pigments and pearls...part 1

As promised...
I have a fun new technique to share...
it's another way to use Ranger's pigment inks...
to achieve a totally different look.

If you've not used the pigment inks before, they are a fast drying pigment ink that provide opaque coverage very easily.

Here's sailboat blue tapped onto a Maya Road chipboard number...

The ink would have dried in about 15 minutes, but I dried it with the heat tool, since I am not patient...



As you can see here...it's the perfect base for stamping...
Sailboat is a nice vibrant blue...and you'll see sailboat blue in the tag it's sitting on...like I said...it's a whole different look!


So...on to the tutorial...

But first...
I have to tell you that this technique is a take off of Tim's wrinkle free distress technique.
It's just one of the techniques I learned @ Ranger U...

Tim uses distress ink and water...it's an awesome look!

I had an idea to try the pigment inks and add perfect pearls, to create a cloudy...shimmery background.
I really wasn't sure that it would work...but I thought it was worth a try.

Since the distress inks are transparent...and the pigment inks are opaque...you'll see that the look is really different.

Here's the supplies you'll need to play along...

The Ranger inkssentials craft sheet

The Heat it tool...FINALLY!! It's back in stock & even better than before! eclecticPaperie has ordered it...should be here soon!

A mini mister

some perfect pearls...I chose perfect gold for these samples

a kraft stick

a manila tag

2 colors of Ranger's pigment inks

First, get your shimmer spray mixed & ready...

Dip the kraft stick into the perfect pearls & drop a tiny bit (whatever stays on the end) into a mini mister.
Fill with water to the last "r" in Ranger & shake to mix.

For the first sample I used butterscotch & denim.



Lightly tap the pads directly onto the craft sheet...
to look like this.


Now mist the inked area with the perfect pearls mixture, to create beads of color.

It should look like this.
Take note of the lower left hand corner...the colors have already started to mix...I LIKE it!



Lay a tag over the inked area & swipe your hand over the tag to apply the base coat of color.

DO NOT drag the tag thru the ink...
it's makes mud...
TRUST ME!

Dry the tag & it will look like this...


Now on the craft sheet you'll see these beads of color.
The perfect pearls are all around the outside of the beads...
and the colors have mixed...
interesting!



Lightly tap the tag onto the craft sheet to pick up the color.
Dry & repeat until you get a look you like.

Make sure to DRY between adding layers of color.

STOP when you like it...
TRUST ME...stop so you don't kill it!

Here's mine...
I love how the 2 inks combined to make some way cool colors...
The perfect pearls add just the right amount of shimmer...
the layers add depth and interest to the background.



The next sample is sailboat blue (same color as I used for the chipboard above) and bottle pigment ink...
misted again with perfect gold perfect pearls.

I put too much sailboat on the sheet, so I just wiped some away with my finger.
The nice thing about pigments it that they don't stain your fingers...



Here's the result...done the same way.
Sure makes that sailboat look a whole lot different. AGREE?


Next I used red pepper and lettuce pigment inks...
along with the perfect gold Perfect Pearls.



Keep in mind that once the Perfect Pearls are mixed with water, they're set.
No special sprays or fixatives are needed.
The shimmer won't rub off.


Here's my last color combo...eggplant & denim.
It's much prettier than this photo shows...
another TRUST ME!

Actually...the tags all look MUCH better in person!

The shimmer is very subtle...vintage...but elegant.

So if you've been playing along, we have some awesome backgrounds.

What can we do with them?

What are the options?

I have some ideas to share...

Coming soon to a blog near you...

pigments and pearls part 2.

Stay tuned...

I hope you're inspired to get out your inks & play and then...

make art!

wendy

ps...just wait 'til you see the background with espresso & black pigments...

BLACK? Who would have thought?

REALLY?

I tried that just for the heck of it & I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

The Perfect Pearls are the key...

3 ways...

with ONE stamp!

As a flower...


or a pumpkin...



or as the center of a flower...



a giant flower!



The moral of the post today?

Always look @ the possibilities ...what else could it be?

Coming next week...
my pigments & pearls tutorial...sorry to make you wait...

I tried to do it today, but NO SUN in Illinois...again...
makes for not good photos...

Have a great weekend.
Remember to take time ...
look @ the possibilities...
and then...
make art!
wendy

rules for life...

and another CHA sample...

This list of "rules" is one of the first stamps I designed for my 3rd release. The idea was brewing for a long time...

My thought is to do a mini book, with RULES as the theme...someday...

I also thought this would be a fun stamp for scrappers...
just cut out the rule that fits a photo...

This tag is a combination of LOTS of studio 490 stamps...some are new & some are from previous releases...
they all work together...just as I planned...


