Tile Winner!!

It's time to draw the WinnerS for the tile charms...

Yes, that's right I said Winners :)  I have 3 sets of tile charms ready to be altered...

The winners are (determined by random.org)...

Lesley

Lesley said...


Roni I have been visiting your blog for ages but especially now with all your Christmas ideas.
These Bamboo charms are amazing and I would love to win them.
My fav cookie at Christmas is homemade not store bought shortbread. Yummmy
Happy Thanksgiving to you.
L

November 24, 2010 8:14 PM
 

Char

 
Char- The Mad Shopper said...


My favorite Christmas cookie is the gingerbread men.

November 27, 2010 7:51 PM

and

 

Gosdmixedmediagirl!!

 
godsmixedmediagirl said...


I LOVE these! Where did you get the tiles? Also what type of glue did you use for the transfer? As for my favorite Christmas cookie...hmmmm I think it would be the good ole fashion sugar cookie :)

November 23, 2010 2:10 PM

Congratulations Everyone...

please send me your snail mail addies so I can get your tiles in the mail :)

Queen Kat Designs Royal Blog Hop Tuesday - Merry Christmas!

Happy Tuesday!

It's Queen Kat Designs Royal Blog Hop Tuesday and time for another great card sketch!

Here is the sketch everyone in the royal court is working from....

and here is what I came up with....

Instead of ribbon I used some fun printed masking tape (like TH's Ideaology tape but only in color).  I love how you can still see the background stuff through the tape!

Be sure to hop on over to Queen Kat Designs and check out the great sale going on ~ 40% off rubber stamps and 60% off acrylic stamps PLUS 40% off all of the past kits still in stock!!! 

Can't pass up a bargain like that ;)

Liquid Pearls...Old vs. New

I don't know if you're familiar with Liquid Pearls by Ranger Industries or not but recently the entire line has been revamped ~ More pearly sheen, a smoother texture, and more color! 

Many people have been asking if they are really different or is it just a ploy to get you to buy more LP's? 

Ask and ye shall receive...I did a side by side comparison of the old Liquid Pearls vs. the new Liquid Pearls and here are the results.  I'll let you check em out then below I will add what I noticed when I was using them.

Liquid Pearls

Old vs. New Colors

Left to Right - (New Color First - Old 2nd)

Baby Blue, Gold, Platinum, White Opal

Ruby Red, Lavender Lace, Silver Pearl, Mint Green, Petal Pink

Brand New Colors (two views)

Ocean Blue, Peacock, Cantaloupe, Buttercup, Rouge, Flamingo

Discontinued Colors

Pewter, Emerald Green, Lemon Yellow, Pastel Raspberry

As you can tell from the photos the new colors have loads more shine and pearl shimmer than the original version.   I always thought they had a nice pearl quality but next to the new formula they pail in comparison.

The next thing that jumped out at me were the more vibrant colors... I wasn't all that cracked up about the original "colored" versions of the old LP because they were soooo pastel.  Don't get me wrong...pastels are nice in some circumstances but I, like many people, rarely use pastels on a daily basis.  These new colors are so much more usable IMO.  Deeper shades of the original colors plus 6 entirely new colors to add to the mix!  Just what the dr. ordered ;)

Finally the formulation has changed ~ I don't know what they changed but I do know that after using the new Liquid Pearls it is MUCH easier to get a beautiful finished look.  I don't know about you but at times I had a difficult time getting a nice smooth flowing line when I was trying to outline something.  It was also difficult to get rid of that swirly "q" ice cream cone look when trying to create dots or little "pearls".  You had to flick and flick the bottom to try to get rid of the little tail or live with the ice cream look.      When I was making the above examples I wasn't taking my time nor was I trying to make nice little dots.  I was mostly just trying to show the new color vs. the old.  Well as you can see most of the new colors smoothed themselves out resulting in almost perfect little "pearls" without even trying!!!  How freakin' cool is that? 

