simple dreams

Pierceability Strips

Now that I have shared the very basic edge cut, emboss and pierce that you can obtain when using the Pierceabilities I am going to share another option - creating paper strips. Remember my excitement with the Create-a-cut last year - well some of the elements in these designs came from my desire to offer an alternative to that look. First the shaped cards with the Nestabilities and now more detail and edge options with the Pierceabiltiies - insert big silly grin Ü Detail is one of those things that I love and so to be able to offer new and different detail elements is always a part of what I am trying to achieve. Texture is another element and I have found that the subtle texture that piercing creates just adds such a fabulous detail to our projects.

On the July 4th I shared a red/white and blue apron project with you using the exact same elements that I will share today. Different papers and embellishments provide a different look. For that example I used Basic Grey Boxer papers, for today's look I am using Basic Grey's Euphoria collection and some items from this month's Stamp of the Month Packet.

To create this card I used two of the new Pierceability dies from the S4 167, Victorian Pierceabilities Set. Many of you have asked when the new dies will be available for purchase - we project August some time. Rather than holding your $$$ for a preorder and experiencing the chaos of last July we are hoping that patience will be a better method this go round. We would be thrilled for you to express your interest in purchasing these from us so that we make certain to order enough, but please know that we will do our best to have an inventory supply that will meet your needs (yeah like that ever happens, right - LOL!) You are welcome to write us at customerservice@ellenhutson.com and put your name on a list indicating your interest. This will help ensure that we order enough product to meet your needs.

Several questions have arisen by my confusing addition of "flipping" the Wizard sandwich from it's original version, so I am going to try to verbalize this again to hopefully make this explanation a little clearer.

The Original Wizard cutting sandwich is as follows:

• Embossing Mat (This one of the thick white mats that comes with the original Wizard package - when you first get the package we recommend using a Sharpie to write on your plate so that when you are creating you will hopefully avoid cutting into this mat. Being it looks identical to the Cutting Mat it can get confusing and this is the reason for labelling your Mats.)
• White Spacer Plate (Again this is a plate that is not designed to be cut into, it is the thinnest of the white plates included with the Wizard)
• Die - cut line or blade FACE UP (see picture below)
• Notecard or cardstock
• Cutting Mat (This is also a thick white mat that we designate for cutting only so that we keep the other white mat fresh and clean with no cuts. We do this so that when we emboss, the lines of the cutting will not be transferred to our work. I kid you not when I tell you that you can easily emboss a thread into your paper using the Wizard, perhaps even something as small as a human hair. I haven't tried it, but it might be an interesting experiment. Therefore we need the embossing mat to remain pristine.)

I have inserted the above picture to show a close up of the dies shown FACE UP to hopefully avoid more confusion.

Here is where I confused people - I actually flip the entire sandwich, so below is Ellen's Wizard Sandwich:

• Cutting Mat
• Notecard or cardstock
• Die - cut line or blade FACE DOWN
• White Spacer Plate
• Embossing Mat

Now you ask - why do I do this? I do this so that I can see precisely where it is that I have stamped an image and am placing my die. Being that you can see right through the dies I find that I am able to be much more precise doing it this way. My die still has the cut line or blade going directly into the Cutting Mat and therefore I am keeping my White Spacer Plate and Embossing Mat in pristine condition. I hope this makes sense now, but if it doesn't please keep asking. I will continue to try until it makes sense to everyone. Thanks for your patience with me as I try to get this explanation sensible - LOL!

So here we go again. We start in a very similar manner to the basic project I described a couple of days ago. Start with the cutting mat, then your cardstock and followed by the Pierceability die with the cut BLADE DOWN. Remember I have added a TINY bit of removable mono adhesive to the corners of my die to hold it firmly in place.

Follow this with the white spacer plate. Hmm - I think you can tell by this picture that I have even used not so temporary adhesive with some of my experimenting - LOL! I think I need to give it a good cleaning so that I don't embarrass myself in future posts Ü Now place the embossing mat on the top of this stack and send it through your Wizard.

Pick up the die and remove the tiny cut strip from the edge. Pick up your die and turn it around on your project. Align the edge of your cut paper with the edge of the die. The cut blade is now on the opposite side. See arrow for indication of where the cut line or blade is now.

Once again layer your white spacer plate and embossing mat on top of this sandwich and send through your Wizard.

You now will have a strip as shown above. It can be left as is or sent back through to be embossed. For the picture above I should have changed my plate out before taking the picture and I apologize for this slip. This particular project is fine being embossed with the strip laying here on the cutting mat as shown because the metal completely covers the bottom portion of the paper, but if you actually had a cardfront extending above this strip all the lines from my cut plate would be embossed into my paper project. So for your embossing sandwich I would like you to use the following sandwich with your Wizard.

Ellen's Wizard Embossing Sandwich:

• Embossing Mat
• Pierceability Die
• Notecard front or cardstock - in this case the Pierceability paper strip you see above
• Tan Embossing Mat
• Cutting Mat

Another question I would like to clarify is the big question - do these dies do the actual piercing? No, they do not. You will still need to pierce the holes.

