The Ranger Great Pumpkin Challenge! Day 2

 
Recently, we sent some plain ol' craft pumpkins to some of our favorite designers and asked them to create fabulous fall centerpieces out of them using Ranger products.  Over the next few days we will be sharing the beautiful results!

This is what the pumpkins looked like before:

And after.....

 

Wendy Vecchi's pumpkin:

Wendy decorated her pumpkin with:

• Archival Inks in Jet Black, Sepia, Coffee, Vermillion and Olive Green
• Distress Stains in Peeled Paint, Mustard Seed, Rusty Hinge, Frayed Burlap, Worn Lipstick, Scattered Straw, Fired Brick, Wild Honey and Forest Moss
• Adirondack Metallic Paint Dabber in Gold
• Adirondack Alcohol Inks in Pitch Black and Rust
• Inkssentials Glossy Accents
• Claudine Hellmuth Studio Multi-Medium in Matte
• Inkssentials Glue N' Seal
• Claudine Hellmuth Studio Sticky-Back Canvas in Natural
• Adirondack Alcohol Ink Applicator with felt
• Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool with foam
• Inkssentials Mister bottle

She also used the Heat-It Craft Tool and Non-Stick Craft Sheet, of course!

 

Jennifer McGuire's pumpkin:

Jennifer used Seafoam White Embossing Powder on strips of Sticky-Back Canvas, which were covered with Distress Stains and lots of Perfect Pearls Mists!

 

The creativity of our designer friends cannot be squashed!  Tune in tomorrow for more fabulous fall centerpieces!

Operation Write Home Blog Hop!

 
Hello blog-hoppers!  Ranger is so proud to participate in Operation Write Home's blog hop in honor of Veterans Day!  Our designers have created some beautiful thank-you cards that we hope you will find inspirational.  (And, if you haven't already, please be sure to check out the blog hop from the beginning to see even more incredible work by the other designers and craft companies involved!)

Ready?? Let's get hoppin'!

Marc Elepano:  For the background, Marc embossed white cardstock with the Mini Rays Texture Fade Embossing Folder and used an Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool to apply Claudine Hellmuth Studio Acrylic Paint in Modern Red and Smidge of Blue.  The stars were painted with Modern Red, Blank Canvas and Smidge of Blue with Stickles over top, and adhered to the card with Pop-it Shapes for extra dimension.

Inside, Marc used the Typeset Decorative Strip die and Inkssentials Surfaces Metal Foil Tape for his sentiment.

Tim Holtz:  Tim's majestic card was made with an easy two-tone stamping technique. He colored part of his Shabby Stripes stamp with Fired Brick Distress Ink by wiping the pad on part of the stamp, and then applied Faded Jeans to only the top three rays, and simply stamped onto white cardstock.  He then used a Pearl Adirondack Dabber to stamp the tiny stars and edged with Pumice Stone Distress Ink. Simply beautiful!

Jenni Bowlin: Jenni decorated her gallant card inside and out.  She used Cough Syrup Dye Ink with her Torn Paper Border and Cabbage Flower Stamps. She used her Malted Milk Dabber to accent her Vintage Sew On Buttons.

Inside, Jenni used her papers and embellishments to write a heartfelt message to the troops.

Susan Baldwin:  Susan customized our Inkssentials Gloss Cardstock to match her star embellishment.  She rolled an Inky Roller over a Distress Ink Pad and applied the ink to the cardstock.  She then used Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink to stamp the Hero Arts Thank You sentiment and embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder.

Cindy Rescorl:  Cindy created two cards for the troops.  She used Seafoam White Embossing Powder on both her cards, but achieved two different looks. In her Freedom card (top), she swiped some Walnut Stain Distress Ink over top and in the other card she left it as-is. Both uses are striking, don't you think? Then, to get the look of rusted metal for the sign holder she swiped Gathered Twigs Distress Ink over the Tim Holtz Hanging Sign Die and used a Heat It Craft Tool to melt Clear UTEE over top and give it a bumpy texture.

Patti Behan and Bonnie Egenton did a similar technique on their cards using different products. First, they both used Tim Holtz Texture Fades on Core'dinations Cardstock.  Patti sanded hers (top) before lightly swiping a Currant Adirondack Dye Pad over the embossed image.  She then used Distress Embossing Ink and Pine Needles Distress Embossing Powder to stamp "Thankful" with a Tim Holtz Stamp. Bonnie skipped the sanding and swiped a Jenni Bowlin Malted Milk Dabber over her image.  Next, she used a Hero Arts Stamp with Meadow Adirondack Dye Ink and accented with Bisque Liquid Pearls.

Terry Horvath:  Terry's background was made using the Patti Splat Technique, with Denim and Red Pepper Adirondack Dabbers. Terry also backed Ideaology Findings with Core'dinations Cardstock and put Glossy Accents inside the the cutout portion of the findings.

Thanks to all the designers who participated!  We are very proud to send these cards to the troops and to support Operation Write Home in their amazing cause.

Hop to the next blog!!

Tammy Tutterow's "Frosty Deboss" Technique

Head over to our friend Tammy Tutterow's blog for an awesome technique that would be perfect to use on all your wintery papercrafts this season!  Tammy used a Texture Fade embossing folder along with Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint, Distress Stains, Winter Seasonal Distress Ink and Perfect Pearls Mists to create a frosty debossed effect.  You've gotta check this one out!

