one stamp 2 ways...

rubber stamps offer 

endless creative opportunities...

they never need to be used the same way... 

here's the new rose, 

done as a single layer, on a simple card...

it's stamped on heavystock & colored with distress markers...

I know I used abandoned coral, 

festive berries & I forgot the other colors...

for the leaves peeled paint, mowed lawn & I think scattered straw?

I painted over the flower with 

my buttercup mica spray...

I didn't get a good photo of the bling, 

but it looks really nice...

I made several CHA samples using 

tim's sizzix stitched oval dies...

here, I used the leftovers 

to make a simple layered frame for the card...

the dots?

YES...

watering can enamel accents...

in the background & 

leaf green enamel accents dots accent the leaves...

they're a perfect fit for my Ranger product line...

don't toss any small lids in the trash...

they make great stamps for enamel accents!

I'll be talking lots more about them & showing more ways to use them...

enamel accents are awesome!

I kept this card simple & added a mat mini heart & tiny butterfly...

so, here is the clean & simple 

one layer version of the rose...

the next sample shows the same rose, but with multiple layers...

it's stamped on clearly for art, that was covered with my newsprint paper...

it's lightly inked with sunflower & orange blossom, then stamped over with 

the new screen background, 

using orange blossom for a tone on tone effect...

I LOVE the sentiment & it's true...

agree?

you'll spot the new rectangle grate stencil in the background...

instead of adding color thru the stencil, I lightened/removed color...

I used rubbing alcohol, since my background was 

created with sky blue & orange blossom archival inks...

now about that frame...

this "THING"

took on a mind of it's own & I doubt I'll ever recreate another exactly like this...

it's a cheapo $1.00 bare wood frame...

I inked it with cornflower blue, then I added cornflower blue embossing powder...

I was going to use the faux graniteware technique, but that didn't seem to fit the style of my rose...

ok...

PLAN B...

I warmed the embossing powder & added foil...

then I got carried away & had way TOO much foil...

Ranger's foil sheets 

stick to warm embossing powder...

FUN FUN FUN...

but I used 10 times too much...

YIKES!

ok...

PLAN C...

I inked over the foil with cornflower blue & added more cornflower embossing powder...

when I melted the embossing powder, I think the oil based archival ink (sitting over the foil) 

created bubbles...

holy cow!

flipping cool...

love the texture!

the areas that had more ink, bubbled more...

the embossing powder even make cracks in a few spots...

to continue on with the cracks, I used the 

all cracked up background stamp 

with watering can archival ink...

and it turned out looking like this...

the frame is about 5 x 5 inches...

here's a closer look at both 

the layered rose & the frame...

one stamp...

2 different ways...

this is why I LOVE rubber stamps so much...

and 

a lesson learned...

keep going even if it's UGLY...

and believe me it was!

you just may end up with something cool...

NEW Stampers Anonymous products 

start shipping TODAY...

YIPPEE!

be watching for them to start arriving next week!

I scored some GOOD stuff at CHA...

I demoed & came home with 

tim's stamp platform...

 it's perfect...

I like the size...

we can easily stamp on the center of a 12x12...

I like the rulers on the side & at the top...

I like the sturdy cover/lid because it doesn't cave in when you stamp...

seriously strong!

I like the convenient tab for opening the lid...

that is super convenient...

I like the full magnetic base with no extra pieces to keep track of...

I like that the lid/cover can be flipped, so that it accommodates both red rubber cling stamps & clear stamps...

I like that it's VERY easy to clean...

and I think the price is GREAT!

if you're wondering if you NEED one...

I'll just say that

I REALLY do love it!

you can hint to your Valentine,

get the stamp platform &

 skip the candy calories!

I'm LOVING it for adding multiple colors to stamps...

add a little ink, stamp...

add more color in another section & stamp...

keep going for perfect placement every time!

I think this is a great tool for large background stamps too...

those aren't always the easiest to get a perfect image every time...

here's the cutie...

here's a little video 

showing my 3 designer bags...

these are really nice & so is the price...

they come as a set of 3...

speaking of the bags...