This was one of the areas that we discussed at length and arrived at the conclusion that it will allow the most versatility if we allow customers to choose which portions of the die they would like to pierce and even emboss. Future posts will bring more clarity to these options and will show the amazing versatility you can achieve with the dies. I will show you how to use portions of the dies only and try and help guide you through the possibilities.

These are just two of the completed strips I created with this set of dies.

The other feature I wanted to share with you from today's post is the ability to combine your work using these two dies. They were designed so that you will be able to coordinate and switch out some of the elements between the dies. As you can see above I elected to use the coordinating die to cut the edge on my striped paper.

As you can see from the picture above the "bumps" and "points" are designed to align. Also the size of the pierced circles are designed to accept all sorts of embellishments - gemstones, brads, eyelets - I can hardly wait to see what you discover as possibilities!

Many of you have asked when the entire line of new dies will be revealed - I believe that it will be the first day of CHA! I can't believe that CHA starts this week - it runs from July 17-20. I will be in Chicago from the 16th through the 21st, but the girls will still be here in Seattle keeping things moving along as smoothly as possible. I don't know how I would do it without them - a big thanks to our team that keeps things going when I'm away! Have a wonderful day and thank you for sharing in the excitement!!!

Brand New Lockhart Images - It's all about Versatility!

It is always so thrilling for me to see the new Lockhart rubber stamps drawings! Then the anticipation of their arrival starts - I am so excited to share that Karen has just released 31 new designs! It was a bit of a surprise to me when I received the email notification today that they were up on her site and so I immediately set to getting them up on our site as well, being we already have a nice supply in our inventory.

I have elected to use THREE of them in this month's Stamp of the Month Packet and hope to share the information regarding this project in the next couple of days. We (well, more appropriately my DH, JJ - LOL) are still moving all of my supplies down to the office, but I hope to have that taken care of early this week as well. I have crossed my fingers and toes that my productivity will now be able to increase Ü

Versatility is always key when it comes to how it is that we can use a stamp. The apron in the new collection is just one example of how incredibly versatile Karen's stamps can be. The image on this particular design is approximately 2 1/2"w x 3 1/2"h. This larger size allows us to use the Itty Bitty images as well as some of the sentiments on the apron front. I am going to share the "naked" apron with you today and then some of the incredible options that Karen has colored to show the versatility of this stamp.

This is the apron in it's "naked" form - ha, ha! Below are just a couple of different possibilities for this marvelous piece!

Same idea - different colors and different doodling on the apron pockets.

Or make it masculine!

You could stamp this beauty on patterned paper and piece it together similar to my Robe and Bella post creations. You could also use Itty Bitty's to create a background or Backgrounders and masking to create other interesting versions. Add words like the new "Hot Stuff" or use it as an invitation with the word "Brunch" on the front. I am so excited to see the different possibilities you have in mind!

I'm behind on my Inchie INKlings challenges - it's high on my to do list this week. I will also be working at adding the new Memory Box 6x6 papers to the store and a few other goodies that we now have in our inventory, but I just haven't had an opportunity to get them uploaded.

Be certain to stop by our home page and sign up for our newsletter - I have a big announcement that I am planning on making shortly and you are NOT going to want to miss it Ü Perhaps you can start guessing as to what one special day is in June and in no other month this year. Talk to you soon!

Modern Influence

In my previous post I talked about how the black and white with the pop of an accent color was inspired by the Spring magazine from our local mall. Well the cover of this same magazine also grabbed my attention in a big way and so I decided to replicate it in a card as well. When I saw this very modern, artsy cover my mind immediately went to the butterflies. I chose the Checkered Butterfly because I was drawn to the two circles in the lower portion of the wings. The boldness of this image is so different from the typical "Ellen" look - I just had to share this side of my personality with you Ü

Being a multi-tasker and all I decided to nail down a number of the CHF challenges in just one post - LOL! Time is of the essence these days Ü

The first challenge I missed was partial backgrounder stamping - fading or stamping part of a layer. The texture in the dress and artwork in the magazine photo were wonderful to emulate for this particular challenge. I used the Rice Paper backgrounder to create the striations in the Raspberry cardstock and the Scratched Grid backgrounder to create the uneven appearance on the Lagoon cardstock. To create this uneven texture I place my backgrounder face up on my worksurface. I do not ink it evenly to begin with and then when I place my cardstock on the surface I let my fingers do the walking, so to speak. Rather then pressing evenly over the entire surface I only lightly press in an uneven manner on the areas I want to catch the detail. To really make the white pop off the raspberry cardstock I did use white embossing powder and was careful to only leave a small amount on the surface, brushing away any excess from many spots.

The next challenge was to stamp on anything but paper. I have been dying to show you why I purchased and added clear buttons to my store. VERSATILITY - gotta love it. I began by creating a little tab pull for my button as shown below. I love using blue painters tape for this type of use being it always comes off easily.

