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!! 

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! 

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!!

Day 5 - An ATC and die masking - a very different way to use metal dies

Even though an ATC (Artist Trading Card) isn't a square, it's actually 2.5" X 3.5", how could we not include it as part of the Art Square line of products! It was really more about the fact that we knew many of our customers were trading 'inchies' and a great many of them traded ATC's too. Did you know that the number in each package (12) was determined by how many are often traded at a time?

We created the 'die masking' technique over a year ago as an alternative way to use metal dies. They were becoming more and more popular and we figured there had to be a way they could be used with Art Squares in addition to direct application onto the squares.    

 

This technique is one that is very rewarding because when you present someone with a finished card they are clearly stumped about how it was created!

So here is the step by step...

Cover the TOP side (rougher, slightly bumpy feel) of a white ATC Art Square with masking paper and flush trim from the back side. (refer to yesterdays post for particular brand names of masking paper)

Flip the covered ATC over so the masking paper side is facing up. Lay the die - cutting side down - on the ATC. At this point what you want to do is put it through the die cutting machine so that there is enough pressure to just cut through the masking paper and leave a slight incision into the ATC Art Square. Because the Art Squares are a 4ply material it make take a bit of experimentation to get the plates, and often paper shims, to produce the correct amount of pressure. 

We are in love with this Penny Black die called Leap of Joy! 

 Take your time and carefully peel away the masking paper that is the BACKGROUND surrounding the die cut image of the reindeer, and any little 'holes' that are part of the design. Press back down any part of the reindeer that may have lifted up.

At this point get your ink colors and pads organized. We like to arrange them in the order that they will be used. Pigment ink must be used for this technique and one of our favorites is Fresh Ink from Impress. For this card we used (from left to right) Sicilian Blue, Capri Blue, Gypsy Blue, Navy and French Lavender.

Our tip of the day: invest in a box of 100 daubers and dedicate them to all the different inks and colors you use - that way you will never have to wash them...believe us, it's worth it!

 

Beginning with the lightest color begin dabbing. Don't rub though as you may disturb the remaining masking paper or 'get under' it's edges with the ink. Vary your dabbing pressure so you are getting good coverage and blending without leaving distinct round impressions from the dauber.  

  As you lay down each color go back and use the last color to create a seemless blending, repeat this over and over until you are satisfied. You also want to 'refresh' the first colors you put down so that there are no 'dry' ink spots.

As soon as you have finished inking, carefully remove any masking paper left on the Art Square.

Promptly, before any ink dries, dredge the entire ATC Art Square in clear embossing powder.

Take your time when heat setting. Don't be tempted to rush by getting too close. There is quite a bit of embossing powder that needs to really melt - you'll see! Let it cool before handling. As you pick it up you will notice that the area where the masking paper was (the reindeer) will have a matt finish (the surface of the Art Square) and everything else will have a shiny, hard surface, almost like a real tile.

(if for any reason there were dry spots and the embossing powder did not stick on any inked areas, try this.... after heat setting and cooling...cover the entire surface of the ATC with VersaMark clear ink. Re-dredge in the clear embossing powder and heat set again. The resulting overall hard glossy surface is a wonderful finish technique too!)   

 

Because the Art Squares have a 4ply thickness and are a solid core material, it's a nice finishing touch to color the edges with a coodinating colored marker to cover up the 'glaring white edges'! The snow was added at the very last with dots from a white opaque pen, and the sentiment is from the Penny Black Joy Filled clear stamp set.  

 

Be sure and visit the Penny Black BLOG today and every day through Saturday November 22 as each day there will be new postings on both of our sites that combine the Art Squares you know and love with the incredible designs from Penny Black.

And don't forget to comment for entry into the giveaways!  

2 winners will each receive $25 worth of stamps from Penny Black!

2 winners will each receive 4 boxes of Inchie Arts products!

