no tricks, but I do have a TREAT!

I'm O V E R Halloween & on to...

CHRISTMAS...

but I DO have a Halloween treat for you today...

keep reading...

let's start today's project...

I originally planned to make an ornament, but this piece took me on another adventure...

I started with one of my original art parts...

the 3 inch square frame...

art parts LOVE embossing powder, as you'll see...

starting on the left side of the solid base piece,

 I used leaf green archival to stencil the large tree, then the smaller tree, 

then the large tree again...

making sure to vary the height of the trees...

and also to vary the intensity of the leaf green...

it looked like this...

next,

I added gathered twigs to the whole background with the blending tool...

the next step was to use snow cap pigment ink with my spatter background stamp to add "snow" to the base...

psst...the spatter stamp is back in stock!

working on the smallest art parts house from the "residences" art parts set...

psst...these make cool ornaments & are fun to customize for gifts to package decor...

I'll be making some samples to post here...

I used tree branch archival with the mini blending tool to stencil the "yikes, stripes" stencil...

using it sideways makes it look like a log house!

hey...you might have to use your imagination on this one!

I inked the art parts roof with watering archival ink, then added the watering can embossing powder & heated it to melt the powder...

I inked the frame with forget-me-not archival ink & sprinkled on the cornflower blue embossing powder...

before melting the powder, I wiped away the powder from the edges of the frame...

I like this worn effect...

after the powder cooled, I added some potting soil archival ink over the frame...

I used jet black archival to stamp the sentiment at the top & bottom of the frame...

*remember* to give it a quick dry...

the frame looked like this...

I'm totally loving the texture the embossing powder creates...

I used a small piece of the industrious border sticker & altered it with tree branch archival...

I LOVE the industrious stickers so much...

they are so easy fun to change to any color with the archival inks...

this started out as a silver sticker... 

I used Glue N Seal 

(so HAPPY it's BACK!)

to add a dictionary page to the clear version of clearly for art...

then stamped the holly with jet black...

the coordinating stencil makes it fast to ink just the holly leaves...

I used fern green with the mini blending tool...

love  how it works!

after repositioning the stencil, it was time to add red geranium to the little berries...

after I cut out the holly, I heated it to soften the CFA & then shaped the leaves...

after gluing the frame to the solid base, 

I added a tiny bit of Glossy Accents to the lower left corner & sprinkled on 

the yummy rock candy glitter...

I wanted it to appear that the snow had accumulated in the corner...

this is where this piece took on a life of it's own...

I originally planned to make this a hanging tree ornament, but I felt it needed a larger base...

the base is the insert from the large square art parts frame...

I inked it with tree branch, sprinkled on the tree branch embossing powder...

wiped the powder off the edges & blasted it with the embossing tool to melt the powder...

I added potting soil to the edges & to the perimeter of the frame...

I knew the center would b covered...

here's a blast from the past...

this background stamp is from my very first stamp release, W A Y  back in July of 2008...

it's LCS007

it has teeny tiny script that says...

"have yourself a merry little Christmas"...

I stamped it over the base using potting soil...

after shaking the tarnished brass distress stain, I added a gold edge to the base...

*make sure the dabber top is fairly dry...NOT saturated*...

and here's everything all assembled...

do you see the log cabin?

after everything was glued in place, I added bits of "snow" to the roof & a little pile of "snow" just above the berries...

I used the glitter "snow" in 3 areas to create a visual triangle...

haha...almost makes me feel like I know what I'm talking about...

so instead of an ornament, 

I have a fun little shelf-sitter...

NOW...

I HAVE A TREAT

for YOU...

I have the

HAPPY HOLIDAYS stencil

and

the HOLIDAY ICONS SiSi to give away...

just leave a comment on this post & Rick will choose a lucky winner who will get BOTH the stencil & the SiSi...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN to you!

enjoy your weekend & remember to

get out your supplies, eat candy &

make art!

wendy

we have a new family member...

welcome to 

THE ADORABLE...

wait 'til you see...

Will Wamhoff...

Will's parents are Jackie & Steve Wamhoff...

if you're familiar with Inky Antics stamps, 

Jackie is the creative director...

stampers anonymous, inky antics, darcie's & art gone wild are all sister stamp companies...

(owned by Ted & Michelle)

so that makes Will our family!

Rick & I have been cheering for Will since we saw the first ultrasound...

after about 10 weeks of bedrest, 

yikes...

