Asian Domino Art Choker - Sharpie Polished Stone Effect

I'm honored to be a guest designer for Scrolls Work Rubber Stamps during the month of June and today, using their stamps I'm going to show one of my all time favorite craft projects... Domino Art!

For those who are not yet aware - Scrolls Works is having an amazing close out sale and their remaining inventory is 50% off the original price.  Many images have sold out; however there are still some great stamps available for purchase - so don't miss out and grab them while you can.

I was searching through my collection of Scrolls Work stamps to see which images were still available for sale and decided to continue with my Asian theme for this "Domino Art" project.

Asian Domino Art Choker using Scrolls Work  rubber stamp and Sharpie pens

 One of my favorite stamping projects is Domino Art.

I find it very relaxing to make these miniature works of stamp art and by creating a 

polished stone background with Sharpie markers it is also a quick and easy process.

I designed the whimsical Asian Domino Art Choker with a large domino for the center bead 

and then strung some fancy crystal and glass beads along with some 

silver dragonflies and bell shapes on a bit of memory wire.  

This fun piece of wearable stamp art was quick and easy; 

it took me less than 2 hours from start to finish. 

 

supplies for creating the polished stone background

For this project I drilled my domino with a rotary tool to create the center bead in the necklace; 

however I've also glued on bails or beads to my dominos in the past to create pendants.

So, don't let that stop you from giving it a try.

The Polished Stone background on my domino was created using

Sharpie pens, 91% rubbing alcohol I put in a small spray bottle and some felt pads on a 

dauber tool (mine is by Tim Holtz) and I cut the felt pads from felt sheets I buy at the craft store.

I quickly clean my domino with alcohol to prime the surface; 

then I scribble with the Sharpie pens so I have good color coverage across the top.   

 Next I lightly spritz a clean felt pad with alcohol and then 

daub and twist the pad over the top of the domino.

I do this till I get a background I like.  

If I accidentally remove too much color I add more Sharpie pen and repeat the process.  

If I don't like the background I can quickly clean it all away with alcohol and start fresh.

Once I have a background I like I stamp my image with Black StazOn ink.

The image I used for this project is a great Asian word stamp "Kanji - Imagine"

from Scrolls Work Stamps and is still available, whole supplies last.

I find the Polished Stone effect on dominos makes a great background

for all kinds of word stamps.

 Most of the time I edge my domino art with a black chisel tip Sharpie pen.

Then I seal the top and sides with matte Mod Podge to give the domino 

a bit of wearable durability.

I wear a lot of my Domino art pieces on a simple cord but occasionally 

I add a bunch of beads to make a statement piece like this one.

Here are two more examples of Scrolls Work stamps in my Domino Art.
These I've edged with a gold leafing pen, just for a change of pace from my usual black border.

It's fun to play with various Sharpie color combinations and stamp images.

These two dominos have not been drilled so I will later glue a bail on them 

and use them as pendants on a black cord.

The left domino has a fun Asian script and Ginkgo leaves.

(both of these stamps are currently available at Scrolls Works in the Asian Antics section)

The Asian Script "Letters of Artist" is in the of Words and Text

The Ginkgo Leaf is in the Plants section under Asian Antics.

The right domino has an Asian poem and the word Wish.

(both of these stamps are also currently available ate Scrolls Works stamps while supplies last)

The Asian Poem is under Words and Text in the Asian Antics section

The word "Wish" is from "The Word Is" - Collage Words section.

It is from the Mini Collage Words Set and these tiny words are super for domino art.

(don't miss getting these if you do domino art other mini art projects)

I have no idea what the Asian words of the poem say but with a word like 

Wish or Love or Hope from the mini collage word set;

I can make it represent whatever I want it to be.

This is my Scrolls Work stamp spin on "Domino Art" and now

I have 3 great Asian art pieces to were this summer.

I hope you give it a try too.

