Use ALL the Colors

This *might* be the most colorful art journal page I've ever made... and thus it's currently my favorite! I used ALL of the new Ranger Archivals and all of the new Liquid Pearls; some of the Make-It Stamps and Stencils, plus lots of lovely Dina Wakley MEdia Collage Sparks.

There are eight brand new varieties of shimmery Liquid Pearls (Firecracker, Sweet Potato, Rubber Duck, Kiwi, Emerald, Blue Velvet, Royalty and Truffle) and the reason they've been applied quite randomly on a double page in my Dina Wakley Watercolor Journal, is that I'd been using them on other projects, and this is what I did with the extra Liquid Pearls I dispensed. I often use up extra paint, ink, paste or watercolor on a journal page rather than throw them out. Sometimes they add up to an interesting background... as I felt they did here; sometimes they just make mud and later I cover them up.

As for the six new shades of Archival Ink (Avocado Toast, Sweet Treat, Big Plans, Dark Roast, Best Dressed and Sandcastle); some was applied randomly when I cleaned off my Pegboard and Sprinkle Hearts Stencils; some got there quite deliberately when I stamped the numerals from the Make-It Chic Birthday Stamp Set and the big stars from the Charmed Set, to which I added some White Gesso. I also used an ink blending tool to splash a little extra color over any areas that were blank, so the entire page would be covered. 

At the very end, I felt like there needed to be some larger elements across the center of the spread, so I raided my collection of Dina's Collage Sparks and cut out lots of circles and hearts that had similar colors. PS: If you're thinking that I *should* have taken a photo before I embarked on the intentional portion of the pages, I agree!!! But alas, I forgot. Next time!

RED-dy or Not

It's time for week two of the Rudolph the RED Nosed Reindeer prompt at Jingle Belles; for which, as you may recall, the brief is to make a card that's predominantly RED!

I am fairly proud of how many scraps of RED patterned paper I combined to make this card (for the record, it's nine); and also the fact that I unearthed and used not one, not two, not three... but FOUR ancient border punches to do so!

There are also eight (RED!) stickers; three (RED!) Eyelet Outlet brads and two (RED!) circle diecuts involved. I sewed around the perimeter to keep the edges on all those borders from curling up and called it a day.

JB2604: Rudolph the RED Nosed Reindeer runs until the evening of Wednesday, February 25th. Hop over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's card and link up one (or more!) of your own.

Swatching and Storing: New Archival Inks and Liquid Pearls

Yesterday I showed off the colorful new release from Ranger: six new shades of Archival Ink and eight brand new varieties of shimmery Liquid Pearls! The new Archivals are:  Avocado Toast, Sweet Treat, Big Plans, Dark Roast, Best Dressed and Sandcastle.

One of the best things I've ever made just for myself is my Ranger Archival Swatch Book. Not only does it satisfy that craving to USE brand new inks as soon as they arrive; it's also a very practical resource that I constantly refer to when picking and/or matching colors. The pages are 3" squares of sturdy watercolor paper and I stamp or stencil* each shade, then do some funky outlining and write the color name. I made simple chipboard covers and held the whole thing together with a single book ring, making it easy to add, subtract or re-arrange shades as needed. 

With regard to storage: I keep my Liquid Pearls in a Ranger Alcohol Ink Storage Tin** (technically, now in TWO tins because my collection has expanded!) in more or less rainbow order. Until now I haven't officially made a swatch book (because the bottles are clear) but when I start a project using kraft or black cardstock, I usually take time to try out the various shades and see which ones I like best on a colored substrate, so at some point I might make a more permanent record. 

The new LP shades are: Firecracker, Sweet Potato, Rubber Duck, Kiwi, Emerald, Blue Velvet, Royalty and Truffle. Hop over to the Ranger Store to get your own gorgeous new rainbow of shades and check out the classics as well! ♥

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*When making swatch books, I highly recommend using a variety of different stamps and stencils; being uncritical if you don't get a perfect impression; and labeling them in your own handwriting. The simpler and more whimsical your design, the better the chances that you'll keep it as a long-term resource and update it as necessary. Plus, you'll never feel the need to re-do the entire thing because you no longer have the stamp you used when you started out!

**Storage PS: I also use the AI Tins for my Stickles and Reinkers... they all come in exactly the same sized bottles!

NEW Ranger Liquid Pearls and Archival Ink Shades

Ranger is warming up our winter with LOTS of bold color. There are six new shades of Archival Ink and eight brand new varieties of shimmery Liquid Pearls! The new LP shades are: Firecracker, Sweet Potato, Rubber Duck, Kiwi, Emerald, Blue Velvet, Royalty and Truffle; and I've used all but Truffle on this fun and funky rainbow card.  

The new Archival Inks are: Avocado Toast, Sweet Treat, Big Plans, Dark Roast, Best Dressed and Sandcastle. I only used the first three on this particular card, but I assure you they are all beautiful, useful shades that enhance the already fabulous line up.

To make this bold rainbow shaker card I painted all of the colorful Liquid Pearl shades in a swoosh across sturdy cardstock, allowing them to overlap at the edges. I left a space in the center of the card towards the top to cut a hole that I backed with clear acrylic and filled with shimmery dots made from the same colors; then topped it with the large heart and small flower from the new Ranger Make-It Wild Hearts Stamp Set. I colored the flower with Sweet Treat Archival and the leaves with Avocado Toast; and added skinny mats of Sweet Treat and Big Plans. 

Since I always find the making of Liquid Pearl dots quite soothing and hypnotic, I generally make waaayyyyy too many... and this session was no exception. Instead of saving the extras, though, I decided to add as many as possible to the rainbow swoosh. As it turned out, there was room for LOTS of dots, which I attached with clear-drying Dina Wakley MEdia Glue.

I'm sure you already know that the Ranger website has many excellent Tutorials and resources. I used the Stickles Confetti Tutorial (it works equally well with Liquid Pearls and also Enamel Accents!) and the Stickles and Liquid Pearls Template (I laminated mine because I use it quite a bit) to make the dots and let them dry overnight.

Hop over to the Ranger Store to get your own gorgeous new rainbow of shades and check out the classics as well. While you're there, take a look at the new Make-It line of clear stamps and stencils, I think you'll love them as much as I do!

Aparrotly... it's Your Birthday

I can never resist a diabolical pun, or an excuse to break out my beautiful, colorful Eyelet Outlet Tropical Bird Brads, so here's a card that features both! Sun and Cloud Brads set the scene, along with a Party Hat Brad and letters diecut from Cloud Washi Tape.

If Tropical Birds aren't your thing, there are also Lizards, Cats, Dogs, Farm Animals, Fish, Crabs, Lobsters, Jungle Critters, Chicks, Bunnies and so much more in the Animals category of the Eyelet Outlet Store.

Bird is the Word...

...this Presidents’ Day Mandala Monday, on which I’m celebrating the fact that last night’s snow is being effortlessly vanquished by today’s 40f+ temps, wahey! BTW, the bird in question is a handsome cockatoo (I think?) from my friend Gina; you can get your own awesome copy of her beautiful clipart book by clicking THIS LINK!

Blue Roses

Happy Valentine's Day! If you're allergy-ridden like me, your favorite flowers are probably the ones you paint yourself, lol. Additionally on the plus side, the painted ones can be any color, any shape, any size you want; and they'll never fade or die or drop petals all over!

Blue Roses painted with Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors in my Dina Wakley Watercolor Journal from Ranger.