Tutorial

Ok here is a quick tutorial on the technique featured in Take Ten magazine.
Start with a pile of Tim Holtz's Distress Inks(I used a white paint pen to mark the colors on the sides so I can find what I need faster), a non stick craft sheet, a small spritz bottle filled with plain water(I got my bottle at Walmart for 50 cents-the Ranger Misters work well also) and some plain white cardstock-you can experiemnt with different types of cardstock, some are more absorbent than others.




Rub a Distress pad over your craft sheet,just a smallish area-maybe 3"X5"?
Spritz it lightly with water until the ink beads up like this.
Lay a piece of cardstock down onto the ink-do not move it around, just straight down and back up. Notice there will still be some ink on the craft sheet, you can use that on another piece of paper.Sometimes you get speckles and sometimes you get more of a watercolor effect-depends on the amount of water.
Let the ink dry completely-you can use a heat gun to speed that up. Then repeat the process with a 2nd color.
Coming up with color combos is half the fun-some are better than others,this yellow(wild honey) looks like pee to me..ewww,but if I had used it with something like rusty hinge or another warm color it would look nice.
This technique is fun to use on tags also-this one has Olive and Mahogany.
and look at the paper towel when I finished...that's awfully cool, I will have to keep that for a future project.
If you have any questions just shout and if you need any of these products I will gladly order them for you. OK-go make a mess!

snowed in....again

This has been a brutal winter...I feel bad for the folks in the Southern states and NYC who aren't used to this type of weather. But it is a good time to stay home and create some cards...

Use it up

In my quest to use the MOUNTAIN of background papers I have accumulated over the years, I started created small thank you tags to include with my Ebay sales. Sometimes I create a background that as a whole looks like crud but when I tear it into smaller pieces I get some very unique and beautiful papers to use...throw in some pieces cut with paper punches and some cute string or ribbon and VOILA....change the sentiment out and you could make gift tags!

Take Ten Magazine!!

Run to the store and grab the new issue of Take Ten magazine(from Stampington & Co.)...flip to pages 72-74 and you will see some of MY CARDS!!!!! I am beyond thrilled that the lovely editor, Amber Demien, contacted me earlier this year and asked me to submit some things. I am making it a point in 2011 to submit more often.
Check it out..

couple of cards

I ran across a piece of sequin waste so I used it as a stencil for the background of these cards.sorry for the crazy bad photos, I seem to have lost the exclusive rights to my own camera, my daughter has it most of the time and when I do the chance the use it 9 times out of ten there won't be any charged batteries.

Flutter

I finally found a use for those Smooch Inks from Clearsnap(those ones in the bottle that looks like nailpolish)...marbling paper! It could not be an easier..fill a shallow pan with warm water,touch the brush(built into the cap) from the Smooch ink to the water gently-it will float, layer another color on top of the first color by touching another colored brush in the center of the first color,repeat with as many colors as you wish. Take a chopstick, a toothpick,whatever and gently swirl the colors(you can also use a straw to softly blow the colors around)-then set your paper down on top of the water-don't push it down,just gently set it on the top then lift it up. DONE! The colors are a lot softer than they appear on the bottle but the results are just beautiful.
For this card I stamped a few butterfly images from Memory Box and cut them out. The phrase is from Inkadinkado, the clear gems are from Hero Arts.
If you are unable to find the Smooch Inks I would be happy to order them for you.

breaking it in...

I really have been messing up my studio studio,trying lots of stuff but just not producing any finished pieces...hopefully that will come in time....
and check this out, one of my cards is being used in an ad for Take Ten magazine...this big one with the leafy branch is mine.