Sara Jane's Studio

The Twelve Weeks of Holidays - 2010

Each week leading up to December 25, Sara Jane's Studio newsletter contains complete step-by-step instructions for a new project, ranging from holiday and thank-you card designs, to home decor, hand-made gifts, and quick and simple last-minute ideas for all of your holiday needs.

But these great projects are only available to readers of Sara Jane's Studio newsletter.  So sign up now, in the easy sign-up box on the left.  If you've missed any issues, just drop me a line and I'll get them to you.

The Twelve Weeks starts on September 28, with a vintage Christmas card design.

Sign up now for fun and creative holiday inspiration!

 

 

 

Stamping 101 - Direct to Rubber with Watercolor Crayon

Yes, you can color directly on your rubber stamps!  It's a great way to get color exactly where you want it, and you can have multiple colors on one stamp image.  I've already talked about using markers direct to rubber (see that tutorial here).  This time I'll walk you through the use of watercolor crayons.  The end result is a softer, more watercolor-like image.

Here I am using the 2-step stamping set, Awash with Flowers.  But you can use any stamp with a block image - in fact I can't wait to try it with Ornate Blossom.

 

Above:  Color directly on your rubber stamp.  Lay down a fairly thick layer -

this will require some pressure.

Above:  Close-up of crayon applied to the stamp.  It will be uneven.

 

Above:  Spritz the colored stamp with water.  Hold your spritzer at least 6 inches away.  Play around with the distance and with how much water you add to see what effects they have.

Above:  Close-up of the colored stamp following spritz with water.  It should be wet, not damp, in order to dissolve the watercolor crayon.

Above:  If you want, you can add additional color to provide shading and a more 3-D look.

 

Above:  Stamped image.  It will be imperfect- but that is part of the charm!

 Above:  I started stamping a whole garden with this technique.

 Above:  Create masks by stamping the image on a post-it note (on the end with the adhesive).  Cut them out, and then place them on the images that you have already stamped on your card front.  Then you can over-stamp with the stems and leaves, and not mar your original flower images.

 

Above: Finished stamping the garden, now ready to construct a card.

 

Above: Completed card.

Above: Close-up of the finished images.

Experiment with the technique:  change how much water you use, blend the colors or not, use your Aquapainter to move the color around even more after you've stamped it.  You'll have this new technique under your belt in no time!!

Stamping 101 - Chalkboard Technique

The chalkboard technique is a great way to make use of dark-colored cardstock, and created very dramatic images.  As the name implies, you make use of pastels (the "chalk") on a dark ground (the "board").  Here's how!

This tutorial  uses the Two Step Stamp set, Awash with Flowers from Stampin' Up!.  There are two keys to making it work:  White Craft Ink and a dark cardstock background.  I'm using black, but you can use any other dark color with just as good an effect.

First, start by stamping the solid block stamp from your images using White Craft ink.  Here, I'm using the clear mount version of the "Awash with Flowers" set.  

 

Then, using a cotton swab, or a pastel applicator, start coloring the white image with pastels. (You can see below that I was a little sloppy with my stamping, and created a ghost of the petals.  However, I discovered that after coloring, you can erase at least most of this.  Also, with the second step of the Two-Step Stamping, this error becomes less obvious.  Of course, it would be better if I had been more careful inking my stamp.....)

As you color with the pastels, you will create colored dust.  Be sure that you pick up your card and shake it off, rather than brush it off with your hand.  Believe it or not, that's really all there is to it!  You can easily blend colors, as well, which is shown in the series below.

You can stop here if you like, but I love the look of the added outline stamp, Step 2 of the Two-Step Stamping.  If you want to line it up perfectly, you can certainly use the Stamp-a-ma-jig (see the tutorial here).  But with this technique it's just as fun to freehand the placement. 

I used Black Craft ink, and then embossed it to create a glossy contrast to the soft look of the pastels.

 

While I was playing, I tried a variation on the technique:  stamping with Versamark (which is clear), and coloring with mica powders (such as PearlEx Powder, or Perfect Pearls).

 

See the shimmer in the image above?  You can also see a direct comparison of the two approaches in the photo, below.

 

The yellow flower on the left was done with the more opaque pastels, and on the right, with mica powder.  You could also try applying the mica powder on top of the white craft ink.

For more ideas on how to use two-step stamp sets, check out this brief primer here.  Try other colors of cardstock, try monochromatic themes, and try using opposites on the color wheel (such as orange chalk against a dark green background) if you REALLY want things to pop.  You'll really have fun playing with this, I know!

And keep creating!!

A Year of Collage - September 2010

Here we are, at the unofficial end of summer.  And below is the continuation of my "Year of Collage" calendar, with the September design.

My inspiration came from the bright blue skies and sunflowers a-bloom in this month, the transition between the colors of Summer and the colors of Autumn.  The SU cardstock colors are the new Marina Mist and the retired Summer Sun.  The background is a combination of two "Cover-a-Card" background stamps from Impression Obsession:  "Funky" , stamped with French Blue ColorBox chalk ink, and "Script", stamped using Creamy Brown ColorBox Chalk ink. 

It seems 3-d flowers are all the rage too, so how could I resist adding a sunflower?  This one was made based on the instructions found in "The Paper Garden" by Susan Tierney Cockburn.  She has devised ways to use paper punches to make beautiful, realistic flowers.  WARNING:  You must be ready to manipulate very small pieces of cardstock and paper to make these!  If this type of detail work is not your cup of tea, you might be better off buying a pre-made flower. :)

The month name is from Stampin' Up!'s Full Calendar set, stamped in Marina Mist ink, and punched out with the Modern Label punch.  (And do it in this order:  stamp first, then you can turn your punch upside down and position the stamped image it the punch to your liking.)  It was mounted on Summer Sun and Marina Mist after rounding the corners of each of the backgrounds.

And there you go.  Something bright an cheerful for each September day.

(You can click here to see all of the other months in the Year of Collage.)