Canned Air and Copics - An epic experiment

Hello dear readers.

I am here to update you on some goings on and to share an epic adventure.
OK. It's not so epic at all. It was fun and a tad frustrating though.  I'll tell you all about it.

I have tried this before, but decided I would try it on camera for you all. That in itself was an adventure. I have shared with you here before that I am learning to make videos. The struggle is real people. I am middle aged and this doesn't just happen as easily as it used to. ;-)  Also, some software and apps are not as obvious to the user as the creators think.

So my adventure begins with me planning way ahead to use my phone. It is an iPhone 4s so it's kinda old and slow. Also it has very little storage. Newer Apps and such take up more space and memory so my little phone sometimes coughs and freezes. I began by deleting a ton of apps, photos, music, etc to make room. A TON. I downloaded the iMovie app to edit my videos with. This took forever. I filmed a long video and then when I went to edit I found out I could not speed up any parts. My phone is too old. WHAT?! I thought about it for awhile and decided on the following movie trailer format. It does not show everything I originally planned to show, but you get the idea.

Please take a gander.

Did you laugh a little?  I hope so. I had to make it a bit funny after all my work that I had to scrap. ;-)

So I want to film more videos about experimenting with different arts and crafts supplies. This first one shows how you can use canned air, which you may already have in your home, office or garage. You need to hold it just right and finesse the placement of the nozzle. Once you experiment a little on a scrap piece of paper you will quickly find the sweet spots. I cannot afford to purchase the Copic air system or even the canned air and marker holder system. This was a way I could use this technique,

but use what I had on hand. I did run out of canned air just as I was working on almost finishing the sky. I will say it didn't look the way I planned, but still looks good. There are clouds in a spring sky, right?

Thanks for stopping by to take a look at my video. I have some ideas of other supplies I would like to use, but if you have a, "what if" in your mind I would love for you to leave it in the comments.

Some more happenings around here are that I have opened an ETSY shop again. The address is here:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/jessanotherhess?ref=hdr_shop_menu

I have also opened a Society6 shop where you can buy prints of a couple of my paintings. The address for that is here:
https://society6.com/jessanotherhess/prints

If you would like to stop in and take a peek I would love that. As always you can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.

I hope to see you around soon. Thank you for stopping in.

I'm learning new things...

Thanks for stopping by everyone. I have been posting here for a long time, but have neglected the blog for long periods of time. I hope you will forgive me. I always seem to put others first. I have been trying to learn new things lately and have made a couple of videos.  So neglecting the old blog is hopefully going to stop. (I know I say that every time.)

I have joined Periscope and can be found under Jessanotherhess. For all of you who don't know Periscope is a new App for smart phones and some tablets. It allows you to stream or view live video. I like this format, as a broadcaster, because it is more casual than You Tube. I don't have to edit a video to make it look like what everyone else is doing. I just need a project to work on and a quick plan of what I want to say.  I have done 8 videos on Periscope so far and have learned a lot. The format of Periscope is that you can, as a viewer, watch live or for up to 24 hours after watch a replay of what someone has broadcast. After that it is gone. Some Periscope users have started using a companion App called Katch Me that will store your videos. I have not used that yet.  Once my videos are gone they are gone for now. I will consider using it in the future if I get many followers.

My broadcasts have mainly been me painting or crafting. I find it to be a mostly friendly community and it is fun. Another aspect of Periscope I enjoy is the interaction. If you join in on live broadcasts you will see that the viewers can chat with the broadcaster and even ask questions. Also the viewers can tap the screen and give the broadcaster hearts. This means you like them, are enjoying the broadcast and want to see more. (Like a thumbs up on You Tube.)

You Tube still has an abundance of redeeming qualities.  I do want to do lasting videos on You Tube. Time is a huge factor for me with this. I have make a couple of quick videos for learning purposes and loaded them to You Tube. They can be viewed here. Just scroll down and click the triangles.

As I said above these were for learning purposes for myself, but thought you might enjoy them. I discovered after the last i OS update on my old iPhone that I now have the capability to make time lapse videos. This is fun and quick. I did not put anything fancy with them, like music or captions. I have tried that in the past, but since these were for practice there was no point. 

I am learning lots of other new things as well, but will save that for another post. I have found there are many challenges for me to overcome with learning to do this well. I find that Periscope is not compatible with my iPhone 4S as much as it is with other people's newer devices. My videos are often out of focus and have even been dropped in the middle of filming.  I have had to come up with some creative ways to film, hands free.  

