Art 'n Soul Weekly E-Mail

Friday, January 31, 2014

Tomorrow morning starts Recycled Rubber . . . the first Saturday of the month has arrived already! Loads and loads of new stuff, just waiting for you to discover new treasures to add to your stash at home. The doors open at 10:00 a.m.!

While you're at Art 'n Soul, be sure to check out the new stamps that came in from Impression Obsession. Oh boy! And if we've sold out on some of the images, IO is still 'open catalog'! I almost had to apply for a 4th mortgage to pay for my order!


Pop on over to Dianne's blog (Backporch) to see a sneak peek of the Magenta new release that's just about ready. We're so anxious to see all that will be new so we'll be able to order them.


by Valerie Dumais, Magenta





I found a shop while here in Boca Raton thanks to the recommendation of John Petersen through the Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko Rep in Florida, Pat Johnson who I met in Las Vegas at the CHA Summer show last year. I did my homework; I bing'd it to search for information and directions. Tom said, "don't drive too far." Piece of cake; I told him it was about 15 minutes from here.

Following the GPS on my iPhone, everything went great until I hit the Florida Turnpike. I didn't get into the correct lane according to the cashier at the toll plaza. I wanted to go northbound and I was in the southbound direction. I had to pay the toll, go down 2 exits and make a u-turn to drive northbound. At that exit, I had to pay another toll to leave the turnpike, make a u-turn, and then pay another toll to get back onto the turnpike. I drive along, and there is another toll plaza but the GPS said to 'stay left'. I stayed left, bypassing the toll plaza. When I exited, I had to go through the toll line AGAIN. Because I didn't have a piece of paper from the bypassed toll plaza, I had to pay that toll plus this toll. I said I was out of cash and only had 39-cents to my name; of course, they don't take credit cards. So she wrote some info on a business card-sized paper for the toll charge I owed and said to mail in the money. Off I go!

After I finished at the store, there was a bank in the same parking lot. I went to the cash machine and withdrew a small amount. When I entered the on-ramp to the Turnpike again, I had to push a button to retrieve a voucher. Part way down the road, I had to stop off at the toll plaza to show the voucher and pay the toll.  But this time I had cash! I also asked if I could pay the earlier IOU; nope, you have to mail it in. I will say that at 4:45 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, the traffic on the Turnpike was smooth sailing.

Back to the store . . . I met the owner, Michelle, and one of her employees, Nancy. After some shopping, I introduced myself when I was paying because there were several mutual friends, acquaintances, etc. Nathalie Metivier, Helene's sister, has taught there several times and is good friends with Michelle. And of course they knew John and another 'team member' Nancy Hawes who has become a very dear friend. Even though the store is much larger than Art 'n Soul and they started out as a scrapbooking store, they reminded me so much of us . . . personal customer service, lots of different types of classes and techniques, a blog but no website for online ordering, etc.

l-r:  Nancy, me and Michelle
Everything Scrapbook

Everything Scrapbook purchases . . .
I figured I could use these stencils to zentangle in and
on the trip home, they won't take up a lot of room in the suitcase!


If you're ever in the Palm Beach/Lake Worth/Boca Raton area north of Miami, do stop into Everything Scrapbooking off of State Road 7 and Lake Worth Blvd. They're wonderful ladies!


At the hotel, they have a bar that uses wine bottles as part of their lighting decor.

these are all wine bottles that have been
stacked; recessed lighting along the other end of
the bottles makes them glow. many alcoves are
'framed' with these bottles and lighting.
This wine label is so cool; it's 3-D. I hope you can see
the raised lettering; even the square image is 3-D.

And these are the flowers in a huge vase that you see upon entering the resort lobby. I thought they were artificial; upon close inspection, they're the real thing! I would have taken a photo of the arrangement in its entirety but I was hurried along to the dinner. Perhaps I'll be able to take one before we leave!



Good night. I hope to see you back here either tomorrow night or on Sunday morning.

Enjoy the deals at Recycled Rubber in the morning!




