Ranger's GREAT pumpkin challenge...

begins today on the Ranger blog with...

Claudine Hellmuth...

and Jenni Bowlin...

pop over see 2 different versions of the pumpkin...

both are definitely THEIR unique style!

moving on...

a few weeks ago I got an email asking me to answer a few questions...

to make the story short...

the email said that some friends were planning their second annual WWW...

which I was told was short for

WONDERFUL WENDY WEEKEND...

hmm...that grabbed my attention...

she went on to say that the weekend is devoted to eating, shopping & using my stamps & art parts...

and that each person presents a little project

for the group to create...

WOW...that's pretty cool...

the gal told me that she was in charge of the games this time...

& she asked me to answer some questions...

the "winner" gets a home cooked dinner...

it's cooked by the losers...

and the $$$ in the pot, for a shopping spree...

she also said the gals have already answered the questions @ their planning luncheon & they were in sealed envelopes and were being held by their minister...

now that is flippin' hilarious!!!

ok...here we go...

she reminded me that each question should have only one answer to avoid DEBATES!

wow...this is serious business!

here's the answers as of today...

but honestly, some of these ink answers change daily...

1. favorite green ink

peeled paint

2. favorite blue ink

broken china

3. favorite brown ink

brushed corduroy

4. favorite stain

weathered wood

5. favorite crackle paint

rock candy

6. favorite paint dabber

gold

7. favorite color of "clearly for art"

clear

8. favorite art parts package

residences (but the NEW ones are fab! OMG!)

9. favorite background stamp

polka dots

10. favorite stamp/matching art part

scissors

11. mom van or sexy sporty car?

hmmm...SUV...there could be a DEBATE there...

12. color

why BLACK, of course!

13. favorite movie

Wizard of Oz

14. favorite TV show

Anderson Cooper, the daytime program

we DVR it & watch it every evening...

15. favorite flower

red geraniums

16. favorite food

noodles

17. PC or Mac

MAC all the way!

18. number of new stamp sets coming (closest wins)

14

19. state where do you live

Illinois

20. shoe size

6 1/2

21. favorite Tim-Ranger product

distress stains

22. favorite Tim NON Ranger product

scissors

23. favorite Ranger NON Tim product

craft sheet

24. nuts in your cookies?

YES!

25. number of times you have been published (closest wins)

I honestly have no clue on that one...sorry

well gals...I hope you have a fun weekend!

what's for dinner?

I asked SIRI last night if she would help get my make & take stuff ready for the convention this coming weekend in Madison, Wisconsin...

she said...

I take that as a NO...

that's all from me today...

have fun checking out the pumpkins...

then be inspired to...

make art!

wendy

I couldn't wait 'til Monday...

to send HUGE congrats to my friend

Lisa Pace...

look @ her new adventure...

the full reveal is coming SATURDAY...

I've seen them all...

I *think* you'll be impressed...

Lisa...

I'm thrilled that your dream came true and

now you have new stamps to...

make art!

wendy

ps...

another... GO BEARS!

11. 11. 11 blog hop...

Veteran's Day...

a time to celebrate those

both past & present...

who risk their lives to keep us safe...

from the bottom of my heart...

to all who have served...

THANK YOU!

Ranger is participating

in the "Operation Write Home" blog hop...

appropriately scheduled to begin on Veteran's Day...

the starting point is HERE...

grab a beverage...

I think you'll find lots of inspiration...

after I hop...(lol...sounds like a pancake place)

I'll be working on the final details for my new GIFT line of with BLOSSOM BUCKET...

yesterday I got a few more sneak peeks of the prototypes from the new embellishment line...

let me just say...

YIPPEE!

one in particular, made me laugh out loud...

it's a little...funky...

ok...it's actually over the edge funky!

I can not wait to show you...

the new art parts are about finalized too...

I expect to start playing with them in the next week or 2...

another...

YIPPEE!

and after that, I'm headed to the studio

for more tissue wrap play...

I had a few questions about how this is different from "regular" tissue paper...

here's my take...

most importantly...

it's much stronger than "regular" tissue paper...

it takes "abuse" much better...

it has a sort of waxy finish...

it accepts color well...

and it is AWESOME when applied to art parts!

can you say addicting?

seriously...it's very fun stuff...

remember...

next week is the GREAT PUMPKIN CHALLENGE

on the Ranger blog...

it starts on Tuesday with...

OOPS...can't say! it's a surprise!

I'm anxious to see what "THE OTHERS" have created...

"the others" are some of Ranger's FAVORITE designers...

that's it for today...

have a great holiday weekend & I hope you can...

make art!

wendy

ps... GO BEARS!!!

it's a wrap...

but it's so much more...

