Spooky Black Cat

Boo!  Trick or Treat.  Beth Norman here, and the season is upon us.  I find Black Cat to be such a versatile stamp and have so many ideas to do with it.  Here is how I created this card:

• Pick four colours of ink
• Cut a cloud shape out of heavy cardstock or watercolour paper
• Starting from the top, sponge over top of the cloud with the lightest colour
• Continue sponging colour on top of the cloud
• After all clouds are sponged, lightly sponge the appropriate colour in the white space below the cloud shape

Thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Daisies

 

Hi, it's Gini, back to share another card with you. The designs on the Palettini Collection from Technique Junkies really lend themselves to coloring with watercolors.  For this Vintage Daisy Collage, I embossed the image first, to keep my lines bold.  Then I started painting with the Spectrum Aqua watercolor pens.  Quick and easy, but elegant. Thanks for stopping by!

Just A Note

Happy Saturday, Stampers!  

Robin, here, to share this quick card I made for you.

I used this stamp set, PS003 Just A Note.

I stamped the typewriter on a piece of white yardstick and cut it out.

Then, I cut a slit where a piece of paper would be placed in the typewriter.

Finally, I stamped the words on a little piece of paper and slid it into the typewriter.

I mounted it with Foam Squares on this paper I thought went PERFECT with the typewriter.

Until next time...

Black and White

{jane bosi}  Happy Thursday, Junkies!!  I have a simple heat embossed card to share today that features a beautiful image called Flourished Floral.

I often find inspiration, like lots of you, on Pinterest.  Years ago, when I saw a project that I loved, I searched diligently to obtain the exact product used so I could completely copy the whole thing.  After many years of hoarding.......collecting, inspiration happens differently and I am always delighted when I am already set to go!  I love making the most of what I already have.  It's one of the reasons I have loved Technique Junkies for so long!

I embossed both the Flourished Floral image and the So Sweet sentiment using white pigment ink and white embossing powder.  When embossing on black, I am always certain to use my embossing buddy to reduce random areas of powder cling---I hate that messy speckled look!

Once the embossing cooled, I was able to add some multi-colored gems and mat and mount the image piece.  It's really a striking card, in real life!!  You should totally give it a whirl!!

 By the way, the Technique Junkie CD's are the perfect addition to your stamping stash.  The tutorials found on each CD provide you with lots of inspiration and new ways to use the products you already own.  Definitely check them out!!  Use coupon code  techniques at checkout to receive a 25% discount on all CDs!!  Isn't that awesome?

TTFN, Jane

Happy Halloween Card

The cooler temperatures have me pining for Halloween decorations. I think my kids are thrilled…or at least tolerating me as I start to drag the boxes and boxes out of the attic. The way some people decorate for the Winter holidays is how I am about Halloween! The kitschier and kookier, the better!

To kickstart the season, I made this gatefold card using Technique Junkies’ stamps: S599 Bat Swarm and SD447 Happy Halloween Circle.

I started by opening up the gatefold and stamping the Bat Swarm stamp in waterproof ink on the top and bottom flaps, aligning the stamp so that the image would be upright when the card was folded shut.

I sprayed the paper with a heavy coat of Art Anthology Paprika Colorations (note: Rustic could be used instead), and the dragged the edges through some Art Anthology Plush Colorations that I’d sprayed onto my craft sheet and let it DRIP.

Once this was dry, I ran Art Anthology Copper Metal Effects paint over the Dot Matrix stencil along the top and bottom edges.

I stamped the sentiment with waterproof ink onto a manila tag for reinforcement and placed it over a lace cutout, also sprayed with Plush.  After spraying it with the two same Colorations and letting them blend together and dry, I painted the circle with Splashed  Sorbet paint to give is some shimmer.  I then outlined the edge with Perfect Paper Adhesive – Gloss, and sprinkled a mix of three colors of Prills over the top: A Penny Saved (copper), Plum Crazy (purple) and Power Outtage(black), to frame it.  Even the names of those Prills seem Halloween-inspired!

A bit of batty May Arts ribbon completes the design.

Now I need to get my thinking cap on and decide how to best dress up for the trick-or-treating this year...

Sally Lynn MacDonald

www.SallyLynnMacDonald.com

Palettini Collection, designed exclusively for Technique Junkieswww.facebook.com/sallylynn.macdonald

Coffee Card & Bring in the Clowns Tag

Good morning!  Hope everyone's week is going well.  I've got two projects to share with you today.

First up is a card I created using Drinking the Coffee and Magic Strands:

I sprayed the background with Art Anthology Timeless, Warm, and Sandcastle Colorations.  Once that was dry I stamped Magic Strands in black ink.  I then stamped Drinking the Coffee on a piece of card and colored the coffee cup with a mixture of Art Anthology Fiesta Velvet and Black Leather Jacket Sorbet.  I also stamped some extra cups and painted them with the same mix.

I mounted both the Drinking the Coffee cardstock piece and the background on a piece of multi-colored paper and adhered it to my card.

I decided that since this was a simple card, I wanted to create a second project.  I decided to make a tag:

I stamped Circus Stars in Tomato Sauce chalk ink onto the tag.  I then glued on various circus-themed elements and tied a piece of red and white striped string through the hole.  Quick and easy.

