even more Q & A's...

it seems like every time I do a Q & A post, the questions start coming again...

keep in mind that if there isn't an email associated with your blog comment, I can't answer...

so those questions get put in a file until I do another Q & A post...

if you need a quick answer, email is best...

here's more Q's...

#1...On your recommendationI bought jet black. it fits my needs well. thanks. I'll see you in Akron on Saturday & I'm hoping you won't be bombarded with people. I'd like you to have time to help me  and suggest 6 colors of your archival that go together and I could use them a lot.  I'd like them all, but I need to start with 6 inks and maybe 3-4 embossing powders.

ok...this is a very common question that I get mostly at conventions...

so...here's how I tell people to approach it...

I'll put an * by the ones that have a coordinating embossing powder...

that might be helpful when deciding on your colors...

there are 2 greens...choose 1...

leaf green 

*fern green

there are 2 reds...choose 1... 

carnation red 

 *red geranium

there are 3 blues...choose 1...

*cornflower blue

forget-me-not

*sky blue

there are 2 yellows...choose 1...

*buttercup

dandelion

here's the neutrals...choose 1...

hydrangea

*watering can

*tree branch

potting soil

choose your favorite one from this group...

*pink peony...NEW

*lilac...NEW

*tiger lily...NEW

*orange blossom

*tea rose

the green is great for leaves/flowers & Christmas, as is the red choice...

 starting with 6 gives you lots of color combos to choose from for all year round...

once you choose your colors, the coordinating embossing powders will be easy...

or maybe they will help you choose the ink colors

happy shopping!
see you Saturday!

#2. I enjoyed & learned a ton from your post about the different inks. I have referenced it multiple times. You said that distress inks keep their original color when wet. When I clean my craft sheet with a paper towel and water, I see unique colors that are definitely not distress colors. Any idea why?

ok...here's my thought on this...

REMEMBER...

I'm not a chemist, but I'm thinking that paper towels must have some chemical or maybe bleach in them that interacts with the inks & changes the color...

 again...just my guess...

adding water to distress 

(or any water based product) 

to your art will not alter the distress ink colors...

they stay true...

#3. what a great tag. where did you find the ticking stamp?

this was a question about an old post...

all the way back to 2010...

the ticking background stamp is on this set...

LCS040 titled art fit for a queen...

your local store or fav on-line store can order any older sets for you...just ask!

which reminds me...

did you know that

the Stampers Anonymous web site has had a MAJOR re*do?

it's a great resource for hunting down older stamps...
the search feature is really nice now!

since our stamps are made in Cleveland, 
Ted & his crew can make us any of the oldies...
they never need to be discontinued...

#4. I'm hoping that you'll come up with paints to match your ink colors. PLEASE???

And I hope you'll keep the beautiful archival colors coming!

sorry...no plans for paints...

more archival inks?

I AGREE!

YES PLEASE!

never enough inks!

#5. I wanted to say thanks for getting us 
Glue & Seal back. 
Combined with your clearly for art 
and newsprint I've found my mojo again.
Do you use the clear more than the black & white with newsprint?

COOL!!! that make me HAPPY!
I think I do use the clear more with newsprint, but the black or white will work the exact same, if that's what you have...

the white clearly for art is
really awesome with alcohol inks...

the blackout is awesome with 
the silver or gold metallic embossing pastes...
the translucent paste is cool too...

here's an example of the difference between using newsprint & vintage dictionary text on clearly for art...

here's the coneflower SiSi
with the vintage dictionary page...
and the cute mat mini flower pot...

same coneflower with my plain newsprint...

I like that the polka dots I stamped

 don't get lost in the text...

#6. My friend said you showed a tip to keep glossy accents from plugging up. 

I have had EXCELLENT results using 

the new fine tip applicator...

I'm using it on the mini glossy accents bottles and on the mini multi medium bottles too...

I've been using them since I got them...

maybe a month or 6 weeks ago?

just pull the tip off & toss it & add the fine tip applicator...

LOVE LOVE LOVE...

NO CLOGS!

LOVE LOVE LOVE...

LOVE LOVE LOVE...

LOVE LOVE LOVE...

LOVE LOVE LOVE...

that's it for today...

time to pack demo stuff & sandals for 

the Adventures in Stamping convention 

this weekend in Akron, Ohio...

click the colored link to get the show scoop...

hours, location etc...

hope to see you there!

if you're coming, 

TELL ME that you're a BLOG FRIEND
& 

I'll have a little something for YOU!

our Stampers Anonymous booth will be 

LOADED with tons of COOL SUPPLIES to...

make art!

wendy
ps...NEW inks & embossing powders start shipping this coming MONDAY!
CAN  NOT  WAIT!

INTRODUCING...

YES...

ALL CAPS...

because I'm super excited to share my new product...

studio 490 NEWSPRINT PAPER...

here's what the package looks like...

it has 50 sheets & it's a bargain...

