Queen Kat Designs CHA releases!

Okay, I am TOTALLY in love with this wing stamp!

Sure, it's not the first we've released at Queen Kat Designs, considering that I designed two of them, but this one ... YEAH! This is one of the Queen Herself's first hand-drawn sketch stamps, and it turned out utterly awesome. It's got some great flow to it, and is wonderfully inspiring.

Don't ask me where the winged frog came from. I picked up a set of the dies on sale from Sizzix, and when I got the heart ... well, it had to be done. I could blame the fever, but frankly, this is just too much fun. Now I have to figure out how to take some good indoor pictures without the freakin yellow cast to them. GRRR.



See? See? I can do SOMETHING normal, even when sick.

If you adore wings, and can't get enough of wing stamps, check out Queen Kat Designs for all of our fabulously fun sets of wings to complete your collections!

Double Tagged! Dogpile on the Pooka!

Yikes, girlies! Juliet and Suzann both pounced me!

Be warned -- influenza is still giving me the rampant giggly Stoooooooopids, so this could be quite a ride.

Suzann's Tag:

The Middle Name Game!

These are the rules:-You must post the rules before you give your answers. You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name. Each fact must begin with that letter. If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name. After you've been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers. At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details.)


Melissa ... yeah. Could I steal my daughter's and use Siobhan instead?

M - Mother. I'm Mom to two daughters, five cats, one dog, and all of my children's friends. I get as many phone calls from the eldest's friends as she does.

E - Eccentric. Oh yeah, that's me all right.

L - Lazy, Listless, Loopy, Lethargic ... can you tell I'm sick?

I - cuz it's INFLUENZA bringing me down, oh yeah, oh yeah, bayyyyybeee....

S - Sick, STOOOPID, Silly ... right, this is getting too silly. Stop it!

S - Strength. Survival. Whatever it is, I've been told I have it in abundance to continue to cope with my poor health. Me, I call it Stubborn.

A - I love my Animals. There's something wonderfully unconditional about their affection, even from the cats.


Jules' Tag:

The rules for this meme are:
(1) Link to the person that tagged you.
(2) List the rules on your blog.
(3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
(4) Tag 5 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
(5) Let each random person know they have been tagged.

Actually, this one is perfect right now, since fever makes me about as random as I can possibly get. You've been warned.

1 -- I have a habit of drumming my fingernails on any book I'm reading, driving my husband up the walls. I don't even notice I'm doing it.

2 -- My body may be a temple, but even goddesses feel the need to redecorate. I have no problems with body modification -- I've lost count of the number of tattoos that I have, I have 7 holes in my right ear, 2 in my left, and one in my nose.

3 -- I collect Techniques. I want to know HOW to do things. New techniques and skills thrill me, but then I have a habit of getting bored after I learn them and wander on to the next new thing. Thus, you'll often see spurts of one thing, then nothing on it for a while.

4 -- This is why I have a huge selection of Tools. I own 2 enkle looms, one of which I turned into a small tapestry loom, quilling tools, soldering iron, butane torches, propane torches, die cut machines, tatting tools, two sewing machines, knitting needles, drop spindles, felting needles, crochet hooks ... etc. I have tools in abundance, so many that I need a separate room JUST for my tools.

5 -- I can sleep when I'm dead. I've had chronic insomnia since I was 12. I turn 40 this year. That's a LONG time to not sleep properly.

6 -- My hair is currently Fire Engine red. Because.


NOW .... those who are to be tagged, I salute you!

Amyrantha, my Moonrose!
Cindy -- the Moonie One's partner in crime
Bev -- the Grannie with the mostest, who never posts enough anyway
Tanis -- twisted minds must stick together, bayyyybe -- for the monsters! Think of the monsters!
La Stephanie! I'm glad I found ya, lady. You're neat!

And I am SO not tagging one for Every Single Letter of my middle name -- that's my parent's fault, no one else should take the heat for that! :D

Weekender -- Sick leave

Ain't happening this weekend.

