BE TRUE..tutorial...

happy LAST day of March!

dear March...

you have been brutal & ugly...

and I'm quite happy to see that April is almost here...

to celebrate, I have a fun mixed media tutorial up on the Ranger blog today...

I have a supply list, the instructions & some step out photos for this card...

you can check it out here... on the...RANGER BLOG...

thanks for stopping by...

I hope you can take time to...

make art...
wendy

more..altering with archival inks...

in the previous post, I shared how to alter tim's embellishments with my archival inks...

you can find it here...

I altered these 3 idea-ology pieces, but only used the rose for the last post...

today it's all about the arrow & butterfly...

the arrow pack has 2 sizes...so, lots of fun possibilities...

the butterfly is from the nature set & it's my MOST FAVORITE set ever...

all the pieces have amazing detail & are easy to transform...

I cut a #8 manila tag down to 5 ½ inches tall...

if you haven't tried this, removing that little ¾ inch totally changes the tag...

I haven't used a full size tag since I started chopping these down!

I used tim's wrinkle free distress technique with iced spruce & scattered straw distress inks to create the background...

then stamped my sentiment using jet black archival...

I used tree branch archival with the checkmate stencil, to add borders at the top & bottom of the tag...

after test driving my arrow & butterfly, I knew where I wanted the flourishes placed...

the mini flourishes were stamped with watering can archival...

next, some random stenciling with the new "add a stencil", using cornflower blue & the CUTE new mini blending tool...

I REALLY LOVE the mini tool, especially for stenciling...

the smaller size is so convenient...

the background needed a bit more, so I used iced spruce with my numbers background to add some random stamping...

that background stamp is an oldie...

it's from LCS015...dimensional rose art...

I did not use the numbers background stamp on a grid block...

by using it UN-mounted, it's easy to bend the stamp & use just small portions of it, to fill in the background wherever it's needed...

you'll also see that I like to accent the borders with a waterproof pen...the more details the better...

below, the arrow is glued in place...

"start here" was added with jet black archival...

that's an oldie too from LCS041... book art basics...

your store can order any of the older sets you might have missed...just ask them...

the butterfly sits over the arrow, so I used 2 fat glue dots ...

and some multi medium where the butterfly rests on the arrow...

to further accent the borders, I added some black glaze pen dots...

here's the finished tag...

it's amazing how a few drops of ink can change things dramatically...

here's a closer look at the butterfly...

if you make jewelry, I think these pieces would work really well...

they look pricy, but they're not...

the details are really amazing...

this next piece is also in the same pack...

after I inked this guy...

I HAD to order more...

I'll show you how I used it next week...

I'm off to teach in New Hampshire this weekend...

where we WILL have so much fun when we...

MAKE ART

wendy

ps...I hope you're inspired to try altering with archival inks...

altering with archival inks...

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

I wanted to share a quick way to alter metal embellishments with my archival inks...

tim's new idea-ology metal pieces are awesome & really fun to customize to coordinate with any project...

I started with these 3 pieces...

they're from the adornments nature set...

                            

I used a piece of tape under the butterfly to hold her securely to my craft sheet...

I pressed the forget-me-not archival pad over the butterfly to ink most of her...

then using the orange blossom archival pad, I lightly swiped the pad just over the raised areas and got this...

*note*...if you don't like your color choices, rubbing alcohol (surgical spirits in the UK) will remove the archival ink & you can start over again...

heat with the heat tool to dry the inks...

*REMEMBER* heated metal is HOT...these pieces are solid metal, so they hold the heat for quite a while...

to color the rose, I used these archival reinkers...

leaf green and carnation red...

I put one drop of each reinker on my craft sheet & used a cut n dry nib to "paint" the colors on the rose...

you could also use a tiny paint brush to achieve the same results...

