Merry Christmas tag...

my friends at

 The Crafty Scrapper,

 in Waxahachie, Tx. 

invited me to participate in their

 12 tags of Christmas blog posts...

make sure to visit & 

enter their GIVEAWAY!

if you're lucky & live close by, 

Carolyn has everything you need 

at the shop, to create this tag...

and MORE...

L O T S more 

REALLY good stuff in her store...

(and she ships too...)

if you're not nearby, 

my links take you to an on-line source...

here's my tag...

it's metallic & quite hard to get a good 

straight on photo...

you see no shine on this photo...

but...

 tilt it a bit & now you can see the 

gorgeous foiled embossing powder...

here's the steps...

the tag is a new heavystock #8 tag, 

cut to 5 ½ inches tall...

I LOVE this new heavystock...

A   L O T !

the material allows the distress markers  

to blend perfectly!

what a dramatic difference it makes!

 I LOVE trimming my tags to 5 ½ inches...

try it! 

it totally changes the proportions...

I rarely use a full length tag...

make sure to save the cut offs for 

perfectly sized borders for your tags...

 and 

they make great sentiment strips...

I inked the script background with 

watering can archival & then 

added watering can embossing powder...

after melting the powder, I "warmed" it up again with the Ranger heat tool & quickly pressed a gold Ranger foil sheet onto the warmed embossing powder...

***remember***

foil sheets get applied

pretty color side UP...

the foil will stick to the warm powder & it releases when the embossing powder cools...

it's a super quick process...

5 seconds max...

you can reheat & reapply foil wherever you want...

I like it randomly applied & not entirely covering all the embossing powder...

I like the grey watering can, 

with hints of the gold foil 

for a two tone grey/gold effect...

one little tip...

choose a fine lined 

background stamp image to foil...

solid/heavy images look overpowering for backgrounds...

just my opinion...

I've used these fine lined images 

on my CHA samples, with this technique

& they worked really well...

polka dot background...

this looks extra cool with 

multiple foil colors!

old wood floor... subtle & awesome!

spatter... it's super cool too...

I LIKE these foil sheets...

there are several color pack choices...

they are easy to use...

there's no static foil bits

 flying all over the place & 

the foil stays securely stuck

 on the embossing powder...

and another tip...

have your foil out & ready to go...

the embossing powder cools quickly...

but you can always reheat it & add more...

I inked over the tag 

with sky blue & potting soil archival inks...

those little bleached areas in the background are created with the lots of dots stencil...

just moisten the blending tool with rubbing alcohol & wipe thru the stencil to lighten 

the ink color...

I like the round guy for stenciling...

I use it for both adding &

 removing/lightening color...

I stamped Merry Christmas at the bottom with jet black & stenciled a polka dot border 

on the top of the tag...

the tag is edged with the tarnished brass paint dabber...

I hot glued a piece of tim's holiday trimming above the sentiment...

(might be discontinued?)

then added a small amount of multi-medium &  sprinkled on the rock candy glitter...

the chain is stamped, using jet black...

I die cut the stitched oval from heavystock, inked it very lightly with sky blue & just a little potting soil

 & added the stamped dots with watering can...

it's edged with the tarnished brass paint dabber & layered over another oval of the same size, 

to add a little dimension...

the mat mini pine tree is also foiled...

I inked the plaid background with fern green & embossed it with fern green powder...

I rewarmed the embossing powder & placed the turquoise foil over the warmed embossing powder...

(pretty foil side UP)

the tree then got inked with fern green...

it's popped up with 

my FAV black foam adhesive 

onto the stitched oval...

I added a black mat mini heart to the base...

the mat mini star has a thin layer of multi-medium & then it was dipped into the rock candy glitter jar to add a bit of bling...

after it was dry, I wanted it to appear a bit more yellow, so after shaking the buttercup mica spray, I "painted" the star with a drop of the mica spray, using the detailer waterbrush...

a little pen stitching is my finishing touch around the tag...

and another tilted shot to show the shine & the rock candy glitter...

so there you have a fun easy technique...

and another way to use 

some supplies you probably already have...

embossing powder + foil sheets =

foiled embossing powder!

I've had some questions about when

 new product "peeks" will start...

CHA is about 2 weeks later this year

(YIPPEE, so much better for us!)

so I'll be peeking new stuff 

after the first of the year...

we have some 

REALLY  

 F U N 

stuff coming...

wait 'til you see the new mat minis...

I'm over the moon excited about them...

they are simply

A D O R A B L E!

I promise!

new stamps...SO FUN...

new stencils...YES please!

new stamp-it stencil its...for sure!

and my MOST FAV stamp-it stencil-it EVER!

it's killer cool!

let's celebrate

THE CRAFTY SCRAPPER

(and the fact that I blogged)

 with a GIVEAWAY...

just leave a comment & 

I'll have Rick choose a random winner...

what will you win?

I'll send this tag and...

trust me...

I'll send a nice surprise package!

later today, I'll pop a quick video over

on my instagram page, 

where you'll get a better look at how cool the foiled embossing powder looks...

 there will be an 

Instagram GIVEAWAY too...

if you'd like to follow me there...

and have a chance to win

 a SECOND prize package...

I seem to be using Instagram much more...

it's quick & easy to post there...

I like it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and

thanks for the invite

Crafty Scrapper!

it was fun to...

make art!

wendy

archival stenciling on fabric...

it's THE most wonderful time of the year!

once December 1st arrives,

I'm ready to kick it in high gear 

with decorating & creating little gifts...

join me over on the Ranger blog & I'll show you how simple it is to create

 custom stenciled holiday towels...

remember...

archival inks are permanent on fabric when they are dry...

another reason I LOVE my archival inks!

in addition to the samples on the Ranger blog,

I made some others that I'll be sharing on 

my Instagram page...

these really take no more than 10 minutes, from start to finish...

seriously S I M P L E!