I spent yesterday unconscious and incoherent, running between a 102 and a 104* temperature. It's already 101* today at 10 am. I can barely remember my own name or how to type, much less try to figure out a project for this weekend.

So the Weekenders will return next weekend, and cross your fingers that I don't end up in hospital with pneumonia.

This is Pooka, last survivor of the Nostromo ... signing off.

Random Babble-0-tron

So, for those of you that have spouses on the road, be warned. My husband works out on oil rigs, and apparently he's exposed to influenza strains that are not Strain of the Year in the flu shots. Cough. Hack. Wheeze. Whimper.

Despite the cold, my dog is out in the backyard trying to herd squirrels. You can't tell a Corgi that squirrels aren't herdable. She just won't listen.

First thunderstorm of the year last night, so spring in Tornado Alley looks to be a real doozy. Felimid is usually oblivious to thunder, but last night, he crawled up into my arms and whimpered. It was LOUD.

The new kitten is fitting in well -- perhaps too well. Last night, he even had my anti-social Siamese playing tag with him around the house. When all four of the boys got going, I considered locking myself in the bathroom. That's a LOT of feline weight for them to throw around, since Oz is a huge huge cat, and Felimid is Jabba the Butt. Everyone but the crotchety "Scrappy Squirrel" Manx plays with him -- and she hates everybody. Cranky old girl.

I know, I know, another post from me without pictures? I'll fix that.


Tag swap at Scrapbook.com. The collar tags on the central cats are done in shrink plastic (and have a cat face on them, natch). The additional faces added are cut from a large cat collage stamp, and attached with foam strips.

More tag swap stuff. I need to get pictures of the last two sets.

Any "No Reservations" fans out there? I adore Anthony Bourdain (perhaps it could be called an obsession, after all, I own all his books, including the Mafia fiction), and he's way too entertaining on TV.

Last night, however, the show was rather emotional. Tony visited New Orleans, discussing the aftermath of Katrina. The only other show that had been this tense before was the Beirut episode. Even seeing Tony finally sit down to talk to Emeril, who has been the butt of SO many of Tony's jokes, wasn't as entertainingly fun as expected. Very serious show, but worth a watch.

QKD Round Robin Blog Party .... Prize!

We have a winner for my stop on the QKD Blog Party Tour!

ScrapAloha is the overall winner for my three days of the party. I will need to get all your contact information so that we can get your prize to you, and nice job, lady!

I have a condolence prize as well, for Effort Above And Beyond ...

Stephanie Earls, who, despite being on a trip, went out and bought shrink plastic for the last challenge, and tried everything short of the waffle iron at her hotel to try to make the stuff work. That's some crazy crafting there, that's for sure! I'll be sending you a little something special, since anyone who goes through that much effort deserves a warm fuzzy!

Congratulations to our winner, and thank you for playing along. I really enjoyed seeing what everyone came up with.

Weekender -- The Great Shink!

Shrink plastic -- it's not just for kids!

For those of you that haven't played with the stuff since you were a child, you'd be amazed at what all is out now. Shrinky Dinks is no longer the only company producing it, and frosted white is no longer the only colour you can get, oh no.

There's now black, completely clear, a very white white, and even some earth toned shrink plastic.

And you don't have to use an oven anymore, not with heat guns being sold everywhere. They're faster, more efficient, and make it easier for the plastic to still be warm enough to shape and mold as you like.

You can use your laser or ink-jet printers on shrink plastic! There are, however, a few tricks to doing it (unless you spend more money on printer-friendly plastic):

-- Use a very fine sandpaper, and working in only one direction, sand the slick back of the plastic, otherwise, it won't feed into your printer.
-- Make SURE you put it in the right direction -- if it prints on that slick back, it will never dry and will rub right off, making cutting it out impossible.
-- All colours intensify when the plastic shrinks, so you need to alter chosen images in a program like Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop. Increase the brightness of the image and lighten it, or the end result after shrinking is mud. Try to avoid overly complicated images for the same reason.
-- Make sure you let it dry after coming out of the printer, and do not touch it for a while, or it will smear.

