Who would guess these started out as white 2" Twinchie Squares.
Visit Sharon Harnists blog, Paperfections, for her post yesterday to learn the finer points of stamping and coloring these...she even identifies all the Copic markers she used to color each one in this set of 4 magnets.
Just love those Gina K. Designs floral stamps!!
(click on the picture to see a larger version)
Believe it or not, these white 1.5" Inchie + Squares were saved from the recycle!
Every time I am working on a project that is colored with Copic markers, I always grab an extra square and use it as a palette to "see" the exact color...or how colors compare to one another. While doing this on the corner of your work surface seems the most logical; because of the distinctive absorbent characteristics of the ART SQUARES, colors will look a bit different if tested on random paper.
So I have oodles of these weirdly colored squares pushed to the sides of my work table.
Turns out they are perfect for an enclosure note...but need a tad bit more work.
Stamp a sentiment with black pigment ink and emboss with clear powder.
Using the larger end of a VersaMarker pen - draw broad strokes across those words.
Quickly dip in clear embossing powder and heat set.
Choosing one or two pigment ink pads, dab the square directly with the ink pad.
Wipe away the ink from the area that has been embossed over the words.
Dip again in clear embossing powder and heat set.
These also make perfect bookmarks!
(the love stamp is from Rubber Soul and the happy stamp is from Rubbermoon)
We were very excited to learn recently that 2 of our designs have been published in a special edition of Cardmaker Magazine titled, "A to Z Embellishments for Cards"!! It has just come out on newstands and contains an unbelievable number of really amazing ideas. This Lavender Cube can be found under "T" for Twinchies on page 117.
We have already received several requests for a "pictoral" version of the instructions detailing how to make a basic cube. You might want to bookmark these instructions, because once you get going on all the different types of cubes you can make, you won't want to stop!
After trying many, many different types of adhesives and glues we recommend Glossy Accents by Inksenntials. Many know this product as a clear, dimensional embellishment, but who knew it was the perfect bonding medium. We love it because you can control the amount of application (you only need a tiny bead line for the cubes) and it is so quick drying you don't have to hold the parts together but for a few seconds.
Tip: If you look carefully at the photo you will notice we have replaced the lid with a stainless steel quilters pin. These are perfect for 'capping' the applicator when using the product frequently without having to screw on (and off) the lid. Be sure and use stainless steel pins so they won't rust.
While you can use any of our 3 sizes and 7 colors to make these cubes we recommend you start first with the white 2" Twinchie Squares and then work up to 'cubing' with the 1" Inchie Squares.
As you become accustomed to how the cubes go together you may find it helpful to lay out the squares, and label them. And, if you follow this sequence of assembly it really makes things simple. There are two 'bookends' labeled 1 and 3. Then two 'side panels' labeled 2 and 4. And a top and bottom.
Begin by drawing a very thin bead of glue along the actual edge of side panel 2
Now join side panel 2 to bookend 1. The Glossy Accents dries so quickly you will only have to hold it in position for a second or two before you can leave it to stand on it's own.
Next, apply a bead of glue along the edge of side panel 4 and join it also with bookend 1.
On the 'inside edges' of bookend 3, place two strips of Glossy Accents. Line the bottom of the bookend up with the edges of the two side panels and stand it up to form the 4 walls of the cube.
Apply that same tiny stripe of adhesive to the top edges of side panels 2 and 4 (they are opposite each other as you see in the picture).
Gently lay on the top piece and use your fingers to line it up so 'it fits'. It's not an absolutely perfect fit due to the fact that all of the squares are exactly the same dimension, but it's close enough that it won't impact any design work, stamping or coloring that you may apply.
Finish the cube by flipping it over, applying adhesive to the edges of side panels 2 and 4 (like you did for the top) and gently add the bottom piece.
Once you feel confident with the steps to assemble the cube have fun experimenting.
A few tips and ideas....
- always stamp and color the panels BEFORE you assemble them
- try filling the cube with aromatic ingredients as we did with the Lavender Cube, punch holes in the lid and glue it down
- create a collection of memory cubes; whether it's pictures from your Mom's garden or photos from a family vacation
- stamp and color the panels and fill with a tiny gift before adding a removable lid
Azure is one of those very cool sounding words that must have a mystical or magical meaning. It turns out that azure, "looks like the color of the sky on a bright, clear day"....almost like today...quite a shift from recent weather!
This color study was inspired by the bins and boxes we gaze at every morning that are filled with every conceivable 'art supply'. As homage to all these different mediums we decided to color each white 1" Inchie Square all in similar color, but with a completely different product. (click on the photo for a larger, close up view)
Starting at the top left corner and going left to right, one row at a time...
