back from FABULOUS Carson!

well...

things didn't go quite as planned, 
but all is good...
very good...

I had big plans to post lots of demo photos on Instagram...

and maybe even to test drive Periscope...

B U T...

we were B U S Y!

REALLY...
SUPER B U S Y...

holy cow! these ladies had fun &
SHOPPED!

and some of them sat &
 watched me demo for hours...

I had a blast...

here's a little sample that I shared there...

this is a page from my new
mat mini "fat little book"...

it uses both the distress crayons 
(over collage medium)
 and my yummy archival reinkers as sprays...

the collage medium is perfect with both the crayons & the archival inks...

when you get the crayons...

make sure to get a collage medium too...

it makes the crayons blend easier & it extends their blending time...
it's magic stuff...

best of all, you can remove the crayons easily, if they are added over collage medium...
all 3 collage mediums 
work exactly the same...

the collage mediums work 
with the archival inks really well too...

you'll see that below...

I used my alphabets stencil 
with a moist (alcohol) mini blending tool 
 to remove the archival inks...

here's the steps I used 
to create this page...
1...paint a thin layer of collage medium onto the mat mini book page & add the doily...then immediately another layer
 of collage medium & make sure it's dry...

2...mist over the page with the archival sprays & dry...
(archival reinkers mixed with rubbing alcohol)
you can read that post here...
I used orange blossom &
cornflower blue for this example...

3...scribble the distress crayon over the doily, putting most of the crayon into the recessed pattern on the doily...just rub with your finger...

4...use a moist (water) paper towel to lighten the top part of the doily...leaving the crayon darker in the recesses...

5...stencil the leaves with fern green & dry...

6...moisten a mini blending tool with rubbing alcohol & use it with the alphabets stencil to remove the archival sprays...
I did this in 3 background 
areas outside the doily...

7...lightly ink the vintage text background stamp with watering can archival & use the unmounted stamp to randomly add text to the background...

8...use a black stabilo pencil to define the doily center & outline & smudge with your finger...

9......stamp the flower onto a scrap of
 clearly for art that is covered
 with newsprint paper... 
ink the flower with red geranium and tea rose archival inks, cut out, add foam adhesive to the back and add over the leaves...

10...stamp the sentiment, using jet black archival & dry...

11...ink the mat mini heart with red geranium ink & sprinkle with the custom brick embossing powder 
(1 scoop red geranium powder, 
one scoop orange blossom,
 2 scoops frosted crystal &
 ½ scoop watering can ) then heat to melt...

12...use the distress crayons to add color to any spaces that need more color...I swipe my finger on the crayon to pick up the color for good control & color placement...

13...use the tarnished brass distress paint dabber to edge the page & pen stitching is the final touch...
oh & a black glaze pen dot at the end of the leaves & to accent the flower center...

here's my page...

just a reminder...
use WATER to remove the distress crayons 
and 
use RUBBING ALCOHOL 
to remove/lighten the archival inks...

here's something I learned...

 all paper doilies are not created equal...
who knew?

my mat mini book is 4 ½ inches square, so I bought the 4 inch paper doilies, from the baking section of hobby lobby or michael's...

they are perfect...

I spotted another package that said
 "grease resistant"...

they looked thicker & my expectation was that they would add even more dimension...

not so...

they reacted with the collage medium & got really wrinkled & made a mess...
they ended up in the trash...
very weird!
it must be something about the grease resistant component...

so...

the cheapest paper doily worked perfectly!
you can see it looks almost embedded into the page...
there are no wrinkles...
it's really cool...

so, in this instance...

cheapo paper doilies are better!

cool!

in the photo below, you can see how I rubbed 
the crayon into the recesses of the doily & wiped away some of the crayons from the surface of the doily...

I hope I've inspired you to grab your supplies and...

make art!
wendy
ps..I scored some GIVEAWAYS from Ted, 
so be watching 
FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM...
I LOVE flash giveaways!

I'll have one here next week!

Q & A day...

 I wanted to answer a few questions today...

#1...where can we find your stamps and stencils in the UK? I have the powders, but the stamps & stencils are elusive. 

there's no way for us to know which stores worldwide have our products in stock & when they sell out.

my advice is to contact a LSS store in the UK & ask them to order what you are looking for. I'm sure they'd be happy to help. 

 I have sent people to

Ben at Art from the Heart, in the UK. 

he orders frequently from both Ranger & Stampers Anonymous, so he can certainly get whatever you need,

be it products from the past or

 those that are newly released...

shipping should be reasonable, 

since he's shipping to you from the UK...

hope that helps...

#2...do you have any tips for

 using the distress crayons?

the one thing that REALLY makes a big difference is to use them OVER a dry layer of collage medium...

any of the 3 will work well...

matte

crazing or

vintage...

the advantage is that you have a much longer open time for blending them with your fingers...

you can also easily remove the colors ( thru a stencil with water/wet wipe) when they're added over the collage medium...

that's how I like them best...

