Wednesday, April 28, 2010

New technique trial

Over at NGS, Jan posted about a new technique that I just had to try. It is super easy and love the results. First rub dark colored Distress Inks on card stock ( I used tags as they are the perfect size for test-runs and if the test is good, you get a tag to use. Light colored inks don't work well with this technique. Then, ink up a stamp with watermark ink and then spray inked stamp lightly with water. Stamp onto prepared tag, lift stamp off quickly and blast with heat gun to dry. I think a bold stamp works best, and go easy on the water - a light spritz'll do it.

I love the blue/green colors on these - used Pine Needles and Denim inks.


For these, used Lipstick and Spiced Marmalade. Now need to get some other stuff going with these tags, but love this background technique and all the wonderful folks who share their great ideas.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Tag Sale Season Has Arrived!

Yippee - tag sale season is in full swing again -as sure a sign of spring as tulips around here! It's our fun Saturday morning ritual -a mug of coffee, a list of potential sites and we're off. The fun is the quirkiness of it all - you never know what you might find and trust me, we've found some pretty unusual things! It's a bit of a window into people's lives and sometimes, you see more than you need to - like what made you think it was a good idea to put those LARGE (as in adult size) , bright red plastic underwear out for sale ?? And the partially used bottles of cosmetics? Really now, some things should go directly to the trash -period.

But the thrill of finding "treasures" makes it all worthwhile. Like this pile of trims just begging to be glued or sewn onto some paper project. It was all stuffed into a plastic bag, and I bought it for the lace work on the left - handmade, beautiful stuff made by the seller's grandmother. Now, why would someone put Grandma's handiwork out at a tag sale?? No worries, Grandma, it will have a new life in some altered art project, and I'll try to make it worthy of your wonderful work. (I could NOT get this picture flipped -even Google'd it and got some complicated explanation, but no easy fix - grrr)!

I love finding art supplies - some beautiful Strathmore paper in lovely colors and blank cards.

No tag sale outing would be complete without finding some books - this time some great books for our darling little GD. She'll be visiting this summer and we need to make sure her library is well-stocked.

And finally, a stack of great magazines for inspiration. Love Victoria - full of wonderful pictures of lovely things, great ideas and even some good recipes. This was a successful morning!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Button stamping

I spent an afternoon at Barnes and Noble this week - cup of coffee, a treat, and a stack of art books and magazines for an afternoon of inspiration. I found an interesting book, Print and Stamp, by Traci Bunkers. She shows how to make stamps out of all kinds of crazy stuff - pencil grips, straws, flip flops ! Some of the stuff was a bit edgier than my style, but I was intrigued with a stamp made out of buttons. She stuck buttons onto a piece of wood with foam tape. A variation was done by pressing button into PenScore.
The first sample above is the one with buttons mounted with foam tape on a little strip of wood. I had trouble stamping with it - hard to get the ink onto the buttons - the book recommends keeping all the buttons the same thickness, which I did, but still didn't print all that well. I tried acrylic paint, brayering ink and just rubbing ink on the buttons - none of it spectacular. The bottom sample is that button "stamp" pressed into the PenScore and this worked much better. In the middle is another PenScore stamp - this time I just pressed buttons into the heated foam. Be careful with the foam - if it gets too hot, it hardens and looses the ability to take an impression.

Here are a few cards I made with my new "stamps". I love the grungy look of the buttons! The background is artist paper, the birdie cut from an old French book. The fabric scrap is a piece of worn canvas webbing I found on a beach walk and love the texture and worn green color.
And another - this one with a fun little leather flower.

I love this nature chair stamp and think it fits well with my grungy buttons. Think I'm going to attack the text piece with some tape a la Tim Holtz - don't really need "abhor" on the front - oops!!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Stamp storage

After settling into my new studio, I decided that maybe I should have some better way to store all those clear stamps. They come in those plastic sleeves and I've been just jamming them in a drawer - not a great system - sleeves rip, stamps ooch out and I can't see what I have without hauling out the whole pile . I found this ugly scrapbook while moving my stuff and had a eureka moment - why not use it to store all those stamps?


I decided to alter the cover - it was a book I bought for my darling GD as a mailer for scrapbook pages to be inserted into her "real" book. I covered it with some fantastic wallpaper - swirls, text, splotches of green. I added a couple of bronze-embossed swirls, some dictionary paper and stamps. Another dictionary page was swiped with gesso and stamped with a great little Tim Holtz stamp. The metal embellishments are from my friend SRC who snagged them off an old belt!

I cut the plastic inserts open on 3 sides, stuck the stamps onto the inside and stapled a copy of the stamp designs that comes with the package to the top cover so I can easily see what's underneath. I could have just used the plastic sheet that has the stamp designs printed on it, but decided to save those for a future project.
Now my stamps are organized and in a book that looks great in my new studio!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Paula Poundstone!

