Day 6 with Kae Pea

Celebrate our new product launch….with Inchie Arts

As you know, we carry several different sizes of the popular Inchie Arts Art Square products. And when they decided to launch their new 4” black Art Squares they invited us to announce and sell it first. 

In fact, it was one of our artists (thank you Sunny!) that nudged Inchie Arts to introduce this particular size and color.  To celebrate, we invited a handful of our designers and artists to let creativity fly with the new 4” black Art Squares. 

Every day from now through Saturday we will be posting amazing creations from Lisa Lee, Barb Rogers, Lindsay Ostrom, Sunny Carvalho, Jessica Sporn and Kristen Powers.

And on the Inchie Arts blog, ALL IN AN INCH, Lisa will be sharing lots of techniques and tips for all sizes of black Art Squares from 1" to 4". 

A few things you may not know about black Art Squares:

·        they are made from 100% cotton (not paper)

·        they are a super black with the 'black' sourced from natural ebony

·       they are a perfect 4 ply substrate for direct art application especially acrylic paints, white and metallic detail pens, colored pencils, Pan Pastels, stamping and embossing with white or light colors, chalk board style work and photo creations.  

Day 6 with Kae Pea- Moon Making!

I made a moon (well, of course I did.)

I started with :

 4" Black Art Square from Inchie Arts

the melanie stamp (RubberMoon stamp designed by Marilynn Kelly)

My Geo Circles Stencil from StencilGIrl

white gesso

The Ultimate Red Rubber Palette (small)

Sharpie Extra Fine water-based Paint Marker (white)

First, I started by tracing a circle on to my black art square from my geo circles stencil, using a white paint marker.

I did not want it centered, so I made it go off the edges of the surface just a bit.....

I put a thin layer of gesso onto my red rubber palette and used it to "ink" my stamp.

Then, I stamped the face into the circle. Like this:

See?  

It's not perfect and that's okay. Layering washes of paint will surely help!

I simply painted with washy gesso....

and I kept doing that. More thin layers of gesso and then some touches of paint on the eyes and lips... (I used a teeny tiny bit of watercolors but acrylics or practically anything will work) making it look like this:

I let this all dry a while and then I used my white gesso and red rubber palette again to stamp my ink splat stamp (I like this stamp a LOT and often use it as a 'starry sky')

See? Lika dis...

After that is all stamped across the background and all my paint is dry (which didn't take long because it's all nice thin layers.) I then went back in with some colored pencils and add a bit more depth and value and highlights.....

Like so:

Then I stamped this Love you to the Moon & Back 

stamp right here...

I like a good sentiment with my art. Don't you? 

.........

I liked my piece but it didn't feel quite finished...So I found a 41/4" x 41/4 " wood block and a piece of decorative paper that I thought looked dandy.... 

I mounted the paper to the wood block using my favorite white glue, painted the sides and back of the wood block with black gesso then I took my Inchie Art Square artwork and mounted that baby right onto my collaged, wood block and 

voilà!! 

Thanks for stopping by and taking your time to peruse and comment.

I want to say thanks to Lisa Lee over at Inchie Arts for launching this great new product with us!

And of course all the fantabulous artists that help make RubberMoon awesome! 

Barb Rogers

Lindsay Ostrom

Sunny Carvalho

Jessica Sporn

love YOU all to the moon & back!

It was a super fun week launching the new 4" Black Art Squares! I hope you got a lot of inspiration and we filled your pretty little head with lots of ideas!! 

xokp

OOOOH a GIVEAWAY!!! Please visit ALL 6 days, Come back here and tell me that you did and comment about a favorite stamp or technique you will be entered to win a stamp from EVERY participating artist PLUS a pack of the New Black 4" Inchie Art Squares!! 

Day 2 With Barb Rogers-Travel by Night

Celebrate our new product launch….with Inchie Arts

As you know, we carry several different sizes of the popular Inchie Arts Art Square products. And when they decided to launch their new 4” black Art Squares they invited us to announce and sell it first. 

In fact, it was one of our artists (you know who you are SC!) that nudged Inchie Arts to introduce this particular size and color.  To celebrate, we invited a handful of our designers and artists to let creativity fly with the new 4” black Art Squares. 

Every day from now through Saturday we will be posting amazing creations from Lisa Lee, Barb Rogers, Lindsay Waltman-Ostrom, Sunny Carvalho, Jessica Sporn and Kristen Powers.
And on the Inchie Arts blog, ALL IN AN INCH, Lisa will be sharing lots of techniques and tips for all sizes of black Art Squares from 1" to 4".  

