a PERFECT weekend, a PERFECT trio & a video...

first of all...

I'm sending a HUGE thank you to everyone who attended my classes this past weekend @ The Stamping Place in Columbia, SC.

we had an awesome group of talented VERY fun gals...

& I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the south...AGAIN!

most of the students had attended my past classes there,

so it was so fun to see you & reconnect again...

from the bottom of my heart...

THANKS for your kindness & hospitality!

and for those of you who sent emails telling me to be safe...

THANKS so much!

hurricane Irene didn't bother us one tiny bit...

the weather was perfect...

not a drop of rain...

& my flights were uneventful...

this past week I got several questions about tim's new distress stain...

specifically the PICKET FENCE...

YES...it does separate...

but you will notice that there is a metal mixing ball in the bottle...

so...shake it up before each use & then stain away...

it's AWESOME!

PICKET FENCE is the only stain that needs to be shaken before you use it...

NONE of the other colors have that little ball...

now moving on to the "perfect trio" part of the post...

when I was @ CHA this past July,

I did a video for Christine from SCRAP TIME...

Christine is from Canada & uploads LOTS of videos which are really cool & provide TONS of free inspiration...

check it out...

this time I showed "art parts" with a twist...

the "perfect trio" is art parts, tim's distress stains & Ranger's Perfect Pearls Mists...

in the video I demo this art parts fish...

with the coordinating fish stamp...

using jet black archival ink...

remember...

when dry, Ranger's archival inks allow you to

add water based products (like perfect pearls...distress stains or inks) over the stamped image & the image won't smear or bleed...

you can see the video here, on Christine's site...

I just watched it...

I had to laugh...

it seems like in each video I say something goofy...

this time...I say "WHACK IT" on the table...

instead of tap it...

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bet the bosses @ Ranger are really thrilled to have a professional working for them...LOL!

I'll be interested to know what you think of the video...

Christine likes comments too!

have a fun day &...

make art!

wendy

studio 490/Stampers Anonymous visit...

Australia...

no...not me...

I'm headed south to South Carolina in a few...

but the spider alert girl is featured on the

Aussie Scrap Source blog today,

along with some other awesome art,

using Stampers Anonymous stamps...

the first BEAUTIFUL layout uses my

alphabet border stamp...

this layout is so pretty!

you'll see these leaves used too...

here's spider alert girl again...

with her fun art parts umbrella...

so...grab your big girl panties...

and a beverage & have some fun...

there's TONS of awesome eye candy on this blog...

once you visit, you'll want to take time to admire all the older posts too...

you're guaranteed to be inspired...

if you happen to be in the Hamburg NY area this weekend...

Ted will be there with the whole Stampers Anonymous booth & ALL the new CHA releases too...

here's the info...

I hope you have a good weekend...

I plan to...

make art!

wendy

ps...be safe my east coast friends...

I hope hurricane Irene is very gentle with you...

with the turn of a key...

I went from sad to oh so happy...

a few months ago, the key turned & my local scrap/stamp store closed...

even though it's about 70 miles from here,

it's the closest to me & I considered it my HOME store...

I LOVE the owners, LOVE the staff &

ADORE their customers, who are now my friends...

I was sad to hear of the closing...

back in May I taught @ a new (to me) store in Moline, Illinois called The Scrapbooking Studio...

it's an AWESOME store...

very well stocked with all sorts of goodies...

nice, neat & ORGANIZED...

just what I love...

and a VERY nice staff...

@ the end of the day, Amy Sprague, the owner,

asked my thoughts about opening a store in Bloomington...

she had heard that MY store closed...

fast forward...

the key will be turned on September 17th @ the same location and MY store will re-open with Amy as the new owner...

Jennifer & Malika will be working there again...

they are expert scrappers & instructors, should you need assistance or ideas to get you started...

I'm happy they're back!

rumor is Amy Coon will be teaching there too...

Amy Sprague likes full day EVENTS...

and makes it nice & convenient by including lunch for everyone...

hey... we gotta have energy to...

MAKE ART...

so, on October 29th...

I'll be back @ MY home store for a full day of inky/stamping fun...

workshop details will be announced soon...

now that little turn of the key,

will make me VERY HAPPY...

3 cheers for Amy & best wishes for continued success

@ The Scrapbooking Studio!

since it's getting close to Halloween...

