Burned Edges

by: Shelly Newkirk
Burning the edges with ink is an easy way to get a very Vintage look.  I use two to four shades of brown ink with the final very outer edge of black ink.  The ink can be applied with a sponge or a square of Cut n Dry foam (Ranger).  With the Cut n [...]

Multi Layered Masterboard, Part I

 
 
By: Christine Candora-Hickey, Artistic Guide
I have often been intrigued by the concept first introduced in Stamper’s Sampler called “Masterboard.”  Essentially, it involves creating your own background paper to be used “as is” or cut up into smaller pieces.  You are encouraged to keep your original and copy it for use over and over.
I liked the concept. [...]

Using Your Brayer for the Discoverer

Do you have a brayer that sits in your drawer because you don’t quite know what to do with it?  I generally use mine with the multi-colored ink pads, such as the Kaleidacolors because it’s easy to create great backgrounds.  There are so many other things you can do with a brayer!  Don’t want to [...]

Holiday Blizzard Project – Peace Canvas with Photo Transfer

Peace Canvas
Photo Transfer Mixed Media
By: Stephanie Loomis, Artistic Guide
Finished size: 12”x4”
Supplies:
Stamps:
Peace (Ruth’s Rubber Stamps)
Paper:
Matte Photo paper (International Paper)
Acetate (unknown)   
Ink:
 Black VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Mustard Seed Distressed ink pad (Ranger)
Other:
12”x4” canvas (Dick Blick)
Gel Medium, semi-gloss or matte (Golden)
Photo editing software (I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0)
GAC 100 polymer (Golden)
Brayer
Digital Ground for Non-Porous Surfaces (Golden)
Foam brushes
Small detail paint brushes
Page from an [...]

Holiday Blizzard Project – Manger Scene on Canvasboard

For a long time, I have thought about how I could do alcohol inks on porous surfaces.  It finally occurred to me that if I just sealed the surface first, it would probably work.  Since I always have Mod Podge handy,  I decided to try it for this project and it worked!
 
I used the newest [...]

Holiday Blizzard Project – Christmas Memories Handmade Journal

By: Stephanie Loomis, Artistic Guide
 Finished size: 6”x8”
Supplies:
Stamps:         
Joy of Christmas, Simply Christmas, Heart Sings, Joy (The Angel Company)
I Will Honor Christmas (Rubber Cottage)
Silent Night Plate #064 (I Brake for Stamps)
Fear Not, Angel Wreath (Sweet Grass Stamps)
Wonderful Counselor (Artful Illusions)
Paper:                       
Figgy Pudding patterned cardstock, 5-6 sheets of your preference (Basic Grey)
Ivory Stardust cardstock, 5-6 sheets   (Wausau)
Ink:                
Versafine: (Tsukineko)
     Onyx [...]

Easy Collage Card for the Adventurer

By: Melanie Smith, Artistic Guide
Finished Size: 4.25″ x 5.5″
This card was inspired by the grapes that grow in the beautiful Hawkes Bay region where I live.  There are vineyards absolutely everywhere – even on the former site of our local 1/4 mile drag strip (much to my husband’s dismay).  But so many people get such [...]

Photos On Cards

 
Photos On Cards
By: Shelly Newkirk, Artistic Guide
Finished Card Size: 5.5″ x 4.25″
Supplies:
Stamps:
“Just For You”  (River City Rubber Works)
Paper:
11″ x 8.5″ scrapbook paper (K & Company, Studio K, Meadow & Breeze paper pad)
Gray-green cardstock (unknown)
Ink:
Library Green Archival Ink (Ranger)
Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger)
VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Other:
Black fine line embossing powder
Ticket punch (Stampin’ Up!)
Directions:

Attach the scrapbook paper of your [...]

Military Remembrance for the Discoverer

Remembering Our Military
By: Janice Ellis, Artistic Guide
Finished Card size: 4.25″ x 5.5″
Supplies:
Stamps:
Thinking of You (Rubber Stampede)
Paper:
Green and beige textured cardstock (DCWV Neutrals Stack)
Beige matte paper for words (Marco’s paper)
Background camouflage paper (craft store purchase)
Inks:
None
Other:
Markers: (Marvy)
     Green
     Dark Brown
Sakura Crystal Lacquer
Army stickers (Sticko)
Regular scissors
Glue stick or double sided mounting tape
Directions:

Remove stickers from adhesive sheet and apply to the camouflage background.
Cut [...]

Christmas in August

People usually think of  ‘Christmas in July.’ For me, Christmas starts in August. My husband and I are members of Oregon’s largest choir: Portland’s ‘Singing Christmas Tree,’ with 300 voices. We get our new music the first Monday of August every year, so our Christmas atmosphere starts early. We rehearse every Monday night as a [...]