Thursday, January 30, 2014

You should go to the Magenta blog to see how Ellie Knoll made this card using heat embossing, gesso, Pan Pastels, and 'ironing off' the embossing to reveal the original paper color.

by Ellie Knol, Design Team Magenta



Speaking of Magenta, here is a card sample at the store made by Helene Metivier of Magenta . . .

by Helene Metivier, Magenta
Magenta Stamps:  P0643 & 07802.F




I don't know if you've seen this at the store. Marj Marion has a 'tip' card on one of the tables . . . as you well know, Marj always has great tips and techniques to share about card making.


Thanks, Marj!


We are not a scrapbooking store, but I just had to share this beautiful layout from Vicki Garrett, who is on the Design Team for Impression Obsession. As I looked at it, I saw a card design and/or a layout for a mixed media wall hanging. Go to the IO blog link or Vicki Garrett's blog link for the step-by-step details.

by Vicki Garrett for Impression Obsession





While it's 10:00 p.m. at home, it's 1:00 a.m. here in Boca Raton. We arrived as the darkness set in and it was rain, rain rain. Thus, we really didn't see anything driving from the airport to the hotel, nor did we see much of the hotel grounds.

Traveling up Highway 95 in the pouring rain from
the airport to the resort. It never let up and it still
hasn't. As I write this posting, the downpour outside
the door to our room is unbelievably loud and relentless.

After we checked in, we went to Moromito's Sushi Bar for dinner . . . he's the Iron Chef from the Food Network Channel. We started with the special sushi of the day, Lobster Roll. It was delicious but not as good as the next two items!

Chirashi . . . Chef's selection of fish atop sushi rice
Tom's choice, not mine!
Soft Shell Crab Maki Roll
(with asparagus, avocado and spicy sauce)
My choice!
Susie would be proud of me again as I was able to imbibe everything with chopsticks. And I missed the encouraging words from my good friend Kazuko; at CHA, she taught me that I was dipping too long and that was why my bites would fall apart before making it out of the dipping dish.

So, it's night-night for me. By the way, if you're not into football at all or the Seahawk Super Bowl Mania, Art 'n Soul will be open at 12:30 for at least a couple of hours this coming Sunday; Dianne's heading home if no one is there to 'keep her company'! It's amazing how many small shops will be closed on Super Bowl Sunday this year around the greater Puget Sound area.







Wednesday, January 29, 2014

From Cheery Lynn Designs . . .

"Tickled Pink

 Happy Tuesday everyone! leslierahye here playing along with this week's challenge Tickled Pink! I created my card with shades of pink from a distressed paper pad. To add the green color to the vines and leaves, I used chalks. I bit of line work around the word "love"helps it to stand out against the background. I'm totally loving the paper bow among the flowers!
by Leslierahye for Cheery Lynn Designs

Cheery Lynn Dies used
Flourish Leaf Strip - B178
Miniature Rose - B152
Medium Rose - B154
Tiny Flower Kit (Set of 3) - B376
Pretty Pretty Bows (Set of 2) - B422
Optimistic 5/8" Tall Upper/Lower Case - FS108
Lattice Heart & Vines - B368
Mini Butterflies w Angel Wings - D138

 Thank you for stopping by!!"



From Graphic 45's blog, look at this beautiful card by Susan Lui. It uses papers from the Couture paper collection that will ship sometime next month.
"There are so many ways to construct a beautiful handmade card. Just look at Susan's amazing Couture card! It opens to reveal a wonderful new dimension of rich colors and elegant designs. Couture is overflowing with gorgeous images that celebrate vintage fashion. The saturated colors are perfect for creating sophisticated cards with style! Susan added some pretty fussy cut elements to give this card even more exquisite detail. It's easy to create the perfect card for any occasion with this fabulous collection! Here is what Susan had to say about it. 

