Phinny's UTEE Experiments

Phinny tried her hand at Stamping in UTEE last night so I thought I'd share her experience & add some additional explanations.

I used Maya Road chipboard scrolls and Perfect Pearls Patina collection - the green and gold. (Gorgeous!) (Yes, Perfect Pearls & UTEE IS amazing!! Now, I just used clear & pearl for the examples I shared but you don't have to stop there! Mix it up...try adding Perfect Pearls to colored UTEE! Mix different colors of Perfect Pearls into Clear or Pearl UTEE... The combinations are endless!!)

At first I didn't believe you that the PP-colored UTEE would cover totally, so I covered my first piece in pigment black ink instead of the Perfect Medium. I quickly discovered that you were right (of course!) and left that extra step out and only used the Per Med from that point on. (Told ya so - LOL!!!)

I mixed pretty much according to your directions and got a great result. I even used the same kind and size of plastic cup! (recycle, reuse - *grin*). You don't need a lot of the PP to mix and I really liked that. I started out with a pretty small scoop on that cool small spoon thingy and that worked great! (Yep, a little dab 'll do ya!)

I embossed my first layer. Now this is where I ran into trouble. I tried repeatedly to heat the piece with one hand using my heat tool and then use my other hand to sprinkle little bits of the EP (UTEE / PP mix = EP). The EP kept flying all over me, my table, the container I was using to catch the EP and probably even the cat. But I am stubborn so I kept trying and, yup - I kept making an even bigger mess. Not pretty... and now I was getting frustrated. So I went for a walk with the dog, came back and decided to let the piece cool in between layers of EP and THEN ink it up with Per Med, coat with the EP mix and emboss like normal. Success! I still have a mess, but it wasn't as bad. (But, frankly, this is the major issue I have with working with multiple layers of UTEE - it seems like no matter what I do, I always end up with a mess and then I have a gritty work surface for a week afterward, ya know? And tips you can give here?? I really hate that!) (O.K... here is where I thought I'd add some info. I never add more Perfect Medium or Embossing Inks. When you are heating, work in small areas even if you have a large piece you're working with. I like to either start from the left side or right side, it doesn't really matter. Once you have the UTEE melted in that particular area, turn your heat gun away from the chipboard piece, sprinkle on additional UTEE - just a little mind you - and turn your heat gun back on the UTEE. You're never going to get away from them completely but this should take care of most of the "fly-aways". Continue turning your gun away & sprinkling until you have the desired thickness. Move to your next section (which should be pretty hot since it's right next to where you were working) and repeat. As long as you keep your UTEE pretty hot the UTEE granules you sprinkle over the top should almost melt as sprinkle them on.)


OK - now I had about 3 layers of the EP mix and that is where I like it generally so I was ready to get the whole thing molten and press my poly stamp. Here is where I had another moment of doubt. (I am a willful child - I admit it! lol). I looked at the molten UTEE, then I looked at my stamp and I thought - oh man, that is going to stick and I will never get that out. So, I coated my poly (and regular stamp for the second piece) with Per Med and THEN got my piece molten and pressed it in. (ROFL ~ doubting Sally!! I promise, I've done this prob. close to 100 times about 1/2 & 1/2 on rubber & acrylic and it's never harmed any of the stamps! Stamping onto the PM pad won't hurt it though.)

I let it sit for way longer than a minute. This was one place I did NOT doubt you for a second. LOL So, after 5 or even 10 minutes, I slowly peeled the rubber off the piece and Viola!

