Technique of the Week: Black and White

In conjunction with the Art 'n Soul newsletter, this is this week's technique. After I posted the technique on applying white paint through a stencil opening, and Zentangling on it (you can see that post here) a lot of people told me they liked it, but they aren't Zentanglers. Many said they really like the black and white look also.

Even though i still think you should try Zentangling, I realize it's not for everyone, and I'm here to help. this post is not really so much a technique as an idea: you can use small pattern stamps to simulate the look of Zentangled images.

I got some small Magenta pattern stamps that I love; some black 1.5" Artboard Squares (also love), and Memento Luxe white ink. The Magenta stamps are: Deco Square 14.458.F; Crosshatched Heart 42.239.C; and Background 0290.E.

This card was super simple and fast. I stamped the little pattern stamps onto the black artboard squares with the Memento Luxe white ink. One of these squares didn't make the cut, (0243.I Dandelion Pollen) although I really liked it. I decided that I liked the arrangement of 3 across better than 4 arranged in a square. I'll use the 4th one for another project.

Taking a white base card, I mounted a strip of Beauty Pink So Silk cardstock that had been embossed with the new We R Memory Keepers Next Level embossing folder "Wave".

The Art Squares were popped up on top of the So Silk strip, using foam tape.

The sentiment was added using Magenta's Multilingual Birthday stamp 07.907.L. I taped off the other lines and just used the top one.

I sprinkled on some sequins using Ranger multi medium matte adhesive, and added a dot of Stickles to the center of each.

Magenta Products Used

14.458.F  Deco Square

0290.E Background

42.239.C Crosshatched Heart

0243.I Dandelion Pollen

07.907.L Multilingual Happy Birthday

Other Products Used

Inchie Arts 1.5" Black Artboard Squares

Memento Luxe Wedding Dress Pigment Ink

So Silk Beauty Pink cardstock

We R Memory Keepers Next Level "Wave" embossing folder

Versafine Onyx Black ink

Various sequins

Ranger Multi Medium Matte adhesive

Technique of the Week: Zentangled Black Inchies

In conjunction with the Art 'n Soul Newsletter, this is an expanded version of Technique of the Week, published today.

I got this idea from a post by Cindy Shepard, CZT. She was using stencils and white paint on black paper and Zentangling in the white space. I decided to take it a step further and use one of my favorite mediums: Art Squares by Inchie Arts.

I used a 3" black Art Square, and a great new stencil by Magenta (TM146) (I could not do a link for you to this mini sized heart on their site, but we can get them exclusively - for now - at Art 'n Soul). 

Most any size Art Square would work for this, depending on the stencil you're using.

Using Dylusions White Linen paint by Dyan Reaveley of Ranger, I dipped a mini blending tool into the paint and rubbed it around on my craft mat to work the paint into the sponge.

I positioned the stencil over the Art Square, and applied the white paint with the blending tool.

When the paint was dry, it was a perfect canvas for Zentangling. The ink in a Micron pen is the same color as the black Art Square, and if you need to make some of the edges neater you can do so. I added Zentangle patterns into the white spaces of this gorgeous little heart from Magenta. You could do less if you wish, and leave more of the white; it's up to you. This was really quick and fun to do.    

Be sure to wash off your mat, your sponge (blending tool) and your stencil.

I inked just the first two lines of the Magenta stamp 07.927.H (Multilingual I Love You) with Versamark Ink. Using a stamp positioner, I lined it up and stamped; then embossed with JudiKins White Diamond embossing powder. I love how it turned out!

In Progress

To finish the card, I prepared a base card of Neenah Solar White 110# cardstock. I took a strip of So Silk Beauty Pink cardstock (2.25" x 5.5") and dry embossed with a We R Memory Keepers Next Level embossing folder (Wave 662676).

[Just a note about this embossing folder: we are trying to get them in the shop and they are being backordered quite a bit, but we are going to keep trying. They are very worth it; they give a beautiful look to your embossing. They are, however, thicker than a normal embossing folder, and they are 6"x6", so they do not fit into a Cuttlebug. The sandwich for the Big Shot varies depending on the model that you have, but if you do not open the tabs, lay your folder with the cardstock inside onto the base plate and use only one cutting plate. I tried opening one tab, and using two plates like we would normally do with an embossing folder, and it was too thick to go through. I ended up opening all the tabs, and it went through, but shot one cutting plate and the folder across the room!]

I adhered everything down with Scot Tape, and placed various sequins, adhered with Ranger Multi Medium Matte adhesive.

Magenta Products Used

TM146 Celebrating Heart (small)
This mini 4" size is available exclusively at Art 'n Soul,
but will be widely available soon

07.927.H Multilingual I Love You

Other Products Used

Inchie Arts 3" Black Art Square

Ranger Dylusions White Linen Paint 

Distress Mini Blending Tool

Micron Pen

Versamark Ink

JudiKins White Diamond embossing powder

So Silk Beauty Pink cardstock

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110# cardstock

Various sequins

Scor Tape

Ranger Multi Medium Matte adhesive

Diamond Stickles

Happy Happy New Year!