'I love the colours of the new Couture collection by Graphic 45. The designs lend themselves so well to card making. Here I’ve made a long 4x12 inch card which opens up to a 12x12 standing display with a different view from different angles. I used the 4x6 card cut-outs for the centre pieces and the smaller cut-out pieces and fussy-cut details for the other panels.' -Susan

by Susan Lui for Graphic 45  
by Susan Lui for Graphic 45
by Susan Lui for Graphic 45
by Susan Lui for Graphic 45
by Susan Lui for Graphic 45
by Susan Lui for Graphic 45
Supplies:
Graphic 45 Couture collection - Elegant, 8x8 Paper Pad
Bazzill black card stock"

Click on this link to see more amazing projects from Graphic 45 . . . http://g45papers.typepad.com/




From the Memory Box blog, two beautiful cards by Pam Sparks will inspire you for sure!
by Pam Sparks for Memory Box

by Pam Sparks for Memory Box
Click on this link to see how she made these cards:http://davebrethauer.typepad.com/outsidethebox/



This has been showing up on Facebook today. An artist in the San Francisco area, Andres Amador, likes to be at the beach and while there, he zentangles in the sand with his rake. 

by Andres Amador
Click on this link to go to the website that shows his 'beachy' zentangling . . . http://www.viralnova.com/beach-art/




There was a bit of confusion today in some of the weekly emails from the store. There was a misunderstanding on the Sweet Something's Class that I'm teaching on Sunday, February 9. All of the paper will be supplied for the 3 projects described and available to see at the store, plus the candies and filler material. Because the boxes are sooooo easy, I'm thinking that there might very well be extra time before the class time ends. So, if you'd like to bring your own extra paper or purchase some at the store, you are welcome to use the dies that I'm using in the class to make extras.

Sunday, February 9, from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. SWEET SOMETHINGS” -- Debbie Gaetz  $20 per person
Using dies from Spellbinders and Memory Box, we’ll make little containers for your ‘sweet somethings’ for the special people you’ve chosen to honor on Valentine’s Day, or any other day! Perfect for candy hearts, Hershey Kisses™, or whatever is small and precious to you. If time permits, you’re welcome to purchase any paper in the store and use the dies from class during the class time. Please bring your basic kit to include a bone folder, adhesive (I recommend double-sided tape or small tape runner), and a ‘poker’. Filler material will be supplied.

That's all for tonight. I have a few more things to pack, and then I'm off to bed to dream about getting up at some o'dark hour tomorrow morning. Sweet dreams!



Recycled Rubber is this Saturday, starting at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 1! Today is the last day the store may accept items for Recycled Rubber to allow staff enough time to price each one.


You must pop over to Heidi Blankenship's blog, Embellished Dreams, to see how she made this beautiful card!


by Heidi Blankenshp
Click on this link . . . http://embellished-dreams.blogspot.com/





From the IMAGINE Crafts blog, John Petersen shows you how to make a beautiful card with the new Delicata Shimmery Silver in this video . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kl1fCsTbrjY. It's worth your time to watch it if you haven't already! I wish there would have been a way to show you a photo of the card. The technique John shares is one you will be able to replicate with any dies.



From the Memory Box blog . . .

"Grande Thank You!!!

Hello, Stampers!
Time has been at a premium, and I've been suffering withdrawal from not being able to make any cards, but I managed to sneak off and make a little something this morning. It may be a simple card, but it's the kind of card you can make in under five minutes (literally) and still manage to make its recipient very happy. (I'm sorry for the dim lighting, btw.)
by Deborah Nolan for Memory Box
S U P P L I E S
Memory Box die (Grand Thank You) and cardstock; Prima patterned paper; sequins (Cartwright), gems & pearls (Mark Richards), enamel dots (Basic Grey)
Thanks for stopping and have a blessed day!
Deborah"



From the Hero Arts blog, a nice Valentine's card from Jennifer McGuire . . .

"Stenciled Checkerboard Background + a Valentine Steal

January 28th, 2014 by jennifer
Hello! It’s Jennifer here. Can you believe Valentine’s Day is just around the corner? Today’s card is one I will send to a friend to remind her I love her…


After inking over the stencil with Bubble Gum Ink and a Sponge Dauber, I shifted the stencil and inked it with Fresh Peach Ink. I then stamped hearts with Punch Ink to create my own pattern. So fun! You could change up the colors for a completely different look.


Next, I have a sweetheart of a deal to let you know about! We have a Valentine Steal that is available now in the Hero Arts Online Store.