One thing to remember when working with shrink plastic is to always read the instructions. Each brand shrinks a bit differently, so for some, you may have up to 75% shrinkage, others only 50%. This can affect your final piece. If you aren't sure, you can make your own scale to determine the final size. Take a ruler, and copy the marks out onto a strip of shrink plastic -- make sure you get inches and half-inches. Then shrink the strip, and use that against the original ruler to figure out your size.

Another important detail is corners. Sharp corners get even sharper once it has shrunk, which can make for uncomfortable jewelry. Try to round all corners, even slightly, to prevent this. When cutting your piece, make sure that you cut evenly and smoothly -- any tears or angled cuts will be overly obvious after shrinkage, and some will even become dangerous if you aren't careful.

And if you plan to string it in any way, PUNCH YOUR STRINGING HOLES BEFORE YOU SHRINK IT! Yes, you can TRY to drill holes afterwards, but chances are the piece will just shatter or crack. The hole will shrink as well, so use a larger punch to make the hole.

Cutting can be done with scissors, or you can use large punches (remember, they shrink), and even some die-cut machines to cut your shapes. I don't recommend a craft knife, because of the potential for tearing and slippage. Shrink plastic definitely cuts differently than paper.

Can't find shrink plastic locally? You can actually make your own. Many clear plastic take-out containers (especially from salad bars) that have a 2 code on the bottom can be used to create shrink plastic shapes. However, because of the plastic fumes, I do NOT recommend doing this in any oven not dedicated to crafting, and you have to work in a very well ventilated area. A heat gun used outside is far safer.

More Tips for using shrink plastic:

-- Always work on a heat-proof surface (I have a huge marble tile I picked up cheap at a home improvement store that I use for my heat gun, soldering, and even torch work on PMC), because these things get HOT.
-- If you sand the slick side, it will help prevent sticking. You can also use cornstarch or baby powder. Big pieces do have a tendency to stick, but most of the time, if you just keep heating it down, it will even out.
--You can get creative and make a frame that will stop any of the flipping around by taking some metal screen mesh, attaching it to a frame of cardboard, and cover the cardboard edges with aluminum foil. Make sure you have a thick layer of cardboard around the frame, two pieces thick is perfect, and just place that over your piece and heat it through the mesh. There won't be any flipping around. Me, I just make a small aluminum foil "box" and heat it in there -- the foil makes it shrink faster, and the sides of the box keeps the piece from flipping around all over the work surface.
-- Do not use a metal tool, like an embossing stylus, to hold the piece still through the hole. The metal will get hot, distort the hole, and the plastic will stick to it. Also, do not use a large tool, like a thick paintbrush, because the hole will shrink around it and be impossible to remove without distortion.
-- If you heavily sand the slick side, you can easily colour both sides to match, creating a more even look in the final piece.

I've tried just about every method possible to colour shrink plastic. Some work better than others.

-- Permanent inks will dry, making it easier to cut the piece out without smearing.
-- Pigment and dye inks don't like to dry, but if you give them a VERY quick and gentle heating, from a distance, it should dry it enough for you to cut them out without a problem.
-- Alcohol inks work great on shrink plastic! This looks particularly nice with pieces that have been die-cut.
-- Markers work, but again, permanent markers are best for a speedy dry that won't smear.
-- Coloured pencils are always your friend. Even watercolour pencils will work. However, metallic pencils can end up with a muddy look, so use sparingly.
-- Paint pens generally work well, and a white fine-tip pen is great for adding detail over coloured areas, but paints that will bubble with heat can cause a nasty look on the final piece -- test first.
-- I have some permanent pearlescent liquid acrylic calligraphy inks that work nicely on shrink plastic.
-- You can even use mica powders/pigments like Pearl-Ex or Perfect Pearls dusted over the plastic. Colours do intensify, so you don't have to really slather the stuff on heavily.

