all in an inch

'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.   

Die Masking with Inca Gold Metallic Rub

Our friend Dianne Johnson recently shared with her readers a really unique take using our Die Masking Technique and it's so cool we had to share it with you.

In all of our past work with Die Masking (you can see earlier posts and step by step instructions if you click on die cuts in the Categories section) we have always started with white Art Squares and then used various colors of pigment inks as our coloring medium. 

We are in love with Dianne's version using a black Art Square and two different colors of Inca Gold Metallic Rub as the coloring medium. Not only that, but she used one color as a rub...and another as a paint and the results are stunning!

To see the step by step instructions with photos just click on this link to her blog called Backporch and be sure and check out all her other wonderful work as a member of the Magenta Design Team!   

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! 

Lots and lots of layering on a black 4"

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There is one thing that can be said for the new 4" black Art Squares. They make a great surface platform for layering. Less expensive than canvas or cradle board they are sturdy enough to stand up to lots of layers of paints. And, starting with a black versus a white square changes the look dramatically adding a deep richness right from the start.

Layering and texturizing are art concepts that we have just started to try now that we have the larger size squares. It is unlikely we could even recreate this piece, and that is the fun of it, to find out how experimenting can produce a great little piece of art.

This was created with layers of Silks Acrylic glazes in different colors applied one color at a time. Because we were just playing around and wanted to see what would happen, we used what we like to call the 'sandwich' technique of applying the paint. Put down a small glop on one black square and moosh it onto another...like a sandwich. When you peel them apart there is always a surprise! (this is a very non sophisticated way to do mono printing). Dry each layer before applying the next one, either air dry or heat setting. We did cheat a little at the end and used this same sandwich concept with a drop of white gesso and then applied the white gesso through a dot template.

 And what is even more fun is we have another, mirror image, but slightly different version of this one that we are saving for additional layering and maybe some stamping! 

 Don't forget to visit the RubberMoon blog every day this week to see the amazing projects of their artists on the new 4" black Art Squares. And check back here each day through Saturday as we provide tips and suggestions on ways to create with all of the sizes of black Art Squares.  

 

Celebrating a new product launch...with RubberMoon!

 

By popular demand, and one artist in particular (you know who you are SC!), we are excited to be adding a 4" black Art Square to our product assortment. 

To celebrate, we shared this new size black Art Square with some of the great designers and artists affiliated with the RubberMoon Stamp Company and invited them to create. 

Every day from now through Saturday visit the RubberMoon blog to see amazing creations from Barb Rogers, Lindsay Waltman-Ostrom, Sunny Carvalho, Jessica Spooner and Kristen Powers.

And here on the Inchie Arts blog, we will spend each day sharing lots of techniques and tips for all sizes of black Art Squares from 1" to 4".   

A few things you may not know about our black Art Squares:

they are made from 100% cotton (not paper)

they are a super black with the 'black' sourced from natural ebony

they are a perfect 4 ply substrate for direct art application especially acrylic paints, white and metallic detail pens, colored pencils, Pan Pastels, stamping and embossing with white or light colors, chalk board style work and photo creations. 

 

For today's whimsical creation use a sponge applicator to apply loose 'stripes' of various colors of Pan Pastels across a 4" black Art Square. 

 

 

There is a slight surface texture on the black squares making them a perfect substrate for using with Pan Pastels. Be sure and spray with a fixative to prevent smudging before the next step. This is also a really fast and easy way to create a background for this type of composite card.

 

Stamp with VersaFIne black ink. All these images can be found at RubberMoon. The fun is going through your stamps and finding a variety that can be used to create a whimsical card. 

 

 

Complete by coloring your stamped images with Prismacolor Pencils.

See you tomorrow - and be sure and visit the RubberMoon Blog each day for great ideas from their artists! 

Twelve Days of Trees - Day 10

 

Bet if we hadn't mentioned it, you would never know that the forest of trees in this card was created with a leaf stamp...love being able to multi-purpose a stamp!

We have assembled quite a collection of RubberMoon Art Stamps over the years and couldn't resist testing this concept with one from the archives called Elm Leaf. 

The design of this card was directly inspired by the Woodland Trees card created yesterday by Cindi Nelson from Savvy Stamps. Remember how she used watercolor paints to create a gradually shaded background? We used that same concept but with Pan Pastels on two completely different Art Squares

The background was created by blending 5 different colors on a white 4" Art Square. Using a blending sponge apply the first (and lightest) color like a stripe across the top of the square. Repeat this process overlapping and blending each 'color stripe' into one another with the sponge. Don't be timid when applying the colors - in fact you can go back over them and fine tune quite a bit. We used the following colors...in this order...turquoise tint, turquoise, ultramarine blue, phthalo blue and violet. Use a spray fixative when finished so pastels don't smudge when assembling card. 

Next, using the very same Pan Pastel colors, in the same order, repeat the application on a dark gray ATC size Art Square. Because the ATC is a dark color to begin with, the colors will be very muted in a rich grayed sort of way. Use a light spray of fixative when finished on this piece also.

Postion the ATC so the darkest color is at the 'top' to represent the sky. Stamp the first RubberMoon Elm Leaf in the foreground with VersaMark ink and cover with White Diamond embossing powder, tap off excess and heat set. Create a mask by stamping a leaf with black ink on a masking paper or post it note and cut out. (make sure and clean the stamp after the black ink!) Now use the mask to cover the first tree, repeating the entire process until you have the desired number of trees that look as if they are receeding into the background. 