I picked up these towels at Home Goods,

 TJ Maxx & Marshall's...

nice quality...

great prices...

Hobby Lobby also has a really nice

 set of 3 towels...

they're located in the embroidery section & they are just perfect too...

the sets come in black, red & blue...

these make nice hostess gifts & I'm sending them this year instead of cards...

here's the list of supplies I used...

happy holidays stencil...

for the holidays...

holiday icons...

select a stencil upper case...

select a stencil lower case...

archival inks...

jet black...

red geranium...

fern green...

leaf green...

sunflower...

potting soil...

garden patina and watering can 

look great too...

you'll see that combo over at Ranger...

I like that color combo 

for an untraditional holiday palette...

and it's especially fun for 

those lucky friends

who live in warm climates...

ok...

I'll meet you over at Ranger...

then we'll...

make art!

wendy

studio 490 style...

I love the faces that Dina draws & 

I thought I'd use one of her stamps...

studio 490 style...

here's what I did...

I hadn't created a page for my 

mat mini fat little book in a bit, 

so I started with a page...

I misted the page with my archival spray inks...

(make them with archival reinkers in a mister with rubbing alcohol)...

you'll find the original post about them here...

spray archival inks...

I used sky blue and a tiny bit 

of orange blossom...

I stenciled the 

new cable knit stencil 

with sky blue on the left side...

I stamped the face with black soot archival...

(use the reinker with the DIY pad 

to create the pad...)

and embellished HER with 

some new mat mini flowers, 

tiny butterfly and star...

the flower colors are

garden patina & orange blossom...

the mat mini flowers  

were pressed onto this inked stamp...

using just the center,

it totally changes the look of the mat minis...

the mat mini leaves got stamped with 

the ticking background, 

using watering can...

the new ferns were stenciled with fern green...

the red berries are from this stencil...

always use old with new!

the white dots on the berries & on her eye

are the Dy paint pen...

the lots of dots stencil got used 

with red geranium along the right side...

her face and lips were tinted with 

tea rose archival...

the sentiment fit perfectly on the side...

there's a bit of text on her cheek from 

the new les roses background...

I stamped the tiny butterfly with 

this tiny text stamp

(it's GREAT for all the tiny mat minis)

for some reason I decided to keep it white-ish...

hmmm???

I painted the tiny star with buttercup mica spray, using the detailer water brush...

GORGEOUS bling!

those circles on the left were made with the tip I removed from an empty 

mini multi medium bottle...

I tapped it into dina's white paint & then after it dried, again onto the watering can pad...

and her she is again...

with a little scribbling on the frame...

and a closer look...

this was 

30 minutes of pure fun for me...

I had no plan...

no plans for a blog post...

so no step out photos...

just a play time for me...

I really love the art process...

I hope you can PLAY and

make art!

wendy

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

never ever give up...

today I'm sharing a quick little card...

I cut a piece of my white magic mat board to 

3 x 4 ½ inches...

then gave it a quick coat of the collage medium, using the collage brush...

I don't cover the whole surface, 

but you sure could...

I like that the edges will absorb more color for instant shading...

you can see the cool brush strokes & how they add another layer to the background,

 with no effort at all...

just apply the medium vertically & horizontally...

being impatient...

yep...that's ME...

I like that this dries super quick & can also be blasted with the heat tool to speed it up, if needed...

next I scribbled the 

chipped sapphire & peeled paint distress crayons over the surface & blended them with the digital blending tool...

(aka...finger)...

and then slightly moist paper towel...

I used jet black to stamp the lace border toward the bottom...

what I REALLY like about the crayons is that they can be removed with stencils...

I got a batch of really over saturated wet wipes from Costco, 

so that made me think about other methods for using water to remove color...

a moist paper towel works...

but...

I'm really liking using a moist 

mini blending tool...

it gets in all the tiny stencil areas very easily...

I mist a bit of water onto the craft sheet, pick it up with the blending tool & then rub it over the stencil...

I used the alphabets stencil on the top & 

the lots of dots stencil on the bottom...

as a side note, the foam does pick up the removed color, but it doesn't transfer it later...

so, even though the foam looks ugly

I just keep using one foam for this technique...

so far it looks like this after using

 the tarnished brass paint dabber

 to edge the base......

I inked the old wood floor background stamp with cornflower blue & stamped it over the base, above the dots...

the more layers the better...

subtle...

I like  LOVE this stamp LOTS...

and here's the finished card...

the hydrangea & bow were stamped with jet black onto newsprint paper that is adhered to clearly for art...

with glue n seal...

the hydrangea was inked with forget-me-not & cornflower blue archival...

and just a tiny hint of violet...

I used leaf green & fern green for the leaves...

the hydrangea is

popped up with foam adhesive...

it's a really great adhesive for clearly for art...

black glaze pen dots accent each individual bloom...

the sentiment is from 

the new just say it background stamp...

all the little details matter...

after cutting out the little bow & inking it 

with red geranium, 

I stamped over it with 

the ticking background, using jet black...

I added a remnant rub to the nailhead &

 another to the left of the flower...

you can see that in the photo above...

I always need to add a little pen stitching around the edges...

obsessed...

it's mounted on black cardstock, 

then a mixed media cardstock card...

this is a nice neutral color...

if you haven't tried the crayons yet, 

this is a quickie project

and a fun way 

to test drive them & experiment...

I hope you can

take a little time 

for YOU and

make art!

wendy