Clearsnap Smooch

I discovered the Clearsnap Smooch from reading the Hearts In Touch Blog. They look like nail polish. http://www.clearsnap.com/ I have given them a try. It works great on fabric. The white is not as opaque as I would like but it is quite white once I give it a second coat. You can see it in use in my examples above. I had to make a couple more examples for my workshops next week. I used only the Smooch to color in the stamped areas and I used it to doodle. The only other ink or liquid medium used were black StazOn and acrylic paints. It worked really well for me. I liked the tip of the brush. It had a fine tip that kept its shape even on the fabric. It did not crumble after I used it a few times. It comes in 8 colors. I do wish that there were a few more colors though. I kept wishing there was an orange and a black color.

BTW, Frances at Hearts in touch sells the 8 colors individually for $4.5o US each. Free shipping domestically, if you buy the whole set of 8. I don't know what the cost for shipping is internationally. You will need to email her to get that information and to purchase from her. Tell her that Belinda sent you. I don't get anything for this. I am just trying to get YOU a good deal so you can try a new thing. Her email is fnaeve@heartsintouch.com

Yes, I am groovin' on this fun, new thing. I will be using this again. I am going to bring this to the Quilt Festival so I can use it on my fabric books.

Super Brush Swabs

I got some samples awhile ago of these swabs. http://www.superbrush.com/

They are these little foamy swabs that kind of look like the things you use to put on eyeshadow. I do like them a lot though. They work really well in small applications. They don't fall apart and you can wash them a few times before having to toss them - if you remember to wash the paint off right away, that is. I am notorious for leaving paint on brushes and then having it dried up and impossible to get off.

I recently had to get into some small areas on my polymer clay stuff. The swabs worked great in that application. They are also good for chalk ink. I did some small stuff like ATCs and inchies and they were much easier to use than the detail brushes I have. They are easier for me to control.

I am not sure where to get them retail. They are also used in other applications. So, don't forget to look around the next time you have a doctor's or dentist's appt.

OT: I saw these huge-O cotton swabs - like the ones you use for your ears - at a recent doctor's visit. I asked and snagged a couple. Looks like a big white match to me. Don't have a clue what I will ever do with it. I just had to have it. You understand that, don't you?

Crop-a-dile and Big Bite Crop-a-dile

I was at Costco with the family today stocking up on necessities when I saw the pink crop-a-dile with a bunch of eyelets 643 pieces. It was $24.99! That is a great buy with all the eyelets and stuff. It is even better than with the 40% off coupon. I have two already but recently ruined part of it while using it to crush some large-o metal eyelets. It still works but the plastic part is kinda falling apart. The crop-a-dile is a great hole punch and eyelet setter. It works with 1/8 and 3/16th holes. Wish they had a 1/16th for jewelry and metal people like me.

It is very important that you match up the bottom and top numbers to what you are doing. There is a chart that comes with the crop-a-dile. If you do not, then your eyelets may not set properly. It is also important to make sure the prong (male part) fits into the top of the eyelet before you press down or it will crush the eyelet. I don't have any problems using it.

Some people have complained about it not working for them. It might be that it is not in the proper position when you press down. It might also be that the eyelet is cheap. I have gotten eyelets off eBay that would not set properly in the back and crush onto itself. I think that is the quality of the eyelet and metal, not the crop-a-dile.

I recently got the Big Bite - which goes further into whatever you are doing. You are not limited to being close to the edge. It is like a long reach stapler, if that helps you to envision it. I have not had any problems setting eyelets or punching holes with it. It is really the same as the smaller version except you need to move the button to punch holes or to set the eyelet. You need to make sure it is on a hard, flat surface, eyelet is properly positioned and that you use the right setting for the top and bottom of the eyelet. I have used the Big Bite on chipboard, mat board, and on sheet metal. No problems so far. I have also used it on multiple layers of paper.

When I broke my crop-a-dile punching through sheet metal, I wrote to them via their website. I mailed my broken one to them and they immediately replaced it. I don't work for them or anything, but I thought I would pass it on. The reason I like this product is that it works well for me and is pretty portable when I need to take it along to workshops.

Lowdown on Luminarte's Twinkling H2Os, Radiant Rain misters, and Primary Elements

Someone in my group asked about the above. I thought that other people might be interested in the answer, so here it is!

Twinkling H2Os are very sparkly watercolors. They are cakes that you have to moisten to work. The colors are very brilliant. I use the little misters when I use the H2Os. Unless you use a lot of one color, the little pots last a long time. I have a bunch of the little ones and have not run out yet. They do get a little nasty at the end. I drain the rest of the color onto scrap and let dry. BTW, I don't bother putting the lids back on. I just leave them off to let the cake dry. I put them in a container when not in use.
http://www.luminarteinc.com/catalog/twinkling-h20s.html

Radiant Rain misters are Twinkling H2Os in liquid form. Shake well often while using or the mica powder sinks to the bottom. Often problem with sprayer - mica clogs the nozzle. What I do it shake it up and pour a little into a mister. I use the stuff in the mister and refill as needed. When done, I pour it back into its original bottle and rinse out the mister. Solves clog problem. I hate standing there letting it run under hot water.
http://www.luminarteinc.com/catalog/radiant-rain.html
I love the misters. I use them on top of technique sheets all the time. My favorite is solar gold. Don't overdo it though. The look is very different dry than when it is wet. Experiment with a little at first. You don't want to ruin what you have done. Some of the colors are more dominant than others. My blog and the techniques blog have some techniques on there using the Radiant Rain misters.

