never ever give up...

today I'm sharing a quick little card...

I cut a piece of my white magic mat board to 

3 x 4 ½ inches...

then gave it a quick coat of the collage medium, using the collage brush...

I don't cover the whole surface, 

but you sure could...

I like that the edges will absorb more color for instant shading...

you can see the cool brush strokes & how they add another layer to the background,

 with no effort at all...

just apply the medium vertically & horizontally...

being impatient...

yep...that's ME...

I like that this dries super quick & can also be blasted with the heat tool to speed it up, if needed...

next I scribbled the 

chipped sapphire & peeled paint distress crayons over the surface & blended them with the digital blending tool...

(aka...finger)...

and then slightly moist paper towel...

I used jet black to stamp the lace border toward the bottom...

what I REALLY like about the crayons is that they can be removed with stencils...

I got a batch of really over saturated wet wipes from Costco, 

so that made me think about other methods for using water to remove color...

a moist paper towel works...

but...

I'm really liking using a moist 

mini blending tool...

it gets in all the tiny stencil areas very easily...

I mist a bit of water onto the craft sheet, pick it up with the blending tool & then rub it over the stencil...

I used the alphabets stencil on the top & 

the lots of dots stencil on the bottom...

as a side note, the foam does pick up the removed color, but it doesn't transfer it later...

so, even though the foam looks ugly

I just keep using one foam for this technique...

so far it looks like this after using

 the tarnished brass paint dabber

 to edge the base......

I inked the old wood floor background stamp with cornflower blue & stamped it over the base, above the dots...

the more layers the better...

subtle...

I like  LOVE this stamp LOTS...

and here's the finished card...

the hydrangea & bow were stamped with jet black onto newsprint paper that is adhered to clearly for art...

with glue n seal...

the hydrangea was inked with forget-me-not & cornflower blue archival...

and just a tiny hint of violet...

I used leaf green & fern green for the leaves...

the hydrangea is

popped up with foam adhesive...

it's a really great adhesive for clearly for art...

black glaze pen dots accent each individual bloom...

the sentiment is from 

the new just say it background stamp...

all the little details matter...

after cutting out the little bow & inking it 

with red geranium, 

I stamped over it with 

the ticking background, using jet black...

I added a remnant rub to the nailhead &

 another to the left of the flower...

you can see that in the photo above...

I always need to add a little pen stitching around the edges...

obsessed...

it's mounted on black cardstock, 

then a mixed media cardstock card...

this is a nice neutral color...

if you haven't tried the crayons yet, 

this is a quickie project

and a fun way 

to test drive them & experiment...

I hope you can

take a little time 

for YOU and

make art!

wendy

a large art journal page...

it started like this...

I cut a large page 

 from

 specialty stamping paper...

and sized it to fit the 

large art journal cover...

about 8 ½ x 6 inches...

I misted on some leaf green archival spray & some sky blue archival spray & dried the page...

(archival reinkers mixed with 

rubbing alcohol into misters)

I stamped the violet bouquet with 

glacier white pigment ink 

and used white embossing powder...

to "watercolor" with archival inks...

swipe the pad onto the craft sheet,

adding just a small amount of ink 

it takes very little ink...

add a few drops of rubbing alcohol off to the side...

this will dilute the color as needed & allow it to be painted in layers...

I like the detailer water brush...

I use it empty & just moisten it in the alcohol...

now just paint away & dry between layers...

the embossing helps control the ink, making it easy to paint...

once I had the bouquet painted, I touched the water moistened detailer water brush into water & then touched it to the tip of

 the hickory smoke distress crayon ...

this made a good shadow color...

the embossing makes it super easy to go along the outline...

since the page base is archival ink (waterproof) & 

the crayons are water reactive distress, 

they work very well together...

the archival doesn't smear & the distress crayon color stays true...

 I got this far & ran out of time & ideas...

initially,

I had no clue where this was going...

sometimes you just have to START...

but sometimes an image guides the process...

 here's the finished page...

I started with the borders stencil...

did you see that I used all 3 stencil sections?

it's a good versatile stencil...

the diamonds are stenciled vertical...

the scallop was made thinner by masking part of it off with painters tape...

and...

the sky blue diagonal border

is a little technique twist...

stencil it once, then flip it over & stencil again to create a lattice pattern...

I used sky blue for both, but you could use 2 coordinating colors...

the cut out sentiments are all from 

the new "just say it" background stamp...

there are 21 sentiments on this guy!

the violets are here...

and the large sentiment is here...

I customized a mat mini button 

with leaf green archival...

it's lightly inked, then over stamped with 

the ticking background, 

using fern green...

stamp once...

reink...

turn the stamp 90 degrees & 

stamp again to create the cute mini plaid...