Now, while you can rubber stamp onto the surface BEFORE shrinking, did you know you can do it afterwards while the plastic is still very hot, and get a look similar to stamping into embossing powder? Yep! The look is more subtle on shrink plastic (and looks fabulous on black), but you can rub metallic rubons over the raised areas to bring the image out further.

Colouring books and clip art books make great sources for images to trace onto the plastic. Embroidery pattern books work well. If you are feeling really brave, or have the patience, some clip art books of large, intricate ornaments can be absolutely stunning.

Shrink plastic images make great custom dimensional charms for scrapbook pages, cards, and ATCs. They make fantastic custom buttons, not only for paper projects, but for use on purses, bags, and clothing. Once shrunk, they are really quite sturdy, and even work as pet tags on collars -- and then you can make another for the pet's pages!

You can also make some creative, custom jewelry using shrink plastic and some imagination -- and planning. Charm bracelets, earrings, pendants -- there's no limit, and multiple pieces can be glued together (I use E6000 or two-part epoxy) for layered effects that make gorgeous pendants.

The Project -- Spiral Earrings

{Materials}

Shrink plastic
Heat gun
Rubber stamps, or images of choice (optional for this project)
Coloured pencils, markers, mica pigments
2 jump rings
2 earring hooks or posts with loops
A thick-handled paintbrush, or mandrel

{Directions}

1. Cut two long strips of shrink plastic, approximately 1 1/2" wide, and 6-8" long.

2. Colour as desired -- keep in mind that the final piece will be a spiral.

3. Punch a hole in the top of each strip.

4. Work with only one strip at a time -- you can't do this well in an oven, I recommend a heat gun, because once the piece has shrunk, you have to work fast.

5. Unless you have asbestos fingertips like I do (from years of wire-work and working with hot glue guns, PMC, polymer clay, and soldering), some sort of heat-resistant glove will be helpful. Keep the heat gun on the piece (you can't over-shrink it) until you are ready to wrap.

6. Leaving the very top with the hole slightly above the end of your chosen mandrel, QUICKLY wrap the rest of the strip around the mandrel. It must be still hot to do this -- but you can always use the heat gun to soften it again if it cools too much while you're wrapping.

7. Repeat with the other strip.

8. If desired, use a metal leafing pen to gild the edges of the spiral (try to match the metal of the earring findings, or get creative and do gradations of metal colour down the edges).

9. Attach a jump ring through the hole on each piece, and attach to the earring finding.

This same project can be done with strips of metal (copper is nice, especially if you suspend it over ammonia for a while to change the colour, or use heat to alter the copper's surface), or even polymer clay, but shrink plastic makes a very fun custom spiral.

You can do this project with your kids -- have them do the colouring, you handle the shrinking and wrapping -- and let them have a great handmade pair of earrings. This is a lot of fun at girls birthday parties, and gives them something they made to take home.

If you haven't played with shrink plastic in years, I hope this inspires you to give it a try again!

Weekender -- pause for Station ID

Since the Queen Kat Designs blog party is in its last days here on my blog, I'm postponing the currently scheduled Weekender project.

I will announce winners of this stop on the blog tour Monday, after all of the last entries come in tomorrow, so be sure to check back to see who won the stamp set (and possibly other goodies!).

With any luck, I'll get the Weekender project up tomorrow. The supply list that you may need to get ahead of time is simple:

Shrink plastic.

How's that for a preview hint? :D

Challenge Three: Shrink it!

Since I am a little late getting this last challenge posted, I'm giving you till Midnight on February 3rd for entries for this one.

I love shrink plastic. Adore it. Have probably more of it than any one person should. But that's not the point.

Your challenge here is simple:

1. Use shrink plastic in a project. At least one piece of shrink plastic must be stamped before shrinking and attaching it to your piece. (extra point for QKD stamps).

2. Finished entries must be linked here by midnight, February 3rd.

Simple, huh?

It could be a mini-diorama, a card, an ATC, a scrapbook page, even jewelry! The point is to play and have fun with this.

