Thursday, March 3, 2011

From Perfect Stamping to Perfect Lathering

Just so you know, it sometimes really hurts my head to try to come up with a catchy title.  I'm workin' hard here!  Anyway......this is week 4 of the Making Art! challenge on the Wendy Vecchi yahoo group.  Much like the Compendium of Curiosities weekly challenges where we make art inspired by techniques in Tim Holtz's book, we are basing our creations here on projects from any of Wendy's three (the fourth is due out any minute now) books.  This week, we are to make a tag, and use Wendy's perfect stamping technique.  Now, she calls it perfect stamping, not because she's an egomanic, but because it involves Perfect Pearls.  Check it out on page 10 of Book 1, or.....click here to learn about it on her blog.

This is a super cool technique, and involves a way to stamp that I don't think I would have thought up on my own.  That is one of the things I most admire about Wendy.  She is so good at figuring out new ways to use the products we already have.  So, here is my tag:


The tag was first inked with these distress inks:  peeled paint, shabby shutters, and broken china.  For the perfect stamping, I used black soot and chipped sapphire with turquoise perfect pearls, and the background stamp from Well Worn Art.

When that was dry, I added the swirly flowers from Botanical Art, stamped with olive archival ink.  The alphabet along the right side is from Lower Case Art, and was stamped with black archival ink.  The phrase dare to be unique is from Seriously Art.  Yep, I have LOTS of Wendy's stamps.

The rosette was leftover from a previous project, and I topped it with a butterfly using Wendy's latest genius technique.....combining her Clearly For Art plastic with a sheet of metal.  To find out more about this, and why I think it's genius (or magic), click here.  The butterfly stamp and the little spider (stamped with black soot and embossed with black EP) are both also from Botanical Art.

What else?  Oh, the scallop trim on the bottom was cut with Tim's on the edge die and it is tissue tape over cardstock, inked with fired brick.  And yes, that is a pen nib I used as the body of the butterfly.  Speaking of which, did I ever score big on the nib.  Last Saturday when I trekked to Brooklyn to visit the Sketchbook Project, I found, amongst the various paper products, old books, etc. they were selling to earn some $$, an unopened box, original packaging.....containing a gross (that's 144 for those of you who were as bad in math as I was) of the nibs for $12.  Perfect (that word again) condition, and I'd say at least 50 years old.

And my segue into the perfect lathering portion of this program.....another cool thing I did last weekend was attend a workshop in felted soap.  Right here in my building.  We have a large community room and often one of us will share a skill by giving a class.  I occasionally do something with paper, but this time my neighbor Theresa showed us how to cover a bar of soap with unspun wool.  It was wet, it was easy, it was fun, and I love my soap (which, by the way, is lavender scented and heavenly):


Why cover a bar of soap with wool?  1) it makes the soap last longer  2) it is very pretty   3) the soap is no longer slippery  and
4) it is like having soap and washcloth in one.

Theresa asked for $6 to cover the cost of materials, and just so you know, Anthropologie sells felted soap for $14 a bar.  I'd send you to Theresa's blog, if only she had one.  She also makes gorgeous hats, scarves, wall hangings, and even boots with the wet felt method.  If you'd like to see a DIY on felted soap just put that in your search engine and you'll see lots of examples, even one from Martha.





20 comments:

Diann said...

Fantastic tag with so many techniques and stamps used...love it! You sure have no problem nailing techniques! I also like the felted soap and have one myself that was part of a gift..I like them too. Great find on those pen nibs....that was a deal and I'm jealous...LOL! It is just always a pleasure to visit your blog! Diann

Kathy Eddy said...

Gorgeous tag Eileen! I hope to work on mine today. What a deal on the nibs! The soap looks great too. What fun to take classes right at home with your neighbors!

Helen said...

There is only one word for this tag and today's post - PERFECT!!

Dorothy said...

Just beautiful Eileen!
I love how you scored on the pen nibs!!

Anonymous said...

I love your tag for today!!! So pretty!!! I think the soap/wool idea is pretty darn cool!!!!

Marjie Kemper said...

Gorgeous tag! Love all the background images and the deal you got on the nibs is amazing!

Lori said...

Love your tag, that technique turned out PERFECT. ha. No, really, it did. Love the butterfly. That's on my to do list today. Oh, if it were the only thing on the list....lol.. LOVE the felted soap, and it just so happens I have some wool. Will have to check that out. 144 nibs for $12? You lucky devil...

Tammy D said...

Love the tag. I got a whole book of not in good condition ones back in HS. At the library.

Elaine Akers said...

Great tag, and I love your felted bar of soap. A wonderful find and bargain with the pen nibs.
I have all the felting supplies, and just recently finished another flower. The bead store that recently closed also taught felting...how I miss that store.
Have a fun trip.

Unknown said...

Oh, Andrea & I would've loved to join you for that felting class! Love your soap ... reminds me of our planet earth. And, your tag! Love it, love it, love it! I can't believe 3 challenges have passed me by already! Gotta get on board!

france papillon said...

that is one lovely tag! and i had a great time reading how you all did it! and the soap is a brilliant idea!

Vic said...

Your tag is fantastic!

The soap, too. As gardening is big at our house, we love our felted soap. When the soap is used up, just cut open one end, slip in another bar & re-felt it.

Kate Burroughs said...

Great tag and what a score on the nibs!!! I donʻt suppose there is any chance you would be willing to part with some of those 144 nibs????? Let me know if you would like to sell a few?
Aloha, Kate

Patzee said...

Perfect Perfect Perfect! Love the tag, complete with rosette, butterfly and nib! Shall we call you Queen Nibs now that you have grabbed the deal of the year?

TwoHeartsPath said...

Gorgeous Tag Eileen....
Jealous of the Nib deal you got...Love the colors in the Tag....so rich....
TFS Patti

Anonymous said...

Eileen,
Love your tag!! So cool. I have never heard of felted soap, I don't get out much-lol. Thanks for sharing. Happy you scored big on the nibs, that is super.
Gail in Oklahoma

scrappin-scrappin said...

Gorgeous tag Eileen!! Love the colors!! Great deal on the nibs!! You nailed Wendy's technique on the butterfly, I really need to try that one, looks so cool!! And the felted soap is really cool to!!

teri said...

I loved seeing all these techniques, Eileen. You're always unearthing something new to love. I have lots of wool here for felting, too. Going to try it!!

Art By Wanda said...

Fabulous tag, Eileen!!! I had not heard of felted soap and will search that out when I have a bit more time... sounds way cool!!!!

Kim Dellow said...

Wonderful Tag oh and I love the title of your post too - aren't they just the hardest to come up with?! Kim