The steal includes these items:
  • 2 woodblock stamps - Be Mine Script (C5670) and True Love (H5669)
  • An exclusive to Archiver’s Stamp & Cut Set - Cute Heart (DI066)
  • A pack of Blush Memento Markers (MW016)
  • A pack of Carnation Folded Cards (PS553)
  • A pack of Carnation Envelopes (PS578)
That’s a $40+ value for only $30! What a perfect combination of products to create your own Valentine’s cards!

Happy stamping,
___jennifer2
"




I love mixed media books. Here's an article from the Splash of Color blog, the folks we order the Silks from! I wish I had seen this earlier; maybe I'll have time to try it for a Valentine's gift after I return from Florida . . . in my dreams but an inspiring thought!

by Lisa Gregory for Splash of Color



For our Tombow marker aficionados, go to the link to see Marie Browning's blending technique on vellum. I wish we could bring Marie to Art 'n Soul because she lives just northwest of us (in British Columbia) but her full-time commitments to Tombow USA make it impossible to fit a class here into her schedule.

Blending technique by Marie Browning for Tombow USAhttp://blog.tombowusa.com/2014/01/20/blending-on-vellum-by-marie-browning/



Have you saved the date for Animal Spirit Stamps from Earth Art International? On Saturday, February 8, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., our Gwen Evans will be at Art 'n Soul for a make-'n-take demo of the newly released stamp designs and begin the Trunk Show that will continue at the store until February 15.

These are the new stamps, released at CHA:






Animal Spirits is Coming!
We are thrilled to be hosting a Make and Take and trunk show from Earth Art International, Animal Spirits Stamps. These stamps are made from original art by Washington artist Sue Coccia. Gwen Evens, who is part of our Art 'n Soul family will be here on February 8th from 1:00-3:00 with demos and a make and take. She will also be bringing a trunk show of Animal Spirits stamps, which will remain at Art 'n Soul from the 8th through the 15th of February. This is such a popular event – come early for best selection of stamps. We will also be taking pre-orders for new designs that will be out by the end of February.



I'll leave you with these two photos for an upcoming class at Art 'n Soul. The project features the Graphic 45 French Country paper collection for a cookbook album. Watch for the date announcement.




Enjoy your day! Make it even better by stopping in at Art 'n Soul!



Monday, January 27, 2014

Yesterday was a fun afternoon at Art 'n Soul. I had the fun of demo'ing the newly released products from IMAGINE Crafts/Tsukineko at CHA earlier this month. I want to personally thank each of you who took the time to stop in and order those terrific new inks and sprays!

The 'rough' samples I made are still at the store. The order is just about ready to be submitted, so if you're wanting to get in on the order, please stop in or call the store asap (360.357.6820) so you don't miss out.

  • Delicata in Silvery Shimmer
  • Radiant Neon pigment inks in 7 new colors
  • irRESISTible texture spray in color complementing the Memento ink colors, as well as irRESISTible colors with the Pico Embellishment. The Pico Embellishment comes in all of the irRESISTible spray colors, including the metallics, with the exception of the white colored spray.
  • StazOn Midi's in 12 colors, including 6 new colors!
  • IMAGINE Crafts craft mat (15" x 18" introduced in summer 2013 but shown and used at the demo)

SPECIAL NOTEs on the Pico Embellishment:

  • There are 2 colors that you may not have noticed when writing up your orders but is on the catalog supplement at the store . . . Clear and Shimmer in the irRESISTibles but only in the Pico Embellishment, and not the spray. Those colors you would find in the Goosebumps line.
  • Several of you asked why there are 2 separate bottles for the irRESISTible spray and Pico Embellishment for the same color. I asked and here is what their Product Development Manager says . . . "IC/T doesn't recommend interchanging the spray head and the pico applicator. While they do fit, the hard plastic bottle of the spray makes using the pico applicator hard. To use the spray head on the pico bottle, the tube needs to be cut. But the most compelling reason is the fact that irRESISTible is acrylic. If it dries on the applicator (spray or pico) while you are using a different top, it has a much higher probability of clogging or preventing it threading onto the bottle properly. Then no one is happy. And just so you know, each bottle was individually selected to ensue the best performance of the applicator - a soft bottle just isn't the best bottle for a spray head."