A few things you may not know about black Art Squares:

·        they are made from 100% cotton (not paper)

·        they are a super black with the 'black' sourced from natural ebony

·        they are a perfect 4 ply substrate for direct art application especially acrylic paints, white and metallic detail pens, colored pencils, Pan Pastels, stamping and embossing with white or light colors, chalk board style work and photo creations.  

Day 2 with Barb Rogers - Travel by Night

 I had So much fun creating this project using Rubbermoon Stamps and Inchie Art Squares.  Ive been lucky to use Inchie Art Squares in many of my past projects, but this is the first time to create with the 4x4 Black Square Matboard. I just loved using this product, and as always, fun and creative projects using Rubbermoon Stamps are endless.

Below, I will show and list the Stamps and Products used in this Project.

4x4 Precision Cut Black Matboard Squares

Inchie Art Squares  are Perfect for mixed media, watercolor and stamping/coloring on small format Art Projects.

In each project, I used two of the Rubbermoon Stamps of my own design.....

(1) GO BUG

(2)PARTY ON WHEELS

(3)Bunting (large)

Instead of using the tradition Black colored Ink, this project called for stamping with White Gesso on to the Black Matboard Surface. I love to just show partial images on my pieces, as I did above with the "Go Bug" Stamp, as if the Beetle is driving off of the edge of the Matboard.  I think this adds fun, and shows a sort of "movement" with these Stamps on wheels . Smooth a thin layer of gesso onto a flat surface. I use my Ultimate Red Rubber Pallete as a surface for spreading out the Gesso in order to to get just the right amount on to the stamp. (Do not use too much Gesso, and test it before stamping on to the Art Square). Let the Gesso then dry.

After image is dry, pick out some fun colors that will compliment the black background and white gesso. Paint away!!!

This particular Stamp, I use in many of my Projects and Paintings to Create Stars in the Sky. It is an Exclusive Rubbermoon Stamp through the Rubbermoon Mail Club. Please clink on this link, and find out more information about being part of a fun creative group.

(1)COMET

(2)Half Moon Ornament

(3)Party on Wheels

(4) Sending Moon Beams (Exclusive Rubbermoon Mail Club Stamp)

(1)New Moon

(2) Exclusive Rubbermoon Mail Club Stamp...Stars

The New Moon stamp on the Black Art Square surface takes a simple technique. First, apply the New Moon stamp on to the Black Matboard and let dry. Then fill in the center of image with White Gesso and dry again.  Stamp another time, using Black Ink in order to show a face on the white image. Then paint on your accents. 

I hope you enjoy using the Inchie Arts Black 4' art squares and Rubbermoon Stamps as much as I enjoy them!  Thank you so much and HAPPY CREATING!

TIL NEXT TIME, BARB

Special Guest Gretchen Ehrsam

Happy Introductions!

Today here at RubberMoon Arts we would like to do something a little different. We are super excited to have a very special guest here on our blog.

Please welcome Gretchen Ehrsam! Many of you long time RubberMoon fans know Gretchen from the hundreds of wonderful stamp images she has designed for RubberMoon over the past fourteen years!
Gretchen is primarily a print maker (most of her stamp images are carvings) and a calligrapher and she is also a wonderful watercolor painter!
She is so creative and multi-talented. We always love seeing what she will do with the fabulous stamps once she gets her hands on them!
Recently, we sent Gretchen a small RubberMoon Ultimate Red Rubber Palette. We did not tell her anything about it at all. (We just wanted to see what her wonderful imagination would come up with!) She certainly did not disappoint and she sent us this awesome picture tutorial!

Here, Gretchen shows how to use the Red Rubber Palette to make some monoprinted heart cards and tags.

These are the tools and supplies you will use:

punches, card stock cut to size, ink pad, red rubber palette, glue

Trace around the red rubber palette on a piece of card stock, this will show you where to put your design

Punch out some shapes from cardstock (cardstock is best because it needs to have a certain amount of thickness). Glue the punched out pieces randomly but in a nice pattern in the traced red rubber outline.

Next, ink the surface of the Red Rubber Palette

Make sure it is covered well

Next, lay the inked red rubber palette ink side down onto the patterned square, press down had over the entire surface...

Lift up carefully and you now have what you will be printing with! (and that piece of printed card stock is awesome too!)

Lay the Red Rubber Palette inked side down on to a piece of cardstock cut to the size you want (a little bigger than the Red Rubber Palette)

Press it hard going over the entire surface, lift it up carefully and now you have your first monoprint!

Keep making prints, one pattern piece is good for about 10 prints and then the prints start getting less sharp.

