Wrap-Up - GCSP07: Gingersnapper's Choice

Hope you all had fun revisiting our previous challenges. Thanks to all who played! Your art was tremendous! Always fun to see new takes on old challenges!

The randomly drawn Home Page Artist this week is

Jennie A
of
Live the Dream

GC60: Color - Shades of Blue

Congratulations, Jennie! Your artwork will be showcased on the Home Page of the Gingersnap Creations Yahoo Group as well as on the sidebar on the blog.

Now onto our fabulous Ginger Gems. When each challenge closes, we also pick 10 Ginger Gems - fabulous creations that we feel really exemplify that challenge's objective. The Ginger Gems appear in a slide show in the blog sidebar for the entire week, as well as in this wrap-up post, and their creators have the honor of displaying this Ginger Gems blog badge.


For more information about Ginger Gems and entering our challenges, please visit the FAQ page.

Our Select Ginger Gems


Artwork by Caroline Hallett
GC09: Chestnut Theme - Wonder Women


Artwork by Sharon
GC12: Chestnut Theme - Journeys


Artwork by PsyPenguin
GC57: Chestnut Theme - Wings


Artwork by Sol'ka
GC40: Random Redhead - Numbers


Artwork by Made by Mandy
GC11: Color - Yellow, Dark Brown and Green


Artwork by Daphne
GC13: Spicy Supply - Tags


Artwork by Rinda
GC67: Random Redhead - Go 3D


Artwork by Zoechaos
GC23: Color - Black, White and Silver


Artwork by Jeanie
GC21: Chestnut Theme - Movie Stars


Artwork by MsPlum
GC69: Chestnut Theme - Ancient Ages


Special Guests


Artwork by Jo Capper-Sandon
Former Ginger
GC66: Spicy Supply - Paint


Artwork by Valerie-Jael
Visiting Artist April 2011
GC12: Chestnut Theme - Journeys

Congratulations to all our Ginger Gems this week! We hope you take a minute to stop by their blogs.

Come by tomorrow for a new Chestnut Theme Challenge.

Wrap-Up - GC96: Copper, Ginger or Rust

Our Annual Copper, Ginger or Rust Challenge is always fun! We love to see everyone put our signature colors into their art. Thanks to all who played! Your art was spectacular!

The randomly drawn Home Page Artist this week is

Marjie Kemper
of
She Who Stamps and Scraps

Congratulations, Marjie Your artwork will be showcased on the Home Page of the Gingersnap Creations Yahoo Group as well as on the sidebar on the blog.

Now onto our fabulous Ginger Gems. When each challenge closes, we also pick 10 Ginger Gems - fabulous creations that we feel really exemplify that challenge's objective. The Ginger Gems appear in a slide show in the blog sidebar for the entire week, as well as in this wrap-up post, and their creators have the honor of displaying this Ginger Gems blog badge.

This challenge we had so many fabulous entries, we actually picked 12 Ginger Gems!


For more information about Ginger Gems and entering our challenges, please visit the FAQ page.

Our Copper-Plated
Ginger Gems

Artwork by Linda


Artwork by Lou Mac


Artwork by Nancy Johnson



Artwork by Anika


Artwork by Toni


Artwork by Pam L


Artwork by Sharon H


Artwork by Caroline Hallett


Artwork by Anesha


Artwork by Gio


Artwork by Jeanie Callaghan


Artwork by Sharon

Special Guests

Artwork by Juliet Arrighi
April 2011 Muse


Artwork by Valerie-Jael Tups
April 2011 Visiting Artist

Congratulations to all our Ginger Gems this week! We hope you take a minute to stop by their blogs.

Come by tomorrow for a new Color Challenge.

Juliet Arrighi: A Dahlia Fold Fan

Today I want to show you how to make a fan embellishment for your paper projects that will lie flat.  Of course you can make an accordion folded fan, but it will not fare well once you stuff it in an envelope.  This fan is deeply dimensional, but flattens nicely.

The two main things you will need are double-sided paper and circle punches.  The radius of your fan will be the diameter of the circles you will need to cut.  For example, if you want a fan that is two inches wide, you will need a one inch circle punch.  If you don't have double-sided paper, then color the back by brayering or burnishing with a dye ink.