I love the collage brushes because they add subtle texture to the surface...

psst..I've been using them with the archival sprays...

more about that coming soon...

the crayons are also cool for adding shadows...

and 

I like to paint with them, by touching the wet detailer water brush right to the tip of the crayon...

that works really well over archival inks...

search the net for tim's videos & you'll see lots more about how he uses them...

#3...I like the idea of using reinkers to make archival sprays. I have some color washes. how would these compare to the color washes? same? different?

the color washes are a permanent fabric dye. they have very intense color & are greatly intensified by adding water... 

one tiny drop goes a L O N G way...

the archival sprays are a dye ink.  they are permanent, even after being mixed with rubbing alcohol, to create the solution... 

they work on fabric & paper surfaces...

they are 2 really different products...

#4...have you used inks to stencil over felt/fabric?

I haven't used the archival over felt, 

but it should work just fine...

here's a CHA sample that uses 

the new repeating quilt stencil...

I added tim's new textile surfaces to a piece of my magic mat board, then cut the heart, using an old Sizzix heart die...

you can see that inks are awesome on fabric...

the textile surfaces are self adhesive, so no problems with adhesive seeping thru!

here's a closer look...

the main colors are the new gorgeous

garden patina & leaf green...

it's really a nice surface for stenciling...

love the mini plaid!

#5...I've shared your simple stencil cleaning technique that you showed us at CHA. wow.

so.much.better.

ok...I had NO clue that this was such a big deal. what I do when cleaning archival ink from my stencil is this...

place the stencil on a paper towel 

(kitchen roll for my UK friends),

then mist the stencil with rubbing alcohol, fold the paper towel over & dry both sides at once...

I have the alcohol in a distress sprayer...

if you just mist the stencil right on the craft sheet, you keep laying the stencil in wetness & it takes longer to clean...

it's not a big deal if you used a small portion of a stencil, but for background stencils, it does work much faster...

#6...will you be in Rockford this weekend?

well...that was this past weekend & I wasn't...

you can always see my teaching/demo schedule 

on the right sidebar...

I do my best to keep it up to date & I still have a few more "things" to add...

#7...I was disappointed that you didn't get us potting soil embossing powder...

please say it's coming.

my fingers are crossed here...

 sometimes you have to wait for good things...

notice that I said nothing about patience...

I have none...

#8...I enjoy your art journaling pages, but haven't seen any in awhile...

here's one I did this past weekend...

it's a page from my mat mini "fat little book"...

this uses the distress crayons and the spray archival inks...

the "never enough hearts" stencil & a REALLY old pointing finger stamp...

the sentiment is brand new...

it's completely flat...

but with lots of layers, I like it...

I'll be doing more posts about this soon-ish...

ok that's it for today...

I'll try to get another post in this week before I head out...

I'll be at the Carson convention this coming weekend...
I haven't been there for a few years, so I'm excited to visit & demo there again...
come see us!

we'll have everything you need to...

make art!
wendy
ps..
for those coming to the Carson show...
tell me you're a blog friend &
 I'll have a little gift for you!

from black to white...

let's start with a shipping update...

GOOD NEWS!

my stampers anonymous products

 are shipping NOW to stores, so if you preordered stamp sets, stencils, 

mat mini's or

stamp-it stencil-its...

they will be arriving any day!

today I thought I'd share another way 

to use a solid image stamp & 

to show what a difference you get going from a black to a white focal point...

I'm using the bird/branch from

the simply art stamp set...

here is the image stamped in jet black...

you could quit there & it looks good...

but...

 with "the bird on a branch SiSi", I could add embossing powder to just the bird to accent him...

the stencil allows the background to be protected & the embossing powder adheres only to the bird...

here's how...

just place the stencil over the stamped image, add archival ink & the coordinating embossing powder...

this guy is done with custom brick embossing powder...

the SiSi stamp is the outline of the bird/branch, so they work well together or alone...

same thing here...

I flippin' LOVE the 

"repeating quilt stencil"...

and here is the same image again...

this time on

 the distress crayon background...

you can read 

about the distress crayon background

on this post...

then I wondered what this image would look like stamped & embossed with white...

below is my super quick test drive card...

the base is mixed media cardstock...

I stamped the bird/branch with 

glacier white pigment ink & 

embossed it with 

white embossing powder...

I filled in the background with weathered wood & brushed corduroy distress spray stains...

the embossing protects the image & the distress inks do all the work...

working under the bird, I added water first,  then dropped the brushed corduroy into the water, close to the bird, to keep the darkness there...

you can see some photos in this post...

you'll see the water being added & the stains being dropped in...

while that was still wet, I added water around  the remaining portion of the bird, 

then dropped in weathered wood stain & let the magic happen...

when the stains were dry, you'll see I added some stenciling in the background...

that was added with the old ledger stencil, 

using potting soil archival...

BUT...

you could stencil first, if you used archival, then add the distress as a watercolor...

DRY archival ink is waterproof...

I flicked some brushed corduroy distress stain over the card...

I love the detailer water brush for that...