To enter to win a product giveaway leave a comment here on the Inchie Arts blog and then visit the Penny Black BLOG and leave a comment there too. And, there is even a bonus entry by "liking" and commenting on the Facebook pages of both Inchie Arts and Penny Black. One winner will be selected from the collective blog comments and another winner selected from the collective Facebook likes and comments. That means 2 winners will each receive 4 boxes of Art Squares of their choosing and 2 winners will each receive $25 worth of stamps from Penny Black. Giveaway closes at 11/22/14 at 11:59 pm PST. Winners will be announced on the Inchie Arts BLOG and Facebook pages on Monday November 24.   

6 days...6 different sizes of Art Squares!

See you tomorrow!

Layers and layers for a winter watercolor

We are always stunned at the ability to create such a richness of color simply with a watercolor medium. And Elizabeth does just that today in her posting on Studio Sessions as part of a Penny Black design team challenge to create a winter watercolor.

Be sure and read her detailed step by step because she put down at least 4 different layers; something that definitely wouldn't work on paper, but is well suited to doing on a 4ply white ATC size Art Square!

Don't you just love her interpretation of winter colors - so warm and cozy!!  

Hop TODAY with the CardMaker and Inchie Arts design teams and leave a comment for a giveaway of Art Squares!

We are very excited to be a part of a blog hop today with Cardmaker!

It's been an amazing collaboration of two design teams and we hope that their fall themed creations using Art Squares has inspired you, and you will leave comments on the blogs in the hop. We will select one commenter to receive a giveaway of 4 boxes of Inchie Arts products; the color and sizes of your choosing. Leave your comments from now until next Thursday the 16th and we will select and post the winner here on Friday the 17th.  

Since we are the last stop on the hop we wanted to share a couple of techniques that are perfect for 4" white Art Squares. 

 

We are so excited about a new technique called Stendoodling TM created by Michael Trent. It involves carving up an outlined shape into sections and then using stencils or stamps to apply pattern in those areas. The patterned areas can be colored either as part of the process or afterwards.

This application on a 4" white Art Square is a variation of that idea.

After tracing the outline of Aspen leaves (favorite fall leaf!) using a fine line black pen (0.3 or 0.5) we used the pen to create 'sections' on each leaf that loosely follow the idea of the veins. Using masking paper we covered the entire square and traced (you can see through the masking paper to do this) just the outline edge of the leaves. Next, using a craft knife cut through the masking paper following just the outlines of each leaf.

Lifting off one leaf at a time prepare to stamp each section with different pattern stamps using clear VersaMark ink. Mask the section you will be stamping using small post it notes. Then color each section with Pan Pastels that will 'stick' and darken wherever there is ink. Use a very light spray of fixative as you finish each leaf so you won't accidentally smudge it.

(tip: you can use dies or stencils for the larger shape (leaf) or simply draw and cut a shape from cardstock)           

 

This next project was inspired by photos taken of summer flowers that were copied onto regular copy paper and then die cut with these wonderful Impression Obsession wheat dies!

Beginning with a 4" white Art Square remove the absorbent characteristic of the square by generously 'painting' it with matte Perfect Paper adhesive using an old paint brush. Arrange the cut out wheat stalks in a pleasing arrangement alternating colors by laying them on the wet surface and gently pressing them. Quickly cover them with more adhesive (this product is really a liquid like acrylic medium that dries clear) being careful not to overwork. Leave to completely dry.

Using Splash Acrylic inks mix several fall colors in a palette with wells. Using bunched paper towels, and beginning with the lightest colors, dab color onto the background and around and over wheat stalks. If too much ink covers the wheat stalks you can 'clean' them (before ink dries use a wet QTip - if dry use a bit of alcohol). Repeat with all colors until you reach a desired amount of overlappying color. Use an alcohol soaked QTip at the very end to add the 'white' dots.  

