Monday, April 30, 2012

A Special Art Journal from Paper Crafter's Library!



Hi everyone!  My name is Andrea Walford and I'm so excited to be guest posting here on the Simon Says Stamp Blog!  Today I wanted to share with you an art journal page I created using my Tim Holtz Distress Stains and Perfect Pearls Mists

 

I've been a scrapbooker and stamper for well over 10 years now, but only started to dive into the world of mixed media and art journaling about 2 years ago. I find that it's really stretched me creatively, and taught me to think about my supplies in a whole new light.  For me, art journaling is first and foremost about personal exploration & development. My art journals are typically a reflection of whatever I've been thinking about or pondering on.  I use them as visual reminders and for encouragement.  I'll pick a scripture verse or quote that serves as a reminder for me, and create my page based around that.

The second reason I love to art journal is that it is a source of creative exploration and development for me as well. I'm irresistibly drawn to colors, images and textures, and over the years I've accumulated (hoarded?) quite a stash of supplies - in particular, color mediums and stamps. I love being able to take many of the same products I use in my card making and scrapbooking, and incorporate them onto my canvases and into my journals. 


As I was playing with Distress Stains and experimenting with different techniques and applications as we prepared for Ranger Week on the Paper Crafter's Library blog, I was thrilled to discover how fantastic they are for art journal pages.  Because they are so fluid, I was able to quickly and easily create a gorgeous, vibrant background for my art journal page.  The addition of a few different colors of Perfect Pearls mists added just that little bit of shimmer that I'm always looking for, and the stamps gave me the ability to quickly and easily add visual imagery to my page without worrying about my drawing skills (I'm still working on those).  I finished up my page by using a combination of letter stickers and handwriting for my quote, loving the texture and visual interest created by mixing and matching fonts and font sizes.

   

I've created a video for you (see above) all showing you how I made my art journal page.  The video was filmed as I actually made the page, with the introduction filmed at the end. When I started to create I had no preconceived ideas of what it would end up looking like.  I started with my scripture and two colors of Distress Stain (Wild Honey and Barn Door) - I only added in the third color - Aged Mahogany - afterwards, when I felt like I wanted a deeper red mixed in there.  I tried to keep the video as short as I could, while still sharing with you some of my art journaling processes.

Supplies list:

 
 I hope you enjoy today's video and that it inspires you to do a little art journaling yourself!
 Andrea

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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Getting Fancy!

Hello readers!
Thanks for checking in with us today! I have a fun product line to share with you today from Fancy Pants Designs! Fancy Pants Designs has a wild selection of different themed lines that contain paper pads, chipboard, embellishments, buttons, etc!

Brag Books are spiral bound Kraft notebooks with chipboard covers- completely blank! They are perfect for the artist or scrapbooker who wants to design every page! Brag Book Kits are packs that contain themed stickers, cards, and papers you could design your Book with!

Sarah Mullanix, a Fancy Pants Pocket Chick Design Team Member, created this Sand Brag Book with the Summer Soul Brag Book Kit! I love how versatile the papers are to create your own mood or design with this color scheme!

Check out how there are tabs on the pages, blank spaces to fill in with written memories, but then also lots of fun color pops and patterns- all from one kit!

A fun thing too, is the Brag Book Kits are already cut down to size to fit on the Brag Book Pages- which means they also translate into being great for pockets and cards!


Valerie Sanchez, another Pocket Chick Design Team Member, created these post cards from the Summer Soul Brag Book Kits!I love how it looks like you've used tons of different papers, stamps, and embellishments- but really it's all in one kit!

Here are the Brag Books and the Brag Book Production Kits!
InLinkz.com

Thanks for reading today!


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-Michelle

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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Tim Holtz Seasonal Distress & Marker UPDATE


Exciting news for all of us who love to get inky....Tim Holtz has added 3 new Spring colors to his distress palette! The Spring Seasonal Distress Inks join Fall and Winter in the Seasonal lineup of color add ons.

The added colors are a delightful thing for us as stampers! In fact, not just stampers, but art journalers, altered artists, scrapbookers - anyone who enjoys getting inky can work and play with these fresh new colors.

It's an exciting addition for me not just because Spring is here, but I have 2 Mother's day, 6 Birthday, 1 New Baby, 1 Wedding and a Graduation card on my "to create" list next week and these colors are going to be a splendid fit for every single theme.

Although Squeezed Lemonade is my favorite (I'm a yellow "junkie"), there have been roars of excitement over the Peacock Feathers. It's a delightful Teal. Shaded Lilac is a beautiful hue of purple that is spot on for the season.

Thank you to Tim and to Ranger industries! We spoke LOUDLY... and they HEARD! Reinkers are here for all of the seasonal distress inks! Not only Spring, but also Fall and Winter.

We only received a portion of our order and suspect that these babies are going to be hard to come by for the time being. If you need these like I need these, please don't hesitate to get them now before they are gone. Disappointed customers make my heart heavy- and the best way to not disappoint is to be able to get these to you pronto!

As of now, we are shipping the Winter and Spring Ink pad Sets.  To celebrate the coming of Spring, the Winter Set of ink pads is on SALE HERE! We also have refills in stock for Fall, Winter, and Spring sold as sets and sold individually. The Fall ink pad set is sold out until further notice.

What's your favorite pick of the new Spring Lineup?

Tim Holtz has a video introducting the new lineup found at TimHoltz.com.  Is it just me, or is he just ALWAYS ALWAYS fun and charismatic to watch :)  The birds chirping is such a cool touch.




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DISTRESS MARKER UPDATE!

We have been stocking our distress marker slots in the warehouse slowly but surely as the Tim Holtz Distress Markers file into the warehouse. Most marker colors are available sold individually right now, and we do have several packs of 6 available. Picket Fence is hot on demand and will probably sell out shortly. However, the set of 37 markers is still in preorder status as we work to fill the orders we have in house on a first come, first shipped basis.

We hope to be able to complete the rest of the preorders over the next few weeks and take the Set of 37 off preorder status.

The Distress Markers are a wonderful double ended marker filled with water based ink in Tim Holtz Distress color palette. They are ideal for stamping, coloring images, blending to watercolor, and many other crafty applications. I personally love their ease of use and affordable price point!

Thanks so much for your patience during this exciting time! 



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Have a wonderful weekend!  I hope you have time to make some cards for the ones you love :)

-Heidi

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Friday, April 27, 2012

Embellish Your Art with Wendy Vecchi!


Hi bloggers! Happy Friday to you!! I'm super excited to share some gorgeous inspiration with you from Wendy Vecchi and her new line of embellishments by blossom bucket!  I love the versatility of this line and how these embellishments can truly be altered for any style!

   


All 3 creations above feature a button very prominently.  Grab the featured one or pick & chose your favorite buttons!





Feeling floral? Wendy Vecchi has got you covered!!


  


There are LOTS more embellishments to chose from, and I'm really loving the variety!! I'm partial to the lips...can you guess why? (See my signature!)



I hope you've gotten inspired and do something crafty this weekend! Enjoy!

Congrats! Blog Candy Winner of Wednesday's, Simon Says Stamp Design Team Features Paper Smooches blog is, Dawn! Please email me your name and the blog candy you won at Steph@SimonSaysStamp.com
BLOG CANDY ALERT! Join our following and comment on this blog and you could win this not for resale Hero Arts Stamp set pictured above! Winner to be announced on Monday, good luck!
 

Steph
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