Hi! Just quickly popping in with this New Year card, to wish all of you a very Happy Happy New Year! We will be spending the evening at home, and welcoming in the New Year by Skyping with our dear friends in Iceland. Yeah, you know they have just about the best New Year's Eve celebration anywhere, and we are going to wish we were there!

Fireworks over Reykjavík Dec 31, 2014

I previously posted the card above as a technique of the week here. If you missed it, please go back and check it out. The technique and supplies are listed there, including this great Magenta stamp, which would be fantastic on a Birthday Card also.

41.036.D Calligraphic Accent 3

Two Last Christmas Cards for 2015

Things just got so crazy toward the Holidays, that I just never got these posted before Christmas, but I had to post them because I love them both! Bookmark them to try for next year; Magenta never retires their stamps or stencils, so everything will still be available!

Both of these cards use the same technique that I call Stencil Stamping. On the first one, the green panel was featured in a Technique of the Week post, and I told you that you would see it again later on a card! The technique tutorial can be seen here. After creating the panel, I rubbed the edges of the green panel through a gold Delicate ink pad and mounted it on an A2 white base card. I then stamped the sentiment (Magenta 07.780.G) with Black Onyx Versafine Ink.

This second card is so sparkly in real life! It was also Stencil Stamped, using the Magenta stencil TM104 Daisy Love. This is one of my favorite stencils for this technique. You can see a tutorial of stencil stamping here, and other stencil stamped cards here, here, and here. This card also has one of my favorite Christmas stamps (Magenta 07.883.K Multilingual Merry Christmas), since it contains the sentiment Merry Christmas in languages that have a lot of meaning to me: English, French, Icelandic, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, and Russian.

Joyeux Noel Card 

Magenta Products Used:

TM123 Small Holly Border Template

07.780.G Joyeux Noel Small

Other Products Used

Distress Inks: Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn

Perfect Pearls Powder

Versafine Onyx Black Ink

Delicate Gold Ink

Tim Holtz Watercolor paper

Hero Arts red nailheads

Merry Christmas Card 

Magenta Products Used

07.883.K Multilingual Merry Christmas

TM104 Daisy Love Template

Other Products Used

Distress Inks: Broken China, Faded Jeans

Perfect Pearls Powder

Versamark Ink

Ranger Black Sparkle Embossing Powder

So Silk Fair Blue paper

Tim Holtz Watercolor paper

Various Sequins

Winter Cheer and Merry Greetings

Just a few more cards that I never got posted that I made for seasonal inspiration. There were so many great stamps, stencils and dies out this year!

I did these two cards with the same stamp and die set from Hero Arts. It's actually a tag set, and it makes lovely tags, but also great cards. The set came with a number of clear stamps that fit right in the middle of the tag. On this first one, I embossed the sentiment with JudiKins White Diamond embossing powder.

This one was made with the negative of my die cut from the first card! The sentiment on the tag is embossed with Ranger Black Sparkle embossing powder, and the season's greetings sentiment is embossed with JudiKins White Diamond embossing powder.

Winter Cheer Card Products Used:

Hero Arts DC168 Winter Cheer stamp and die set by Lia

Versamark Ink

JudiKins White Diamond embossing powder

So Silk Fair Blue paper

Various sequins & silver twine

Ranger Multi Medium Matte adhesive for sequins

Merry Season's Greetings Card Products Used:

Hero Arts DC168 Winter Cheer stamp and die set by Lia

Versamark Ink

Ranger Black Sparkle embossing powder

JudiKins White Diamond embossing powder

So Silk Fair Blue paper

So Silk White paper

Various sequins

Ranger Multi Medium Matte adhesive for sequins

Christmas Nuance

I was playing with Nuance again, and discovered that it's not hard to apply it in selective spots through a stencil.

First I laid the TM-135, Christmas Ornament stencil onto a piece of dry watercolor cardstock, and carefully tapped color into the openings (Red and Scarlet). I spritzed lightly with water and Perfect Pearls powder. If you spray too much, you might not get the detail you want. I then carefully repeated the process using the TM-130 Holly Border stencil. I used the Jade and Grass Green colors for the holly leaves, and the Red and Scarlet colors for the berries. After lifting the stencils, I mixed a little Nuance powder and pearly water onto my mat and flicked color over the whole card.

The sentiment was stamped in Versafine black ink, and split it on either side of the ornament using a stamp positioned. At the end, I scattered a few sequins.

I hope you will give this Nuance technique a try. It was easy and fun!