I made another card this evening. It was so easy.


by Debbie Gaetz
(close-up below)
 


I sprayed the irRESISTible in silver on the 118 lb. Conqueror cover card stock. Then I stamped the Penny Black floral stamp with Radiant Neon pigment ink in Electric Pink. I trimmed the card stock to the height of the scrap washi paper and approximately 1/3 of the width. On black card stock, I stamped the Savvy word stamp with the Delicata in Shimmery Silver, and die cut it into a rectangular shape with the Spellbinders' Nestabilities die set.

I just love the 'pop' of color the new Radiant Neon pigment inks give to a very simple card design. I've also discovered that when I color over the Radiant Neon stamped ink with the Memento marker pens, the Neon acts as a resist and the color is not affected by the marker pen color.

If you go to this link -- http://www.tsukineko.com/ -- it will take you to the IMAGINE Crafts/Tsukineko website. You can see the products we've been talking about and you may also download the catalog supplement that goes into more detail.



From the Poppystamps blog, I love this card because I love that die!

by Irena Kowalczyk/Rudlis for Poppystamps
Click on this link to go to the blog and see how Irena made this beautiful card; it has certainly inspired me with an idea or two!



That's all I have for tonight.

Catch you tomorrow!





Sunday, January 26, 2014

Here I go again . . . I thought I had clicked on "publish" and here it still is. We had a fantastic turn-out for the demo of new products from  IMAGINE Crafts/Tsukineko this afternoon. I want to personally thank each of you for stopping by. I wish I would have had more time. If you didn't catch the demo, please stay tuned. We are submitting the order very, very soon! In other words, if you think you're going to want something, and I know you will!, we need your order asap please.

More about the demo tomorrow; it's late and we finished our small birthday dinner for 18 a short while ago. I'm done for the day but I'll be back at it tomorrow mid to late afternoon. See you then! In the meantime, please catch what I thought I had posted last night . . .


From the Memory Box blog, another beautiful card featuring one of their new dies and one of their new stencils!

Adore Card

"Hi Everyone,
Today, I have a card which features one of the new dies just released, and one of the new designer stencils. I paired these with one of my favorite stamps.  You could use this card for several different occasions, including Valentine's Day.
by Donna Sledzik for Memory Box
The following Memory Box Products used to create this card are as follows:
  • Donnington Trendril Die #98764
  • Tessatina Stencil #88516
  • Adore Peony Collage Stamp #G1433
  • Parchment, Licorice and Dill Cardstock
I hope you all have a great week-end!
Donna"


From Impression Obsession, another fabulous card for Valentine's Day was revealed on their blog today.
by Anna Wight for Impression Obsession
Click on this link to go to their blog for the details on how to make this card . . . http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/.


From the Cheery Lynn Designs' blog . . .

"Winter Birdhouse

by Jodi Baune for Cheery Lynn Designs

Jodi Baune is with us today filling in for Amy.  She has created this amazing card using the newly released Classic Birdhouse.  And what a wonderful spray of foliage she has created below it.  Such a frosty look to the card, perfect for the deep freeze this winter has become.  Be sure to visit Jodi's blog for all the details of how she made this card.  Thanks, Jodi, for helping us out.

 Cheery Lynn Designs dies used:
B154 Medium Rose
B241 Rose Leaf Strip
B216 Wreath Strip
B146 Pine Branches
DL226 Snowflowers 2
DL153 Polynesian Sails Oval
E141 Dotted Swiss Embossing Plate
L-10 Classic Coved Rectangle Silver Stacker
XL-11 Scalloped Coved Rectangle Nesting Die"



Scenes from the Penny Black display at CHA . . . a few new stamp designs, dies and stencils. And lots of beautiful samples to inspire you.










 















































New stencils from Penny Black




New stamp from Penny Black

New stamp from Penny Black

New stamp from Penny Black

New stamp from Penny Black

New stamp from Penny Black

New stamp from Penny Black

New stamp from Penny Black

More images tomorrow!