all in an inch

Seasons Givings - A special thank you!

Happy New Year 2017 !!

We are so excited to be included again in the Seasons Givings Blog Hop!

This really is a spectacular event and all the credit goes to Latisha Yoast for her vision and organization! She has created a wonderful way for all of us...to thank all of you...for the love and support that has enabled everyone on this list to continue to share their creativity. And, as we learned last year, this is a great way for us to introduce Inchie Arts - Art Squares to those unfamiliar with our products. 

 

 

This year we introduced our Little Village kits, Original and 2. The response has been tremendous and as we, and others, continue to experiment with how they can be used, there is no doubt that these will become part of your year round papercrafting and card making. If you are looking for samples and ideas on how to use Little Village kits be sure and visit the Inchie Arts Facebook page.

 

 

We would like to extend a very special thank you to all the artists and crafters who shared their work with us!! You continue to inspire and demonstrate that Art Squares are the perfect substrate for everything from stamping and coloring, mixed media, Gelli Plate, die masking, watercolor, stencils, Pan Pastels, Stendoodling, photo collages, cubes, tags and so much more.

 

 

 

 

Whether you already love our Art Squares....or are super curious to create with them....please leave a comment below on THIS POST as your entry to win this collection of Inchie Arts - Art Square and Little Village products. In order to be eligible please leave a comment between now and Sunday January 8th at 12 midnight PST. We will randomly select one winner and will post their name here on our blog, and on our Facebook page, on Tuesday January 10, 2017.

 

 

The Inchie Arts - Art Square Giveaway Package includes: 2 packages Original Little Village, 2 packages Little Village 2, one package each of white: 1" Inchie Squares, 3" Art Squares, 4" Art Squares, ATC size (2.5" x 3.5") Art Squares and 2" x 4" SWATCH Art Squares.

 THANK YOU for stopping by and we hope you will visit again to see if you won, but more importantly to explore this blog and our Facebook page to see what you can create with Art Squares. 

And what a list for this year - WOW! 

Lawn Fawn

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L

Reverse Confetti

Taylored Expressions

Paper Smooches

Neat & Tangled

Technique Tuesday

Clear & Simple Stamps

Richard Garay

My Sweet Petunia

JustNick

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

Sunny Studio Stamps

Inchie Arts llc

Scrapbook Update

Buttons Galore

Latisha Yoast

Julia Stainton

ChariMoss

Cristina Nunez

Wanda Guess

Vera Yates

Amy Tsuruta

Mary-Ann Maldonado

Lori Craig

Lydia Fiedler

Jenn Shurkus

Lisa Henke

Dina Kowal

Libby Hickson

Emily Leiphart

Cindy Lawrence

Kelly Klapstein

Erica Houtghton

Elise Constable

Julee Tillman

Lee Murphy

Lisa Arana

Giovana Smith

Karen Baker

Lindsay Amrhein

Dana Joy

Marcie Sharp

Megan Hoeppner

Alicia Thelin

Asia King

Debbie Seyer

Yvonne Van De Grijp

Tenia Nelson

Michelle Woerner

Christina Griffiths

Lori McAree

Barbara Anders

Jill Hawkins

Veronica Zalis

Leigh Penner

Margie Higuchi

Amy Coose

Melody Rupple

Karen Letchworth

Heidi Ramsey Blankenship

Jennie Harper

Jodi Collins

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Gracie Chavez

Stephanie Klauck

Savannah O’Gwynn

Terre Fry

Neva Cole

Maria Levine

Misti Oblander

Ceal Pritchett

Thank you for visiting All In An Inch from Inchie Arts! Don't forget to leave a comment below on THIS POST as your entry to win the Inchie Arts - Art Square and Little Village products shown in the picture. In order to be eligible please leave a comment between now and Sunday January 8th at 12 midnight PST. We will randomly select one winner and will post their name here on our blog, and on our Facebook page, on Tuesday January 10, 2017.

Happy New Year everyone!! 

