here's how I got started...

here's how I got started...
a 20 minute podcast by Crazy BeYOUtiful

Friday, February 17, 2017

enamel accents technique...

sometimes an idea works &
 you can share a fun NEW technique...

this one DID work...

here's another way to use enamel accents...

I posted a 1 minute video yesterday,
 explaining this technique 

you can see it here on Instagram...

and here on Facebook...
for some reason Blogger won't publish it here...
probably tech error on my part...

anyway...

here's the tag I made using the technique...

it's the same tag you see in the video...
I started with  a #8 heavystock tag...
it's a very nice surface to work on...

it's swiped with potting soil and
they're thin & when applied this way, 
they dry in about 2 minutes & add
 both texture & shine...
they also act as a resist for inks...

I used my "never enough hearts" stencil & traced the heart on the back of the tag, then cut it out...
tracing on the back is best, 
that way no tracing lines show, if your cutting isn't perfect...



here's the heart...
I inked the white edges with potting soil...


to create the background for the heart,  
I used a #8 heavy stock tag...
it's cut down to 5 ½ inches tall...

I inked the tag with orange blossom
then added potting soil to the edges...

I stenciled the square grate on the left side of the tag with cornflower blue...
then stenciled some polka dots with potting soil over the square grate stencil...

moving on to the right side, 
I knew the ink was not completely dry & that embossing powder would stick where there was wetness...
perfect...
I wanted melted embossing powder
in the background as extra texture, 
but with no foiling...
I was careful to only added bits of foil on the stamped lines,
so I wouldn't end up with a big blob of foil...

I inked the old wood floor background with cornflower & sprinkled on the  
I reheated it & pressed the 
over the warm embossing powder...
it will release easily when it has transferred...
it takes just a few seconds...

here's a video that explains 
how EASY this is......

***I am addicted to foiling 
the embossing powder***

be warned!
if you try it...
I'm NOT responsible
for YOUR addiction...
haha!

I added 3 pieces of tim's new design tape

I used watering can to stamp the flourishes that you see below...

look closely & you'll see the screen background stamped in several places, 
using the 3rd generation tiger lily...
(I stamped off 2 times)
I wanted it barely visible...

here's the tag base...


next are the components...

the little "make art" is from 
stamped with jet black onto a scrap, then inked with potting soil & orange blossom...

the new mat mini flower was stamped with cornflower blue, using the plaid background, embossed with cornflower blue embossing powder, then foiled with the same turquoise foil sheet...

the center is a hex head fastener, inserted thru a fluted fastener collar, then thru a mini gear...

I held the pieces together with a hemostat, 
heated them as one, 
then dipped them into the cornflower blue embossing powder...

the hot metal holds the embossing powder in place...
once cooled, I used the sanding grip to sand part of the hex head back to the original color...

those leaves are tim's gold 
they're die cut
then inked with fern green...
I sprinkled on the 
to give it a bumpy look...
crummy photo...
but trust me...it's pretty cool!

***since archival inks are translucent, you can easily change the color of these metallic card stocks & tint them to any color of metallic***

then I stamped over them with 
the "les roses" background with watering can...

I cut off the last 2 leaves, because
I thought it was a bit too long...


but then...
I dug them out of the trash...
this is normal for me...


and turned them the opposite way when I added them to the heart...

why?

NO CLUE...
but I liked it!



here's the tag all assembled...

under the heart to add dimension...
it's great stuff for it's adhesive properties & the perfect dimension!

I added an extra strip of the same 
to the bottom, edged the tag with the tarnished brass paint dabber & used 
my CUTE
to add some dots...


it's got a vintage feel & when the light hits it, 
the bling is really cool!




I hope you'll
give this enamel accents technique a try & 
you'll see how fun it is...

have a GREAT weekend...
I hope YOU can
take some time to...

make art!
wendy










Monday, February 13, 2017

foiled embossing powder and...

lately I've been hooked on adding foil to my embossing powders...
I like that there is no special equipment needed...
I like that we just use the things I'm sure you already have...

embossing powders...

Ranger's foil sheets...
oops...

