Saturday, April 15, 2017

I'm still alive! (She said while hacking up a lung...)

Well, I suppose I could blame disappearing again on the holidays, world events, my Visual Resources Association conference paper, and/or my engagement. I really can't go with winter since we didn't really have one in Baltimore. I'm only working on this now because I'm too sick to make anything but well enough and sick enough of TV that this seemed like a good activity. I'd like to promise to do better over the next few months, but with wedding planning that is probably not super realistic (I'm engaged, dearest Readers!).

So what's been happening with me craftwise? Still been making a lot of stuff, and I finally started heat embossing. Unlike last time I made a whole bunch of back posts, this time I'm just lumping things together by holiday/sentiment. I could do a bunch of separate posts for all of my Christmas crafts, but that's feeling a bit over to me as spring takes hold.

What to look forward to? I will be making my own wedding invitations, so I'll be excited to share those when the time comes. Also, I've been working on a large group of encouragement cards for women that I started in early March, so hopefully those will be ready to share soon.

I'm also going to start adding my work to Pinterest, so come find me there! 

--LJE





Easter Cards

Right up to the wire with this one! I greatly enjoyed using clear embossing powder to add a chocolate glisten to my bunnies. I also made my first (and possibly last) slider card. Pro Tip: Do not jab a craft knife into your index finger. 

--LJE















Distress Experimenting

If you've been looking through my thematic posts, you've already seen some of the finished products that came out of the experiments I'm about to describe. Many paper crafters consider Tim Holtz's Distress inks made by Ranger to be key tools in their crafty arsenals. They have unique properties in regards to how they react with water. Recently, the new Distress Oxide inks came out which create an "oxidized" effect with their water interaction. Combination dye and pigment, they have been shaking up the paper crafting social media world. To get the full scoop on their advantages and properties, watch this Jennifer McGuire video

Meanwhile, I couldn't help but wonder if I couldn't achieve a similar effect with white pigment ink and regular Distress inks. I conducted a few experiments that you will see below with the Picket Fence Reinker. Anything that has a chalky finish has the white pigment ink. In the larger group shots towards the end, some of the panels are just other related work I was doing the same day. All in all, I was pleased with the results. Putting down a layer of white pigment ink first did seem to create a similar chalky effect. Cons: The real Distress Oxide inks are opaque and would be much easier to layer. Also, this used a lot of reinker and took a long time to dry completely. 

Enjoy additional shots of the mess and my inky fingers. 

--LJE


















Birthday Cards

A lot of these use my new favorite set for birthdays that came in the Hero Arts My Monthly Hero December 2016 Card Kit. The set is just so versatile! 

I wish I'd executed the washi tape candles better. I got the idea from this blog post of Frenchie's. 


--LJE