Distinctive Touches

Thoughts From 2008...

This is the first of a two part post... I'll be doing a "year in review" of 2008 today, and I'll finish up with a "thoughts for 2009" tomorrow.

It seems like just yesterday that I was writing about the year 2007 and now, 2008 is only 24 hours from being done.  Can you believe it?  Gaaaah!  At this rate, it will be 2050 and I'll be doddering around with my walker before I know it!  LOL

Even though it goes quickly, I always like welcoming the new year... there is something calming and freeing about starting over or starting anew.  But before I can welcome 2009, I have to indulge in a moment of sentimental weepies and say farewell to 2008.  (Sniff)

2008 - The Year in Review

• January 2008 brought us unseasonably warm weather and some sleepless nights in our 'storm shelter' as tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma and Kansas.
• My Creative Classroom officially kicked off in January - and the next 12 months were a whirl-wind of successful creative chaos with new classes, new responsibilities, new friends, and new challenges.
• Michael Buble sang his heart out in OK City (and I got to be there to see it!)
• I was honored to be a member of four different (and amazing)  design teams.
• I spent a wonderful week in Phoenix, AZ with my gal pals from the Washington Book Club.  (I have to add...  I think Phoenix is the COOLEST place on earth and I want to live there!)
• Spring found me on the golf course ALMOST as much as my husband.  I took some private lessons, purchased some cute clubs, and practiced my "trophy man" swing.  (While I haven't played in months, I do plan on taking out the clubs again next spring.)
• I satisfied my Copic Craze by becoming a Certified Copic Instructor!
• I started working as a water fitness instructor at a local fitness club.  Along with swimming laps, I am teaching daily classes to an adoring (if slightly waterlogged) audience. 
• I lost 20 lbs... and am sure those last 5 will come off someday... (results of above activity).
• I was a part of something special when one very deserving family was accepted into the Habitat for Humanity program.  They are well on their way to owning their very own home.
• Our own 'leaky' home was FINALLY fixed  (knock on wood)  when we stepped in and took over the repairs!!! 
• I was accepted (and attended) Ranger U - the ultimate in education about Ranger products from Tim Holtz, Suze Weinberg, and Claudine Hellmuth.  (I can't say enough about this experience... really, I can't!)
• Nate traveled (a lot) to Mexico and (a little) to North Carolina for work.
• My husband and I took a swimming workshop that ROCKED OUR WORLD!
• We made some new 'gaming' friends (finally) here in Muskogee - who would have thought? 
• We lost our beloved Urie, but have been blessed with the good health and happiness of Duke, Akira, and Takeo.
• And... The year ends like it begins... Christmas week was unseasonably warm (78 degrees) and severe weather threatened.  Ahhhhh, Oklahoma!

Come back tomorrow for my New Years Resolutions and that cool new project I mentioned on Monday.
Hugs,
colleen

*The photo on the side is an ATC project that I did earlier in the year.  I attached three "About Me" ATC's to a piece of ribbon and made a door hanger.  They are collaged with torn DP and sentiments, stamped, sponged with inks, the picture of me is my own 'photo drawing' technique, and I glazed them with some gel medium that was tinted with some alcohol inks. 

Ranger Wrap Up!

I hope you are all happy and healthy on this wonderful Wednesday morning!  Me, I'm fighting off a mild cold, but nothing so serious that it will keep me down. 

I want to post today some final experiences and thoughts about my time at Ranger U.  If you are visiting for the first time and want to know all about it, you can catch up on Part 1, Part2, Part 3 and Part 4 by clicking the links.

After three days with Suze, Claudine, and Tim, I was exhausted, drained, pooped, beat... but totally exhilarated.  Not only did we learn all about Ranger's unique and amazing products and how to use them, but we also had a chance to meet other wonderful artists and do some networking.  It was so much fun to sit with Julie, Bianca and Colleen (yes... the two Colleen's sat right next to each other! LOL)  We all had such different artistic styles and it was great to share our work with each other. 

I also spoke with some gals from the UK that run their own store and we discussed ways to stay on top of the crafting trends.  I chatted with a young woman who is writing her own book and got some GREAT tips for getting my work published.  I also had some brilliant conversations with my new friend Julie about what ART is and what makes a person an ARTIST versus a CRAFTER. 

