Monday, December 30, 2013

Faber-Castell Gelatos

Hello All!
I got the gelato gift pack from Michaels and they are quite amazing!  They are like a combination of oil pastel and watercolor in their behavior.  I made 2 mixed media boards where I am going to contrast the different ways of application.

The first:
This was done oil pastel style. I first stamped the Hero Arts image with versamark ink.  I then applied the Gelatos and smudged with my fingers to blend.  Blended very easily and smoothly, and after it dries it is smudgeproof. 

The Second:

This was done watercolor blended.  Again this was first stamped with versamark ink.  I applied the Gelatos directo to paper and then used a wet paintbrush to blend.  Blended very well with water and paintbrush, and much more control for tight spaces.  Also Smudge proof once dry which took about an hour.

I am excited to work with them and do some mixed media Techniques!  I am also going to do a tutorial series on layering over this week.  I am going to do 4 classes on layering techniques including a tutorial on the above.  Please stay tuned for the layering class!  :)

~Jay

Some random cards

Hello All!
I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  Here are some random cards I made over the last couple of weeks I though I would share with you.
You can never have enough Thank you cards!  These are a gift pack for someone.


A card made using Hero Arts "Bokeh Technique"


Another card using the Bokeh Technique

A card using different paper punches.

I hope you have a very Blessed New Year!
~Jay

Monday, December 16, 2013

Reindeer Tag

This tag is my rendition of Day 2, by Julie Ebersole in Ellen Hutson's 12 tags of christmas with a feminine twist.

Cardstock: Neena Solar White
Ink: Squeezed Lemonade, Chipped Sapphire, Tumbled Glass, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen, Black Soot,  Gathered Twigs distress ink; Iced Spruce, evergreen bough distress stain. Also the spots are Stampin' Up's white shimmer paint.
Die Cut Dies: Spellbinders Label #8; The following are Sizzix Tim Holtz Dies: Tree line, reindeer flight and Townscape.
Also entering this into Simon Says Stamp's background challenge: Let it Snow!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Jay

Monday, December 9, 2013

Gift Basket Basket Alternative

Hello All! I hope you are doing well with your Christmas shopping!  I thought I would share an idea I came up with a few years ago.  I do gift baskets for family members at Christmas if I am just doing gift cards or some smaller gifts, and a couple of years ago instead of using a wicker basket (as who needs yet another wicker basket) I started using inexpensive kitchen finds from Christmas Tree Shops.  The first year I used a decorative cutting board as my base, and since it is put into a plastic bag anyways everything stays together.  The second year was an oblong glass baking dish and Last year was a decorative cookie tray.  This year I think I am going to do something along the lines of THIS.  The cost of the base is pretty close to an average decorative basket, but much more functional and wont have to go into the basket junkpile that everyone seems to collect. I hope this helps give you some more ideas!
Have a great day!
~Jay

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Amaryllis Repair

As promised here is a way of repairing a stamped image. There are many ways of repairing an erroneous stamped image depending on how big and the placement of the error….or you could just throw out the paper and start again….lol as if any stamper/scrapper would ever throw something away… J
Here is the original:

As you can see, the left side of the image has a dark smudge on it. When I finish up, it will be covered by some embellishments.
Here is the finished product:

Supplies:
Paper: Neenah Solar White
Stamp: Amaryllis from Rubber Stampede, and French script from Hero Arts
Ink: Pumice Stone, Dusty Concord distress inks; Memento Tuxedo Black for the image; Charcoal and Soft Granite From Hero Arts
Markers: Copic flowers: V06, BV02, BV20; Leaves: BG09, G00; Bulb: Y21, Y32
Fiber: Tim Holtz crinkle ribbon
Tools: Scotch Glue Runner, Tim Holtz blending tool
Misc: Tim Holtz Pin, Sizzix Tim Holtz Holly Bigs Die, Brushed Pewter distress stain, Rock candy stickles, rock candy glitter, Rhinestones from Stampin' Up, Grunge paper, Pop dots