If your paper has a repeating motif, try to punch your circles so that they are identical.  

This paper doesn't have a repeating motif, so I tried to simply make sure they looked as similar as possible on the top edge.

Crease each circle into quarters by first folding it in half vertically, opening it back up, then folding it in half horizontally, then opening it again.  This is the back of my demonstration piece.   I cannot stress this enough - keep track of the top of your circle!  Double-check before you fold!

With the back side facing up, fold the curves towards the center, using the bottom and side creases as guidelines.  Because the back side is up, it is very easy to accidentally fold the wrong edges.  Double-check before you fold!

To complete the "petal", flip it over so the right side is up.  fold the two folded edges from the previous step to the center crease.  It looks a little open in this photo because I'm not pressing it down, but the two edges do meet in the middle.

Put an arc of glue on your base.  I like tacky glue for this because I can slide the petals around to adjust them.  This base is an ATC, and the circles I am using here are 1 1/4 inches.

Here is the completed card.  After I glued the petals in a fan shape, I put a doodad in the middle.  This particular doodad is a gold charm, and it already had a hole for a ribbon.   I like putting ribbons on my fans, a consequence of too many years at the ren faire.

You can go to any size.  You can see by the grid underneath that the circles are only slightly over a half inch in diameter.  Note also that I carefully punched the paper to give me identical circles, and lined them up so that the white flower is at the top.

It's an inchie!  a fancy brad is enough for a hinge.

Stripes are great for these fans, but one again, be careful how you line them up!  they will look good either horizontal or vertical, but terrible if you mix them up or don't pay attention.

This is a standard size card.  I used 2 inch circles, and to make the handle, I first punched a small flower out of gold cardstock, then punched a hole for the ribbon.  I wrapped the ribbon in gold wire to make a handle.  See how dramatic the stripes are?

I hope you will give this a try.  I would love to see your results!

Linda Ledbetter: Paper Marbling with Liquid Pearls and Shaving Cream

We're celebrating the Far East all this month at Gingersnap Creations, and I used this as an excuse to explore an artform I've always admired: Japanese Paper Marbling, or suminagashi. I played with the traditional method of floating special inks in thickened water, and enjoyed it a lot, but I wanted to share a far less traditional method that uses products we all have on hand. Plus, it's a blast to do! I've seen variations of this technique in several books and on quite a few websites, so I have no idea where it originated, but high-fives to whoever thought it up!

Here's what you'll need:

Regular foamy shaving cream

Several colors of Ranger Liquid Pearls

A craft squeegee or big rubber scraper

A large cookie sheet with shallow sides, or a flat-bottomed pan or bin

A few bamboo skewers or chopsticks

Heavy white cardstock or watercolor paper

A big bowl of water for quick cleanup

A junky towel, also for quick cleanup

Dispense a blob of shaving cream onto the cookie sheet, and smooth it out as much as possible with the craft squeegee. The layer of foam should be about 1/2" thick, and larger than the cardstock you'll be decorating. 

Drop two or three colors of Liquid pearls onto the shaving cream. The drops are about the size of Tic Tacs. 

Using a bamboo skewer or chopstick, gently drag the paint across the surface of the shaving cream into swirly patterns. Don't cut all the way through to the cookie sheet; just use a light touch and keep the paint floating on top of the foam.  

When you have a pattern you like, simply press the cardstock onto the surface to pick up the paint. Make sure there are no air pockets underneath or you'll have blank spots. 

Peel the cardstock off the shaving cream. It will look like a big, messy gob of smeary paint...

... until you squeegee the shaving cream off the card. That's where the magic happens. Your lovely pattern will appear from beneath the foaminess. Use your old towel to gently wipe off any leftover foam.

This is SO easy to do!

To make more, just scrape the painted shaving cream into the big bowl of water and start fresh with a new batch (and different colors, if you wish!). 

I love the shimmer you get using Liquid Pearls for this technique, and these samples were made using it. However, any acrylic paint will work. 

Have fun!!!