stenciling with archival inks...

when I started playing working around with the idea of stenciling with archival inks, I discovered that it provided a new way to...

make art!

normally, the first step is to create a background, and then to add the main images on top of the background...

because archival inks are permanent & waterproof when dry, they can be added before the background...

I think this makes it so easy...and it's a fun change...

here's an example from my art parts tag art journal...

it's a #8 manila tag that I cut down to 5 1/2 inches tall...

I started by using this flower stencil...

using a piece of cut n dry foam and red geranium archival ink, I stenciled the flower & gave it a quick dry...

instead of stenciling in the stem & leaves, I used fern green archival to stamp these small flourishes...

***remember*** you don't always need to use the whole stencil or stamp...it's fun to change things up & get more use from your products...

now that my main images were done & DRY...I could add my distress inks & stamping to the background...

I added scattered straw lightly over the whole tag, then some brushed corduroy to accent the edges...

next, using scattered straw again, I added the vertical stripes with the polka dots & stripes border stencil...

it was easy to add the stripes exactly where I wanted them, because the main image was already there...

to add more interest to the background, I filled in some random areas with my unmounted cling text stamp (from botanical art), that was inked with cornflower blue...

this blue is BEAUTIFUL! it's kind of a vintage country blue...

MWAH!

I used jet black to stamp my sentiment...

even with several different colors in the background, the jet black really stands out nicely...

using the same stripes stencil, I added borders to the top & bottom of the tag with fern green...

a little pen stitching with the mowed lawn distress marker & the Blossom Bucket mini star were the finishing touches...

here's another look...

you'll see the stripes stencil used 2 ways...

because of the stamped/inked/stenciled layers, it looks dimensional, but the only really dimension is the star...

that's stenciling with archivals...

****TIP***...to clean the archival inks off your stencils, just use cheap rubbing alcohol from the Dollar Store...with a paper towel...

magic!

try it! it's a fun technique & a new approach to making art...

ok...DRUMROLL...

Rick chose the winner of 5 of my new stencils from the comments on my FACEBOOK PAGE...

Kirsten Alicia Sheridan...

• 

  Kirsten Alicia Sheridan 

  
  

  It is such a gorgeous

  
  

   tag & it's such a help to have great photos too. 

  
  

  Thanks for the chance to win.

  
  

  Like · Reply · August 17 at 10:43am

the winner Rick chose from blog comments is...

THERESA...

Theresa said...

Great tag...you make it look so easy. Then I try it and IT IS

 EASY!!! I JUST love this tag!!! fingers crossed for the giveaway!

August 18, 2013 at 7:58 PM 

CONGRATS ladies!

please email me with your shipping info & we'll get these on the way to their new homes...

that's it for today...

I have a pretty busy time coming up soon...

I'm headed back to Everything Scrapbooks & Stamps in Lake Worth, Florida...LOVE it there!

that is September 7 & 8th...

then it's back to The Queen's Ink in Savage, Md the weekend of September 20-22nd...this is an amazing mixed media store...

the following weekend I'll be teaching at The Collin's Event in Houston, TX...it's my first gig there, so I'm excited about that & I'm excited to meet/teach some store owners...

I just finished my projects this weekend!

and the next weekend (October 4 & 5) I'll be at Adventures in Stamping in Strongsville, Ohio...I have not been to this convention before, so I'm excited about demoing there...

I hope to see some blog friends at one of these stops...

this schedule explains why I get free drink coupons from SOUTHWEST airlines! 

off to work on instructions & kits...

happy Monday to YOU...it's a PERFECT day to...

make (stenciled archival) art!

wendy

mixed media tag tutorial & a giveaway...

I have no opening chit chat today...lol...

I want to just dive right into the project, 

since it's kind of L O N G......

grab your supplies & I'll tell you how to create this tag...

cut a #8 Inkssentials kraft tag down to 5 1/2 inches tall...

***here's a tip for using my "yikes stripes" stencil"...***

add a piece of stencil tape under the tag to hold it securely to the craft sheet...

place the stencil over the tag & use stencil tape (or post-its) to hold the stencil in place...

taping the stencil to the craft sheet keeps the wiggly stripes from moving around, making it easy to add the embossing pastes...

or to use the stencil with inks...

next, spread translucent embossing paste thru the stencil...

remove the stencil, wash it & let the paste dry...

depending on the thickness, it takes about 25 minutes to dry...

once the paste is dry...shake the distress paints before applying to the craft sheet...

a little distress paint goes a long way...

I used peeled paint distress paint & broken china...

tap your finger into the paint, tap off the excess and with just a small amount on your finger, swipe the paint randomly over the dry embossing paste...

dry the paints...

the tag will look like this...

next grab  2 "clearly for art, clicker cutts flowers"...a large & a medium clear flower...

plan B...you can die cut flowers from a sheet of clearly for art...

shake the barn door & rusty hinge distress paints...

tap the barn door over the large flower, spread with your finger & dry...

tap the rusty hinge over the dry barn door paint, spread with your finger & dry...the paint does NOT have to completely cover the flower...

some blank spaces actually add to the worn/vintage charm...

use orange blossom archival to stamp the vintage mesh background over the flower & dry...

heat the flower & shape...