I have to say that I am very impressed with the new formulation and colors.  I can't wait to begin playing with them!  After I finish up the 25 days of gifts/ornaments I plan on spending a bit of time creating and sharing some ideas on how to incorporate this nifty medium into your art.

What are your initial impressions of the new colors, shimmer, etc.?

Winners - Push Pin & Clock Parts

Well I *thought* these posted this weekend but obviously it didn't publish before my Internet went out :S...  I don't know what's going on with it but the whole cable just shuts off for a few seconds and then reboots it's self.  It's driving me nuts because it's so random...I loose everything I'm working on when it happens.

Anyway, the winners are....

Vintage Charm Push Pins....

The winner is...Judith!!!

Judith said...


What a clever idea! I really like the idea of using Scrabble tiles...hmm...have a bag upstairs...gotta go!!

November 16, 2010 6:58 PM

and

 

the winner of the clock parts is....

 

Fuzzy White Dogs!!!!

 
Fuzzy White Dogs said...


Great idea! I have a couple of game boxes from my childhood. The smaller one is a Tiddly Wink box & I've been wanting to do something with it so it'd be where I could enjoy it & not just sitting on a shelf. This may just be the answer!

As a child my favorite board game was Monopoly & this Summer I had fun introducing my granddaughters to it. We had so much fun! What is YOUR favorite board game Roni?

November 19, 2010 4:34 PM

Congratulations ladies!!!

Please send me your snail mail addy so I can get your prize in the mail :)

Ink Stains 3rd B-day Celebration Trivia

In keeping with the Ink Stains 3rd Birthday celebration I am giving you a few more chances to get entered to win the goodies I will be giving away with a bit of Ink Stains Trivia! 

For each correct answer you will receive one additional entry to win!

All answers can be found here on the blog...happy hunting ;)
I will post the answers next weekend!

1.  What is my favorite tool?

2. How many posts did I have for the month of May 2008?

3. What did I post on Wednesday 9-16-2009?

4. What was the very first technique I posted?

5. What is the name of my book?

Ink Stains is 3!!! Giant Give-A-Way

Wooo Hooo!!!

It was three years ago today that I finally built up the courage to start this blog.  At that time I wasn't sure anyone but friends would visit ~ lucky for me I was right....as I have made many many friends here and have enjoyed every minute of it :)

So I want to thank all of my inky friends out there with a special little give-a-way...

I will be giving away three of my Paris themed distressed glass tile charms to three inky readers...

one for each year of course....

and

In anticipation of this very special blog birthday I have been collecting this fun pile of goodies which includes a nice variety of rubber stamps, one of my favorite colors of ink (lettuce), a set of Enamel Accents, a bit of rayon ribbon ready for you to dye, a nifty Ranger embossing recipe book, a set of Tim Holtz Seasonal Embossing Masks, Tim Holtz Ideaology Lost & Found Salvage Stickers as well as the Ideaology Lost & Found 12x12 pad of paper, a few sheets of Grunge Board plus a few extra surprises!! 

That's a total retail value of over $100.00!!!

What do you have to do to be entered to win?

Well there are lots of ways to enter ~ all very easy :) 

1) You can simply post a comment letting me know what your favorite part of Ink Stains is...be it a specific technique (or all of them), card ideas, collage or altered art projects, the various quotes and sentiment posts, product comparisons, new and different ways to use Ranger products, Ink Blending Tool fun, etc...

2) Become an Ink Stains Follower (located in the right side bar) if you're not already.

3) Post a link to this Blog Birthday thread on your blog, facebook page or favorite forum (or all three) and come back here and share a link to it.

4) Post a correct answer to one or more of the Ink Stains Trivia questions I will be posting later today.

So that's a total of 10 chances to enter!! 

It's up to you how many times you actually do enter but remember...you can't win if you don't post!

You will have until 12-4-10 to enter to win!

Good Luck Friends

and

THANKS

for sharing these 3 fun filled years with me!!

