Category: Watercolor

Wet and Matte Dura-Lar

8/4/2018

When the Rep from Graphix came out to demonstrate products a couple weeks ago, we had a LOT of fun learning about the Wet Dura-Lar and Matte Dura-Lar

Wet Dura-Lar

This paper LOOKS like Acetate but is SO MUCH BETTER!!

You can use markers or watercolors or pens... it all dries on the Wet Dura-Lar!! HOW COOL IS THAT?!

The Rep showed us what you can do with overlays... in the pictures below, look how he used 2 pieces of Wet Dura-Lar to add color or add shadow... and when the pieces are overlaid they create a stunning flower bouquet!!

(There is a piece of plain, white paper placed behind the Wet Dura-Lar so you can see the vibrant colors)

Check out this idea where he created a beautiful country side!! Again, he used 2 pieces of Wet Dura-Lar AND a piece of white card stock.

He watercolored a quick country side, THEN he used one piece of Wet Dura-Lar to add richer colors and the other piece of Wet Dura-Lar to add the lines

What a clever idea!!!

Matte Dura-Lar

Matte Dura-Lar is a synthetic paper that is SO SMOOTH!!!! It LOOKS like vellum.. but is SO MUCH BETTER!!

The Rep drew a picture of his daughter.. the colored pencils he used just glide across the surface!!

I love how you can really create beautful shadow effects.. You can color on the back AND front of the Matte Dura-Lar so you can create light and dark tones of the same colors!! (Like the Purple that you see below, notice how the colors are muted)

Some people have been looking for carbon-transfer paper.. and although we DON'T carry THAT product.. you can achieve the same idea with Matte Dura-Lar!

-Use a pencil (or graphite) to scribble on the backside of a piece of Matte Dura-Lar
-Place a piece of white paper or white card stock down on your desk and overlay the piece of Matte Dura-Lar onto the paper GRAPHITE SIDE DOWN
-Use a pen to draw your image, making sure that the graphite/pencil scribble is underneath your design so that the image will fully transfer
-Remove the Matte Dura-Lar and see your image transferred onto your paper!!

There is SO MUCH you can do with Dura-Lar!! Come by the store to get your own!!

See you soon!!

360-647-9663

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What's Wendy Up To?

5/26/2018

Every Quarter, we do a "What's Wendy Up To?" demonstration so you can see what is inspiring Wendy these days!!

This is what has been inspiring her most recently!

Wendy has been playing around with the new Apoxie Clay!! This product is AMAZING. The 2-part clay mixes together and dries HARD AS A ROCK in just 24 hours!

Wendy used some of the new Silicone Molds and showed us how to imprint the clay.. then she used Pearl-ex powders to colorize them.. just WOW!

Wendy was also showing us how she has been playing around with the new Versafine Clair Inks!!

Using Nuvo Blending Sponges and one of the new Stencils from Joggles, she showed how you can get this soft blended effect with the stamps...

Also, she has been using FRESH LEAVES to make her own stamps!!
-Just use the Nuvo Blending Sponges to apply the Versafine Clair ink to the leaf
-Then set the leaf on your paper (ink side down) and use a paper towel behind the leaf to massage the ink onto the paper.

This opens up a whole world of stamps!! ANY LEAF can be a stamp! What a great idea!!

We LOVE Black Glaze Pens here at the store... and Wendy has been playing around with them a LOT in her new Watercolor Journal from Shizen

Check out just HOW FUN these doodles are!! All of these were done Free Hand.. yes, Wendy is just THAT talented!!

Here she used Watercolors to add some color.. this is SO BEAUTIFUL and vibrant!!!

To get this VIBRANT effect, spritz your watercolor palette with water and THEN start painting. Because the colors are already activated, you get these beautiful, vibrant colors. Neat technique! AND the Glaze Pens are waterproof.. so the lines won't move when Wendy watercolored the image.

Join us for Demo EVERY WEDNESDAY!!

12pm to 1pm here at the store!

Tuesday with Wendy, April 10th

4/10/2018

This week for Wendy's card making class, it was all about using stencils!!

We have been getting in a lot of new stencils recently.. so for class Wendy designed 3 cards using the stencils in different ways.

Check out how fun the cards are this week!!