If you haven't visited all the other blogs in the hop here are the links:

CardMaker: http://www.cardmakermagazine.com/blog/

Jeanne Jachna: http://akeptlife.blogspot.com/

Mae Nazareth: http://www.inkdpaperbymae.blogspot.com/

 

Sharon Harnist: http://paperfections.typepad.com/

 

Noelle McAdams: http://noelle-paperandice.blogspot.com/

 

Dina Kowal: http://mamadinis.blogspot.com/

 

Penny Ward: http://www.pennywardink.com/

 

Piali Biswas: http://touchofcreation.blogspot.com/

 

Jill Foster & Elizabeth Allan: http://www.studiosessionsart.blogspot.com/

 

Theresa Momber: http://craftingtheweb.blogspot.com/

 

Inchie Arts: http://inchiearts.typepad.com/

 

If you are new to Art Squares perhaps you have been motivated to create with them, or you are an 'inchie afficianado' that wasn't aware of our new larger sizes. Regardless, we hope you have enjoyed the journey and will visit us again here on our blog, or please like and share our Facebook page for tips and ideas!

And don't forget to leave a comment for the giveaway!!

a note to all: it has been so much fun being a part of this blog hop! I have enjoyed reading all of the comments so far and am warmed to hear that many of you have never heard of our products before but have great interest. Aside from being precision cut (so you don't have to cut your own) what most don't know is that the greatest benefit of the Art Squares is that you can create your art directly on the square because the top surface is similar to a high quality artist grade paper - some say like a watercolor paper and so can accept all kinds of wet and dry media without deterioration.

If you are interested in purchasing our products please visit this link to the STORES page on our web site.  

Hop with Inchie Arts and CardMaker design teams this Thursday October 9!

We are so excited to join forces with CardMaker magazine for a collaborative blog hop highlighting the work of both of our design teams! 

Join us Thursday for this special fall theme event saluting Art Squares of all sizes! 

Have you joined the Penny Black Club?

Holiday inspiration delivered to your mailbox until the end of October!!

We are excited to share that Jill Foster, a member of our design team..and also on the Penny Black design team, will be exploring topics such as achieving beautiful mixed media collage, stamping techniques, ATC designs, and scenic painting.

If you haven't signed up yet here is the link, and stay tuned to receive some great ideas as you gear up for the holidays! 

Elizabeth Allan joins the Inchie Arts Design Team!

We are soooo excited to announce that the very talented Elizabeth Allan will be joining the Inchie Arts Design Team. We were introduced to Elizabeth by another of our designers, Jill Foster, and while we have worked with Elizabeth occasionally in an informal way, we are very proud to now consider her an 'official member' of our team.

We put her on the spot and asked her to prepare a little introduction...

"Hello everyone!  I am a northern Michigan girl who is married to her soul mate, Scott.  Besides a love of art, I have a deep affection for numbers and I work as an accountant.  Many years ago, while working, I began teaching local rubber stamping and paper crafting classes.  During that time I realized how much I enjoyed creating something from my heart and sharing that passion with others.  In 2006, I was honored by an invitation from Penny Black to join their design team and also assist with their product development.  Since then I have been blessed with many opportunities to travel, teach and, I hope, inspire others to find the artist within themselves.

I am so excited to join Lisa and her talented Inchie Arts design team and I look forward to sharing many “Inchie” adventures."

and for her first posting with us....

 

And her hair blossomed into flowers...a tiny ATC portrait!

 

It is absolutely unbelievable the amount of detail that Elizabeth has captured in this miniature portrait, painted all with Dr. PH Martin's Hydrus Fine Art Watercolors on a white ATC size Art Square! Maybe it's the delicate blush on the cheeks of this flower girl, or the downcast shaded eyes, but this tiny painting is filled with mystery. This is another example of how our Art Squares are the perfect surface for watercolors and painting with a fine art emphasis. Not only that, but Elizabeth very cleverly hand cut another ATC to create a tiny frame to give it an extra special touch!  

Visit Elizabeth's posting today at Studio Sessions for more details about this wonderful tiny painting.

Welcome!!