You're why I do what I do!

Sweet Grass Stamps @ Stampers Quest!

Hey Friends ~

Just wanted to tell you about some awesome stamps...Sweet Grass Stamps ~ which I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with for Stampers Quest Magazine. 

Barbara (the mind behind Sweet Grass) generously donated a full sheet of their new Christmas stamps to each SQ Artistic Guide who had time to play with their stamps.   This week each members creations have been featured at SQ.  And this is what I came up with... - Roni's Sweet Grass Creations.  If you have some extra time be sure to check out all of the creations from the rest of the team. 

It is so much fun to see how a group of people using the very same stamps can come up with such a wide variety of designs :)

Be sure to stop in tomorrow....

cause....

Ink Stains

turns

THREE!!!!

Just For Fun Friday...It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

Happy Friday Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving...

We had lots of great food and fun with family so it was a super day.  I could do without the weather but you can't have everything.

Today is Just For Fun Rubber Stamps Friday.  Before I get to my cards I wanted to let you know that if you're interested in any Just For Fun Rubber Stamps now is the time to buy...they are having a 48 hour "Black Friday" sale... 30% off going on now through Sunday so you better hurry!!

And here are the cards I created this week!

Joy to the world...

Merry Christmas Tree Shopping...

Be sure to check out the creations by the rest of the Just For Fun Girls on the Just For Fun Blog for added inspiration!!

Have a great day shopping if you're going out to brave the crowds!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope you have a wonderful day filled with everything good in life!

25 Days of Hand Crafted Gifts and Ornaments - Cork "Gingerbread" Garland

Today I am going to make one of my favorite ways to play with cork....faux Gingerbread men and women!  Cork is quite inexpensive when you purchase it in bulk ~ far less expensive than when you buy the sheets in the scrapbooking section of the craft store ;)  I bought an entire roll which measures 18x36 for 2.99 ~ the same price as one sheet of 12x12 scrapbooking cork costs!

Now most cork is fairly brittle when you start cutting it so I like to affix my cork to a sheet of chipboard.  I use just plain chipboard I save from cereal boxes, paper packages, packaging, etc.

Here is the gingerbread man I used...  For some reason I didn't get a photo of the gingerbread woman...she has a skirt which is easy to add.

Supplies:

Cork
Chipboard
Gingerbread Man/Woman Pattern
Glue
Liquid Pearls
Twine/Ribbon
Eyelets

Instructions:

1. Glue the cork to chipboard and let it dry completely.

2. Print out the gingerbread man pattern in two sizes (approx 3.5" & 2").   Trim from the paper to use as templates.

3. Trace 1 large gingerbread man, 1 large gingerbread woman, 1 small gingerbread boy and 1 small gingerbread girl.  In addition to the people, trace 1 large heart and two smaller hearts on the cork.

4. Cut all of the shapes from the chipboard/cork.  Clean up any edges if necessary with a very sharp pair of shears or an Exacto Knife.

5. Add details to each piece using Pearl Liquid Pearls.  Let them dry completely.

6. After the LP has dried, punch holes in each piece ~ a hole in each "hand" on the people and a hole on each half of the hearts.  Add eyelets to each hole.

7. Tie the people & hearts together as shown.  I used a combo of twine and ribbon...you could use a combination of whatever you like...

Your gingerbread family garland is ready to spread the joy of the season!!

25 Days of Hand Crafted Gifts and Ornaments - Bamboo Tile Charms

Today's gift idea is one that many people have requested to see more...

Bamboo Tile Charms!

*Bamboo is often thought to bring good luck!!

Like alot of people I love to play with these tiles...they are very versatile and are so easy to use/decorate.  Actually, when I was thinking about putting these together I figured they could be used as charms (for a necklace or bracelet), embellishments for a scrapbook or card, magnets or even ornaments depending on how you finished them off.

So here we go...

