metallic embossing paste + lots of distress =

a very fun art journal page...

while you're reading...

keep in mind...

this can also be used as a card too...

I cut 2 pieces of Ranger's Specialty Stamping Paper to

 4 1/2 x 6 1/2...

these fit my art parts pages...

that I use as covers for another art journal...

I misted one of the pages with water, 

then added some scattered straw distress stain & 

some broken china stain...

then pressed the 2 pages together to make 2 backgrounds...

make sure to dry...

here's the 2 backgrounds...

the one on the left already has my white embossing paste applied thru the 3 fresh flowers stencil...

that's a story for another day...

the page on the right is today's tutorial...

I wanted to mix the new distress paints with the distress stains, markers & inks...

you'll see that they work together like magic...

lay the layered flower stencil in place, 

then use Cut N Dry foam to pounce broken china distress paint thru the stencil...

***you can start with either of the flowers stencils***

I chose the stencil with the open center to use first...

remove the stencil & dry...

here's the result...

now place the other portion of the layered flower stencil over the painted stenciled flower...

you'll see they are a perfect fit...

this stencil will cover up the painted areas & protect them...

spread the metallic gold paste over the stencil to fill it in...

I use a palette knife...

remove the stencil & allow the paste to dry...

***clean the stencil & your palette knife***

***you'll see that the gold metallic paste looks like "butterscotch" right from the jar...

but let it dry & it magically turns into a beautiful metallic gold***...

here's the dry paste...

use the honeycomb background with pale ochre archival to stamp over several areas of the background & dry...

I made sure to leave some areas unstamped...

here's a better shot ...

see how cool the raised metallic paste 

looks paired with the opaque distress paint? 

to create a stem, 

I used a stem from the 3 fresh flowers stencil...

***these stencils mix & match very well***

peeled paint distress paint 

was pounced over the stencil with Cut N Dry foam...

***see the stencil tape? it protects the close open areas where I don't want to add any paint***...

***post-its work just fine too...***

remove the stencil...

dry the paint...

stamp "begin" with jet black archival...

it's from the art journal basics set...

***archivals are AWESOME!***

next I added some bricks to the background

 with the brick stencil & broken china distress ink 

on the blending tool...

on a side note...

Rick asked where I saw blue bricks...

I had to tell him that...

THERE ARE NO RULES

 when you...

MAKE ART!

to add the tiny dots...

I dispensed some brushed corduroy stain onto the craft sheet...

picked that up with the detailer water brush & tapped it on my finger over the page...

I LOVE the tiny dots...

I added some light shading to the page edges 

with rusty hinge on the blending tool...

I used black soot on the blending tool to add the numbers in 3 areas with the classic words stencil...

see that cute flower center?

replace the stencil...

use the one that has the open center...

block off the areas outside the circle with stencil tape or post-its...

then ink this unmounted mini collage stamp with jet black archival & press the stamp over the flower center...

***it's easier to use the stamp UN-mounted***

totally flippin...cool &

 the mini collage stamp set is on SALE!

make sure to dry the archival!

tim's new  remnant rub pointing finger was a perfect fit...

I also added some doodle lines around the edge to create a frame effect...

and stamped my new small bee with jet black archival...

to color the bee body,

 I used the rusty hinge marker & 

the scattered straw marker on the wings...

hmmm...

this idea just popped...

maybe I'll add Glossy Accents to the wings?

and here's a side shot to show the texture created by the paste...

the flower & background, 

done the same way would be a GREAT card...

just add whatever sentiment the occasion needs...

the embossing pastes adds great texture, 

but no weight, 

so the pastes work very well for cards you want to mail...

now it's time for me to start getting demo supplies packed...

and find something to wear...

this weekend is the

ADVENTURES IN STAMPING

 convention in Akron, Ohio...

if you're in the area...I hope you'll come & see us!

we'll be stocked with all the coolest supplies & we always have LOTS of samples to inspire...

let me know that you're a blog friend & 

I'll have a little gift for you!

and just a little request...

if you live in Ohio...

TURN THE HEAT on PLEASE!

wearing a winter coat in April sucks...

get out your stamps, stencils, inks, paints, markers & stains so YOU can...

make art!

wendy

ps...oops...

almost forgot...

for those friends who are not on Facebook & asked that I post here...

this is version 2 of the card I shared in the previous post...

the heart is this large heart stencil...

instead of a stamped flower like on the original card,

 I used the wildflowers stencil...

a polka dot border...

& changed the sentiment to WISH...

same basic design...

but I did use BROWN!

see the tiny harlequin leaves?

same mini collage stamp as above...

my plan is to see you here next week 

with some gift ideas

 for Mother's Day & grads!

I made a...card?

well...

sort of...

here's the deal...

I got an email that said...

" I bought your stencils with the hope of making some simple cards. I'm just a beginner & trying to find my way. Now what? Where to start?"...