Challenge Two: Your Day in History

All right, I'm getting this up early, but since SOMEONE thinks that if I sleep late, I fell off the planet ( :P), I figure I might as well get on with the party while I'm here!

Your Challenge for Day Two ....

Your Day in History. This can be for you, a child, your spouse -- feel free to choose anyone close to you. From there, look up the date they were born for a historical happening. This will be your subject matter for the project. The goal is to create a scrapbook page or birthday card in any size, showcasing news items from that date of birth for the person you chose.

Good sites are:

Today in History
Today in History -- Historynet.com

For example, my baby sister was born on August 27. Krakatoa's violent eruption that tore the volcano apart was on August 27, though 80+ years before her birth.

Rules:

1. The birth date must be on your project, as well as the year/years for the historical happenings.

2. At least one stamp must be used (even if it's alphabet, or month stamps, etc). Bonus points for QKD stamps (we have a lot of great month stamps in the store!)

3. Links to your projects must be posted in this thread by Midnight on February 2nd.

Have fun, and I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Challenge One: Update the Valentine

Remember back in grade school, when everyone passed out those awful generic cards with the trendy characters of the day on them? Sure, Mom bought them for us to use because they were plentiful, and cheap, and most of all, no effort was required to take care of an entire classroom of kids.

But darn, they were boring!

So here's your Challenge of the Day.

1. Using the same single page format (card can be no larger than a standard 3x5 index card), create up to three New And Improved Valentine Cards.

2. You must use at least one stamp on the front (extra points for QKD stamps), and at least two embellishments (ribbon, stickers, buttons, brads, etc).

3. The back is included in designing these cards, and must have the traditional "To" and "From" spaces.

4. Upload the images, and post the link to them in this thread.

If anyone has made it here, I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Round Robin Blog Party Rules

Well, because I overslept today and finally caught up on sick sleep, I seem to have been nudged out of the final spot on this tour.

However, that doesn't mean I'm dropping the ball on my end. So, for those of you that have made your way here anyway, I'm posting some challenges for you.

The basic rules are pretty simple:

1. A maximum of three entries per person, per challenge. Each entry is worth a point towards the final drawing for the free stamps. If I am cut out of this, I will pay for your stamps myself. :D

2. Use of QKD stamps gets extra points towards the drawing.

3. Entries must be posted in each challenge thread by Midnight on February 2, the last day of the challenge.

Simple, huh? Each challenge will have its own additional rules to follow, so sit back, get your paper and adhesive ready, and let's go!

Weekender -- The wire wrap

I am SO hoping this will turn out coherent. This one will be minus pictures unfortunately, because my brain is barely functional enough to do instructions, much less make my hands stop and do another piece right now to demonstrate.

{Materials}

Focal piece (this can be a stone of any shape and size, with or without a hole)
18 gauge wire of choice
20-22 gauge wire of choice (contrasting or matching)
Flush cutters
Chain-nose pliers
Round-nose pliers
Optional: nylon-jaw pliers

{Notes}

-- This works best with a slightly oblong shape, although any shape will work.
-- Try this with all sorts of items - shark's teeth, for example.
-- Copper wire is softer and cheaper for those just starting out, and coated wire is available in a wide range of colours. Don't make sterling wire your first choice unless you've got a lot of practice: the stuff is expensive.
-- Before choosing your wire, test the colours against your focal point to find the best combination.
-- Be -careful- with your pliers. They can mar the metal and leave marks. Tool Magic on the ends rubber-coats to protect wire, or you can wrap them with tape.
-- If your focal piece is small, adjust wire gauges accordingly: the gauges listed are for a relatively large piece. Tiny objects, like a small shark's tooth, require smaller gauge wire so as not to overwhelm and cover the focal piece.

{Directions}

1. To determine the amount of wire needed, work from the coil and GENTLY wrap one strand of wire around the shape, starting with about 3" extra at the top, and matching that on the other side. Cut two pieces of wire to that size. Make sure when you cut, that you leave only flush ends with no sharp points. (the inside of flush cutters is flush, the outside is beveled)

2. Holding the two wires together, determine how much space is needed at the bottom for the "cage" that will hold the focal piece by gently pushing the piece between the wires. You can adjust this later when the twisting starts.

