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!