I like my stampers anonymous stencil binder for all my stencils, 

but the new select a stencils 

are too large for the art parts stencil binder...

the rotating window makes them larger too...

BUT they fit into the medium bag...

perfectly!

now they're nice & safe & easily stored & protected for transport...

that's it from me for now...

I hope your weekend will include some time to...

make art!

wendy

ps...

if you're in the Texas area, 

stop & visit Ted

in Plano...

the scoop is here...

butterfly specimen...

happy Friday, friends!

today I wanted to focus on

 translucent embossing paste & 

distress crayons,

 to create a specimen, 

that looks like it's under shattered glass...

here's my example...

working on a small piece of 

my white magic mat board, 

I painted on a thin layer of

matte distress collage medium, using 

the distress collage brushes...

I usually don't paint to the edges, because the areas that have no collage medium accept the color differently & organically create a cool distressed background layer...

after the distress collage medium was dry, 

 I lightly swiped the potting soil archival pad randomly over the les roses background stamp & added just a bit of stamping to the background, mainly to the edges...

next...

I used jet black to stamp

 my new butterfly & dried it...

to color the butterfly, I used red geranium, orange blossom & sunflower archival inks...

I did the large area with the mini blending tool, then swiped the archival pads onto the craft sheet & used the detailer water brush to paint in the smaller areas...

then dried it...

the next step was to spread a layer of

 my translucent embossing paste

 over the whole thing...

while the paste was wet, I lightly misted 

my new all cracked up background stamp with water, then stamped into the wet paste...

the paste looks white, right from the jar, but as it air dries, it creates a 100% clear surface...

***clean the stamp before the paste dries***

I used a toothbrush...

very quick to remove when the paste is wet...

and set it aside to dry...

when the translucent paste was dry, I scribbled the peeled paint and vintage photo distress crayons over the whole surface...

at this point

it looks terrible...

keep going...

just wipe off the surface gently with a moist paper towel...

the crayons tint the surface and remain in the cracks, to create a shattered glass effect...

now the butterfly is under the glass &

 looks like a specimen...

I added some tiny black pins in the corners...

I've had them for 100 years...

not sure where I got them...

but I thought they fit the theme well...

I added the tarnished brass paint to 

finish off the edges of all 4 pieces...

I mounted the butterfly piece onto a larger piece of black magic mat board, then

I mounted this piece onto a 4 x 4 canvas that was inked with fern green...

I added some remnant rubs...

yes...they stick very well to 

the embossing paste...

a hinge clip...

and the "specimen label" from this set...

and I used the hex fasteners to attach it...

here's close up of the surface...

I think it's pretty cool & it shows another way to use 

the background stamp...

this time for texture, with no color!

I frequently get asked about drying time 

for the paste...

there are several factors that are involved...

the thickness of the layer that's added & the humidity...

this paste needs to air dry...

if you blast it with the heat tool, 

it gets cloudy & never changes to clear...

to speed up the drying, I put it next to the air conditioner vent & that cool air did help...

you could use a fan too...

this piece, done in Illinois in HUMID August, 

took about 2 hours to dry...

give it a try...

make a specimen!

it's really very fun...

I hope your weekend is fabulous & 

YOU

can

make art!

wendy

archival ink watercoloring...

here's part 2 of this series...

showing how to use a stamp, 

several different ways...

I started this sample the same way as the previous post...

I worked on watercolor cardstock...

and used the stamp from "unlimited art"...

I inked the stamp with Glacier White pigment ink, stamped it toward the bottom left and heat embossed it with 

Ranger's white embossing powder...

so far same as yesterday's card...

the previous post showed watercoloring with distress stains...

today, I'm switching to archival sprays & 

archival inks...

archival sprays???

to make the archival sprays, I added rubbing alcohol to the mister (¾ full) and added drops of the archival reinker until I liked the color...

I'll be using sunflower and sky blue...

make sure to choose colors that will work well together in areas where they might overlap...

I wanted to keep the background fairly light for this card...

remember...

 archival inks are translucent, as are distress inks...

if the background was super dark, it would limit the colors that you could use for the watercoloring...