I stamped random vintage text in the background, using watering can archival...

I like to use stamps unmounted,

 to add in text wherever it is needed...

this makes it easier to control & add just small sections...

a few stenciled dots, using sky blue...

a few black glaze pen dots...

a few waterproof lines...

I rounded the 2 right corners...

why 2? not all 4? 

 no clue...

I opened the drawer & saw the corner rounder...

I like it...

I think I'll do that more often!

LOVE the black mat mini heart to tie in with the jet black stenciled scallop border...

the violet, leaf green & sky blue inks look fresh & spring-ish...

like sandal weather...

and the sentiments are good reminders...

HAPPY MONDAY!

I hope you can

make art!

wendy

ps...just a reminder...

when using specialty stamping paper, make sure to dry it between each addition of ink...

the magic coating slows down the drying time & EVERYTHING need to be dried, 

specialty stamping paper is

 GREAT STUFF &

 it helps to make awesome pages!

best of all...

nothing seeps thru to the back,

 so the back page can have a fresh start!

doilies, dots and...

crazing medium...

meet my newest addiction...

cheapo paper doilies...

this started as a #8 tag that I cut down 

to 5 ½ inches tall...

if you haven't tried cutting off ¾ of an inch, 

you'll be surprised at how it changes

 the proportions of the tag...

I used watering can & sunflower archival sprays to add the first layer to the background...

(archival reinkers mixed into rubbing alcohol in a mister)...

I added the paper doily with 

the matte collage medium...

then decided to add the crazing medium to several spots...

I tried making it a little thicker, to add a bit of texture...

I'll show close ups below...

to alter the stark white doily, 

I scribbled over it with 

the fossilized amber distress crayon, 

pressing the color into the doily recesses, where you would expect some darker color...

then with a moist paper towel, I lightly wiped over the top of doily to lighten the color...

my sentiment was stamped with

 jet black archival...

the leaves were stenciled with

 leaf green archival...

the white mat mini heart was inked with

 red geranium archival & 

then stamped with this stripes stamp,

 using jet black...

the mat mini hearts package

has a sheet of white hearts & a sheet of black hearts for a total of 42 hearts...

they come in lots of shapes & sizes to fit any project...

the white hearts allow ink to be used & I LOVE the black used plain or with embossing powder or embossing paste...

the bow was stamped on a scrap of

 clearly for art/newsprint paper, 

cut out, 

inked with red geranium &

 stamped with the polka dot background stamp, using jet black...

it's attached with

 the new small hex fastener...

to define the doily border & 

add some shading, I used 

the hickory smoke distress crayon & 

wiped away the excess from the background with a moist paper towel, leaving the color close to the doily edge...

look closely & you'll see random vintage text stamped, using watering can archival...

the lace border is stamped at the top 

with jet black...

it's on this set...

vertically along the left side 

of the storage sheet...

you'll see I used the old ledger stencil

on the left side, with watering can archival...

on the right I used new the lots of dots stencil

 with red geranium archival...

once that was dry, 

I added tiny white dots over the red geranium, using Dy's new white paint pen...

it works very well!

those white dots made a big impact on the red dots...

now we have...

double dots!

I used the tarnished brass paint dabber to edge the whole tag...

it's an easy, but effective finishing touch...

a little pen stitching 

along the center of the doily &

 that's it!

this shows that using the collage brush adds another texture to the background...

vary the direction of the brush strokes for more detail...

I like that you can create a linen-ish background...

the collage medium 

actually makes the doily look 

embedded into the tag...

it's almost an encaustic effect...

this one shows the thick drop of

crazing medium I added

and accented with 

the hickory smoke distress crayon...

COOL STUFF!

and there's the smaller crazing medium 

spot I added...

loving the crazing effect...

and that it does NOT chip off

 if the tag is flexed...

this photo shows the "double dots" 

and the random text...

you'll be seeing lots more double dots...

I like them!

the background is flat...

but it has lots of stamped/stenciled layers 

to make it interesting...

there's LOTS on the TO-DO list today...

BUT...

I'd rather...

 make art!

wendy

ps...FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY TODAY...

don't miss it!

if you're not seeing my posts there, 

I'm told if you go to the page & LIKE,

 then hover over the little arrow to turn ON notifications...

that helps!

no Downton...

NO football...

so I did a blog post!

here's a quick reminder to look at your stamps to see how you can use just portions of them...

here's the vintage lace background stamp...

if you use a tiny section of it...
( a good way to use scraps)

there's a little flower...

to add to the center of this new flower...
remember...
every detail matters...

I think violet & sunflower archival inks 

look great together...

and here's the finished tag...

I LOVE the texture

 that the translucent embossing paste adds, to make the background more interesting...