Faskolor Paint Background using the Kiss Technique - an alternate to the Polished Stone Technique

Faskolor Paints are used by hobbyists to airbrush on model cars but I enjoy using these paints on my creative projects.  I have also used other brands such as Createx; just check the airbrush section of you hobby or craft store and you should find a comparable type of model car paint. 

Regardless of the brand; I always use the pearlized colors, since I like the shimmer those give my projects.
 

The key to the look I get is to use the pearlized model car paint on black glossy cardstock.  You need the glossy black to get the bright pop of color in the finished projects you will see here.

An example of a Faskolor Background using the Kiss Technique.

Faskolor Paint Background using the Kiss Technique

 Supplies:

• One sheet of Black Glossy Cardstock cut in half.
• Faskolor Paint in several colors (or other car model airbrush paint)
• Lots of scrap paper and tissues to protect your work surface and wipe your hands.

Drop lots of dots of paint all over one piece of the glossy cardstock.

Too much paint and you won't get good swirling, Too little paint and the 

the glossy cardstock faces will try and stick to each other and the surface 

will tear apart when you do the Kiss technique.

Lay the second piece of black glossy cardstock face down on top of the

paint topped piece so the two KISS.

Lightly press down with your fingertips and spread the paint around between

the two sheets. This part gets a bit messy since excess paint will squeeze out the 

edges. You can wipe off the excess with tissue or you can scrape off the paint 

and place it to the side to decorate another piece of paper.

Gently lift from the corner and peal the top away from the bottom.

Pull up slowly to get small veining - Pull up faster to get larger swirls.

The finished product will be two pieces that are mirror images of each other.

The bottom portion was pulled slowly and the top portion was pulled up faster

giving the two different swirling effects.
 

Using the mirror halves gives a great optical background.

Examples using Faskolor Paint Background using the Kiss Technique:

Buildings were stamped on transparency film and the transparency was 

attached over the Faskolor background using spray adhesive.

Rubber stamp image by Viva Las Vegas Stamps.

Animal print was printed onto transparency film; which was attached

to the Faskolor background using spray adhesive.  

A vintage image was attached on top to create a fun and simple ATC (Artist Trading Card).
 

Domino Art using the Faskolor Paint Background using the Kiss Technique.

The domino was painted black and the same technique as above was 

used but domino to domino instead of glossy cardstock.

(Inkadinkado Image was rubber stamped once the paint was dry.)

 

Grins and Giggles,

 Evelyn (EKDuncan)

Polished Stone Technique on Glossy Cardstock using re-inkers

I enjoy creating funky, colorful backgrounds for my ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) and other small pieces of artwork; especially using the Polished Stone on Glossy Cardstock Technique.

One of my favorite things to do with these creations is to overlay the background with a sheet of transparancy film that have either been printed or to rubber stamped with a design. I just really like the look these combined layers give to a finished project.

This ATC Shrine project uses transparancy film that has been rubber stamped with
imagesby Blockheads Rubber Stamps that are overlayed with spray adhesive 

onto glossy carstock to which the Polished Stone technique has been applied.

Polished Stone Technique on Glossy Cardstock using re-inkers.

Creating a Polished Stone background onto white glossy cardstock with re-inkers is an easy technique but it can get a bit messy, so protect your clothing and work surface when you give it a try.  Basically you want to daub and swirl color onto the glossy cardstock in layers adding color and alcohol till you achieve a look that you like.
 

Supplies:

White Glossy Cardstock

91% Isopropyl Alcohol

A small spray bottle filled with the alcohol

Dye Based Rubber Stamp Pad re-inkers 

or Adirondack Alcohol Inks (this is what I used for this project)

a Gold Leafing Pen (optional)

Daubing Tool (mine is by Tim Holtz)

Felt Pads (I cut my own from large felt squares)

Start by dotting several colors of the reinker to the felt pad on your daubing tool.

I have two dots of Stream on the top and bottom of the pad and two dots of Lettuce in between.
 

Next spray the Glossy White Cardstock liberally with alcohol.
 

Daub and swirl the first set of colors onto the glossy cardstock, spraying with more alcohol as needed.
 