Our whirl-wind experience ended with a Q&A session with our three fabulous instructors.  Basically, we just sat around talking... we were able to ask ANY questions we wanted.  (Did you know that Tim actually wanted to be an accountant???)  We talked about ways to market ourselves, how product development ideas came about, how to get past a creative hump... and for me... I learned that I need to let go!  If I honestly want to move my work from "craft" to "art"... I need to get past my rules, regulations, and boundaries.  (You know.. that COD thing that makes me keep things neat and orderly!)  I got the best advice of my life.  Just leg go...make a mess...do the unexpected... and have fun with the process, no matter the results. 

I can't wait to start THAT journey... and I hope you all will come with me on it.  You may see fewer cards here... and more altered stuff... or painted stuff... or just "in progress" works... but I hope you'll still stick around.  I'm still all about stamps, paper, and inks.  But now... I have a few new toys to add to my creative stash.  Remember how I said that we got a bunch of stuff?  Well... here's a picture of my haul!  Can you believe it?  My entire desk is FULL of the wonderful FREE stuff we all brought home.  There are inks, stamps, tools, UTEE, embossing powders, paints, brushes, canvas, mini-misters, perfect pearls, color wash sprays, daubers... OMG! 

I guess I better get my butt off the computer and get to work... I've got lots of new product to play with!  (Don't worry.. I'll share...)

Thanks for stopping in.
Hugs to you,
Colleen

Technique Tuesday - Faux Burning

Wanna see another really col technique?  Of course you do... that's why you're here!

Today I want to share a technique that is soooo easy.  If you like the look of vintage photos (a bit beat up, torn, and possibly burned), you will love the Faux Burning technique. 

I started by taking some vanilla card stock and creating a tag.  I then burnished on all sorts of distress inks.  (Tea Dye, Scattered Straw, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, and Soot)  I added the lighter colors to the whole tag (leaving the center bright) and then added the darker colors to the sides.  To create the burned look, I pulled the card stock across the top of the Soot ink pad until there was a bead of ink along the edge.  I then took my foam blending tool and made quick pulls towards the center.  This drags the black color in random patterns along the edge...giving it the start of the burned appearance.

Once I ink up the edges, I then use a distressing tool to tear up and bend the edges a bit.  This step really helps give it that burned... some parts are missing... look.  I then add more soot distress ink along the edges to cover up the exposed tag edges. 

Then... stamp an image!  I used this Tin Can Mail stamp from Inkadinkado.  I wanted to keep the "dark" look so I stamped it in Soot also.  Once the image was dry, I added a bow with organdy ribbon and printed a name on it.  I have this grand idea to dress my Christmas table with old, vintage, black and cream stuff.  (Who needs the traditional red and green?) 

I thought these would make great place tags.  Or... if I got really energetic, I could make up a bunch with different images and do a "distressed tree" this year.  Hhhhmmmmm, I better get on that... Christmas is only a month and a half away!

Hugs to all!

colleen

Ranger U - Day 2 and 3 with Tim Holtz

Morning!  I hope you all got to enjoy an extra hour of sleep this weekend.  We were going to, but we started this new "dog training" program that has us up and at 'em bright and early taking the little buggers for a morning walk.  I say we get a treadmill and hook them up, but my hubby didn't go for that idea.

Today I am going to continue my Ranger U saga... you can check out part 1, part 2 and part 3 of the story by clicking the links.  

The first day with Suze and Claudine flew by.  We were all pretty pumped up and excited.  That night, the wonderful folks from Ranger treated us to an East Coast BBQ... right there in the warehouse.  It was yummy, yummy, yummy!  We got a chance to sit around and chat, and I made lots of new friends. 

After getting NO sleep that evening (I was too keyed up to fall asleep), I was up and raring to go on Saturday.  After another quick breakfast... we were off and running.  This time... with Tim!

Tim is one of the most energetic instructors that I have ever had.  We spent Saturday and Sunday with him and he covered 51 different techniques!  It was amazing... 51!!!!  Here is the tag book that I created... to help me remember all of those nifty techniques.