(I can't even  imagine, Jackie is AMAZING)

Jackie delivered Will last 

week on October 19th...

he was 3 pounds & 11 ounces, and he's already gaining weight & making huge progress...

if you'd like to follow Will's progress or send a note of encouragement or 

CONGRATS 

to Jackie & Steve, 

you can visit 

Will's page at the CaringBridge...

sometimes Jackie does the updates & sometimes...

if he's not busy playing video games, 

Will does the updates...

look how cute he is...

what a sweet face!

I love his hair!

I thought it would be fun to send them a 

"first Christmas" ornament frame...

with a place to put Will's photo...

below is another Hobby Lobby find...

it's about 3 ½  inches across...

to color the frame I inked it with red geranium archival ink & sprinkled it with red geranium embossing powder while the ink was wet...

& heated it to melt the embossing powder...

I wanted a smooth/enamel finish this time, so I added 2 more layers of embossing powder...

next, after shaking the tarnished brass distress paint, I dispensed some onto the craft sheet & used my finger to randomly add it to the frame edge...

normally at this point I would have added potting soil to age the frame...

but...

Jackie's style is not vintage & since this is for a baby, I skipped the potting soil ink...

that kept the frame bright red...

I used snow cap white pigment ink with my spatter background stamp & stamped over the frame, then dried it...

it looks like snow...

to customize the frame, I decided to add the year with remnant rubs...

they are on the front of the glass...

I used the white remnant rub to add the sentiment to the removable back portion...

this will eventually be covered by the photo,

 but it makes a better presentation to have something on the back...

next comes my FAV glue n seal...

I painted a thin layer over a sheet of (clear) clearly for art,

added the vintage dictionary page, brayered it, then gave it a quick dry...

glue n seal is THE BEST paper adhesive EVER...

there is no bubbling of the paper...

it's THE BEST 

for adhering paper to any surface...

trust me...

I used jet black archival to stamp the holly on the paper side...

it's from the holiday icons SiSi...

(stamp & stencil in the same package)...

the coordinating stencil fits over the stamped image...

this allows inking of just the holly leaves with the mini blending tool...

I used fern green on the leaves...

you can see that the stencil masks off & protects the berry portion...

so far, it looks like this...

next, I repositioned the stencil so that the leaves are protected & the berries are ready for some ink...

I used red geranium...

I cut out the holly, then heated the CFA to soften it & then shaped the leaves...

now I have a strong embellishment that won't bend or break...

archival ink is permanent & won't fade...

 I wanted to add something over the screw eye that came on the ornament...

I found this in my stash...

it looks like some sort of hook closure button?

I used red embroidery floss to tie in onto the screw eye...

and a tiny bit of hot glue on the back to make it extra secure...

Ranger's new BLACK foam tape is ideal for adding CFA to multiple surfaces...

it adds just the perfect height & the foam has a great adhesive...

and...

it comes in BLACK, 

making it much less noticeable from the side...

I used it to add the holly to the frame...

here's Will's super simple finished frame...

this is a super quick project & it can be created many ways...

 I want to make a few more...

maybe without the glass?

and maybe with some dimension

 inside the frame?

I think this will make 

a cute package decoration...

for a box or a gift bag...

and it would be fun to send these instead of Christmas cards...

that's it for today!

lots to do...

enjoy your day & take time to...

make art!

wendy

embossing powders on multiple surfaces...

happy weekend my friends!

here's a fun little shelf sitter I made a few weeks ago for the Collin's event in Florida...

I wanted to show that many different surfaces work great with embossing powders...

if it can take the heat, 

it CAN be embossed!

below you'll see that I've used them

 on tim's Sizzix pumpkin...

it's die cut cut from my clearly for art...

that allowed me to heat the pieces & then shape the pieces & make them more dimensional...

you'll see fern green embossing powder used on the letterpress...

and

on the metal hinge clip...

the small tattered floral flowers were cut from clearly for art blackout & embossed with 

orange blossom embossing powder...

the orange blossom embossing powder was also used to change up the metal foliage flowers...

that spider stamp inspired the remnant rub sentiment...

BRAVE is a state of mind...

I am NOT brave around real spiders...

I really HATE THEM...

did you notice the remnant rubs on 

the linen ribbon 

that I added to the blossom bucket witches hat?

it's a fun way to customize ribbon...

not sure why the background paper looks so light on the next photo...

hmmm...

just ignore it please...

here's a closer look at the faux graniteware technique on the pumpkin & you can see the mini text added to the letterpress...