I say in the video that there are 8 sheets, but there are really 10!
this is my fav set, 
it's the vintage...
but there are others to choose from too...
like these basics...
and this set has pretty brights...


you can add as much foiling as you'd like...
you can foil the whole image or
 just foil the sentiment... 

here's some examples...


this one has foiling in the background on 
the script background and 
on the mat mini tree...
the focal image...

the trees aren't just for holidays...
the new "homestead" set was designed to work with them for all year round art...




for this sample the old wood floor background stamp is foiled...


here's a better look...
it's subtle & great for a background...




for this one, I foiled just select parts of the new circle collage background stamp...

it's embossed with 
 watering can embossing powder...

any of the embossing powder colors will work...
so, emboss with a color & use a different color of foil...
it's really fun!



 here's the video that SCRAP TIME filmed last month in Phoenix...
this explains how the technique works & shows you how really simple, but effective it is...

I LOVE that combining products in a different way yields a whole new result...


if you pop over to the SCRAP TIME blog,
you can enter to win the demo tag I made...
you just need to leave a comment there 
by Feb 19th...






so who won these new enamel accents?


congrats to...






Blogger SusanK said...





Love how you combined so many items and colors to come up with this super adorable piece of art!
February 10, 2017 at 2:27 PM
 Delete
please get me your shipping info & Rick, 
head of shipping & receiving,
will get these off to you...

NEWS FLASH...

to celebrate Valentine's Day,
I'm giving away a set of 
my new Ranger designer bags...







be watching on Instagram 
for the announcement...
tomorrow...
it will be a 24 hour giveaway, so everyone has a chance to enter...
you'll just leave a comment there...
that's your entry ticket!


don't forget to leave a comment over 
at SCRAP TIME...
they make great videos!

today I think we should...
make art!
wendy









Friday, February 10, 2017

distress oxide valentine & GIVEAWAY!


this is another project 
that took me in a direction
 I had not planned...

my original idea was stalled, 
(actually...I was totally brain dead)
so I thought...
just cut the bloody thing...
if it doesn't work, 
the trash can is nearby &
 you can make 
another tag...

I made this tag with 

here's the colors I used...


it's a great price for all 12...

where tim explains the inks &
 how to create a background like this...

after I decided to die cut the tag,
I pulled out an old Sizzix heart die & used the tag to create the die cut...
it's a sizzix oldie...
see the red frame it's in?
still works like a charm!

 any heart die you have will work...
just scale your project accordingly...

once I did this, 
the rest quickly fell into place...




I die cut a second heart from my black magic mat board & glued the tag heart onto the black mat board, to create a nice strong dimensional embellishment...
no worries now,
if I let it hang off the tag...

with sky blue,
stamped over the heart...

"love you" was stenciled with jet black, using the stencil from the new select a sentiment...
this is a good one, if you make cards...
it has so many options & 
the stamp is really cool...

I stamped the flourish, with jet black
broken china oxide ink...

the tiny white highlight dots are 
to add the final details, 
I edged the heart with 

and added a hex fastener to the top center 
of the heart to coordinate with the paint...


next, it's time for 

the flower was inked with fossilized amber & misted with water to oxidize it...
after I dried it, it got stamped with 
I added a bit of shading to 
the flower petal edges 

a black mat mini heart made the perfect flower center, and reinforced the idea that
 this is a valentine...

the mat mini leaves got inked with peeled paint oxide ink, lightly misted with water, dried & then stamped with the new herringbone background, using fern green archival...
the oxides & archival inks work so well together...


now for the tag...

I had the idea to make a "quilt-ish" looking background by adding stitching 
between the color blocks...

I cut a #8 kraft tag to about 5 ½ inches tall...
I swiped the broken china oxide pad across the top...
you can see some kraft color
peeking thru, which adds to the distress look...

moving down...
the next section on the left 
is the peeled paint oxide pad...
across from that is the fossilized amber...
bottom left is again fossilized amber & the bottom right is worn lipstick...
once those pads were all swiped on the tag, I misted it with water to oxidize the inks, dried it & then added more layers, misted again & dried it...

now for the stitching...
I used my new rectangle stitching template as a guide & poked the holes with 

but then...
oops...
I decided to add more fossilized amber to the tag & I went over the stitches & now they're yellow!


