a quick hello!

in my head, I had planned a longer post for today...

but you'll get a VIDEO...(if I did it right!)

fingers crossed...

TOMORROW...

the editing is FAR from perfect...

but if it makes you laugh, that's just fine with me...

there were LOTS of BLOOPERS that I chopped out...

but I couldn't fix the biggest one...

you'll see...

and there will also be a Q & A type interview too...

so, please pop back in on Friday!

in the last few days, I've had a few questions about the acrylic storage binders for my stamps, so I thought I would include the info here...

plus I NEEDED a photo for the post. LOL!

I designed these to store LOTS of stamps in a small space, plus I wanted an easy way to use them. no digging thru a box...

that's NOT convenient...plus it's a time waster...

this system works well...

just flip throughout the storage sheets, like you would flip thru a book...

use the stamp & return it back to the storage sheet...

the cling stamps stay nice & secure...

1. that blue paper comes off...

it's a protective coating for shipping...

2. I have 10 sets in my large binder...

3. YES, 3 giant binding rings are included in the package, along with the front & back covers for the large binder...

4. the small binder comes with 2 giant binding rings, since the small stamp sets have 2 holes...

5. the large binder will hold both the large sets & the smaller sets too...

the small stamp sets were designed to fit...

here's one of my older large ones...

4. the easiest way to alter the cover...

so that you can hide the adhesive is...

lay your chosen paper under the cover, but do not glue...

then, arrange & glue your embellishments onto the front...

when you turn the cover over, you'll see exactly where to add the adhesive to hold the background paper in place...

and no adhesive will show this way...

Now FINALLY...

here's the RANDOM WINNER chosen from the

ART FROM THE HEART blog hop for my friend LADY DY...

CONGRATS to...

sherRae said...

Such a clever use of product! Thanks for sharing.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2011 10:45 PM

please email me with your shipping info...

(wbv1213@me.com)

in other breaking news...

I ***HOPE*** to have an announcement for you next week...

the title will be...

YOU ASKED...

WE LISTENED!

I spoke to Ted yesterday & a few little details need to be finalized, but we're almost there!

since we've had LOTS of requests, we expect to make LOTS of people happy...

that's it!

see you tomorrow!

until then...

make art!

wendy

ps...mr weatherman...

please turn the heat back on...

38 is WAY too cold...

thank you...

a set a day...#8...

Happy Monday...

let's start the week off with...

VISIONS OF ART...

"she" is very fun...

I stamped her on grungepaper...

cut her out...

it was easy because of the simple lines...

and used her on a journal page...

she's about 4 inches tall...

the mini flower can be stamped on a scrap,

cut out & layered...

or the flower can be covered up

with a small

ART PARTS...

flower!

there's a HINT!

I also stamped just the mini flower on a grunge scrap & added it to the tree, on another journal page...

I LIKE her...

she can wear a crown...

or...

she can be transformed into steam punk...

or ...

she can be stamped over patterned paper...

I LOVE the saying to the right & because of the arrangement on the storage sheet, I was inspired to use those 2 together on a journal page...

I like her looking @ the saying...

the next saying is FUN...

I used that on a project for BOOK #4...

it fit well with the large butterfly...

and it's in the ART PARTS rectangle frame...

this saying works with funky/altered art...

the next stamp is large...

4 inches wide, so it's good for larger projects...

I left the words far apart, so they will be easy to cut & use individually...

there's that RANSOM note thing again...

I like to stamp the saying on grungeboard scraps & cut out just the rectangle letters & layer them over the saying to add interest...

it's a small detail, but it makes a difference...

this is another saying for your studio...

a gentle reminder of sorts...

the bottom saying is large...

5 inches wide...

again...the words are far apart so they can easily be used on smaller projects...

or you can just choose a word or two...

to mix and match with other sayings...

ok...gotta run to the studio...

the TO*DO list is still REALLY LONGGGGGG...

I'm putting the final details on a

MAJOR GIGANTIC LARGE

super cool "project" for tim...

that was THE PROJECT of the weekend...

yep...WEEKEND...

lots of detail on this guy...

phew...

you'll love his releases...

It's a promise...

I still have more art to make for Ranger...

and I have to finish some details on 2 projects for my portion of the Stampers Anonymous booth...

and make 2 new "acrylic covers" to house my new small babies...

and the new larger sets need a new home too...

and do step by step photos for the power point presentation for my portion of the CHA class...

me & technology...

that should be interesting...YIKES!

I'm teaching with TIM...

CLAUDINE & the REAL LADY DY...

straight away from the UK...