As you can see I placed my Scratched Grid backgrounder face up and then inked it with Palette ink. Using the tab on the button I was then able to set it straight down on to my backgrounder, ink it up and then pull straight up. I then allowed this to sit and dry. Now how long it needs to dry I am not certain being I never get to complete a project once I start it - LOL! So mine sat for maybe an hour before I got back to airbrush it. I doubt it takes anywhere near this time to dry, but... I'm just not certain. To add color to the buttons I then airbrushed them with my Copic Markers. Gotta LOVE versatility! Being the buttons are clear I used embroidery thread to attach them - neatly stitching them into place.

Last but not least I just needed to add some additional texture to the base white. Piercing is always one of my favorite fallbacks for adding texture in an inconspicuous manner. I love the fact that the Nestability dies are open in the center. I used a larger size Nestability circle as my outline to aid in keeping my piercing "round". I could never eyeball round - LOL!

Hopefully this post will once again leave you with a "cool idea feeling!" Gotta love a few good challenges for bringing out the creativity within each of us and the CHF challenges have been so much fun! So I challenge you to try something from this post - use the sketch, use the partial stamping, use the button idea, use the piercing or use the magazine ad with the mod colors. Just sit back create and enjoy!

Backgrounder Blitz - Hot and Spicy

Sometimes I just have to create to have fun - this creation was one of those! I am constantly inspired by the things that I see around me. Recently a brochure from the local shopping mall arrived in my mailbox. It was fun to sit down and quickly browse through it. What impacted me the most in this particular issue was the clothing in multiple ads - they were all black and white with just a touch of some sort of accent. That accent was a bright/bold color! This inspired me to just go for it and see if I could bring a similar feeling to a card I had in mind.

I stamped the backgrounder (Open Circles) and the image (Chilis and Cilantro) using Palette Noir. The stamped image was immediately followed with embossing powder. I had thought that I would just leave the image black and white and so I wanted to the black/white detail to pop.

The color pop was added with this beautiful, wide red satin ribbon. BTW what do you think about this ribbon - I would love to hear your response as to the width! The I added the black gemstones. I must admit that I was wondering what on earth one would do with black gemstones, but this hit me like a lightning bolt - talk about bling!

Well as you can see it just didn't feel as "hot and spicy" at this point as I thought it would. It was OK, but... So I pulled out my Copic Markers and added some color Ü

Now we're talking! A little Crackle Accents on the Cilantro and Glossy Accents on the Peppers, another larger black gemstone to cinch the waistline and voila - we have "Hot and Spicy". 

So what can you do with a "Hot and Spicy" card? I thought this bold little number would make a wonderful congratulatory card for someone who has been making an effort to lose weight - or how about an anniversary card?

What inspires you? Where do you get your ideas? Curious minds would love to know Ü

CHF Backgrounder Blitz and Blog Candy!

ETA: Please note that there are new posts following this one - I placed it as a sticky until the drawing for the blog candy is complete. Thank you for stopping by!

Have you heard the news? Cornish Heritage Farms is having a major league "Backgrounder Blitz" over this next week!!! We here at Ellen Hutson LLC are thrilled to be playing alongside them and will do our best to stimulate your creativity and give you new ideas as to how to use these wonderful stamps as well!!! In honor of this special occasion we will have a week long promotion beginning today on the CHF backgrounders in our store. Be certain to enter the code: CHFFun in the Promo Code area as you are checking out to receive a 10% discount on all backgrounders that you order from us during this week.

Today's post is to play along with the wonderful challenges CHF has created for this week. The first backgrounder challenge is to create a card using Lisa's awesome sketch!

There are two techniques I would like to share with you that I used as I created my project for today's challenge. The first is a real WOW in my opinion and I haven't seen it done much lately.

VELVET STAMPING

The key to success with this technique is the velvet that you select. I find that a man-made velvet works the best. In this case I used a velvet ribbon that is 100% rayon. This technique is one that works beautifully with the deep-etched red rubber backgrounders!!!

Place your backgrounder face up on your work surface, I used the new Sophisticated Swirls. I preheat my regular large iron with it set on rayon/polyster. Spritz the face of the ribbon generously with water - I have a mini mister filled with water that I always keep by my work surface, it works fabulously for misting the velvet. Place velvet face down (fuzzy side down) on the backgrounder and then iron from the backside of the velvet. I would typically place a piece of typing paper between the ribbon/backgrounder and the iron, but I wanted you to see the layering process without it being covered. Press your iron down firmly and move it about on the ribbon surface so that you do not create a hot spot.

It is SO beautiful and elegant in real life - I hope that you can get a sense of the beauty from this picture.

EMBOSS RESIST

This next technique is one that I have always loved. From the beginning of my stamping adventures there has always been a sense of wonderment as I watched embossing powder melt. Now being I photographed and worked this portion of my project before deciding to use the velvet I didn't quite think it through enough - LOL!, so my final project doesn't even use this beautiful creation. But at least you get the idea as to how to complete the background of the card I will share below.

Tip: Before I  begin I want to share how it is that I keep my Clear Embossing Powder. Being it is one that I use a LOT I purchased a large supply and placed it in a rubbermaid type of storage container. I do this so that I do not have to clean up the powdery mess that can occur if you use a tray. I love the convenience of just spooning the powder on to my project and letting the excess fall back into my container!

