Creative Chemistry Day 10

Here we are on day ten and the classes are over. Today we learned about the various dimensional mediums, Stickles, Liquid Pearls, and Sealers. Tim surprised us by actually using a sealer product from a company other than Ranger; Microglaze by Judikins. I have used this product for quite a while and it is fantastic, making the paper waterproof.
The video was fun to watch, as when Tim said he used a product from another company there were a lot of ohs, ahs and noise in the background.

The one and only technique for this class was using Distress Stickles.  A bit of a disappointment that there was only one, but the class was still jam packed with lots of information. I had played with the Distress Stickles in the past and was a bit unhappy with them, but once I watched the video I realized that I had been using them wrong.

After playing with them in the correct manner I am now a happy gal!! I thought I only had one colour but discovered I had three and decided to try them on small scrap pieces of paper prior to doing the tag, so I could see the different effects. I settled on the Milled Lavender as I felt it came out the best.

My background stamp by Stamparosa was not large enough to cover the whole tag so I added some paper lace to the top and bottom. This is a lovely subtle glittery technique and of course does not show in the scan. 

Creative Chemistry day 9

Day nine - only one more day to go and I am feeling a bit like I may go into withdrawals when the class is over.

Today we learned about Perfect Pearls. Tim discussed the properties of the powders and also introduced us to Perfect Pearl Mists and how they react on different papers. He went on to demo techniques using Perfect Pearls Powders with Inks.

The stamp used on my version in the middle is by Stampington and Co.

The techniques Tim taught today were: Perfect Distress Mist, Perfect Distress and Perfect Splatter Distress.

Unfortunately you can't see all the glimmer and shimmer in the pictures, but they are wonderful background techniques. Great "perfect" inky fun!

Corner book marks

On AFTCM we occassionaly do quick swaps along with the regular monthly ones, This time around we are doing corner bookmarks.

 I used a template from http://tallystreasury.com/2011/02/corner-page-bookmarks-3/

I made my bookmarks using scrapbook papers and scraps of cardstock, thus, each one is a bit different. After putting them together I printed off a quote, cut them out and added them to the top of the bookmarks.

Creative Chemistry Day 8

Wow, the time has flown by for this class! Day 8 and learning some great techniques again. This day it was about Paint Primers. Tim discussed various types of paints and their effects then into techniques using Distress Crackle paint.


We used Sticky Back Canvas, tags and chipboard (or grungeboard) pieces for the three different techniques.

I used stamps form Comotion, Lost and Found and PSX; the chipboard piece is by a company in my area -Ezee Pzee.
 
I must admit that the tag I am most pleased with is the first one with the feather on it. The middle one, I think I should have chosen different stamps and on the chipboard, perhaps should have used more of the medium.  However, as these will be in my binder  for the class they will be references for the techniques which I can play with more and improve upon. Practice makes perfect!
 

Creative Chemistry Day 7

Day seven is about Embossing Basics. Tim covered techniques on embossing with Distress Inks and Powders and discussed various embossable inks and powders.
Although I am familiar with the types of inks used for this purpose, I still learned a number of things about the different properties of the supplies.

Again, some of my colour choices in the supplies are limited but it did not stop me from being able to try the techniques.

I used stamps by All Night Media, Magenta and Hero Arts,

The techniques we were to try are: Nostalgic Batik, Rusted Enamel and Distress Powder Resist. Great fun revisiting the first technique which I have done numerous times, and enjoyed the other two which I have not done before.

Creative Chemistry Day 6

 

Day six was about Distress Markers. Techniques on Coloring and Stamping with the Markers and the differences and features.

The second part was the techniques using the markers. I only have three so far so my colour choice was limited, but I was still able to try the techniques.

Stamps used are from Sunshine Designs, Inkadinkado  and Magenta.

The techniques for our "homework" were Watercolour with Markers, Blending with Markers and Stamping with Markers.

Creative Chemistry Day 5

Already on day 5 and I am really enjoying these classes filled with creativity and information. Today was about spray inks and stains. I have never used the stains before so this was a fun learning experience for me and I want more colours!!

