Showing posts with label Color Wash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Color Wash. Show all posts

Sunday, February 12, 2012

ANYTHING GOES

Good Monday morning everybody!  I hope you had a nice weekend!  It's MONDAY and time for another Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge!  This week....."ANYTHING GOES".  Stop by the Simon Says Stamp and Show blog and check out the amazing creations the Design Team has for you this week.  I just love the unique and wonderful ideas they come up with each week!  

This time, three of us decided to use some of the most lovely and uber talented Dyan Reaveley's stamps in our projects.  You would think that our projects would look a lot alike.  But they don't!  Ellen used Paint Dabbers, Tracy used Distress Stains and I used Distress Inks in conjunction with Dyan's stamps.  I think this is a wonderful testament to how versatile Ranger's products And Dyan's stamps are.  We used the same style of stamps yet we all attained amazingly different results by using the different mediums. 

I've been a fan of Dyan Reaveley's work for a long time.  But again...the old "fear factor" kept me from dipping my toes into the Dylusional waters.  But this year, I'm all about getting out of my comfort zone (as I've done in a couple of my latest Design Team pieces).  So, here is my first attempt at getting Dylusional.


The tag is a #8 manila tag that I lightly misted with water and then sprayed with Butterscotch, Sunset Orange, Stream and Red Pepper Color Wash.  Although it's hard to see, I also added some random honeycomb texture using a stencil and Haystack Fresco Paint. To further enhance the background, I used Dyan's ghosting technique to add some shimmer.  


It's hard to see in the picture but the technique is really cool.  I laid a stencil with letters over the tag and then spritzed it with Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls Mist.  Then I removed the stencil and dried the mist with my Heat It Craft Tool.  It's called "GHOSTING" because it's just a subtle effect.  When you turn the tag, you can see the images of the letters glisten.  Really cool technique.  
After adding the ghostly letters, I stamped those lovely leaves from Dyan's Further Round The Edge stamp set.  Aren't they fantastic?  Next I painted in the leaves using my Small Sakura Water Brush and a mixture of Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters Distress Reinkers for my color.  Just a dab of color will go a LONG way when using it as a "paint" to fill in the spaces.  Just like coloring!  It's so fun!!  Then I used my Inkessentials Opaque White Pen to add some highlights to the leaves.  Finally, I used a black cats eye ink pad to swipe the edges of my tag and the background was finished!


My colorful girl was put together from a couple of Dyan's stamp sets.  She is stamped on white cardstock using Jet Black Archival Ink.  Her body is from Doolally Dorris and her head is from Pondering Petunia.  That is one of the wonderful things about Dyan's stamp sets.  So many of the images are interchangeable and not to mention complete FUN!  I again used Distress Reinkers to "paint" my character using my Sakura Small Water Brush.  I used Spiced Marmalade, Broken China and Mustard Seed for her clothes.  Her light brunette hair was achieved using Tea Dye.  Her face has that fleshy tone thanks to Tattered Rose.  Her eyes are a Tumbled Glass blue and her lips are courtesy of Worn Lipstick.  I gave her "goggles" using Glossy Accents.    The mushrooms are from Doolally Dorris and were colored in using Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Broken China Reinkers.  It only takes a drop of each color on a Non Stick Craft Sheet to fill in everything!  And when you're finished with each color, just swipe the water brush a few times to clear the color from the brush and move on to the next color.  When you're finished coloring, just wipe the remnants of color with a paper towel and the mess is gone. It's that simple of a clean up!  After everything was dry, I cut out each of the pieces, leaving just a hint of a white border and glued them in place.


Dyan has some wonderful sentiments on her stamp sets.  I chose this one from The Right Words.  It was stamped onto white cardstock using Jet Black Archival Ink.  I cut out each word, leaving a bit of white cardstock for border and glued them in place.  HOW FUN!

Now it's your turn to cut loose and create!  ANYTHING GOES!  Post your creation to our challenge and you could be the lucky winner of our generous sponsor's ...


You may also be selected as one of the TOP THREE artistic entries for the week and receive special recognition.  So, remember ANYTHING GOES!!




 

Thursday, May 5, 2011

RANGER U - THE BIG FINALE

A week ago today, I was "leaving on a jet plane"...headed for what was to be one of THE MOST memorable experiences of my life!
 Here I am at the Ranger mailbox with "Freckles".  This is Hels Sheridan's constant companion.  
He's been everywhere with her...like a Flat Stanley.  Check out her blog today.  Tim is holding Freckles!!

It seemed as though I had just walked through the door for our first day of Ranger U and in fact, it was our third and LAST day.  The "airport girls" all decided that we were going to stage a sit in and not leave when our last session was over!  Either that or spread Matte Multi Medium or Glossy Accents on our rear ends and glue our behinds to the chair....good test to see just how adhesive those two products really are!!!  (smile)
Our last day together was an incredibly informative day.  It was devoted to the complete Adirondak lines of Pigment Inks, Dye Inks, Pigment Pens, Embossing Powders, Color Wash, Alcohol Ink, Paint Dabbers, and the White Opaque Pigment Pen.  Whew!!
Here is what all of our technique tags looked like for just this one day.  