There are so many ways to decorate these tiles so I thought I'd show you three of my favorites...

Decoupage ~

Simply apply a bit of Glossy Accents and spread it over the tile with your finger.  Place the image over the glue, gently press and smooth. 

Stamped ~

Simply stamp your image with Staz-On or Archival Inks.  Color the image with pigment pens, markers, colored pencils, etc.  OR if you'd like you can stamp the image with colored ink and leave it as is.

Image Transfer ~

Apply a layer of glue to the tile, place the image face down into the glue.  Smooth them image and let the glue dry completely.  After it has dried, wet the paper with warm water and rub away the paper backing.  The image will be left. 

(vintage music was image transferred ~ I then stamped over the top)

And here are some of the tile charms I created....

Now as I stated you could decorate these charms with all sorts of mediums ~ Alcohol Inks, Perfect Pearls, Pattern Paper, on and on... 

Finish the Charms ~

I usually do three things to finish off the charms....

1) Apply a thin protective coat of Glossy Accents over the image.

2) Finish off the edges ~ either with acrylic paint or Metallic Paint Pens. 

3) Add some sort of finding...this is where you really determine how you are going to use the charm...  You could add a tiny screw eye, glue on bail or drill a hole and use a jump ring.  You could add a bit of magnetic stripping to the back. Use the existing holes and string them in to a bracelet or choker necklace.  Add a bit of wire and a few beads to create a Christmas ornament.  Etc...

Now it's your turn!

Would you like to create your own bamboo tile charms for yourself or as a gift?

Well all you have to do is tell me what your favorite Christmas cookie is to be entered to win :) 
(Mine is mexican wedding cakes - the powdered sugar covered balls ... mmmmmmm!!!)

You might be the lucky winner of three tiles complete with screw eye finding already added.

You have until 11-30-10 to post to be entered to win!

Good Luck Friends!

P.S....I'm not a very good sales person but one of my friends reminded me to mention that I do sell plain tiles (no findings) in my Etsy store (link in the right side bar).

Noel Banner Winner!!!

The winner of the Noel Banner that was posted over at Stampers Quest is...

Dena!!!!

Dena said...


I really can't choose just one favorite thing about the holiday season. I absolutely LOVE Christmas!!! =) I love that everyone is in a festive mood. I love all the delicious food at parties and all the cooking and baking that goes along with it. I also love shopping for the perfect gift for people, wrapping the gift, and then seeing their big smiles! There is only one thing I don't like, and that is that the holiday season has to come to an end!

November 17, 2010 6:03 AM

Congratulations Dena :)

Please send me your snail mail addy so I can get your banner in the mail!

Queen Kat Designs Royal Blog Hop Tuesday - Autumn Inspiration

Happy Tuesday!

Today is Queen Kat's Royal Blog Hop Tuesday :)

Today's inspiration comes from this beautiful Better Homes & Garden's Autumn Frame....

The biggest thing I got from this photo is all of the different shades of yellow...the yellow walls, the yellow in the frame, the pear and vase...  Soooo I decided to use yellow in my card paired with the November Get Inked Kit stamps.

If you'd like these or any of the stamps offered at Queen Kat Designs be sure to check em out now to take advantage of the "Black Friday" sale which is going on now....35% off all QKD stamps and stamp bundles now through 11-28!!

I'll be back later this afternoon with a gift idea that has been requested by many people...

can you guess what it is?!?!

Here's a little hint...

This material is often kept for luck....

Any guesses now?!?!

25 Days of Hand Crafted Gifts and Ornaments - Decoupage Ornament

Today I have a really fun ornament that is VERY inexpensive and very messy...that's why I love it ;)  Sometimes it's just fun to jump into your project with both feet and forget about being neat and tidy. 