OK - on with it Ellen! To begin I place my backgrounder face up on my work surface and ink it completely with a "sticky" ink. In this case I used Perfect Medium, but Versamark or any other Clear Emboss Ink will work as well.

I then spoon the embossing powder on to the inked paper surface and dump the excess powder back into my tub. I then heat set it using my embossing heating tool. Be certain to watch the surface as you do this so that you don't overheat it and melt the powder until it is completely gone. When it becomes glossy that is the time to move on over with your heat tool. It is like magic as you watch the surface begin to glisten in the light.

Now it is time to make the background pop! Ink your brayer using a dye ink - I love using the large brayer being it covers the background completely in one motion. This does not mean that you do not need to go back and forth across your surface a number of times, but it does make it so simple to get an even ink coverage. I used Adirondack Lettuce as the main color for this project.

Being that I wanted a more distressed look and did not want the white to pop off the paper I then used my iron to "melt" the embossing powder into a piece of scrap paper. Iron over the paper covered image completely - then move your scrap paper to a new location and repeat. Do this until all sheen has disappeared.

I then used my Ink Blending Tool and Adirondack Pesto to distress the edges and "buff" out some of the white in the center of the image.

My focal image is the Lockhart Delphinium and Peony Watering Can. These are two of my favorite flowers and I can't believe that I hadn't given this beauty any "love" yet. To color the image I used a combination of Copics and Prismacolor color pencils. This truly is my favorite combo. The intensity and dense coverage that the Copics provide, followed by the Prismacolor pencils which just grab the tooth in the top surface of your paper gives such incredible depth to your image.

I began with the Copic Markers - BV000, R46, R81, Y21, Y21 Special, YG00, YG63, YG95, B21, B23, W1, W3.

I truly wish that you could all see this image up close - the detail that jumps out when you add the Prismacolor color pencils (Limepeel, Goldenrod, Burnt Ochre, Process Red, Warm Gray 80%, Pink Rose, and Imperial Violet) along with Spica Glitter Pens (Gold, Sky and Pink) is so "purdy".

As you can see I used a square nestability to cut out the image and emboss it. Little mini brads were added to the corners just to draw extra attention to the focal point. Instead of the Sophisticated Swirl background I created above I changed it out for a much more subtle Weave pattern. It would have been great if I would have actually thought ahead to the completed project, but hey now I have an awesome sheet of patterned paper that I can use for a future project Ü

To help celebrate this fun learning experience and backgrounder blitz we would like to give away two of my FAV backgrounders - yep that's right. All you need to do is leave me a comment below telling me which backgrounder is YOUR FAVORITE! You have until Tuesday morning to leave your comment - at that time we will do the Random Number Generator thingy and select two names from the comments section.

The first number drawn will receive the Lined Paper backgrounder and the second number will receive Grid Paper.

For yet another FABULOUS technique you must head over to the CHF Forum and read Mona Lisa's Distress Ink Burnt Edge it is WAY cool. They also are running some of the most fun challenge's - like the one I posted above.

Have a wonderful weekend! I'm going to give it my best effort to play along with the Backgrounder Blitz challenges - I have been missing creating!!! So check back in soon if you get the chance Ü

Stamp of the Month, April

It has been a long time since I posted anything using the beautiful parchment paper we carry. When creating using this paper one achieves such a soft, elegant look. So for the April Stamp of the Month packet I thought I would share this art form with you in a very elementary way to expose more of you to the beauty that can be created using these simple tools.

I began with specific limitations - as you well know one must think in advance in order to have supplies at the ready. This month I had preselected a beautiful springy ribbon and brads to use in my project, but I had not determined what stamp I was going to use. It occurred to me that April is Tulip season here in Washington state and I just knew that this image would translate into Pergamano so well. When coloring flowers I often times Google the particular flower I am coloring to use as a reference. Little did I know that there are EXQUISITE blue tulips! You must click this link to see some other incredibly gorgeous blue flowers Ü

Photo by Nedko

To begin I stamped my Tulips image using Palette, New Canvas on Parchment paper. I then gently heat set it being I am an impatient stamper and don't like waiting for ink to dry - LOL! Be careful to hold your heat source away from the paper though so that you don't "curl" it. Place your parchment paper stamped side down on a dark padded surface. I prefer to use one of the Pergamano Embossing pads, but beginners can use a black piece of cardstock atop a stack of papers. Next I used my Fine Stylus Embossing Tool to trace all the details of the image. As you can see the Fine Stylus, shown on the bottom, has a much finer tip than any other stylus I carry. I really like this stylus for detailed work. You can achieve an embossed look with other embossing stylus, but it will not be as precise.

Copic markers work fabulously on parchment paper! To color this image work on the back side (or opposite side) of the stamped image - the same side as you embossed on. Begin with the lightest colors - B23, YG00, and Y21 (special). Add depth and dimension with B29, YG63, G85, Y21, YR14 and E39. Below is a close-up of the finished image.

