Vintaj partners with Ranger to bring you Patinas and Glaze!

 
We've got some pretty exciting news:

Ranger has partnered with Vintaj Natural Brass Company to bring you Vintaj Patinas: opaque inks specially formulated to adhere to metal!  This is very exciting news for all you jewelry designers out there!  This means that you can color Vintaj findings and filigrees (and other metals, too) to your heart's content, creating beautiful patina effects for all of your jewelry and craft projects.

The Patinas come in 15 lovely hues, split into 5 kits of 3 colors each:

Also new from Ranger and Vintaj is Vintaj Glaze, which is the perfect sealing coat for your metal pieces.  Glaze will help to prevent metals from oxidation and it can also be mixed with the Patinas and used as an extender.  It is fast-drying, durable and permanent with a satin finish.

For more information, check out the Ranger booth #1338 and the Vintaj booth #835 at CHA Winter 2012.  Be sure to check out the official press release, too!

Video: Claudine Demonstrates Black Gesso at CHA

 
We're featuring a Halloween card that you can make with Claudine Hellmuth Studio Black Gesso on our website this October, but perhaps you are wondering what else you can do with Black Gesso?  If so, check out this video Claudine created at CHA, where she demonstrates a great way to give Inkssentials Metal Foil Tape an antique look.  Claudine shows off some other great uses for Studio Black Gesso, too.... like, custom chalkboards!

Have you tried Black Gesso? If so, what are your favorite uses for it?

New Products On Their Way!

 
Great news!  Many of the new product releases announced at CHA Summer 2011 are making their way to your local craft store, including Tim Holtz Adirondack Snow Cap Mixative, Tim Holtz Distress Stains (including the new, opaque white Picket Fence Distress Stain), Inkssentials Black and Kraft Surfaces (ATCs and Tags), and Perfect Pearls Mists!

To get your creative juices flowing, here are some of the sample boards we brought to CHA, which feature these products:

Perfect Pearls Mists:

Adirondack Snow Cap Mixative:

The captions read, from left to right:
• "Combine with Alcohol Inks on Ink Applicator Tool to create softer, pastel color effects."
• "Mix with Alcohol Inks on Non-Stick Craft Sheet to create an opaque wash."
• "Drop onto metal with various colors of Alcohol Inks and heat to create a faux patina. Colors used: Stream, Juniper, Lettuce."

24 new Distress Stain colors, in addition to the 12 previously released:

Opaque white Picket Fence Distress Stain:

The captions read, from left to right:
• "Picket Fence."
•"Use to marbleize with other Distress colors."
•"Use to create a pastel wash over Distress."
•"Use to layer over papers for a shabby effect."

 Inkssentials Surfaces Black and Kraft ATCs and Tags:

We know it's so hard to choose, but which ONE of these new products are you MOST excited to add to your stash, and why??

Video: Picket Fence Distress Stain

 
Are you curious about the new Tim Holtz Picket Fence Distress Stain and how this unique, opaque white stain can be used in conjunction with the other 36 colors of Distress Stains? If so, check out this video that Ranger's Marketing Director Bonnie Egenton created for Craft Critique, straight from the CHA Summer 2011 Innovations event!  Bonnie will show you how to use Picket Fence to lighten the other colors of Distress Stains and how to give your scrapbook papers an antique, whitewashed effect.

Make-It-Take-It's from CHA Summer 2011

 
Want all the fun of a great Make-It-Take-It project straight from CHA Summer 2011 but unable to attend the show?  Never fear!  Here are not one, but two great Melt Art projects from the Ranger booth for your Making & Taking pleasure!

Learn how to transform Prima flowers with an amazing faux porcelain technique in this project by Tim Holtz!

Learn how to create a mold with Melt Art Mold-N-Pour and create a gorgeous UTEE rosebud ring in this project by Debbie Tlach!

We hope you give these projects a try!  Let us know if you do, and as always, feel free to post photos of your work on our Facebook wall!