My first piece had a section of smooth where I didn't press the rubber in well enough. I reheated like you said and pressed again. The second time turned out great!
The second one went a little faster now that I knew (sorta) what I was doing. This time I used a wood mounted stamp (Judikins background flourish stamp) and I liked the result better. That's the one where you can see the pattern really well.
Next I did the whole process on a large, flat wooden heart. All went great up until the stamp pressing part. I used the Judikins stamp here, too, but even the second time when I reheated and pressed the stamp in, I didn't get a good, deep impression. It looks really faint. I gave up b/c I need to go to bed, but I will try again tomorrow. I pressed really hard the second time, but still no luck. What do you think? Maybe I didn't heat the UTEE up enough? (I'm sure part of this is the fact that you're using a wood piece to work with. It absorbs some of the heat and cools the UTEE much quicker than if you were working with a piece of chipboard. For this project you're going to need quite a thick layer of UTEE and really heat it up a long time so the UTEE almost slides off the heart. Have the stamp ready to go and at the same moment you take your heat gun off of the heart press the stamp into it. With a thicker coat & longer heat time it should work pretty good.)

Last, I edged with Rangers Archival black solvent ink for nice a grunge look and definition.


(and here are her results!! Pretty darn cool I'd say!!)

Thanks Phinny for sharing your experience of Stamping in UTEE!! If anyone else cares to send me their experiments, comments or questions I'd be happy to post them here!!

Be sure to check back tomorrow as I'll have another 4 for 1 and a preview of next weeks Ink Stained Sketch!!

Have a great evening everyone!!

Stamping in UTEE - Additional Examples

Here are some additional examples to go with yesterday's technique.

The first is a card I made by stamping on a layered chipboard frame by Basic Grey. All of the UTEE used is from the Brightz Line.

The next example is a fun lay-out I made of my youngest son. We took this photo out in the back yard. It took FOREVER to get him to pose like this (I took it just for this lay-out). He was so embarrassed ~ I don't know why ~ our backyard is enclosed by a wood fence! Anyway, he finally did cause I wouldn't let him go back in until I got the shot - LOL!! I haven't titled it yet, I still haven't found the right word(s) yet....Any suggestions?

I used Pearl UTEE & Sunflower Perfect Pearls for the Sun, Green Patina & Pearl UTEE for the Grass and Clear UTEE & Forever Green for the Tree Top. The bird (Basic Grey) was made with Red Hot UTEE & the Tree Trunk is Bronze UTEE. Aside from the bird, all of the chipboard pieces were hand cut.

You will notice in the close up photos the difference between using Clear vs. Pearl UTEE. The Clear UTEE yields a crisper color while the Pearl UTEE gives a softer color.

There you have it...stamping in UTEE! You can of course ink your stamps before you stamp into the UTEE but I like the depth & shadows created without the ink.

Hope you've enjoyed it and will give it a try!

Tim Holtz Give-A-Way - 3 days left!!!

If you didn't get a chance to visit on Sunday, Tim Holtz was the featured rubber stamp designer for the topper to the Ink Stains 6 Months Anniversary Celebration.

You only have 3 days left to tell me what your favorite Tim Holtz product is so hurry and post!

I have added another goodie to the TH box of fun ~ Nib Chart (V2-1095) on page 145 of the main caty @ Stampers Anonymous!! I found that I have 2...one mounted & one UM - I have added the mounted stamp to the box. It's got a bit of staining to the rubber but it still makes a great image!

Stamping in UTEE

If you saw the card and lay-out yesterday I promised to share how I made them today :)

I wanted to start out by saying this will NOT hurt your stamps. I have used this technique many MANY times without it ever harming either my red-rubber or clear acrylic stamps. I have never attempted to use any foam stamps for this but I don't think it would be a good idea. I'm pretty sure that most all foam melts fairly easily so the UTEE may be too hot.

Another bit of info on stamps ~ I have found that the texture stamps sold in the Polymer Clay isle work GREAT for this technique. They are large enough to cover most any chipboard piece and they are far less expensive than Background "Rubber Stamps". I paid $6.00-7.00 for each 4"x6" Polymer Clay stamp as opposed to $15.00 - 30.00 for a background stamps from the popular stamp companies!! You don't have to use texture or background stamps for this technique either. You can use just about any image you want. Fine detail or photo image stamps don't work well with this technique as there is just too much material (UTEE) for the stamp to handle.