One of the little quandries that one runs in to with vellum and parchment is that all detail shows from behind. In this case I really wanted the image to pop. As a solution I then stamped the Tulips image once again - this time I used a very light blue ink pad, Adirondack 's Cloudy Blue - to stamp my image on white cardstock.

To hide the adhesive can be tricky. There are many new adhesives on the market - one is made by Tombow and I tried it at CHA, unfortunately I could still see it through the vellum and so I try to be clever in attaching my projects so that no adhesive will show. I punched holes in the parchment using my Making Memories Slot Punching Tool. I love that I can punch a slot in any location with this tool. I did learn though that one should use the Making Memories cutting board that comes with it rather than the Basic Grey Magnetic Precision Mat - I managed to punch my slot right through to the metal surface - oops! Fortunately I was able to reinsert the little piece and my mat looks as good as new, but I thought I would forewarn you so that hopefully you don't make the same mistake.

Then thread your ribbon through the slots and apply adhesive to the back side of your cardstock placing it directly behind your pergamano piece. Place your project into position and adhere the cardstock to your cardfront. As you can see I removed the parchment from the ribbon so that I could adjust the ribbon to be in the correct spot for tying my knot. Next apply adhesive to the back side of the parchment piece directly beneath where you will run the ribbon. At this point I realized that I wanted to "frame" the parchment and so I ran my E39 Medium Broad tip around the edge of the parchment.

Thread ribbon through slots and adhere the parchment attaching two brads in the upper left hand corner of the parchment aligning them with the knotted ribbon below. I also sponged a little Vintage Photo distress ink on the Ocean Blue notecard to pull it all together.

OK - so I'm a goofball - LOL! I made this post go live and I wasn't even finished with it. So there you have it - a sneak preview of what is to come later tonight Ü I hope that you enjoy this month's project and jump on board with a Pergamano style or parchment craft project!

Inchies from A-Z: C is for...

C is for Cupcake

Created using IB Cupcake, Prismacolor color pencils, Sakura Clear Glaze Pen, Quickie Glue Pen, Ultrafine Glitter

C is for Challenge and Club

As a paper crafter one of the most fun ways of creating is to take on a challenge. Mish just hosted an Inchie challenge amongst fellow blogging friends - you can see the response to their challenge here. If you haven't had an opportunity to view this challenge yet be ready to have your socks blown off. These girls never cease to amaze me!

So here is my first challenge for you!!! Many of you have purchased the Inchie products that we are carrying in our store, so I know you now have the goodies ready to put to good use, so let's have some fun!!!

Spring - March 20th, that's tomorrow, (or perhaps today by the time I get this post completed - LOL) is here! I am SO very thrilled to see my Camellia blooming, the plum and cherry trees starting to bud and blossom. Oh it feels so good to have a little sunshine in the area. I would like to invite you to become a part of our very own Inchie INKling Club. Yep, you heard me right - I am starting another blog that I hope to reveal following Easter weekend - Inchie INKlings: Habitat for those who are Inchie Challenged - oops I mean want to be challenged by Inchies - LOL!

It will be a place where we will hold a monthly challenge. We will set up an album so that you can see what everyone else is creating. We will be sharing Inchie Sketches (card layout ideas as well as little "templates" for ways to divide up your Inchie - I bet you didn't think that was even a possibility on such a small canvas Ü) and a copy of our Inchies from A-Z will be located on that blog as well. There is more to come, but I can't dish it all right now because I need to get going on the challenge and the remainder of this post!

So let's run with our theme, Spring! I would like to invite you to join the Inchie INKlings by making an Inchie that shows what about spring appeals to you. It will need to feature a Lockhart Stamp Company image and be entered in to our gallery by April 20th. Details for how this will happen will be located on the new blog, so please stay tuned.

C is for Cottage Flowers, Crop and of course Challenge continued

I can't propose a challenge without playing myself! So here goes - I'm going to cover as many C's with my challenge creation as possible.

Being that it is the flowers that begin to sparkle and shine I picked a stamp that started with the letter C, Cottage Flowers, and focused on the element of spring I love the most.

Using the Inchie Finder included in the Inchie Papers I located the area of the stamp that I wanted to crop. Cropping an image can lead to all sorts of possibilities. Finding the right part of an image for an Inchie is so much easier if you use an Inchie Finder.

Using a Retractable Blade Crafe Knife I carefully cut out around the Inchie finder being careful not to cut the Finder. You can also trace around it with a pencil if you are afraid of cutting it with your knife.

Begin by coloring your image with your lightest color tones.

Complete your coloring with a range of Copic colors and a little airburshing.

Be sure to add a little sparkle with your Copic Spica Glitter pens or some Ultrafine Glitter.

Just a couple of quick tips using the Inchie Pins (or nail head look) as well as the background above.

Insert the pins through your cardstock before mounting on the Inchie Square. I use a foam pad beneath so that the pins can go all the way through the cardstock. I then remove the pins and affix my decorated surface to the Inchie. Next I reinsert the pin into the hole and hold the base between my thumb and pointer with my left hand and push the pin through the mat board using a spare Inchie Square to protect my right hand fingers as I push (I am right-handed). Once it has gone through the mat board I complete the other pin and then turn my Inchie over pushing the pins firmly into place. Put on a pair of safety glasses and using wire cutters snip off the excess pin.