Decoupage Ornament

Supplies:

Styrofoam Ball
Vintage Sheet Music, Book Pages, Dictionary Pages, Maps, etc.
Decoupage Medium of your choice
Embossing Powder
Wire
Beads
Trim

Instructions:

1. Tear your chosen ephemera into about 1" - 1.5" squares.

2. Pour a bit of decoupage medium into a bowl.  Apply a layer of decoupage medium to the styrofoam ball.

 

3. Dip each piece of paper into the decoupage medium and place it on the styrofoam ball.  Over lap the next piece to ensure an even and complete coverage of the ball.  Smooth previously added pieces as needed. 

NOTE:  It works best if you keep your fingers wet with the decoupage medium...too dry and you will start pulling previously applied bits as you handle the ornament.

4. Once you  have covered the ornament, set it aside to dry for 1-2 hours.

Now you could string the beads and hanging wire at this time but I wanted to take it one step further...

5 (optional) Sprinkle embossing powder on the ornament when it is mostly dry but slightly tacky to the touch.

6. (optional)Rub the embossing powder around on the ornament until it is covered and no longer sticky.  Set it aside to dry the rest of the way.  After it has dried several hours heat the embossing powder to melt.

7. Once the ornament is dry, poke a hole through the center of the ball.

8. Add desired beads, wire for hanging, trim and enjoy!!

Easy as that!

Now it's your turn to give it a try!

Ink Stains B-day is Almost Here!!!

Ink Stains is almost 3!!!

Yes, Ink Stains turns 3 next Saturday (11-27-10)

I know next weekend is going to be very busy for everyone here in the states with Thanksgiving and all but I hope you all take a bit of time and stop in to say Hi...  I'm planning on having a few fun give-a-ways that will take place on Saturday to help celebrate. 

Hope to see you there!!

25 Days of Hand Crafted Gifts and Ornaments - Vintage Game Box Clock

Today I've got such a fun gift idea for you...especially for those game lovers in your life.

We're going to start off with a vintage game box that you can pick up virtually anywhere...garage sales, flea markets, second hand shops, on-line auctions, etc.  Normally you can find them for a little bit of nothing.  I'm going to use a Bingo game that I picked up at a garage sale for $.50!

Supplies:

Vintage Game Box
Mini Clock Kit (around $5.00)
Bingo Chips (numbers - 3, 6, 9, 12)
Exacto Knife or Utility Knife
Glue
Styrofoam Sheet (optional)
Chipboard (optional)

Instructions:

1. (optional) The first thing I like to do is to re-enforce the box lid and backing because sometimes the cardboard in the boxes is brittle.  To help fix this I glue in a layer or two of cardboard to the top lid of the box.  I also glue a piece of sheet styrofoam to the box bottom.  This will add quite a bit of stability to your clock and really make it very sturdy once you're finished.

2. After the glue has dried you're ready to get started on assembling the clock.  Determine where you would like the clock to be on your lid.  There is a nice blue dot on my box that will be perfect for the clock since it doesn't cover any of the vintage graphics.  Poke a hole through the cardboard and enlarge it with an Exacto or Utility knife.

3. Temporarily place the clock works into the hole.  Place the lid over the box bottom and press the clock works into the foam just hard enough to make an impression.  Remove the lid and set it aside.

4. Carve out a niche in the styrofoam where your clock works will be housed when the box is reassembled.

Test fit your clock works to make sure it fits before you move on....

5. Assemble the clock in the lid...with most clock kits you remove a nut, metal washer and rubber gasket.  Slide the clock stem through the hole that you previously made in the lid.  Replace the rubber gasket, washer and nut.  Insert the hands in the clock stem as shown...

6. Glue on the numbers...in this case I'm using Bingo chips from the game it's self!

7.  Add a battery to the clock movement; replace the lid on the box and.... ENJOY!!!

I just love the vintage fun and funky feel of clocks like this!

Would you like to make a clock like this for yourself or someone you love?

Well I'm going to be sharing a mini clock kit...

Just tell me what your favorite game is and you'll be entered to win!!

You have until 11-26-10 to enter!

Good Luck Friends!!