I misted right over the stamped image & gave it a very quick dry...

next I chose the archival colors for the leaves & the flower...

you'll need rubbing alcohol...

that's what's in the distress sprayer...

when I'm painting/coloring with wet archival inks, I LOVE the detailer water brush...

I use the brush empty...

I like it because the bristles hold very little fluid, which gives me very good control...

if you're heavy handed...this helps a lot!

I love that the tip is still pointy & for me, I have much more success with it as compared to a regular paint brush...

 I'll ink my leaves with leaf green & the flower with gorgeous violet...

 

I swiped the corner of the 

violet archival pad 

onto the craft sheet...

it takes very little & you'll see a puddle of rubbing alcohol to the right...

next, I picked up some alcohol & some ink...

you can start very light & add layers or just paint one layer...

here's my first petal...

I kept painting until all the petals were colored...

then went back over them to darken the center of the flower...

this took less than 2 minutes...

you want to work fairly quickly as the watercolor paper absorbs the inky fluid quickly & the alcohol evaporates quickly...

I didn't find it necessary to dry each layer...

one thing you'll notice is that the alcohol doesn't warp the paper & there are no streaks...

the inks blend really easily...

to clean the brush, just dip it into the alcohol & tap it on a paper towel & the color is gone & it's ready for the next color...

on to the leaves...

there's leaf green archival on the left & 

a little alcohol on the right...

picking up color...

I added a layer to all 4 leaves, then went back & added a tiny bit of shading to the leaves, closest to the flower...

another layer of leaf green to add more shading ...

and the leaves are done...

because the embossing & background are white, the flourish doesn't really get noticed, so I darkened that area with sky blue...

better!

now to add more details...

I stenciled the borders stencil vertically toward the left side, using sky blue...

I avoided the flower/leaves...

it looks like this...

then stenciled again, horizontally with sky blue...

and so far, it looks like this...

here's a fun discovery...

I wanted to add some white dots to the background, 

but Glacier White is a beautiful bright white ink...

to make it more subtle, I swiped the pad onto the craft sheet, then

moistened the blending tool with rubbing alcohol, picked up some Glacier White & stenciled the polka dotty stencil...

I LOVE the result...

it's a very cloudy/chalky effect...

the dots are in the background, where they should be & not competing with the focal point...

used full strength, I was afraid that it would be too stark & the flourish would get lost again, being near that bright white ink...

here's a closer look...

I will be doing this lots more...

I stamped the sentiment toward the top right corner, with jet black archival...

and added pen stitching to accent the stenciled borders...

at this point I wanted a bit more color under the flower...

I stamped a portion of the flower/leaves onto a post it note & masked off the flower/leaves...

that's the post it note under the card...

then I added a bit of sunflower archival, with the blending tool...

looks better...

here's my accent pieces...

the new mat mini heart got inked 

with red geranium &

the mat mini button got a light layer of sunflower archival...

I spotted a

bundle deal for all 4 new mat minis...

it's a buy 3 get one free deal...

both mat minis got stamped with

the vintage text stamp... 

I used a vintage button & some black embroidery floss to tie them together...

I wanted some inky dots in the background, so I dispensed a few drops of broken china distress stain onto the craft sheet...

picked it up with the detailer water brush & tapped it over the card...

a few black glaze pen dots

and

here's my finished card...

super fun...

now for a side by side comparison...

here's the same stamp 2 ways...

same stamp...totally different result...

inks make a huge difference!

I think this also shows that stamps 

can be any style that fits YOU...

they can be

clean, simple, pastel...

artsy...

or bolder & bright...

I like that this is another way 

to use your archival inks...

archival inks are great for stamping, embossing, stenciling, making backgrounds & for this watercoloring technique...

and I'm L O V I N G the archival reinkers made into archival sprays...

REALLY   L O V I N G...

the next post will show this same stamp used with a different technique...

this one uses 

weathered white embossing powder...

I hope you're inspired to test out painting with your archivals or distress stains...

have a wonderful weekend...

make art!

wendy