Greetings from CHA Summer 2011!

 
Hello from Chicago!  We thought you'd like to see some photos of the goings-on from CHA Summer 2011 so far!

Ranger booth set-up:

The new Archival Ink pads.

The new Picket Fence Distress Stain and Mini Acrylic Paint Sets from Claudine Hellmuth Studio.

The new look of Melt Art.

(Apologies for the blurry shot here, but we thought it was too cool not to show... this is a picket fence where each plank was stained with a different color of Distress Stain!  The sign reads "Whoever dreams of just a white picket fence... doesn't have Distress Stains!")

On Monday we held a "Ranger Avenue" class in which participants decorated identical canvases in the styles of Ranger Signature Designers Jenni Bowlin, Claudine Hellmuth and Tim Holtz.  Here are some shots from that class:

After the Ranger Avenue class, Tim presented a workshop called "The Many Ways of Melt Art."  This workshop focused on several different Melt Art techniques, including creating faux porcelain flowers and shrink mosaic tiles. 

Whew!  So as you can see, we've had a very busy couple of days.  Stay tuned, because in the next day or two we will be sharing two Make-It-Take-It projects straight from our CHA booth, complete with instructions!  And if you are reading this from CHA, be sure to stop by booth #731 to see what's new and say hello!

NEW!! Melt Art

 
Last but certainly not least in our previews of our CHA Summer 2011 product debuts:

We've completely updated and refined the Melt Art product line!  Melt Art now has an edgy, bold new look to appeal to a wide variety of crafters.  By melting Melt Art UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel) or BeesWax in the Ranger Melting Pot, you can create three-dimensional stamped projects, unique jewelry, home decor pieces, mixed media artwork and so much more!

The line consists of:

• The Ranger Melting Pot.  So incredibly versatile, it can melt UTEE, embossing powders, BeesWax, soap, hot glue, and other meltable mediums.  It can even bake polymer clay!  A non-stick spatula is now included with the Melting Pot as well.

• UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel).  Once these large particle embossing enamels are melted in the Melting Pot, you can dip Shrink Plastic, chipboard, wire, glass and more into it to create amazing embellishments!  UTEE comes in Clear (1 lb, 8 oz, and 4 oz jars, by volume) and 3 oz jars of White, Black, Platinum, Bronze and Gold (meant to be melted into a Clear base to colorize it).  You can also pour melted UTEE directly onto your Non-Stick Craft Sheet to stamp into, or pour it into....

• Mold-N-Pour!  By kneading together equal amounts of each of these two putties and then pressing pretty much any object you desire into it, you will create a custom, permanent, flexible, re-usable mold of said object!  The possibilities are truly endless with Mold-N-Pour, and each package contains enough putty to make several different molds.

• Melting Pot Project Pan.  The Project Pan perfectly fits into your Melting Pot and allows for low-temperature melting of things like....

• Melt Art BeesWax!  Available in both Clear and Natural, these beeswax pellets can be melted down and then brushed onto mixed media artwork.  You can also color them with...

• Melt Art Heat It Inks!  These heat-safe inks are used to color BeesWax as well as Clear and White UTEE.  These are brand-new to the Melt Art line and are available in two sets: Brilliant Gems (Garnet, Citrine, and Sapphire; a basic primary kit) and Organic Gems (Jade, Coral and Turquoise).  Use these colors to create amazing jewelry: when used in a White UTEE base they will make opaque faux gemstones and when used in a Clear UTEE base the faux gems will be translucent!

So what do you think??  Are you excited to start Melting, Dipping and Pouring with Ranger Melt Art?

To learn more about the Melt Art redesign and the brand-new Heat It Inks, check out the offical press release or visit Ranger at CHA Summer 2011, booth # 731.

NEW!! Claudine Hellmuth Studio Products

 
We're happy to introduce some exciting new products in the Claudine Hellmuth Studio line that will be making their debut at CHA Summer 2011!

