all in an inch

Look...again!

     

I have been tinkering with new designs for 'inchie' accordion books and am working on samples for some upcoming classes I will be teaching. I think at this point one of my biggest problems will be choosing what combination of images to include as I tend to get overhelmed with so many great design options!

Inchie Accordion books are the perfect size for a small keepsake, memory book, or a very special card with a message. But my very most favorite (can you say that?) are the alphabet accordions designed by Karen Lockhart and Vee Snyder. They are truly amazing. You may remember this photograph from the inchiearts.com web site when we first introduced Mini Accordion Kits.  

I remember when I first saw Vee's book. I untied the ribbons and opened it up and was astounded with the level of detail and thought that had been put into finding images that represented each letter of the alphabet - and they are ALL Lockhart Stamp Company stamps! 

I found that I would look...and look...again at each tiny page. This attention to detail has provided lots of inspiration for me and I hope it does for you as well. I thought it would be fun to go back and take a closer look at each panel so you can truly appreciate it too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now we flip it over and look at the other side...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is either a happy accident...or a great coincidence...that the longer (black) pre-folded accordion that comes in the kit has enough panels to create an alphabet book (wink wink!).

So challenge yourself...go through your stamps and have fun creating your very own inchie alphabet!

 

Sample cards

 #3040 Scarecrow - Direct stamped, Copic markers and Prismacolor pencil

 

At Inchie Arts we make lots...

I mean LOTS...of sample cards!

Perhaps you have seen them where you buy Inchie Arts products? We usually send out a few cards with every order going to a store. And rather than mass produce, which would probably be smarter and faster, we tend to get wrapped up in trying different coloring or color combinations each time we put together a decorated inchie. From time to time it occurs to us that we should probably take pictures of them, before they disappear out the door - especially if we want to remember a really good color idea!

For the sample cards we send out, we tend to keep them simple and use the folded Inchie Notes (cards) and Inchie Papers from our product line. Sometimes we will stamp direct on the Inchie Squares or use the Inchie Papers directly on the square, or as a background for a decorated inchie on a card. We often get requests to just 'show more ideas' so we thought we would do just that! As many of you have guessed, we always use Lockhart Stamp Company images for our stamped inchies. They are absolutely perfect for inchies whether they be from the Itty Bitty Collection or a larger stamp with a portion cut or masked out. Some of the images below you may not have seen as they are from their newest release.

We all chip in to make sample cards and many of the cards you see in this group were created by one of our local designers, Vee Snyder. Vee has a background in watercolor art and I think has a great sense of color!

So, every now and then, we will forego the directions on how to make the cards (we will always explain though if you e-mail a request) and just share some pictures of our...sample inchie cards! 

 

  

#3014 Pumpkin and #3037 Checkered border - Direct stamped, Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils

 

     

#3002 Pear - Stamped and cut out, Prismacolor pencils, mounted 'up' with foam tape

 

 

#3049 Star - Direct stamped, Copic markers and Stardust pen

  

 

#2084 Adirondack chair - Stamped and pot of flowers cut out, Prismacolor pencils

 

 

#3041 Pie - Stamped and cut out, Prismacolor pencils

Butterscotch Plaid - backgrounds

   

One of the key characteristics of Inchie Squares is the ability to create 'art' directly on the squares. Karen Lockhart (Lockhart Stamp Company) really went to town on a technique she calls 'wallpaper'. She found that she could practically replicate the look of certain types of pattern papers using a variety of Copic Markers and other embellishment pens. The possiblities were endless; not only in color ways, but also in geometric as well as fluid patterns.

With a little experimenting you can come up with color combinations that really work well together, like these two versions above; of the lighter (on the right) and darker (on the left) plaids. If you want the plaid to have an evenly blended, and harmoneous appearance stick with three colors that are of a similar value.

 

In creating the lighter plaid background the first step is to draw parallel marker lines across the front (right) side of the Inchie Square with the lightest of the three colors (Copic Y11).

   Next, take the soft pink marker (Copic R20) and fill in between your first lines.

 

 

Turn your Inchie Square sideways and using the last marker (Copic Y21) color directly on top of the first two colors creating the illusion of a plaid. Don't forget to color the edges (they take color beautifully as the Inchie Squares are solid core white) with your choice of the three colors.

 

 

If this were a real fabric plaid you might see some metallic threads running through it, so why not dress it up a bit by outlining each of your color lines (both directions) with a Stardust Gelly Roll pen from Sakura. I absolutely love these pens! Not only do they change from a silver tone to a gold tone depending on what color you use them on top of, but even just a tiny touch of one really adds another dimension to your work.

 

 

Now that the plaid background is completed, it is time for the initial. (the assignment for the Inchie Lotta trade was to create inchies with the initial letter of your last name) Not having any rubber stamps with large outline style letters I decided to use the Word program on the computer. I selected a Century Schoolbook type face, enlarged it to 72pts., then went into the font detail and selected 'outline'. After spacing out the letters I printed it out and waited for it to dry a bit before coloring. I created several inchies with the Butterscotch Plaid backgrounds but selected darker values of the colors in the plaid for the letters. This particular color is Copic RV17. 

 

Trim out the letter and paste it to your plaid inchie, then use the Stardust pen again completely drawing all over the colored letter.

 

   

Finish the inchie by coating just the letter with Ranger Glossy Accents. You will be amazed by how the letter will look with just a touch of shimmer as well as the hard gloss finish!

Now...if I only had a more interesting 'looking' inital...!

 

Inchie-Lotta September meeting

 

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of participating in the September gathering of the Inchie Lotta Inchie Club. Joy Laurion of Stampin-in-the-Rain in Bothell, WA is the host of these fun events that meet on the third Monday of every month. It's an evening of food, trading inchies, learning new techniques and having creative time with friends.