There's tim's film strip ribbon again...and on top of it is one of his new word sticks.

Here's a better look @ the background. It's a fun technique I discovered while playing with pigment inks & Perfect pearls, while getting my demo samples ready for CHA.



The background is pigment inks...red pepper & lettuce & also my fav sunflower sparkle Perfect Pearls.

I was suprised to get this look with the pigments, because they are an opaque ink, which gives great coverage over chipboard.

When combined with Perfect Pearls...the look is totally different...kind of chalky looking...I LIKE it!

***I see the inks are on sale @ EclecticPaperie, if you NEED some to play***I'm just saying...SALE!

I'll do a "how to", just as soon as I get some things checked off the TO DO NOW list!

Until then...
make art!
wendy

always dream big...

that's the motto for today!

This is a little piece of art that I made for Tim's idea-ology booth @ CHA...
It's loaded with lots of his findings...the more the better for me.

Take a look...you'll see hinge clips, link chain, foliage, fasteners, mini paper clips, sprocket gear, game spinner, snap, muse token and the new ADORABLE film strip ribbon.
BTW...the film strip is attached with the tiny attacher and the saying is stamped on a journaling tag. Underneath that is a chipboard ATC from Maya Road.

All these goodies on a base that's just 3 x 4 inches!
Like I said...it's loaded!
This was fun.



The saying, the background, the flower and polka dots are all studio 490 stamps.

The flower is stamped on grungepaper and it's inked with broken china distress ink.

That's it for today...dream big and look @ the parts and pieces to see what fits together.

I hope you're inspired to play and ...
make art!
wendy

a rose is a rose...

WARNING...these roses are addicting...just like all the other flowers are...

Just remember...
I TOLD YOU SO...
FUN & ADDICTING!

Let's get started...

Using jet black archival ink, stamp the studio 490 6 petal flower 3 times on the smooth side of the grungepaper.

Cut out all 3 flowers and cut them as shown below.


Ink the front and the back of the flowers with the distress ink color of your choice, using the blending tool.
I used faded jeans for the sample.

Stamp all 3 flowers, front & back with any background stamp.
I applied just a bit of jet black archival ink, for a subtle background and used this studio 490 screen stamp.

Roll the petals of each flower to form.
MAGICALLY, grunge holds the shape.

Overlap the petals & glue as shown.

Trim off the points of the smallest 2 flowers, to fit inside each other.

Using the 2 petals that were cut off, form the rose center.

Using the single petal roll to form the final center petal.

The little clips are from Home Depot...
they are found in the electronics section.


Using the largest flower as the base, assemble the flower & glue each section in place.

The centers are last.

It should now look like this...

TADA...
the finished rose and gingham stamped leaves.




Now...to answer some questions...

1. What color ink did I use on the pumpkin in the previous post?
It's Spiced marmalade.

2. How much perfect pearls go into the mini mister to make the shimmer mist?
I just pick up some with the end of a craft stick and whatever small amount stays on the end is the amount I use.
It really doesn't take much.

3. Is it a drop or dropperful for the distress ink/perfect pearls color shimmer mist?
it's a FULL dropper full of any distress ink color.

4. Are you taking book preorders?
No...I'll announce it on the blog when I have them here & they're ready to ship. I'll make sure I have plenty for my blog friends.

5. Do we pay with checks or PayPal?
I have PayPal all set up & ready to go. I think that makes it easier, safer and quicker for everyone.

6. What's your favorite stamp set?
YIKES...you MUST be kidding...it's like kids...how could I possibly choose one?

I hope you take some time for fun & try these roses...

Speaking of FUN...one more thing...

Check out Tim's blog post about the AWESOME Disney adventure we had @ CHA.

Just reading his post made my heart pound with excitement.

What an amazing...totally unexpected time we had...I thought we were going for dinner! It was the PERFECT birthday celebration for Mario.

Again...

THANK YOU to Tim & Mario for including me and to Michelle & Chuck for making the magic happen.

What a wonderful memory,with wonderful friends!

Now it's time to...

make(rose) art!

wendy

CHA photos, a HERO ARTS thanks and book update

I wanted to share a few more photos of some CHA projects...

This tag uses a brand new technique for the background.
It's hard to believe, but it's Ranger's pigment inks and Perfect Pearls...

It's kind of hard to photograph, but it's really pretty in person. I'll do a "how to" as soon as I have a little time to spare.

The rose is made with the 6 petal flower on my dimensional rose set of stamps.
It's stamped 3 times...and turned into this fun flower.

Another "rose how to" is in the works. SOON!



Here's a better look @ the rose & leaves...