I added the old wood floor background with watering can to the top of the tag & on the bottom left rectangle...
the middle right section got a little stamping of the screen background, with watering can...

the stripe at the bottom is the edge of 
I like that it's not a perfect line...
I inked just the edge of the stamp...

the rectangle collage is a favorite 
from the new release...
if you look at the circle collage photo 
(click the link)...
the actual stamp is the black...
NOT the bricks...
that's the page background...


once I knew the placement of the heart, I stenciled the leaves with peeled paint oxide & stenciled the berries with broken china oxide...


the bottom needed something...
so I die cut
the leftover tag worked perfectly...
the scallop edge die is part of a fav 
it's nice to use up scraps!



here's the finished tag...
sitting in a cute rusty old dust pan...

I'm really liking the oxides for a chalky matte finish...
it's a new way to distress!

click to enlarge the photo...


 I have a few more close ups...

I really like the x's stitched at the top...
super easy...
just poke 2 rows of holes, then stitch away...
you can vary the size of the X by how far apart you poke the rows of holes...

you'll see some leaf green enamel accents dots on the leaves & also used to accent
the center of the berries...



the cute little die cut border was glued to the back of the tag & it's accented with 


well, I hope this gives you some inspiration for using the new distress oxide inks...
I had fun, once my brain kicked in...

now, if you're reading to the end...

THANK YOU!

it's GIVEAWAY TIME!

leave a comment here for a chance to win
a set of my new 
adorable
Ranger Enamel Accents!

they are so cool & there are multiple ways to use them...

for several ideas...

look how CUTE they are!


but wait...
there's M O R E!

if you'd like to follow me on Instagram...
I'm going to be giving away 
a set of my Ranger designer bags there!

when is the 
Instagram GIVEAWAY?

I guess you'll just have to follow & 
be watching...
psst... 
I think Tuesday,
 to celebrate Valentine's day!


good luck everyone!

thanks for stopping by...
I sincerely appreciate each of you!

now it's time for me to...

make art!
wendy






Friday, February 3, 2017

Friday focus...studio 490!


happy weekend my friends!

psst...

enabler alert...

the above link takes you there...

that means that my studio 490 products 
(except the newest release) 

this first sample shows
that mat mini flower was pressed onto 
it was not designed to be a perfect fit, 
but it's another way to use 
and customize the mat mini flowers...
it works with many of them...

oops...
can't forget the ferns 
peeking out are this stencil...



it's a good time to stock up on 
this sample shows stamping into the WET translucent embossing paste with the
this background is also GREAT
 to use with the
and it's fun to add random bits to a background...

here's how to recreate the sample below...

have everything done & colored...
background, butterfly, sentiment etc all done...
then spread a thin layer of
over the surface...
then
stamp into the wet paste...

when it is clear & dry, I went over the whole surface with the distress crayons, pushing them into the cracks...
just scribble them on...
then with a moist paper towel, 
remove the excess from the surface...
I LOVE this "specimen" result!




add some red geranium to the stamp...
stamp...
add some potting soil...
stamp...
add some jet black to just
the crack area...
and stamp again...

makes it so easy & the colors blend beautifully with no hard edges...

it works well with all background stamps...
I really like it with the new rectangle collage...



and you can vary the colors of the text...

now we can
add multiple colors easily & perfectly, 
because the platform allows stamping in the exact same place every time...


and best of all.
I think
the price of the stamp platform 
is great...



on the 2 samples below...

THANKS MUCH & MISS YOU 
were stenciled with the select-a-stencil...
they were the inspiration for the newest...

this is the DELUXE version
that also includes a stamp...
each sentiment fits in the label area, giving multiple uses for several occasions...

you can also use the stamp with other stamped sentiments...
and you can use the stencil without the stamp...
this is a FAVORITE...


this rose is nice for a single layer card...
or step it up & layer it...

 I like to combine older things we have
with the newest...
the mat mini butterflies, hearts & birdhouses are fun to customize to fit your art...
this time the birdhouse sits on a tall pole in the garden...

and there are some subtle 
on the mat mini leaves...

those leaves you see below,
were designed with the dots in mind & you can also add mat mini flowers if you prefer...
the leaves can also hang down from the top of the card, to create vines...

they look great with the picket fence stencil...
and I like them embossed for a different look...


and...
there's more...

 later today...

where they are doing a review of my newest Ranger products 
the new 
A D O R A B L E 
mini Archival pads 
they are sharing some scoop
 from Creativation too...

ok...
enabling done...

have a great weekend!

happy shopping...
I hope you score some good stuff, 
then can sneak in some time to...

make art!
wendy