To start, the first card is made using this new leaf stamp from Fred B. Mullett, Salal Lines, the Tim Holtz String Stencil, and the ALL NEW Hero Arts Liquid Watercolors

To make the card:

Stamp the leaf image TWICE with Versamark ink and emboss with Detail White Embossing Powder on white card stock
Using the new Hero Arts Liquid Watercolors and a Waterbrush, watercolor over the leaf images. Wendy used these beautiful purple, blues and green tones to create these gorgeous color combinations (Wendy only placed a couple droplets of the Liquid Watercolor into the palette and diluted SOME of the colors so she had dark tones and light tones of each color)
Then, Wendy used the String Stencil and layed it on top of the leaf images. Using the Waterbrush again, she just swiped the color across so that the String pattern transferred onto the background of the leaves
Next, she took a piece of Blue Mesh Ribbon and CUT IT IN HALF so you end up with 2 narrow, long strips. She put a piece of mesh above and below the leaves so it framed them nicely and used double-sided tape to adhere the image down on a green card stock card base

Check out how fun this card is!!

This next card was an easy one to make and is a lovely card for a friend!

Wendy used the new Tim Holtz Stencil, Code and the new Altenew stamp set, Simple Flowers

To make the card:

First, stamp the sentiment in Versamark ink and emboss with Carnelian Embossing Powder on white card stock
Next, using the Code Stencil and Finger Daubers, stencil just at the bottom of the card. Wendy used 4 colors of Distress Oxide inks (Worn Lipstick, Carved Pumpkin, Wilted Violet, and Peeled Paint). Students had the option of using one or more of the colors to do the stenciling.. using Finger Daubers to apply the ink evenly
Then, Wendy used the Tim Holtz Platform to arrange the Simple Flowers stamps. She inked up the stamp using the SAME 4 Distress Oxide inks. Bringing the stamp pad DIRECTLY to the stamps, students were able to get a nice saturation of color for their flowers
Then, to finish the card, Wendy used a strip of Red Double Dot paper by BoBunny and CUT IT IN HALF lengthwise (just like we did with the ribbon in the last card) and framed the flowers by placing a strip on either side.
Wendy finished the card by using double-sided tape to adhere it to a purple card base

What a BEAUTIFUL card!!

The last card in the series was made using the new Impression Obsession stamp, Elephant Scene and 2 ATC Stencils from Joggles, Dot-Dash and Daggers

To make the card:

Stamp the Elephant Scene stamp out on Aged Astroparche paper with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink and emboss with Clear Bark Embossing Powder
Then, using the Daggers Stencil first, overlay the stencil and use a Jumbo Dauber to ink the stencil. Wendy used the Distress Ink Stormy Sky
Next, she did the same process with the Dot-Dash stencil and used the Distress ink Rusty Hinge and a Finger Dauber to apply the ink
To frame out the image, she once again used a piece of ribbon and CUT IN HALF lengthwise to create 2 narrow strips which she used above and below the Elephant Scene and adhered it to a textured backgound paper that had the same colors in it as the inks we used (blue and orange)
She mounted the entire piece onto a nice, soft blue card stock using double-sided tape.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this card!! The movement and textures just make it POP!!

Give us a call if you would like to sign up for the NEXT card making class with Wendy! It will be offered on Tuesday, April 24th.

360-647-9663

White Embossing and Watercolor Resist

1/20/2018

We had TONS of fun at Demo this week!! Elli was the demonstrator and we learned all sorts of fun ideas to do with White Embossing Powder and Watercolor Resist.

The technique:

Stamp an image with Versamark Ink onto white paper, cover the image with White Embossing Powder, shake off the excess, and heat set the image using a Heat Gun.

What you are left with is just a glossy-looking image on white paper.

--NOW THE FUN PART--

You can use a variety of different kinds of watercolor products to "Reveal" the image ..
Below are the most popular watercolor products we carry

Distress Watercolor Crayons
Standard Watercolor Set
Colorburst, powdered Watercolors

Elli pre-stamped and embossed several images and then used a variety of different watercolor techniques to make the images *come to life*

The Distress Watercolor Crayons are a fun one...

How to make the Card:

Stamp and emboss in white on white card stock. Just color across the page, coloring over the embossed image, and then use a wet paper towel or baby wipe to swipe across the paper.. the colors magically blend together and your image appears!