Use Little Village pieces as sentiment banners

 

 

Whether you have a few extra pieces left over from your Little Village kit(s), or you have discovered that you can cut up the carrier sheet that comes in the package to trim more bits and pieces from our signature matboard, don't throw them away!!

They make the perfect little banners for sentiments. 

There always seems to be a holiday where we are running around looking for the perfect little gift box. So we keep a stash of shallow jewelry style boxes that have a top that measures 3-5/8" square. Of course this is the PERFECT size to cover and decorate with either 9 Inchie Squares, 4 - 1.5" Art Squares or 1 - 3" Art Square!    

(if you frequent the Inchie Arts FB page you may have seen the Washi tape box tops in February)

• Paint a white 3" Art Square with Bashful Blue and Wild Iris Twinkling H2O watercolor- dry completely.
• Stamp Impress Embroidered Snowflake with white gesso (be sure and wash stamp promptly with a toothbrush before gesso dries) - dry.
• Stamp select leftover pieces from your Little Village kit with appropriate sentiments
• Assemble, and overlap sentiment banners on the completed 3" Art Square.
• Glue 1 or 2 coordinating colors of trimmed cover weight paper to box top, then finished 3" Art Square on top of that 

Be sure and visit Ellen Hutson's inspiration and education blog, theCLASSROOM, every day this week as they join us in celebrating everything Inchie Arts - including 20% off all in-stock Inchie Arts merchandise at Ellen Hutson LLC.

And join us here for the next several days as we share even more Little Village creations! 

A Curlicue Heart

I know, Christmas is just past, but it's never to soon to start thinking about Valentine's Day!

Today Sharon posted the sweetest card on her blog, PaperFections, using a 3" white Art Square as the base for stamping with a Pink Ink Stamp and then water-coloring with Peerless paints. This card has a few additional technique components including heat and pressure embossing making it worthwhile to stop by her blog to learn of the details.  

Chalkboard Marker Magic with Dina

It never ceases to amaze us all the super creative things that can be done with our black Art Squares!

For a Splitcoast stamper tutorial, Dina has stamped with Versamark ink on a black 3" Art Square, embossed with white and then used markers to color the embossing - what a fabulous idea!

Be sure and stop by her blog, Mama Dini's Stamperia for the details.

A special welcome to Simple Pleasures

It's always a joy to announce that an independent art/stamp store will be carrying our products! We are like proud parents when store owners and artists share our passion for creating with Art Squares. 

If you are in the Colorado Springs area be sure and stop by Simple Pleasures and perhaps you will see some of the samples we have sent Cathy to illustrate a few of the different ways for using Art Squares.  

  The card above was created by stamping a Fred Mullett Big Scallop stamp on a white 3" Art Square with Versamark clear ink. Dredge the Art Square in clear embossing powder and heat set. Then overpaint with watercolor paints (we used Koi) and use a damp paper towel to wipe away any excess paint from the stamped image.  

 

Ever a favorite technique with white ATC size Art Squares, this die masked card was created using the new Playful Posies die from Penny Black. (step by step directions for this technique can be found on an early blog posting HERE) 

 

 

Need a quick and easy birthday 'card' that's not a card?! Line up 4 white 2" Art Squares on your work surface with a light removable adhesive so they are fitting tightly together. Stamp the Happy Birthday sentiment first and then stamp the floral Centerpiece stamp across the other 3 squares with black die based ink. Color with markers and assemble using a coordinating Washi tape. (both the sentiment and floral stamp are from Penny Black)  

 

Photo mosaic cards are still our most favorite way to use black 1" Inchie Squares! You can either hand cut these 7/8" photos, use a single hand punch or if you want to stamp out 16 photo squares at once look for the new Garden Patch die from the Susan's Garden collection from Elizabeth Craft that was created to work with our 1" Art Squares!

 

'Resist' stamping on Art Squares using a variety of wet color mediums

Impress Flower Power stamp set on a white ATC size Art Square colored with Koi Watercolor paint.

Last Saturday we were invited to do a demo at Impress Cards and Crafts as part of a store wide event. We love working with both their exclusive stamp images and those created by Savvy. When we do a demo with Art Squares our goal is to show how the product is a perfect surface for all different kinds of stamping and coloring techniques.