- water wash then dabbed with Prismacolor Watercolor pencil
- Copic marker
- Sakura Glaze pen
- Tombo water-based dual brush pen
- Niji oil pastel
- Twinkling H20 paint
- Crayola crayon
- Grumbacher opaque watercolor paint
- Prismacolor pencil
And for something a little different...instead of putting this colorful collection of inchies onto a card, how about inside a shadow box frame!
Check out these amazing facts about azure, especially the color chart of all the different hues!
Now that you have created 18 identical stamped Twinchie Squares (see previous posting) for one side of the Valentine Memory Game, the fun truly starts in trying to decide among all the potential options for the 9 pairs for the "matching" side.
If you have ever worked with our Inchie Arts squares you know that they have the most incredible paper surface for watercoloring and any 'wet' media. The 'top' or 'pebbly' side acts as a very high end artist quality paper; many have even compared it's properties to hot press watercolor paper. That means it will hold an enormous amount of moisture without deteriorating.
We LOVE Twinkling H20 shimmering watercolors and were very excited to learn about a new color assortment called Think Pink. Pictured here, the six new colors are in pairs of color families. Hopeful Honeysuckle and Dreams Bloom are peachy/pink. Courageous Rose and Luv U Pink are both true pinks. and Lucky Apple and Good News Green round out the six pack. Perfect for Valentines Day we used them to paint a Valentine Candy stamp.
Before any painting be sure and stamp the image with pigment ink, apply embossing powder (we use clear) and heat set. This creates a physical barrier between colors and also prevents the stamped ink from feathering.
If you have ever been in one of our watercolor classes you will understand the importance of the phrase, "more water". In order for watercolor paints to blend and create that blurring effect it is essential to first paint the desired area with water. This is what we are doing in this picture...and if you look really carefully you can spot this neat trick....we tinted this first coat of water with just a tad bit of pink so you can more easily see where you are applying it. You really don't have to have a puddle of water at the ready since the brushpen we are using contains all the water you will really need.
Also at this time you want to make sure your paints are prepped and softened by adding a few drops of water (squeezed from the brushpen) directly into each pot of paint.
Moving fairly quickly (before your water layer dries) pick up the desired color from the paint pot with the tip of the brushpen and begin 'dabbing' it into the desired area. Keep dabbing, and keep picking up paint until you like the results. Don't over paint as you want to see the effect of the 'watercolor' light and dark areas.
(another tip is to create a palette of paint colors on another white square so you can see how the colors look when dry)
Cleaning your brushpen between colors is really easy. All you need to do is swivel the tip of the brushpen repeatedly across a paper towel until it runs clear. If you have a lot of paint on your brush tip you may have to gently squeeze the brushpen to release a bit more water as you clean.
Continue this process with each area you wish to paint, first painting with water and then dabbing the selected color. We didn't blend colors since the painting spaces were small, but the principles are the same...you simply switch colors when 'dabbing' and watch the magic of the different colors as they merge.
We decided to create another pair for our Valentine Memory Game using the same Twinkling H20 colors, only this time we did blend the peach and pink colors inside this open heart stamp from Rubber Soul.
Two more pairs were stamped with Momento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic Markers.
The Peacock Feather was colored with RV 17 Deep Magenta, R27 Cadmium Red, R20 Blush, G40 Dim Green and YG91 Putty.
The Flowery Heart with Swirls was colored with R27 Cadmium Red, V05 Marigold, RV02 Sugared Almond Pink, YG01 Green Bice, YG63 Pea Green and YG95 Pale Olive.
These were our favorites! Especially since we got to eat them after we took the pictures!! 1-7/8" leaves a perfect 1/16" border all the way around when you paste them down. Just remember to trim two photos at a time so you will have an identical pair.
The square on the left was created using individual alpha letter stamps with red pigment ink. The dots were made with Copic Marker RV21 Light Pink.
On the center square, two pattern papers were used; one trimmed to a 1-7/8" square and the other with a heart shaped paper punch.
Create your own plaid background for the square on the right...draw edge to edge lines in one direction with Copic Markers R20 Blush and then V12 Pale Lilac in a perpendicular direction. Stamp over this background with a variety of valentine sentiments.
Remember how to play the Memory Game? Turn over two at a time. If they don't match turn them back over. Keep doing this until you find a match. When they match, leave them face up....
until you have matched them all!!
Happy Valentines Day
This very unique valentine is actually a memory game made from Inchie Arts White Twinchie Squares that was inspired by an article in Country Living magazine. Perfect for all ages it's a fun alternative to a traditional greeting 'card'...plus it's an activity you can play with your 'valentine'!
Begin by creating the same image on the 'back side' of Inchie Arts white Twinchie Squares. One package contains 18 squares, or what will ultimately become, 9 matching pairs.