The little Girlie Bot stamp below is from Impression Obsession and is *BRAND NEW*

We carry several sets of Distress Watercolor Crayons.. just pick a stamp and a favorite crayon set and you've got yourself an easy card with a GREAT appearance!

One of our FAVORITE watercolor products to use is Colorburst. This powdered watercolor is activated with water.

To make the card:

Stamp and emboss in white on white card stock. Spritz the paper with water, sprinkle Pthalo Green, Indigo, and Ultramarine Colorburst on the paper, spritz more water, and WATCH THE FEATHERS APPEAR!!

The stamp shown below is Two Feathers and is made by Stampotique

This is one of the easiest ideas for doing watercolor with white emboss resist..

Stamp the image or images on white card stock and emboss with white powder. Then, do a quick "Watercolor Wash" over the entire paper and then, using the SAME COLORS as you used for the wash, color in the image. This will make the image stand out and appear darker while it also matches the background it's on.

If you notice on the heart image above, there is a distressed white border.. this is ALSO done with white embossing powder!

To make the card:

Rub the edge of the Versamark Ink Pad around the edge of the paper. Then, stamp your desired image in the middle. Apply white embossing powder to the entire image and border, then heat-set. Finally, use a standard Watercolor Set, use 2 shades of red to do a light watercolor wash, and then detail watercolor the heart.

This next card is SO EASY to make but looks STUNNING all by itself!! This is done by just using a standard Watercolor Set in rainbow order.

This leaf image is just BEAUTIFUL! I Love this sentiment as well..

Shown are the images Simple Things and Wispy Leaves Large which are both stamps by Impression Obsession

Check out this idea!

Elli wanted to create a crescent moon... easy enough to do if you have a circle punch! Cut out the circle, then scoot it over the cut-out and tape back down! Now you have a crescent moon stencil!

To make the card:

Trace the moon using a Versamark Pen onto white card stock and color in the moon using the same pen. Stamp the Boy Swing image below the moon and then emboss with white embossing powder the entire image.

Use Colorburst to make the background. Once it is dry, flick Bleedproof White ink across the paper to make the appearance of stars in a galaxy!

There are SO MANY THINGS you can do with this technique!!

Secret Messages!

Themed Cards!

Valentine's Day ideas!

We offer Free Demo EVERY WEDNESDAY! The theme is always different..

The group of gals who attend each week are such a hoot.. we have a great time EVERY week.. come join us for the NEXT Demo, Wednesday January 24th as we demonstrate ideas with Alcohol Inks!

Questions?!? Give us a call anytime!
360-647-9663

Tuesday with Wendy, August 8th

8/15/2017

This week for Tuesday with Wendy the cards were very fun and artistic!!

Each student received a packet to make their cards. Wendy pre-cuts all the paper down to size and, after a bit of instruction, students are free to work on their cards!!

Check out how fun they are!!

This week, Wendy used 2 new stamps that had come in over the last month or so.

The 2 cards (pictured above on the left side) were made from the same stamp. It is a new one out from Stampendous called Decor Leaves. The stamp is 8" x 8" in size and is a cling-style stamp (which would fit nicely on the new Tim Holtz Platform that we *JUST* got back in stock!)

The technique:

Ink up your leaf stamp using 4 colors of ink. Here, Wendy used Versafine Habanero FIRST and then went back over some of the leaves in Imperial Purple, Olympic Green, and Crimson Red.

Stamp the image on Solar White cardstock, use Clear Embossing Powder, then heat-set it using a heat gun

Next, Wendy started to play!! She used a couple different mediums to create the "splatter" effect.

She sprinkled down a *tiny bit* of Colorburst powder down on the craft mat (Yellow Ochre, Burnt Orange, and Terre Verte)
Using a spritz bottle, she sprayed the craft mat with water activating the colors
Then she placed the stamped paper LEAF SIDE DOWN and ran the paper across the craft mat

Next, on the same piece of paper and using the SAME technique from above:

Apply 4 colors of the Distress Oxide inks to the craft mat (Lucky Clover, Wild Honey, Peeled Paint, and Wilted Violet)
Spritz with water
Place paper on craft mat LEAF SIDE DOWN and move the paper across the craft mat

The results are STUNNING!!

Now.. the CREATIVE PART!!

Wendy told the gals to start creating.. and boy was I impressed!!