First up:

The same creamy, artist-quality Studio Acrylic Paints that you know and love are now available in convenient mini-kits of 5 colors each!  These would be fabulous to bring along to classes and crops, or to accent images that you've created with Claudine's Creative Layers Stamps, or just to sample colors that you may not have tried before.  There are three beautiful color combos to choose from.  Pictured above is the "Urban" kit which includes .5 oz bottles of Smidge of Blue, Classic Teal, Painterly Pink, Yellow Pastel and Traditional Tan.

Also available:

The "Contemporary" kit includes Purple Palette, Sky Blue, Altered Orange, Dash of Red and Charcoal Black.

And last but not least, the "Metropolitan" kit includes Dab of Yellow, Modern Red, Landscape Green, Sable Brown and Blank Canvas.

Also new to the Studio line:

Black Gesso!  Now you can prime your papers, canvas, chipboard, fabric, wood and more with black opaque coverage while giving a little "tooth" to your surfaces so that they will accept paints and other mediums more easily.  It even remains flexible on fabric!  Available in a 4 fl. oz jar, and also in...

...the new Claudine Hellmuth Studio Mini Art Mediums kit!  Just like the Mini Acrylic Paint sets, the Mini Art Mediums are convenient and transportable, and they easily add versatility to your craft and painting projects.  The kit includes .5 oz bottles of Gesso, Black Gesso, Extra Time Slow-Dry Medium, Gloss Multi-Medium and Matte Multi-Medium!

For more information about the new products in the Claudine Hellmuth Studio line, check out the official press release or visit Ranger at CHA Summer, booth #731.

NEW!! Inkssentials Surfaces!

 

Also debuting at CHA Summer 2011: Black and Kraft surfaces in #5 and #8 craft tags as well as ATCs are joining the Inkssentials Surfaces line!  Black and Kraft surfaces have smooth finishes and are perfect for stamping, inking, embossing, decorating, embellishing and altering!  The black surfaces have a solid black core while the kraft ones have a solid brown kraft core.  They accept all types of mediums and the heavy-weight cardstock will stand up to your favorite wet and dry techniques.

Remember those new Perfect Pearls Mists colors we announced last week?  And the Snow Cap Adirondack Mixative?  And the new opaque white Picket Fence Distress Stain?  How perfect would these be when paired with our black Inkssentials Surfaces tags and ATCs?!  Just imagine the creative possibilities! Perfect Pearls Powders and Adirondack Metallic Mixatives would be amazingly beautiful on these black surfaces too!

The kraft tags and ATCs would be absolutely wonderful paired with Distress products and techniques since they naturally have that aged, antiquey look.  Try using them as gift tags, as accents on your scrapbook pages and incorporated into your mixed media projects!

For more information about the new black and kraft Inkssentials Surfaces, check out the official press release or visit us at CHA Summer, booth #731.

NEW!! "Jenni Bowlin for Ranger" Ink and Paint Colors!

 
Rolling right along with our new product previews for CHA Summer 2011...

We are happy to introduce three new colors to the "Jenni Bowlin for Ranger" palette: Lavender Sachet, Speckled Egg, and Weather Vane!  These colors are available in dye ink pads, acrylic paint dabbers, and re-inkers so that you can have perfectly coordinated scrapbook pages and projects!

In order to keep the line fresh, fashionable, and in-touch with today's color trends, Jenni will be occasionally updating the palette by introducing new colors and retiring existing ones.  So, we bid a fond adieu to our first three retirees: Chili Powder, Chicken Feed, and Soap Powder.  (Be sure to stock up on these while you still can!!)

Thus, the entire "Jenni Bowlin for Ranger" palette will consist of these 12 colors from September onward:

If you're eager to see how beautifully these new colors will work in your projects, you can check out Jenni's blog where she has already created an awesome scrapbook layout using some of them:

For more information about the new colors of "Jenni Bowlin for Ranger" inks and paints, check out the official press release or visit us at CHA Summer, booth #731.