Stampadoodle Blog

Distressed Techniques

4/26/2019

Have you always wanted to make your art or paper look old/distressed? Not sure how to create "the look" or not sure how to get started?

Well here are some great ideas!!

First, to create that "old" look you can use a brown ink pad. We call this technique "inking" because you are adding ink along the edge (or on top of the paper) to add the look of texture.

You can add ink in a variety of different ways using a variety of different tools.

You can use a brown ink pad DIRECTLY onto the paper.. the color is VERY dark and it can be harder to control... but it also depends on the look you are trying to create!!

You can also use the Tim Holtz Ink Blending Tool. I like to use this one because you can pick up ink OFF of your ink pad and THEN apply the ink onto the side of the paper. This tool is great to use because the ink is not as intense in color AND you have more control of where you put your ink.

Keep in mind, because the tool is SQUARE, if you get a square impression on your paper, do it in another place on your paper so it *looks intentional*

The Nuvo Blending Sponges are GREAT for applying inks because the circular tool leaves no awkward shape behind which makes it look much softer and lends to having more control of WHERE to apply your ink.

Check out here with a piece of woodgrain paper how we applied ink softly until the texture comes to life!!

BUT the BEST tool (at least in my personal opinion) for applying inks are the Picket Fence Blending Brushes.

They are SO SOFT and because there are SO MANY BRISTLES it makes it so much easier for applying a soft layer of ink onto the surface.

For example, here I crinkled up some paper then used the Picket Fence Blending Brush (from the large set) to apply a layer of brown ink. When I lightly run my brush across the crinkled paper, the wrinkles become more apparent and look really cool!! (I even crinkled up my paper and smashed it on the ink pad in some areas to create REALLY dark areas of color)

But just LOOK at how nice this gradation of color is... and it makes it look old REALLY quickly.

if you have a Home Die-cut Machine, you can run card stock through this Woodgrain Embossing Folder.

You can use your Picket Fence Blending Brushes to apply 2 colors of Distress Ink onto the paper that has the embossed image in it. I like to use the 2 colors of Distress Ink because the tone-on-tone colors give the paper more interest.

Depending which shades of brown you use will make the woodgrain image look darker and older or brighter and more fun!

Notice how in each of these ideas the centers of the woodgrains are darker. I usually coat the whole image with the lighter color FIRST and then go back in with the darker color in the centers of the woodgrain.

You can also add color to the embossed woodgrain image using Watercolors. I like using the Chisel-tip Waterbrush because then you can use brush-strokes that go up-and-down to follow the same movement of the woodgrain. I tend to spray my watercolors with WATER first, then pick up the color and brush it across the textured paper. I always start with a lighter shade of brown and then move to darker colors.

On the image below, the black was added LAST by just rubbing the black ink pad along the texture. I love how imperfect it is! It actually looks pretty neat!!

Ok, now for some FUN ideas!!!

Check out this idea using crinkled Tissue Paper and PVA!

On your piece of paper, stamp an image with Versafine Clair ink, Nocturne (or another water-proof ink) and then brush on a little bit of PVA around the image and "scrunch" the Tissue Paper into the PVA. You can add a little more PVA if needed. I applied Tissue Paper around the image on the top and bottom.

THEN use the Picket Fence Blending Brushes to apply a soft layer of Distress Ink (Walnut Stain and Black Soot is what I used here). I LOVE the look of the inks on the crinkled Tissue Paper... it adds so much texture and dimension.. and it makes it look old!!

On this one I used the Distress Oxide ink, Peacock Feathers AND the Distress Ink, Black Soot. Showing that YES you can use the 2 kinds of inks together!! (and honestly, I LOVE blending with the Oxide inks!! They are SO VIBRANT!!! )

I used one of the Fred B. Mullett Stamps for this card and I LOVE how it turned out!!! I stamped in the Versafine Clair ink, Nocturne because I didn't want my image to bleed or move when I applied a layer of PVA and Oxide inks..