Load up a clean felt pad with more colors for added depth.

The top two dots are Wild Plum, the middle two Stream and the last two are Eggplant.

I sprayed alcohol again and daubed and swirled as before.
 

Once I achieved a color combination I was pleased with I dotted on ink from a 

Gold Leafing pen, sprayed on more alcohol and daubed and swirled this into the mix

for added interest.
 

The process of adding the Gold Leafing adds shimmer to the project but it also
softens the existing colors. This step is optional; however this does put the "polish"
in the Polished Stone Effect.  You can also substitute silver or copper leafing pens for the gold.
 

This is how my finished piece of Polished Stone Glossy Cardstock turned out.
 

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An example using a polished stone glossy cardstock background:

 Polished stone background & Transparancy printed with animal print pattern.
 

Transparancy bonded to the polished stone background and cut to 

ATC size of 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches.
 

ATC with additional images over the background.


Every background you create will be unique and there is a large range of possible color combinations. 

4 examples using the same rubber stamp image on different color variations of polished stone backgrounds. The waterfall rubber stamp image is by Third Coast Rubber Stamps and was stamped onto the the backgrounds using Black Staz-On ink.
 

4 examples using the same rubber stamp image on different color variations of polished stone backgrounds. The map rubber stamp image is by Hero Arts and was stamped onto the the backgrounds using Black Staz-On ink.

Grins and Giggles,

 Evelyn (EKDuncan)

The Tie-Dyed Effect - Fun Backgrounds for ATC's

A few weeks ago I was in Boone, NC at a funky bead shop where I spotted this great tie-dyed skirt on a rack for sale.  I could not resist it, especially since it was not your typical swirled dye job but a very artistic rendition of that art form. 

 I purchased this skirt at The Bead Box in Boone, NC

The artist is from Winston-Salem, NC - Julie Hardy of h2otiedyes.com

Then this morning I was doing some Internet browsing and came across these very cool pictures of tie-dyed flowers.  The Dutch have created a whole new floral market with their rainbow flowers and I thing they are fabulously fun.  I have to admit I'd love to get a batch of these myself.

Rainbow Roses or Happy Roses

(these are not digitally enhanced but actual roses that are dyed using a special 

process of splitting each stem and allowing each split to absorb a different color 

of dyed water to produce one rose with multiple colors.)

This got me to thinking about my artwork and that I do like to make a lot of backgrounds that have a tie-dyed effect to them.  I achieve this look in a variety of ways but the outcomes are very similar...swirls and mottled groupings in a rainbow of colors.

One of my favorite background choices is the "Polished Stone" effect where I either use sharpie pens on game tiles or re-inkers on glossy cardstock to create a mottled mix of colors that is reminiscent of tie-dye.

A few items I created using Sharpie Pens:

Rainbow Kittie - Domino Pendant

Rubber Stamp is by PSX

Key chain Art using laminate samples

Rubber Stamps are by Lost Coast Rubber

Bookmarks using laminate samples

Rubber Stamps are by 100 Proof Press

I like mixed color backgrounds and most of the decorative paper I buy conforms to this format. When I can't find a decorative paper I like, I often create my own in a variety of ways.  Here are a few ways I create my own fun decorative backgrounds using what I call "blanks".  Blanks are black and white patterns or designs I have created and stored on my computer to become the base layer to which I will later add a mix of colors to get a fun rainbow background.  

The below are examples I created today which 

I will eventually use as ATC backers.

ATC's are Artist Trading Cards for those who are new to this format. they are miniature works of art that are 2.5 x 3.5 inches and stored, traded and collected by artists and crafters.

The great thing about having a digital "blank" pattern is that you can print it on transparency film and then use spray adhesive to attach it to a fun colored background.

Top background -  Created using black glossy cardstock and Faskolor paints.

Bottom background - A polished stone background on white glossy cardstock.

These ATC backers combine two of my favorite elements: 

Tie-dye & Animal Prints. 

