Bo Bunny "Altitude" Papers Make a great Winter Album!!

 Gather up your favorite winter dies, and put together a really nice winter album, using the Bo Bunny "Altitude" papers, plus the 8x8 Maya Road chipboard album. Kate B has done a super job here...the book is in the store...feel free to come in and take photos. We have the album and the papers, and most of the dies, in stock now.

                                   This great Lawn Fawn alphabet  is put to good use for titles...

                                           Here are  most of the dies she used...that sweater die would be a ton of fun making "ugly sweaters,"...yes, we have all worn them at one time or another.

As  you may guess from the above picture, Kate B. used the lyrics from the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" all through the album...so sweet!!

Great Gift Idea
We have a special project for you, at this busy time of year...Make this really sweet notebook pad, reminder, list-keeper...We have packages for sale that include three of the lined white paper pads, a set of twelve magnets, and a full set of instructions, with photos. The kit is $11.99. You will need to supply your own paper and adhesives. We can do mail order, too. We can ship one or  two kits in a $5.25 box from the Post Office. Call us, 978-887-6397, for further details. We can do cc over the phone, or send you a paypal invoice.
(These kits are back in stock now, with even more in production. Terri has made thirteen so far...a lot of people will be receiving them!!)
There is a video on our Face Book page, here,  showing the entire construction of this project.  All the details are covered in the instructions included in the kit.
There are a few samples in the store to check out.  This first one uses the February paper from the newGraphic 45 line, Time to Flourish, and is the same one shown in the Face Book video.

 In this lower picture, I have shortened the pad so I could add tabs to the bottoms, and make it very useful as a holiday shopping etc guide.

Graphic 45 New Calendar Papers, etc...!!

This is a brand new book from Annie's Papercrafts, showing some great ways to take your card designs and create wall art, or canvases for other use...maybe book covers

 On the inside you can see a sample of a card as the inspiration for a mixed media art piece...

The above and below photos show many of the supplies you will learn about in this book...it covers a lot of techniques, for lots of the stuff you probably already have!!

Just arrived today...the new Graphic 45 papers, pads, and calendar pages for their newest calendar-making release, called Flourish in Time. There are 8x8 calendar pages, and we also have some separate 12 x 12 blank grids for a larger-size calendar. The photos below show the June papers, then the October set, and then finally, a bit of December, January, and the stickers, which cover the whole year.  This will make a great holiday gift!

You can get the papers individually, in a 12 x 12 paper pad, or in an 8x8 paper pad...plus there are assorted embellishment packs.

Holiday Slippers...

Today, I am showing you some sweet little die cut slippers, which can be used as gift tags or even tree ornaments. Finished, these slippers are about five inches long.

The die is a Sizzix die, shown below. I cut a bottom and toe piece out of decorative paper, using the Graphic 45 "Night Before Christmas" release. I am making two slippers, so, for one slipper, you only need one of each. I also cut a bottom out of chipboard (seen in white.) 

 Additionally, I took the Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia die and cut it twice from red cardstock, but I am only using the two smaller sizes from each set. In the photo, you can see that the toe piece has tabs, all of which bend under and are used to glue the toe to the rest of the slipper.

 Using the Ranger glue stick, and applying the glue to both the patterned paper and the chipboard, I stuck them together to give the ornament extra strength.

 At this point, I added some Distress ink around all the edges of the two shoe pieces, and the toe pieces, too.  I also used two different embossing folders on the red poinsettia pieces, for a little dimension. The image looks a little more noticeable after rubbing a bit of gold pigment ink across the raised parts on the poinsettia. I used the adhesive shown below on all the tabs, and held the toe piece in place briefly. It really does dry quickly.

This is the new Jumbo Tattered Pinecone die from Tim Holtz. After bending back all the edges, I used Quick Dry Scotch Adhesive, and glued a bit as I turned to create the pinecone.

Using Multi Medium, in matte finish, I added some of the Stampendous Shabby White Embossing Enamel. It has extra pieces of glitter and gold already in the mix, and it all embosses together, to make a snowy look.  I layered the poinsetttia, using the Prima 3-D Matte Gel. This stuff is like cement when it dries!! I used this same adhesive to put the pinecone into the top of the slipper. As a final touch, I added some Ice Stickles, in "crystal ice" color. (See photo at the top of the page.)

This is an easy and fun project, great for name tags at the table, too.