(and everything else I've been creating is TOP SECRET)

I thought I'd share a fun piece I made for tim's idea-ology booth @ CHA, this past July...

it's constructed from an art parts large creative cover, an art parts circle and 2 art parts rulers...

the creative cover was covered with the new Halloween kraft resist paper...

this piece is loaded with fun stuff...

corked vials...

new Halloween adornments...

the title is ransom alpha parts...

you'll see my art parts bottle inked & stamped, then painted with rock candy crackle paint...

and Ranger's memory foil tape creates the seal for the bottle ...

and the dots on the seal are made with the sewing tool that I talked about in the previous post...

I cut the head from the kraft resist paper & used Glue N Seal to add it to Clearly For Art...

that allowed me to heat it & shape it to create a shrunken head, that's nice & sturdy...

I LOVE my spider hanging down...

that's it for today...

I still have LOTS to accomplish before I head south tomorrow to

The Stamping Place in Columbia SC...

I *hope* to be back early tomorrow morning for a quick post with a link to some eye candy...

it's a beautiful sunny day here...

a PERFECT day to...

make art!

wendy

tiny details matter...

it's true...

and I'll show you here...

I stamped my paintbrush stamp on grungeboard, using jet black archival ink...

& cut it out...

then I inked the handle with tim's new brushed corduroy distress stain...

I waited so long for this color!

LOVE IT...LOTS!

and I inked the bristles with faded jeans distress stain...

it looks...ok...

but just...OK...

not spectacular...

YET...

now with a few tiny details added...

I used tim's AWESOME drill punch to make a hole in the handle for a black eyelet...

and a bit of Ranger's Memory Foil Tape to make it look more authentic...

the memory foil tape is self adhesive...

so it's simple to use...

just peel off the backing & add to your art...

the foil was a bit too new looking for my project, so I toned it down with sepia archival ink...

applied with a Cut N Dry nib...

did you know that alcohol blending solution, in addition to lightening, blending & removing alcohol inks,

will remove archival ink from NON-porous surfaces?

it's cool...

because if your stamping is crooked...

or if you apply too much ink...

or don't like the color...

you can remove it & start all over...

like magic!

I found this handy dandy little tool in my mom's sewing stuff, when we cleaned out the house about 7 years ago...

I had no clue what it was...

but it looked interesting & I thought it had potential...

so I saved it...

we used it in my class last weekend & the gals said it's a sewing pattern tracer...

now...with those 2 details...

the paintbrush looks so much better...

here's a closer look @ the foil tape accent...

and because the brush was stamped on grunge, it's simple to shape it & make it dimensional...

just bend the bristles...

crackle paint is another option to add to the bristles...

that looks cute too...

and that eyelet in the handle...

is the finishing touch...

the moral of the story today is that tiny details do matter!

so pay attention to the details when you...

make art!

wendy

ps...one more thing...

stop the press!

about that handy dandy sewing tool...

run it across an ink pad...

and then on to your art...

it adds a subtle detail...

and with lots of ink colors to choose from...

the detail can be any color you need!

books, books & MORE books...

WOW...THANK YOU

to everyone who has ordered my new book #5!

it makes me happy to see the names of those who ordered/ liked the first 4 & are excited to get book #5...

Rick has made several trips to the PO & our PO workers are happy & thanked him for the envelopes...

there is talk of closing our little post office & the extra packages mean job security for them...

so...THANKS from the Oglesby, Illinois postal workers too!

on to book #2...

Mr. Fed-Ex delivered this beauty yesterday...

It's May Flaum's new book & I'm honored to be included, as a contributing artist...

I like this book, because it's a technique based book...

you know I LOVE techniques & new ways to use products...

and I like that May adds LOTS of tips to each technique...

my technique features tim's tissue tape and Ranger's inks...

to create a fun plaid...

it's fun because it works great on lots of surfaces...

like art parts, grungeboard or grungepaper...

Ranger's manila card stock & MORE...

and it can be done with tim's distress inks, Adirondack Color washes, Adirondack PIGMENT inks & now with the distress stains too...

and you can even add Perfect Pearls Mists to the combo...

here's the cover of the book...

I see it here @ Amazon...

CONGRATS May...it's TOTALLY awesome!

and the post title is books, books & books...

here's book #3 for today...

my studio was featured in Cloth Paper Scissors Studios a few years ago...

I was over the moon excited to see my studio on the cover...

you can see it on the right sidebar of my blog...

that's where I...MAKE ART...

now my friend Cate Prato has written this book...

and I'm included again...

YIPPEE!

when the photographer was here, he took lots of photos, but I haven't seen which ones were used for this book...

so I'm anxious & I guess I'll be surprised when it arrives...

Cate is a HUGE tease...

so I didn't even bother to ask her for a peek...

it's useless...

shhhh...

don't tell anyone...

(what happens on the blog, STAYS on the blog) BUT...