Well, on to technique....

Supplies:

UTEE - Clear or Pearl work best - Ranger

Perfect Pearls - Ranger

Perfect Medium - Ranger

Heat It Craft Tool - Ranger

Non-Stick Craft Mat - Ranger

Embossing Pan - Club Scrap (or any will do - just happens to be what I have)

Mini Spoon - (to mix & sprinkle on additional UTEE) Art Glitter

Small Container (to mix the dry UTEE & Perfect Pearls)

Chipboard Pieces - various (Maya Road, Basic Grey, Fancy Pants, etc.)

Texture Rubber Stamp - Crafts Etc.

Instructions:

1. Pour the UTEE into the small container. Add a bit more than you think you will need. It's hard to match colors once you have used up an entire batch.

2. Scoop up a small amount of the Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder in the color of your choice. Usually one scoop will do the trick. (NOTE - try mixing 2-3 colors to see what you come up with, experiment!! It's fun trust me!!) Add the Perfect Pearls to the container holding the UTEE.

3. Mix the Perfect Pearls & UTEE until all of the UTEE has been coated.

4. Pounce the chipboard piece onto the Perfect Medium Ink Pad making sure to coat the entire piece.

5. Place the chipboard piece into your embossing pan & sprinkle with the colored UTEE.

6. Remove the coated chipboard from the pan and place it on the Non-Stick Craft Sheet. Begin heating.

7. As the UTEE begins to melt you will see areas that need additional UTEE. Alternate sprinkling UTEE onto the hot embossing powder & heating until you have a nice thick coat over the entire piece.

8. After you are satisfied with the coverage, IMMEDIATELY press the texture stamp into the molten UTEE and let it cool. (Note, if your piece has cooled simply heat the entire piece up until it is once again molten.)

9. Once your piece has cooled (about 1 minute) carefully peel the stamp off of the chipboard piece.

If you pull your stamp off too soon you will end up with bits and pieces of the UTEE stuck to the stamp instead of the chipboard. If this happens, (trust me it will if you're like me) wait until the UTEE has completely cooled and pull the UTEE off the stamp. Reheat the chipboard and try again....remember it's better for it to cool a bit longer than you think so you don't have to pick the UTEE out of all the little cracks & crevices of your stamp ;)

10. You may get little bits of UTEE that seeped out along the edges of your piece...this is called Flashing. Simply trim off and discard.

You have now stamped in UTEE!! I love this technique because it is fairly quick, creates stunning results and doesn't the melt pot :) Yes, I'm lazy - LOL!!! Try layering a couple pieces together....

It makes for a great finished project!

I hope you have enjoyed this technique and give it a try yourself! Once you get going it really is very fun to see what combinations you can come up with!

Tomorrow I'll share a couple more examples using this technique - one using hand cut chipboard shapes you won't want to miss :)

Till then...Happy Stamping!!

Favorite Quote Winner!!

The winner of the Favorite Quote give-a-way is.....

Evidence of an Artistic Life!!

Congrats Sweetie!!

Please e-mail me your addy so I can get your goodies in the mail to you :)

And for those of you who are wondering.... No, I didn't pick her because she liked the same Frost quote - LOL!! Honestly, I used Random.org and it did the choosing!

Stamping in UTEE

I haven't talked much about UTEE so I thought it might be time to do so! I have been working with it quite alot the past couple weeks and have had lots of fun. The two examples I have for you today are made by using Clear & Pearl UTEE mixed with Perfect Pearls Pigment Powders. Tomorrow I will give you step by step on this but today is just the show part of Show & Tell - LOL!!

The Bride & Groom....

