Exciting News - Demoing for True Colors

Have some exciting news to share with everyone!!!

There is a huge arts & crafts show here in Sao Paulo called the Mega Artesenal, and I will be demoing for a company called True Colors.  I am very excited about this and it's a huge opportunity for me. 

Back in November, when I decided to try Brasil for two months (to make sure I could really really live here), Ruy and I met with Luciana at True Colors.  True Colors makes products for the scrapbooker, cardmaker, altered artist, and the hobbyist, and I was interested in selling their products here in our store.  But, before I could sell any of it, I had to understand what the products did.  And, since the products all have Brasilian names, I had to know what was what.  Gesso here is not the same as gesso in the states.  

So Ruy and I went for a 3 hour training class, which I blogged about here.  During the training, Eduardo, the owner, came down to meet us.  Luciana showed him some of my work and Eduardo sat with us for a bit.  One of the fun products they make is an alcohol ink in a spray bottle.  I had a chance to show Eduardo and Luciana how I work with alcohol inks and we talked a lot.  The 3 hour training turned into a 5 hour meeting and at the end, Eduardo had asked me if I would want to demo for them at the Mega.  Since it was months away and I had to first go home, pack up the apartment, and move here, I told him we would talk about it when I returned to Brasil.  

Fast forward to last week when Ruy and I went and met with Luciana and Eduardo again.  We talked about me demoing at the Mega.  I also showed him some of the stuff I had done in the days prior to our meeting - just basic background papers and tags using their sprays.  

So, that all being said, the Mega is in Sao Paulo from June 27th to July 1.  If you are coming to the show, please stop by the True Colors booth and say hello - in English or Portuguese.  

I've done two previous posts about True Colors - here and here.

Below are some of the samples I made for them last week.  Nothing wow.  Just playing around with their sprays.  Hope you enjoy.

~Michael  

Tag done with stencil and clear gel with acrylic sprays.

Tag done with alcohol ink sprays.

Tag with acrylic sprays and then sprayed with alcohol.

Product Review - Wink of Stella Pens

Ok, I'll admit it...say it out loud...for the whole world to know....[taking big gulp here] - 

I AM A PENOPHILE.  No, not what you are thinking Barbara Briskin - it means that I love pens and markers.  Yes, it's a real word.  Trust me.  You can Google it.  I love any pen that writes with a fine tip, has bright colors, or colors well.  I own a good amount of Copics and Spectrum Noir alcohol markers and a very good supply of Tombow markers, which are water based markers.  Now I get to add Wink of Stella markers to my collection.  These markers have glitter in them. 

How I missed these new pens at CHA in January is a mystery to me.  But, thanks to my good friend Barbara at The Ink Pad in NYC, she saw them and ordered them for the store.  When they got them in and I tried one, I was hooked, and ended up buying all the colors they had. And now I have the pleasure of passing this on to you guys.

These new pens are made by Kuretake under the Zig Memory System brand.  As with most things coming out of Japan - these are cool.  

According to their website - "Wink of Stella markers are "sparkle markers" and are appropriately named by the sparkle this constellation brings to the sky, and will bring an exciting element of sparkle to your scrapbooks and crafting projects."  The markers contain premium pigment glitter dust ink perfect for adding controlled glitter to your projects.  The markers are also acid free and are archival quality.

I'll admit that I am a fan of glitter but do not reach for them very often.  The idea of the mess, the glues, the waiting time for the glitter to dry...well, not my first choice.  But I was very pleasantly surprised with these pens.  The glitter is just the right amount, the drying time is almost instant, and there is no mess. 

The markers come in 13 colors - Black, Blue, Brown, Gold, Lt. Green, Green, Pink, Dark Pink, Silver, Yellow, Violet, Orange, and Clear.

The only important thing to remember about these markers is to keep them stored horizontally so that the glitter does not clog the pen when you grab it to color. 