3. There are two options for the sides: you can twist just those two wires together to create the side supports for the cage, or you can wrap another smaller wire around the sides.

Option A: Work on one side at a time.
-- Hold the wire tightly between your fingers at the top of where the cage begins on that side, and separate the wires above that point, twisting them together tightly for 1/2" to 1", depending on the size of your focal piece.
-- Set your focal piece into the bottom of the "cage" to determine placement for the other side; remove, and repeat the twist, being sure to match them up.
-- Return the focal piece to the bottom, and tighten the twists until you know the piece will be secure.

Option B: Again, one side at a time.
-- Take a 4-8" length of your finer gauge wire (dependent on size of focal piece), and tightly wrap it around the two wires above where the top of the cage will begin. Be sure to tuck the loose ends into the wrap so no pointy wires are sticking out. The amount of space you wrap will depend on the size of the focal piece.
-- Set your focal piece into the bottom of the "cage" to determine placement for the other side; remove, and twist the second piece of smaller gauge wire around the two base wires.
-- Odds are, both will be a little loose right now. This is good, as it allows you room for adjustment when placing the focal piece into the cage. When you have placement correct to keep it secure, tighten the coils up by squeezing them against the two wires with your pliers.

4. The focal piece remains in the cage from here out.

5. Tightly work the wires around the focal piece till they meet at the top. You'll have some adjusting and playing with it to make sure it remains secure. The final steps will help you tighten it up.

6. Bend all four wires across the top to make a double X shape.

7. Bring the two back wires to the front, and the two front wires to the back. The two wires now in back will become your bail: the wires in front, decoration.

8. Give each set of wires one good twist at the top of the focal piece to finish tightening it up.

9. It helps to work on the front first, to get the wires out of the way. Starting at the very end of one wire, take your round-nose pliers, and start to coil. You can make the coil as tight or as loose as you want. Once you get it started, you can generally finish it up with your fingers. If you need to use the pliers, be careful not to mar the wire: Hold the wire perpendicular in the pliers, and only use the pliers to hold the wire. Push the wire around the coil with your fingers.

10. Repeat with the other front wire. When the coils are done, press them flat against the front of the piece and arrange them to your liking.

11. Now for the bail. Take one of the back wires, wrap it tightly twice around the other, snip it off with your flush cutters and tuck the loose end between the coil and the focal piece.

12. At the top of the focal piece, use your chain-nose pliers to create a 90* bend in the remaining wire.

13. Switch to your round-nose pliers, and make a loop, folding the bent wire up and over the pliers.

--NOTE: This is a closed bail, so make sure that the loop is large enough to fit over the findings of your chosen necklace. If you want to make interchangeable pendants, it needs to be a large loop. If it will go to a permanent spot, the loop only needs to be as large as the chosen chain/ribbon/leather without findings on the end.

14. Hold the loop closed with your pliers, and wrap the excess wire around the base. Cut off any remaining wire, and tuck the end in tightly.

15. You can take up any slack remaining by twisting the entire bail tightly against the focal piece.

The rose quartz focal piece here actually did have a hole drilled in it, but it was too small for two passes of the 18 gauge wire. I used copper, and gold wire for the accents. My bail was a little sloppy, because my fingers got shaky near the end.

I hope this all makes sense. Feel free to ask any questions for clarification.

Speaking of jewelry ...

Yes, the first Weekender post will be this weekend, but I've been totally forgetting to post a few other pieces.


Apparently I have a little thing for copper. The small swirl links with the crystals above the dragonfly are the chain. The dragonfly is two pieces -- the wings, and the body -- both hammered to give it some texture and dimension. I get compliments every time I wear this piece.


Polymer clay is fun, too! I used a face mold to shape her, with scraps from a butterfly wing cane I made (eyes and forehead), some mica-shift, a bit of translucent, and the blues. Heavy duty glue put her on the backing piece, then I started the rings around it in TINY seed beads. The tiny silver ones are faceted Charlottes.

