Stencils and Sealing Wax

Two of my all-time favorite discoveries during my time at The Ink Pad are journal keeping in a Traveler's Notebook, and the nostalgic joy of Sealing Wax. And happily, this post has BOTH of those; and right now you can discover either of them at 30% off, while the brick-and-mortar store closing sale continues.

There are still a few 2022 dated Traveler's Notebook Refills available in both Regular and Passport sizes, including the Weekly Vertical with Memo edition that I'm working in here. There are also lots of different undated refills, covers and accessories, and this is a great time to take a look at those! 

I've decorated this page and a sweet little White Glossy #2 Tag with our friend Linda Edkins Wyatt's Lemurian Garden Stencils from StencilGirl, some rich shades of Distress Oxide Inks and Blank Classic Fleur-de-Lis Wax Seals. Of course there are loads of Wax Seals with Initials and Icons, but the cool thing about the blanks (which come in round and square shapes) is that you can use them to impress tiny Pressed Dried Flowers into the wax for a really beautiful and striking effect. 

Please note that while The Ink Pad's Chelsea location will be closing mid February, The Ink Pad Online will continue for your shopping convenience!

Ready for the New Year

One of my favorite last-week-of-December tasks of the last few years has been finishing the current Traveler's Notebook and setting up for the New Year. For the last two years I've used a Monthly Diary to record all of my creative assignments and a Weekly Vertical (with facing Memo pages) for basic memorykeeping and a little art journaling. On the principle of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" I've stuck with that same format again. Here's a fond farewell to 2021:

  

December 2021 is all filled in, with lettering in Karin Brushmarkers and some fun Michelle Ward x TIP New York themed stamps. The rest of the months of 2021 are available as a slideshow (because honestly, one of the pleasures of working in my TN in each month is how much fun it is to see the whole year in review!) just hop over to The Ink Pad's Instagram feed to check that out. 

Meanwhile, I've set up for 2022 with a new library card tucked into the pocket of my Notebook Refill Cover. 

Here's the set up for January 2022, with lettering via StencilGirl's Vintage Typewriter Lower Case Stencil by Carolyn Dube using half a dozen colors of Distress Oxide Ink; plus some very fun Rose and Roo Washi Tapes in coordinating colors. The daily squares are ready to to be filled in as I complete each project.

Finally a hand-typed inspirational quote and some lovely Pepin Stickers from the Art Forms in Nature and Natural History books. Oh and how cute is that Typewriter Sticker?

I hope your last week of December will be filled with the joy of finishing up a few projects, and looking forward to 2022. Happy New Year! 

Stunning in Sepia

Inspiration can come from anywhere, or anyone! When Anna, owner of The Ink Pad, mentioned that she thought our friend Linda Edkins Wyatt's newest Lemurian Gardens stencils from StencilGirl would look really cool if done in tones of browns and sepia, with maybe some zen-doodling on top; I immediately agreed. So I decided to base my next card on exactly that idea. Or, as it turned out, my next few cards, which you can see this morning on The Ink Pad Blog.

Collaged Houses with StencilGirl® Stencils

I'm thrilled to be a guest on the StencilGirl® Talk Blog today, upcycling some funky nested papier mache houses my mom found when cleaning out her attic. I used these StencilGirl® Stencil designs: 

(Santiago by Nathalie Kalbach, Crazy Quilts Bold and Beautiful by Andrew Borloz, Ornamental Petals Screen by Gwen Lafleur, Ferns 6 by Cecilia Swatton and Lemon Button Fern with Masks Mini by Rae Missigman; plus (not pictured) Lizzie Mayne's Herring Bone Brick and Michelle Ward's Marrakech Mix)

To adorn these houses: 

Which each had twenty (20!) planes/panels on which to work; resulting in a whole lot of stenciled parts that looked a bit like this: 

When everything was attached, it looked more like this:

But if you want to see the finished trio, you're going to have to hop over to the StencilGirl® Talk Blog today... it's worth the trip though, I promise! ♥

Did She Say, "ICAD" Again?!

