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

stencil weaving...EDITED...

EDITED...
I just got this coupon code for a
 special labor day discount...



the code to enter at checkout is LD2016

and...

it IS already available...

for those who have asked about getting the lace border stamp as a single wood mounted stamp,
you'll find it here...

first of all...

don't look at my dirty, well loved stencils...

DEAL?

I was hurrying to get this post going & off the TO+DO list & didn't take time to clean them...

here's the card I made that sparked 

the "stencil weaving" idea...

I used this

new "freshly picked" stamp-it stencil-it...

used to create a sympathy card...

I chose this sentiment, because I think it works for people & pets too...

anyway...

here's what I discovered...

see the vertical thin tree branch archival

stripes in the background?

that's the "yikes...stripes" stencil...

an oldie, but a goodie...

I use it frequently...

obviously the stripes can be vertical on the surface or horizontal...

or we can combine them to make a plaid...

oh...and I've had several ask where to find 

that lacy border...

it's here...

it's on the left side of the set...

vertically on the left...

this is the direct link...
to the wood mount lacy border stamp...

and here's my card...

using the "yikes...stripes" stencil...

I discovered that

if you weave the cardstock thru the stencil...

we can now stencil wide stripes!

they can be horizontal...

good for journaling...

or just a basic background...

or vertical...

this is 

exactly what I LOVE...

more than one way to use a product!

I have more ideas brewing...stay tuned...

that got me to looking for what other stencils we have that might be changeable...

 below is the "dots & stripes" border stencil...

another oldie...

it too can be used 

to create borders with thicker stripes...

I used the stencil with watering can archival for the sample to create the thin stripes borders at the top & bottom of the sympathy card...

but it's easy to weave the cardstock thru to create wide stenciled stripes...

and it's a good way to use up some scraps...

now we have MORE WAYS to use 2 of the stencils we already have,

 in another unique way to...

make art!

wendy

ps...

try it & show me!

stencil weaving...

first of all...

don't look at my dirty, well loved stencils...

DEAL?

I was hurrying to get this post going & off the TO+DO list & didn't take time to clean them...

here's the card I made that sparked 

the "stencil weaving" idea...

I used this

new "freshly picked" stamp-it stencil-it...

used to create a sympathy card...

I chose this sentiment, because I think it works for people & pets too...

anyway...

here's what I discovered...

see the vertical thin tree branch archival

stripes in the background?

that's the "yikes...stripes" stencil...

an oldie, but a goodie...

I use it frequently...

obviously the stripes can be vertical on the surface or horizontal...

or we can combine them to make a plaid...

oh...and I've had several ask where to find 

that lacy border...

it's here...

it's on the left side of the set...

vertically on the left...

and here's my card...

using the "yikes...stripes" stencil...

I discovered that

if you weave the cardstock thru the stencil...

we can now stencil wide stripes!

they can be horizontal...

good for journaling...

or just a basic background...

or vertical...

this is 

exactly what I LOVE...

more than one way to use a product!

I have more ideas brewing...stay tuned...

that got me to looking for what other stencils we have that might be changeable...

 below is the "dots & stripes" border stencil...

another oldie...

it too can be used 

to create borders with thicker stripes...

I used the stencil with watering can archival for the sample to create the thin stripes borders at the top & bottom of the sympathy card...

but it's easy to weave the cardstock thru to create wide stenciled stripes...

and it's a good way to use up some scraps...

now we have MORE WAYS to use 2 of the stencils we already have,

 in another unique way to...

make art!

wendy

ps...

try it & show me!

come visit me...

today 

at the Ranger blog...

I'm sharing a tutorial for this card...

one of the techniques I used is how to stamp THRU a stencil to add another layer...

 it's easy & it makes a difference...

this card has lots of background layers too...

and...

come visit me at...

at the next stop on the art adventure...

The Papercraft Clubhouse in Westbrook Ct.

I just spoke with Tracie this morning & she asked if it was possible to add 4 more seats to each class & we DID...

so, if you were told the classes were sold out...

please call or stop in to grab a seat...

it will be a FUN inky weekend...

FOR SURE!

after that...

come visit me...

STAMP & SCRAPBOOK EXPO

 in Schaumburg, Illinois...

save the dates...

August 19 & 20...

I hear that this is a wonderful convention...

I've stayed at the hotel & it's fabulous!

I'm sure the convention center is too!

if you remember my blog post about 

the TV hidden IN THE BATHROOM MIRROR...

this is the place!

I'll be demoing both days in the Craft Fancy booth for my friends

 Carol & Brian,

 who own 

Craft Fancy, in Arlington Heights, Illinois...

I'll be showcasing techniques using

 Stampers Anonymous/studio490 

stamps, stencil, embossing pastes & MORE...

plus lots of techniques using my Ranger Archival inks, embossing powders & Tim's awesome distress crayons...

ps...Craft Fancy is a FAB store & I'll be teaching there 

October 14 & 15...

we haven't discussed classes yet...

so just save the date!

they have a GREAT REALLY COMFY classroom...

and I hope to see you there...

and sign ups just opened up last week at 

Memory Bound, 

in Ankeny, Iowa...

we have 2 full days of technique classes planned for you...

those dates are September 16 & 17th...

I taught there several years ago...

LOVED IT!

come visit me there!

ok...

now...

come visit me 

over at the Ranger blog...

I'll show you how I like to...

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

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