I have not tried the daubers yet. I will let you know when I try it. I don't want to tell you the wrong thing. I don't know if it is more like acrylic or watercolor.

Primary Elements are also called Polished Pigments. They are the concentrated form where you need to add a solution to it to get it to the consistency that you want to work with it. They are shimmery acrylic paints. I have not gotten them yet but will post my experiments once I try them. Bernie Berlin has been working with them. It is on her blog.
http://www.bernieberlin.blogspot.com/ Scroll down a little to the area where it says New Mini Class and you will see examples. The colors are very brilliant.

Now that you have an idea of what they are. It is up to you to come up with ways to try it. You can buy it at their site. They also have a retail store locator on their site. I buy a lot of the Luminarte stuff from franticstamper.com.

Experimenting with heavy gloss medium

I came across a technique in some magazine, book, or something I was flipping through. It was for a faux encaustic technique. Well, I was looking for a February technique for the Mixed Media Art group. I tried it and this is what happened:

I used some old pieces that were extras. The pict on top is the before. BTW, I totally wrecked one when I was peeling off the gel medium - so I had to trash it. I started out with 3 and ended up with 2. Anyway, I took some heavy gloss medium and spread it with a palette knife. The technique said to use a thick layer. Okay, did that and let it dry. It came out okay but too shiny for me. BTW, gel medium does not level - which I know makes it a great texturizing product. I put on another thick, even (kinda even layer) and let dry overnight. I came home today and parts of it were cloudy. It was really cloudy especially on the inside part of the stencils. I thought that is might not be completely dry. Let it dry some more and the cloudiness did not go away. Heat gun no good here either. Well, I thought that I could paint over that part and no one would know the difference. It also said in the technique that I could put a layer of matte gel medium over it so it would not be so shiny. Well, I ended up with a cloudy mess! When it was completely dry, it was still cloudy. It was nice and rubbery now. So, I started picking at it so that I could try and salvage parts of it. I picked and I picked. Some of the background came up, but that was okay. I picked off enough so that you could see most of the stuff behind it. I used some quin gold and jenkins green fluid acrylic on top. It gave it a great distressed look. The indiscriminate picking gave it great texture. I don't think the end product could be called faux encaustic. It came out pretty good anyway. Would I do this again? Nope.

Well, not one to give up, I am trying another faux encaustic technique with a matte gel medium and paint concoction that looks a lot like natural beeswax. Working on the first layer now. Will let you know how it turns out. If I use it for the Feb technique, you might have to go to Mixed Media Art to find out how I did it. It won't be done tonight. I need at least one more layer. I might more depending on how it turns out. Won't be home this weekend, so check back later.

Tim Holtz's Crackle Paint and Golden's Crackle Paste

I know that someone on one of the lists was interested in Tim Holtz's crackle paint. This is coming out in September. I like Golden's crackle paste but it needs to dry overnight or several hours before crackling. I also like the crackle paste because it comes white - uncolored. Tim Holtz's crackle paint comes in specific colors. I guess that works great as a convenience item. The fact that the Golden crackle paste takes so long to dry will not work for me in a workshop application. So, I am going to buy a couple to try it and see how well it will work in a workshop timeframe.

I have the Golden's crackle paste and really like it. I posted an altered book before where I used the crackle paste for the cover. I also used it in my frame for my 3x3's. Just look down one post. Click on the pict to enlarge and you can see the crackling. Thin coat gives you less and smaller crackling. A nice thick coat will give you bigger crackle. I do need to let it dry overnight. You need to put it on a stiff, hard surface or the crackle will warp your background/foundation. It takes acrylic paint really well. It is actually on sale right now at dickblick.com.

I thought that other people might like this product - Tim Holtz's crackle paint. It is different than other paints. It comes with an applicator and it self levels (so I have read). Medium coat will give you smaller cracks than a heavier coat. I also read that you cannot put a heat gun to it until it begins to crackle because the heat itself can prevent the crackling. I would experiment on a small piece of scrap if you use a heat gun. Several review said similar things. I think this is the best review:
http://tinyurl.com/2vx4rm

This site has a great sample of what the crackle paint colors look like:
http://www.rubberd.com/cracklepaint.htm Some of the colors look different from the color samples that Ranger provides you. I like seeing the actual crackle. I am not too sure of the darker colors because I can't see the crackling as well. If any of you get the darker colors, then let me know how it comes out. Thanks!

I am preordering mine from Frances at heartsintouch.com. She is selling them for $4.50 each plus shipping. You can email her to preorder it. She will email you back with the total so you can paypal her or whatever. I have done a lot of business with Frances. She is very dependable and wonderful with shipping. She won't gouge you on shipping like with some other online sites. Her website is http://heartsintouch.com/ and her email is
http://us.f817.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=fnaeve@heartsintouch.com

BTW, I don't get anything for this. I pay the same thing as all of you. I just thought that some of you might be interested.

One last thing, does anyone know of a website that reviews art supplies (besides my blog)? Craft Critique is more for scrapbooking.