I tossed this in the trash...

it was meant just for a test to see if I liked it, 

then I got it out to show you...

oh...what the heck...be brave...

it's nothing fancy, 

but it might inspire you to

play...

the sentiment was stamped with  jet black & I used a waterproof pen to draw a very loose "frame" around the ink...

the black mat mini "have a heart" 

was added & that's it...

put it on a thin brown cardstock & then on a mixed media card...

I L O V E how the colors blend...

keep that in mind when choosing your colors...

this is a gorgeous combo...

I think this is another example of how versatile stamps are & how a simple change of color really makes a big impact...

 try this once  & you'll see it's a very easy simple card...

if you need to create a last minute card, 

this is it...

have a GREAT weekend...

I hope you'll grab your stamps &

MAKE ART!

wendy

combining old & new with a TWIST...

 in an earlier post I shared that I've been using my archival reinkers to make archival sprays...

yesterday I added leaf green to the mix...

I filled the mister about 75% full of rubbing alcohol, then added about 

12 drops of the leaf green reinker...

now I have a leaf green spray!

I kept this spray fairly light, but you can vary the color to your liking...

for this card, I started with a 

piece of mixed media cardstock...

it's cut to 3 ½ x 4 ¼...

I misted it lightly with leaf green & sky blue, 

then I dried it...

I stamped the sentiment at the bottom, 

using jet black archival...

here's where it started...

I had an idea that I wanted to make a bouquet with the leaves from this stencil, but the stems weren't long enough...

so you'll see that I masked off the center portion with a tiny bit of masking tape...

washi tape would work just fine too...

I wanted it to look like I used 3 different stencils, so you'll see that I also masked off the lower 2 leaves on the left...

 turn the stencil over & check to make sure that the tape isn't blocking any portion of the open areas...

then stencil with leaf green archival...

the background gets another layer with 

the vintage text background stamp, 

after it was inked with sky blue...

when stamping random areas in the background, I like to use the stamp UNmounted for better placement control...

here's a little tip to prevent stamping an image upside down...

just use a Sharpie to add an arrow right on the cling...

I know that the arrow pointing up means right side up to me...

now there's subtle & random text in the background...

I like it...

I L O V E this 

new spring bouquet stamp-it stencil-it...

the most!

I like that there are several ways to use it & that I can use just portions of it too...

I had a scrap of clearly for art (aka CFA) that was covered with newsprint paper...

I inked the flower portion of the stamp with jet black & stamped just the large flower...

and cut it out...

I used sunflower to ink over the whole flower & gave it a quick dry...

the new distress crayons are great for adding shading over dry archival ink...

I like to use the moist detailer water brush and touch it to the tip of the crayon...

then just paint the area that I want to shade...

rusty hinge & festive berries look good with sunflower...

you'll see that at the end of the post...

now if you refer back to the title, 

TWIST is the key word...

I used sky blue to stencil the vintage quilt stencil over the card...

oops no photo...

I got excited...

I had an idea that I wanted to add another color to the stencil, to make it stand out a bit more...

the photo below shows that I cut a piece of clearly for art to 2 x 3 inches & used a 1/8th inch hole punch, toward the center of the piece...

mine is really old...but I found this one...

this size CFA was perfect, because now I can place the HOLE over the + stencil & add another ink color!

make sure that your CFA piece is large enough, so that you can use the mini blending tool & not worry about going off the edge with ink...

this makes it super quick...

you could also use stencil material or a sturdy plastic...

I like it to be clear, because then it's simple to position it exactly in the center of each +...

like this...

I added a dot to each + with fern green, using my new single dot stencil...

it totally changes up the vintage quilt stencil & makes it even more fun!

see the difference that little dot makes?

what took me so long to think of this?

I also stamped a flourish, using jet black...

now to remove some ink from the background...

my distress sprayer has alcohol in it...

and I have a clean foam on the blending tool...

I misted some alcohol onto the craft sheet & picked it up with the blending tool...

don't oversaturate the foam...

it just needs to be moist...

NOT soaking wet...

now I can rub away some background color, using the lots of dots stencil...

one advantage of a clean stencil is that you can see exactly where you're removing the color & avoid the leaves or your main image...

this next photo shows the results...

they're subtle dots, 

but it's another layer in the background...

I used the peeled paint marker to draw in some long stems...

and here's my finished card...

the flower is raised with black foam adhesive & I added these dots with 

the create a wreath stencil & sunflower archival ink...it's a GORGEOUS new color!

the bow was also stamped on a small scrap of  CFA/newsprint paper , inked with sunflower & then stenciled with red geranium archival ink & the new lots of dots stencil...

here's a better shot showing the shading on the flower...

archival inks and

 the distress crayons

work well together...

I adore the new mini hex fastener...

it's PERFECT for attaching the little bow...

can you see that

one little dot sure can make a big impact?

it freshens up the vintage quilt stencil & it takes very little time...

other ideas are brewing...

I can't wait to add the dot with embossing paste to create a raised center...

it could be translucent paste for a shiny clear dot or gold or silver paste for a really cool metallic accent...

or...

how about using a colored embossing powder after stenciling the whole stencil...

melt the powder...

then go back & add a center dot in a coordinating archival color or embossing paste?

it's so much fun to...

make art!

wendy