I ordered this thing above off of Amazon last month and was quite disappointed.  I have since played around a lot with it and am making do. I don't want to bash anyone, I'm sure we have all ordered something that they have been disappointed in. I will just say that it doesn't fit my needs in the way advertised. It does not clamp down to the table top in a way that is sturdy or reliable. It is bendy, which is cool, but that makes it not sturdy. It bounces with the slightest breath of air. I just prop it with sturdy objects as seen above. (I am so fancy!!) 

So I would love to hear from any of you. What do you have to hold your phone or camera? Where did you purchase it? Why does it work, or not? Any advice on film making?  I just really miss teaching classes and having people to share this with on a regular basis. I have lost my circle of crafty friends little by little over time.  This is my way to use what I have, and reach out to others. 

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate all of you and any comments you leave.

What I'm working on...

Hello everyone!

I have been enjoying having my evenings for my family and my projects. I have been working on a quilt for a group I belong to with church. You may remember I made a quilt last year from donated fabrics. I am doing this again. I am using some flannels this time. They are different to work with. I am enjoying it.

 I have been super inspired by all of the photos I've been seeing of the CHA releases. I have missed stamping so much. I decided to take a break from the quilt for one night and participate in a challenge.
This card is for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. The link to the challenge is here:http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/

The challenge this week is to create an inky background. I had no trouble coming up with something like that. :-)
I inked the background using Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean Distress Inks. I added a little Momento Grey around the edges. Then I inked up the Hero Arts background stamp in the same colors I created the background with and then stamped them over it. After it was all dry I heat embossed the Simon Says Stamp greeting and hearts with Versa Mark Ink and Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder.

 I love the colors of the inks and the embossing powder together. The sequins and gems were added last. I am mailing this to a friend whose father passed away.

Thank you for stopping by. I would love for you to link to your projects so I can see what you are working on, in the comments.

New Year, New Changes and Projects

Oh my goodness! It has been so long since I blogged!

I had been working two jobs and volunteering for most of 2014. Something had to come out of my schedule. Unfortunately it was crafting and blogging. I was able to quit my night job at a big department store just before Christmas. I have been crafting and creating art non stop since. :-)

I've been working a lot in my watercolor journal. I did this one with water color pencil on a train trip in November.

This flower was so fun I cut it out with my Silhouette and colored it with Distress Ink right on the cutting mat. Then I assembled it and fluffed and that was it.

For Christmas Santa scored a perfect 10. He got me this new set of water colors. I am totally in love. There are a lot of crafters using this set online. It is a great set. The pigments are so intense and the consistency is so creamy. I have used some others that are chalky, gritty, not very pigmented, low quality pigments, etc... These are none of the above. The color variation possibilities, in just one little color pan, is incredible. These are called Gansai Tambi by Kretake. If you like to water color, get them.

Here are some pages I have done recently.

This little bookmark is the first quick try I did using the new paints. I love how rich they are. It makes using them so fun and pleasing.

Another BIG project was cleaning up my area in the basement.  It was a crazy hot mess. I am embarrassed to show these pictures, but decided I wanted you to see the changes.

This picture below was after I had cleaned up a few things off of the floor. I bought the colorful storage boxes shown on the right side counter top the day before. I had so many unfinished projects all over the floor. I was constantly stepping over piles all over the place. It was bad. I started to think a long time ago that I needed to seriously throw some things away. I also wanted to get the projects that are most important in those boxes and then I can just pull out a box and work on that project one box at a time. :-)

It took like 4 days of purging, organizing and sorting. I have to confess there is about 1/2 a box left to go through. I am happy with how it is now, for now.



 

I have to say the best part is this brand new counter area. My husband got the metal drawers and the counter top for free from his work. They were going to be thrown away. He built me the cubbies under the counter out of left overs from the garage. The paper rack was a special purchase. It was from Archiver's, where I used to work, before they closed their doors. I love it. 

 



The drawers are super deep. I can fit tons in them.

The rack fits perfectly. It can be scooted back if needed and I can sit there. So far I just love having more space to spread out.

 

This is how it looks after all that cleaning.

 



Here is my sister in my space. The first project we did was to cut some fabric on my Silhouette and then she appliqued it to a project. She was using her new to her sewing machine that she got for Christmas. You can see we had a computer, a Silhouette, a sewing machine and a cutting area, an ironing board and still lots of room to work and move.  This is what we have been needing!!

Here is one of my daughters helping me finish up the Christmas cards.  We had plenty of room to be stamping together and doing it assembly line style!