THANKS TED!

and I'm happy...

 it's READY to ship NOW!

YIPPEE!

so...what's the big deal?

in the past I've used vintage dictionary pages to cover my "clearly for art"...

one day as I was making some flower samples,

that text really annoyed me...

 I wanted to stamp a pattern over the flower...

BUT...

the dictionary text really competed 

with the stamp & it became lost...

& looked really chaotic...

that got me thinking...

I wish I had a thin 

white paper with NO TEXT...

tada...

NEWSPRINT PAPER 

is the perfect answer...

the next photo shows the HUGE difference...

on the left is the marigold SiSi , 

stamped on vintage dictionary paper...

on the right...

 the same marigold,

stamped on NEWSPRINT PAPER...

with the flower on the right, I can easily stamp polka dots, text, plaid...

really, any pattern over the flower

 to change it up big time...

the actual detail of the stamped image also shows up much better...

here's how it works...

you can use any of 

the 3 "clearly for art"(CFA) colors...

clear...

white...

or black...

all 3 CFA flavors 

work exactly the same...

the next photo shows 30 sheets of CFA that are covered with NEWSPRINT PAPER, in preparation for my upcoming classes...

I covered 30 sheets in 20 minutes...

it's simple!

and this photo shows that there is 

NO BUBBLING 

on any of them...

I brush a thin layer of GLUE N SEAL onto the CFA, lay the NEWSPRINT PAPER on the CFA sheet, burnish it down by rubbing my hand over it, then I give it a very quick dry with the Ranger heat tool...

like 5 seconds...

done!

glue n seal is the KEY 

for adhering paper to ANY surface...

always add glue n seal to the solid surface...

NOT the paper...

NEWSPRINT, 

clearly for art & Glue N Seal work together perfectly!

I am L O V I N G the CFA covered with NEWSPRINT for these reasons...

1. it totally changes the CFA & allows us to easily create very strong & sturdy, 

very dimensional custom embellishments

 for our art...

we get the beauty & ease of working on paper,

 but the CFA adds extreme durability...

2. we can use both archival inks and distress inks to color the surface...

both work very well...

distress inks do not work directly on CFA...

they wipe right off...

but on NEWSPRINT?

they are PERFECT!

3. archival inks and distress inks are translucent inks...

now we can use them on a sturdy white surface and see the beautiful true colors of the inks...

4. the CFA can still be warmed to soften it, which allows us to shape the pieces...

adding the NEWSPRINT 

does not affect that property...

5. we can get more versatility from stamps when using them with NEWSPRINT covered CFA...

6. we can also cover art parts with NEWSPRINT to change those pieces from kraft colored to white!

because the paper is thin & the art parts are sturdy, just sand away the excess paper from the edges, for a perfect edge...

7. NEWSPRINT is inexpensive & 

won't break the bank!

so...what's THE BEST adhesive 

for LAYERING CFA?

the only product I'm using is 

the new BLACK foam adhesive...

it adds the perfect dimension between the layers & the adhesive is VERY strong...

I like the black best, because it isn't visible between the layers...

this is a good photo of that marigold again...

you can see much more detail on the NEWSPRINT...

and again...these layers can easily be stamped...

because the CFA is so strong...

these thin tiny ends of this thistle are rock solid...

cut from plain cardstock, they would be much more fragile...

if I'm taking the time to make something, I want a good presentation & I want it to last!

here's probably my most favorite flower...

this little hosta...

I L O V E this little guy...

see the thin stem?

it's amazingly strong & won't bend or break off...

this little egg gives you some perspective of the size of the hosta stem...

it super T I N Y!

the paper mache egg is the size of a real egg...

so that's my newest baby...

I think you'll love it as much as I do...

NEWSPRINT PAPER...

your local stores can order it for you right from Stampers Anonymous...

just ask them!

or the colored links will take you to

my fav on-line shopping spots...

NEWSPRINT PAPER...

try it when you...

make art!

wendy

ps...

one more thing about glue n seal...

the BEST VALUE is to get the little jar 

(I LOVE the convenience of the built in brush)

and the large jar to refill the small jar...

the large jar can also be used with foam brushes for larger surfaces...

like a full sheet of clearly for art 

or an art parts stencil cover...

HAPPY WEEKEND!

ornate frame hanging ornament...

if you're like me...

sometimes things don't go as planned...

yesterday I felt a NEED to play & make an art journal page...

this had been on my mind for several days...

that was my original plan...