Or check out this idea:

Use 3 colors of Distress Oxide inks (Wild Honey, Lucky Clover, and Wilted Violet) and Distress Ink (Black Soot). Start out by applying some of each of the Oxide Inks to a piece of Solar White card stock.
Spray some water to blend the colors together. Use a heat-gun to heat-set the inks.
Apply a soft layer of Distress Ink, Black Soot using the Picket Fence Blending Brushes
"Fleck" the paper with water using some water on your fingertips. Don't worry.. it's not meant to be perfect!! Use your heat-gun to heat-set this image again.
Lastly, use your Picket Fence Blending Brushes to apply another soft layer of Distress ink, Black Soot and watch as those "flecks" of water become darker!!

THIS IS SO FUN to create!!

I love the look of a Collage Art Piece with a Distressed Theme...

I used a combination of stamps, Distress Oxide inks, Distress inks, water, and the White Zig pen in this design to add a fun look! I LOVE the vibrancy of these Distress Oxide Inks!!!

I stamped my Halo Bird image and the circular textured image with Versafine Clair ink, Nocturne because I wanted my images to be waterproof as I added in the brighter Oxide inks and moved them with a spritz of water.

I LOVE the Halo part of this bird image!! So when I went to create an Ocean-inspired piece I used the SAME HALO but just inked the image without the bird so I could stamp a Lighthouse in the center instead!!

I LOVE HOW THIS TURNED OUT!!!!! I had so much fun creating this.. I love the pop-of-color with the Distress Oxide inks and the movement that was created from this swirl stamp from Impression Obsession... what a FUN CARD to create!!!

In this image, the white highlights were created with Bleed-Proof White and the splatter was also created from the same ink

There are SO MANY WAYS to make your art look distressed!!! These are just a few ideas of ALL THE THINGS you can do!!!

Time to get out your inks, paints, and tools and start playing!!!

Have any questions? Need items set aside for you? Give us a call!!

360-647-9663

Bullet and Dot-Grid Journals

4/2/2019

I don't know about you guys, but I LOVE DOT GRID JOURNALS (or Bullet Journals as they are more-widely known)

Why do I love these journals so much? Because you can actually write in a STRAIGHT LINE. Or create a layout that has grids that are the SAME SIZE. Or for creating my planner. Or for doing lettering. Or for drawing things to scale. THEY ARE WONDERFUL

We offer SEVERAL different ones here at the store.. and they vary in size, paper thickness, and design

Check out the ones we currently have in stock!!

Because we have carried Dot-Grid journals for awhile now.. I can tell you they vary quite a bit.

I LOVE the Traveler Journals from Pentalic.

The cover is soft and flexible but is durable.
There is a book mark
Pocket at the back for storage of papers or flyers
AND you can even do watercolor on this paper!! I mean, I don't recommend saturating your paper in water, but if you use a Waterbrush you will have the perfect amount of liquid to do watercolor without warping the paper.

There are also these next Dot-Grid Journals that have the BEST DESIGNS on the front!!

Just look at the cactus one!!

Ring-bound journal great for laying flat do do layouts

I also LOVE the leaf design!!

Includes book mark
Bright-white paper with darker dots so they are easier to see for making layouts

Check out how FUN this gold one is!!!

Elastic Band for holding Journal closed

This soft-cover Dot-Grid is fun and spunky!!

Soft Cover great for quick sketches
Folds flat for drawing layouts

This hard cover Purple one is bright and funky!!

Includes bookmark
Folds flat for drawing layouts
Hardcover is more durable over time

There are also these handmade books from India!

3 sections in each book include graph paper, blank pages, AND dot-grids! Great for ALL SORTS of layouts!
Hardcover made with paper made from recycled cotton fibers
Elastic Band to hold the book closed
Pocket at the back to hold flyers or other paper findings

Now, there are SO MANY THINGS you can put in your dot-grid or bullet journal... and I have had a lot of fun coming up with ideas over the last couple years!!

I LOVE to have fun writing and doodling in my dot-grid journal... and the pens I use the most are the Slicci pens (for fine line work) and the Glaze Pens (for thicker lines)

Here are some of the things I put in my dot-grid journal...

You can doodle little frames and incorporate cute paper clips!!

I used the Slicci Pen to make tiny little numbers for my year-at-a-glance and used Washi Tape to make it more fun!!