I love the shimmer that these markers leave behind.  I love bright colors in my work and these do not disappoint.  And because they only come in 13 colors (at the writing), I keep them in a small case and carry them with me all the time.  The Black is perfect for writing in my journal, and the other colors just add even more to my projects.

Below are some sample projects I made using these pens.  If you are in the NYC area, you can purchase these pens from The Ink Pad, located on 7th Avenue and 13th Street.  If not, my good friend Cindy, has them on her website for a really great price - $2.39 per pen.  

http://www.stampingscrapping.com/category_1334/Wink-Of-Stella-Glitter-Markers.htm

Disclosure - I don't earn any commission or monies if you buy them from my friend Cindy or the Ink Pad, nor did they know I was going to link back to their sites.  I just love to promote places that I, too, purchase from.  

If you own these markers please feel free to leave feedback in the comments and if you end up purchasing any, I would love to hear what you think of them also.  Good or bad.

Image: Loralie Art Stamps, Background Paper: Ambrosia by Bo Bunny from www.stampingscrapping.com.  

Image from Gourmet Rubber Stamps available at The Ink Pad in NYC

Image: Floral Corners & Borders from Woodware USA, Phrase from retired Stampin Up set, Die: Romantic Rectangles from Spellbinders, available from www.stampingscrapping.com

Well, the weather has not been cooperating the past few days to get photos that really show off the glitter.  Today I did a quick video hoping that the glitter shows up on it.  Trust me, it's great.

~Michael

I'm Back!!! New Beginnings...

Hi everyone.  Sorry I disappeared for - um - 4 months.  But I have a good reason.  I moved to Brasil.  

After coming home in January, life got a bit hectic.  As soon as I landed I had to cover hours for my friend Barbara at The Ink Pad in NYC.  She had come down with a bit of the flu and, since she was going to be my CHA buddy for a week, she needed to get better.  So I covered her hours for a week.

The following week was CHA.  My first one.  It was fun.  It was overwhelming.  It was exhausting.  It was fantastic.  If you ever get a chance to go to a CHA show - GO!!  For me, going from the consumer side to the buying side for our store in Brasil, it was even stranger.  I knew so many of the vendors from local stamp shows or from using their products for the past 20 years.  It's a great time to meet some of those bloggers who you watch, get to meet some of the stamping/scrapping celebs that you adore, get to see all the new stuff coming out, you get to see demos, and you get to meet so many great people.  It was really fun.  

Jennifer McGuire from Hero Arts (http://www.jennifermcguireink.com/)

Suzi Blu from Stampavie (http://www.suziblu.typepad.com/)

Mark Montano the Designer, Crafter, TV Host, and Author (http://markmontanoblogs.blogspot.com)

Jen Del Muro (http://iheart2stamp.com/)

And, of course, Tim Holtz - he whom needs no introduction.

Ok, I took a pic with him twice.  Shoot me!!

And, Barbara and I got to get to Disney for a day.  Can it get any more perfect than CHA and Disney in the same week?

After getting home from CHA my life basically turned into one of packing boxes.  16 years living in my small one bedroom apartment in Queens, and being a crafter on top of that, left little time to do anything but pack, pack, pack.  The boxes are all on a boat on their way to Brasil.  Then it was a few dinners with friends and family and now.....

I am here living in Brasil.  Lots to do here.  We have a store on the first floor of our home, which is a stamping/scrapping store/photography studio.  There are lots of opportunities here for me and I hope to get those working soon.  

I am going to continue making projects and tutorials using stamps from the companies I have bought from over the years.  Also going to start doing some product reviews so you guys know what rocks and what is not really worth it (in my opinion), projects for a Brasilian company here that I hope to do work with, lots of mixed media projects, and projects using stamps and tools from some companies that I want to help out and promote.  

Oh, I might also post some blog entries in English and Portuguese - if I get up the nerve.  

So, with that all being said, time to get crafting again.  I hope you continue with my on my crafting journey!!!