Copic markers ability to revert back to their original color is truly amazing. To create the color "swoosh" above place the Medium Broad tip of B23 against the Medium Broad tip of V01 - press firmly together. The color will transfer from one marker to the other. The next step is to just color your strips and voila you get these wonderful mixes. Continue to color with your marker and soon you will have your original color back again.

I used my trusty old Snap Stamps to create the word Spring. Oh how I wish someone would come out with a new variety of these flexible stamps!

C stands for some other very important Inchie elements, so watch for a continuation of this post soon.

So let's get the party started ladies - put your thinking caps on and start your creative process. I hope you will consider entering into our Spring Challenge and join the Inchie INKlings, becoming an Inchie INKlet. Watch for more details soon!!!

Inchies from A-Z: B is for... continued

Product Updates:

Nestabilities have just arrived in Phoenix today! Can you see me doing a happy dance? So what does this mean for timing? It means that unfortunately our waiting game will continue just a little longer, but I want to assure you that these items will be included in our sale on Monday, March 17th as Preorder Items. If you haven't looked at or received our Newsletter Coupon please let us know so that we can forward it to you in time for Monday's sale. Or join our mailing list at the bottom of our homepage and we will try and get a current copy of our newsletter to you before Sunday evening at 6:00pm. It will be essential for you to enter this code to receive the discount.

Our Copic supply is also not quite at the levels we would like. We are awaiting the arrival of more sets of CD24D and Copic Gotta Have It All's. Our delivery dates for these items will be the end of March, so with perhaps a little anxiety (OK - so maybe it is more than a little being I truly like to ship your orders immediately) I will go ahead and put them up as Preorder items as well so that you can use your coupon.

B is for Bunny GIrl

Created using: Bunny Girl (this is the last opportunity to pick up this darling stamp being it will no longer be available once our inventory is gone); Copic Markers - Custom Y21, RV11, RV34, E55, E27, E39; Pale Gold Leafing Pen; Gold Glitter Pen

B is for Background

1. Basic Copic Background

Copic markers on the White Inchie Squares are BEAUTIFUL! There are so many ways to create intricate backgrounds, but for that post you are going to have to wait all the way until W. Can you make any guesses as to what the letter W stands for? So for today we are going to look at the Basic Copic Background.

Creating backgrounds for basic designs is simple. By basic design I am referring to an Inchie I create when I stamp directly on an Inchie Square. There are not a lot of layers to this type of design.

Begin by placing your stamp, rubber face up, on your work surface. Ink the surface of your stamp image determining where it is that you would like to position your Inchie on the image. Being that this stamp had recesses in the rubber on either side of the Inchie I was able to easily set my square atop the stamp. If I didn't have this recessed area I would have used my little "pull tab" for the back of my Inchie Square.

This pull tab is created using Blue Painters Tape. This tape is ideal for this application being it will not mar your surface when you remove it from your project.

After inking your Inchie Square using Adirondack ink it is essential to heat set your square. I have found that the porosity of the Inchie Squares does not allow the ink to sink in to the surface as readily as the Neenah paper and therefore if you go straight to coloring on a stamped surface you will more likely than not cause the ink to bleed.

As I colored the background of the image I began with my new Y21. (See this post for information as to how to make your own custom colors.) To create the sunshiney window effect I did pick up my darker Y21 from my palette and added it around the edges.

2. Paper Covered Background

So what can you do with all those bits of paper that you have left over from a large project? Well turn them into 1"x1" squares of course!

Or if you are not fortunate to have saved all your scraps then we do have a packet of Inchie Papers available for you to purchase. This fun collection of 108 patterned paper 1-1/2" squares will keep you supplied for quite some time. You can die cut or trace and trim before attaching them to your Inchie Squares. Each of these packages also contains two (2) Inchie Finders. These little 1" squares of yellow acetate are the perfect tool for "finding" a section of a prestamped image or part of a pattern. Simply place, trace and trim. The yellow color will hopefully help you spot it easier amongst the mish mash that occurs on most of our tabletops when we get in a creative swing.

Karen always has the best organizational tips! I absolutely adore this beautiful box she has put together to keep her Inchie backgrounds prepped and ready to use.

When sorted by color it makes it easy to find the perfect background for your art. Prepare some of these backgrounds for your projects in advance if you are not feeling "it". You know those times when you would like to relax and create, but you just don't have a long-term vision for what it is that you would like to create. Then start at a later time to create the elements or embellishments to complete your Inchies.

I will be sharing more of the backdrop for this little assortment at a later date. For now I just want you to focus in on the assortment of papers that Karen used on these little creations and how she added the focal points to each Inchie. I have to admit I am a bit envious of her beautiful handwriting Ü I would hate to think about how many beautiful Inchies I would ruin if I were to write in cursive on them - LOL! So if you are like me perhaps you might consider printing and cutting out words or stamping them and adhering them to the finished creation instead.