We covered A LOT of material and techniques but it was so enlightening!  I now have a MUCH better understanding of inks and their properties. That has always intimidated me.  What is the difference between a pigment ink, a dye ink, water based vs. oil based and when is something permanent and when is it not?  Now, I get it!!!

I really had not used some of the products in this line all that much.  Again, I was of the mind set that a pigment ink is a pigment ink and Color Wash was not a big deal.  It's just spray dye.  Oh how wrong I was!!  Color Wash is amazing but it is a permanent dye so you have to take some extra precautions when using it.  But, the results are so worth it!

TECHNIQUE TIME...PAINTING WITH ADIRONDAK EMBOSSING POWDERS!!!
 The colors against the black are VIBRANT!  My camera does not do this sample justice.

1.  Using black cardstock gives you dramatic results but it will work on any cardstock!  Stamp your image onto the cardstock using clear embossing ink.
2.  Place your cardstock on a piece of paper or newsprint (to catch any excess powder).  Pinch a very small amount of Adirondack Embossing Powder between your thumb and forefinger and begin sprinkling it onto different sections of your embossed image.  It only takes a little bit of powder for this...REALLY!
3.  Repeat step 2, using multiple colors of embossing powder to cover the entire image.  Just the image, not the entire piece of cardstock.  I can't stress enough how little embossing powder this takes!!
4.  Now for the MAGIC!!  Rather than doing the usual technique of turning the cardstock on one side and gently tapping off the excess powder...you will hold the cardstock FLAT and lightly begin tapping the UNDERSIDE of the cardstock with your fingers.  Move your fingers across the bottom of the tag, gently tapping it.  As you do this, the powder will begin to move and like magic...the image will appear!  It is the coolest thing to watch!!!  Once your image is completely visible, then you can turn the card on it's side and gently remove any excess powder.  The underside tapping allows the colors to mix and "dance".
5.  Heat emboss with a heat tool.  If you over heat this powder, it will begin to turn white...so stop when the colors are vibrant! 

ONE MORE TECHNIQUE TIME...COLOR WASH BRAYERING!!!
 Usually you think of Color Wash as bold splashes of color achieved by simply spraying it on.  Well, here is a great technique for backgrounds using Color Wash that still gives you the vibrant colors but a completely different look.
1.  Spray a little Color Wash on to a craft sheet, creating a palette of several colors. 
2.  Lightly roll a small Inky Roller into a color of ink.  Don't press down hard or you will smoosh the ink off of the brayer.  Just lightly roll it across the color.  
3.  Roll the brayer across the tag.  Repeat with any additional color or colors you choose.  You can blend the colors even more by spraying water on the craft sheet, blending your colors and then running the brayer on to the tag.  Color Wash is water reactive; so water will change the appearance of the colors.
4.  Heat set with a heat tool.  
Throughout Ranger U, Tim told us stories about his beginnings in the industry and some of the funny things that have happened to him along the way.  He is hysterical; a great story teller.
No, he's not doing a monkey imitation here.  He was telling us about a really funny experience that happened to him involving some bright raspberry paint.
Upon completion of Ranger U, we took our "class photo".  Amazing people from all over the world; Austraila, Canada, Great Britain, South Korea, and all over the United States.


After our class photo was taken, we were all given our certificates and a box of "goodies" that you would not believe!  I am proud to say that I am officially a "Certified Ranger Educator".  But, it is so much more than that.  I am a member of a unique "sisterhood" (this is not to exclude the men who have attended Ranger U).  There is a kinship between us.  A love of what we do and a burning desire to always evolve, always keep learning, always keep sharing.  I hope my stories about Ranger U will encourage you to do the same.


Also...a special shout out to Mario.  He is the most amazing person!  He is the man behind the scenes that quietly keeps things running like a well oiled machine.  He tweets everything that is going on.  He made sure we had our breakfast waiting for us every morning.  He refilled our drinks and made coffee.  He arranged and had lunch ready for us every day.  He never gets flustered...he is simply Mario and everyone loves him so much!  So, thank you Mario for taking such good care of us!!  I am proud to call you my friend.
I encourage you to use Ranger products.  I've seen them...from the vat to the labeled and shrink wrapped bottle.  Their quality control is amazing.  Their attention to detail and performance is unsurpassed.  I was always a Ranger girl.  But, now I'm totally a Ranger advocate!  Thank you to Ranger Industries, Tim, Mario, Claudine and all of the "family" of Ranger who made this dream come true for me!
And finally...a sad farewell to our "inky binkies".  These were towels given to us at the beginning of Ranger U and returned upon graduation.  They were our "security blankets" in a sense.  Security that we could clean up a mess or wipe off a potential disaster.  I'll miss my inky binkie!!