Finished St. Patrick's Day Bottle Cap Charms!

Hey Guys...

As promised here are the finished bottle cap charms I shared yesterday!!

Would anybody out there like one???

If you do, just post a comment

and

I'll pull the names of 4 winners

(I have to save the 5th for my Mom or she'll get mad - LOL!!)

out of a Pot '0 Gold

(really just a hat)

on St. Patty's Day!

Quick & Easy Bottlecap Charm!

UGH!! I had planned on posting this early this afternoon BUT, Mother Nature and the power company had other ideas....we were without power due to a T-storm for much of the day. It didn't come back on till a short while ago!!

The best laid plans and all!

Anyway, a bit late, here it goes....

Well today I thought it would be fun to make a quick and oh so easy bottlecap charm for St. Patrick's Day!

Now I'm going to be using some of the vintage postcard images I have posted (and a few to be posted tomorrow) as the main images. You can of course use any collage image, photo or bit of ephemera you would like.

You can make one charm for a necklace or you could make several and use them on a bracelet. Other uses might be a key chain fob, or add it to a book mark, tag, card, scrapbook page, add a pin back and turn it into a nice addition to your wardrobe on St. Patty's Day!

Supplies:

Bottlecaps

Hammer to smash them

Collage Images'

Micro Glaze

Glossy Accents or Diamond Glaze

Stickles Glitter Glue (optional)

Jewelry Finding (optional)

Jewelry Glue (optional)

Instructions:

1. (Optional) I like to flatten the bottlecaps in order create thinner pieces ~ you could leave the bottlecaps in tact if desired.

2. Print and apply a layer of Micro Glaze to the images.

3. Cut out or use a paper punch to trim the images to fit the bottle cap.

4. Apply a dab of Glossy Accents to the center of the bottlecap and affix the image.

5. (Optional) For an added bit of zing I added a bit of Lime Green Stickles along the inside ring of the bottlecap outlining the image.

6. It's time to fill the bottlecaps with Diamond Glaze or Glossy Accents (or other glaze). After this layer has dried, affix desired jewelry finding with jewelry glue.

Tomorrow I'll share what the finished charms look like.

I'll also have more vintage postcards to share...

some you might even enjoy using to create these bottlecap charms!

Ink Stained Card Sketch 3-12-10

Hey Everyone!

I hope you've all had a great Friday!!

I had a fun time earlier today....I went to a rummage sale today and found LOADS of cool goodies! Some cool vintage jewelry that I'm going to reclaim and make some altered charms/necklaces, I found a couple old dictionaries to add to my collection, a scrabble game, old salt shaker, and some other fun stuff :) I love it when I find a bargain!

Here is today's card sketch...Since it's so close to St. Patty's Day I went with that theme. All of the inks are the NEW Distress Ink colors and the stamps are the ones I designed for Marches Get Inked Kit!

Enjoy!!

Have a wonderful weekend friends!!

Glaze Techniques Pt II

Hey Guys!

Back to our glazing techniques. Before I get to today's examples I wanted to answer a few questions.

Q - What type of paper did I use?

A - It is DCWV Textured Cardstock...it's just plain cardstock, no glossy finish. The gloss you see in the photos is actually a result of the glazing medium. There are various finishes and this one happens to be somewhere between a gloss & eggshell finish.

Q - What is the difference between the different types of glaze medium?

A - Not sure....I believe it's got something to do with longevity or something but I just don't know. I will look into it and see what I can find out.

I will tell you that I have used all of the ones shown in the photo yesterday plus a couple others and to me they all work great.

There is a huge difference in the price though ~ from anywhere from $1.50 a bottle up towards $10.00+ a bottle. If you're just starting out wanting to try your hand at glazing I say start with the cheapest type you can. See if you like it and go from there.

Q - How long does it take to dry?

A - Glazing medium extends the drying time of acrylic paints allowing ample time to create many different looks using these techniques. The open work time is about 20 minutes or so. That in part is what makes glazing so much fun. It is virtually mistake free because if you don't get the look you want the first time simply wipe it away or brush right over it (depending on the technique ~ usually adding or removing layers of glaze). The dry time will vary due to temperature and humidity.

Glazing Medium Techniques

Part II

Sponging

O.k...this is another fun technique where you can create lots of fun faux texture.

This example was made by first painting a layer of glaze onto the cardstock.

I then pounced the natural sea sponge into the glaze which actually lifts some of the glaze off of the cardstock.

Pounce the glazed sponge onto a seperate piece of cardstock, piece of dry towel or scrap paper to remove the excess glaze.

