come visit the Ranger blog!

I hope you can take a few minutes to

pop over to 

the Ranger blog 

for a tutorial for

 a THANK YOU card...

here's a little peek...

it uses the 

new rectangle collage background stamp

and the new 

select-a-sentiment stamp-it stencil-it...

I found it here...

and...here...

and here...

if you have the 

original select-a stencil upper case and 

lower case, they work perfectly in the label area...

you can say anything...

any word...

any name...

any date...

and just a little scoop...

this is one hugely popular (just restocked)

 stamp-it stencil-it, 

so expect to see an add on, that's a perfect fit...

shhh...

that a secret...

for blog friends only!

in the tutorial you'll learn 2 ways to use my new

gorgeous enamel accents...

if you haven't tried them...

I hope this will give you some ideas...

I love to add Dina's (paint tip)

fine tip applicator

 to the enamel accents...

just pop off the nozzle and 

screw the applicator on...

 you can make dots extra easily...

and the stylet keeps 

the enamel accents flowing...

I'm loving multicolored background stamping, and it's so easy with tim's stamp platform...

this is a GREAT must have tool...

every detail was 

very well planned and perfectly executed...

I'm using it daily!

this combo of potting soil and watering can is a favorite, with the new 

rectangle collage background stamp...

brown & grey doesn't sound too cool,

 but trust me...

IT IS!

here's the new mini archival pads...

they'll be shipping soon...

after you have them, 

I'll be posting some fun ways to use them...

they are super convenient for adding multiple colors to a stamp...

it's TRUE...

size DOES matter!

ps...they are super cute too!

OK...

ready...

set...

GO 

over to Ranger and check it out!

after that...

I think you should 

enjoy yourself and

make art!

wendy

a holiday tutorial...

it's over on the Ranger blog & includes the supply list & step out photos to create this fun little home decor piece...

it's a great way to use up old packaging material, cardstock scraps, small pieces of tinsel twine,  Clearly for Art & idea-ology trimmings...

it's also fun to alter some things we've had for a bit & make them fresh & perfectly color coordinated with embossing powders...

 the technique I shared is

 how to create a faux graniteware effect 

with snow cap pigment ink & this spatter background stamp...

you'll find the scoop here...

running back to the studio now...

I'm in full blown

make (CHA) art mode!

wendy

ps...just you wait to see ALL the CHA goodies coming...

I'm having a blast...

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

more embossing powder play...

a few days ago, 

I took some time to just play...

for me...

not to do a step by step blog post, 

but to just relax & P L A Y...

this is still my hobby!

I wanted time to P L A Y 

with these guys...

I had so much fun that I wanted to share the finished piece with my blog friends...

I had an assemblage clock that I took out several times over the last few months...

but the inspiration was hiding & I decided to save the clock for the perfect idea...

I'm so glad I did...

here's what I created...

a faux graniteware home decor piece...

this clock is so easy to alter because it's designed to be disassembled...

with the pieces apart & working in sections,

I tapped cornflower blue archival ink over the metal clock, sprinkled on 

the cornflower blue embossing powder 

& heated it to melt the powder...

***remember***

heated metal is H O T, so take your time...

after the embossing powder cooled, I used my unmounted spatter stamp with snow cap white pigment ink to add the dots & make it look more authentic...

after drying the snow cap, I tapped on some potting soil archival ink with the blending tool...

I kept it mainly on the edges where you would expect normal wear to occur...

potting soil is the best color 

over ALL 6 of the embossing powders...

I also added some mushroom alcohol ink to the edges of the glass to make the glass look more vintage...

 you'll also see that I distressed the metal between the bells...

I painted it with glue n seal...

the matte finish & sprinkled on just a few bits of the vintage photo distress embossing powder...

I didn't heat it...the glue n seal keeps it in place & it looks & feels like rust...

it's not easy to photograph with the glass, but I hope you can see the "grass"...

since this is our home...

see the 490?...

I wanted it to look real...

I opened 4 or 5 of the woodlands wreaths, misted them with peeled paint distress spray stain & hot glued them in place in front of the house...

since they are flexible, it was easy to fit the curve of the clock...

tada...

GRASS!

I used my embossing powders on the letterpress...

and on the art parts residence...

on the art parts word ENJOY...

and on the little art parts flowers you'll see in the first & last photos...

here's a better look at the grass...

all assembled, it looks like this...

think about these ideas...

this clock can be created in any color theme & would make an awesome holiday gift...

it could be a Christmas theme,

with a mini tree in front of the house...

or an everyday theme like this one...

I think it's the perfect gift for a new home owner...

just add their house number...

if they have a long house number, the number could be added to the glass with remnant rubs...

you could also use this as an anniversary gift & include the date of the wedding...

and use a heart or their photo as the focal point...

or customize it with letterpress name or initials for a wedding gift...

gotta run...

I'm off to Orlando for The Collin's event...

this is a great event, where we teach, do make & takes & get lots of time to visit with store owners...

see you next week...

have a great weekend...

I hope you're ready to

grab an assemblage clock...

and...

make art!

wendy

it's trophy time...

tim's new Sizzix trophy dies were the inspiration for this project...

I spotted (zoomed in on) them back in January at CHA & immediately the wheels were spinning wildly...