3. Other Background Ideas

• Stamped Backgrounders
• Prismacolor Color Pencils
• Twinkling H2O's or Watercolors
• Old Book Pages
• Word Documents such as Definitions, Special Words

These are just a few of the ideas that I could come up with today/tonight. I hope that they inspire you to try a myriad of different background techniques when creating your Inchies!

Inchies from A-Z: B is for...

Before beginning on the letter B I want to forewarn you to the fact that when you link to Inchies on my storefront it comes back with a blank. This will change tonight! I wanted to ensure that it would be fair to all our newsletter readers and customers that you would all receive the same chance at receiving the Inchies that Karen and I have created to give away with your purchases (see details in newsletter). Please know that the links will all become live tonight, Tuesday March 11th at 8:00pm PST. Thank you for your patience and don't forget to sign up for our newsletter where all details are provided! Click this link and scroll to the bottom of the page to join our mailing list. Our newsletter will keep you up to date on our store promotions, news, and fabulous tutorials and tips. Don't forget to click on the link to the soldering tutorial in the latest newsletter - it has been receiving rave reviews Ü

B is for Bride

 

Created using Bride, Prismacolor color pencils, Spica Clear glitter pen, Sakura Stardust glitter pen, and Ultrafine glitter.

B is for Binder

The question became quite apparent as Karen began producing her Inchies - how would she keep track of them? where would she put them? It was at that time that Lisa of Inchie Arts went in search of a solution. I absolutely LOVE the solution she came up with! This binder is such a cool concept! It is made out of recycled corrugated cardboard and is 100% recyclable. The most unique feature of the binder is that the metal spine containing the rings can be removed from the binder allowing you to lay it flat for decorating.

Simply remove the screws from the metal rings and detach the rings from the cover, lay flat and personalize. Cover with decorative papers, paints, stamps, embellishments and Inchies of course! Reattach the ring spine once complete and you are ready to go. Being that the cover is completely removable you can also change out your covers after they become worn or if you determine that you would like a new fresh look.

Now to inspire you with some binder decorating ideas. Each one of you will have a look that is distinct to you. As I designed my cover I let a creative side of me show that I rarely expose. I love the grungey look and so I decided to bring that side of my creative personality out in this cover.

The wonderful thing about corrugated cardboard is the textural quality it has. I began by removing bits and pieces of the cover surface. This was NOT easy - LOL! This cardboard is VERY well made and so it took me a bit to work it off as I did so in a systematic fashion. I then followed up with two different colors of Distress Crackle Paint - Antique Linen and Old Paper. After allowing the paint to dry I then followed up by sanding the surface and then sponging and rubbing Distress Ink - Tea Dye and Old Paper - over the entire surface.

To enlarge the area of the focal point I stamped the Grid Paper backgrounder in Beaux Arts Blue. I also wanted to balance out the front surface of the binder and have been patiently biding my time hoarding my wonderful Kim Hughes Silhouette Blooms I for the perfect occasion. These stamps coordinate beautifully with Tim Holtz Nature's Moment Queen Anne's Lace. The scale of the two together made me giddy - LOL!

I then set about creating an Inchie "puzzle" using the Lockhart Hydrangea stamp. One might at first wonder how on earth you would incorporate a Lockhart stamp in to a grungey look, but it was SO fun to bring a new look to this otherwise colorful stamp. I began by creating my Inchie definition background using Word. (I still hope that I can figure out how to link up a document here on my blog. If anyone has any suggestions I would truly appreciate knowing how to do it. I have read the Typepad information, but... just not enough time in the day to figure it out without spending a ton of time.) I then stamped my Hydrangea image onto Solar White Cardstock. Next I stamped and created a mask with my Eclipse tape and placed it over my stamped image. I then sent my cardstock through the printer and achieved the results shown below.

Karen has recently been describing a wonderful artist technique referred to as grisaille to me. I do believe that she has some upcoming classes that may include this technique. After looking it up on the internet I learned that it is a multi-layering art process. It is begun by applying shades of gray to your work surface. So using the many Warm Gray's and French Gray's in my Prismacolor Colored Pencils I played with this concept.

This is then followed by the addition of muted color.

I scaled the image to a 2" square and cut it into quarters applying it to Black Inchie Squares. Then these were adhered to a Black Mat Board Base and using a silver tag holder I attached the binder title.

I did have to laugh being in the end my grungey look still has a sense of elegance to it - oh well, what's a girl to do?

Now I want to share a polar opposite of this binder to spur on your creativity and bring you a completely different look. Karen is the queen of covering!!! Her ability to cover boxes and books and... is extraordinary. I so admire the amazing detail and crisp quality of everything she creates.

"Country Kitchen" are the words we are using to describe Karen's binder. It has a warm, cozy feeling to it.

The details are incredible. First I want to tell you about the framed square - it is metal! So you know what that means - she can change the Inchie on the front with a whim.

 

Being that Karen is so meticulous she also covered the inside of the binder!

Look how beautiful the details are!