~Michael

A 98% True Colors Card

After playing and testing all the products from True Colors, I wanted to see if I could make a card using only True Colors products and, considering the limited colors, etc. that I had to play with, this is what I finished.  I actually love it!!   Would love to know your thoughts so feel free to comment at the end or shoot me an email.  Thanks!!

First I used the diamond stencil from Crafter's Workshop on white cardstock and the Aqua Transparente.  And let that dry. 

Then, I applied the Red, Green, Blue, and Gold Splendour alcohol inks from True Colors and blended them a bit with some Ranger blending solution.

Then I put another Crafter's Workshop stencil over the alcohol inks and, with the Ranger tool and some felt, I applied some of the Bronze Patina Ecologica from True Colors.

Then I used the clock stencil from Crafter's Workshop and applied some of the Lazuli Patina Ecologica over it.  Allowed it to dry and then stamped some of Tim Holtz' images on the card front using Archival Jet Black.

Applied some popdots to the backs of the grungeboard letters I tried during my test and adhered them to the card front.

Final product.  I really like it.  And I hope my dad does too when he gets it.

~Michael

Playing With True Colors Products

Following up on my post yesterday about going for training at True Colors - yesterday and today, for the first time in a long time, I got to just PLAY.  No tutorials to write, no projects to think about.  It was all about seeing if True Colors products work the way I am used to - and can I use these in my projects here and teach with them.  Well, the answer is YES!!

These are the products that Eduardo at True Colors gave me to play with.

My first project was to use True Colors Aqua Transparente, which is a clear transparent stencil paste, but not as thick as the pastes I am used to in the States.  I applied it to a flower stencil I had here on regular white cardstock and let it dry.  Next I used some of their Special Colors sprays, which is a water based spray, a bit like Ranger's Color Wash.  I only had a red, yellow, and metallic green, but I wanted to see if the sprays would NOT adhere to the clear stencil paste.  Sprayed some on the paper, then wiped the area with the clear paste with a paper towel and it came off.  Yeah!!  Test worked.

A bit hard to see but the stencil is in blue on the left and the piece of cardstock with the clear stencil paste is on the right.  

I sprayed the Special Colors over the whole piece of cardstock.

After I wiped away the colors from the where I had applied the Aqua Transparente.

Then I tried the water based Special Colors over a stencil on glossy paper.  The sprays adhered great, and I even got that nice metallic shimmer from the green.  Then I put a piece of plain cardstock over the stencil and rubbed so that the image went into the cardstock.  Nice.  Not bad.  Tests worked.

Left side is the Special Colors on glossy paper.  Right side is the excess absorbed by a piece of white cardstock.

Can you see the glimmer from the Metallic Green?  

Now for the True Colors alcohol inks called Splendour.  And they come in a spray.  Have never seen or heard about that in the States.  My favorite medium to work with are the alcohol inks by Tim Holtz and Ranger.  Let's see how they compare with what I am used to.

First up was using a domino.  Glossy, non porous.  With one or two sprays of the Extravagance Splendour, this domino was covered in a beautiful, almost candy apple red gloss.  Amazing!!  I was not expecting this. After I allowed it to dry completely, I found a small stamp and stamped it using the Archival Jet Black.  The image was there but not dark and bold.  Now this could be due to the deep red, that my ink pad needs to be re-inked, or the True Colors alcohol inks do not work the same way with the Archival as the Ranger do. More testing needs to be done.  I then re-stamped the image using Versafine and it came out much better, dried very quickly and has not rubbed off.  Maybe Versafine works with their inks.

Next up was using the Splendour over a stencil.  I first applied True Colors' Aqua Transparente over a Crafter's Workshop stencil on glossy paper.  I allowed it to dry and then used the alcohol ink sprays over it.

Look at these colors - how vibrant!!

The alcohol ink sprays adhere great.  I also tried their blending solution as well as Ranger's and I was able to spread the inks nicely over the piece using the felt.  The colors are beautiful and very vibrant.  Love it!!