I LOVE the flourish stamp so much...

that's it for today...

I hope you can take some time to relax this weekend and...

make art!

wendy

ps...for those of you hunting looking for 

Glue N Seal...

here's the little jar with the brush & 

the larger size jar that I use to refill the smaller...

using them together is the best value...

playing with powders, paste...

and bare wood!

inexpensive plain wood ornaments have unlimited potential and can be used with so many products for a MILLION different results...

here's one way to alter this 5 inch tall wood tree...

from Hobby Lobby...

grab your fern green archival ink & 

fern green embossing powder...

use the brushed corduroy distress marker to color the trunk...

add fern green archival ink over the tree, then sprinkle on the fern green embossing powder while the ink is still wet...

heat to emboss...

use potting soil archival ink with 

the checkmate stencil 

to add the pattern to the tree trunk...

ahhh..

cute...

oops...forgot the photo...

add potting soil ink to the green tree edges...

then...

use snow cap white pigment ink with the spatter stamp to stamp over the tree & give it a quick dry...

using the happy holidays stencil...

apply gold metallic embossing paste thru the larger "merry christmas", with a palette knife...

I added it at the bottom of the tree...

then set it aside to dry...

add gold metallic embossing paste to the art parts star & pounce the palette knife over the paste to create texture...

it's kind of like making the peaks in meringue... 

set that aside to dry...

it will dry with the texture...

when the paste has dried, use the blending tool to add potting soil to create an aged metallic effect...

I also added a tiny bit of watering can archival to the very edges of the star & now it looks like this...

YIPPEE!

Glue N Seal is back!

I LIGHTLY added some around the outside edge of the star, then sprinkled on 

the rock candy distress glitter...

then added the remnant rub after the glue n seal had dried...

remnant rubs are fantastic over uneven surfaces...

swipe the letterpress over the tree branch archival pad, then sprinkle with 

the tree branch embossing powder &

 heat to emboss...

while the powder was still hot, I added a second layer of the powder to create a completely smooth enamel effect...

using one layer of embossing powder gives a textured result...

adding the second layer makes it very smooth...

I used potting soil to stamp the tiny text over each of the letterpress...

the next photo shows how to

 alter the ice skates...

the top is the original...right from the package & the bottom one is altered...

I used my finger with a very small amount of

gold metallic embossing paste & 

tapped it onto the front of the ice skates...

I left the blade portion silver...

then I added some potting soil ink after the paste had dried, which was only a minute, since I used such a small amount of paste...

using the hemostat to hold these really helped...

and it's a really handy tool for embossing small pieces...

it protects your fingers from the embossing tool...

next I added remnant rub words to each skate...

put them on a jump ring & attached the jump ring to the screw eye...

all ready to go...

to change up the linen ribbon...

after shaking the tarnished brass distress stain, dispense some onto the craft sheet & swipe the linen ribbon thru the stain & dry...

I darkened it with a bit of potting soil...

and twisted the middle to make it thinner...

now the star gets glued to the top of the tree...

the letterpress get glued on above the metallic sentiment...

leaving room to attach the ice skates with the screw eye...

the linen ribbon gets tied to the tree trunk & I also added a second screw eye...

so...

from this...

to this...

yes...I AM addicted to letterpress & I don't want the cure!

below you can see the raised gold embossing paste sentiment and the little rub ons on the skates...

I DO believe that

every detail does matter...

instead of sending a card, how fun it will be to surprise some "special people" with a handmade ornament?

did you notice that

I needed an O...

so I used the Q upside down...

hey...

it's ART...

there are NO RULES!

be on the lookout for bare wood items...

 Hobby Lobby is loaded with so many fun holiday choices...

I picked up quite a few, for very little $$$

and I'll be sharing more altering ideas in coming blog posts...

I LOVE home decor type stuff...

I picked up several of these same wood trees, 

so I think it will be fun to share 

several completely different ways 

to change them up...

stay tuned!

now...

I'm off with my sweetheart 

to celebrate today...

loved him then...

love him even more now...

little did he know then that he would be promoted to HEAD OF SHIPPING & RECEIVING!

haha...

I hope you're inspired to pick up some bare wood

and gather your supplies...

so YOU CAN...

make art!

wendy

ps...THE BEARS STILL SUCK!