Yes, I did say, "ICAD" and just a reminder that those letters stand for Index Card a Day, a creativity jumpstart from Tammy Garcia of the Daisy Yellow Art Blog. It runs June 1st through July 31st, and the point is to do something creative, on an index card, each day. It needn't be a finished piece; you could stamp, doodle, collage, haiku, collect quotes, practice your handlettering or... try a little bit of everything. You need only index cards and a writing implement to participate in ICAD, but if you do a bit of prep, you might find it easier to stick with the daily art habit. To that end, and because I happen to love making little books, each May I decorate a pair of chipboard covers, put them on a ring, and add index cards in various styles and colors. This year my cover features a few of my favorite StencilGirl stencils: Blooming Violet, designed by my friend Linda Edkins Wyatt, as well as Vintage Typewriter Alphabet (Lower Case) and Butterfly Journeys by Carolyn Dube which I found at The Ink Pad.

I made a collage of vintage paper, added my stenciled motifs in various Distress Oxide Inks, and outlined with a fine-tipped black Pitt Artist Pen. I added mats of BC Glitter Tape, which is super-sparkly without shedding at all, I'm really impressed with it, and excited that it comes in both Silver and Gold. Just in case you have no interest in index cards or a daily art habit, let me just say that these ingredients can also be used to make quite a pretty card; the only thing I did differently was to add a little bit of hand-stitching and then cut out around the Blooming Violet and mount it on double-sided foam adhesive.

Need a little more info on ICAD? There are daily prompts and weekly themes, which you can find on the Daisy Yellow Blog and Gypsy999's Instagram feed; they're entirely optional, and you can pick and choose. The only "rule" of ICAD is that you really should work on cheap, flimsy index cards from the office supply store, rather than 3x5" pieces of fine art watercolor paper. The point is that using inexpensive, accessible, nearly disposable supplies will encourage you to try lots of different ideas and not worry about making something lasting and perfect. Because this is about process rather than outcome. I know, it can seem wasteful of both time and supplies to sit down and work, but then you don't end up with a beautiful finished item? But trust me, the ideas you generate and the techniques you try out with no expectations attached to them, are very different to the ones that are part of an agenda. Plus... it's a lot of fun, and we all need more of that.

This will be my tenth year participating, and I can truly say I enjoy it more each time. Last year, during lockdown, my family started connecting on Zoom for an hour or two each Friday afternoon to ICAD together, and I'm looking forward to spending this June and July the same way with my niece, nephew, sister, aunt and mom... signing on from four different homes in two states! If you're hesitating, may I suggest that you commit to ONE WEEK? If you find it enjoyable and useful, you can continue; if not... you'll have given it a fair try! If you decide to participate on Instagram, be sure to use the hashtag #dyicad2021 and check out what others are posting, because you'll definitely be inspired and you might even make some friends. 

Stencil Sunday: NEW Lemurian Gardens

We are excited to have three brand new Lemurian Gardens Stencils from StencilGirl, designed by our friend Linda Edkins Wyatt, now available at The Ink Pad. The first set comprised two 6x6" stencils (Leaf and Tulip) as well as three mini 4x4" stencils (Lily, Spiral and Pansy). The second set consists of Lemurian Leaves (6x6"), Blooming Violet (4x4") and --possibly my current favorite-- the 8.5x11" ATC Mix-Up, which I've used with nine different Oxide Ink blends, featuring the newest Distress color, Salvaged Patina.

It's no surprise that Salvaged Patina blends wonderfully with all of the blue and green Distress Oxides, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was also possible to bring in some yellows, greys and pinks as well! I like to blend my oxides using old-school fingertip Sponge Daubers, because of my mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome. However, it must be said that Picket Fence Studios' Life Changing Blender Brushes really do live up to their name!

My favorite blends, so far (starting at top left): 1. Lucky Clover, Cracked Pistachio & Salvaged Patina; 2. Salvaged Patina, Cracked Pistachio & Twisted Citron; 3. Salvaged Patina, Speckled Egg & Kitsch Flamingo; 4. Salvaged Patina, Peacock Feathers & Scattered Straw; 5. Salvaged Patina, Mermaid Lagoon & Rustic Wilderness; 6. Cracked Pistachio, Salvaged Patina & Weathered Wood; 7. Broken China, Salvaged Patina & Speckled Egg; 8. Salvaged Patina, Speckled Egg & Victorian Velvet; 9. Seedless Preserves, Mermaid Lagoon & Salvaged Patina.