Now onto the more traditional way of using Ranger's alcohol inks.  Let's see if I can take the inks from the True Colors' Splendour bottles and use them the way I would use Ranger's alcohol inks.  After searching high and low for simple spray bottles or small travel size bottles (don't ask, long story), I was able to find some in Sao Paulo last week.  Not having a bottle like the Ranger alcohol inks come in, I found a small travel size bottle and some eye droppers.  This was going to be the best I can do under the circumstances.  

First I did a sample using the Ranger alcohol inks.  I applied some of the Ranger inks (Lettuce, Red Pepper, and Butterscotch) to a piece of glossy paper with the felt applicator.  Then I applied some of the Ranger blending Solution and bounced the felt around again to get a lighter, more marbled effect.  And then, lastly, dripped a few drops of the Ranger blending solution on the inks. 

Ranger Alcohol Inks First Layer

After adding some blending solution to the felt. 

After dripping some blending solution right on top.

Now for the True Colors test.  Using the same glossy paper, and a new piece of felt, I put a few drops of the Splendour colors (Turquoise, Red, and Green) on the felt and bounced it around.  Then I applied a few drops of their blending solution and bounced that around the paper.  Okay, not the same effect, but very very close.  Honestly, much closer than I thought I would achieve.  

My final test to was drop some of the True Colors blending solution on the paper.  It did not spread the inks as quickly as the Ranger blending solution but, after a few minutes, I was happy with the way it came out.  

Yet, even after ten minutes, I noticed that the True Colors blending solution, although still working and thinning the ink, was still wet to the touch and taking a longer time to dry than I was comfortable with.  Hmmm, two hours later and after two beers, still not dry.

Six hours later, after dinner, still not dry.  Not going to work for me.  Okay, time to try a new way. 

Next test, same as above with the True Colors but trying the Ranger blending solution instead of the True Colors solution.  So I applied the True Colors Splendour Alcohol inks to some glossy paper as I did with the Ranger Alcohol inks.

Then I added some of the Ranger Blending Solution to the felt and went over the paper again.  Came out very nice considering I only have darker colors to work with.

Next up, I dripped some of the Ranger Blending Solution directly to the glossy paper.  It worked well, dried quickly, much more quickly than the True Colors Blending Solution.  It seems that if I want to use a blending solution with the True Colors inks, it will have to be a Ranger one.  Slight setback, but I can work with this.

Hmmm, what else?  Another product I love from the states is Viva Decor's Inka-Gold.  This is a paste like substance that you can rub onto pretty much anything for a really nice metallic sheen.  True Colors has a product called Patina Ecologica.  I got to play a bit with it when we were in their offices but I wanted to see how it would work on grungeboard or letters.  Let's see.

First up is using Inka-Gold in Steel Blue on a piece of grungeboard.  Some rubbing, buffing with a paper towel, and I like.

Next up, I tried the Patina Ecologica in Lazuli, which is the closest to the same color as the Steel Blue.  It is not as creamy as the Inka-Gold but also not a full liquid.  It's also a water based product so clean up is very easy.  I took a bit on my fingertip, rubbed it into the letter, buffed with a paper towel, and the results are just as good as the Inka-Gold.  Actually, I like it better as there is a bit more of a metallic sheen to it.  Almost as if there are small flakes of mica in the product.  Yeah!!

Now I am curious...since it is not as creamy as the Inka-Gold, I wonder how it will work in a stencil.  Let's see.  I taped a Crafter's Workshop stencil over a piece of plain white cardstock.  Then I brushed the Patina Ecologica over the stencil.  I decided to try a brush this time instead of my finger.  Removed the stencil and LOVE the results.  The Patina is creamy enough to act like a stencil paste at the same as it is acting as a paint.  Yeah!!

Tape stencil to white cardstock.

Brushed Patina Ecologica Lazuli over the stencil.

Removed stencil.  Looks great!

Can you see the slight texture?

Well, that's it.  I am really really happy with the results from my playing.  I think I can use most of these products in my work and classes and am very happy that I won't have to import product from the US.  Now time to see if I can make a full card with all the True Colors products.  That will be the next post.

~Michael