About Me

I'm a freelance artist, designer and demonstrator and have been involved in arts and craft my whole life in one way or another. I design stamps for top British company Personal Impressions, under the "Lindsay Mason Designs" brand, as well as papers, templates and other crafting products. I'm a certified Ranger Educator and my first book,"Stamping", was published in 2009. I also design regular projects for Crafts Beautiful magazine and have made guest appearances from time to time on QVC. I've recently joined You Tube under the name of LindsayMason1000 where I'm posting short technique videos and you can buy my paintings and hand crafted pieces from my Etsy shop. My work takes me all around the country demonstrating stamping, papercrafts and general inkiness! When I'm not working, I love gardening, church & community activities, nature watching, journalling, music and theatre and just relaxing at home. Email me at: ljm.design1@virginmedia.com

Thursday 1 March 2012

Candy winner & a step by step

Thank you to everyone who left a comment since I posted my Blog Candy. I've used a random number generator to pick someone from 1 - 22, simply going from top to bottom of the comments. The number that came up was 15 which corresponds to Redanne. Well done! Please send me your details and I'll post out your DD kits as soon as possible. I'll organise another Candy soon, so please do pop by again for another chance.



1 Random Numbers
15

Specs: This table of 1 random numbers was produced according to the following specifications: Numbers were randomly selected from within the range of 1 to 22. Duplicate numbers were not allowed. This table was generated on 3/1/2012.





If any of you are coming to the Leigh show this coming weekend, do come and see me at The Stamp Hut stand. I'm concentrating on Gorjuss stamps as well as a few of my Build a Scene sets along with Ranger inks. I've been busy doing lots of colouring this week and here are a few more of the cards that I'll have with me at the show....... .......I find the characters very soulful as I said in my previous post, partly because of the lack of mouths and noses. I do know that some people find that a little weird, or even creepy, but it's very easy to add simple features and look how it totally changes the feel of one of the characters and makes her look cute rather than thoughtful..... ......all you need is a fine black pen! Thank you to Paul for the link to my blog. Paul said that he had bought some Ranger Glue n Seal after seeing me at Stitches...all he needed was to remember what I did with it! I know Paul was joking, but I thought I'd post a step by step in case anyone else would like to try this technique which Joanne and I came up with together when she came over to help me with my show samples. So, here goes!
Firstly, stamp your chosen image onto decent quality cardstock and colour with your chosen medium...Distress inks, water based pens, Promarkers etc...... Now heat the image to make sure that all the ink is fully dry and set.... If you don't heat set the image you may find that the colours will run during the next stage. Using a fine brush, carefully coat the whole image with Glue n Seal. Be sure to cover every bit of the image and try not to go outside the lines. I recommend a fairly stiff, but finely pointed brush for this as the Glue n Seal is quite thick and you want to achieve as smooth a finish as you can......... allow to dry, or, if you're as impatient as I am, heat set! One of the great things about Glue n Seal is that a thin layer won't be affected by heat. If you use the heat tool, allow the image to cool down as, when warm, the surface will feel slightly tacky to the touch. Now, blend Distress ink over the cardstock. No need to skirt around the image - that's what the Glue n Seal was for!.... ......Take a darker shade of Distress ink and, starting on top of the image, blend outwards to give a halo, or shadow effect, and blend in any other colours that you wish..... .....now take a paper towel and rub over the image to remove excess ink and reveal the original colours. If you want the colours to really pop, use a baby wipe, being careful not to let it go onto the background as Distress inks will react to the moisture and will lighten. I find just using a corner of the wipe to add a little moisture and then wiping over with dry paper towel works best..... ....and here's the finished result. No more fiddly cutting out to stick to a dark background, or trying to colour around an image! The tags that I did for Stitches were mostly made using this technique...... I really hope you find the technique useful and will give it a try. At Stitches I was using Glue n Seal Gloss, but I have now used the matte version which also works.
Let me know what you think and Redanne, don't forget to send me your details!

9 comments:

mags said...

Will definitely be getting some of this Glue and Seal. Looks so much better than colouring and cutting out the image. Thanks for sharing. Well done to Redanne for winning the candy.
Mags
x

Joanne said...

This really is a winning technique and I've been using it ever since we discovered it. Makes distressing backgrounds so much easier and has given a whole new life to dozens of stamps. Your card samples are superb, as usual.
Big hugs lovely lady
Joanne xxx

Paul B said...

Woohoo!! Actually I'm really glad you did this tutorial as it explains it way better than my hopelessly inadequate memory can. Plus I know others will be pleased to see this post of yours too, judging by how many wanted to see you demo it. Great pic of all your tags at stitches. They were all superb displayed on the wall. Hope you have a wonderful weekend my friend :) Pxx

Hazel (Didos) said...

Oh what a brilliant tutorial.What a great technique, must give it a go as it is so much easier. I love love love Gorjuss girls (Even without smiles)Its my secret addiction, I have a print in every room of the house!!!Including the bathroom!!
Hope alls well with you, Love Hazelxox

Anonymous said...

Thanks for a great tutorial Lindsay. I really like the effect.
I am going to have to get some in for the shop!

Christina A Maze of Memories

Redanne said...

What a great idea, Love the Gorjus girls. Thanks for the technique tutorial and also for the candy!!! I am so thrilled. Thank you so much.

Paul B said...

I did it, I had a play. Great fun. Cool technique :) Pxx

Artyjen said...

Thanks for the info on Glue & Seal....was wondering if I really needed any and it seems I do!!! LOL
xoxo Sioux

Lynne wilkes said...

Thanks for the tutorial Lyndsay,it looks great! Will have a go xx