How about a Bandanna Technique Card Contest???

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is well. I was cleared for my surgery, so I'm getting ready, trying to get as much done at work as possible. It's a busy week with Claudine here, but things are coming along so well! I had a blast playing with Claudine today and I'm really stoked on what's coming down the pike this summer! I'm going to be up late tonight finishing up my prepping for the Scrapbook Cupboard classes and tomorrow night, dinner with Miss Claudine and Foofie Toes' Mommy (Nadine!).

I figured that during my recovery from my arthroscopic knee surgery, it would be fun to have a contest...what do you think? Here's the rules:

1. Create a card that features the Bandanna Technique! For those that don't know what that is, I'm going to post the "official" directions below. The key to "bandanna-ing" is using the Inkssentials(tm) White Opaque Pen-it can be over pre-printed scrapbook paper, over Distress Crackle Paint(tm), Adirondack(r) Pigment Ink, or even Tim's Wrinkle Free Distress Technique!

2. Mail the card to Ranger's office as follows:

Robin's Bandanna Technique Card Contest

c/o Ranger Industries

15 Park Road

Tinton Falls, NJ 07724

Since I don't have a P.O. box, this is the next best thing and I'll have someone from my office mail the cards home to me.

3. Make as many as you want! If possible, mail separately so I can keep track of what I get from whom. PUT YOUR NAME ON IT! I know, I'm my own worst enemy of this, but don't forget to do this. Even though this is my personal contest, who knows? It could end up as a sample at CHA?! Hint: since it's no surprise that I work at Ranger, it wouldn't hurt to use Ranger product?????

4. Have all cards to me by FRIDAY, MAY 17th, 2008. My plan is to go through them all and while home, from time to time post some of them (not necessarily will be what's picked as the winners, but just go show all the neat stuff that (I hope!) is coming in!

5. I will (possibly with some help from my cats Minnie and Oliver, who'll be home keeping me company, and maybe even Brian) pick 8-10 "finalists". I'll then set up a poll for you to vote for the winner!

6. I'm still figuring out what you can win. I may contact a few of my author friends to see if they want to cough up some stuff, but I think what the "grand prize" will be.....hmmmm....how about a FULL set of Ranger Adirondack(r) Pigment Ink Stamp Pad and reinkers? That's 20 stamp pads and 20 reinkers...not bad, huh? (Note: this is my contest...I'm going to be buying this from Ranger-wholesale, but still, it's going to be from ME!) Second and Third Places will be a $25 Amazon gift certificate and Third Place-will be a surprise (which means I'm not sure what yet).

So, what do you think? Tell EVERYONE!!!! The more the merrier. PLEASE give me something to ogle and look at while I'm recovering from my knee surgery!

Here's the "official" Bandanna Technique Instructions! Feel free to share...

Bandanna Backgrounds

Supplies:
Tim Holtz™ Distress Ink™ Dye Stamp Pads, Ranger Industries
Inkssentials™ Non-Stick Craft Sheet, Ranger Industries
Inkssentials™ Mini Mister™, Ranger Industries
Inkssentials™ Heatit™ Craft Tool, Ranger Industries
Inkssentials™ White Opaque Pen, Ranger Industries
Adirondack® Pitch Black Dabber or Pigment Pad or Archival™ Jet Black, Ranger Industries
Rubber Stamps (flourishes work especially well)
Watercolor Paper, Strathmore Series 400
Directions:
Creating the Wrinkle Free Distress background:
1. For this technique, the key is what you do after you create the background. Thus, you can use ink or paint. My favorites are using either Tim Holtz’ Wrinkle Free Distress Techniques or painting a Distress Crackle Paint or Adirondack Pigment Ink background.
2. For Wrinkle Free Distress, use watercolor paper cut into 4” squares or postcard size (5-1/2” x 4-1/4”).
3. Rub colors of Distress Ink on the Non-Stick Craft Sheet. Place the ink next to and not on top of one another to keep the ink colors as pristine as possible.
4. Spritz ink with water with Mini Mister; more water is better. If you use too little water, you will end up with “blocks” of color.
5. Press paper on the inks; “squeegee” your hand over the back of the paper (move your hand, not the paper, moving the ink outward). Turn over and dry with the Craft Tool. (Option: blot the wetter areas with a paper towel, which creates wonderful ink spots and helps the paper dry faster!)
6. Note how Distress Inks, when wet, create different tones of the same color.
7. Lightly tap dry inked paper over remaining ink drops on Craft Sheet to build layers of color. Dry with Craft Tool. Note: if you don’t dry the ink between “pressings”, it will muddy.
8. Repeat until desired look is achieved.
9. For Distress Crackle Paint background, paint manila tag or cardstock with Crackle Paint. Shake paint; medium coats create smaller cracks; heavier coats create larger cracks. Allow to dry on own; use Craft Tool to speed drying only after it has started to crack.
Bandanna it!
10. Stamp images with either paint dabber, pigment ink or Archival ink over surface. Use Craft Tool to speed drying. The types of stamps that are best are more graphic ones or ones that have medium to heavier “lines” so they can be embellished.
11. Now’s the fun part! Have fun doodling over and around the images with the white pen. Use your imagination; don’t be shy; add embellishments over or around the lines of the stamp, which is your doodling guide!

Happy Bandanna-ing!