Black and White Tulips Matted Art for the Inventor

Black and White Tulips Matted Art
Regena, Artistic Guide
Finished size:  11″ x 14”
Supplies:
Stamps:
Vase with Tulips (Inkadinkado)
Paper Texture Cube (Stampendous)
Tapestry (Great Impressions) 
Paper:
8.5″ x 11″ matte coated white cardstock (Marco’s Paper)
12″ x 12″ Black Glimmer cardstock (The Paper Company)
Ink:
Coal Black Ancient Page ink (Clearsnap)
Other:
11″ x 14″ White on Black Mat  with 2 two 5″ x 7″ openings (Michaels)
11″ x14″ [...]

May Featured Artist, more conversation with Evelyn Spikes

This month we are continuing our conversation with Evelyn, and featuring another one of her wonderful creations – an altered slide mailer…
Stamping is my ‘art of choice,’ but I also play with altered items, as my slide mailer tutorial describes. A corner of a former tiny bedroom has grown into a mess of papers, inks, [...]

Too Busy Dusting

Throughout the Color Conversations with Darlene Domel DVD, Darlene’s wit and humor just gets better and better.  Darlene’s little tips for using large background stamps, what product to use to get ink off your fingers, how to save money and more, are some of the best tips I’ve heard in a long time.  The best laugh [...]

Mom’s Day Card, Tag & Pin for the Inventor

Mother’s Day Card, Tag and Pin Gift
By: Regena, Artistic Guide 
Finished sizes:  Card – 5 x 7″
Tag – 2.125 x 5.25″
Pin – approx 2.5 x 1.625″
Supplies:
Stamps:
Blossom (Stampendous)
Mother’s Day (Impression Obsession)
Baroque Flourish (Stampin Up)
God Made Mothers Text (Inkadinkado)
Paper Texture Cube (Stampendous)
Papers:
White Textured cardstock (Bazzill)
White Glossy cardstock (Marco’s Paper)
Inks:
Pink Sherbet Alcohol Ink (Ranger)
Colorbox Blue Iris Chalk (Clearsnap)
Other:
Alcohol Inks [...]

Ooh-La-La for the Adventurer

Ooh-La-Lah
By: Chris M Herrmann, Artistic Guide 
Finished card size: 4.25″ x 5.5″
Supplies:
Stamps:
Dress (Rubbernecker Rubber Stamps)
Ooh-la-la (Another Stamp Company)
Papers:
Red card stock, 8.5″ x 11″, folded at the 4.25″ mark
Small piece of white glossy card stock, 3″ x 6″
Ink:
Jet Black Archival ink pad (Ranger)
Clear embossing ink pad (Ranger)
Meadow and Cranberry Adirondack pens (Ranger)
Other:
Tiara Puttin’ On the Glitz (Suze [...]

Vibrant Backgrounds for the Discoverer

Background Fun with Kitchen Supplies
Wax Paper Resist
By: Bea Rosenleaf, Artistic Guide
 Creating your own backgrounds is so much fun! No two are ever alike, which is my kind of creativity.  Some backgrounds turn out muted and soft, while others can come alive with color. I think my favorite backgrounds are created with brayers and resist techniques [...]

Bathroom Supply Backgrounds for the Adventurer

 
Adventures With a Bathroom Supply
By: Bea Rosenleaf, Artistic Guide 
In the Discoverer project we learned how to use cheap wax paper as a way to create resist backgrounds. Did you enjoy learning that technique?  If you did, you will love the Adventurer project even better!  This technique uses a cheap product found in the bathroom, which will [...]

Distressed Butterfly Night Light for the Inventor

Butterfly Night Light
By: Jennifer Willis, Artistic Guide
Supplies:
Stamps:
Sulfer Butterfly on Coneflower (Northwoods)
Single Butterfly (Northwoods)
Paper:
White Card Stock (Unknown)
Ink:
Chalk Ink Pad – Charcoal (ColorBox)
Pigment Ink Pad – Canary (ColorBox)
Chalk Ink Pad – Lipstick Red (ColorBox)
StazOn- Olive Green (Tsukineko)
Other:
Metal Craft Paint – Magenta (Dr. Ph Martin’s)
Ready Tex – Fashion Orange (Dr. Ph Martin’s)
Mod Podge – Matte (Plaid)
Blender Pen (CTMH)
Mister [...]

Creativity from Chaos

The studio is clean and orderly. Yay!  As promised, here’s the first project I made after finishing up the room.  I found embellishments I forgot I had!  And I finally dusted off the new Cricut Expressions my hubby bought for me a year ago and gave it a good work-out! 
This project was created for our local stamp [...]

Creditcard Background Techniques with Melanie Smith

When I first started stamping I had (like everyone starting out) limited supplies.  I used stamps, inks, embossing powder, tombow pens  and coloured pencils for colouring images and white or coloured cardstock.  Most of it was shared in the little stamping group that I went to, and as we became more addicted, we each added [...]