I see my friend in also in this book...

here's a HINT...

the involved party's initials are TH...

doesn't this cover shot make you want to grab it & devour every page?

we have a bit to wait...

but not too long...

it's due out THIS November...

here's the info @ Amazon...

CONGRATS to you CATE!

can't wait to see it...

that's it for me for today...

I'm up to my ear lobes in kits...

and packing supplies to ship to The Stamping Place in Columbia, SC for next weekends workshops...

I hope your weekend is great & that you can take some time for yourself to...

make art!

wendy

Hoosier hospitality & HAPPY!

hello my friends!

I had an awesome weekend @ Cafe Crop in Indiana...

each store I visit seems to have something UNIQUE & Cafe Crop is no exception...

in addition to being a beautiful new store...

there are 2 giant flat screens mounted on the walls, with a video system all set up @ the demo table...

this was awesome!

and picture this...

it also has a GIANT fully equipped kitchen...

Tina made us a lasagna dinner on Friday evening...

in the full sized oven...

and then served us HOT chocolate chip cookies for dessert...

she even has a dishwasher there...

and a soda fountain...

and a fancy coffee machine...

all the comforts of home...

so the lucky gals who attend classes there or crop there are SPOILED...

admit it...

VERY SPOILED!

we did 3 fun classes...had lots of laughs & got very inky...

we had gals from Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin & Ohio...

thanks to everyone for the wonderful Hoosier hospitality...

and THANK YOU for the gifts too!

here's the kit for the "inspiration station" class...

I used jet black archival to stamp on the cloth bags with this large background stamp...

archival ink is permanent on fabric...

@ the end of the class we altered the bag with tim's distress stains, which were a huge hit...

they are AWESOME on fabric...

but remember...

NOT permanent...

so not washable...

but perfect fun & easy for art...

next...

here's a peek @ a project from my new book...

book #5...

I LOVE the background stamp...

this set has a fun ruler stamp too...

and the ruler has a coordinating art part...

so simple to ink & make any color you desire...

and here's why I'm HAPPY...

book #5 is on the truck for delivery TODAY!

I didn't expect it until mid-September...

YIPPEE!

AGAIN...THANKS to everyone in Cleveland @ the Stampers Anonymous factory for getting this to us a MONTH early...

they will start shipping out tomorrow...

each book is $14.95 and priority tracked shipping in the US is $5.00...

international shipping is $14.50...

3 books can fit in one mailer, so it you need book 3 or 4 too...

or if you'd like to share shipping with a friend...

that will work out just fine & it will save you shipping $ ...

if you would like to order...

please send an email to wbv1213@me.com

and I will send you a PayPal request...

please let me know if you would like the book signed...

with or without your name...

or if it's a gift for a friend...please include the friend's name...

AND...let me know if it's US shipping or international please...

I'm HAPPY about this too...

this morning I spoke with Cindy, the owner of Blossom Bucket...

we are ON TRACK with our ideas & art...

and we had a brain storming session earlier today...

this will kill me to keep my lips sealed about this new direction studio 490 is taking...

I'm flipping over the top excited...

we have some very fun things planned...

ok...

back to making kits for me...

next stop on this art adventure is the Stamping Place in Columbia, SC @ the end of the month...

this time for southern hospitality...

THANKS for stopping by...

I hope you have a great day & remember...

make art!

wendy

this will make you happy!

3 cheers for Ted & Michelle and all the workers in Cleveland @ Stampers Anonymous!

they always work hard...

but they worked so hard that...

they shipped my new stamps & art parts a full week early!

YIPPEE...

Ted told me the good news last week...

but I didn't want to tell you until I heard that they had been delivered...

so that means they have arrived & are in stock...

if you want to MAKE ART with the new film strip frames...

or the new artful shrine...

or the giant timely pocket watches...

or if you want to play with a potpourri of parts...

YOU CAN!

and all 12 of the new stamp sets have also arrived...

some of my favorites...

SENTIMENTAL ART...this has the vintage lace background...

ART BY HAND...LOVE the scissors stamp with the coordinating art part...

REMNANTS OF ART...because of the ruler stamp with the coordinating art part...

ART FOR MEN...LOVE the fish & the guys...

all with coordinating art parts too!

oh wait...I love them ALL...so I'll quit...

I'm excited to see what you create with these new stamps & art parts...

Ok...back to packing for me...

I'm off in the morning for a weekend of teaching...

I hope your weekend is fun & inky like mine will be...

I hope you can SHOP &

I hope you can...

MAKE ART!

wendy

ps...YIKES...I forgot to say...

ENABLER ALERT! forgive me!