Swaps, Lots of Swaps

 Holiday ATCs at All Things Tim

 Ideaology Swap at All Things Tim

  2010 Calendar Swap at All Things Tim

  2010 Calendar Swap, angeling for a friend

 Vintage Christmas Page Swap at All Things Tim

Here are my swaps.  I'm DONE!  I have a swap that begins next year, an Exquisite Corpse swap, and I need to make cards and gifts for the holidays still, but the commitments are DONE.  I am a little excited, and looking forward to some very sinful lazing around the house this weekend.  I don't even have to cook this year!  Thanks, Betty.

About the swaps, one page was done for a friend whose father had passed.  She contacted me to get in touch with the hostess and I was feeling so bad for her - I knew she had been working on them when her father became ill, and just needed to spend time with him, and then when  I learned that he had passed and she was dropping out,  so I volunteered to take her place.  This way, she spends time with her family, but still enjoys her calendar.  She asked why I would do this for her, and all I could think of, well ... it was all I could think of to DO for her, because she lives too far for me to give her a hug or help in any other way.

If you have any questions about these projects, or getting involved in a swap, please let me know.  I look forward to lots of ARTFUL swaps in 2010.

Free Croppin' at Croppinsville

In order to help you get your Christmas Projects done, we will be opening our Crop area to you at NO charge throughout December.

We are open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm.  In December, we will be staying open til 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.  Please RSVP to reserve your table.  Tables are first come, first serve.  Tables may be shared - we do have extra chairs.  We'll have lots of our tools out, along with Christmas stamps and ink, our Cricut, and other fun things to try.  We are sure you will have a wonderful time visiting and creating.

We will not be serving drinks and snacks during our Free Croppin' time, but you are welcome to bring in your own.

What to do with those Studio 490 Stamps..

So you've bought those stamps and you need some fresh ideas, or you just REALLY like Wendy Vecchi's inimitable style!  


Check out these links...  IF you have ART you would like to share, please - let me know, I'd love to add you to the REFERENCE list!


VIDEOS
Distress Ink and Perfect Pearls
GHOSTED IMAGE TECHNIQUE
Meet Wendy Vecchi
Adirondack Pigment Pearls Technique
Eclectic Feed - Various Interviews (by Eclectic Paperie)
Pigment Inks and Distress Inks - by Paper Patti


TUTORIALS
15 Minute Art - AKA Alcohol Ink Play
Book Page Flower - by Lisa Pace
Blossoms Card Tutorial - by Wendy Vecchi
Guest Tutorial - by Lori Hassler
Grunge Paper Dahlias @ Walkin' on the Bad Side
Toilet Paper Casting - by Allie Gower
Altered Door Hanger - by Lisa Pace
Color Faux Wash Bleach - by Sherry Cheever, Split Coast Stampers
Rose Tutorial - by Wendy Vecchi
GrungePaper Poppy Tutorial - by Inge Bekhart
Pigments and Pearls Part I - by Wendy Vecchi
3 Ways with ONE Stamp - by Wendy Vecchi
Maya Road ATC Tutorial - by Wendy Vecchi
Altered Trinkets Blossom - by Wendy Vecchi
Maya Road and a Tiny Tutorial - by Wendy Vecchi
A Tag Tutorial - by Wendy Vecchi
Spritz & Flick Again - by Wendy Vecchi
Maya Design Team Tutorials - by Wendy Vecchi


ART
Stamp Attic - art by Hels
Stamp Attic - more art by Hels
Stamp Attic - art by Linda E
Grungepaper Roses - KoalaTKreations
A Crafting Journey - Linda Elbourne
Ink on My Fingers - Hels
Getting Messy with Studio 490 - by Marlene

NEW ADDITIONS


Brooches and Bracelets - Eileen

Sticky Back Canvas Roses - Karen Ellis


Favorite Bloggers
Ink on My Fingers
A Crafting Journey


Thanks for the links, keep them coming, I will continue to update this post.


What do YOU do with Studio 490 Stamps?


Leave a comment with your FAVORITE link (even if it's not listed) and you'll have a chance to win a copy of Wendy's book! A random winner will be chosen Tuesday, November 24. Make sure I have a way to contact you, or check back next week to see if you've won!

FEATURED PRODUCT AND ARTIST

These are pictures of Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 Acrylic Album.  They were both embellished by ARTIST Sue Kesselman.  I was thrilled when Sue sent me the pictures, and I wanted to start a series of Featured Products and Artists here at Croppinsville, so I asked her to tell me more about her.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN STAMPING:

I've been stamping for nearly 15 years but have worked with my hands all my life. Working with paper and ink has stayed with me the longest and is my favorite medium. It's been fun watching my art evolve over the years. My very first stamp was of an apple so I could make Rosh Hashanah cards...thought it would be less expensive than what Hallmark was offering. So much for that theory! :)

HOW DID YOU LEARN TO BE SO CREATIVE:

Taking classes, reading magazines and searching the internet have all helped me get where I am today. As many teachers are quick to remind you, 'It's only paper and ink.' and 'Inspiration is all around you - don't accept something for what it is meant to be but what it could be.'