I LOVE dot-grids SPECIFICALLY for my month-at-a-glance layouts because I wanted all the boxes to be the SAME SIZE!

I love to also include a mini-month at the bottom of my month-at-a-glance.. the Slicci Pen is GREAT for jotting down all the tiny little numbers in a small space

I also LOVE to use the Taylored Expressions Clearly Planned stamps in my dot-grid notebooks because they are SO FUN and their fonts are just wonderful

I also wanted to think about OTHER THINGS that I wanted to reference quickly... and I realized I actually had a LOT I wanted to keep track of!!

Such as, books I wanted to read:

Podcasts I wanted to listen to...

(I even incorporated scrapbook papers to make the sections MORE FUN!)

Movies I wanted to watch...

What to have for dinner....

Where to eat out for dinner...

Breakfast joints and coffee...

Traveling...

And of course Addresses and Birthdays...

I also LOVE to use Washi Tape!!

This is ADORABLE Mushroom Washi Tape is from Alexandra Renke designs and I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!

Now, I also started a SECOND dot-grid journal to track outfit ideas...

I don't know about all of YOU but sometimes I feel like I have "Nothing to Wear!" ... when in reality I have TONS of clothes.

So I started doodling and sketching my outfits in a dot-grid notebook... making it much easier to find a fun outfit to wear without getting stressed out...

I always LOVE looking through other people's journals and sketch books... and I always wanted to make one of my own!!

I found that I was more passionate, and less self-critical, when I was sketching something for MYSELF to use!!

And, it was fun to draw the outfits I LOVED the most!!

Dot-Grid Notebooks are SO MUCH FUN to have, collect, and fill with ideas...

Do you have a dot-grid/bullet journal you have filled with art/ideas or created your own graph or planner? WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE!!!

Stop by to see us 7 days a week to get inspired..

See you soon!!
360-647-9663

Tuesday with Wendy, March 5th

3/9/2019

Check out the 3 wonderful cards from card making class last week!!

You can really tell Wendy is in the mood for creativity!!

The cards this week were really fun!!

The first card was created with a bit of Wendy Pizzazz!!! She was inspired by this new Washi Tape from Dylusions, these 2 colors of Dylusions Spray inks (Vibrant Turquoise and Funky Fuchsia), and this new stamp set from Seth Apter, Grunge Grids

To make the card:

Start out with a half-sheet of a piece of white card stock. Stamp the Grunge Grids stamp with Versafine Clair Inks Warm Breeze, Nocturne, and Morning Mist over the outside of the card base (front of the card and the back side of the card)
Next, use a piece of pop-tone 100# card stock to apply a FEW SPRITZ' of ink of each color of the Spray Ink.
Now take a small piece of white card stock and apply 3 different widths of Washi Tape.. Wendy chose these funky ones!! **we used white card stock so you can clearly see the images on the Washi Tape since the Washi Tape is slightly transluscent**
Now cut a piece of black/white patterned paper to add interest. Wendy liked to cut hers into little squares and strips
Back the piece of paper with Spray Inks on it with a piece of black card stock and adhere it to the card base using double-sided tape
Also back the piece of paper with Washi Tape on it with a piece of black card stock and adhere that down using double-sided tape
Use Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive to paste down the black/white patterned paper strips

Look how fun these cards turned out!!

I think we can all agree... this is a very "Wendy Style" card... it is SO FUN!!

The next card that Wendy designed was a Shaker Card!! She was inspired by this Monsters Stamp from BoBunny

To make the card:

Stamp your Monster Stamp (with a circle for the tummy) on a piece of white card stock using Versafine Onyx Black ink.
Fold your card base in half. Use your Home Die-cut Machine and a circle die-cut to cut out the stomach of the monster image AND the front of your card base.
Next, cut a piece of chipboard ( 2" x 4") and cut out 2 holes that are slightly larger than the hole you just cut out of your card base. **You may need to use the die-cut machine here at the store to do this because most die-cut blades will not cut through chip board** . Once you have cut 2 holes in your piece of chipboard, cut the piece of chipboard in half. You should now have 2 small squares of chipboard with a hole in each one measuring about 1 1/2 inches.
On the front of the card, where you cut out your hole, adhere a piece of Acetate using double-sided tape.
Now place BOTH PIECES of chipboard down and adhere them to each other using Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive. The holes of the chipboard should line up nicely with the hole in the card base
Now FILL YOUR SHAKER CARD!! Wendy used Blue Ombre Sequins from Hero Arts. Once you have filled it (NOT FULL) place a piece of Acetate on the front and adhere it with double-sided tape. This will hold your shaker bits.
Then, adhere your Monster in place!! Remember to line up the holes so the shaker card makes sense!
Wendy chose a piece of fun "cartoon" looking paper and cut out an oval using her Home Die-cut Machine and laid the cut-out on the front of her card base to finish off the front of the card.
Next, stamp 2 little Monster images on the INSIDE of the card... and if you can.. arrange one so he is peeking through the stomach!!
Now close your card and look in awe and have fun with such an ADORABLE card!!!

Check out this fun idea.... One of the students used her oval cut-out to make a secret flap for the inside of her card!! How fun!!

The last card that Wendy designed was MY FAVORITE!!! It is SO CUTE!!

Wendy was inspired by the new Lawn Fawn Mushroom Border and the Gentle Bunny from Memory Box

To make the card:

Start out by using a light green card base. Take a piece of floral-patterned paper and cut out an oval using your Home Die-cut Machine.
Use the Lawn Fawn Mushroom Border to cut out some mushrooms and grass for the front of the card.. Wendy used a mottled, flesh colored card stock for the mushroom base and a bright red card stock for the mushroom tops.
Arrange your mushrooms and grass in the oval cut-out for the front of the card. Use pop-dots to give dimension to your mushrooms.
Lastly, cut out the Gentle Bunny from white card stock. Use the skinny brush from the Small Picket Fence Blending Brush Set and apply a tiny bit of ink from the Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick ink pad to colorize the ears, tail, and nose of the bunny. Use a pop-dot to adhere the bunny to the front of the card

This card is SO CUTE!!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!

Join us for the next Card Making class!!
Tuesday, March 19th

Give us a call to sign up!! You MUST sign up by the Saturday before class to reserve a spot!!

360-647-9663

Weaving and Knots

3/8/2019

Here at the store.. the Queen of Weaving and Knots is Wendy!! This week for Demo, Wendy was our Demonstrator!!

Wendy loves to add interest in her by incorporating weaving into her art... just check out some of these ideas!!!

Now, if you have ever watched Wendy create a woven piece.. you may notice that she starts with a bunch of paper strips (aka scraps) that just "inspire" ... Well, some of us see a disaster.. but she see's a creation waiting to happen!!

To start... I LOVE what Wendy does here with some of the Handmade Paper scraps and some black, white, and red papers...

Just look how she took these scraps to an AMAZING LEVEL just by working in this color palette that is so pleasing on the eyes. I LOVE how she even wove-in the swirl!!

Check out this next idea... Wendy used strips of white paper to make a trellis... just pasting down the ENDS of the white strips so she can go in with smaller pieces to weave-in a little lattice... HOW CUTE IS THIS??!?!

I love that Wendy added in the new Lawn Fawn Mushroom Border and leaf ribbon ... it is TOO CUTE!!

You can also create a series of knots by using just a yard of twine and wrapping and knotting the ribbon to itself.... Wendy wrapped it around the card and it makes a nice embellishment for nautical cards or cards for men!

Another idea Wendy had was to take a few colors of TEXT WEIGHT PAPER (like copy-paper weight) and wove a section on a piece of 8 1/2" x 11" paper. THEN she put the woven piece onto a piece of Double-Tack (which is like a sheet of double-sided tape) and cut out an oval..

I love how Wendy trimmed the oval so it looks like an Easter Basket!!!

Wendy used strips of brown paper to create a cute idea for a corner of a card.... This is such an easy and sweet idea....

You can even make the strips a little long and TUCK THEM under the front of the card so you can add another layer for interest!!

HOW SWEET IS THIS?!!?

A quick and easy idea is to use wood grain textured paper to make a little rustic fence!!

You can also punch a hole in the front of a card and use 2 colors of ribbon to put a bow on the FRONT and another color of bow for the INSIDE!!