The face cab is completed here, with several more rings of seed beads, then the daggers over the top. It has great movement with the daggers. This will eventually go on a bracelet.

Sometimes I love chain mail, sometimes I hate it. This is a Hate project. It's a knot-pattern chain, and getting all those rings into the knots made me insane. My daughters want one. They aren't getting one.

Weekender -- Sneak Peek!

Here's a sneak peek at the first Weekender project -- coming this weekend, of course!

It's not a stamping or scrap or cardmaking project this time. Instead, I go back to one of the obsessions that really helped get me into the disaster that my work spaces are today. (And I'll be able to type this without sticky hands if my half-frozen Diet Pepsi will stop trying to explode on my desk)



This is not a complicated project. It just takes a little time, and a few tools, and the results are gorgeous and well worth the effort.

Check back this weekend for a materials list and project instructions!

Blog Party Madness!

Are you enjoying the Queen Kat Designs Round Robin Blog Party?

This particular challenge was hosted by the fabulous and wonderful Sierra Grannie. It's snowing on her, and she wanted COLOR COLOR COLOR to banish the wintertime blues.

... I think this is more colour than I have EVER used on a single card.

I honestly lost track around 35-40 colours. I was too busy building this fluffy bright monster to keep counting. Stamps used are all from Queen Kat Designs.

Get Inked! -- February

The following cards were created using the stamp set and some of the techniques from Queen Kat Designs Get Inked! kit for February.

These may be St Patrick's Day stamps, but traditional I am not. Not a whole lot of glaring green here -- gimme my subtle earthtones! All right, I know, I know -- I'll do something "traditional" eventually.


This is Versamark, and mica powders (Perfect Pearls), with foam tape to raise Greetings off the second layer of green paper. The scanner clearly does not like Perfect Pearls, and this looks muddy. Hey, that's why we make cards -- so we can SEND them to someone and they can see them in person!



Versamark watermarking around the outside bottom layer. The ring of shamrocks was done with two colours of chalk ink, as was Greetings. (No surprise, this completely subtle, non-traditional one is my favourite of the batch.)

Watermarks, anyone? I love how Versamark makes wonderful tone-on-tone background papers. The Luck shamrock is done with Versamark and Perfect Pearls again, then applied using foam tape.

If you haven't signed up to get the kits yet, you need to be ready when the March kits are ready for release. These kits go FAST!

Questioning ...

I know I don't have a lot of readers -- okay, I have maybe one or two reading this blog, but hey, it's really for myself anyway (that's my excuse, and I'm sticking with it).

However, I was thinking about doing a Weekender thing: every weekend, post a technique/project, complete with materials needed, and pictures.

Are the one or two people that actually read this thing interested at all in this?

Get Inked! -- January Technique Peek

This is a sample of what you are missing out on if you haven't signed up yet for the Queen Kat Designs GET INKED! kits.

3-D Embellishments
Suzeanne Peak

{Materials}

Chipboard shapes
Pigment ink
Clear UTEE
Embossing powders
Heat gun
Toothpick

{Handy Hints}
-- The surface you emboss on must be thick, or the process will warp it. This does not work on regular cardstock.
-- Try it on other objects (inside bottle caps, on bits of tile, CDs, buttons, stamped and baked polymer clay, slide mounts) for an "acrylic" or "resin" look -- without the smell and mess!
-- Use this technique on a chipboard frame, add a photo, and put a magnetic backing on it for a fabulous refrigerator magnet.
-- Try different colours of ink for your background, and different colours of powder. A metallic ink and a majority of clear powder, multiple colours of ink on the background, or several colours of powder swirled in will create all different effects.
-- This is great with alphabet shapes to make page titles, or even a sign for a child's room.
-- Layer the inks -- allow embossing powder to cool, re-ink the surface with a new colour, and add more powder.
-- Do this technique on multiple squares and create a mosaic.
-- With enough layers of embossing powder, you are able to embed items into the surface (see this post for examples).