Special Deal on All 24 of the Brand New Spray Stains

Are you a Distress Spray Stain collector???

Yes, there are new Distress Spray Stains...the final 24 to complete the set...and this one includes the great Festive Berries...just in time for the holidays... We are running a limited special. Purchase and pre-pay the entire set of 24, and receive a 20% discount. This special will last for the next week only, until November 15th.


I am pretty happy with Pam Carriker's stencils for color wheel designs, from Stencil Girl. They are all in stock, and not only great as an aid for choosing colors, but adding the color wheel, with your chosen colors for a certain piece of art, will add a great artistic element. I used the Neocolor ll crayons for these wheels.

 Seth Apter has a new release with Stencil Girl, with elements for inside and outside ...it all fits together

 ...and finally, new great words, from Carolyn Dube...

 ...and I think that you can still get the gist of this sideways photo...another great elephant from Nathalie Kalbach...plus a cool willowy tree....all from Stencil Girl.

 

Some of the new items in the store...

I want to show you a few of the newest items in the store this week. First up are the newest dies in from Sizzix. You can make those great "fortune cookies"...give everyone one as a place card at the holiday table. The other die in the top pic is a mini-pizza box, which can be filled with gift tags...!! Pop a big poinsettia on top of that baby, and you are the hit of the party!!

These are some of the seasonal dies from "Susan's Garden, great holly, pinecones and leaves, and, yes, the picture is sideways...just for extra fun...

               These flowers are just in from Petaloo...perfect for adding to any holiday project.

 With Joanne Sharpe arriving this week, we are putting the Tombow markers on sale at 30% off, starting tomorrow, Monday, through Saturday of her class.. There are still places in her class for the all-day Saturday...check here for all the info.

 I have a class planned for a color wheel session, so I have brought in the Neocolor ll crayons and I am creating a kit of 14 colors for each student. We will be making assorted color wheels. Additionally, I did bring in two other colors, Salmon, and flesh, perfect for journal faces and skins, and they are available individually. The copying pencil, as seen in a recent video, has also arrived.

 Below, you can see the above mentioned crayons and pencil, along with all the current colors of the               Stabilo All pencils.

I am kind of excited to try this new paper, Yupo...it is a synthetic paper, and has different properties than regular papers. I have it in full, large sheets, about 22 x 30, I am guessing, plus a few of these smaller pads. My advice for now is to google it and see what people are doing with it...or try Pinterest..there is a lot there and it is very cool.

The grey palette paper pad was suggested by Pam Carriker, ( I know, our names rhyme!...just don't get tired of saying this!) who told us that the colors will show a bit more truly, plus you can see the white, and there is no glare. I have liked using it, especially to be able to see my white crayons.

Multi-Media Penny Black Holiday Bird

I have a few pictures for this project, but the real magic will be in the video, which I will post on Face book tomorrow when I get back to the store.  This first picture shows the finished card.  The bird looks popped out a little, doesn't it?

In this second photo, I am showing the materials I used. The cling stamp is called "cling cardinal elements" from Penny Black, stamped in Ranger Archival Black ink, onto white Bazzill 110 lb. cardstcock.

Before I just randomly pick markers, I am pulling out the color wheel and making sure that I am not all over the place...reds and greens are complementary already (for Christmas) and the yellow will go with either...

I  am going to use the gesso to paint the background with a whitewash, to make the music recede a little. After initially coloring the bird, I will then cover the whole thing with the Matte Medium. That is the secret weapon that makes the additional coloring in the video actually work. So, the next step after the gesso is the initial coloring, and the video will be on Facebook tomorrow for that.

Embellished Burlap Stocking

Embellished Burlap Stocking

Today, I have a burlap Christmas stocking project. I have taken pictures along the way, so I hope this helps you figure out how to do this. All the materials are available here, and can be phone-ordered (978-887-6397, and we can send paypal invoices.)  This project was inspired by a  similar stocking I saw on the Petaloo blog, but the rest I figured out by myself...All the descriptions match the photo above the words.

 

 I started with the burlap stocking from Petaloo, and, using the Tim Holtz holly stencil and some paste (you can easily use the Ranger Texture Paste, the Wendy Vecchi paste, or the Dreamweaver paste...pretty much all the same.) Use the palette knife to spread a thin layer of the paste across the stencil, remove the stencil, holding the top and bottom. replacing the stencil as needed to cover your area. Immediately after removing the stencil, sprinkle the Distress Glitter in Rock Candy color all over the white areas. Shake off the excess, and allow to dry. (The snowflakes are superfluous...they never made it into the project!)