Continue to pounce back and forth between the cardstock and scrap paper until you have sponged the entire piece.

You can also create a neat faux texture by simply sponging the glaze onto your project as shown here.

Stamped Glaze

NOW, this is one of my favorite techniques because it offers a subtle yet striking effect to any project. Stamping in glaze!! Keep in mind that bold image stamps work better than word, detailed or line stamps.

Again you can either stamp into a layer of glaze which has been painted onto your project....

or you could pour some of the glaze mixture onto a non stick craft mat, coat the stamp with a light layer of glaze then stamp your project. Resulting in a look similar to this....

Stippling

The last technique I wanted to share today is created using a stipple brush.

Simply dip the stipple brush into the glaze, pick up only enough glaze to coat the very tips.

Pounce off much of the glaze onto a paper towel....this will create a dry brush effect if you've ever done much painting.

Pounce the glazed stipple brush in an up and down fashion.

This is what your glaze will look like....

Monday I will be back with more examples of fun glazing techniques using a Making Memories texture tool!

You won't want to miss it!

Tomorrow is Ink Stained Card Sketch Day

Saturday I'm hoping to share a St. Patty's Day project with you

and of course I'll have more Vintage Postcards for you on Sunday!

See you there!

Queen Kat Designs

Today is the first of many features highlighting a wide variety of rubber stamp designers and retailers. I hope you’re all as excited as I am ~ I find it such fun to explore and see what new and fun stamps are out there on the market.

Queen Kat Designs

I am happy to kick off the stamping feature with a stamp company near and dear to my heart…Queen Kat Designs and the Queen herself ~ Vicki Douglas.

Let’s get to know Vicki a little bit better….

How long have you been stamping?
I have been stamping for about 18 years now.

How did you get started designing rubber stamps?
I just wanted to stamp with designs that weren't out there and I wanted to have a unique company that produced stamps for everyone with different tastes.

Where do you get your inspiration from for your stamp designs?
All over. I take inspiration from all different places like the craft store, nature, and other places. I usually start with a theme in mind and run with it.

What are some of your favorite stamps that you offer?
I love our Whimsical Ink Collection of stamps. My favorite stamp in the collection is Victoria. But then...I also love the new Gothic and Steam Punk designs that we have. I really enjoy using the gothic necklace we came out with.

Anything special you’d like the readers to know about your company?
We have 2 weekly blog hops each Monday and Tuesday... Our release day is always the first Wednesday of the month... We have two Sororities... Whimsical Ink and Dark Ink... We just opened an online castle (ning group) where the public can come and interact with our royal Court ~ Queen Kat Designs Stamp Group.
We are also having our Spring Flower online crop April 16-18 feel free to stop in and join in on the fun!!

Are you an Angel Company?
Yes we are and as an added bonus check this out…Get Published.

What forms of payments do you take?
We take credit cards and paypal

Do you ship internationally?
Yes! We ship world wide.

Now I just can’t leave it at an interview…let’s take a look around the store and check out some of her designs!!

Queen Kat Designs really does offer something for everyone. Besides designing stamps herself, Vicki employs a variety of artists with a wide range of styles to help create this diverse collection of stamps. Some of those designers are…Amariah Shelton, Che Gilson, Jonathan Pitcher, Melia Newman, and yes me!

Besides these great artists, Vicki also has another very special designer hidden away in her Castle….that person would be Beverly Douglas ~ her grandmother!! Now how cool is that to be able to work with your grandma on something you both love so very much. I have been lucky enough to chat with Bev and she’s a really sweetie!!

So, in addition to the fun and funky new Gothic/Steam Punk line of stamps Vicki offers some real favorites of mine and they are her Nature stamps, the wild and funky Retro line, the Vintage goodies and her Season stamps!

Now if you’re ever stumped for ideas you just need to visit the castles Idea Gallery where her wonderful design team offers up ideas for many of the stamps Vicki carries. One look and you’ll be inspired to craft, create and stamp the night away! If you’re interested in finding out who created all those marvelous projects be sure to check out QKD’s Royal Court page and meet all those responsible.

There is even more to see like the kit clubs ~ Get Inked – the one I design stamps for!; Whimsical Ink Sorority Club; The Royal Kits; and every once in a while Vicki puts together something I just love…it’s called The Findings! It’s a club that offers a set of stamps paired with all sorts of ephemera!! Mmmmm you can never have too much ephemera in your collection ;)
I could go on but I’ll stop there and let you explore the rest of the site on your own!