I was on brain overload.  We covered Perfect Pearls (I am now totally in love with these); Embossing powders (OMG.. I learned something SO cool about the holographic stuff); Alcohol Inks (fun, fun, fun); Adirondack Inks (I had NO idea these were soooo neat); Paint Daubers (gotta love paint); and of course... all things distressed! 

I was like a whirling dervish... inking, stamping, grunging, and playing.  Not all of my examples turned out amazing (how does Tim manage to do that?) but many of them did... and the ones that didn't... well, those are just the ones that I need to practice on.

We had a quick break for lunch (deli style) and then back into the workroom for more Tim.  By the end of day 2 I was ready to collapse... but of course, I was up and ready for more on day three. 

I can't tell you how much fun I had and how much I learned.  I'll leave that for Wednesday... when I do my final thoughts and a Ranger Wrap-Up. 

Hope you enjoy the day!
colleen

Technique Tuesday - Painted Beeswax

Today I want to share with you one of the projects that I made using a technique I learned from Suze at Ranger U.  Part of her class dealt with using Beeswax in the melting pot.  Now... I've never used beeswax before... wasn't really interested... until I saw the cool things it could do! 

Like this!!!  OMG... how awesome are these?  I made them for my mother for her birthday.  Guess how I made them... come one... guess!  They're NAPKINS!!!  Yup, that's right... good o'l paper napkins!  I was at HL and found these gorgeous festive napkins and knew immediately that I wanted to try my new beeswax technique with them.  (Got THAT clever idea from the Melt Pot Queen herself!) 

I pulled the layers of the napkins apart, applied Claudine's new multi medium to some canvas, smoothed the napkins onto the canvas, and then folded and tucked the corners and edges around to the back where I applied more multi medium to hold them tight. 

Once the covered canvases dried, I heated up some beeswax and got an old brush ready.  I quickly (wow... that stuff cools pretty darn fast) painted on layers of beeswax... focusing mostly on the edges and sides of the canvas.  I applied it right over the napkin... sealing it in and giving it an awesome texture!  Once that cooled, I put some gold metallic alcohol ink onto my applicator and pounced around the edges and along the sides to sort of give it a gilded look.  I also spruced up some fall leaves, some buttons, and a metal sentiment with the gold ink.  I painted a grunge board swish with my gold paint dauber, applied more gel medium, and then sprinkled some Beadazzle Beads over it. 

I think the whole thing is just yummy!  I can't believe how easy it is to use Beeswax for this neat home decor project.  it would work work just about anything... your favorite fabric, napkins, patterned paper... your own drawing or painting.  Ohhhh the possibilities are endless! 

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll see you tomorrow.

Colleen

Ranger U - Day 1 with Claudine and a winner!

Onto Part 3 of my Ranger Update...(click here to see Part 1 and Part 2)

After spending the morning with Suze, we had a quick lunch and hunkered down for the afternoon with Claudine Hellmuth.  This was the part that I was totally looking forward to!  As a "painter" long before I became a "stamper" I was excited to see Claudine's new Studio line of products and get a chance to use them. 

I fell in love!  Claudine has a new line of acrylic paints and mediums out called Studio.  The multi medium is like heaven... you can use it for anything!  The holding power is amazing; it SMELLS sooo good, and the consistency is like buttah!  But the real prize that afternoon was her paints... OMG!  Smooth as silk... bright, vibrant, creamy.  The cool thing about her paints is that they are so highly pigmented that you can mix them with water and they are still just as saturated with color!  It is so easy to create washes and glazes.  There are 15 gorgeous colors that you can mix and match for an endless pallet.

We also got a chance to use Claudine's brushes (she admitted she's like me when it comes to caring for brushes!!!)  and her uber cool new Sticky Backed Canvas.   You heard right... STICKY BACKED!  It is the most innovative product out there right now... it can be used in 100's of ways... (just wait for a tutorial or two...)

I wasn't able to take any photos of Claudine as she was teaching... being I was WAY to busy painting and playing to pick up my camera.  But here is a photo of Claudines work and some of the ways she uses the paints.  She is AMAZING.  

Not only is Claudine hugely talented, she is also the sweetest thing!  I was thrilled to be sitting right up front and be on the receiving end of her sparkly smile more than once.  I'm now an official Claudine groupie... and I can't wait to take more classes from her in the future!