 Next step, I want to create some foliage to add dimension and background. I used the Tim Holtz die called Garden Greens. You can also use any holly or greenery you have. I crumpled them uup, and then inked all of them with Gathered Twigs Distress ink.

 

 I lay out the pieces to see what it looked like...

 

 ...and use the Liquitex Super Heavy Medium, matte or gloss is fine, you won't see it...and this stuff is like cement. Finnabair has a product similar to this in her Prima line of Mixed Media stuff. She is the one who got us all using the heavy stuff to begin with.

 

 You can see here how I glued all the foliage in, and then I added a red ribbon. I used a piece of the Petalloo red crochet set...lots of widths to choose from, and it comes in white, cream, and green.

 

 As you can see, I am adding all the extraneous layers first, so that they will be hidden. We do the flowers as the top layer. I found some cool gold cording, and a string of pearls to add a little excitement...still using that heavy gel cement...

 

In this final picture, I am showing the placement of all the flowers, again using the heavy gel. Just bunch them in there in whichever way looks good to you...and then let it sit to dry. Santa will be delighted to fill this baby for you!! ...and see??...no snowflakes!! That could be a whole 'nother stocking!

Penny Black's New Holiday Release

 

 

I am getting into the Holiday spirit with the new Penny Black release. The catalog alone is like a course in card design. They have such talented artists at Penny Black.   I really love that torn page look in the first card: you can use so much with it. (It is a die.)

 

The poinsettia was colored with Copics...such a flexible system!!  Not sure how to use them?? I am happy to give a quick one-on-one lesson whenever I am in the store...just ask !!

 

This card couldn't be simpler, and is so easy to adapt to any type of stamp set. The word is one of their new dies.

Gelli Printing at AE
We have had two introductory classes so far, using these great Gelli Arts printing plates. It is tons of fun, with lots of experimenting going on as you learn.  We have been using the Dina Wakely heavy body acrylic paints, the Golden paints, the Deco Arts Americana paints, and the Tim Holtz Distress paints, as well as the Splash Inks. All of these paints are great, and there are more items we are adding to use with the Gelli plate.
The gel plates come in assorted sizes: 6x6 was the first, then 8x10 was added. Recently they have come out with a 12 x 14, for big prints, and an 8-inch round plate. The plates are a very sturdy quality and will last a very long time, when stored properly. We will teach you all about them in our class series.
Recently we have gotten in new stencils, some textured rollers, and texture plates, as well a lots more brayers. In the upcoming Intro classes, we will be making mini Art Journals with all the prints we make.  Future classes will include work on canvas, resist prints, crazy envelopes, and large size printing.

So far, the following classes are on the schedule:
Thursday, June 26-Intro to Gelli Printing, 11am-3:30pm  $44
We will use stencils and plates...everyone will receive a 6x6 gelli plate in class to take home, and we will make a mini Art Journal with our prints, with a bit of embellishing the book at the end of class.  $44
Also, great news, the company is now making the plates in small sizes, 3.5 x 5 inches, and a 5 x 7 size...and, yes, they are on the way to the store now!!

Gelli Plates--Beyond the Print ,  Tuesday, July 8, 10am-1pm,  $45 ($35 for anyone who took the Intro and brings their plate)  Class includes a 6x6 Gelli Plate to use in class and take home.
We will be making some very cool resist prints, and clear prints, as well as crazy envelopes. In addition, there will be a station with a large Gelli Plate and everyone will get a turn using this big style plate.

Gelli Printing Art Canvas Sunday, July 20, 1-4pm,  $40 (or $30 if you bring a gelli plate from a previous class)
Using our knowledge of the Gelli Plate, we will be creating 2 canvases, and then embellishing these with our paints and brushes. Each student will receive a Gelli Plate to keep. Wear an apron, and bring your acrylic paints, two brushes,  (a 1/2 flat, and a #8 or 10 round, or in this vicinity) A cup for water, a brayer

Intro to Gelli Plate Printing-Saturday, August 9, 11-3:30
Gelli Plates-Beyond the Print--Thursday, August 14, 10am-1pm