NOW….

As a special surprise I’m going to be giving away a set of March Celtic Designs stamps from the Get Inked Kit!

All you have to do to enter is visit Vicki’s castle, check out all the stamps and come back here and tell me what your favorite(s) stamp, stamp set or stamp line is.

That’s it!

Easy as pie !

You’ll have until March 16th to post your favorite(s) at which time I’ll draw out the winning name (using random.org).

So, go explore

and let us hear what your favorite is!!

Ding Ding Ding!!!

1000th Post!!!!

Wooo Hooo!!!!

This very post marks my 1000th post since I started the blog in Nov. of 2007.

Who'd have thunk it ;)

I never dreamed that when I started this blog with encouragement from my friends that it would turn out like this.

I'm so very excited to still be here doing what I love.

I am also tickled that Ink Stains in nearing 1/4 million hits since Jan. of 2008!!!

I'm totally shocked, amazed and grateful to all you folks out there who keep comin' back for more :)

AND

In honor of YOU and Ink Stains I thought it would be fun to have another give-a-way!!!

BUT in order to enter you have to tell me what your favorite Ink Stains technique, project, etc. is.

It can be anything I've posted over the last couple years...

JLMK what you like and you'll be entered to win a surprise package consisting of whatever I can find...could be stamps, products, previously featured projects or cards, or it might even be something yet to come!

You just never know what I'll pull out of my ink stained goodie bag!

You have until 3-21 to post!

Glazing Techniques - Pt. I

Glazing Techniques

Part #1

Note: I am going to show all of these techniques on white cardstock so you get a better idea of what each technique looks like. Keep in mind when painted over various colors the Glaze will change the hues & tones of existing color.

Types of Glaze

There are many glaze mediums on the market in a wide range of prices. It's really up to you on how fancy you want to get. For beginners and experimentation I suggest Folk Art Glazing Medium. It's relatively inexpensive so it won't break the bank getting started.

BUT before you go shopping, you may already have some products which you might not automatically think of when glazing comes to mind (PPA & Diamond Glaze). Be sure to read the labels of products in your existing stash...you might be surprised to see you already have something that works.

I like them all (as you can see).

Acrylic Paints

As far as acrylic paints...I say whatever you have on hand is great. Now painters will disagree with me and tell you that you should use a "transparent" pigment type of acrylic paint but for our use any will do. I've used everything from Folk Art, Ranger, Golden, to fancy metallics from Stewart Gill ~ all with great success.

Mixing Glaze

Mixing glaze is a personal preference as well. Personally I like to work with about a 5-1 ratio 5 parts glaze medium to 1 part acrylic paint. This creates a very lightly pigmented mixture that can be applied in several layers.

Be sure to mix well!

Basic Painted Glaze

The most basic glazing technique is just painting the glaze on with a paint brush. I like to use wider brushes for this...you can cover more ground in less amount of time. You simply paint a layer of glaze over your project and let it dry. I like to speed drying using my heat tool. If additional coats are desired you may add each layer letting the glaze dry completely in between coats.

Below is an example of what glaze will look like starting with one coat of glaze up to 5 layers. Of course you can always add more if desired.

Ragging

Another popular technique for glaze is ragging which is just what it sounds like. You dip a soft cloth into the glaze medium and pounce it on your project.

Notice how there are lighter and darker areas of glaze. Adds a nice layer of faux texture without adding an excessive amount of color.

Reverse Ragging

This technique is where the glaze is painted onto your surface in a thick layer....

then you take a dry soft cloth and pick the paint up off of the surface. Be sure to rotate the rag so you don't deposit what you've already picked up back onto your work.

Notice how this technique adds an over all color coverage but you still get the nice faux texture of ragging.

So there you go ~ a nice start on playing with glaze!

Pretty easy huh?

Look like something you'd like to try?

I'll be sharing more techniques on Thursday so be sure to check back then!

New Poll - Least used stamps?

Lou's comment about having loads of stamps in her collection but not using many got me to thinking...it would be great to know what we're all "collecting" and what we're actually using.

Hence the poll...

Tell me what stamps you use the LEAST...

Maybe I can come up with some fun ways to incorporate them into projects and techniques in the future to get us all using more of our stamps instead of just collecting them ;)

I know for me it would be alpha stamps, "Cute" stamps and foam stamps!

How about you???

Don't be shy...we won't tell ;)

Glazing Medium Basic Info

Hi All!!