I can't remember the last time I made a card...

so this was a fun challenge for me...

***warning***

no brown distress ink was used for this project...

I know...

it's SHOCKING...

even to me!

I thought it was wise to warn you...

I cut a piece of watercolor paper to 4 1/4 x 4 3/4 inches...

I filled in the never enough hearts stencil with tumbled glass, 

using the blending tool...

with the stencil still in place, 

I used my honeycomb background stamp, 

inked it with tumbled glass & lightly pressed 

the UN-MOUNTED stamp over the stencil...

next, I removed the stencil & 

used jet black archival to stamp this flower...

here's what it looks like so far...

to color in the flower, I used these distress markers...

wild honey, rusty hinge, bundled sage & peeled paint...

I used the detailer water brush to move the color...

this works great on water color paper...

now it looks like this...

I decided to add a border with my stripes border stencil...

I used scattered straw & the blending tool...

remove the stencil & this is the result...

next I stamped my saying with jet black archival...

I traced around the heart with the bundled sage marker & spread the ink with the detailer water brush...

then used a waterproof pen to loosely doodle around the heart...

 to add more detail...

I put a small amount of peeled paint stain on my craft sheet...

picked it up the stain with the water brush, then tapped the brush against my finger to add these cute tiny inky dots...

it unifies the piece...

I also added some doodle lines around the perimeter,

with a fine waterproof pen...

I almost quit there...

and you sure could...

but I decided to add some tumbled glass around the edges, 

to create a frame effect...

I  accented the flower with a 

gold Blossom Bucket berry center 

& added my favorite little crow too...

this took a total of less then 15 minutes, 

so this is a very simple design that 

you can quickly & easily create...

but it still get a great result...

I was going to mount this on a card base...

but I just might put it in a frame instead...

here's a fun idea for a Mother's Day gift...

or just a gift for a friend...

you could make several cards...

change up the color & the sentiments...

and tie them together with a pretty ribbon for  presentation...

now about that winner...

CONGRATS to...

 Dawn Edwards said...

Fabulous journal page. I love the idea of using distress paints on clear objects! Thanks for the inspiration and Pick me I love me some art parts!

April 16, 2013 at 9:31 AM

 

please send me your shipping info & we'll get a package out to you...

wbv1213@me.com

I hope you enjoyed this little card tutorial...

and another way to use distress...

I had fun...

be watching my FACEBOOK PAGE...

I *think * I'll go make another one

with a different color combo & another saying...

and I'm betting this next one will have some brown!

I'll post it there later today...

ready set...

GO...

make art!

wendy

CLEARLY...it's an art journal page...

I recently got tim's new remnant rubs...

this is my first time using them & let me say...

I'm "clearly" in LOVE!

here's a tiny peek at a recently completed assignment...

I used my Blossom Bucket clear bottle...

and added the remnant rubs to customize it...

HOLY COW...

QUICK, SIMPLE & FUN...

I had a few ideas for the rubs brewing...

but this one made me run to the studio...

how would the rubs look on

 a CLEAR art journal page?

here's what I made...

I'll show you how...

the page is a "clearly for art" clicker cutts page...

it's the same clearly for art material as the sheets, 

but die cut & ready to use...

(you'll see the holes on the left)

I designed the pages to use for clear cards...

and they are also a fun small-ish size art journal page...

they fit the art parts small creative covers perfectly...

there are 6 pages in the package...

so...enough for 3 clear cards...

6 journal pages or 

you can create a whole 6 page CLEAR art journal...

I just *might* have to do that...

you can also cut your journal pages to any size you need 

from the sheets of clearly for art...

 I applied tim's text remnant rub 

across the center of the page...

I had no clue where this was headed...

I *might* add borders later???

 this page was an experiment...

but since I liked the end result...

I turned it into a blog post...

the rubs are AWESOME!

they are easy to apply & they stick really well...

here's the art journal page so far...

I like it already!

next I decided to use the new distress paints 

to stencil OVER the rubs...

I used peeled paint distress paint 

with a piece of Cut N Dry foam, 

thru my lovely leaves stencil...

after the paint dried, I added another section of leaves...

the photo below shows how to use post-its to block off any areas that you don't want to paint...

I used one under the stencil to protect my page & one 

over the stencil to block off the leaves I had just done...

after the leaves dried, I decided the text looked too even...

so I added more text rubs & a few small image rubs to the bare areas...

***this is cool...

 because you are working with a clear surface, 

you can test drive the clear page over the rubs 

before committing...***

I had a CFA clicker cutts blackout flower 

sitting on my desk, all ready to go...

this was a reject left over from a project...

 I had salty ocean, broken china, wild honey & rusty hinge distress paints left over on my craft sheet & I laid the flower in the left over paint & picked up the little paint dots...

and I did the back too...

now I just needed to heat the flower to soften the CFA material & shape it...