Date night at the Music Hall in Portsmouth to see Paula Poundstone! I've never seen her in person before, but I am a huge fan. I love her on NPR's "Wait, Wait - Don't Tell Me" . She is sooooo funny, what with that voice, the deadpan delivery, the ability to take some inane comment and weave it into a hilarious routine, and the get-up ! I can't remember when I laughed so hard and for so long.

Some highlights - a routine about her 13 cats hacking up rubber bands - complete with the noise known to every cat owner, ditto the hunched shoulder pose, and the observation, "do the cats stop eating rubber bands? No, they just think they got a bad batch"! Health care reform - " Why doesn't it go into effect for several YEARS? Apparently the insurance companies need time to understand that they will have to Pay. Money. When. People. Get Sick". On cooking - "I don't cook. I thaw, I heat, but the whole cooking thing escapes me". California - "we're first in line for the "hand basket to Hell".

I got to talk to her after the show and gush like a nit-wit about how much I love her- oh, well! I told her that the "Lake Wilmerdink" episode of WWDTM was my very favorite - when the woman on the show said she was from "Lake Wilmerdink", Paula was silent, then said, "Oh my, how unfortunate"! "How unfortunate" is now our go-to phrase for lots of things! Anyway, PP said the good people of LW sent her a sweatshirt with "Lake Wilmerdink" emblazoned on the front and occasionally people come up to her to say that they are from Lake Wilmerdink - her comment, "Now why would they admit that"?

Brash, funny, self-deprecating, immensely entertaining - don't ever pass up a chance to see her live. Warning - to paraphrase President Obama's assessment of Rahm Emmanel's communication style, if Ms Poundstone had to stop using the F-bomb, she'd be rendered essentially mute! Also, if you sit up front, be prepared to become part of the routine - and your every answer to her questions will have the audience howling with laughter (of, course, they'll be laughing with you, not at you (right!).

Monday, April 5, 2010

Spray starch isn't just for ironing anymore!

Over at NGS, we've been playing with a background technique using spray starch and Pearlex. It's fantastically easy - spray dark card stock with spray starch - don't be stingy! Then, sprinkle on Pearlex and using a foam brush, mix the Pearlex into the starch - swirl, pounce, make whatever designs in it you like. If you use two colors of powders, be careful not to mix them too much so they don't get all muddy. The colors and sheen are amazing - the foam brush makes a foamy texture, although you could use any brush. I'm in a blue and green phase, so this one is my favorite.I have stacks of background papers, so this time decided to actually make something out of the backgrounds right away!


The top of this one is gold Pearlex - always looks wonderful. For the bottom, mixed some pink Pearlex into a puddle of starch and flicked it onto the paper, then blew it around with a straw.

The other part of this challenge for me was to use some stamps I had to have but haven't used. I love this Wordsworth quote.

Used the pink blown- apart splotches to cover a small journal.
For this one, I stamped the flowers on black card stock and embossed with white before doing the starch and blue Pearlex. I love this sentiment - so true!
I much prefer painting with spray starch than using it for ironing- my hate-hate relationship with ironing noted here.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Spring Things

Our backyard is pretty wet (OK, parts of it are downright swampy). While that does have its drawbacks (like being the ideal spot for hordes of mosquitoes), in spring it is home to peepers. There's nothing better than sitting in the hot tub and listening to the cacophony of peepers. Two amazing things about peepers- first, not sure how such a tiny frog can make SO much noise! And then, just as they reach a crescendo they all stop at the very same time - no straggling peeps, no slowly diminishing sound - no, it's full-on racket and then - SILENCE. They must have one serious conductor!
What a fantastic weekend! Not only is it spring, today it felt like summer - mid 70s, sunny, just delightful! People who live in New England become giddy when the weather begins to change from cold, dark and dreary to something more conducive to life and happiness! In fact, we are just so darn grateful it's downright pitiful! The first warm days of spring - off goes the heavy winter coat and out come the flip-flops - too bad if your toes are cold, it's spring and the start of a very small window of opportunity to wear all those flip-flops and sandals. Yesterday I saw a woman in capris, flip flops and a down vest - an outfit that only makes sense to New Englanders. I have lived in the South where wonderful weather is the norm, and I didn't appreciate it the way I do when spring comes to the frozen tundra!
I wandered around the yard looking for signs of life . Think that's what makes spring so special; after long months of winter with its snow and ice, there is the miracle of plants poking up out of the leaves for another go round. And what better to announce spring than a crocus!
Another early starter - the sedum, so bright green in spring. Doesn't it look like little rosebuds at this stage?


I love lamb's ears - every bit as soft as the real things - so fuzzy and new. Our family never got the whole traditional Easter celebration thing going, so I really think of Easter as more the end of winter doldrums and the start of a very brief and oh so much better season of sun, growing, and of course, flip flops.

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