Magenta Products Used

07.886.G Joyeux Noël

TM135 Christmas Ornaments

TM130 Holly Border

Magenta Nuance Colors

MNU004 - Jade

MNU009 - Grass Green

MNU010 - Scarlet

MNU015 - Red

Other Products Used

Versafine Onyx Black Ink

Perfect Pearls Powder

Tim Holtz Watercolor cardstock

Christmas Tags

Each year at Art 'n Soul, beginning December 1st, we hold an benefit called 12 Tags of Christmas. Whoever is working each day of the 12 days, designs a tag and provides a make and take for a charge of $1 (or more) for the local Food Bank, or perishable food items for the Food Bank. Some of the staff match contributions. Last year, we provided $500 in cash to the Food Bank, and 3 barrels of food. We're a small shop, so we were proud of that, but it's our goal to better that this year.

I worked 3 of the 12 days this time, so here are my tags. We try to use things that we have in stock in the store, so that people can buy them if they like the tags.

Watercolor Mistletoe - Tag #1

Magenta stamps 0689.L Mistletoe, and 07.324.B To: From: were stamped onto a watercolor cardstock tag (Sizzix 654991 Scallop Combo #2 - no longer available) with Versamark ink. The stamping was embossed with Judikins Gold Detail Embossing powder. I chose a green and a red Tombow marker and partially colored the image. With a wet brush, I pulled the color out to cover the image. I placed a dot of white gel pen on each berry, and went over the top of the leaves with clear Wink of Stella. A sheer red ribbon was added to the top of the tag.

Nuance Poinsettias - Joyeux Noël - Tag #2

I think this tag was my favorite, because it was the most fun. I used a My Favorite Things Stitched layers tag set, and cut the second largest tag out of watercolor cardstock, and the largest one out of 80# Neenah Solar White cardstock. On the small tag, I used various colors of Magenta Nuance powder to color the background. I flicked some gold mica watercolor from Artquest Palette, Metallics. Once the tag was dry, it was stamped with Magenta stamps 07.780.G Joyeux Noël, and 0687.I Doodle Poinsettia 1, using Versamark ink. I used Judikins White Diamond embossing powder to emboss the images.

For the large tag mat, I rubbed a Versamark pad all around the outer edges of the tag and sprinkled Judikins White Diamond embossing powder all over it. I then heat set it, and this provided a great matching mat for the tag. It's very hard to photograph White Diamond embossing powder, but take my word for it, it's very sparkly and pretty.  To finish the tag, I punched two holes through both tags, and strung through a white, glitter ribbon and tied a bow.

Blue Christmas - Glitter Snowflakes - Tag #3

This tag was cut from a Sizzix die (38-0945 Super Scallop - no longer available) out of So Silk Fair Blue cardstock. I also cut a second tag out of 80# Neenah Solar White cardstock, and a partial piece of of Tim Holtz silver Ideaology adhesive backed glitter sheet.  The snowflakes were cut using Impression Obsession Snowflakes Cutout (DIE241-Z). 

The piece of glitter sheet was adhered to the white tag, and the blue tag was adhered over the top of that, with the glitter showing through the snowflake cutouts. 

Magenta 07.462.I Merry Christmas was stamped in Versamark ink and embossed with WOW Silver Glitter embossing powder. A glitter silver piece of ribbon was added at the top. This tag is very silver and glittery in real life.

I'm going to try to make all of our tags for our presents again this year. I hope you give these a try!

Products Used

Tag 1 Watercolor Mistletoe

Magenta Products:

0689.L Mistletoe

07.324.B To: From:

Other Products:

Tombow Markers: Red & Green

Versamark Ink

Judikins Gold Embossing Powder

Uniball Signo Broad White Gel pen

Clear Wink of Stella

Tim Holtz watercolor paper

Sizzix tag die 654991 Scallop Combo #2 (no longer available)

Shear red ribbon 7" long

Tag 2 Nuance Poinsettias - Joyeux Noël

Magenta Products:

07.780.G Joyeux Noël Small

0687.I Doodle Poinsettia 1

Nuance colors:

MNU004 - Jade

MNU005 - Hot Pink

MNU010 - Scarlet

MNU015 - Red

Other Products

My Favorite Things Die-Namics (MFT-525) Stitched Traditional Tag Stax

Versamark Ink

Judikins White Diamond Embossing powder

Artquest palette - Metallics

Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock

Neenah Classic Crest 80# Solar White Cardstock

Piece of glittery white ribbon 10# long

Small hole punch

Tag 3 Blue Christmas - Glitter Snowflakes

Magenta Products:

078.462.I Merry Christmas

Other Products:

Sizzix Suuper Scallop Tag die 38.0946 (no longer available)

Impression Obsession Snowflakes Cutout die DIE241-Z

Versamark Ink

WOW Silver Glitter embossing powder

So Silk Fair Blue cardstock

Neenah 80# Classic Crest Solar White cardstock

Tim Holtz Ideaology Adhesive Backed glitter sheets - silver

7" piece of Silver glitter ribbon