Some of the ladies kept their paper white and layered with just the colors of paper and ribbon provided.. check out what Kathy did!! She even colorized a matching envelope!! LOVE IT!!!

Wendy encouraged doing a weaving technique or fussy-cutting out a leaf to give the cards some dimension..

Each student created completely different cards!! It was really fun to see!

After the 2 artsy cards, Wendy made a simple card using a new stamp from Impression Obsession, Snow Birds

Now, this image was intended to be made into a winter card... but Wendy, being as creative as she is, made this into a Spring or Summer card!!

Easy to do:

When inking up her stamp, she just placed a tiny mask (in this case, just a tiny piece of paper) over the snowman in the background!
Then, Wendy layered with some patterned floral paper, water colored the blue birds, and placed some small flowers around the edge.

She used the tiny flowers from the Hydrangea Set, also by Impression Obsession

Just like before, when the students water colored their birds, each card came out DIFFERENT!! Isn't it fun to see all the different styles of coloring techniques?!?

It's surprising how each person's cards turned out so unique.. I love classes like this!!

We would LOVE for you to join us in our next class!!
August 29th
The class is $10 and you receive a packet to make 3 cards

3 time slots available:
11:00am
1:30pm
6:00pm

Give us a call or come in to sign up!!
360-647-9663

May 9th, Tuesday with Wendy

5/9/2017

Spring is in Full Bloom here at the store!!

This week for Tuesday with Wendy, the cards are all the same theme.. Butterflies!!
Check out these gorgeous cards...

The first card, pictured above on the left, was inspired from the *brand new* Butterfly washi tape from Little B. This tape was SO popular it flew right off the shelf!! But not before she made this beautiful card..

This card is made layering Handmade and patterned papers to create this layered effect. The inside is so sweet with this saying from Impression Obsession... It's Up to You

This next card was just TOO COOL. Upon first glance, it appears as if only part of the image has been cut out.. but as you look closer you can really see the technique!!

Wendy used 2 pieces of black paper on this card. She then cut the Butterfly 2 (by Impression Obsession) out of one sheet of black paper and then embossed that sheet with the Sizzix embossing folder, Tiny Dots.

Using a second Butterfly (She cut it out of a separate piece of paper) she over-layed that on the card, matching up the die-cut with the reverse cut-out image. She used the Metallic Watercolor set to paint in-between the butterfly wings.

She used the cut-out Butterfly (from the original piece of black paper) on the top of the card, only gluing the center down. This is what creates the 3D effect.

Isn't this card STUNNING?!

This last card used a bit of ribbon to create movement! Wendy used the Butterflies set from Bo Bunny. She stamped out the images (this is a multi-step stamping technique), fussy cut them out, and then popped them up on the bit of ribbon!!

I love the *pop* of color with the aqua-colored ribbon from May Arts!

Next card class is on Tuesday, May 30th! Cost is just $10 and you leave with 3 cards! *You never know what the cards will be until you arrive at class!*

Give us a call to sign up.. 360-647-9663

Tuesday with Wendy, April 11th

4/14/2017

Card class this week was so much fun, AS ALWAYS!!

These are the 3 cards that Wendy designed and I just LOVE them!!!

Each of these cards were made using different techniques.. I really enjoyed the different styles!!

The first card, pictured above on the far left, was made using a *brand new* stamp from Stampendous using another Laurel Burch design, Rainbow Safari

This card is DEFINITELY my favorite one!!!! Wendy used handmade paper from India to make the background and new Ombre Sequins from Hero Arts to accent!!

Note in the photo below how she created the background using the 2 pieces of handmade paper, one on the top of the image and one below it.. that is a great technique for only using up a little bit of patterned paper! I love how she matched up the 2 sheets so that the pattern is consistent on the top and bottom of the card.

This next card was inspired by this new die-cut recently out from Sizzix, Lantern

The idea with this die-cut is that you can cut it out 4 times, back it with a sheet of vellum, and create a little lantern!!

Wendy loved the design of this die-cut and decided to design a card instead. The image that cuts out is BEAUTIFUL!!! I just love all the little intricate flowers that pop up, and Wendy used mini pearl dot stickers in the middle of the flowers to make it even more elegant...

She backed the card with a sweet polka dot paper and this tone-on-tone, monochromatic look is just STUNNING!!! This card is much softer than the other cards in this series.. and would make a great Mother's Day card, wedding card, anniversary or baby card... the possibilities are endless with this one!!!