One technique/product I constantly get questions about is glazing and/or glazing mediums. I know I've posted short blurbs answering a couple of the questions asked and there is a section about it in my book but many people still want more.

So here goes...I thought I'd start off with some basic info about glazing.I'm talking acrylic glaze...not the oil variety or the type used in ceramics...two totally different animals.

The most asked question is what is glaze? Glaze is thin transparent layer of paint mixed with glaze medium which is applied over a painting, collage, altered art project, ATC, etc.

What is Glaze Medium & where can I buy it?

Glaze medium is a clear liquid (usually much thinner than paint) that is mixed with any color of acrylic paint to create the transparent layer of color. It also has a slower drying time than acrylic paints which allows you to create numerous "faux finish" techniques.

It comes in various coat finishes ~ gloss, eggshell and matte and can be found anywhere from discount department stores (in the acrylic paint area), craft stores and art shops.

What do I mix with the glaze medium to make it work?

Acrylic glaze medium can be combined with any acrylic paints in any colors you choose. I will talk more about amounts when I start sharing individual techniques.

What does a glaze do?

Glaze will add a veil of color over the existing work (be it paint, print images, ephemera, etc).

It will alter the appearance of your work depending on the color used by enhancing specific colors while muting others.

Glaze helps add a consistency to a work where it might not already exist.

It may also add gloss, shine or a matte finish to your finished project.

How do you apply a glaze to your work?

Glaze medium is mixed with a small amount of acrylic paint. It is then painted onto your project one layer at a time using a brush or other tools (we'll get to that when I share some of the "faux" techniques. It can be applied to one area, many areas or all over your project for a total effect. Also, you may add as few or as many layers as you choose. Keep in mind that each layer of glaze you add you will also be adding an additional layer of color.

How is a Glaze different from a Wash?

A wash is usually a blend of water and paint (normally 50/50). The main difference between a wash and a glaze is the glaze will not effect the existing colors and becomes permanent once it has dried where as a wash can effect the existing work by causing it to bleed or remove it all together. A wash is also water soluble which means each time you add another layer it could be removing or changing the previous layers yielding unpredictable results.

Can you apply Glaze to more than just paintings?

YES! You can use glaze over collage, altered arts, altered book pages, and even scrapbook pages! It can also be combined with various other techniques without causing damage to the original layers of work.

What techniques can you do with Glaze?

Oh My!!! Besides just painting over existing works you can do sooooooooo many cool techniques. Just to tempt you and whet your appetite here is a short list... you can dry brush it on, use it to add an aged patina to your work, give your work a marbled effect, create faux wood grain, sponge, color washing, create stippled or splatter patterns, rag it, crackle it, smoosh it...the list just goes on and on! It really is a very fun way to add so much to your projects. And the best part is a little goes a long way!

I'll be sharing various glazing techniques here and there over the next several weeks...spreading them out so nobody gets tired of it and calls it quits. ;)

Anyway, I hope this answers many of the initial questions you might have about glazing and gets you excited to see/hear more :)

Coming Attractions....

I am so excited...I have some fun things cookin' for the blog that I just have to tell you about.

Most of you probably don't remember but when Ink Stains was first started I had a feature every week or so that would highlight various rubber stamping retailers, stamp designers and/or collage & ephemera suppliers. I suspended it when I was working on Ranger's Design Team then came the book and all it entailed so I haven't had the time to work on it since.

WELL I've been contacting various companies, getting things lined up and the return of the Rubber Stamp Retailer feature will debut THIS WEEK!!!!

Wooo Hoooo!!!

Now if you're not familiar with the past features you can go back and check them out here...Rubber Stamp Retailers. The early features were just short blurbs about interesting places I found here and there. It then evolved into more in depth Q&A type thing (which is what the new ones will be) up till more recently when it was basically just highlights of various sales & new product highlights or links.

I have already rec'd many of the questionnaires back so I've got several weeks of featured sites lined up!

If you've got a favorite old or new stamp company or fun retailer that you'd like to see featured please feel free to e-mail me the info or have the company get in touch with me personally. Either way I'll work to make sure they are featured here at some point.

AND

I'm going to be testing a new idea out...templates! I'm thinkin' something like shape cards or makeables (you know like nifty folded boxes, handy little gifts, etc.). I'll post the template (or a link to the template) and show you and example or two on the templates in action. Not sure how this is all going to pan out but I thought it sounded like fun. We'll see how it goes :)

AND

Of course I'll have lots more techniques, card sketches, quotes and vintage postcards as well.

I hope you'll all stick around and check out all I've got in store :)