I had so many ideas on how to use them...

I KNEW that my metallic embossing pastes, combined with the dies, would be a fun play...

and they were...

WARNING...NO FLOWERS were used on this tag...

shocking!

hey...I didn't want you to faint!

the tag went like this...

I spread some silver metallic embossing paste on a piece of manila card stock & heated it with the heat tool to bubble it & add texture...

when the paste was completely dry, I die cut this trophy...

to create an aged effect, I randomly tapped on some dandelion,  hydrangea, leaf green & watering can archival inks & dried them...

then after shaking the brushed pewter distress paint, I added some in random areas...just using my finger...

now my trophy looks very vintage...

I stuck an oval industrious sticker to my craft sheet & rubbed over it with watering can archival, then dried it...

the oval frame is a perfect fit & a great spot to highlight the remnant rubs...

oops...forgot one photo...

on the finished tag you'll see that I added another remnant rub to the base...

I love this trophy!

I wanted to make the trophy partially dimensional...

to do that, I added a scrap of clearly for art (CFA) on the back, to the bowl portion of the trophy, with Glossy Accents...

then heated it to soften the CFA...

and rounded it a bit...

the CFA will hold the shape...

to create the base for the tag, I used the archival reinker/rubbing alcohol technique, but on a manila tag, instead of my usual specialty stamping paper...

if you're using manila card stock...

the key here is LOTS of alcohol (surgical spirits for my UK friends)...

don't be skimpy...

I chose a blue background (to look like water), because I knew I would be stamping a fish...

the next photo shows lots of rubbing alcohol with 1 drop of the forget me not reinker & one drop of the cornflower blue archival reinker...

it's important to mix the color into the rubbing alcohol so there are no intense drops of the reinker...

next, I laid the tag in the alcohol/reinker fluid & immediately it soaks thru the manila card stock...

this is the front before it was dried...

it's amazing that using so much (rubbing alcohol) fluid,  does not warp the manila card stock at all...

the downside of using manila is that you have almost no chance to manipulate the colors like you do when the same technique is done on specialty stamping paper...

the fluid soaks in immediately when using manila...

you can dry it & add another layer, if needed...

sometimes the back turns out really ugly, which is why I use specialty stamping paper for my art journal pages with this technique...

but...oddly enough, this time I liked the tag back better, so I used that...

next, I used jet black archival to stamp my fish...

then used distress markers & the detail water brush to color the top portion of the fish...

his butt is going inside the trophy, so I didn't bother coloring his bottom half...

next I added some random background stamping with the vintage mesh background stamp & tree branch archival...

haha...it looks like a fish net!

the edges needed some brushed corduroy to start a frame effect...

then I used the detail water brush to add some water drops...

tap the detail water brush sharply on your finger & it will dispense random tiny water dots...

***one thing to note*** is that my archival reinker background is waterproof, so the water spots are only where I applied the brushed corduroy distress ink...

it's a cool effect & kind of look like fish bubbles...

 I started adding remnant rubs...

these rulers were perfect, since size is important when you catch a fish...

I put the cap from my tim scissors in the photo, because that's how I like to apply the remnant rubs...

try it...works like a charm...

the tag edges were still too light, so this time I added some gathered twigs...

the background still needed more, so I used watering can archival on the unmounted A to Z background stamp & randomly stamped the background...

I wanted the trophy to have a base to sit on, so I used an industrious trim piece & inked that with potting soil archival & dried it...

the trim got added to the very bottom of the tag...

to keep the fishing theme going, I created a realistic fish hook by cutting off a portion of the hook part of a small swivel clasp...

I removed the chain & hooked the 2 jump rings together & added it to the top of the tag...

I had to trim off about ⅛ of an inch at the top of the tag so I could close the jump ring & not squish the tag...

hmmm...

it wasn't quite finished...

I added a shadow around the fish with the iced spruce distress marker & the detail water brush...

I added some tiny inky dots with faded jeans distress stain & the detail water brush...

and I darkened the top border with the stabilo pencil...

I just drew a line & smeared it with my finger...

now...here's my finished trophy tag...

I think this is great for a guy...

this same idea could also easily be made into a card if you're not in the mood to create a tag...

I will use it for my nephew's birthday, since he is an avid fisherman...

I added "best day ever" remnant rubs to the base...

to let him know that it was "the best day ever" when he was born!

in the next photo you can see how that scrap of CFA makes the trophy dimensional, but not too dimensional to mail...

and you can get a better look at the embossing paste texture on the trophy too...

one other tiny detail that didn't show up very well...

I added a drop of Glossy Accents to the fish eye...it looks cool...

I like that I used 2 background stamps with 2 archival colors & they don't compete in the background...

tree branch & watering can are both awesome for background stamping...

I have to say that I had a blast making this tag...

these trophies have so many possibilities & can be used for any occasion & for both guys & girls...

I think they would be so cute for a child on a special day...

and I LOVE that they are perfect to use with the metallic embossing pastes...die cut embossing paste is magic!

I have more ideas brewing...in fact I already have another tag done...

and a 3rd one started...

have a good one my friends!

I hope YOU can

take time to

make (trophy tag) art!

wendy