This view shows the inside of the binder. In this picture you can see how the Inchie Pocket Pages work. In each pocket Karen has inserted a black piece of cardstock to give each Inchie a unified background. After journaling in the Inchie Index regarding each Inchie it is then inserted in to a pocket or put out for display. Much more will be coming on ways to display your Inchies as well as more information regarding this storage system.

Well it is apparent to me that Typepad is not on my side today - LOL! I have just been switched over to the Edit HTML method of posting, being my post has become too complex - aargh. I don't know HTML - LOL! So this last part could be rather interesting when it goes live. I'm going to give it my best shot to wrap up now.

B has many more entries that could be posted about - backgrounds is one that is essential. I hope to share more regarding the letter B tomorrow. I'd best just make this post go live now. Thanks for hanging in here with me and have fun playing with this whole concept!

Stamp of the Month, March

OMGoodness - I can not believe it is March!!! AND I can not believe that Easter is in March - March 23rd to be exact! Can you ever remember Easter coming so early??? In thinking about what would be appropriate for this month's Stamp of the Month, spring fever hit me. I am SO very ready for sunshine, warmth and pretty colors outside! Being those colors are not yet here I just had to use bright cheery colors in this month's creations. Lockhart's Dottie Bunny has hit a soft spot in my heart. I don't know if it is the folksy, cute factor or the little polka dots - LOL!

One of the things that I heard from you is that you enjoyed the simplicity of some of the projects I have created recently. So I took my lead from that and created TWO easy projects for you to replicate using this month's Stamp of the Month packet.

The new collection of Memory Box decorative papers, Sprout, has some of the most wonderful images to use as backgrounds with rubber stamps. I love the scale, diversity and color range within each collection! I began with the Dottie Bunny and selected a very simple tone on tone portion of the floral background to stamp the bunny on. I then colored in the circles with my E27, Africano, Copic Marker. Cutting out the bunny is so very simple and allows you to add depth to your project.

Next I selected a patterned paper that would make a wonderful scenic background and selected "just the right" piece of that pattern to cut out my backdrop. I did use my largest rectangle Nestability to cut and emboss this layer, but you can also just cut a rectangle if you do not own the Nestabilities.

I would like to share the following tip when you work with background papers. If the color of the image on your background paper is not exactly what you want, then simply adjust the color with Prismacolor color pencils or Copic markers. In this case I used Chocolate Prismacolor color pencil to add a little more of the correct brown tone to the leaves - this really helped aid in bringing the entire card together and added a little more texture to the area I wanted the eye to focus on. Place this decorative paper on top of the Vanilla Bean cardstock and punch your holes. I then added adhesive to the back side of this element, but did not place it in position until I had threaded my ribbon. Once your ribbon is threaded you can then affix this element and tie the knot.

Another tip I would like to share is in regards to placing your punch for the holes. Look carefully at the picture below and you will notice two little Sharpie Marker lines on my punch. They are hard to see so I put white arrows indicating their placement. This ensures that I reach in the same distance each time I punch. You can also use your Crop-a-dile to do this, but if you don't own one this is the next best thing Ü

To complete this card I added some brads to help bring balance and interest and placed my bunny to jump over the bushes.

This month I just couldn't stop with one card though - LOL! The next idea hit me like a rocket and I just had to share it with everyone as well. It all began this time with the egg. I purchased an egg shaped McGill punch last year right before Easter - did I use it? NO! What a shame - so I pulled out the punch and created the egg. What could be more odd, yet cute, than a bunny jumping out of that egg? Ü

I will include a copy of this egg, hand-drawn, in this month's packet for those who don't have the punch or who don't feel comfortable drawing a cracked open egg. You will then be able to trace the version that I created.

The next adventure I will share is how to create the tag. Being that I didn't have the exact sentiment I wanted, in the exact size I wanted, I decided to create my own. I selected to use a whimsical font call Witchcraft - OK, so I really don't like the name, but I love the font - LOL! The key to getting precise placement is quite simple. First, print out the font on a regular sheet of typing paper. Next cut out your tag and holding it up to a light source affix it to your typing paper precisely over the printed area, centering as need. I typically use a permanent adhesive being that when I pull it off the typing paper it is the typing paper that will tear and not your decorative cardstock, but I have also used temporary adhesive and it seems to have held quite nicely. Then just reprint by sending that typing paper back through your printer a second time. Voila - you will have a precisely printed label. Filling in the letters with some additional color brought the lettering out a little more. I felt that the striped paper had the appearance of grass and so selected it for this label. The holes on the label were just a little too large for the brads so I punched a little 1/4" circle out of coordinating cardstock and affixed it to the label. Then the brad fit nicely to hold the label in place.

Last but not least I added some texture to the background using the wonderful CHF Paisley backgrounder inked in a coordinating pink (I believe I used Stampin' Up!s Pretty in Pink or perhaps it was Adirondack Shell Pink - I forgot to write it down and now my memory is failing me - arrgh). Prepped the coordinating stripe, egg top edge and bunny tail with 2-way glue and blinged it with this awesome Iridescent Glitter.

So get hoppin' girls - you don't have much time this year to get those Easter greetings prepared and sent!