Stamp the Rubber Soul Whirly Heart with red ink (we used Fresh Ink Pigment Red Current) onto Eclipse Art Masking Tape and also onto a white Twinchie Square. Trim out the heart that is stamped onto the masking material.
Next, carefully place the trimmed heart over the heart stamped onto the Twinchie Square. The Eclipse Masking Tape has a perfect amount of 'tack' for easy removal and also for keeping things in place when you are stamping in layers.
Stamp over the masked heart with a large pattern stamp such as this one from Savvy. To contrast with the rich red we used a fun pink from Fresh Ink called Fresh Lemonade.
It's pretty amazing how many times you can reuse the trimmed out heart before you have to make a new one. Remember, you have to repeat this process 18 times in preparation for the second part of this project.
Be sure and stop by tomorrow to discover our 9 pairs of memory challengers along with some tips for creating them!
This is a great project for creating several cards with a variety of common theme stamps and an assortment of pigment inks.
All of the stamps used in this project are by Fred Mullet. If you haven't worked with his stamps before they are representations of the real thing because his signature stamps are from actual nature prints. And the wonderful Autumn Blessings calligraphy stamp is from Rubbermoon.
Create the foundation of the collage with squiggles and dots using a Krylon 18Kt. Gold Leaf pen. The gold will shimmer through all of the stamped layers.
Your goal is to create a stamped collage over an entire sheet of ivory card stock. It's up to you whether you stamp a full 8 1/2" X 11" or just a half sheet, but know the larger the paper, the more raw material you will have for cards.
Create each 'layer' by stamping each leaf randomly all over the sheet. Remember to change orientation of your stamp each time. This first layer uses the Lil Paper Birch stamp with Fig color pigment ink from Fresh Ink.
Next, the Lil Silver Birch with Honey.
(note: since pigment inks are very sticky and often slow to dry you may want to lightly heat set your work after each layer - this will prevent transfer of each ink onto the newest stamp)
The Flowering Ash Branch is stamped with Tuscan Olive.
As you continue to layer be sure and fill in the white spaces so you are getting good solid 'collage' coverage.
Lil Sweet Gum with Honey.
Finally stamp the Lil Maidenhair Fern with Pear.
Unless you began by stamping 'off' the edges you will want to cut a strip off the top getting rid of the white area at the very edge. Then, cut a 7/8" strip (above) from the top edge. Do you best to be precise because when you cut this strip into squares and paste them onto the Inchie Squares there will be a perfect 1/16" border around the edge of your photo squares.
Carefully trim the strip into 7/8" squares with a paper cutter. As you trim them out be sure to set them down in order and not mix them up. This will make it MUCH easier to match them up again as you are pasting them down on your card. For each card use 5 continuous squares, pasting them onto the black Inchie Squares. Set all 5 squares down on your card first before glueing. Arrange them exactly how you want them (use a centering ruler to position the middle one if desired) and then paste down one by one starting with the square in the middle.
(Hint: A set of 6 or 8 cards and envelopes wrapped in a ribbon makes a perfect hostess gift for Thanksgiving!)
In February we did a posting about a class we were teaching, that created a unique pop up card. from photos from our local farmers market. The card stayed on display at Impress after the class and due to customer requests we are teaching it again.
Even more exciting is to see what others have done with the concept! A dear friend of ours, Vee, has a precocious and photogenic cat named Ash. She designed a version of the pop up with a collection of pictures, all about Ash. This pop up concept is an easy way to showcase and share a collage of images whether that be a trip, hobby, children or special pet.
We love to see what others are doing with our Art Squares or project ideas - send us your photos!
We are VERY excited to be working with JudiKins in their booth this Sunday at the Puyallup Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Festival. Not only do they have some incredible images to work with, but we are having way to much fun playing with all the MicaGloss colors and embossing powders.
One of the techniques we will be demonstrating utilizes the supplies in the top photo to stamp and emboss the leaves onto white Twinchie Squares and then hand mix colors to paint pearlized metallics in subtle shades of green. (click on the photo for a larger view) Rather than putting the finished pieces on a card they are popped out of a small black frame for an elegant art piece to set on a table or hang.
If you are in the neighborhood - be sure and stop by and say hi!
There are so many artists and papercrafters using our products in really unique ways! We decided to start a new archive 'category' in the right margin of the blog to save these wonderful ideas so you can find them when in need of extra inspiration.
Kazan Clark of the JustRite Stampers Design Team just posted this little gem of an idea using Twinchie Squares for mini holiday albums. To see the details of how she created this, and the supplies that she used, be sure and click on the link to visit her blog, Nunu Toolies!
Thanks Kazan!! We love this!