I ordered tim's new tissue wrap, to use as a wrap...

as tim's says...

hello Captain Obvious!

but I also had an idea brewing for a fun technique...

I started with my art parts small creative cover...

it's a great solid base for art...

I wanted a dry adhesive to attach the tissue wrap to the cover...

I chose Glue Arts High Tac runner...

I LOVE their runners...

this is significant...

as you will see below...

it was simple to use the sanding grip on the edges...

since the tissue wrap is thin...

just a few swipes & the edges looked good...

now here comes THE DISCOVERY...

because the tissue wrap is semi transparent...

the dots from the adhesive were showing thru...

I was soooo excited...

I KNEW what was coming next...

I added broken china & frayed burlap distress stains randomly over the tissue wrap...

then dried it...

and ended up with this amazing background with so much depth & texture, using only 2 simple steps...

1. adhere the wrap

2. stain it...

but, what's REALLY cool is that the background is actually flat...

so it's perfect for stamping...

here you can see that I used jet black archival with my cancellation stamp & the tiny details are crisp & clear...

I hope you can see that the text from the tissue wrap...

and the dots from the adhesive

appear to be deep under the stamping...

I HAD to use this background...

which explains why I didn't cook dinner...

again...

the photo below shows my belt stamp...

with an extra little detail...

I stamped it twice on grungeboard...

and used just the portion with the buckle & the end,

as the second layer...

because it's grunge, I could bend the end for extra dimension...

a small detail with a big impact...

and it gave the guy a place to stand...

here's the finished piece...

my guy is holding an art parts pen nib & dipping it into

the diamond inks bottle...

the bling you see is from rock candy distress stickles...

but like the infomercial says...

wait...there's more...

another idea popped in...

what would happen if I added

Claudine's gesso

over the tissue wrap???

I got this result...

this started the same way...

the tissue wrap was added to the art part base with the Glue Art runner...

then I used Ranger's craft scrapper to apply an uneven thin coat of gesso over the tissue wrap...

dried it...

and again added broken china & frayed burlap distress stains...

and dried them...

then I used the blending tool to add shading to the edges with walnut stain...

the text still shows & the dots do too...

that's as much as I can show...

this background is going to be the starting point for a CHA project...

tissue wrap is FUN stuff!

***news flash***

save the date!

next week Ranger's blog will be all about

THE GREAT pumpkin challenge...

several of us were sent a pumpkin to alter...

here a peek @ mine...

oops wrong photo...

that's the BEFORE...

so sorry...

lol!!!

so save the date & plan to be inspired next week...

I *think* it will be great fun...

and speaking of fun...

I have a few more ideas to try with the wrap...

it's GREAT for covering large art parts...

next, I'll use it on the sweetheart frame...

there are some other *things* I NEED to try...

this stuff has a MILLION possibilities...

I hope you're inspired to play...

it's a rainy UGLY day AGAIN...

but I don't care...

I'm headed to the studio to...

make art!

wendy

clearly for...CHRISTMAS...

I got an email last week from Betty Bennett...

she wanted to show me a Christmas ornament that she made, using my "clearly for art"...

I LOVED it!

I think this will make a great holiday hostess gift...

because...

it's quick & easy...

it's reasonably priced...

the ornaments are already 50% off in most stores...

and CFA is VERY reasonably priced...

thanks to TED!

and most importantly...

and it's fun to make...

I bet you probably already have the supplies needed...

take a look...

cool huh???

so to take Betty's idea a bit further...

think about using "clearly for art BLACKOUT"...

stamped with the gold or silver paint dabber...

this would result in a very classy/elegant effect...

my leaf stamp is perfect...

it makes a fun poinsettia...

it would also be fun to use a clear ornament & fill it with shredded vintage text...

or just shred an old telephone book...

or...

you can really customize it by adding a special photo inside the clear ornament...

how cool would it be to gift someone with a photo of their home in the ornament?

or each child with their own special ornament?

the possibilities really are endless...

and if you use a larger ornament...

my poinsettia stamp would work well on the top...

or...think about my tree...

added to the front of the ornament...

instead of the top...

or for a small size ornament...

the holly, stamped on CFA would be awesome...

and think about the CFA WHITEOUT...

inked with pale alcohol ink colors...

then added to a coordinating ornament...

my favorite is JUNIPER!

you can also add BLING IN A BOTTLE...

aka Perfect Pearls mists...

the BLACKOUT lightly misted with Perfect Pearls mist is REALLY cool!

try the new BRONZE PP mist ...

or my old standby fav...heirloom gold...

or the green patina is perfect for holiday art...

even though CFA is kind of plastic-ish...

the PP Mist adheres very well...

so grab some alcohol ink to color the CFA...

and your paint dabbers to use with BLACKOUT...

a few ornaments...

and for sure some Rock Candy stickles to add the perfect vintage shimmer...

and get an early start on some holiday gifts...

handmade is best!