I started using a standard A-2 and used the ink blending tool with Dusty Concord around the border of the card. .I then cut a smaller piece of Neenah solar white leaving a 1/4" border. I stamped the main image with Memento Tuxedo Black, and colored with Copics. I then used Pumice Stone with an ink applicator around the image, It went on a bit too dark so I lightened it up a bit with a baby wipe, which did the trick. Then a smaller border of Soft Granite, followed by outlining the edges by rubbing only the edge of the cardstock across my Charcoal ink pad for a darker edge. I then inked the French Script stamp with Pumice Stone, using a baby wipe to remove ink from the area roughly around the focal image. I applied Charcoal to the back of two corners that I rolled up. I colored the crinkle ribbon with pumice stone and dusty concord, and tied with a bow. I cut the holly leaves from the T.H. Sizzix holly die and colored with brushed pewter distress stain. I then brushed the charcoal ink pad around the edge of the leaves to bring out the edges more. I then covered with rock candy distress stickles and sprinkled on more rock candy glitter. I adhered them on with dimensional adhesive (foam dots) and put the T.H. pin through the ribbon. I finished uo with some rhinestones from Stampin’ up that I colored with copics.

Have a great evening!
~Jay

Amaryllis in Copics



Supplies:
Paper: Neenah Solar White
Stamp: Amaryllis from Rubber Stampede, and French script from Hero Arts
Ink: Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Wild Honey, Vintage Photo distress inks; Memento Tuxedo Black for the image
Markers: Copic flowers: R32, RV42, RV00; Leaves: G21, G00; Bulb: Y21, Y32
Fiber: Hemp Cording from Joann Fabrics
Tools: Scotch Glue Runner, Tim Holtz blending tool
Misc: Pearls from A.C. Moore

I started using a standard A-2 and used the ink blending tool with frayed burlap around the border of the card.  I then cut a smaller piece of Neenah solar white leaving a 1/4" border. I stamped the main image with Memento Tuxedo Black, and colored with Copics.  I then used Wild Honey with an ink applicator around the image, then a smaller border of Frayed burlap, followed by outlining the edges by rubbing only the edge of the cardstock across my Vintage Photo ink pad for a darker edge.  I then inked the french script stamp with Antique Linen, using a baby wipe to remove ink from the area roughly aroung the focal image. I then put the pearls on (which was a mistake to put them on before I attached it to the main card. It makes it harder to attach the adhesive to a non-flat surface) and then attached the copper-hemp piece and finally attached it to the card front.
I stamped out 2 amaryllis to color differently, and made an error in stamping the other one. I stamped on the other side of my piece and it didnt stamp properly either.  I am going to do another post on that later this weekend showing the mistake and how I use them and cover them up so please stay Tuned!

Have a Great Day!
~Jay

Black Friday Haul

Hello everyone! Happy after Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a chance to get some great art and craft supplies at super discount prices!  I thought I would do a little haul post about some of the Goodies that I got.  I went shopping at Michaels and JoAnn fabrics, and JoAnn.com.  I used the coupons and the sale items together and got some sweet deals!  JoAnn.com had a bunch of Hero Arts ink pads for $3.59 a piece!

The Vertical Merry Christmas is a Penny black stamp.

Ther flower is Hero arts and the diamond pattern is penny black.

The sponge daubers were from Joann.com and the ones with the caps are smaller than the daubers without the caps, just a note.

The glue runner refill was a steal at michaels! it was buy 1 get 1 free and 25% off!


The Large T.H. dies were all from Michaels.

Sorry my scanner wouldn't pick up these. the stencils I got were: Tweed Pattern, Large Lotus Pattern, Elegant Pine and Borders.

Have a Great Day!
~Jay

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Quick Christmas cards with Stickers

Here are some quick Christmas cards I made with a sticker book. The finished size is standard A-2. They all vary but the same technique was used. I took Neena solar white cardstock and ran it through my sizzix with a Tim Holtz texture fade folder. Then I went over the top with Antique linen distress ink with a foam applicator tool. I then put the stickers onto plain cardstock and cut out. I matched distress ink to the main image I was going to use and colored a piece to fit the bottom of the card, then used a Stamp in the same ink color to give a tone on tone background.  I then attached the piece to the bottom of the card and then applied a thin strip of white to give a finished look to the edge of the colored sardstock. I punched out snowflakes from sizzix onto fired brick C'Ordinations cardstock and applied star burst stickles. Then I attached the images with pop dots and attached the snowflakes under the focal image and finished with some rhinestones where needed.


