stamped spotlight frames...

actually the title should be...

another reason to LOVE giant background stamps...

here's a fun trick...

use typing paper to cut out a circle...

I used the 4 inch circle die from Sizzix...

it's the perfect size for larger art journal pages...

lay the paper circle in the center of the background stamp and add ink, by tapping the pad on the stamp...some ink will go onto the paper circle...

REMOVE the paper circle & stamp onto an art journal page...

below is the herringbone background stamp...

and the starting point of the page...

with a circle spotlight...

& a bold frame...

same process with the ledger background stamp...

for a more subtle background...

and here's a finished spotlight frame art journal page...

this time I used the stripes background stamp...

the page below actually started with the archival reinker/alcohol (surgical spirits) background...
(tree branch & forget-me-not)...

then the stamped stripes/circle frame was added over the dry background...

the vintage floral stencil is a favorite...

tree branch archival is an awesome background color...

it pretty much coordinates with everything...

that's my tip for today...

a fun way to change the look of your background stamps...

there are so many options...

think about this...

for every background stamp you have...

you can use any large shape...

or use several smaller shapes...

or...use a mask...

or use the idea on a smaller project like a card front, to spotlight your main image or sentiment...

it's an easy way to send a single layer card that looks dimensional...

and this works on tags too...

altering background stamps to create stamped spotlight frames is simple & quick!

background stamps are essential tools when you...

make art!

wendy

another art journal page...

just popping in for a quick hello...

I snuck in a little play with another art journal page...

the dots are the polka dotty stencil, with translucent embossing paste...

while the paste was wet, I sprinkled on some frosted crystal embossing powder & heated it for a cool effect...

dear FAVORITE guys at Ranger...

we NEED this frosted crystal in a GIANT size jar PLEASE!

I darkened some of the dots with the stabilo pencil...

and stamped thru the stencil on some random dots...

for the frame, I traced a grid-block...

these make great frame templates...

these art journal pages have really inspired me to combine older stamps & stencils with newer...

new sunburst stencil...
new SiSi...I changed it up with a different flower center...I cut it from this one...
new add a stencil...
old spider from botanical art...
older stem & leaves...good size to mix & match with lots of flowers & easy to cut out!

it's fun to make things fresh again...

the archival ink colors I use are...
dandelion...
leaf green & fern green...
orange blossom...
hydrangea...awesome for background stenciling...
tree branch...it coordinates with everything!
watering can...a fav go to basic...
& my fav jet black...used on EVERYTHING I create!

mixed in with iced spruce & broken china distress stains, for the bow...

back to the TO*DO list...

I'm working on _____ & ______ & ________
and trying to decide if I have enough courage guts to_________...
or if I should pass on the opportunity...

and I'm still tweaking my new 2 day art journal class...
and writing instructions...
and making kits...

ps...you'll see no cooking on that list...
but I *might* sneak in a visit to onelineshoes.com to see what sandals I just might need...

even though the furnace is still going full blast...
spring HAS TO COME...
sometime...

see you tomorrow with a fun card that I created for Ranger!

until then...

sneak away and...

make art!
wendy

inspired by tim...

specifically by his April tag...

when I have a long post, I invite you to grab a beverage...

but for this one...

you just might need to grab LUNCH...

YIKES...there's lots to tell...

tim used his Sizzix tattered pinecone die to create a rose...

I had played with this before, but not for quite a while...

and I wanted to...

the idea went like this...

could I use Clearly For Art (CFA) to make a rose with the tattered pinecone die?

I did & below you'll see the result...

the photo looks fairly decent, but in person, it's not very effective...

there's not much definition,...

you really don't see the petals & actually it looks like a blob of plastic...

on to plan B...

would frosted film help define the petals?

I covered a piece of Clearly For Art with tim's frosted film...

the frosted film is self adhesive, so remove the backing a bit at a time & press it onto the CFA, then use the pinecone die...

when using CFA, tim's toothpick trick didn't work...

CFA is strong stuff & the toothpick wasn't strong enough to allow me to roll the CFA...

I had much more control using the hemostat...

I'm working from the CFA side & grabbed the end of the die cut like this...

CFA needs to be heated to make it soft & pliable...

one cooled it's rock solid, but can always be reheated to allow reshaping...

I heated small areas...just 3 or 4 petals at a time...

DO NOT TOUCH the HEMOSTAT...

metal gets hot...

the photo below is showing that once heated, it will retain it's shape...

when I got to the final 4 petals & the little tab, it looked like this...

you can see that I used the hemostat thru the center of the rose while rolling it...

and heated it mostly from the bottom...

see those points in the photo below? I chopped them off because they made the flower too tall...

it looked like a pinecone...imagine that! lol...

don't chop the points off at the beginning...

that made it harder to roll...