The First ATC backer is the polished stone background.

The Second ATC backer is the Faskolor painted background.

(The Faskolor paint I used is pearlescent so in person this ATC looks metallic).

I printed these "blanks" onto watercolor paper using my laser printer.

These are the ATC backgrounds I created from them.

Watercolor Backgrounds

ATC 1 - I used watercolor pencils.

ATC 2 - I used Twinkling H2O watercolors.

ATC 3 - I used only the left over paint already on the paint brushes from ATC 2.

(Layering seems to give backgrounds more depth so once these 

were dry; I sprayed on various colors of Glitz Spritz 

from Lindy's Stamp Gang on each card. In person they shimmer.)

 This is what the middle card looked like after I applied the color 

to the card; but before I spritzed it with water to swirl the colors a bit 

and before the application of the Glitz Spritz.

Decorative Chalk & Pastel Pencil Backgrounds

The Top 2 ATC Backers were done by sponging on decorative chalk.

The bottom 2 were done by coloring the outlines with pastel pencils 

then using a tissue to swirl the colors around.

This is what the bottom two looked like before I used the tissue.

Grins and Giggles,

 Evelyn (EKDuncan)

Examples using the Sharpie Polished Stone Technique

Game Tile Art

Stamps by Third Coast Rubber Stamps

The great thing about using Sharpie Polished Stone technique is that it can be done on most non-porous and some semi-porous surfaces. Depending on the material you can either apply the Sharpie pen ink directly to the surface and then apply the alcohol or you can first scribble the Sharpie ink onto an old CD no longer in uses then spray the CD or  felt pad with alcohol, swirl it in the Sharpie ink you scribbled down and transfer the color to your work surface.  For game tiles I apply the ink straight to the tile but for items like clayboard or glossy cardstock I transfer the color using the CD method.

Here are some of the items I've had fun creating 
using the  Sharpie Polished Stone Technique:

Game Tile Art ATC Lady

Both the ATC and Rummikub Game Tile have the polished stone background, created with sharpie pens. Rubber stamp is by Cat's Life Press Rubber Stamps. This stamp is intended to be used on the back of an ATC (Artist Trading Card) but I thought it was lovely enough to be the main attraction.

Rainbow Kitty Domino Pendant

Rubber Stamp Image is by PSX

Only half of the stamp image was used on the domino

Bewitching Beauties

3 ATC's with Domino Art

The Polished Stone backgound was done on each domino the ATC backgrounds were created using Versamark ink and Perfect Pearls mica powders. Rubber Stamp images are by:

ATC 1 - Fairy (Ducks in a Row)  Map Background (Hero Arts)

ATC 2 - Mystic (Third Coast Rubber)  Arch Background (Inkadinkado)

ATC 3 - Beauty (Stamp Oasis)  Collage Background (Inkadinkado)

Architectural Choker

Rubber Stamp image by 100 Proof Press

Contest Winner

Visions

9 Panel ATC Collage

All Stamps are by 100 Proof Press

Contest Winner

Background was done on glossy cardstock. Sharpie Pen Polished Stone Technique was used via the CD ink transfer method.  Where you scribble your Sharpie colors onto an old unused CD then use alcohol and felt dauber tool to transfer the ink onto the glossy cardstock that has also been spritzed with 91% rubbing alcohol.  Then I used a combination of Sharpie pens and regular markers to highlight some of the stamped images.

Changeable Corset Keychain Art

Rubber Stamp Images are by Lost Coast Designs

Sharpie Polished Stone Background was done on Laminate tile samples 

from the home improvement store.

Luggage Tag Art

All Stamps are by Blockheads Rubber Stamps

Sharpie Pen Polished Stone Technique was used via the CD ink transfer method.  Where you scribble your Sharpie colors onto an old unused CD then use alcohol and felt dauber tool to transfer the ink onto the glossy cardstock that has also been spritzed with 91% rubbing alcohol.

Grins and Giggles

Evelyn (EKDuncan)