In her sample, Wendy used a die-cut from Dee's Distinctively.. Fathers, Mothers Day

This last card was created using an interesting technique... it is a collage style.

A couple weeks back Wendy took a Fish Printing class and was so inspired by what she created that she had to share some of the ideas in class this week!

The fish you see in these photos are ones designed by Fred B. Mullett.. and all of his fish stamps are created using real fish! So these stamps truly look realistic!

The technique: Wendy used 2 different weights of Mulberry paper. On the thicker of the 2 papers, she spritzed water, then a couple different colors of sprays. *Because the paper is wet, the ink moves freely creating the soft watercolor effect*

Then, she stamped and embossed fish onto the lighter weight Mulberry paper. she used a little bit of PVA glue to adhere the pieces, and in doing so, some of the color from the paper behind leaked through!!

This effect is just too cool... And just like in Fish Printing, she did the eyes last! She went in with a little bit of colored pencil (Prismacolor works best!) and added a tiny touch of white gel pen for shine on the eye!!

Wow, what cool prints! The best part was.. each one is a little different!!

Stop by the store to see us, these cards are worth it to see in person!!

Join us for next Tuesday with Wendy on April 25th .. the fee is just $10 and you leave with 3 fully made cards!!
A great activity for you and your friend, a mom and daughter activity, or just for fun!! Join us, we have SO MUCH FUN!!!

Tuesday with Wendy, Feb 28

3/4/2017

This week's Tuesday with Wendy class was SO FUN and every single card came out more unique than the next!!

Wendy decided to try a new technique this week... and some of the students were a little apprehensive at first... but as the class started and everyone got creative the works of art CAME TO LIFE!!

The process starts by using sprays, stamps, watercolors, and color bursts to create a background and using stencils to create the patterns!!

This technique is one of Wendy's favorites (she's taught classes in the past) and is called creating a Motherboard.

Below, this student stamped images from Fred Mullet and Stampotique and then went in later with the Canson watercolor set and stencils by Tim Holtz

I LOVED watching this process!! Each work of art was completely different... and they all turned out so beautiful!!!

After students created the large piece of artwork... they cut it up!! (After it dried of course! They used heat guns to speed up the process)

They used strips of the art they created and made a variety of geometric shapes to make some cards....

And with others they used the artwork as a background!!

Wendy taught the class how to do stencil paste embossing...

She also used the die cut shape, Celebrate, by Elizabeth Craft... I love this font so much!!

These gals were SO CREATIVE!!

I loved how they mixed and matched the techniques.... Every group of cards was different!!

These were the ones we kept for the store... but really, you should stop by to see these in person! Pictures just don't do these justice.. they are way more stunning in person!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for class this week!!

Call to sign up for the next class (March 14th!)
360-647-9663

Art Impressions Tri-Fold Cards

6/28/2016

The Art Impressions Tri-fold cards are SO CUTE.
When you first see the design, it can be slightly confusing on how to create the card. Today I am going to show you step by step how to create this beautiful effect!!

You will need one of the tri-fold sets. I decided to use this set from Art Impressions (Left), Blessings to You.

Along with the stamp set, you will also need:
A home die cut machine
Tombo markers in varying colors
Waterbrush
Pop dots
Acetate
Black waterproof stamp ink
White paper

First, you will need a piece of paper , measuring 4 1/4" x 11, score it so it folds into thirds, so roughly at 3 1/2" and about 7 1/4"
Then, stamp your images, one on the inside on the middle panel, the next stamp on the OUTSIDE of the right panel, and the last stamp on the OUTSIDE of the left panel and use the die cuts (which are included in this set) to create the little peek-a-boo window.
Then, use the pop dots to create dimension. I used 4 little pop dots in total, using 2 on the right side and 2 on the left side of the image with the lavendar sprig. This helps create that dimension.

I also stamped the image with the roses on a second piece of white paper. I cut them out to create a grouping that leans left and a grouping that leans right.

Next, I prepared to watercolor. Take the piece of acetate and color directly on it with your markers. Use the waterbrush to add a little bit of water to activate the color.. then watercolor like normal!

*To create the darker colored areas I just colored directly onto the paper and used the waterbrush to blend it in. *
After I painted the 2 rose bunches, I attached the groupings to the pop dots so that they are covered up.