I used hot glue on the tab and here it the flower so far...

the center opening was too large, so I used the scraps of the CFA covered with frosted film & cut this...

then cut 2 individual petals, heated them & shaped them & used them to fill the center...

I did trim off the points to make them the right height...

it's easy to test drive them before cutting...

to further shape the rose petals, I slightly heated a few petals & grabbed them with the hemostat to bend them down...

same process for this one, but I lightly rubbed the tree branch archival pad over the frosted film & dried it before I started...

frosted vintage! hello...in LOVE!

here is a side by side comparison...

CFA covered with frosted film...

same on the right, but with tree branch to add a tint of color...

now to create my tag...

in this previous post you'll see how I created custom embossing powders...

I used this combo...

I cut a piece of manila cardstock large enough for tim's Sizzix ornate frame...

I added distress embossing ink over the manila piece, then sprinkled on the custom embossing powder, heated it to melt, then die cut this ornate frame...

to age the frame, I used tree branch archival...

and then some potting soil archival ink around the outside edge...

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

then used the Stabilo pencil to trace around the cutout area & blended it with my finger to define the opening...

I used a found relative card & die cut it, using the ornate frame...

that assures the cutout is a perfect oval fit for the frame...

I know...the backs are as cool as the front...

it KILLED me to cut it!

totally...nuts! there's LOTS more in the package!

below is the #8 black tag...

I added a leftover strip of paper from the new wallflower paper stash...

on the far left, I stamped my new lace border with distress embossing ink, sprinkled it with the custom embossing powder mix & heated it to melt the powder...

the paper intersection is ugly, but I'll cover that up in a few...

see the right edge?

I used the emboss it dabber to add embossing fluid to the right edge of the tag, then touched the edge to the embossing powder & heated it...

the emboss it dabber is a convenient way to get a thin embossed edge...

previously I had used my "in full bloom" SiSi (Stamp it Stencil it) to create a card front...

I first stamped the image with jet black archival...

it's easy to place the stencil over the stamped image...

and ink the leaves with fern green archival & a bit of leaf green archival...

you can ink right over the flower since it's protected by the stencil...

see that mini blending tool?

it's ADORABLE & perfect for stenciling!

then reposition the flower portion of the stencil...

you'll see the leaves are masked off...

and use orange blossom archival to ink the flower...

this was done & sitting on my desk...unused for another project, so I cut it out...

I had a leftover CFA orange blossom rose...

an it was a perfect fit over the SiSi...

the parts are all done, so now they get glued in place...

I used several different packages of remnant rubs for adding the words to the paper strip & the frame & also to give the kids numbers & a little star...

oops...somewhere along the way, I used the add a stencil with super fine detail embossing powder on the right side of the tag...

the new alpha parts "framed" had a perfect word to tie it all together...

here's a better look at the CFA, that was covered with vintage dictionary text, which created the orange rose...

Ok...here's the scoop...

using CFA isn't as easy as using cardstock...but it is SO WORTH the time & effort...

I'd say it took me 10 minutes...and that the second flower was much easier...

the CFA roses are super strong...

you will find that the hemostat is a HUGE help...

and that frosted film over the CFA saved the day, allowing the petals to show up much better...

can't you see a bowl of CFA pinecones sitting in a bowl?

because they're so sturdy, they would be simple to pack away & bring out each fall...with no fear of them being squished...

so...I didn't follow along exactly with tim's tag, but it sure did inspire me...

I had intended to use the frosted film rose, but it didn't stand out enough for this piece...

but I think it will be perfect with this paper...

I have a plan!

they're in the studio all ready & waiting for me to...

make art!

wendy

creating custom embossing powders...

I had a fun play day yesterday & thought I'd share some of the results of my experiments...

at CHA this past January, Ranger announced a revised & updated embossing powder program...

embossing powder is HOT HOT HOT!

get the pun?

so that means that I was sent a GIANT box of EVERY single embossing powder that is made by Ranger...

yippee!

I SO LOVE MY JOB...

anyway, that's what started the experiment...

if you follow my blog, you know that I LOVE to find new ways to use products...

so you'll know that I had so much fun playing working in the studio yesterday...

one of the embossing powders that I did not own prior to the big box delivery, was the TAN embossing powder...

SERIOUSLY? how did I miss this? it's BROWN!

let the experimenting begin...

here's the supplies I used...

tim's distress embossing ink...but any of the embossing inks will work...

TAN embossing powder...

my checkmate stencil...

and some manila cardstock...