I hoped you enjoyed this two projects today.

Until later.................

Marilyn

Art Anthology Products

This is Judy Jackson. I love learning new techniques.  I love learning about new products for stamp art.  When you combine the two -- it is very nice!  Since Pat Huntoon (owner of Technique Junkie stamps and all of the newsletters and CDs for Technique Junkie) has been showing the Art Anthology products she discovered a few years back.   However, since I had to downsize my stamp room, new stuff and new tools must be truly usable for me to buy them. I am both a visual and an auditory learner -- but I learn techniques best if I can somehow visualize it. So I read her blog, I read the Art Anthology website, and I pondered. 

It wasn't until the recent stamp show in Westminster, MD that I got to see these products in real life and played with them at the Technique Junkie booth that I decided I really must have some of these. So now I want to share with you  the things I have learned about these products. And of course I have cards to share with as well. 

But here is what I have learned:
1. Art Anthology paints are really a "gel medium" but you can paint with them in different ways.  More info on this later with examples.
2. Art Anthology paints dry fairly quickly -- but as with any kind of paints the thicker the paint the longer it will take to dry.
3. You can hurry this process a bit by using a heat gun.  But you have to remember that the heat gun  will make the paint  feel "tacky" even if it dry until it has cooled.
4.  You cannot use typical brayering techniques  because the paints dry so quickly.
5. Art Anthology sprays do not have a wide "spray area" and they are permanent when sprayed on fabric if they are allowed to dry well.
6. Art Anthology sprays are not water reactive.
7. Neither the sprays or the paints hardly have any smell at all.  So you do not necessarily need to use them in a "well ventilated" area.
8. The Art Anthology paints, while not really an adhesive will adhere very small things to a design.
9. You do not need  fancy and extremely high quality paint brushes. 
10. After you have painted with the paints, the brushed must rinsed very thoroughly.  Otherwise, the paint brushes will become stiff and may not be usable.
11. If you need to stamp on top of the Art Anthology paints -- you will need to use Stazon or Ranger Archival inks.  Otherwise, the ink will not dry.  It would similar to stamping on glossy card stock.
12. The Art Anthology paints will also resist the Art Anthology sprays.  So when you paint first and then spray the spray does not change the color of the paints. The thicker the paint, the better the resist.

I will show several cards today using the same flower from Greetings http://techniquejunkies.com/greetings-set/. This is the first one of seven.  I stamped the flowers several times.  I used Memento ink.  I then started with  one of the yellow Art Anthology paints, then added some red, and then the green.  I added a brown in the center of the flower, followed by some

Prills which when the dry stuck very well to brown paint.   Then I sprayed some Art Anthology sprays for the background. I then stamped a greeting and added a rhinestone embellishment. The greetings is from the set "Things I want to Do." http://techniquejunkies.com/things-i-want-to-do/

For the above card I stamped Random ABCs http://techniquejunkies.com/random-abcs/  and then flower several times.  Then I painted the flowers with a red Art Anthology paint thinned with water so it is not as "clumpy." I added the Art Anthology sprays and it still resisted!   I added a saying "Seeds of Today" http://techniquejunkies.com/seeds-of-today/ on some card stock with the "over spray" (I had placed a scrap nearby purposefully). Layers and a ribbon -- done.

The next card was done with similar techniques as the card above.  I also some leaves by laying down some paint with my brush in a "leaf shape."  It is not exact but gives a impression of leaves.  I used a greeting from the same set as the flower.  Some Prills and some ribbon, and layers -- done.

 

For this next card I sprayed the Art Anthology sprays first and then stamped. The paints were only slightly thinned with water and then Prills. More leaves were painted in.  Then I used a stencil from Art Anthology --  Soliloquy Stencil http://techniquejunkies.com/soliloquy-stencil/ and I used Lava Stone paint http://techniquejunkies.com/lava-stone-effects-dimensional-medium/ to add the word to a piece of  yellow vellum. When that was dry then I torn the vellum, ran it through one of my Xyron machines and adhered it to the card front.

This next card is a result of  trying to brayer the gel medium paints to the card.  It did not go well until I added a lot of water. Then it worked because didn't dry so quickly.  Again I added leaves to the stems and I used a different word on the stencil with the same paint.

 

Anyone who follows my blog knows I really like using the Antique Glimmers technique from the Technique Junkie newsletter. So I wondered if I could that with these Art Anthology Gel Medium paints.  You tell me -- does it work?

 I placed a small amount of the gel medium paints on my craft mat.  I sprayed the paints VERY LIBERALLY with water.  Then I started pulling the card stock back and forth through the paints with the water until I had the coverage I desired. What I liked about doing this was the intensity of the colors were quite varied.  I let it dry for quite a while before stamping the flowers and then painting them.  I had already discovered through "boo-boo sheets" you never see that for this step of stamping I need to use Stazon as regular dye-based inks would not dry and would smear badly!   I used Stazon ink and stamped the greeting. The greetings came from the set "Things I Want to Do." http://techniquejunkies.com/things-i-want-to-do/ . 

So I am curious -- did you learn anything new about Art Anthology products? 

Have a wonderful day!