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!! 

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

Day 4 - a bit of masking, stamping, watercolor and even Pan Pastels!

It's day 4 already and it's time to share some ideas for the 3" Art Square size.

For years our business focused on the 3 smaller sizes; the 1" or Inchie Square, 1.5" Inchie + Square and the 2" Twinchie Square. Once our customers figured out all the cool coloring methods for direct art application on the squares, no sooner were they hounding us with requests for larger sizes. So, we introduced the 3", ATC and 4" sizes renaming the entire line...Art Squares...as it was getting kind of confusing referring to all the sizes as 'inchies'.

The introduction of the 3" size was like opening up a creative Pandora's box.

 

 One of the greatest discoveries of these new larger sizes was that you could actually combine multiple techniques and mediums on one Art Square. This card begins with a 3" white Art Square and combines a bit of paper masking, stamping, watercolor painting and Pan Pastel application.  

There are a few steps to this one and until we are brave enough to shoot a video we will share this step by step photo tutorial.

Begin by covering the TOP (slightly textured) side of a 3" white Art Square with masking paper. There are a few brands in the marketplace; we most often use one from Inkadinkado called Stamping Mask Paper or Eclipse paper from Judikins. Turn over and trim the paper flush to the very edge of the square.

Using a 2" Art Square as a template, center on the top of the masking paper side and trace around it with light pencil.

 

Using a sharp craft knife, cut out and remove the central square - but be sure to save it as you will be using it again. 

Leaving the 'border' mask in place, stamp the Penny Black Sparkler Slapstick Cling stamp using Versafine onyx black pigment ink. Cover with clear embossing powder, shake off excess and heat set. As with the placecards from a few days ago, sometimes we like to emboss our image prior to watercoloring. (don't get too close with the heat gun...and if the border mask releases a bit, just press it back down.  

For this project, we again used the Sakura Koi Water Colors. After decding that the poinsettia was going to be a blend of pinks, we preblended several different puddles of light pinks to darker versions, even adding a bit of purple and used another Art Square to 'test' what the colors would look like when applied.

For this type of watercolor painting we like to let the 'water' part of watercolor do the blending. In order to do that your surface must be partially saturated and so the first couple of passes are quickly done with a very light pink 'water'. Repeat the process so everything is 'damp' before you apply the next, stronger layer of color.

Gradually add in the darker colors applying them with a gentle dabbing motion. Feel free to add dabs of water to insure that the colors bleed and blend as you apply them. You will be surprised by how much water and paint will be absorbed into the Art Square. 
   

Let the paint completely dry (you can heat set if you are gentle) and remove outside mask. Find the smaller square mask that you initially removed and place it over the center area that you have just painted. 

With the center square mask in place stamp the leafy twig from the Penny Black Festive Florals Slapstick Cling set using clear VersaMark ink. Take your time as you stamp and try and not overlap too much of the image as you stamp 'the border'. 

Using a soft art sponge begin applying various Pan Pastel green colors directly on top of the VersaMark stamping. Like magic, the images will appear in a darker value than the background. We started with Bright Yellow Green Tint and then Bright Yellow Green Shade gently adding and wiping the colors without disturbing the central masked area.

For the final layer we used Chromium Oxide Green Shade. After removing the mask in the middle you can touch up any watercoloring (we added a bit of sepia tone at the edges). For the finishing touches we added a black pen line around the central square and the bling (pearls touched with a gold Krylon pen). After assembling the card we stamped the sentiment from the Penny Black Joy Filled Clear Set.  (note: it is advisable when using Pan Pastels to 'fix' your work so it doesn't smear - we advise doing this before you assemble the card, and be sure when you use spray fixative to do so in a well ventilated area!)

 

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!

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.  

Did you know our black Art Squares are a 'super black'?

Most artists don't realize that are our Art Squares are not created equal. 

In fact, 6 of the 7 colors we carry: white, ivory, dark cream, light gray, wheat and dark gray are made from farm grown trees and are a renewable paper product. The black squares are actually made from equal plies of 100% cotton and are not paper in the traditional sense at all! Not only that, but they are considered a super black because of their intense pure black color which comes from the black of the ebony tree and they are a solid core material from the top surface to the backing sheet.

They make the perfect surface for all different types of light color pencils and pastel work. Today Dina shares how she stamped with white ink and then colored Impression Obsession Chinese Lanterns with white Prismacolor Pencils. But the best part is that this ATC Art Square was part of a post that she did on May 29 comparing different brands of white pencils...definitely worth reading!!        

Pastels on a dark gray ATC size Art Square

We are often asked for suggestions on how to use the dark gray Art Squares. Jill's posting today is a perfect example!

She stamped the Penny Black candle image in black ink and then used Faber-Castell PITT Pastels to color the image. The opaque quality of the pastels combined with the dark surface of the ATC size Art Square really makes the coloring stand out. And the 'pebbly' quality of the top side of the Art Square mimics that of a fine art paper, making it an ideal surface for coloring with pastels.    

Be sure and visit Jill's blog today for the details. 

Using markers...and pastel pencils for rich color accenting

There are so many wonderful things about Dina's post today. At first glance her stamping and coloring on a 1.5" white Art Square may seem pretty straightforward...simple in fact. But when you really think about some of the things she mentions in her comments, you realize it's chock full of ideas:

- when was the last time you got out some of your "older" paper crafting supplies and incorporated them with some of the new!

- or used a simple white card as an elegant solution to highlight a spot of color

- or combined media (alcohol markers and pastel pencils) to enhance the richness of color in a single stamped image

For the details visit http://mamadinis.blogspot.com/

Simply...brilliant!

Jill is at it again with another card using the same sketch

 

This technique of layering with Penny Black stamps, Pan Pastels and stencils on a 3" white Art Square is so versatile as Jill shows again today with another card using the same sketch. 

Stop by her blog, Inspired By, for the details! 

A video with Art Squares and Pan Pastels by Jill Foster!

Jill comes up with some of the most incredible projects. Be sure and visit her blog, Inspired by, to see her latest take on using ATC size Art Squares and Pan Pastels. You will quickly understand why using white Art Squares is ideal for brilliant colors and the subtlety of the dark gray is a perfect way to use lighter colors; almost like a chalkboard effect.

 



And be sure and check the stores list on our web site for where you can purchase Art Squares form Inchie Arts, or send us an email at [email protected].