 

I am so very thankful!

 

The first project I did was to refill my birthday cards. I had hardly any left.

 





I decided I wanted to try and paint from some inspiring pictures. This one is a Pin from Pinterest. I love the tall flowers bending over the path.

 

 Sorry it's sideways! I can't figure out how to rotate it.
Anyway, here is what I painted.

 

 

Here is another one I just finished this morning. The inspiration picture is at the end.

I used a tiny bit of the silver paint that is in my palette to add some shine to the clouds.

 

I love poppies so this was heavenly to me. I love the transparency of the petals.

 

Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been doing these past few weeks. I am hoping to share a lot more lately. If you are on Pinterest or Instagram follow me to see what I'm up to every day and what is inspiring me. :-)



I just love blue and white!

I just had to keep using this new stamp. Blue and white has been on my mind. I think it turned out very striking.

 

 

I made it a one layer card. I used some 3M Post It tape to mask off the area for the sentiment.

 

I was having a lot of trouble with static that day. I actually made the card twice because my embossing powder was sticking everywhere it shouldn't. 

I used this metallic Jelly Roll pen by Sakura to add some silver highlights to the design. Not too many. I didn't want it to take away. Just add some fun. It also helped me disguise the areas where the embossing powder messed things up.



Here is the final card. I added a solid line of silver above and below the sentiment as well. The background stamp is so busy that I feel I don't need any embellishment. It stands on it's own so well.



 

Thanks for stopping in. I love comments. :-) What have you been working on? I am wanting to enter more challenges. They seem a fun way to share and try something I didn't think of for myself. I meant to enter this one in Hero Art's one layer card challenge, but was a few days late with this post.

I just love new stamps!

 I got some new stamps this week. I decided to use the last of my birthday $ I received as gifts. I LOVE this stamp by Hero Arts. I've been wanting it for quite awhile. It is always sold out. I finally lucked out.

 I woke up with this idea in my head this morning. I had to get it out.

I stamped it four times and got to work cutting.

Here are my pieces and my lovely scraps.

I decided to make some areas darker red. The heart is just a scrap I use to test out the color of the pencil before I use it. I had a little trouble with the embossing powder flaking off. I tried to keep my cool and keep going. I fixed it at the end.

 

Here is the final card all layered up. Sorry for the bad pic.

 

 

 

Here is a quick Instagram video I did of the layers. You can really see the shine too. I love it when it turns out just like you want. I am leaving it blank for now. I don't know what kind of card it will be, or who for. I just put the panel on top of a white card base and I'll decide later who it is for and what sentiment to add. 

I have never used this little video player before . Let me know what you think. Is it fun?

When your projects take on a new direction....

Ever have that happen to you? I know you have. That is life. Plan A becomes Plan B all the time.

 

I was making a card yesterday and I took apart what I did and went a new direction. Here are some photos to prove it. (Ha! As if you would doubt me. ;-))

 

I wanted to color this tag with Distress stains. I used light, medium and dark shades of blue.

 

Then I inked the edges with Distress Ink.

 

I stamped then heat embossed these flowers with gold embossing powder.

 

I thought I would try a pretty loopy bow with embroidery floss. It turned out terrible so I pulled it off and chucked it. 

 

I did like how the flower turned out. I like stamping it twice and then cutting apart the second one to make more petals. Then I assemble them in a new way to make a bigger and fuller flower. I also love using  foam adhesive! It makes it so dimensional.

 

I didn't like how you could see the edges of the petals so I added beads to the center of the flower to cover the edges of the paper.

 

I'm not thrilled, but it looks better. I'll keep it.

 Here is where I decided I didn't like the tag as much as I thought. I pulled the flower off and put the tag to the side for another project. I made this panel awhile back. It is white cardstock covered in Peacock Feathers Distress Ink. Then I used a fun stencil, embossing paste, and verdigris embossing powder. It is so fun and funky.

 

I decided to make the sentiments match by covering white cardstock in the same ink.

 

Just a close up of that embossing. It is so thick!

 

 Not my best ever, but it's OK. I love that I had fun making mistakes and messing around. I don't have to be perfect every time.

 

More imperfection? Chick out my Instagram feed if you want to see my experiment that is pictured below. I have a couple of videos there. I wanted to make pearly embossing paste. 

 

 

Why would I post pictures of a project that wasn't perfect? Because I love to share. Because it turned out OK in the end. Because life isn't perfect. Perfect gets boring and you never learn anything new. I love to learn. :-)

See you soon.