Thanks Claudine!!!

And Now...The Winner

Okay... so now that I have rattled your ears off... what you REALLY came here for... (and most of you probably just skimmed over my babbling to get to this point anyway!)  LOL

After printing and chopping up all of the entries for the $25.00 gift certificate to 7kidscollegefund... I drew out a name... and that name was...

ALLISON! 

Congrats Allison, shoot me an email with your email and regular mail addy... I'll get that GC sent out right away!

Hugs to you all...

Colleen

Ranger U - Day 1 with Suze

I know... two posts in one day... I'm going nuts!   For those of you who want to continue reading about my Ranger U saga... it continues here with Day one with Suze...

Day one was probably my favorite!  (I had the most energy and my brain was not so completely full yet.)  We started the morning with Suze and Melt Art.  I'll be honest here... (after all we are all friends)... I was not looking forward to this section as much as the others.  You see, I didn't have a melt pot, and I didn't use Beeswax and I really didn't think I'd get into Suze's style.  Man... was I dead wrong!  This turned out to be my very favoritest (yes...i'm making up words) part of the whole weekend. 

Suze is an AMAZING artist and has a FIREBALL of a personality.  I clicked with her right away!  She was so excited about everything we (as students) did... she oooh'ed and aaaaah'ed over our creations even more than we did.  She was genuinely thrilled with us.  It was so much fun.  Learning from Suze is like riding a roller coaster... she builds up the anticipation and then "whoooosh" away we go... twisting, turning, laughing, screaming, and grinning like idots (okay... so I was probably the only one in the room grinning like an idiot...but I was having a BLAST!)

Everything she taught was totally new... and super cool and awesomely exciting.  I completely fell in love with both Suze and melt art.  We melted up some beeswax and texturized a collage piece, made a really neat transfer shape with clear UTEE, we mixed up some UTEE Brights and created one-of-a-kind agates... it was hot, and melty, and oooey-goooey fun! 

Here's my table partner Julie Fie-Fan Balzer holding up her finished sampler that we each made with the melt art techniques we learned.  I can't wait to share some of those techniques with you... and you know what that means... you better go out and prepare yourselves... I promise you will want a melting pot and all the fun toys that go with it too!

I'll leave you with another photo of "the gals" having fun and playing with their new melt art products.  Bianca is on the right, Colleen (an Australian from the UK) is on the left, and Jessica is straight across.  We had such a wonderful time getting to know each other.  I was so inspired by each and every talented artist there, and I'm happy to say that I made some very good friends too.

Thanks Suze...  for a totally awe inspiring morning... you are the Melt Art Queen! 

Come back tomorrow for my Featured Card of the week and the next installment of Ranger U. 

Hugs,

colleen

Ranger U - First Installment!

I want to start by telling you all about my weekend in New Jersey...

Ranger U was everything I had hoped it would be and 100x more!  It was exactly what I needed in my life at exactly the right time.  I don't even know how to begin telling you all about it.  But you know me... I'll at least give it a try! LOL

My trip out was uneventful (thank goodness for small blessings).  I got to the hotel on Thursday night and treated myself to a private dinner at Applebee's... yeah, private as in... just me... alone... like some kind of social pariah.  Somehow I survived the waiter's constant hovering and made it through my meal.  Back to the hotel I made a quick email check and then headed for bed.

I was up bright and early on Friday ready for class.  I walked outside the hotel and around the corner... there it was... RANGER! I was surprised at how unassuming the building was.  I expected flashing lights and blowing horns... but instead I saw this small brick building with a tiny door on the side... I had to get up close before I could even read the Ranger sign!   

I didn't want to be the first one to show up... but of course, I was.  I shyly poked my head in and was greeted by bright smiles and chipper welcomes.  The entire staff was amazingly sweet and immediately made me feel at ease. I quickly picked out my seat.. (yes... I'm a front and center kind of gal)... and marked my territory.  As other attendees started arriving we all did the shy, "Hi... I'm so-and-so"  song and dance. 