{Directions}

-Note- Work quickly, but carefully. You may find you have to reheat the surface often for the next layer of powder to adhere without the heat gun blowing it away.

1. Apply chosen pigment ink to your chipboard shape. Ink the edges as well, if you want a more rounded look to the final piece.

2. Add your first layer of UTEE, remembering to get the edges if you inked them, and emboss with your heat gun.

3. While the powder is still hot, add another layer of UTEE, and repeat.

4. With this base created, sprinkle in another colour (or more) of embossing powder while the last layer is still hot and mostly liquid.

5. Swirl colours with a toothpick if desired, to create patterns in the powder.

6. Reheat till molten (be careful, it gets HOT, and any contact with another surface will leave an impression) to smooth out toothpick marks, and add another layer of UTEE.

7. Continue to add layers, heating in between, until you have a look you're pleased with. In general, a minimum of five layers will create a well-rounded and shiny surface with a look similar to acrylic or resin.

Chalk Resist

I'm a junkie for neat resist techniques. At the Heirloom show, (and going with strep was NOT fun, I came home and passed out, and yes, I wore a mask to protect others), a woman at the Judi-Kins booth was demoing a resist technique I'd never seen before. Since I have a fascination and adoration for resists, I paid close attention, and just goggled.

It is ridiculously simple, and doesn't require a lot of "extras" like most resist techniques: no embossing powder and thus no heat tool, no masking fluid, no resist ink.

Here's the Materials list:

Rubber stamps
Fluid chalk inks
Matte Kote paper
Paper towels

And that is IT.

To do this resist, ink up your stamp (or stamps) with a VERY light colour of chalk ink. Stamp on the matte kote paper. Give it a bit to let dry, till all the "shiny" of the ink is gone.

Now, take your chalk ink pads (and darker is better for this resist, light ones don't work as well), and smear -- DO NOT PAT -- across the previously stamped image. Work in blocks, or swirls, and just go to town inking the paper.

Wipe off immediately with paper towel. Rub the colours into themselves and off the paper, do not rub darker inks into lighter ones, or you'll get some smearing of the colour.

The stamped image will show through the second layer of inks. It's not a strong resist, it's very subtle, but utterly gorgeous for background papers. Any degree of detail in the stamp you use is fine -- I've used both highly detailed, and relatively simple images with success.

You can see how the images show through the green and brown chalks. I then stamped the same image over the top in a permanent Coffee ink. This is one of the rare Obviously Masculine cards I've done. Nice and earthy, and surprisingly, no florals, dragonflies, or even leaves to be seen.

More ATC mayhem!

Some of these are substantially older, that I just totally forgot to post here. D'oh!


One of the older ones. I loves my Meser. And all my other kitties.

Halloween ATC, made from a Queen Kat Designs October card kit.
This one is for a Mulberry Paper swap at Scrapbook.com. A fun swap, using handmade, and otherwise unusual papers. My other group for this swap is using the paint chip strips. Eee!

I love this stamp. I picked her up at the Heirloom show this last weekend, as well as another of her, facing to the side. The Shimmering Mist on it kinda looks weird static, but in person, it's gorgeous.

Year of the Monkey! I'm a Monkey, Thing 1 is a Monkey. The background paper is made with Shimmering Mist paint daubers, then overstamped with the Kanji -- which is currently missing, and the dog better not have eaten this one! The Monkey stamp I picked up LAST year at the Heirloom show, along with a Rat (Thing 2).
Words words words ... French and Latin (I THINK it's Latin), stamped over a background done with, of all things, JOINT COMPOUND, then stained. The partial face is on parchment paper.

One of my older ones. Lots and lots of tissue paper layers here. And of course, a dragonfly tucked in there, because, well, I had to.

And one that is just so very me. Yes, more dragonflies, the dream theme, more wings ... and one of my favourite stamps at the top: "No one is perfect. That's why pencils have erasers."