When you have printed a batch you can cut them up or punch them into shapes and you can make quite a few  cards and from the little scraps make tags.If you wait until it is really dry, you can also cut up the  patterned piece that you were printing from.

Gretchen says, "The back story is that I said I would do a valentine project with the kindergarten and I needed something that little hands could do easily.

So I used construction paper that they could cut hearts out of  with those crummy scissors-- they could even WRITE on the  hearts and the words would print.

I used  MarsCarve carving material. It doesn't work with, say, a blank stamp because it is too hard/rigid but the Red Rubber palette has enough give that it works perfectly!

When I was planning out the kindergarten project I got so into it, I documented it in a notebook, and that is how I started doing my  idea journals!

Here is a pic of one like the kindergartners  did and then later, when they went on a nature walk, I showed them how to print leaves with the same technique!"

Gretchen and her daughter, Romy, (also a RubberMoon designer!)  Live in West Seattle. Gretchen illustrated a book that has just been published in Canada ("Leaving Mr Humphries"  by author Alison Lohans) .

Romy is a 7th grader at Madison Middle School and is currently showing at Firefly Cafe in West Seattle.

Albert & Shooey are their spoiled lapdogs!

We are honored and privileged that Gretchen is not only a RubberMoon artist, but also a friend! Thank you Gretchen for sharing your beautiful work and creativity with us in so many ways!!

We hope you have enjoyed meeting Gretchen and getting to know her a bit more!

Sending Moonbeams,

Key to My Heart

Happy Valentine's Day!  Since it is that hearty kind of day,  I will create a couple of cards that celebrate those warm feelings but don't necessarily "scream" the V-holiday.  I categorize them  as "thinking of you" cards for your significant other(s),those in your "circle of trust," a favorite phrase of mine mentioned by Robert DeNiro in Meet the Parents, and those needing just a little TLC.   RubberMoon has held the key to my heart for many moons.  The artists that have created for the company, new and old, make designs are perfect for these special cards and they all mix and match well together.  But having said that, I still have oodles. 

To prepare, I decided color themes and got out my supplies.  Two cards were on the agenda for today; one red and gold, and one,  light blue and green.  The RubberMoon stamps I chose are Zen heart, key plate, moon & back, joy, ink splatter, and the Red Rubber Palette.  Also, in a shameless Curry plug, I also used one of mine, "for all time."  Other supplies include textured and printed papers, Golden Fluid Acrylic in Bronze and Mars Black, black StazOn, X-Acto knife and cutting mat,  heart and black round brads, and Score Tape. 

I started the first card by adding Golden bronze paint to the palette with a cosmetic sponge.  I then pressed the slightly textured cream cardstock into the paint and pulled up quickly.  I love the haphazard coverage and LOVE that the palette cleans quickly with a baby wipe or water.

I cleaned the palette and added a bit of black paint with a sponge and quickly stamped the key plate and the ink splatter to add some interest.  You don't have as much time because of the quick-drying acrylic, but I do like the coverage that the paint gives over the other paint. 

I added a piece of black glossy to the cream with Score Tape before cutting around the plate on three sides to make a window.  I decided I wanted some movement on it somewhere during the creation process! It's nice to be able to make changes along the way.   I finished by scoring it with a ruler and bone folder so it had a controlled open position.

I cut a matching piece of cream cardstock and stamped the Zen heart and phrase on it using black StazOn.  It was easy to attach with Score Tape.

To finish, I then stamped joy on the inside of the door AND.....

hole punched the top and bottom of the key plate and filled them with black round brads. That added a little more interest to that window  I was so excited to cut out.

 And....... voilà:     

Now it was time to explore a new direction!  Using Ranger Adirondack dye inks in Juniper and Stonewashed, I scattered the ink splatter stamp around the front, back and inside of the white square textured card. 

Once interest was added to the white, I centered and affixed a paisley printed square and teal smaller square.  I then stamped the key plate onto embossed cardstock with black StazOn ink (TRICK:  cleanly stamping onto that heavily textured paper is difficult so I keep a fine tipped Pitt or Micron nearby and handy and simply fill in the areas that didn't stamp well due to the lumpy landscape.)
I then used the hole punch and heart brads to finish that centerpiece before adding this to the center of the other squares.  

To finish, I stamped the inside sentiment inside withe the same blue ink and called it a day.

 And again,  voilà:  

As always, I love my return to card-making art.  It is so fun to take out a few materials and see where they lead you.  It's even more fun when those that receive them, love the time you took to do the custom work.  Thanks so much for being in my "circle" today.