There are LOTS of ways to add weaving and knotting to a card or art project...

Do you have a pile of paper strips laying around?!? Time to get them out and PLAY!!

Translucent Papers, Ideas and More!

2/9/2019

Here at the store we carry several different kinds of paper.. and some of our favorite are the Translucent ones

Check out some of these fun ideas!!

When using Translucent Papers, you can really get creative with some of the techniques!! Because the Papers are so thin, however, you need to be careful which papers you use to get certain effects.

Let's start with Embossing Folders!

When you run Vellum in an Embossing Folder, it tends to "crack" .. in order to prevent this from happening, we recommend using a "carrier" of a piece of card stock AT THE SAME TIME so the Embossing Folder embosses both the vellum AND the card stock.

We wanted to know if you could emboss OTHER Translucent Papers..

But we found out you CANNOT emboss Matte Dura-Lar... it just DOESN'T hold texture!!!

Next we tried Embossing the Handmade Mulberry Paper (Wendy chose the SUPER THIN Mulberry Paper with No Inclusions). As you can see, the paper has a SUPER LIGHT embossed texture... neat for an overlay!!

Wendy played around with stamping on the SUPER THIN Mulberry Paper.. Here she used Staz-On Black ink

Wendy tore some of the images from the Mulberry Paper and then used Crystal Lacquer to adhere them to a painted white Wooden Canvas. When she did that, the MULBERRY PAPER DISAPPEARED and the image stayed vibrant!!!

Wendy also stamped some fun natural images in Archival Ink on the Thin Mulberry Paper so that when she does collage with the papers later the inks WON'T BLEED out... Archival Ink is permanent when dry!

You can stamp and Heat Emboss on 3 of these WONDERFUL translucent papers!!

Thick Vellum
Dura-Lar Wet Media Film
Dura-Lar Matte Film

Vellum has quite a bit of Tooth to it... so it has a rougher-feeling than the Dura-Lar. When you stamp and Heat-Emboss it will WANT TO CURL so make sure your Heat-Gun is nice and hot before you heat-emboss!

The Dura-Lar Wet Media Film LOOKS like Acetate but YOU CAN EMBOSS ON IT!!! You can also use dye-based markers on the Wet Media Film!! It also holds embossing beautifully.. just make sure to USE AN EMBOSSING PREP PAD before you emboss otherwise the Embossing Powder will stick everywhere!!

One of our FAVORITE PAPERS to use for Heat Embossing is the Matte Dura-Lar .. the Matte Dura-Lar is SO SMOOTH and it embosses WONDERFULLY!!

You can combine Dura-Lar Matte and Wet Media Film to do Multi-Step Stamping as well!!

I love the look of the Dura-Lar Wet Media Film here... we stamped and Heat-Embossed the Wings and used Tombow Markers to color the wings

Here, we did a combination of Dura-Lar Matte and Wet Media Film... the effect is wonderful!!

Gluing down just the middle of the Dragonfly and popping up the wings really makes the image come to life!

I LOVE this overlay art piece Wendy created!!!

First, Wendy used her Alocohol Inks to colorize the Translucent Papers like Stained Glass!!
Wendy stamped the new Nature Walk image stamps from Darkroom Door onto the Wet Media Film Dura-Lar using Black Staz-On ink
Then, Wendy used the Black Glaze Pen to add doodles and swirls to the papers
Next, Wendy cut out the new Hero Arts Butterfly Die-Cut out of black card stock and pasted it down.. it looks like stained glass when you look at the pieces through the light!

Wendy then created a Tri-Fold out of card stock and then sandwiched the pieces of Vellum, Matte Dura-Lar, and Wet Media Dura-Lar between another card stock Tri-Fold.

When the light passes through it you can REALLY see the colors!!

When the Tri-Fold is closed, you get this really cool card with overlays...

But when you open it up.. The colors COME TO LIFE!!!!

I am always so impressed with what you can create with the products we carry here at the store!!

Stop by to see us to get inspired! We would love to see you!

360-647-9663

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Distressed Techniques

Bullet and Dot-Grid Journals

Tuesday with Wendy, March 5th

Weaving and Knots

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