Assemble the ATC on top of the 4" piece so the background colors are opposite.....the dark is the sky on the ATC....but the dark is the foreground on the 4". Finish with small dots and a grounding line drawn with white pen.

If you want to try your hand at using leaf stamps as trees there is quite a collection of them available in the RubberMoon Retirement Sale now at 50% off through December 31!

"For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver." - Martin Luther

Twelve Days of Trees - Day 6

 

If you follow this blog, you know that we are in love with the die masking technique and are excited to show it again with this wonderful Cutout Christmas Tree die from Impression Obsession!

What is so great about die masking is that it gives you a whole new way to use your metal dies and is something that can only be done with Art Squares (versus paper or cardstock) because of their 4 ply thickness. 

Begin by covering a 4" white Art Square with Eclipse or Inkadinkado masking paper. Postion the die on top of the masking paper and run through your embossing machine enough to incise through the masking paper and cut slightly into the Art Square. For this card, we peeled away the background and all the little details in the tree - leaving the tree and flourish masked. Stamp the Impression Obsession Christmas Cheer sentiment with pigment ink and then begin dabbing extensively, overlapping with several different colors of green pigment ink until you like the effect. When finished coloring, remove the remaining masking paper and promptly dredge the entire square with clear embossing powder and heat set.

 

 

Once cool, add a finish coating that makes the entire square look like a tile, by going over the entire square with a VersaMark ink pad getting complete coverage. Promptly dredge entire square again with clear embossing powder and heat set. Take your time heat setting as there is now quite a bit of powder to melt. Don't touch for a couple of minutes as it will be super hot!

If these directions seem overwhelming, we created a step by step photo tutorial of this process that can be found by scrolling down to a post from November 21st! 

"I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues." - Dr. Suess

Twelve Days of Trees - Day 5

 

We invited a few of our buddies to join in our Twelve Days of Trees and are excited to share this fabulous creation from Kristen Powers, the owner of RubberMoon Art Stamps. 

KP's project is all about layering; with different colors, textures, images and even 3 different sizes of Art Squares!

She began by cutting a 3" white Art Square diagonally in half to create the 'tree' and then stamped it with RubberMoon's String O' Lights stamp with black ink. She used assorted colors of acrylics for the lights and background on the tree. 

The next layer starts with another 3" white Art Square this time completely painted with a dark Pthalo blue acrylic paint, dried, and then stamped over with the RubberMoon Ink Splat stamp using white gesso as 'the stamping ink'.

The base was created with a 4" white Art Square which she stamped twice with the RubberMoon Corrugated Art Stamp creating a grid effect in black ink, then covering lightly with light and dark blue acrylic paints.

The trunk of the tree was made by trimming a 1" Inchie Square and then covering with the sparkly foil from a Hershey Kiss (yummy and brilliant!).  

Every holiday tree needs a topper and after all the layers were assembled she added a small gold star touched with gold leaf.

Instead of incorporating this into a card, KP chose to add a small easel back turning this into a unique display piece, "I think these would be darling to make a bunch of them and stand them underneath a mini-Christmas tree. They would look like little boxes or gifts under the tree!"  (a collection of these on a mantel amongst greenery would be pretty amazing too!) 

 

 

Thank you again Kristen for being a part of our Twelve Days of Trees!!

"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree." - Roy L. Smith

 

Twelve Days of Trees - Day 3

A holly tree is synonymous with this time of year!

This wonderful Holly Tree stamp from Penny Black is great for card making because it provides a perfect opportunity to practice color mixing to achieve a variety of shades of green.

First stamp the tree with VersaFine onyx black pigment ink onto a 4" white Art Square, dredge in clear embossing powder and heat set.  Not only will the embossing add definition to your stamping but creates a physical barrier that makes coloring with a small paintbrush (#4) very forgiving. Also stamp and emboss the sentiment from Joy Filled transparent set, also from Penny Black. 

If you haven't tried Niji Splash Acrylic Inks this is a great project to give them a try. There are only 4 colors in the set, replicating the 4 colors in process printing; magenta, blue, yellow and black. While a wonderful color chart comes with the set it is more fun to mix different shades of green yourself. Using an egg carton style plastic palette put a few drops of yellow, blue and black in their own wells and then mix away.

Paint a few leaves of holly at a time and then adjust the color. Repeat this process over and over until you will wind up with a rainbow of shades of green on the tree. The berries were colored with siren Smooch and a dusting around the edges and across the square with bronze metallic Pan Pastel complete the project.

This card has lots of texture, color and shimmer that definitely shows in person versus a photo!    

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now." 

Distressing and Art Squares

We are pretty excited to share this unique distressing treatment from a recent post from Virginia's View Challenge #10 - All Things Distressed by their guest designer...our very own Jill Foster!

As Virginia points out, distressing is a technique that has been around for many years and usually involves background treatments with distress inks, focused edge coloring or even tearing the edges of your paper for a tactile distress effect.

But what is unique about this card is that Jill actually tears and colors the edges of a 4" Art Square. Because the squares are a 4ply artists quality mattboard they can take not only a lot of 'distressing', but layers of color as Jill shows in the video of how she created this card.

We just learned about Virginia's View Challenges and hope that you visit not only to see the details and video from Jill, but to participate in the challenge that is open until December 18...and there are also opportunities to win product from Simon Says Stamp and Penny Black!

Thanks Jill for coming up with yet another great way to create with Art Squares!!