I like to use a piece of cut N dry foam to add the embossing ink thru the stencil...

after the Tan embossing powder was heated & melted, this is the result...

beautiful tan...and very shiny...

because my style is more vintage, I wanted to see if it was possible to tone down the shine...

so, I grabbed a small jar & added equal amounts of the tan embossing powder & the frosted crystal embossing powder...

and shook the jar to mix them very well...

it was that simple to create a custom embossing powder...

oh the possibilities!

what you'll see in the photo below is that it's still tan-ish...

but it is significantly less shiny...

and it has an awesome rough texture from the frosted crystal powder...

here's a side by side comparison...

less shiny & a lighter tan...

I am so loving this!

and here's a closer look at the fabulous texture...

metallic are very popular these days, so I thought I'd experiment with the princess gold embossing powder...

the photo below shows what it looks like, used right from the jar...

a beautiful shiny gold...

again, I was aiming for a more vintage effect, so I mixed equal amounts of the princess gold & frosted crystal in a small jar...

and below is the result...

textured gold, that is less shiny...

I like it!

I got brave & added even more frosted crystal to the jar...

I'd estimate that I used 1 part  princess gold powder & 5 parts of frosted crystal embossing powder...

and this is the result...

still gold color...

but much less shine...

which to me means it looks more vintage...

and PERFECT to use with distress inks & my archival inks...

below is the example showing all 3 gold samples...

the far left is princess gold, used right from the jar...

top right is 1 part princess gold & 1 part frosted crystal...

the bottom right is 1 part princess gold with 5 parts of the frosted crystal embossing powder mixed in, to create an awesome vintage gold...

3 very different effects...

the key ingredient here is the frosted crystal embossing powder...

it adds texture & makes the powders less shiny...

it can be mixed in with any of the powders to create custom colored embossing powders...

I'll be using these powders thru my stencils, for art journal backgrounds and to sprinkle over my wet embossing pastes, to create tons of dimension...

I see lots of fun play work coming...

try it!

have fun and...

make art!

wendy

ps...off to look for more mini jars...

I can mix silver embossing powder with frosted crystal...

and the awesome lime green powder...

and...

and...

I guess I better find LOTS of jars...

BE TRUE..tutorial...

happy LAST day of March!

dear March...

you have been brutal & ugly...

and I'm quite happy to see that April is almost here...

to celebrate, I have a fun mixed media tutorial up on the Ranger blog today...

I have a supply list, the instructions & some step out photos for this card...

you can check it out here... on the...RANGER BLOG...

thanks for stopping by...

I hope you can take time to...

make art...
wendy

more..altering with archival inks...

in the previous post, I shared how to alter tim's embellishments with my archival inks...

you can find it here...

I altered these 3 idea-ology pieces, but only used the rose for the last post...

today it's all about the arrow & butterfly...

the arrow pack has 2 sizes...so, lots of fun possibilities...

the butterfly is from the nature set & it's my MOST FAVORITE set ever...

all the pieces have amazing detail & are easy to transform...

I cut a #8 manila tag down to 5 ½ inches tall...

if you haven't tried this, removing that little ¾ inch totally changes the tag...

I haven't used a full size tag since I started chopping these down!

I used tim's wrinkle free distress technique with iced spruce & scattered straw distress inks to create the background...

then stamped my sentiment using jet black archival...

I used tree branch archival with the checkmate stencil, to add borders at the top & bottom of the tag...

after test driving my arrow & butterfly, I knew where I wanted the flourishes placed...

the mini flourishes were stamped with watering can archival...

next, some random stenciling with the new "add a stencil", using cornflower blue & the CUTE new mini blending tool...

I REALLY LOVE the mini tool, especially for stenciling...

the smaller size is so convenient...

the background needed a bit more, so I used iced spruce with my numbers background to add some random stamping...

that background stamp is an oldie...

it's from LCS015...dimensional rose art...

I did not use the numbers background stamp on a grid block...

by using it UN-mounted, it's easy to bend the stamp & use just small portions of it, to fill in the background wherever it's needed...

you'll also see that I like to accent the borders with a waterproof pen...the more details the better...

below, the arrow is glued in place...

"start here" was added with jet black archival...

that's an oldie too from LCS041... book art basics...

your store can order any of the older sets you might have missed...just ask them...

the butterfly sits over the arrow, so I used 2 fat glue dots ...

and some multi medium where the butterfly rests on the arrow...

to further accent the borders, I added some black glaze pen dots...

here's the finished tag...

it's amazing how a few drops of ink can change things dramatically...

here's a closer look at the butterfly...

if you make jewelry, I think these pieces would work really well...

they look pricy, but they're not...

the details are really amazing...

this next piece is also in the same pack...

after I inked this guy...

I HAD to order more...

I'll show you how I used it next week...

I'm off to teach in New Hampshire this weekend...

where we WILL have so much fun when we...

MAKE ART

wendy

ps...I hope you're inspired to try altering with archival inks...