Should be a VERY FUN class!

and that's just the top few TO*DO'S...

I'm leaving a few days early to help tim with another special class for a group of store owners...

so...

THE LIST MUST BE DONE

BY NEXT MONDAY...

YIKES...

see you tomorrow for set #9...

I better head to the studio to...

make art.

wendy

ps...GO BEARS!!

I played with LOTS of stuff...

to make this sample acrylic binder...
it's the perfect storage for...
studio 490 stamps!

I'll send it to Ted for the Stampers Anonymous convention booth...
and it will travel all over the country...
just like Ted does...

it's the new small size binder...
too cute!

it's almost done...not quite...
but I decided to show you today...
since I was desperate for some photos to share...

NOW WHAT?
this is...SHOCKING...

Did you notice...
no distress inks?
Can you tell the difference??

These inks are opaque looking, because I used Ranger's pigment inks to color the grungepaper stamped embellishments I made for this cover.

The pigment inks coordinate PERFECTLY with this tim paper.

FATE or did tim plan this???
what's your guess?

Check out butterscotch, lettuce & terra cotta...
they are awesome inks...


Looking @ the details...

so...when is a heart NOT a heart?
well...
when it's transformed into...
leaves...

it's inked with lettuce pigment and stamped with my tiny text register stamp & jet black archival...

and embellished with Sakura glaze pen dots...




NEXT...
this was fun...
I tapped Perfect Medium onto the game spinner & added some distress embossing powder to add texture...
heat to set...

REMEMBER...heated metal gets hot...be very CAREFUL!

Perfect Medium is very sticky, so it's my favorite for embossing...
in addition to making very COOL watermarks...





here I used tim's Sizzix on the edge die to make a border...
more dimension and...
a place to add...

stamped stuff.



NEWSFLASH...
eclecticpaperie has just added a whole tab full of the stuff you NEED to make art...

it's the stuff I use frequently...
my MOST FAVORITE supplies...
the tab is called...

wendy's ART PARTS!

They call it "convenient shopping"...
it has each company I LOVE...


be warned...
they are enablers...
sweet faces...but enablers...

they are making it EASY TO SHOP!!!

And speaking of SHOPPING...

tim's sizzix texture fades will FINALLY be arriving THIS WEEK...
YIPPEE!!!

They're well worth the wait...
because the are unique & over the top AWESOME...

Get 'em before they're GONE...
and you're sad...

and I'll close with the usual...
just in a little different format...






wendy

I LOVE Friday's...

and I LOVE today especially...
because I'm headed out to SHOP!!!
YIPPEE!!!

I NEED to hunt down some gifts...
like for next week! YIKES...
I'm down to the wire...

I finished one of the small acrylic storage binders for my stamps yesterday...

This new size is very fun...
what is it about small???
The smaller the better...
too cute!

Anyway... I thought I'd do a quickie share...
I'll try to add the supply list tomorrow...



WAIT...don't go yet...

Tim's Sizzix embossing folders are coming SOON...
YIPPEE...

Here's a special deal on ALL 16...
from my friends @ eclecticPaperie...

Happy shopping to you & to me!
You bet...mine are ordered!!
I REALLY NEED them ALL... dear Rick!!

Some days I'm a cheap date...
some days...
not so much!

I hope the rabbit brings you LOTS of yummy chocolate!
Chocolate is ALL low cal on holidays...
trust me!

Please take some time this weekend to...

make art!
wendy

altered acrylic binders...101...

I've had several questions recently about how to alter my acrylic stamp storage binders.

Today I thought I'd offer my ideas...
and a few tips...

They come naked, with 3 giant (3 inch) binding rings, so that they can be customized to coordinate with your decor.

The binder makes it very easy to flip thru the pages of stamps, choose your stamp, use it & put it back on the storage sheet.

It's so MUCH better than digging thru a box.

You'll find that you will use them more often, because it's easy.

If you collect cling or Maya Road clear stamps,

blank pages can be added to the binder to store them too.

One pages holds a lot, because you can store stamps on both sides of the blank sheet.

Here's the first binder, which houses my first stamp release.

You'll notice that all the others have a VOL. number on them...

This one doesn't...

since it was my first, I didn't want to jinx myself & say...
VOL. 1...

that assumes there would be VOL.2

If no one besides me liked them, there would be no VOL 2.

But now that we're on VOL 4...

I can safely call this one ...VOL 1!

YIPPEE!

I stamped the border, using jet black archival ink.

I carefully heat set it & you'll see that almost 2 years later, the stamping is still perfect.