Robin

Hazel, I'm not!

Happy Sunday, Everyone! Boy, am I whooped. I did a major "cleaning of the house." By no means is this my favorite job. I wish I had the ability to just snap my fingers and it be done, but alas, that doesn't happen. But I'm working on getting organized and cleaned up because next week I'm teaching at Scrapbook Cupboard in MA and the Tuesday after that I'm having my right knee surgery!

This week will be busy with Claudine Hellmuth coming to NJ to work on her new product line with Ranger. That will be great, but busy!

So now I'm off to finish prepping for the classes, so I'll be ready to go. Enjoy this weeks bevy of beadbabe bloggers!

So clean on my friends!

• About.com Jewelry Making Catch up on some jewelry product reviews and sign up for the About.com Jewelry Making bi-weekly newsletter.
• Art Bead Scene Step into the world of faux-tiques and impossible objects. It isn't Alice in Wonderland, it's the world of Lynn Davis!
• Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie offers a rare glimpse into an even rarer sight: her clean beading
• Jewelry & Beading Need a new idea for bead embroidery? "Treasure Chest" will have you running for your stash! studio!
• Katie's Beading Blog Make these Butterfly Bliss earrings in an evening (okay, so they're really moths...)
• Make It Mine Magazine New online content: shrink art videos and a downloadable pendant project
• Naughty Secretary Club The king of the chain gang, Justin Giunta’s Subversive Jewelry comes to a Target near you.
• PearlEsq. What a Hoot! Check out the artfully individual Owls of Massaustraliranger. HUH?!
• Savvy Crafter It's a Pearl! Click over to Candie's blog to see where pearls come from and a pair of earrings!
• Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! My cool bracelet which I made with wonderful components by Green Girl Studios!
• The Impatient Blogger Madge is off to Japan for a designer exchange between the CHA and the HAJ! Check out this e-newsletter excerpt for the 411.

Moving into the Video Age!

Happy Wednesday! Just a quick bloggie...for those that may not know it, Ranger's added a new Licensed Designer to the fold...Claudine Hellmuth! For those that don't know Claudine, you should! What I think Claudine does is take all the confusion and mystery out of what many term "mixed media." I'll be the first in line to learn about how to use all that stuff that you usually see in the "Fine Arts" section of a craft store.

While at CHA, one of the women helping us with sales at the booth became a director...with Flip Video in hand! Unbeknownst to me, weeks later, I would become an editor/producer. Whoda' thunk it!? I took on the job of trying to piece together various tapings into something cohesive. Ranger's first video has been put on Youtube and will also be linked to our site. I thought I'd just make it easy for you and bring it to you right here! Claudine creates some awesome magic by creating the look of tin type images with Adirondack(r) Acrylic Paint on tags! I have to tell you, I really am going to try this...after I get everything else on my list done, of course! Enjoy!

Don't Frame Me In!

Hey, all! I've been going crazy at work...Excel sheets, numbers, addition, subtraction....yikes! Because math is not my forte, I always stress over it....so let's look at more frames from the recent Ink/EP Ranger U. I'm so glad every one's still letting me know what's going on. Inquiring minds want to know what all of the Ranger U grads are up to! If you are interested in having someone come teach at your local store, or if you want to find out if one of your local stores has certified teachers there, check it out here!

Here's Claudine Hellmuth's aquatastic frame! She worked with all different techniques on the tiles using the various types of Coordinating Adirondack(r) Colors...she used lots of Aqua/Pool/Stream, as well as some Juniper in there...and then she UTEE'd her little heart out. Here she is double gunning it with two Heatit(tm) Craft Tools! She created a "kitty" silhouette in the middle of the frame with Adirondack(r) Embossing Powder in Stream...it's so great how you can create all different effects with the same colors! The cute Maya Road crown tops it off and gives anyone who looks into the mirror the King Kitty treatment!

Here's one from the very talented (and bratty) Wendy Vecchi! I'm very proud of her not going to her usual color palette of choice, Vintage Photo and Faded Jeans...Wendy, do you have any other color Distress Ink? (hehehe) She did some great effects with Tim's Shabby Chic on chipboard and Distress Crackle Painted the Maya Road Scroll Corners. A neat little trick I showed her was with the little polka dot stamp. To "soften" the defined look of a texture or background stamp, after inking it, stamp off just the outside edges of the stamp on scrap paper. When you stamp it multiple times as a background, it won't look so "block-ey". This is a great technique I learned from the immensely talented Kevin Nakagawa of Stampscapes fame. If you can ever take a class from him, please do. There are so many neat little tips that I learned from him years ago that I still use all the time in all of my stamping projects.

Well, last, but not least for this post, here's Lynne Forsythe's beautiful frame. Lynne's from NH way, manager of the store Generations of Memories...so much fun and quite the spunky one! Lynne's got some wonderful vintage ribbons and lace, which she included in this frame, creating a wonderful collage of Grungeboard, chipboard and ephemera. You can't beat that...plus the flowers! Good job, Lynne!

I'm all ready for my class this Saturday. I love to pull out my beads and make bead mixes...once I get going, then I feel obligated to make them in other colors...just in case....! I hope these ladies will be ready for me...remember, you don't get inky, but man, those beads look tiny after you've been working with rubber! ;-)

Beady Hugs, Robin