This month the theme for the inchie trade was using the initial of your last name (hmmm....what to do?) I happened to be visiting my parents shortly after I learned of the topic. My mom has always kept a candy jar. You know, the big cut glass one with small hard candies in individual wrappers...yummy! When the kids were younger I always had to keep an eye out when they were invited to 'take one'; and would take a handful. Somehow the candy always reflects the season and what did I find but butterscotch. Whether it's the color or distinctive rich flavor, there isn't anything else like it. As soon as I popped one in my mouth I knew that this would be the inspiration for my inchies. Here is a sneak peek of my 'butterscotch plaid' inchies. Check out the next posting for directions on how to make your own backgrounds using Copic markers. 

I have to say, I am always curious how everyone travels with their craft supplies, and this group has it all figured out! The nesting, snap together bins that they have discovered are absolutely perfect for inchie supplies. These nifty containers come in a square format with 3 trays, or a larger rectangle with 2 trays that is just right for longer items like colored pencils, full size scissors, waterbrush pens etc. You can even buy more than one and make the stack even taller!

 

Needless to say I was extremely envious of this new 'perfect' storage and travel container and decided I had to have one too! The next morning I made a bee line for Target (I am told they have them at Costco too) and they still had a few - it must be a popular item so I am hoping they get more. I was very eager to get all my goodies in the trays, but stopped myself long enough to take a quick picture so you can see what it looked like before I took off the packaging.

A special thanks again to the Inchie Lotta's - I had a great time!!

The last gasp of summer

   

 

Have you ever made a card that you gave away and then wished that you had another just like it? I needed to send a thank you card to a friend and recalled a card that I had made several months ago when I was daydreaming about how my summer garden would look. Unlike other parts of the country we are being treated to a radiant Indian Summer with very warm days, and you guessed it, butterflies in the garden. 

 

   

Racking my brain to remember how (and with what colors!) I created this 3D butterfly card, I started by stamping the Lockhart Itty Bitty butterfly #3008 with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I colored the butterfly with sparkly Spica markers. Adding Glossy Accents after coloring gave it the perfect finishing touch! To get the bent wing effect of the butterfly, remember to first bend it before you apply the Glossy Accents and prop the wings up a tad while drying. Once dry the 'bend' will be permanent.  

 

     

 

Next, it was on to the flowers and I found those of the Lockhart Bouquet #7002 were perfect. After stamping on white card stock I colored the leaves of the bouquet with two different Copic markers.

 

 

 

Real flowers have all kinds of colors and textures so why not combine colored pencil with markers? I actually do this alot because I find it adds a slightly different color dimension. These two colors are Prismacolor pink and process red. 

 

 

 

You can easily create a dappled effect for a background (sky maybe?) by 'dabbing' with two different Copic markers. 

 

 

 

Did you know that in every package of Inchie Papers you get 2 Inchie Finders? These are neat little tools if you need to decide where to crop a part of a larger image. These little acetate squares are the same size as an Inchie Square and all you need to do is trace around it in light pencil, cut, and paste it to the Inchie Square. 

 

 

After you have glued the bouquet to the Inchie Square (remember to color the edges!) use small pieces of foam tape to attach the butterfly to the flowers. Finding a color coordinated Inchie Paper to use as a background is a simple embellishment for a clean and crisp looking card. The finished card is from the Inchie Notes blue/lavender collection.  

Enjoy this last gasp of summer as it isn't officially over until September 22nd! 

 

Is there a 'right' side?

Many of you have asked if there is a 'right' side to an Inchie Square. You do have to look (and feel) carefully, but yes, there is. It's not the end of the world if you accidentally do your artwork on the back side, but the benefits of the 'right' side are wonderful. Recently I wasn't paying close attention when direct stamping and was surprised when I came back to color my image that those typically crisp black lines had feathered and bled out a bit. Hmmm, best to slow down and make sure I am working on the 'right' or 'front' side!

You can do just about any type of direct art on the 'right' side without compromising a thing. You will get crisp stamped lines, great coverage and blendability (is that a word?) with Copic markers, and fun background effects with Twinkling H20 watercolor paints! And of course all the 'dry' mediums like chalk and Prismacolor pencils work like a dream.

So how do you determine which side is which?!

The 'front' or 'right' side of a white Inchie Square has a slightly bumpier finish - like eggshell finish paint looks on a wall. The back side looks more like a piece of paper - smoother. Also, if you are looking at the 'right' side, the edges seem to curve away - this is because they are cut with the 'front' side up!

And don't forget the edges - they are dying for some color too!

Here we go...

People get their creative impulses in lots of different ways. Mine comes often when I am in the shower. I find myself totally zoning until someone pounds on the door yelling..."MOM!" It's only at that point that I realize that I have been mentally, creatively somewhere else. I can't even imagine how many gallons of water I have showered away while day dreaming about writing a blog. Well, it's happened and I expect there will be many more gallons of water down the drain for the 'good of the blog'.

all in an inch is a metaphor. My dear friend and mentor, Karen Lockhart, nailed it immediately when she said, 'it means to make you LOOK more closely at things'. And that, is my goal...

Ah yes, and then there is the business of Inchie Arts...I blame Karen for that too. I couldn't be having more fun than if I had planned out this entire serendipitous experience. And that goes for all of you who have provided counsel, feedback, suggestions and unbelievable support - you are to blame in the success of it all as well!! 

I have exhausted myself getting to this point, but I have all kinds of fun images, inchie ideas, technique tips and the like just waiting in the wings. But hey, you'll have to get out of the shower if you want to join in the fun!