On a recent trip to Portland we discovered a new product from Cosmo Cricket showing watercolor papers printed with clear designs that 'resist' when watercolored and wanted to see if that same technique could be translated to white Art Squares.

All of the cards shown in this post were created by first stamping a white Art Square with clear VersaMark Ink from Tsukineko followed by dredging in clear embossing powder and heat setting. Next, 'wet' media color was applied. As you will see, the 'color' was absorbed into the Art Square and then a water dampened paper towel (or an alcohol dipped Q-tip if paint is acrylic based vs. water based) was used to wipe away any remaining color from the 'white' images. It was interesting to see how the variety of different color mediums behaved on the Art Squares. 

 

    The same Flower Power stamp set was used, but the color was added by directly drawing on the 4" white Art Square (after the stamping and heat setting!) with Faber Castell Gelato sticks and then 'painting' over with water to dissolve the applied color.

 

Confetti Dots background stamp. Background color applied with 3 shades of Faber Castell Gelato sticks that were directly applied to the white ATC size Art Square and then blended with water. An additional layer of color was added by touching a wet paintbrush directly to the Gelato stick and then applying to the Art Square.  

 

Savvy Lace Flower stamp. Background was added by applying drops of Copic Various Ink (directly from the refill bottle) in greens and blues onto a clear acrylic block and then pressing the ATC size white Art Square onto the block.The flowers were then overcolored with Koi Watercolor.  

 

Savvy Lace Flower stamp. Background color was applied using Splash Ink Acrylic Inks. As a green or blue was mixed and applied it was then tweaked to create a new color which was also then applied. (if using an acrylic based color medium, use an alcohol moistened Q-tip to remove excess paint from 'white' stamped images)  

 

Savvy Brush Stroke Flower and Wavy 7 Petal stamps. Background created by dabbing a paintbrush heavy with a color blend created with Splash Acrylic Inks. Paint was then 'moved around' on the 4" white Art Square adding additional colors here and there until desired affect was achieved. (used an alcohol moistened Q-tip to clean white flower images)

  

Spade Leaf stamp. Twinkling H20 Golden Jade dark green accented with FineTec gold metallic water soluble paint on a 3" white Art Square.

 

Leafy Stem stamp and Snow Flurry stamp. Background created by first creating different blue and green Koi Watercolor blends and then combining them with Fine Tec silver metallic water soluble paint. Make sure the 4" white Art Square is well moistened with water before applying paints. This will allow the colors to blend on their own.  

If you live or visit the Pacific Northwest be sure and visit Impress Cards and Crafts at their 2 locations in the Seattle area to see a complete display of all the sizes and colors of Art Squares and all kinds of sample projects. Otherwise, be sure and visit their online store at Impress Cards and Crafts.   

Water and color

NEVER throw anything out.  Being sort of a color nut,  I find that I will often just play with watercolor paints on a white Art Square. Most of the time, what appears may not be to my liking or 'fit' with the project at hand.  And, being watercolor, what appears when dry may be VERY different than what you thought you painted. Therefore, set it aside and save it.

This is a perfect example of a greeny yellowy watercolor background on a 3" white Art Square that only came alive with the overstamping of a leafy stem stamp from Impress. Stamp repeatedly, overlapping several different shades of green (from lights to darks) using Impress Fresh Ink pigment inks until a pleasing result appears.   

 

This is a favorite technique, especially when you need a quick card. Using a variety of green and purple Tombow markers directly apply color to the Gingko 2 stamp from Fred Mullett. After coloring hold the stamp in hand and spray/spritz it with a very light water mist. Stamp immediately onto a white ATC size Art Square. Repeat.    

(the birthday wishes sentiment is from Savvy Stamps) 

Look for these sample cards and Inchie Arts Art Squares at A Stamp Artist Place in Swannanoa, NC! 

The 6th and last day of our black Art Squares event!

