all in an inch

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!

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!

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!

Using ATC's to create a gift card holder!

When Elizabeth looks at our Art Squares not only does she see a perfect surface for stamping, coloring and painting...but she sees a material that can be manipulated into other things.

In this case, she has used 3 ATC size Art Squares to create a holiday theme gift card holder.

It is ridiculously clever how she trimmed a dark gray ATC Art Square to create the middle 'frame' for the gift card and then sandwiched it in-between 2 full size white ATC's which she stamped with a Penny Black stamp and then added further decorative elements with Stickles and glitter.

She provides lots of details for this holiday theme card holder over at Studio Sessions, as well as the steps to create one that is perfect for non seasonal use like birthdays, thank you's or teacher gifts!

 

 

Bold watercoloring using handmade stencils

What a fabulous technique!

Jill created her own stencils using Penny Black dies and then used those stencils to apply Dr. Martin's PH Hydrus watercolors directly onto 4" white Art Squares.

Because the Art Squares receive mediums like a fine art or hot press watercolor paper it also allows additional layering as Jill describes in her blog posting today at Studio Sessions. 

 

I suspect that certain, less detailed, images may work the best and will definitely be getting out all our dies to play and experiment with this wonderful technique!

Two from one...a floral watercolor

There are two things that are absolutely brilliant about the creation of these cards!

The first is that both of them were created from one 3" white Art Square. Such a simple idea to create a wonderful watercolor and then purposefully trim it into two pieces to create cards that each have such a different and distinctive feeling. The smaller of the two would be just perfect to use as a gift enclosure or even a book mark!

The other piece of brilliance occurs prior to painting, when Elizabeth stamped the floral image with a very light color dye based ink (Memento Desert Sand) to create just enough definition on the white background so she could see where to paint, but not so much that it created a hard defined edge. This technique makes it look as if she painted this lovely flower totally free hand...what a neat trick!! 

Check out Elizabeth's post today at Studio Sessions.

Markers before pencil increases color richness

In her continuing review of different brands of color pencils, Dina shows us how markers before pencil increases the ability to add richness and shading details on an ATC. 

Our Art Squares have a surface that is very similar to a high quality artist paper. That means that it has a bit of 'tooth' or surface texture. This texture is ideal for many fine art mediums because the slight roughness of the paper 'grabs' the pigment. But, when using color pencils on a fine art paper, or one of our Art Squares, it takes a lot of layers of pencil to get pure color saturation.  Putting down a layer of marker before you do your pencil work solves this issue. 

 

 

Look carefully on the left, this is just a layer of color pencil and you can still see bits of 'white' showing through the pencil application. On the right, a layer of marker was put down first and then the pencil layered on top. Using similar colors of both marker and pencil allows you to 'fill' in all the little crevices of the surface, increasing the overall richness of the color and allowing you to use similar color pencils to add shading and depth to the image.

(important! - never apply alcohol markers over a layer of color pencil...they will cause the pencil to 'melt' and grab on to the end of your marker and ruin it!)   

Visit Mama Dini's Stamperia for the details.

  

Another Inchie Mosaic!

 

It looks like Jill and Elizabeth are having fun with the mosaic concept of using large images on a 'mosaic' background of Inchie Squares!

Jill arranged her 6 white squares in a rectangle to best match the shape and size of the stamp. There are several layers of color here so be sure to stop by their new blog, Studio Sessions, for the details. 

The colors on this card make me want spring....NOW!!

 

A NINE Square 'Inchie Mosaic'

 

Take a good look at this gorgeous card - it's made from 9 - 1" white Inchie Squares! 

This 'mosaic' technique' is a wonderful way to use larger stamps, especially florals. There are a few tips and tricks to achieve this look as Elizabeth explains in today's posting at Studio Sessions. 

(also, we have often referred to this technique as 'inchie puzzles' and if you want to see more of them click on that category on the right side of this page and scroll down to see different cards using this method)

Positive and negative spaces

 

This all started with the random application of extra black ink on a brayer that was then rolled onto a 3" white Art Square.

Seriously...how did she do this?!

Visit Dina's blog today to learn the details...amazing!!