Tuesday, December 23, 2014

altered ornaments with alcohol ink

I was looking for outdoor ornaments (a.k.a. plastic!) for an outdoor wreath and wanted them to be a cranberry or burgundy color.  But all I found was red ornaments.  So I thought I could make my own and purchased plastic silver ornaments (already in the sale bin if you can believe that!) and added color with alcohol inks.   The silver tinsel was a wire glued in the ornament.  I decided to leave it and color it as well.  I ended up using it to wire to the wreath.


For this color I experimented a bit and ended us using Cranberry, Eggplant, and Currant to get the desired cranberry color. The color may seem red in the photo but it really did turned out to be a deep cranberry color (which matches the ribbon and my front door).


Then I started looking at other pieces I had wondering how they would look when altered with alcohol inks.

Decided to do the same with this silver sparkly  "Joy" ornament.  Cranberry alcohol ink was used here.  Note - it's a good idea to use gloves when doing this technique.  I didn't have any gloves and my hands were stained with LOTS of cranberry ink for a few days :-)  Also, let pieces like this dry overnight after all the ink is applied. The ink did not dull the ornament at all...it still sparkles!




I forgot to take a "before" photo of this metal star ornament.  It was originally silver and I colored it using Purple Twilight, Sailboat Blue, and just a bit of Raspberry alcohol inks.  Really liked how this turned out.  Perhaps I'll hit the after Christmas sales to look for more silver (or white) ornaments to alter!

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Halloween inspired tag

I'm posting this in connection with Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2014 challenge.  This is my inspired Halloween Tag.  I used the Tim Holtz Apothecary Die to make the bottles.  The die was used twice - once with patterned paper and next with vellum.  The vellum was added over the paper to give them a glass bottle look.  Had fun making the labels of the jars.  The mini bottle at top is from Tim Holtz Idea-Ology and is filled with little green beads and labeled Newt Eggs.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Design Adhesives...all that glitters...

I'm doing a demo at Artist & Display on Sunday May 18th (1pm - 3pm) on Design Adhesives so I thought I'd do a post on what these are and how to use them.

Design Adhesives are double sided adhesive patterns.  A bit like rub ons. Some are intricately cut.  They look wonderful with glitter and foil tape. The glitter I am using here is from Martha Stewart.


Peel away the backing from the paper.  You can just see the image as you take off the paper. Pull the sheet off carefully.  If you go too fast the design can pull and distort.

 
After the backing is removed place the paper on your paper and press down gently to make sure every piece of the design has transferred. Then remove the clear piece of plastic. The adhesive shape is now glued to the paper and awaiting some bling!


 
I'm adding various colors of glitter.  The tool I'm using is just a piece of a plastic straw with the end cut at an angle.  It's great for controlling how much glitter you are putting on a piece.
 
 
When all the glitter is on then turn it over and gently tap the back of the paper to remove the excess glitter.  Don't wipe across the front of the paper or you'll brush the glitter off the design.

Perfect for a gift tag, small note, or a card.  These design adhesives are great to use as an embellishment for cards.


 
so if you're in the area I invite you to stop by Artist and Display for this hands-on demo and make a design adhesive piece.

Martha Stewart glitter colors used here: yellow barite, copper, lapis lazuli peridot, and tourmaline.
Design adhesives by Clear Snap - flower design.
 
 
 

Thursday, March 6, 2014

think spring votive candle

It's March but it feels more like January.  My garden is still under feet of snow. I desperately want to see the pink tulips from bulbs I planted last fall but who knows when that will happen.  It seems like boots and sweaters are a permanent part of my wardrobe.  I'm even having a hard time getting into any art project.  yep, it's official.  I have the winter blues.
To try and shake it off I started to clean my studio.  Cleaning my studio is something I do whenever I get "artist's block" and don't know what to work on or how to start a project.  It's also done when the workable space on my table has shrunk down to a tiny area! That happens a lot :-)
When cleaning I generally come across some art supply that give me an idea and before I know it, I'm creating something. 
And the cleaning did the trick. First I uncovered some rolls of washi tape. Washi tape originated from Japan. This tape feels and acts like masking tape - but it's very thin and printed with lots of colors and patterns.  These washi tape rolls were purchased from Artist & Display


Near my table were several boxes of household items that we organizing to give to a local thrift store. I rummaged through and found a small juice glass.  The rest of the set was long gone.  But when I saw this I had an idea to cover it with washi tape.

 
 

The juice glass is now a spring inspired glass votive.  I used a border paper punch (Martha Stewart-Garden Rail) to create a paper lace-like trim.  I adhered this to the glass with Scor-pal tape.
 
and now the only bad thing is I never got around to really cleaning the studio!  Oh well, it'll happen one of these days.  Work stuff is taking priority now but I'm looking forward to the next project...

Sunday, January 19, 2014

winter art classes

call me crazy but I like the stillness after a snowfall...everything is white and shimmery.  The snow we've had lately has been very light and fine.  It looks like someone dumped a bottle of diamond dust glitter over everything.  Perfect time to enjoy some studio time. 
Except I'm busy writing gardening articles and preparing for a spring lecture.  I write about 12 months of articles in Jan and Feb for my business.  I try to get all the writing done now because, well, for the gardening season I'd rather be outdoors than in.  Writing, writing, writing.  Cabin fever hasn't set in yet (that doesn't happen until end of Feb) but I'm in need of a break.  My hands want a break from typing and they want to get into some ink. 

If you're looking for a break I'd recommend adding some art to your day.  I invite you to take a look at these upcoming classes at Artist & Display: 

The first class is January 26th at 1:00pm.  We'll make a cool (pun intended) snowflake card.  I'll be going over basic rubber stamping techniques and we'll get to play with alcohol inks, punches, and stickles. 
 
Next class is February 1st at 10:00am.  In this class we'll make a trio of Valentine themed treat boxes.  These mini boxes can be filled with a small note or some sweet treats.  It's an easy template to work with and the best part is all of the supplies we get to use to decorate them! 
 
Finally there's a FREE make-n-take on Sunday February 2nd from 1-3pm.  Come anytime during these hours to make a Valentine card using (drum roll please) alcohol inks!  (really, you didn't see that coming?)
 
here's a link to the store for all of the details. Artist and Display
 
already planning some studio work tomorrow...but for now I'm heading back to article writing.