I added a dot of fired brick distress stickles to the rose center...

then dried it...

in a matter of 5 minutes...

these 3 pieces went from this...

to this...sorry for the glare...

oops...for the arrow I used the tree branch archival pad & just pressed the arrow onto the pad & dried it...

tree branch is an awesome color...it looks sort of antique gold when used over the silver metal...

and here's a quick mini card...

manila cardstock...

the dots and dashes background stamp was inked with 

watering can archival...

red geranium for the lace borders...

scattered straw & brushed corduroy over the whole card...

and jet black archival for the sentiment and bird...

the altered rose was a perfect fit...

so this is another way to use archival inks and reinkers...

for

stamping

stenciling

reinker/rubbing alcohol backgrounds and...

altering!

and that's why

archivals are AWESOME to...

make art!

wendy

ps...next post I'll show you the tag I made using the butterfly & arrow...see you soon!

Q & A and a tip...

this is a quickie post...

I'm off to Carson, California to demo at the original rubber stamp convention...

barring this snow causing any issues...

#&*@...

a light dusting? pardon me...Rick has the tractor out to clean the drive & it's still coming down like a bloody blizzard...

anyway...the convention is...

"a stamp in the hand"...

COME SEE US! we'll have all the latest & greatest supplies to make art...

I've heard from a reliable source that it's warm & sunny with green grass & real live flowers there...I'll let you know...

next...more paste questions to answer...

#1. do Ranger reinkers all work with the embossing pastes? is there a favorite of yours?

  I've used tim's distress reinkers & my archival reinkers and both work just great. one drop is all you need, because they are so very concentrated...

as for having a favorite...they are 2 different, but coordinating, color palettes... so use what you like. I've noticed that when the archival reinker is added to the paste, the drying time may be a bit faster, but it's not significant enough to influence my decision...

either works well & gives us tons of color options for the embossing paste...

alcohol inks & distress paint can also be added, but make sure not to add too much paint to change the consistency of the paste...

I really think reinkers are best...

you can ink over the dry metallic embossing pastes with archival inks or use the reinkers to tint them to any metallic color you want...

#2. can I use crackled paste over matte medium instead of over paste? I'm guessing that will seal it to work.

ok...it does crackle just fine, but if the surface is really bent & flexed, the paste will pop off... this does not happen if you apply the crackle paste over a very thin layer of embossing paste...

when used over embossing paste the crackled texture paste is held very securely in place...and does NOT pop off...

3. how would I add bling on your crackled texture paste? 

there are several ways...

mist the wet or dry pastes with Perfect Pearls mist

or

dust the perfect pearls powders over the paste

or

sprinkle wet paste with rock candy distress glitter

or

with colored glitter

or

if you decide to add glitter after the paste has dried, just add some Glossy Accents or a bit of multi medium, then sprinkle on the bling!

#4. Can I use your alcohol with the reinkers tip on canvas? I bought all your reinkers and would like to try it on canvas. 

it's sort of 50% OK...but not my favorite way to use that technique...

try it on a cheapo canvas & see what you think...

my favorite is still the specialty stamping paper...

you get fabulous results every time!

#5. just how short are you? you seem to be looking UP in the videos I just saw...

HAHA! I'm 5 foot 2.121845 inches...

what happened was that normally the videos are filmed at our demo tables & I stand to demo at that table...

but for a few of the videos from this past CHA, they were filming them at the take & take table, which is short, so people can sit for the make & take...

so you are right...I was looking up at people from the short table...

ok...I think I'm caught up on questions...

did I miss any?

this box of goodies just arrived from Ranger...

and here's a little reminder...

inspiration is EVERYWHERE...

this was at the top of the box...

a collage glue stick...not earth shattering exciting...

BUT...

I can not wait to use up the glue, so I can use the lid for a stamp!

see...it's a triangle...made to fit corners...

the lid will be perfect for a background filler on an art journal page...

and I thought of it before I had to dig it out of the trash!

so there you have it...

inspiration from a simple glue stick...lol!

I found out yesterday that it's

NATIONAL CRAFT MONTH...

where have I been? living under an ink pad?

so I put together a giveaway & it's on my FACEBOOK PAGE, if you'd like to leave a comment there...

the giveaway ends tonight...

I'm giving away this prize package...

and since it's NATIONAL CRAFT MONTH...

I think I'll have another giveaway next week...

stay tuned!

tata...

off to get my nails done...

then it's

California or bust so we can...

make art!

wendy