I started by covering a 5 x 6 piece of manila cardstock with a new adhesive sheet...

this magic sheet changes die cuts into stickers...

that's the back...

on the front, I spread on my gold metallic embossing paste...

you can see it's a very uneven layer...

some areas are very thin...

some are much thicker...perfect!

the "unique" thing about the metallic pastes (both the gold & silver) is that if you blast them with the embossing tool while the paste is wet, you can create bubbles & texture in the paste & it dries with really cool texture...

so here's the sheet after I blasted it to dry the paste...

it's a very pretty gold metallic with texture...

next, I used tim's sizzix ornate frame die...

 now I have a frame for today & an extra gold metallic oval all ready for another day...

archival inks are awesome over dry embossing paste...

I had a vintage art journal page in mind, so I added some potting soil archival over the dry paste...

below you'll see the ink only over the right side of the frame...

and here's the whole frame inked 

with potting soil archival..

and to show you how much you can alter the color of the metallic pastes, the uninked oval is back in the inked frame for a comparison...

you'll see a huge difference in color...

so the moral of this story is that with gold & silver embossing paste, you can create any color metallic paste you need...

just add any archival ink over the top...

or...you can mix archival reinkers into the paste...

then store the left over colored paste in the mix & store jar...

here is where this project took a major detour...

when I picked up the finished frame to take a photo, I realized that it could make a great hanging Christmas ornament...

forget the art journal page...

on to plan B...

I cut another frame from manila cardstock, and used the archival/alcohol technique to add the background color to the oval insert...

I swiped the cornflower blue pad onto the craft sheet, added rubbing alcohol, mixed it up with the palette knife & dropped the oval into the ink...

the color immediately soaked thru...

then I dried it...

I added gathered twigs to the edges to create a frame...

then used fern green archival to stencil the larger tree & leaf green to lightly stencil the smaller tree...

keeping the stenciling light for the small tree, makes it appear to be in the background, even though it was actually stenciled over the large tree...

now here's my next thoughts...

how am I going to keep the oval from falling out of the frame?

and...

since I cut the frame from manila cardstock 

(because I thought it was going to be glued flat to a page)

how can I make this sturdy so it won't get bent & can easily be packed away for next year?

so...

I roughly cut an oval from black cardstock, just a bit larger than the oval insert...

and glued it to the BACK of the frame...

it's just a little larger than the oval opening...

making sure that the black is NOT visible from the front...

next I cut a second ornate frame from 

clearly for art BLACKOUT...

 after removing the backing sheet from the manila frame, it's super quick to adhere the CFA frame to the manila frame & now it's almost indestructible...

and it looks good/finished & professional from the back...

so if I decide to give this to someone, there's the perfect spot to add a sentiment...

the next photo shows that I replaced the large tree stencil over the stenciled tree & used jet black to stamp the numbers background thru the stencil,  onto the tree...

I used painters tape to mask off the areas that I wanted to protect...

now the tree looks like this...

I did the same thing with the smaller tree, but used fern green archival to add polka dots...

I didn't use black for the stamping, so I could keep the tree lighter & in the background...

to add "merry", I masked off the "christmas" portion of the stencil & added gold metallic embossing paste...

after the "merry was dry, I wanted to add just a bit of subtle snow...

the background spatter stamp combined with 

snow cap pigment is perfect...

subtle...exactly what I wanted...

my next thought was that I wanted to embellish the bottom of the frame...

here's my holly, stamped onto the paper side of a piece of clear CFA...

the paper gets adhered with my fav glue n seal...

with the holly stencil over the stamped image, I added fern green...

and replaced the stencil to ink the berries

 with red geranium...

then cut out the holly...

heated it to soften the CFA, then shaped it...

I needed something under the holly...

so I used the pinecone die to cut these sprigs from CFA blackout...

I inked over them with fern green archival, then sprinkled on the fern green embossing powder, wiped a bit off some of the edges to allow the black to show thru & heated it to melt the powder...

when they cooled, I heated them a bit so that I could shape them...

to coordinate with the gold embossing paste...

after shaking the tarnished brass distress paint, I put a bit on the craft sheet & used my finger to add random tiny bits to the sprig edges...

the next photo shows how to change the color of a mirrored star...

just tap on some tree branch archival ink...

and change the star from clear to vintage gold-ish...

somewhere along the way I added some barn door stickles to the holly berries...

since the berries are small, I put a bit on the craft sheet & used a toothpick to apply it onto the little berries...

and here's the finished hanging ornament...

when assembling it, I decided that I wanted the oval raised, so I added 2 oval die cuts under it...

and I added my usual pen stitching around the oval...

I love love really LOVE how vintage the frame looks...

it's hard to believe that it starts out as a simple manila cardstock die cut...

because all the pieces are made with CFA, this is incredibly sturdy & very lightweight...

using the CFA allows the sprigs & holly to hang off the edge without fear of being damaged...

so...

I didn't make an art journal page, as planned...

but I did

make (ornament) art!

wendy

ps... I guess when your art decides to take another direction, it's best to just relax & follow along!

have a wonderful weekend...

THANKS for coming to visit...