The mini butterfly is from this set and they are covered with Ranger's new rock candy distress stickles.

Hello Ranger? I'll be buying a gallon of these stickles.
They are AWESOME!
*EDITED*to answer emails......they're shipping in AUGUST!

NEXT...
Here's a total grunge hanging...made from just one page of tim's grungeboard book and embellished with lots of his idea-ology trinkets.

I'll be ordering 100 packages of the new film strip ribbon.
OMG! I LOVE IT!!!

It's shipping @ the end of August & I'll let you know when it's in stock @ eclecticPaperie.

It was simple to attach with the tiny attacher.

I LOVE my flower, stamped on grungepaper and used as a pumpkin...and you already know I LOVE the snaps.

The game spinners make perfect butterfly bodies...or flower stems....or even spinners!

The border stamp is here.


NEXT...
Hero Arts was our neighbor booth @ CHA and I was gifted with some very cool stamps from them.

THANK YOU HERO ARTS!!!

Here's a card I made...especially for you...
It's stamped on kraft colored cardstock...
and then...



I stamped the large flower 3 times on grungepaper and covered it with the new rock candy stickles...
I stamped the smaller flower twice.



NEXT...
make art, studio 490 style book update...

It's being printed THIS WEEK!! YIPPEE!!

I will have a limited number of copies for sale on the blog...
HOPEFULLY by next week...

Stores told me they are expecting them in 2 weeks...
I'll keep you posted...

and will there be a contest with a giveaway when it arrives??

YOU BET!!!

THANKS for asking!

That's the Monday news from here...
Time for me to...
make art!
wendy

cha was a WINNER and we have a WINNER!

CHA was definitely a winner...

The number of vendors was less, but that made for more relaxing days.

There was plenty of time for shopping, asking questions, watching demos, and doing our fab make & takes without being rushed.

I had a blast doing demos and answering questions, meeting friends, helping tim in his classes,giving away FREE stuff, shopping with Suze, going for fun dinners...
and having the much needed mojito!

Ranger's booth was buzzing every day...no surprise there...

Each time I stopped to visit my friends @ the Maya Road booth...it was packed.
Again...this is the norm in their booth.

Stampers Anonymous was always busy too!

According to Ted (Mr Stampers Anonymous) studio 490 stamp sales were great.

And...my book orders were even better than we hoped for.

YIPPEE!
I'm soooooooo happy you liked my stuff!
THANK YOU!!!

We started the Florida adventure on Sunday evening with an AMAZING behind the scenes DISNEY tour...

I knew I was invited for dinner, but I had NO CLUE what else was planned.

THANK YOU CHUCK & MICHELLE!!

Since Chuck is a 20 year employee @ DISNEY...we got a wonderful opportunity to "go behind those red velvet ropes".
I'm sure tim will tell you all about it next week.

I'm not one for scarry rides ...but I was brave & rode the "tower of terror".
HOLY TOLEDO!

Poor Mario is sporting a sore left arm from me grabbing it & holding on for dear life.

Mario said..."wow...you sure are strong!" as he was rubbing his arm to get the circulation back! HA!!

Tim & Mario probably have no ear druns left from me yelling...

AH...but it was worth it!
Thanks guys for including me on this amazing adventure.

I did take my camera...but I didn't even take one photo...
typical me.

BUT...here's some EXCITING photos I think you'll like...

The RANGER giveaway box....


Ranger donated these 21 items, that I used in my book...

the inkssentials craft sheet
a set of Perfect Pearls
blending tool
replacement foam pads
a package of mini misters
pen nibs
3 archival inks
snowcap white pigment ink
9 distress ink pads...yes... NINE!!
gold paint dabber and
fired brick distress stickles

add that to these products...donated by tim...

there are 15!

3...yes 3! packages of fragments
hinge clips
ball chain
mini paper clips
mini pins
numerals
stencil type
5...yes 5 LARGE masks and his
texture hammer



THANK YOU Ranger & tim for being so generous to my blog friends!

The retail value of this box is $217.00!!!
How cool is that!!

So, if you've been adding the numbers...

there are 36 items in this yummy box...

I printed out the entries with the correct number...

We tossed them in a basket and I asked Rick to choose the winning entry.

Hey...you're my friends...I don't want anyone mad @ me...

blame Rick!

Here's what he pulled out..

DRUMROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The winner is.........




CONGRATS PAPERQUEEN!!!

Please email your address & we'll get this box packed & shipped off to you!

THANKS to everyone for the wonderful comments and for playing along.

This was so much fun that we'll be doing it again...SOON!

VERY SOON!!

Time to unpack...
then it's time to...
make art!
wendy