Using the blends I made above, I added the nine designs from Linda's ATC Mix-Up Stencil as follows: to Blend 1, I added the large spiral in Rustic Wilderness; to Blend 2, I added the rosebuds in Broken China and Shabby Shutters; to Blend 3, I added the abstract teardrop pattern in Chipped Sapphire; to Blend 4, I added the lily in Spiced Marmalade and Rustic Wilderness;to Blend 5, I added added the abstract tribal square in Blueprint Sketch and it faded away into nothing, so I had to make a new blend of Squeezed Lemonade, Cracked Pistachio & Salvaged Patina, which worked well; to Blend 6, I added the large rose bud in Kitsch Flamingo and Mowed Lawn; to Blend 7, I added the more detailed spiral in Faded Jeans; to Blend 8, I added the tulip in Dusty Concord and Evergreen Bough; and Blend 9 also turned out to be a bit too dark to layer a detailed flower, so I made a new blend of Speckled Egg, Salvaged Patina and Shabby Shutters, to which I added the pansy in Seedless Preserves and Evergreen Bough. 

I decided to add all the completed ATC cards to an accordion booklet, made from a 15x4" piece of watercolor paper which I scored and folded at every three inches. 

I secured a piece of seambinding behind the cover image, which I tied into a neat bow, to hold the booklet closed.

I hope you'll be inspired to experiment and find out what your favorite Salvaged Patina Oxide (or regular    ) blends are; then try layering a favorite stencil or stamp over top as an accent. There are additional ATC Mix-Up Varieties, as well as lots of other lovely StencilGirl selections available at The Ink Pad.

The Eyes Have It

Picket Fence Studios' "Life Happens, Lashes Help" stamp set has seven (7!) sentiments and two images, but the one you notice immediately is the nearly life-sized pair of dramatically lashed eyes. So of course that's the first one I inked up, and it's the centerpiece of my card. Hop over to The Ink Pad Blog to read all about it and see a second, bonus project. (Spoiler Alert: it's a bookmark!)

Something for Everyone

Travelers Notebooks are so much more than just calendars. In fact, many of the refills have no connection to time, like Lined Refills for notetaking and listmaking; Watercolor and Sketchbook Paper for drawing anywhere; Dot Grids for lettering practice, Blank Pages that can hold collages, poetry, haiku, photos or anything else you can figure out how to attach! Your TN or Planner can be whatever you want it to; especially a fun place to spark your creativity... I know mine is! Here's a look back on the first three and a half months of 2021 in my Traveler's Company Notebook from The Ink Pad. I've been using the Regular Sized TN (there's a Passport Size too) in a Binder (as opposed to a leather cover) to record my completed creative assignments Monthly; and a Weekly Diary to do some super casual memory-keeping (family milestones, the election, etc); and a little bit of list-making (tv shows we've binged, audiobooks I've devoured); but honestly, as much as anything, it's a great place to keep pretty papers, stickers and tapes that I'm not quite ready to part with. Here's a page that illustrates what I mean:

In the past few weeks, I've blogged about Hero Arts US Mailbox and Envelope Accessories Die Sets, and thus wound up with a bunch of extra postal-related diecuts in random colors. Time permitting, I could have made additional cards... but in this case, I just sort of collected them all into the "Cleanup Collage" you see above; which also makes use of an abandoned label I typed for National Card and Letter Writing Month, the MT for Pack Letters tape that was sitting on my worktable, and some of my fave Pepin Vintage Fashion Stickers.

This year I was lucky enough to grab a 2021 Monthly Diary before they sold out; but in some ways I miss the (undated) Free Monthly Diary I used last year, since the calendar pages had a little more room for embellishing. The other plus-side of the Free Monthly is that you can start and end with whatever months you choose! Rather than planning events forward, I use mine to make a little visual record of what I've done for each of my creative posts throughout the month. I always enjoy these in a nostalgic sense; but it's also practical, as it helps me see, at a glance, what products, colors and themes I've done recently. 

Technically I don't need to add the name of the months to my dated pages, but I have some excellent StencilGirl Alphabet Stencils that I love using and it lets me add another splash of color. "March" is done using Carolyn Dube's Vintage Typewriter Lowercase Stencil and February capitalized on the fact that the Emotions and Feelings Alphabet has both full-sized and tiny letters.

And of course I love to use my Karin Brushmarkers to do some handlettering. In January I paired them with some Pepin Art Forms in Nature Stickers and Tapes as well as some of the stamps, dies and stickers I used throughout the month; my MTA licensed Tape and Stickers being particular faves, but as you can see, there's a little bit of EVERYTHING! 

I hope you'll be inspired to start (or re-start!) a journaling habit and to tailor it to suit your life and creativity!!!