YIPPEE...

check that off the to-do list...

the projects will all be sent today so that the photographs can be taken for the book & the insert that's included in each stamp set...

and last but not least...

from the bottom of my heart...

A MILLION THANKS

for all the birthday tweets, Facebook posts, cards, gifts & emails...

you made my day!

I hope you know that

I SINCERELY APPRECIATE

YOUR KINDNESS & FRIENDSHIP!

happy holidays everyone...

I hope you have a great weekend...

the LAST before Christmas...

YIKES!!!

ok...back to the studio...

gotta

make (more CHA ) ART!

wendy

do you see what I see?

I popped into JoAnn's yesterday to pick up some different colors of thread for my sewing machine...

I ALWAYS use black...

why I *thought* I NEEDED other colors is beyond me...

but now I have them...

just in case...

some days I wonder about me...

no doubt Rick does too...

anyway...

while quickly zipping thru the store...

a few things caught my eye...

$1.00 paper mache cone

$1.00 mini (like 3 inch) kraft colored book

$1.00 mini child wood hanger

wrought iron holder with glass $2.99

shiny metal mini colander (Christmas ornament)

$3.99 @ 60%off = $1.60

shiny metal mini pitcher (Christmas ornament)

$4.99 @ 60% off = $2.00

TOTAL...less than $10.00

but...

INSPIRATION

FOR ART =

PRICELESS!

if you have a JoAnn's in your area...

I thought I'd pass this *scoop* along...

so you can be ready...

& get the goods before they're gone...

the Christmas stuff was really picked over...

stay tuned...

I'll be using these things to...

make art!

wendy

ps...what do YOU see in these items???

stained watermark resist play...

yesterday while working on another book 6 project, I used embossing 2 different ways & I thought I'd share it here...

since I can't show the real deal yet...

I did some small sample pieces to show you the technique...

grab Ranger's Watermark Resist pad, some clear embossing powder & some of tim's distress stains...

you can also use the Perfect Medium Pad, in place of the watermark resist and achieve the same results...

and you can substitute the distress ink pads for the stains...

I chose to use UTEE for my embossing, since I was using a bold image...

but regular clear embossing powder will work too...

this is more dramatic with a bold image...

stamps will fine details won't show up as well...

but... that might be just what you need for certain projects...

so keep that in mind...

let's start...

BUT...first...

a ***WARNING***

let me just say

that once you use the distress stains on my art parts...

YOU. WILL. BE. ADDICTED...

it's a FACT! I am NOT responsible...

how did I ever live without them?

ok...NOW...let's go...

ink the stamp with the watermark resist & stamp onto a naked (UNINKED) art part...

sprinkle on the embossing powder...

use the heat tool to melt the embossing powder, until the image is completely shiny...

the photo below shows the result...

after the image cooled, I inked over the whole art part with broken china stain to get this end result...

you'll see that the embossing powder allows the natural (kraft) color of the art part to show thru...

for a 2 color effect...

for the next sample, I inked the art part with broken china stain FIRST & dried it...

make sure to dry it...

or the embossing powder will stick everywhere...

then I used the watermark resist on the stamp again, added embossing powder & blasted it with the heat tool, to melt the powder...

I added a second layer of stain over the whole art part...

and wiped the excess stain off the embossed area with a paper towel...

here's the result...

it's more of a tone on tone result...

and the background has more intense color...

because it has 2 layers of stain...

let's make this easier...

here's a side by side comparison of the 2...

same exact products, but quite different results...

this is why I LOVE INKS...

we have a million options...

and since embossing powder is basically ground up plastic...

I'm sure it's a little more technical than that!

the plastic will resist most things...

even archival ink...

I used olive archival to stamp the text stamp over the art part, then used a paper towel to remove the text from the embossed flower...

so now it looks like the text is behind the flower...

even though it was the last step...

here's a better look...

so think of the possibilities...

stamp with watermark resist over patterned paper...

that will allow the pattern to show thru under the embossed area...

stamp multiple times, using the resist pad, to create a custom background on any card stock color...

the images can be embossed or just left as a watermark, for a more subtle effect...

my favorite color combo???

for the book project I'm working on...

I clear embossed over the naked art part, then added black soot stain over the art part...

the result is an AWESOME kraft embossed (pattern) & black stained art part...

so stinkin' fun & it couldn't be easier...

ok... back to the studio...

gotta

make (MORE) art!

wendy

please join me...*edited*

in sending HUGE CONGRATS & GOOD WISHES...

to Hels Sheridan !

If you're wondering what this is all about...

TOMORROW, DECEMBER 6, Hels will make her debut on

Create & Craft TV in the UK...

it's channel 671 on Sky & 36 on Freeview...

there are rumors that it's on line too...

if anyone finds it on line, please send me the info!

I'd love to see it...

***EDITED*** here's the internet link...

http://www.createandcraft.tv/tvschedule.aspx

tomorrow the episodes are @ 2pm & 7pm...

for those of us in the midwest, that's 8AM...

for the first episode

for NY friends 9AM &

California friends...6AM

new episodes will be shown on December 17th @ 12pm & 4pm...

and Hels will be demoing...

studio 490 products!

I'm totally thrilled & can not wait to see her creations!

you can read her blog announcement here...

so...

please take a second to shoot her an email & wish her good luck on her new adventure...

next...

this was perfect timing...

I got an email this morning, wondering if rock candy distress crackle paint will work on art parts...

why...yes it does...

we use it on my art parts bottle in classes...

and...

I just finished this NEW ART PART this morning...

it looks so cool...

sorry I had to chop off the rest of the art part...

trust me...it's a good one!

if you are ***NEEDING*** art parts or stamps...

they are already ON SALE @ eclecticPaperie...

and with this code

madabout12

you get an ADDITIONAL 15% off the sale prices!

it's a good time to stock up on the *essentials*...

ok...it's back to the studio for me...

I'll get this baby all glued & assembled, then start project #9...

wait 'til you see #7...

it's the MOST FUNN-EST *thing*...

E.V.E.R!

it's frigid, cloudy & UGLY here...

a perfect day to

make art!

wendy

ps...the BEARS suck big time

just what I like...

a nice (intentionally) blurry photo...

to show you what's happening @ studio 490...

this is what the dining room table looks like...

LOADED with new art parts!

I keep "hinting" that we need to "add on" to the studio...

he thinks I'm kidding...

I'm NOT!

this week I finished 6 projects for book #6...

and the instructions are written too!~

yippee...

I LOVE to ...

make art...

writing the instructions...not so much!

I just realized that good sneak peeks start mid January-ish...

which is only 6 weeks away!

I. CAN. NOT. WAIT. TO. SHOW. YOU.

when creating the projects & working with the new art parts,

I found myself wishing for a smaller Cut N Dry nib...

I have a discovery...

this is my new favorite tool...

the replacement nibs for the alcohol ink fillable pen are exactly what I was looking for...

they accept & apply distress inks perfectly...

I found that the tips don't fray & that the small ones allow you to color in really teeny tiny details very easily...

I'm using one for each color & storing them in a tiny container for reuse...

when I look back on the 6 projects I finished...

I used these nibs on 4 of them...

that's my tip for today!

try it...

I ***think*** you'll be impressed...

ok...gotta run...

project #7 is calling...

I hope you have a wonderful weekend & can take time to

make art!

wendy

ps...GO BEARS!