It's AMAZING, considering this has been sent across the country many times.

Another option is to stamp on the inside of the cover. Remember to stamp images only...

words won't work on the inside, since they'll show up backward from the front.

I used lots of grungeboard & grungepaper as my base for stamping on all the binders.





Here's VOL 2...

the papers are all graphic 45 and are glued to a base paper.





and VOL 3...

which is a combination of graphic 45 & jenni bowlin papers.

I machine stitched these pieces together to resemble a quilt...






You'll see the newest 2 binders...

VOL 4 in the previous post.


So here's my suggestions for creating them.


The goal is to see NO adhesive on the front.

Remove the protective blue film.

remember...

KEEP THE HOLES ON THE LEFT...trust me!

1. Choose the paper that will be inside the front cover.

it can be one piece...
or mutliple left over strips...

stamped or unstamped...

sewn together or just glued to a paper/cardstock base...

Keep it flat...the embellishments will be added to the front of the cover.

Have it completely ready to go.

2. Lay the paper in place under the front cover, but do not use any adhesive yet.

3. Plan the layout on the front...lay everything in place & move it around until you are satisfied with the look.

4. Glue your largest embellishment to the front of the binder.

5. Open the binder & you'll see where the adhesive is, so put some adhesive there to hold the paper in place.


Now, it's easy to keep words straight, by using the paper as a guide.

6. Add the rest of the embellishments on the front & glue in place.

7. Open the binder again & add adhesive in the adhesive spot areas and press the paper in place.

8. Since the paper is inside the binder, I don't have glue covering it entirely...

It's just where there is something on the front to hide it.

9. TADA! CUSTOM...done & very fun!

One more thing...

I've used several adhesives with success...
Glossy Accents, Art Glitter and Fabri-tac all work fine.

Normally I don't use Glossy Accents for glueing large pieces of paper, because of the quick drying time...
but for this purpose, it's perfect.

Just a tiny dot will hold the paper to the binder.

Remember to be sparing with adhesives.
A little goes a long way & you don't want to see any seeping out.

So there you have it...

altered acrylic binders 101...

If you have a naked binder...
get it out ...

have fun and...

make art!
wendy

new stamps...and a contest reminder...

need a new home...

here's the first acrylic binder... again...



and the second...
I LOVED the naked ...
right out of the package...
grunge with tim's NEW yummy idea-ology paper...


See...I'm gone and I'm thinking of you...

Contest details on Friday's post...
leave your comment there to enter...


take care...
be good while I'm gone...

make art!
wendy

catching up, a cover, CHA and a CONTEST!

catching up on details...

I spoke with Ted last night...Mr Stampers Anonymous...
the new stamps are made & will start shipping January 28th.
They're sent out in the order they are received...
YIPPEE!

He's in California already...he reminded me to bring an umbrella...yuck...

He said my book will ship mid February...so not too long of a wait.
another...YIPPEE!

Did I tell you that the cover is much heavier this time??

Ted also said that the photography is REALLY good...

he saw the book for the first time last night...

I'll get a copy either tonight or possibly on Saturday.
Even though I know what's in it...
I'm dieing to see the final...

I finished the 2 new acrylic storage binders...
they're a fun project...
Here's the first...
new papers from tim's new idea-ology release...


For the second, I used some (items) that tim hasn't shown yet...

so I can't show the second one today...


But it will be up early tomorrow morning...
it's a totally different style...

Several have asked if any of the new stamps come wood mounted...

YES, some do...I think we chose about 18 or maybe 20...
I'm old & that was a while ago...so I forgot! The Stampers Anonymous web site will have them listed, but not until after CHA...

Ok contest details...

We'll keep it simple...

just choose your favorite set...or...if you already have an idea for a specific stamp, I'd LOVE to hear what you have to say...how you plan to use it...


They're all shown in the previous post.

So...just leave a comment on this post and that will be your entry ticket...
one per person...

Now here's the deal...
more comments.. equals...
more prizes...

I'll send out a prize for each 25 comments received...

so 50 comments equals 2 prizes...
100 would be 4...

2,000 would be...YIKES!! REALLY A LOT of prizes!



Want to see the whole Maya Road catalog and more eye candy?
Check here...

Gotta run...
take care...
have fun & I'll be back next Friday to announce the winners...

and HOPEFULLY...

post some photos...

I WILL try my best!

Check in on Saturday, if you want to see the (blue) binder.

remember...
Make art!
wendy
ps...leave a comment...
I got some GOOD stuff to send!