Supplies: Clear UTEE, Pearl UTEE, Blush & Turquoise Perfect Pearls, Perfect Medium, Pitch Black Adirondack Pigment Ink - Ranger; Chipboard People - Maya Road; Texture Rubber Stamps - Crafts Etc.; Border Rubber Stamp - Inkadinkado; Bazzill Bling Cardstock; net & ribbon - unknown

Boy + Girl = Love

Supplies: Clear UTEE, Pearl UTEE, Black UTEE, Blush, Turquoise, Forever Violet Perfect Pearls; Perfect Medium - Ranger; Chipboard People, Wings, Word - Maya Road; Texture Rubber Stamps - Crafts Etc.; Wings Stamp - Hot Off the Press; Scroll paper - KI Memories; Bazzill Bling Cardstock

So, what do you think? Look like fun? I promise it is :) You won't even need a melt pot!! Be sure to check back tomorrow for complete instructions!

Tell Me Where You are From Winner!!

It is so much fun to see where everyone is from!! Amazing that we can all be scattered so far apart but brought together by our art! Gotta love the net!!

Anyway, thanks to everyone who posted!!

The winner of the KI Memories Stamps & Ephemera Pack is....

Birute!

Congratulations :)

Please e-mail me your addy so I can get your goodies in the mail to you!

Favorite Ranger Product Winner(s)!!

I know I know, keeping you all in suspense huh? We had a very busy weekend so I waited an extra day :) Trust me, that's not a bad thing though.... After everyone went to bed last night I was searching through my supplies and found enough goodies for 5 winners instead of just 1!!!!

So without any further delays the winners are.....

Far North - 3 Distress Ink Pads

Cabbie - 3 Distress Ink Pads

Virginia - 3 Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers

Andi - 3 Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers

and

Scrappy Pam - 3 Alcohol Inks

Congratulations ladies :)

Please e-mail me your addies so I can get your goodies packaged up and sent off!

Inky Inchies!

I wanted to share my first attempt at Inchies with you today :) I loved the idea of inchies but had been reluctant to take the first steps into the Inchie world for several reasons. I was sure they would be another additction to add to the pile I already have ;) I was also worried about the words people add to them. I know it sounds odd but they all fit so perfectly, I just didn't know if I could do it or not. And they are so freakin' small ~ what can you put in such a tiny canvas?!?!?

Well, the Design Challenge for Purple Faeiry this month was Inchies to celebrate the release of a new inchie stamp design. Perfect opportunity to take the plunge!

I started with the stamp design...Andante Inchie Stamp . A very cool design to begin with and the first thing that came to mind was classical composers and love...so I combined the two! I used black, white and red as my main color choices, a selection of classical composer images and my Pitch Black & Snow Cap Pigment Inks along with the awesome stamp.

We needed to make 2 identical Inchies - one to be displayed as a plain inchie and the other to be used in some sort of project. Here are the inchies I came up with....

and here are the projects I made using them :)

Here I used the inchie stamp for the background of the ATC as well!

I went kind of crazy when I was stamping the backgrounds so I made some extra inchies just because :)

Here is the link to the entire challenge page - June 2008 Challenge - Inchies.

I must say that once I had things shrunk down (images, stamps & embellishments) they were just like making ATC cards so of course I loved them and had loads of fun...and yes, you can add another addition to the books!

Tim Holtz - Rubber Stamp Designer & More!!!

Yes, today I want to feature Tim Holtz for the rubber stamp designer this week. Now, I had planned to have a bit of info provided from Tim himself but he's been going non-stop since he got back from his excursion in Alaska and will continue to be extremely busy as the Summer CHA show is just around the corner! Be sure to check out his blog for his Alaska trip video. It's a great way to see the fun places they hit along the way. You'll also want to check out the class examples they made as well!!

Tim is a well known Designer & Senior Educator for Ranger Industries. He can often be found teaching classes or offering up amazing demos at stores, conventions and expos all over the world. His down to earth and humorous approach of teaching makes any of his classes a joy to take. Traveling most of the year he still finds time to share techniques and challenges on his blog - Tim Holtz - Life the Life You've Imagined.

