Lost Art Cards and Designs

Day 8 continued.



I did not have any Distress Crackle Paint, so wondered what would happen if I added some Clear Rock Candy to the Distress Paint I had on hand.  Being careful not to get the Rock Candy applicator into the paint, I mixed it together with another paint brush and then applied it to a manila tag and two of the chipboard tags ( the ones on either end) and waited until they were dry.  It worked, but not as well as I think it would if I had the actual paint.  The two tags in the center were coated only with Clear Rock Candy and left to dry.

I added various stains to the tag , dried it, blotted it slightly and then thought to stamp the stars with either Distress Paint or Stain.  After that I added more Distress Paint on top of the tags and dried them. One of the tags has a little bit of Perfect Pearls brushed on top of some of the stars.  I like the way they turned out.

Tag Back

To make this tag I used three stamps depicting a winter woods. The first stamp was coated with Picket Fence then embossed with Distress Clear Embossing Powder.  Next I stamped the tree with bare branches with Ground Espresso then embossed it with Weathered White. I stamped the final image with Ranger Distress Embossing Ink and used Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder.

To add color to the scenes Using a blending tool as well as direct to paper application technique I used Brushed Corduroy, Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso, and Aged Mahogoney, then applied a little bit of Picket Fence to depict snow.  Then I flecked the tag with water which enhanced the background.

Nostalgic Batik

Tim said to have fun playing around with Distress Markers, so instead of making a work of art, I followed his instruction and these tags are the result.

These tags show a few of the techniques I attempted with one tag recording the colors used.  I colored the hydrangea leaves a few different ways- gradation blending, coloring on dry paper then blending with a darker color, and finally blending by picking up a darker or other color from my craft sheet. I wondered what one small hydrangea bloom would look like if I colored it then outlined it in a darker contrasting color.  If you look closely you can see the result.  The other flowers were colored using different Distress Markers , adding another color and then blending it with a water brush.   The smaller hydrangea image was colored all over with one lighter color then adding a darker color or two to the center and dabbing with a water brush.  On one side I wanted to see what lightening the blooms would look like when adding Picket Fence .   I stamped the image in Fern Archival Ink.

What I really love about this is the beautiful effect you can achieve by blending with several colors.  The dogwood petals were more imaginative , I have never seen blue, reddish yellow orange or brown red dogwood petals but I was curious about how those colors would look applied to wet paper, blended , dried and recolored . I really like the brown petals.  The leaves were each colored with a different Distress color then brushed with water. I used Black Archival Ink to stamp the image.

Back from Atlanta, water walking, physical therapy, errands, finally put some tries down on paper the last two nights.  Going to attempt to make a finished project to add to the gallery before the week closes tonight at 10:50 pm!

Btw...love Distress Markers and coloring.  I can't believe all you can do with them. Really neat!

Can't believe I painted this.  A local company donates their time, artistic ability and supplies to help CTCA cancer patients recover from treatments.  It is a proven stress reliever and something I never would have tried if I did get cancer and come here to this wonderful place for treatment.  Thank you Bubbles and Brushes for providing something so nice for us to do while here.

Fall Leaves To make these tags, I cut a slit into the top of an embossing folder.  I did not have  a Texture Fades folder and tried to be resourceful using what I had on hand.  Instead of Black Archival Ink I wondered what other colors would look like when done and I am pleased with the results.  Some of the leaves were stamped with Fern Archival Ink and some with Plum.  i placed the manilla tag into the embossing folder at an angle to give it faded impression look and then began blending ink using the Ink Blending Tool and various colors of Distress Ink.

Alcohol Ink Agates and Archival Resist Which one is which?

trying to make my own type of resist kraft paper Kraft Paper Resist Tag Examples

The top tag shows the result of my experimental resist paper trials.  The second tag, though made in the same way, is a more subtle result of trying to make my own resist paper.

Days 3-4, Archival Ink,  Re-Inkers and Maintenance. Intriguing? It should be!  These were some very imagination catching classes, and though I generally feel that way as I see Ranger's products in a store or online, I am glad I enrolled in this class.  If you are interested in joining Online Card Classes , link up to this website and enroll in Creative Chemistry 101 and while you are there, check out all of the other neat class offerings.  Inexpensive, yes.  Lack of interesting content and great instruction from top artists? NO! 

Disappointingly, I HAVE NO RE-INKERS in my house!  And no, they don't sell them in any of the local craft stores I am familiar with , but instead of being in the doldrums about my lack of these necessary class materials, I decided to experiment instead with Adirondack Alcohol Inks , after all I have only had them in one of  my craft drawers for at least 5 years!  Yes, you read that correctly, and yes, I have used them before, but it is just time to get this stuff out and have fun playing! By the way, I would say this hobby is a top stress reliever in my life and I hope it either is for you or will become one as you muster up the courage to try something new this summer.

My Experiment Results.  The first four were tried on Ranger's Glossy and Matte Paper, the last one was done on watercolor paper.





Looking forward to tomorrow!

This week completes my son's junior year of high school, end of year activities, volleyball banquet included ( categorize this as Mom tries to make unique banquet decorations utilizing creativity and resourcefulness ) and begins a creative summer journey learning new techniques taught by Tim Holtz.