THANKS BETTY!...I LOVE your idea!

and speaking of ideas...

I'm off to play with tim's new tissue wrap...

I *think* the idea will work...

stay tuned...

one more thing...

I got a funny email with a bunch of questions...

so that will be *coming* soon-ish...

like this week...

now where's that tissue wrap?

it's time to play &

make art!

wendy

ps...I ALMOST forgot...YIKES...

GO BEARS!

playing with jenni bowlin & studio 490...

well...I didn't actually get to play WITH jenni...

she lives in Tennessee & I'm in Illinois...

but I DID combine some of her cool products with mine & I made her this little "thank you" gift...

I started with an art parts rectangle frame base...

art parts make a nice sturdy base...

an art parts scallop trim...

2 art parts leaves...inked with forest moss stain...

and stamped with the old standby screen background...

her initials are ledger alphas, inked with weathered wood...

and dotted with the BLACK Sakura glaze pen...

MUCH easier than adding mini rhinestones...

the dots dry a bit raised & add the perfect little detail...

the photo below shows a cool discovery...

I heated her black doily flowers & was able to shape them & make them dimensional...

they are flat right out of the package...

but easily made dimensional, with a little heat...

I LOVED the look...black flowers...

I'm in heaven!

they also come in a great red (thinking holiday cards!)...

they could easily be a poinsettia center for my poinsettia stamp......

& an off white, which can easily be altered with alcohol inks...

for a million color possibilities...

the weathered wood flower is jenni paper over my clearly for art...

I adhered the paper to the CFA with Ranger's Glue N Seal...

matte finish...

the flower center is a jenni decorative brad...

and here's a portion of the doily flower peeking out & used flat...

I'll be back next week with a guest designer & a very fun HOLIDAY project...

it's something quick & easy that will make a great hostess gift...

that's it for today...

remember...

take some time this weekend to...

make art!

wendy

art, fit for a queen...

I'm celebrating good news!!!!!

my CHA W-12 stamp images are finished & sent off to be magically transformed into real rubber stamps...

for release late January...

my CHA W-12 ART PARTS are finished...(almost)...

I just need to decide on what's included in the packages...

I been working on *a little something* & it's moving along well...

so... I *thought* I deserved a play day...

and play I did...

the idea has been brewing since tim introduced the rock candy crackle paint...

I wanted to use it on glass...

but since the crackle paint needs "tooth" to grab onto...

the glass was too slick for the crackle to do it's job...

believe me...I did try...

I sanded the glass...or so I thought...

then painted the crackle on the glass...let it dry...

it looked beautiful...

UNTIL...

I picked it up to inspect it...

then it all fell off...

lol...

so I knew it would be a cool effect...

if I could get it to work...

and I did...

the glass bottle below is right from the store...

(a Marshall's find)

I painted on a thin layer of Ranger's Glue N Seal...

I like the matte finish...

and let it dry...

when it was completely dry...

I attacked it with the crackle paint...

I was bound & DETERMINED to make this work...

I don't give up easily...

I wanted big cracks...

so I painted on a pretty thick layer...

then added some extra strength drips...

then I sat & crossed my fingers...

and stared @ the bottle...

pure MAGIC!!!!!

I am IN LOVE...

I used pumice stone distress stain to accent the cracks...

and a bit of espresso pigment ink,

added with the blending tool...

for a little more color...

here's the finished bottle...

a total transformation...

from brand spankin new...

to very vintage...

with the addition of a little lace,

an idea-ology tassel & some foliage leaves,

a Maya Road vintage trinket button...

and some rhinestone trim...

the crackle effect is flippin cool, if I say so myself...

it's even better than I expected...

it's now...

art...FIT FOR A QUEEN!

I think this new awesome cracked glass technique

has LOTS of possibilities...

I've got an idea-ology corked vial drying now...

it's looking really good!

and speaking of awesome...

how about the new seasonal distress inks for winter?

makes you drool...kind of AWESOME!!!

what beautiful colors...

I hope you can grab a generic bottle, some Glue N Seal...

this is the big bottle...no brush...

but more cost effective to refill the small bottle (that has the brush)...

some rock candy crackle paint...

same thing here...large bottle to refill the small...

this is just too much fun...

I hope you're inspired to play along and

make art!

wendy

ps...it's NOT TOO SOON...

to start making your holiday gifts...

YIKES! it's Nov 1st...

pss...I realized why I'm shaky...

I made a project WITHOUT a rubber stamp...

I thought that was IMPOSSIBLE...

I better remedy that NOW...

phew...