Project: Perfect Pearls Mists "Symphony of Hearts" Tag

 

We have a new project on RangerInk.com that is sure to make your heart sing!  Check out this beautiful tag by Linda Cain, which was made with Perfect Pearls Mists, Distress Inks, Distress Stains, and Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paints.  What a beautiful gift for a music lover in your life!

Project: Melt Art with Vintaj

 
Our friends at Vintaj have posted an awesome new project on their blog: learn how to make this fabulous necklace using the Ranger Melting Pot, embossing powders, UTEE, and Vintaj's charms and "Precision Leaf" altered blank!

Beautiful or what??  We hope you will give this project a try: what a wonderful way to welcome autumn!

Project: Memory Capsule and Frame "By The Sea" Tag

 

Now that it's officially summer, it's time for some beachy crafting!  Head over to RangerInk.com and check out the project instructions for this seaside-inspired tag by Roni Johnson.  You will learn how to use Memory Frames and Memory Capsules to create a tag that is shore to please!

Project: Perfect Pearls Mists Sparkle Tag

 

We hope our American friends are enjoying their holiday weekend!  If you are looking for a new project to create on your day off, check out this sparkling tag by Ranger's own Patti Behan.  Patti used Perfect Pearls Mists and Embossing Powders to create a tag with a heartfelt sentiment, perfect for expressing gratitude to that special someone in your life!

Ranger U 2011 Recap: Day 1

 

Here is Ranger's Education Room, all set for the incoming Ranger U Class of 2011!

And off we go! The first few techniques of Day 1 were all about Perfect Pearls Powders and Perfect Pearls Mists.

Here, the students are learning the Perfect Pearls Powders "lifting" technique. By stamping with Perfect Medium onto cardstock dusted with Perfect Pearls, you can "lift" the Perfect Pearls off of the cardstock to create a negative image!

Our students were given plain black embossed pieces of cardstock, and they colorized them by misting Perfect Pearls Powders with water on the Non-Stick Craft Sheet and dragging the cardstock through the pearly water drops. After drying with the Heat It Craft Tool, additional layers of color could be added, with a final spritz of Perfect Pearls Mists for a finishing touch.

This is an example of the Perfect Pearls Faux Suede technique, which was arguably the students' favorite technique of the day! By "massaging" an unexpected product, Inkssentials Ink Refresher, into black cardstock, the texture of the paper changes to a suede-like pliability, which can then be used almost like fabric to wrap on frames, book covers and more! Perfect Pearls were dusted on to highlight the wrinkles of the paper and make it look like leather before being dried with the Heat It Craft Tool.

After the Perfect Pearls techniques, it was time to learn all about embossing powders! The students absolutely loved our Holographic Embossing Powder, which actually changes color the longer it's heated! The powder first melts into a yellow-green glitter, then into a red-orange glitter, then into blue-violet, so it is possible to create a rainbow effect by heating different areas of your stamped image for longer times. (A vibrant turquoise state is also achievable but very difficult to reach, because if the powder is heated too long it will turn brown!)

After lunch, it was time for Melt Art! Several new Melt Art techniques made their Ranger U debut this year, including Wire Dipping with UTEE, a technique created by Debbie Tlach.

The students were given flowers made of wire, and by dipping them into UTEE melted in the Melting Pot, the petals could be filled in, creating a stained glass effect.

Classic UTEE techniques were also taught, such as Suze Weinberg's Amazing Agates technique.  By melting colored UTEE in the Melting Pot along with a pinch each of Black, White and Metallic UTEE, you can create the look of faux stones!  Students used this technique along with cookie cutters to create shapes of UTEE:

...and Amazing Agate embellishments were also created using Inkssentials Memory Frames and Memory Glass:

Stay tuned for some of our favorite techniques from Day 2 of Ranger U, including techniques for Claudine Hellmuth Studio and Tim Holtz Distress!

Project: Distress Ink Artsy Tag

 

We have an ir-resist-ible new project now available on RangerInk.com!  In this tutorial, Richele Christensen shares a great technique for creating a resist using Clear Emboss It ink and Clear Embossing Powder along with Tim Holtz Distress Inks.  The resulting tag, complete with spring blooms, is positively charming!  We hope you will all give this fabulous project a try.

Project: UTEE Winter Wonder Card

Ranger Signature Designer Suze Weinberg takes the spotlight today with a frosty and fun holiday card that will nevertheless warm your heart.

You have to try this technique using UTEE and Wonder Tape to create a bumpy texture that looks like real snow.  How cool is that? 

Think cookie cutters are just for cookies this holiday?  Guess again...Suze dazzles us with these sparkly snowflakes that use UTEE, glitter, and yep - a cookie cutter! Here are the instructions to give it a try.  To see more of Suze' Ultra-fantastic techniques and to read about her interesting travels, be sure to stop by her blog.

Have you ever made holiday projects with UTEE?  We'd love to hear how.  From your comments, three winners will be chosen to win Melt Art products. 

Come back tomorrow to see the announcement of the winners from this post and all the other posts from our Holiday Inspirations event.