I spread it thru the old ledger stencil...

let it dry...

then misted the tag with violet archival spray & sunflower archival spray...

by masking off a portion of the scallop stencil, it can be stenciled in any width...

this time it's skinny...

with the leaves stencil in place, it's easy to use an unmounted stamp to add stamping to the leaves, but not the background...

see the dots?

I used the lots of dots stencil with a mini blending tool moistened with rubbing alcohol to lighten the archival ink & add another layer to the background...

this tag did not have collage medium as a base...

the ink removal is less dramatic & much more subtle,

than when using it over collage medium...

I really like both ways...

here's my tag...

NEWSFLASH...

Linda, the Funkie Junkie is moving to a new location to have more space for more products...
CONGRATS!

she's having a moving sale, 
so there's less for them to move...

 she's offering an 
extra 15% off the clearance section...


here's the link to the clearance section...

 http://www.thefunkiejunkie.com/category_s/1515.htmclick=1843

I spotted LOTS of good stuff...

stamp sets...

my favorite large hosta...
I use the leaves LOTS...
they are versatile...

tim's crazy things Sizzix die set...
it's a steal...

violet embossing powder...

and the violet archival ink I used today!

the gorgeous flip frame!

the vintage quilt stencil...

there's really a nice selection...

check it out...

 http://www.thefunkiejunkie.com/category_s/1515.htmclick=1843

back to the studio for me...

I want to
make art!
wendy

back from FABULOUS Carson!

well...

things didn't go quite as planned, 
but all is good...
very good...

I had big plans to post lots of demo photos on Instagram...

and maybe even to test drive Periscope...

B U T...

we were B U S Y!

REALLY...
SUPER B U S Y...

holy cow! these ladies had fun &
SHOPPED!

and some of them sat &
 watched me demo for hours...

I had a blast...

here's a little sample that I shared there...

this is a page from my new
mat mini "fat little book"...

it uses both the distress crayons 
(over collage medium)
 and my yummy archival reinkers as sprays...

the collage medium is perfect with both the crayons & the archival inks...

when you get the crayons...

make sure to get a collage medium too...

it makes the crayons blend easier & it extends their blending time...
it's magic stuff...

best of all, you can remove the crayons easily, if they are added over collage medium...
all 3 collage mediums 
work exactly the same...

the collage mediums work 
with the archival inks really well too...

you'll see that below...

I used my alphabets stencil 
with a moist (alcohol) mini blending tool 
 to remove the archival inks...

here's the steps I used 
to create this page...
1...paint a thin layer of collage medium onto the mat mini book page & add the doily...then immediately another layer
 of collage medium & make sure it's dry...

2...mist over the page with the archival sprays & dry...
(archival reinkers mixed with rubbing alcohol)
you can read that post here...
I used orange blossom &
cornflower blue for this example...

3...scribble the distress crayon over the doily, putting most of the crayon into the recessed pattern on the doily...just rub with your finger...

4...use a moist (water) paper towel to lighten the top part of the doily...leaving the crayon darker in the recesses...

5...stencil the leaves with fern green & dry...

6...moisten a mini blending tool with rubbing alcohol & use it with the alphabets stencil to remove the archival sprays...
I did this in 3 background 
areas outside the doily...

7...lightly ink the vintage text background stamp with watering can archival & use the unmounted stamp to randomly add text to the background...

8...use a black stabilo pencil to define the doily center & outline & smudge with your finger...

9......stamp the flower onto a scrap of
 clearly for art that is covered
 with newsprint paper... 
ink the flower with red geranium and tea rose archival inks, cut out, add foam adhesive to the back and add over the leaves...

10...stamp the sentiment, using jet black archival & dry...

11...ink the mat mini heart with red geranium ink & sprinkle with the custom brick embossing powder 
(1 scoop red geranium powder, 
one scoop orange blossom,
 2 scoops frosted crystal &
 ½ scoop watering can ) then heat to melt...

12...use the distress crayons to add color to any spaces that need more color...I swipe my finger on the crayon to pick up the color for good control & color placement...

13...use the tarnished brass distress paint dabber to edge the page & pen stitching is the final touch...
oh & a black glaze pen dot at the end of the leaves & to accent the flower center...

here's my page...

just a reminder...
use WATER to remove the distress crayons 
and 
use RUBBING ALCOHOL 
to remove/lighten the archival inks...

here's something I learned...

 all paper doilies are not created equal...
who knew?

my mat mini book is 4 ½ inches square, so I bought the 4 inch paper doilies, from the baking section of hobby lobby or michael's...

they are perfect...