***remember*** clearly for art can be re-heated & reshaped until you are 100% satisfied with the shape...

it's amazing stuff!

the flower will look like this...

use jet black archival to stamp the polka dots over the medium sized clearly for art flower, dry the ink, then heat to shape...

grab a small 6 petal art parts flower, an idea-ology foliage flower & a long fastener...

paint the art parts flower with barn door distress paint & dry...

paint the foliage flower with barn door & dry...then lightly swipe the fairly dry rusty hinge dabber over the flower & dry...

touch the long fastener to the barn door dabber & dry...

ink the reverse polka dot background with fern green archival & stamp the art parts stem & dry...

paint the art parts word (ART) with the broken china distress paint dabber & dry...

use watering can archival with the "train schedule" background stamp & stamp over the word ART & dry...

use walnut stain on a blending tool to add subtle shading to the word & stem...

the pieces will look like this...

you can see below that the tiny text doesn't overpower the small art part, when used with watering can archival ink...

(MWAH...I LOVE this color)...

ok...I LOVE all 6...

this background is quickly becoming a favorite...

to assemble the flower, use an awl to make a hole in the center of the 2 clearly for art flowers & in the 6 petal art parts flower...

insert the brad into the metal foliage flower, then the medium clear flower, the 6 petal art parts flower & finally thru the painted CFA flower...spread the prongs to hold the flower together...

the flower looks like this...

very pretty, very dimensional,very strong & sturdy...

if you're a frequent blog reader, you KNOW I hate waste & it's a joke in our house that I'm always digging something out of the trash to repurpose...

so...

I ADORE tim's new industrious border stickers...

you can see I've already used several...

but look at what's remaining...

these leftovers are stickers too & they are REALLY cool...

I chose the bottom 2 pieces to accent the tag...

a little banner & a thin sawtooth edge...

you'll see in a photo that they fit together...PERFECTLY...

the little straight piece is very thin & just PERFECT too...

I lifted it up for the photo...

you can see it sticking up under the stars...

you'll see that I added it close to the top of the finished tag...

I added barn door distress paint to all 3 pieces & dried them...

I just stuck them on the craft sheet & painted them...EASY cleanup...

I wanted the pieces to coordinate, but be a bit different, so I added a bit of rusty hinge distress paint to the banner piece, dried it, then used watering can archival to stamp the "train schedule" over the banner & dried it...

the tiny text adds another layer & more interest to the banner...

you can see I left some of the stickers UNpainted to fit in with the vintage effect...

here's the finished tag again...

the final touches are...

some brushed corduroy around the tag edges...and over the whole tag, to darken the kraft color a bit...

some barn door paint around the tag edges...

a screw eye to accent the art parts stem along with a little string bow...

some pearls...

ok...LOTS of pearls...

oh...almost forgot...I added a stamped border at the top of the tag with my polka dot border stamp & fern green archival...

look how cute the left over industrious stickers fit together...

and here's a better look at the flower...

so the morals of today's post?

#1...look at leftover products before you toss them in the trash...

and...

#2...the distress paints are FABULOUS & versatile...

you can see that today I used them over my translucent embossing paste, over art parts, over the industrious stickers, on the metal foliage flower & over clearly for art...all with excellent results...

it's amazing that ONE product will work on so many surfaces...

and...

#3...archivals are AWESOME! lol... I HAD to say that again!

NOW IT'S...G I V E A W A Y time!

I designed 10 new stencils for CHA...

and Ted gave me a set to give to blog friends...

so I decided to divide them up and I'll give 5 stencils to a random blog commenter...

and I'll give away the other 5 stencils on my FACEBOOK business page...

if you would click LIKE while you're there...

that would be awesome...

to enter...

just leave a comment here on this blog post...

leave a comment on my FACEBOOK page for your second chance to win the other 5 stencils...

Rick will draw the random winners at 7am CHACAGO time on Monday...

he likes doing that...he thinks it's in his job description...

I hope you have a wonderful weekend & that YOU can...

make art!

wendy

ps...GO BEARS!

I snuck away...

for a little play...

I was supposed to be making kits...

shhhhh...

what happens on the blog, stays on the blog!

***WARNING***

NO brown ink was used on this tag...

very different for me...

but I *think* I like it...

I used tim's Sizzix die to cut a tag from the NEW watercolor card stock...LOVE IT!

the cardstock is 5 1/2 inches tall...

I am LOVING this size for tags...

so I had very little waste when cutting tags...

next...I stamped my geranium stamp (on the smooth side) with watering can archival...

and gave it a quick dry with the heat tool...