Stamps used are Rubber Stampede, Tim Holtz (Stampers Anonymous), Inkadinkado, Penny Black, Stampscapes and Posh Impressions.
The techniques were Stained Kraft Resist, Stain Stamping and Marbled Stains; my versions are below.

Creative Chemistry Day 4

On to day four!! This class is about reinkers- maintenance and storage as well as techniques for using them.

Again, a lot of valuable information in this class for all levels.

The techniques were Reinker watercolouring, Layered misting  and Custom Stamping

These are my versions using stamps by Jill Meyer and Tim (Stampers Anonymous) and a plastic doily.

4 X4 Puzzle Swap

On AFTCM we are doing another 4X4 swap. This time we are to use jigsaw puzzle pieces on the item.

I started by colouring a piece of 130LB cardstock with various colours of pigment inks. I then stamped it with a Hero Arts  stamp then embossed it with the matching embossing folder, colouring the flowers with Smooch ink. I adhered a picture from moonlightjourney.com in the centre of the wreath.

 I took some puzzle pieces and embossed four with Opals embossing powder and two with blue pearlised embossing powder. I reheated each one and stamped on them with silver metallic ink. When they cooled I glued them around the image.

Creative Chemistry Day 3

Day 3 was a discussion relating to archival inks, the different types and uses. Tim again discussed this in a video and went on to teach 3 different techniques using the inks and other mediums such as alcohol inks and mixatives and distress inks.

The three techniques for today were Alcohol Ink Agates, Archival Resist and Stamping with Reflections.

Below are my versions of the tags. I had to improvise on the third tag as I only had a couple of the supplies that were required for the technique. Stamps for these techniques are by Tim (Stampers Anonymous), Hero Arts, Tin Can Mail, Wordsworth and Posh Impressions.

Creative Chemistry Day 2

On Day 2 is all about Distress inks, blending, stamping and layering and a discussion on the properties of water based dye inks. Tim started this class with a video on the history of distress inks and how he came to work for Rangers. Thoroughly enjoyed hearing all about this.

He had two more videos which covered the different properties of the inks as well as techniques to use them.

We did the Blended Distress/Spritz and Flick, Brushless Watercolour and Wrinkle-Free Techniques on tags.

These are my version of the techniques using stamps from Stampendous, Penny Black, Impression Obsession, Hero Arts and of course, a couple of Tim's.

Acohol ink Butterfly ATC's

I signed up for a swap on AFTCM with the theme of Alcohol ink background and butterflies.

I decided to make mine with Tim Holtz alcohol ink splatter background. The bottom  one is very colourful and I stamped a coloring book (open) butterfly (Pedlars Pack) with Ancient Page permanent ink. I then masked the butterfly and stamped a Tim Holtz background stamp over the top.

After stamping it I felt the image did not stand out well enough so I stamped it again on acetate, cut it out and adhered it on top of the stamped image with Glossy Accents.


The one on the top left was stamped with another Tim Holtz stamp and some German Scraps added to the edges.

The one on the top right is a stamp by The Old Island Stamp Co. and I added some Glossy Accents to the butterflies to give them dimension. To complete it I stamped a saying on vellum and attached it across the ATC.

Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 101 - Day 1

I signed up for Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 101 and am really enjoying the journey. The class is packed with information and techniques. Although I have been stamping for about 17 years I have learned so much from this class. Whether you are "newbie" or a "seasoned" stamper I highly recommend Tim's class. The cost is certainly reasonable and you can access the videos and PDF's for a lifetime. Tim explains the difference in all the mediums and the vehicles used for the techniques and makes it all so easy to understand.

Day 1 was all about understanding the characteristics and properties of inks and paints, how to use them, the different effects and applications. He also stressed the importance of reading the labels on the products to determine that you are using the right  type of medium for the application or to go to the company website to obtain the information.

Tim provided a chart for all the different mediums as a reference as well as a blank form for the participants to enter information on mediums from other manufacturers.