I spotted another package that said
 "grease resistant"...

they looked thicker & my expectation was that they would add even more dimension...

not so...

they reacted with the collage medium & got really wrinkled & made a mess...
they ended up in the trash...
very weird!
it must be something about the grease resistant component...

so...

the cheapest paper doily worked perfectly!
you can see it looks almost embedded into the page...
there are no wrinkles...
it's really cool...

so, in this instance...

cheapo paper doilies are better!

cool!

in the photo below, you can see how I rubbed 
the crayon into the recesses of the doily & wiped away some of the crayons from the surface of the doily...

I hope I've inspired you to grab your supplies and...

make art!
wendy
ps..I scored some GIVEAWAYS from Ted, 
so be watching 
FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM...
I LOVE flash giveaways!

I'll have one here next week!

Q & A day...

 I wanted to answer a few questions today...

#1...where can we find your stamps and stencils in the UK? I have the powders, but the stamps & stencils are elusive. 

there's no way for us to know which stores worldwide have our products in stock & when they sell out.

my advice is to contact a LSS store in the UK & ask them to order what you are looking for. I'm sure they'd be happy to help. 

 I have sent people to

Ben at Art from the Heart, in the UK. 

he orders frequently from both Ranger & Stampers Anonymous, so he can certainly get whatever you need,

be it products from the past or

 those that are newly released...

shipping should be reasonable, 

since he's shipping to you from the UK...

hope that helps...

#2...do you have any tips for

 using the distress crayons?

the one thing that REALLY makes a big difference is to use them OVER a dry layer of collage medium...

any of the 3 will work well...

matte

crazing or

vintage...

the advantage is that you have a much longer open time for blending them with your fingers...

you can also easily remove the colors ( thru a stencil with water/wet wipe) when they're added over the collage medium...

that's how I like them best...

I love the collage brushes because they add subtle texture to the surface...

psst..I've been using them with the archival sprays...

more about that coming soon...

the crayons are also cool for adding shadows...

and 

I like to paint with them, by touching the wet detailer water brush right to the tip of the crayon...

that works really well over archival inks...

search the net for tim's videos & you'll see lots more about how he uses them...

#3...I like the idea of using reinkers to make archival sprays. I have some color washes. how would these compare to the color washes? same? different?

the color washes are a permanent fabric dye. they have very intense color & are greatly intensified by adding water... 

one tiny drop goes a L O N G way...

the archival sprays are a dye ink.  they are permanent, even after being mixed with rubbing alcohol, to create the solution... 

they work on fabric & paper surfaces...

they are 2 really different products...

#4...have you used inks to stencil over felt/fabric?

I haven't used the archival over felt, 

but it should work just fine...

here's a CHA sample that uses 

the new repeating quilt stencil...

I added tim's new textile surfaces to a piece of my magic mat board, then cut the heart, using an old Sizzix heart die...

you can see that inks are awesome on fabric...

the textile surfaces are self adhesive, so no problems with adhesive seeping thru!

here's a closer look...

the main colors are the new gorgeous

garden patina & leaf green...

it's really a nice surface for stenciling...

love the mini plaid!

#5...I've shared your simple stencil cleaning technique that you showed us at CHA. wow.

so.much.better.

ok...I had NO clue that this was such a big deal. what I do when cleaning archival ink from my stencil is this...

place the stencil on a paper towel 

(kitchen roll for my UK friends),

then mist the stencil with rubbing alcohol, fold the paper towel over & dry both sides at once...

I have the alcohol in a distress sprayer...

if you just mist the stencil right on the craft sheet, you keep laying the stencil in wetness & it takes longer to clean...

it's not a big deal if you used a small portion of a stencil, but for background stencils, it does work much faster...

#6...will you be in Rockford this weekend?

well...that was this past weekend & I wasn't...

you can always see my teaching/demo schedule 

on the right sidebar...

I do my best to keep it up to date & I still have a few more "things" to add...

#7...I was disappointed that you didn't get us potting soil embossing powder...

please say it's coming.

my fingers are crossed here...

 sometimes you have to wait for good things...

notice that I said nothing about patience...

I have none...

#8...I enjoy your art journaling pages, but haven't seen any in awhile...

here's one I did this past weekend...

it's a page from my mat mini "fat little book"...

this uses the distress crayons and the spray archival inks...

the "never enough hearts" stencil & a REALLY old pointing finger stamp...

the sentiment is brand new...

it's completely flat...

but with lots of layers, I like it...

I'll be doing more posts about this soon-ish...

ok that's it for today...

I'll try to get another post in this week before I head out...

I'll be at the Carson convention this coming weekend...
I haven't been there for a few years, so I'm excited to visit & demo there again...
come see us!

we'll have everything you need to...

make art!
wendy
ps..
for those coming to the Carson show...
tell me you're a blog friend &
 I'll have a little gift for you!