(yes...I did kiss the lid!)

the watering can archival gives a much softer effect than stamping with jet black...

this is why watering can was my first archival choice...

I had been wanting needing  it for YEARS!

and because archivals are permanent when dry, the image remains undamaged by all the water I added...

I used the barn door distress marker with the detail water brush to color in the flower petals...

the peeled paint & shabby shutters markers worked for the leaves...again blending with the water brush...

the key is to DRY between the layers...

this cardstock takes a lot of water without damaging it...

I saved jet black archival for the sentiment...

when the flower was complete, I added some shading with the iced spruce marker...

I scribbled the marker on the craft sheet, watered it down a bit...and I added it to the flower/leaves edges with the detail water brush...& dried it...

I used iced spruce on a blending tool to add shading to the edges & the iced spruce distress stain to add the tiny ink dots to the background...

to create the dots, just put some stain on the craft sheet, pick it up with the detail water brush & tap it over the tag...

I used watering can...

(MWAH!)

with my new ornate dots background stamp to add borders at the top & bottom of the tag...

 just a tiny bit of pen stitching around the sides...
and black glaze pen dots to accent the flower centers...

this was 20 minutes of pure fun...
and it's an addition to my art parts tag art journal...

I'm certainly not an expert watercolor-er (is that a word?)
but the combo of markers, detailer water brush & watercolor card stock sure make it easy...

there is something so relaxing about using the markers...
I didn't want to quit...

but the kits were calling...

I had 1200 tags...YES...60 packs of 20 tags to cut down to 5 1/2 inches for my mixed media tag art journal workshop...

and...a few hundred #8 black tags to cut down too...
and I cut some tags from the watercolor card stock to include in the kits...

gotta have LOTS of tags for class so we can...

make art!
wendy

catching up...

remember me? 

yikes..it's TRUE! 

time does fly when you're having fun...

so where have I been?

I taught 2 all day classes at Ink About It, in Westford, Ma. 

the first was an all day Ranger class...

and the second was an all day art journal class...

here's the sweet welcome banner Linda made...

that's Lori in the photo...

we had 2 really fun VERY ink days and I met some sweet awesome TALENTED ladies & one TALENTED gentleman...

my new archival inks got their first workout...and I kissed the labels every time I demoed them...

seriously...I DID!

they are so awesome...

THANKS to everyone for a FABULOUS weekend & to Linda & Lori for the invite...

I flew home on Sunday & spent about 14 hours at home...

just enough time to visit my hubby, sleep in my own bed, pet my critters...and pack a few art supplies...

then the next morning it was back to the airport 

to head to The Queen's Ink in Savage Md, to take 2 full days of classes from Finnabair...

it sure was a different experience being on the other side of the table...so relaxing...lol...

I had a total blast...played lots & really enjoyed the 2 days...

here's a little photo of my project...

this next photo is a journal cover, but I haven't added the holes yet...Rick said to forget the journal & put it in a frame...

still thinking on that...

look close & you'll see some art parts peeking out...

next is a 2 page spread that we made...

it's not glued into the journal yet...

still thinking on this one too...

if you ever have the opportunity to take Finn's classes...

DO IT! you won't be sorry!

next up is a fun tag I made for CHA...

it's a #8 manila tag...

the base was created with tim's distress paints...LOVE LOVE LOVE them...

I used barn door, peeled paint & broken china...

I stamped my cool new flower on specialty stamping paper 3 times with jet black archival, then used distress markers & the detail water brush to add color...the specialty stamping paper is glued to Clearly For Art...I use Glue N Seal (matte finish) ...it's awesome...

that makes the multi layered flower very strong & uncrushable...

the stitched scallop is an older stamp from this set...

it's so much easier to stamp with any color of ink instead of changing the bobbin color...

if you emboss it, it really looks machine sewn...

LOVE the remnant rubs on the Blossom Bucket bottle...

they are so easy to apply & they stick really well...

and it's super simple to customize embellishments to coordinate with your art...

the closer look below shows my new vintage mesh background stamped with watering can archival...

***yes we do have archival reinkers*** I guess I haven't talked about them, but they are available for all colors...

oops...

you can see that it is in the background & does not compete with the jet black archival stamped sentiment...

I added those little metallic dots with the gold distress stain & the detail water brush...

just shake the stain...

apply a bit to the craft sheet...

pick up the stain on the water brush, then tap the brush over the tag...

the result is cute mini metallic dots...

I also like to use the metallic stains to edge tags...

just make sure the dabber top is fairly dry...

NOT super saturated...

the gold coordinates well with 

my gold Blossom Bucket berry flower center...

time to get started on kits for my next store visit...

I'll be at Everything Scrapbooks & Stamps in Lake Worth, Florida...on September 7 & 8th...

teaching 2 full days of art journaling...

students will leave with a completed mixed media art journal both days...

(2 different journals...different techniques)

both...LOTS of fun...

we'll use lots of stamps...

lots of inks and we'll...

make art!

wendy