Neon Love Part 2

(Sorry for the duplicate, but in order to post for the hero arts challenge, the posts have to be seperate)
The tree card I first white embossed (detail white) the tree image (PSX), then blended neon pink, neon purple and neon blue onto a piece of cardstock that would be matted onto a standard A-2 Card (I also used a bit of vintage photo distress ink on the edge of the piece). I used a paper towel to buff off the ink from the image. I then inked up the Dot background (Hero Arts) with ranger Picket fence distress stain and wiped some randomly away, and stamped over entire piece.  After buffing the image, I then stamped the sentiment (my sentiments exactly) with Memento tuxedo black. I used tim holtz Distress paint in black soot to color the edges of the card base. (I like the "brush strokes" that are visable with the paint dauber as it adds interest) I applied stickles to the tree and when dry I wrapped a piece of pink wribbon around the mat piece and added a bow of bakers twine. I finally attached the mat piece to the finished card.

Neon Love!

Ok, I am totally in love with Hero arts new Neon ink pads. I have been making a ton of cards and experimenting with different ways of applying the ink.
I have tried picking up the color directly with a paintbrush from the pad, but the color doesn't stick very well to the brush.  Next I tried rubbing some color onto my ranger non-stick craft mat and applying a little water to thin it out and pick it up with a paint brush. It beaded up into a mess on my paintbrush, and did not color evenly. Finally I got Ranger's craft nib and had great results applying the ink like a marker.  The best way to pick up the ink with a nib was to roll it across the inkpad then apply it to the image.  The Neon inks don't react well with water, so I am keeping a craft nib for each color permanently.
The other way I am applying the Neon inks is with a Ranger ink blending tool. It applies evenly and very smoothly with the blending tool. It also blends very well with other colors in the line and is archival so you can do other techniques over the top of it.
Both of the following cards have the neon ink blended as the background on neena solar white cardstock.
The ornament card has the ink applied to the ornaments with the craft nib. Both cards have starburst stickles on the focal images but it is only visable on the ornaments. I first stamped the ornament stamp (Hampton art Stamps), then masked the ornaments.  I used Neon Green ink for the background. Then I used hero arts dots background stamp and inked it up with Neon Green ink, wiping some off randomly for an aged look. I then stamped believe (Dylusions Ranger Ink) in Memento Tuxedo black, and outlined with a Gelly roll white pen. I then colored the ornaments with various neon inks and when dry applied stickles. This card was a CAS (clean and simple) one layer card. The finished size is standard A-2.
The tree card I first white embossed (detail white) the tree image (PSX), then blended neon pink, neon purple and neon blue onto a piece of cardstock that would be matted onto a standard A-2 Card (I also used a bit of vintage photo distress ink on the edge of the piece). I used a paper towel to buff off the ink from the image. I then inked up the Dot background (Hero Arts) with ranger Picket fence distress stain and wiped some randomly away, and stamped over entire piece.  After buffing the image, I then stamped the sentiment (my sentiments exactly) with Memento tuxedo black. I used tim holtz Distress paint in black soot to color the edges of the card base. (I like the "brush strokes" that are visable with the paint dauber as it adds interest) I applied stickles to the tree and when dry I wrapped a piece of pink wribbon around the mat piece and added a bow of bakers twine. I finally attached the mat piece to the finished card.
Happy Crafting!
~Jay

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Hellllooo!
This is my first post in Blogdom. 
For my first post I would like to enter Hero Arts Challenge.
Main image and small snow flake: Stampin' Up (retired set)
Large background snowflake: Denami Design
Sentiment: Hero Arts
Colors: Hero Arts Neon ink pads
Paper: Neena solar white, and black
Misc: Pop dots, rhinestone, twine