WHAT PRODUCTS OR INSTRUCTORS HAVE INFLUENCED YOU:

If I had to name one company from the art world that has had the biggest impact on my creative life I would have to say Ranger Industries. When I first started stamping I lived near Ranger and was able to take classes from their employees at a nearby stamping store. The products speak for themselves with their versatility and reliability.

DEFINE YOUR STYLE:

I don't have a single style that defines me as I can go from cute or pretty to artsy or down & dirty in a short period of time. I've delved into the scrapbooking world but creating ATCs is my favorite size of medium. I do make & send 30-50 A2 cards per month to family and friends. As a list mom or member of several on-line groups, I never find myself without a reason to creating art.

WHERE CAN WE SEE MORE OF SUE KESSELMAN?

Susan has been published in Rubber Stamp Madness, and has had cards, ATCs, etc. featured in several stamp companies' galleries. She prefers to spend time creating, rather than creating and updating up with a blog.

We'll twist her arm to keep her sharing her creations with us!

Thanks for being a FEATURED ARTIST Sue!

Do you have something you've made with items you've purchased from Croppinsville?  We'd like to SHOWCASE you!

If Susan had a blog, she could display her Croppie.  Who will earn a Croppie next!

Misting with Markers

I learned this great technique using Alcohol Pens from Beate at Split Coast Stampers.  She's made a fabulous video tutorial.  Beate uses Copic Markers in the tutorial, but I also tried Fillable Adirondack Pens.  I'm just learning, and she does a better job teaching, so check it out!

As Seen in Scrapbooks Etc. December 2009 Issue

This month's SCRAPBOOKS, ETC. is now at Croppinsville.  SCRAPBOOKS, ETC. is my fave because there are LOTS of layouts, a free pullout sketch section, and they do so much online as well.  Their focus is on keeping scrapbooking and cardmaking affordable.  You won't see fifty dollar pages that you'll never be able to make.  Save 25% on all Scrapbooks, Etc. publications til the end of the year.



Page 82 ... The GADGET GIRLS give a review of one of my favorite FISKARS tools, the Push 'n Print Stamp Factory...  for more info read a Fiskars BLOG POST here.

Purchase your Push 'n Print Stamp Factory in store, and receive your choice of a refill ink pad or a select stamp set while supplies last.  Want to take one for a test drive?  We've got you covered, simply ask Allie while you're in the store.



Page 104 ...  Ranger Industries Adirondack Alcohol Ink Fillable Pen ... The folks at SCRAPBOOKS, ETC. give you the pros, the cons, and the bottom line on this nifty pen.  Visit Ranger for even more info.  Til the end of the year at Croppinsville, in store, purchase four alcohol inks or mixatives and save 25%.  Color your world for less!



Page 126 ...  Type Charms - The ad features a great handmade bracelet.  My friend Ibis did a review for Scrapbook Update on the type charms used to create the bracelet.  Check it out!  We carry type charms, link chain, and jump rings from the Idea-ology line.  You can make one too!  We're happy to help.  Just ask Allie.

Page 127 ... Dot N' Go dispensers from GLUE DOTS.  I love these.  Since discovering them, I've gone through several with NO problems.  The MINI is my personal fave!  Save 25% on Dot N' Go products til the end of the year.  We carry the Mini, Craft, and Memory varieties - all acid free, and super sticky!

Well, there's your specials - now come in and save.  And don't forget to pick up the latest copy of Scrapbooks, etc.

Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #91

There's nothing like a good sketch, let alone a challenge.  I think the card is cute, the picture - well I'm not too keen on it.  I tried photographing and scanning, but neither really captured it.  Anyhooo, I sure had fun.

I'm participating in Taylored Expression's challenge this week.

Have some fun with this challenge.

Tinted Paint Technique

The TECHNIQUE I'm sharing with you this evening is for the hearts in the photo. It's fun to make full sheets of this Tinted Paint background paper and use it for die cuts, tags, and more.

INSTRUCTIONS:

You will need the following:

Nonstick Craft Sheet

White Acrylic Paint

Several Colors of Reinker

One Sheet of Cardstock (I cut this into mat size pieces, for ease)

Optional – homemade pearl mist, or Glimmer mist

Got everything in place?

Take the white acrylic paint and spread it on a nonstick craft sheet.

Drop reinker around on the paint, various colors.

You can even spritz some homemade perfect pearls mist in it for some shimmer.

Use a piece of cardstock to really smear the colors around, then lay the cardstock on the paint, to coat your paper.

Apply more paint/ink as desired.

Let your paper dry.

Once completely dry, it has a neat almost leathery feel, and if you turn it over, you’ll see the original ink colors you added, in a fun mottled pattern.

Die cut or use as desired.

Repeat as desired.

Hope you're having a FABULOUSLY creative weekend. Happy Crafting!