I used the new metallic distress paint (tarnished brass) 

to edge the page...

and let that air dry...

before I started this page,

I had done a small CFA test strip, 

to make sure the rubs worked on clearly for art...

didn't want to waste that...

so I stenciled a few more leaves, 

let them air dry, then cut them out...

heated them to create dimension...

and they were ready to add to my page...

here's the finished page again...

NOT the easiest thing to photograph...

since it's clear...

I added a small Blossom Bucket bottle cap to the flower center...

and a waterproof pen to add the vein in each leaf...

 the cool thing about creating a journal from scratch,

is that you can make the page from any surface...

and make the pages any size...

it's fun to mix them up & create a surprise element for viewers...

here's what the page looks like from the back...

NEXT...

a couple 

***tips***

use a small amount of paint...

not a saturated foam for stenciling on CFA...

hold the stencil tight against the surface...

if you want more coverage, apply a second coat, 

after the first is dry...

allow the distress paint to air dry...

it only takes two minutes or so...

the distress paints work well on plastic!

clean the paint from the stencil before it dries...

when using the distress paints to edge the page, 

use a barely moist dabber top...

and let it air dry...

this page was plan A...

and since this was so much fun...

in the works are plan B & C...

with some twists...

try it...

create a CLEAR art journal page...

I think you'll like it!

well today is the 15th of April...

a sad day for my USA friends...

TAX DAY...

ugg...

lol...

I have an idea to make it better...

how about a 

prize package 

for a random commenter?

I'll send someone a stamp set...

and some other fun art supplies...

CLEARLY I love comments...

so a comment is your entry ticket...

simple...

CLEARLY, 

I'll be waiting to hear your thoughts...

while I...

make art!

wendy

ps...when does the giveaway end?

hmmm...not sure...

I'll have Rick choose a winner when I post again... 

later this week...

THANKS for popping by!

customizing with distress...

today I thought I'd share several ways to customize 

my Blossom Bucket embellishments...

using my favorite distress products...

here's what the antiqued cream flower

 looks like ...

lots of detail...

which I love...

and it's perfect to use right from the package...

but what if your project really needs a blue flower?

just follow these simple steps...

shake the distress paint color of your choice & 

apply a small amount to your craft sheet...

I used broken china, but choose any of the beautiful colors...

pick up the paint with a piece of Cut N Dry foam...

or use a blending tool with foam...

tap off the excess paint...

then tap onto the flower...

& dry...

here's the result...

to add some metallic highlights to the petal edges...

shake the paint & apply a small amount to your craft sheet...

I like to use my finger to pick up a bit of the tarnished brass & rub that over the selected areas...

I did just the raised petal edges...

make sure to dry...

next step is to accent the center...

I used the peeled paint & walnut stain markers...

my flower now looks like this...

I originally quit there as I really liked it...

but then I saw the tumbled glass marker & decided to add some more shading to the petals...

and here's a better look at the finished flower...

with a total transformation...

from cream to broken china!

next up...

same Blossom Bucket flower...

but this time I wanted to change it to a darker color...

 after I shook the rusty hinge paint, 

I added the paint to the flower with the detailer water brush...

dried it, then used the tea dye marker to color the center...

just swipe the excess paint onto your craft sheet to clean the brush...

do that until it's back to clear water...

looking good...

I wanted darker petal edges this time, 

so added coffee archival with a piece of Cut N Dry foam...

pick up the ink & tap it on the flower petal edges...

& dry...

and a close up...

this time I used antique bronze to accent the petal edges...

and the finished custom flower...

***remember...***

the distress paints can be removed with water while they are wet...

so if the color you chose isn't what you really wanted, run it under the faucet...the color is GONE & you can start again...

the distress paint is permanent when it's dry...

the distress paints work on many surfaces...

these Blossom Bucket's are made with resin...

you can change any of the distress colors to pastel by mixing in a bit of the antique linen or picket fence distress paints with any of the colors before applying the paint to your surface...

archivals are permanent when dry...

archivals = AWESOME!

if you're working on smaller pieces, it helps to add a glue dot or a tiny piece of wonder tape to the back of your piece & then pop it onto your craft sheet...

that holds the piece still,

 so you can attack it with the paint...

or markers...

that's what I did with this white flower...

a tiny piece of wonder tape holds it securely to the craft sheet...

so I could add black soot distress paint...

I wiped off some of the paint before it dried completely...

I did that to the silver center too...

just what I like...

very worn & vintage...

I can use this alone or I might add it to the center 

of a larger art parts flower...

decisions...

decisions...

there are LOTS of other fun 

Blossom Bucket pieces 

that are easy to customize with the distress paints...

some are...

THE bird...

shut the front door!...

these shutters...

they fit the door...

and...

these hearts...

ok...

now it's 

time for YOU to...

have a GREAT weekend and

make art!

wendy