A quick breakfast of coffee and donuts and then came introductions. (Dam... shouldn't have had that donut... now I have to give that goofy closed mouth smile until I can get to a mirror to check for food gobs in my teeth!)  We went around and introduced ourselves. WOW... there were some amazingly talented folks there...  (how the heck did I get picked?) 

And then... there they were.  Suze, Claudine, and Tim...  the equivalent of the holy trinity in my book.  We were all smiles as they announced that we would get a tour of the facility and then be down to business. (I will explain the hats later!) 

Alan, one of the owners of Ranger, was our guide for the tour.  It was so amazing to see how everything was done.  We even got to watch as Stickles were being made... oh... talk about a dream!  I just wanted to jump into the big vat of Stickles glitter glue and get blinged up! 

After our tour, we were each directed towards a box.  Inside were our toys.  Every product we would be using during the class was there... all organized neatly in bags for each day.  (Those Ranger folks are organized... I likie!)  It was like Christmas... everyone ohhing and aahhhing as we tore into our boxes and unwrapped the product. 

Then we got down to business...stop back in for more about day one and a quick challenge tomorrow!

PS - Some of you have commented that you can't see the blog header.  We thought it was just an issue with Internet Explorer, but it seems to happen on Firefox for some of you too.  I'm looking into why that is... so if you all see some weird blog headers stuff... don't panic!  Also... I've heard that the Google Reader isn't working for everyone either...  I'll be checking into that too.... Sigh...  I was hoping to avoid these sorts of issues by moving to a service like TypePad... but alas... they followed me here! 

Happy Hugs!
Colleen

Technique Tuesday - Distress Paint Collage

I learned SO much at Ranger U... it will take me MONTHS to process all of the awesome new techniques that were covered.  Some of them I already knew, but most were completely new to me... like this one.  On one of the days we spent with Tim we covered "everything distressed" and man... Tim knows distressed!

This one turned out to be one of my favorite techniques.  Not only because it uses multiple products, but because it uses inks, stamps, AND paints... and you all know I love my paints.  But this paint is different... this paint is DISTRESSED!  Yup... slap it on... let it dry... and voila... crackled, distressed paint!  Amazing. 

Here's how to make a Distressed Paint Collage:

1.  Take a tag or sheet of neutral cardstock and ink it up!  I am using some Cut and Dry foam to apply a variety of distressed inks.  (The cut and dry is WAY better than the scrubby old sponges I used to use.)  Just go nuts...add a few colors on as the base.  Notice that I leave my center a bit lighter.

2.  If you want... stamp a background lightly over the inked cardstock. 

3.  Grab some of that Distress Paint and slap a swatch on to one side (or the top or the bottom) of your paper.  Try to get it thick in one spot and thinner as it gets to the edges... that way you will have different size crackles.  Let this dry... be patient!  (Once the paint STARTS to crackle... you can help it along with a heat gun if you just can't wait!)

3. Stamp an image.  Part of the image should cover the painted surface. (You can do this before adding more inks to the background or after... since you are using Distressed Inks, they will blend a bit if you stamp your image before... which is the effect I wanted for this dragonfly image... you know.. to make it look like the wings were moving.)

4.  Take a damp towel (the inky binky) and wipe over the paint... this will remove the inked image... making it look as if the stamped image is hiding behind the painted section... WAY cool!  Try not to get the rest of the image wet as the inks will smear.

5.  Continue adding distressed inks and grunge it up!  You can add walnut ink over the paint and really rub it in... that way it gets in all the cracks and makes it really vintage and distressed!

6.  Add any additional images and/or layers you want to create your collage.  If you want images to show up in front of the painted layer, just leave it on... don't wipe it off.

How cool is that?  I NEVER would have thought I needed more paint... but ohhhhh, I NEED these!  Who wants to wait EONS for real weathered paint when BAM... you can get it in a matter of minutes? 

Here is the tag that I made.  I LOVE it!  I have to be honest though, the very first time I did this... during the class, I messed up and smeared the stamped image and then sort of muddied the colors and just made a general mess of things.  This is probably my 5th time now doing this technique... and it gets better each time!  So have at it... practice and play!

Hope you enjoyed this technique.  Come back tomorrow for details about Suze, Claudine, Tim and my day one at Ranger!

Hugs,

Colleen