 

This holder, made from 5 - 3" black Art Squares, makes a perfect place to organize just the tools you need. In fact, what you see here are the pens we pulled from our every increasing stash to create this project. 

Our favorite silver metallic is a Uniball Gel Impact and our favorite gold is Gelly Roll metallic. Of course there are all kinds of metallic pens out there, we have just come to love how these look and feel as you draw with them on the black Art Squares. And of course we love the black Copic Multiliner pens in any size!

 

Begin by laying out 4 - 3" black Art Squares and anchor them on your work surface with a light tac adhesive. Begin doodling away....but leave the far left and far right edges blank before you get too far with your drawing. 

 

The reason you do this is because you are going to MOVE the square on the far right....and place it on the far left. Now you can draw a doodle pattern across the seam of where you have just placed it. This way, when you assemble the holder the design will be continuous all the way around!

 

This diagram illustrates how  every now and then you are going to move the #4 square to the #0 spot and draw across the seam between the two...and then move it back to the #4 spot and draw across the seam between #3 and #4. 

 

Alternate your doodle patterns between the gold and silver. 

 

 

We have found the PERFECT adhesive for assembling cubes and holders like this...GLOSSY ACCENTS is accurate in it's application, the applicator prevents you from putting down too much and it dries REALLY quickly!

 

As you are gluing the four sides together make sure that your patterns match at each corner. When dry, flip over and attach the bottom. 

Fill with rice or orzo.

(we started using Art Squares of all sizes for cubes and holders a long time ago and have a step by step photo tutorial here on the blog from September 10, 2012.  )

We hope you have enjoyed our week of ideas and inspiration all about black Art Squares. And, it has been a treat for us to partner with RubberMoon to celebrate the launch of our new 4" black Art Squares. Their designers have created some incredible projects...a very special thanks to Kae Pea, Barb Rogers, Lindsay Ostrom, Sunny Carvalho and Jessica Sporn. It's their last day of this special event too and if you visit their blog today they are ending this event with a giveaway!!

Day 5 - Four, three, two and....one and a half!

All the different sizes of black squares were lying blank on the desk waiting for an inspirational lightening bolt to strike about which one to post about next...but rather than choose, why not do more than one!  

 

Since the various sizes of Art Squares would be stacked, it seemed a good idea to make each layer a slightly different color along with a different image. From left to right; 4", 3"and 2" black Art Squares.

 

Paint each square quickly with Silks Acrylic Glazes using a wet brush. Since they will be stacked, you don't have to paint the middle. Just a light coating that will absorb slightly into the Art Square and leave a subtle color shimmer. Here you can see the striking contrast of how the same color looks when painted on a white Art Square.

 

After painting and drying all three squares go ahead and stamp around the border of each square using Brilliance Starlite Silver pigment ink and heat set after stamping.

 

Add a soft color coordinating accent color to stamped images with Prismacolor pencils.

 

Assemble by stacking one on top of another using dimensional foam tape.

 

 
   
This project has so many opportunities at this point ... using Lindsay Ostrom's idea from yesterday you could punch holes and add a 'hanger'... you could mount it as a box top on a square jewelry size box lid (like yesterday's project) ... or simply use it on a very special card!  

The stamps for this project were all from RubberMoon and were the perfect scale for this type of layering, including So Much, Heart Fly, Itty Bitty Heart and Wee Bird.  

Tomorrow is our last day of celebrating the launch of our new 4" black Art Squares and showing lots of different ideas for all of the sizes in black. Be sure and stop by the RubberMoon BLOG today and tomorrow to see what their artists and designers have created with the new 4" black Art Squares! 

Sneak Peek of a new Impression Obsession stamp

Join the Impression Obsession Design Team every day this week for a sneak peak at some of the new images they will be previewing at CHA later this week. 

Dina's image represents a fond memory of a trip to Arizona showcasing brilliant cactus flowers. After stamping on a 3" white Art Square she covered the entire surface area with QoR Modern Watercolors which are characterized by their color vibrancy.

Visit Mama Dini's Stamperia for links to all the other Impression Obsession Design Team blog posts!