Tim is known and associated in large part with his line of Ranger Products. My favorite being the Distress Inks line of dye ink pads. Specially formulated they are intended to be used with water to create a multitude of effects. Tim selected the colors and helped develop these inks to produce a realistic, weathered look on paper, photos and decorative fibers. The Distress Ink line has grown from it's original 12 colors to include 24 amazing inks with fun names like Shabby Shutters, Broken China, Aged Mahogany and my favorite Walnut Stain Distress Ink!


The popularity of this particular line been enhanced with a couple amazing innovative additions ~ Distress Embossing Powders and Distress Crackle Paints. Each offering up unique qualities without compare.


The Distress Embossing Powders are a revolutionary product in the embossing line. This powder contains a special release crystal which will yield a truly vintage, distressed image! After these powders have been heat embossed and cooled simply rub off the crystals. You'll be amazed by the results. One of my favorite projects using this embossing powder is this mirror which uses a variety of colors of the powders.

The newest in the Distress line is the Distress Crackle Paints. Another amazing product ~ creating years of crackle in one simple step. This product is so innovative that it won 2nd place at CHA's Summer 2007 Innovations Showcase !! This paint is so easy to use, simply paint onto your project using the built in brush and let dry. Thin layers create tiny fine cracking while thicker layers produce larger and more pronounced cracks. My particular favorite technique is to add a layer of Distress Inks over the top of the dried Crackle Paint working it into the cracks with my Ink Blending Tool! Simply wipe off the excess ink once you have achieved the desired look.
The card below was made using all three of the Distress products ~ Vintage Photo Distress Crackle Paint was used on the coaster, Distress Inks were used to stamp the background images as well as added to the cracks in the paint and finally the bird & sentiment were embossed using the Distress Embossing Powders!

Another Ranger product Tim Holtz is closely associated with are the Adirondack Alcohol Inks. Demonstrating some amazing techniques and stretching your creativity to the limits, his numerous AI techniques will make your projects shine! I especially love using these inks on Memory Glass projects as it really lets the inks become the focal point as you can see.

In addition to being a superior designer & educator Tim also has many other products to his name. He is an author with 2 books published through Design Originals ~ Distressables & Distressables 2 as well as his own paper line, Distressable Doo-Dads, also through Design Originals. Tim has also made 2 DVD's ~ An Altered Journey & The Journey Continues both produced by Page Sage. You'll definitely enjoy all of the informative and imaginative projects which are included in all of these books & DVD's.


Surprisingly enough there is still more....Tim also has a line of tools with Tonic Studios; a unique line of alterable storage boxes for inks, paints and more; his amazing ideology line which includes Fragments, Grunge Board and now an awesome assortment of hardware & embellishments!


And yet there is even MORE..... his amazing stamp line through Stampers Anonymous! Too numerous to mention them all I would have to say that Dream a Little Dream (pg 142 - Main Cat.), The Little Prince (pg 141 Main Cat.), Photo Studio (pg 8 Sup. 8.2) as well as ALL of his wonderful quote stamps have to be my fav's. You'll just have to take a look to find your favorites.

And now for the the best part....

Tell me what your favorite Tim Holtz product is....it can be from any of the manufactures mentioned above. Tools, Stamps, Ink products, Distressables, whatever your fancy!

And why should you do so??? Well, one lucky person will win a whole box full of Tim Holtz goodies which will include 3 Distress Ink Pads, 3 Adirondack Acrylic Dabbers, 3 bottles of Alcohol Ink, 2 jars of Distress Embossing Powders, 2 jars of Distress Crackle Paints, an assortment of Grunge Board, a few Fragments as well as some of Tim's newest line of Hardware/Embellishments! The best (if I do say so myself) prize of the whole Ink Stains 6 Month Anniversary week!!

You will have until June 7th to post your favorite Tim Holtz product and get entered for your chance to win!!