all in an inch

Dina creates with Art Squares!

For those of you that follow our Inchie Arts blog you will know how privileged we are to have Dina Kowal, also a designer for Impression Obsession Stamps, as a member of our design team.

Whenever we share photos of Dina's work with Art Squares, you can be sure that all the details will be available on her blog, Mama Dini's Stamperia, including this wonderful ornament made from 2" Art Squares and decorated with a new holiday die from Impression Obsession.   

And while you are there, check out some of her recent work with 4" Art Squares AND our new SWATCH size that is 2" X 4" - perfect for both horizontal and vertical images!

 

 

Be sure and visit Mama Dini's Stamperia - so many great ideas!!

 

 

 

 

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 3 - a chalkboard effect on a dark gray Twinchie

For day 3 of our week with Penny Black it's time to move to the next largest size of Art Squares - the 2" or "Twinchie Square". This is a very popular size because it's not too small...and not too big...lending itself perfectly to the size of many stamped images. 

 Most of the time, we find ourselves reaching for the white Art Squares because the bright white shows off different forms of coloring such as markers, paints, inks and stains etc. But because the Art Squares are an absorbent material, certain coloring mediums may be extremely muted when used on the darker squares. But what if you used a coloring medium that stays vibrant on the surface like embossing, Prismacolor Pencils, or even Pan Pastels?

This card is a good example of a technique that combines stamping with clear VersaMark ink and then using white embossing powder and heat setting on a dark gray 2" Art Square. We used the larger wheat stamp from the Penny Black Golden Harvest Transparent stamp set. Color with Prismacolor pencils, being sure to get good opaque coverage by coloring a few layers with the pencils. When using color pencils while it is tempting to press harder, you will get best results by just going over and over an area with light to medium pressure so you don't break the pencil or leave coloring lines. 

Certain techniques, and even seasonal projects, really lend themselves to just the right color Art Square. 

white: all stamping, bright color and absorbent media applications - basically everything!

ivory: really works well with fall, holiday and Valentine themes

dark cream and wheat: fall, Steampunk and antique projects

light gray: Valentine and Mother's Day (it's all about the pink and gray!)

dark gray: holiday (think white embossed birch trees, snowflakes and pine cones) 

black: Zentangle ^R style pen work using a white or metallic pen or photo projects

With the exception of our newest 4" Art Square (currently available in white) all other sizes including the 1", 1.5", 2", 3" and ATC are available in all 7 colors. 

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!

Today's Tidbit: It was a couple of years ago that we discovered that our Art Squares are perfect for making boxes and cubes and Elizabeth's version today on the Penny Black blog is fantastic! Be sure and visit our original posting on Basic Cube Assembly for step by step directions (click here for a direct link).  

See you tomorrow!

Revisiting....CUBES!

 

There has been a recent renewed interest in cubes, and we just wanted to remind everyone that Art Squares are a perfect precision cut material for building them.

Click on the link below to see our original posting from 2012 showing step by step instructions on how to build them.

  http://inchiearts.typepad.com/inchie_arts/2012/09/basic-cube-assembly.html

or.... look to the right in the categories list of past postings and click on CUBES. 

We like to trim our photos to leave a 1/16" border from the edge of the image to the edge of the Art Square, making it look as if it is 'framed'. Now, instead of labor intense punching you can use the new Grid Works dies from the Susan's Garden collection from Sissix that were designed to use specifically with our Art Squares. They are available in 5 different sizes to work with our 1", 1.5", 2", 3" and ATC size Art Squares!    

Photo Memory Cubes!

Making a photo cube with precision cut Art Squares is super quick and easy. Sharon created this one using 3" white squares and custom coloring the edges with Copic marker. Visit Sharon's blog, Paperfections, to see the details, or visit our original "step by step" directions here. 

A last minute ornament

If you are looking for a great family activity for Christmas Eve you might consider making ornaments for the tree.  Although they won't be on the tree for very long, they will be a pleasant surprise to unwrap next year!

Any size of Art Squares can be used to make a cube, and you can see in Dina's posting that she used the 1" Inchie Square size, stamped and colored it and then embellished with coordinating ribbon.  

(our original posting of the Basic Cube Assembly tutorial on September 10, 2012 can be found if you click here)

The Spring issue of CardMaker!

The new Spring issue of CardMaker magazine has a 9 page article all about different cards and projects made with inchies and twinchies! The cards show different techniques for using inchies...as singles or putting multiple squares on one card. 

Our products were featured in a couple of different projects; Jeanne Streiff's Chocolate Easter Bunny card and our own Twinchie Gift Boxes. 

If you scroll down, just a few postings, you will find additional step by step photo instructions on how to create and assemble a basic cube. 

Inchie Arts products are even the focus of today's posting on the CardMaker Magazine blog! 

Thank you to everyone at CardMaker!!

Basic Cube Assembly

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