Designers' Challenge 2012: Day 1

 
Happy Tuesday, everyone!  Today and throughout the remainder of the week, we will be posting pictures of Ranger's Designers' Challenge entries from CHA Winter 2012.  Our designers were given identical paper mache dress forms and we asked them to decorate them using Liquid Pearls and Stickles.

Let's see the fabulous results!

Debi Adams, from Sizzix

Alain Avrillon, from Ranger (Watch him make this Stickled creation in the debut episode of Extreme Stickling!)

Patti Behan

Jenni Bowlin

Linda Cain

Shari Carroll from Hero Arts

Check back tomorrow for more awesome Designers' Challenge entries!

Greetings from CHA!

Greetings from CHA Winter 2012!  We have a few pictures from the Ranger booth that we wanted to share with you today:

Our fabulous "What's New" wall, featuring Dylusions, Distress Markers, Liquid Pearls, Inkssentials Clear Fabric Medium, Inkssentials Collage Glue Stick, Ice Stickles, Inkssentials Surfaces Specialty Stamping Paper, Melt Art Texture Treads, Vintaj Patinas and more!

Our Designer Challenge for this show was to decorate a paper mache dress form with Liquid Pearls and Stickles.  (Those of you who watched Alain's Extreme Stickling episode will no doubt recognize the dress form on the far right!)

The other side of our Designer Challenge display.

Wendy Vecchi demos in the Ranger booth.

Debbie Tlach demonstrates Melt Art.

Tim Holtz's demo was mobbed!!

If you're at CHA, please stop by Booth #1338 and say hello!  We always love to hear from our fans.

NEW!! Ice Stickles and Liquid Pearls colors

 
Attention, decorative glue fans!  Big news for all of you: Ranger has 12 new, bright colors of Ice Stickles and 15 new colors of Liquid Pearls, all of which will be launched at CHA Winter 2012!

You know and love the original Ice Stickles: large, chunky glitter in soft Aurora Borealis colors.  Well, now we are proud to introduce Ice Stickles in 12 bold, bright colors as well!  The same shades of our original Stickles are now available in the large, chunky glitter size of Ice Stickles.

If you prefer a pearly finish to a blingy one, fear not: we have new colors of Liquid Pearls, too!

We've doubled our Liquid Pearls palette with these 15 fabulous, beautiful hues:

With the built-in easy flow tip, Liquid Pearls can be used straight from the bottle to create dimension, or brush them for a pearly shimmer on all of your craft products. The versatile, waterproof formula is great for many surfaces such as Grungeboard, Sticky-Back Canvas, Inkssentials Surfaces, wood, acrylic, metal and more.

Read the official press releases to learn more about the new Ice Stickles and new Liquid Pearls!

Project: Inkssentials Shrink Plastic Joyful Butterfly ATC

 

Check out this beautiful new project by Richele Christensen on the Ranger website!  You will learn how to create a stunning ATC using Adirondack Alcohol Inks, Inkssentials Surfaces Sticky-Back Canvas ATCs, Archival Ink, Liquid Pearls, and everyone's favorite: Inkssentials Surfaces Shrink Plastic!

New Year's Organization

 
Happy New Year, everyone!!  So let's see a show of hands: how many of you have made New Year's Resolutions to finally organize your craft space?

Wow, that's a lot of you!

Never fear, Ranger is here to help.  We have a plethora of organizational products and tools that will help you to sort your crafting stash.

For example, we have the Inkssentials Craft Spinner (which can be stacked up to three tiers high) for keeping your Ink Blending Tools, Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers, Jenni Bowlin for Ranger Paint Dabbers, Adirondack Alcohol Inks, Stickles, re-inkers and more within easy reach:

We also have free, printable labels available for download from our website, so you can label the sides of your ink pads for easy retrieval:

We even have blank color charts that you can fill in with the colors of inks, paints, Stickles and more that are currently in your collection:

Our fans are pretty clever and innovative when it comes to organizing and storing their favorite Ranger products, too!  Check out some of these great ideas that we found online:

Christie Hund affixed a metal strip under her crafting cabinets and attached all of her Stickles bottles using magnets. Gravity keeps the Stickles ready to use at any time!

Ron Wilhelm has a different solution for upside-down Stickles storage: PVC couplings glued together in a honeycomb-like arrangement!

Ron uses PVC pipes to hold Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers, too!

So let us know, Ranger fans: in what clever ways do you store and organize your favorite Ranger goodies?  Let us know and on January 6th we will select a winner, who will receive:

...a Tim Holtz idea-ology Trinket Case AND...

...a Tim Holtz idea-ology Cargo Case!

Post pictures of your crafty solutions on our Facebook wall, too!  We'd love to see them, and you just might inspire a fellow Ranger fan to get organized in 2012.

12 Days of Ornaments! Day 8

 
It's the eighth day in Ranger's 12 Days of Ornaments series! The holidays are a wonderful time to spend creating memories with family, and so today we have some glittery treats courtesy of a mother-daughter craft team!

Aimee Billington created a double-ended photo ornament using:

• Inkssentials Memory Glass, 2x2 clear
• Inkssentials Memory Frames, 2x2 Black Patina
• Stickles in Silver and Christmas Red
• Liquid Pearls in Silver Pearl
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink Winter Seasonal Series

This colorful, sparkling ornament was created by Aimee's daughter Haley, who is only four years old!  Wow!  A crafting prodigy, for sure.

Haley created her ornament by squirting Stickles (in Christmas Red, Silver, Crystal, Green and Golden Rod) into a glass ball and letting them drip down the inside.  Awesome!

If you would like to create some Stickled crafts with your own family members this holiday season, we have some more inspiration on our website in the form of a video.

Congratulations to Okienurse, who is the winner from yesterday's post! Her winning comment:

"Awesome ornaments again today. Love the retro/vintage look they have today! Thanks for sharing."

Keep those great comments coming, we love reading them!  (Oh and they just might win you a Ranger prize pack, too!)

12 Days of Ornaments! Day 6

 
Sunday Funday!  Hello Ranger fans!  We are happy to present Day 6 of our 12 Days of Ornaments! (Wow, halfway through already?!)

Kelly Schwartz created a lovely monogram ornament with:

• Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers in Snow Cap and Pearl
• Liquid Pearls in Platinum Pearl
• Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet

Cindy Rescorl made this 3D ornament by diecutting multiple ornaments, folding them in half and gluing them together with Wonder Tape. She used:

• Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint in Clear Rock Candy, used to create homemade snow
• Claudine Hellmuth Studio Artist Brushes
• Tim Holtz Winter Seasonal Distress Ink in Iced Spruce
• Clear Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE)
• Tim Holtz Distress Stain in Broken China
• Tim Holtz Distress Stickles in Picket Fence
• Stickles Glitter Glue in Silver
• Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool and Foam
• Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet
• Inkssentials Wonder Tape
• Inkssentials Heat it Craft Tool
• Tim Holtz Alterations by Sizzix Carved Ornament #2 Die, Snow Flurries Texture Fade and Vagabond Machine

We'll be selecting our winners from the weekend's ornament posts tomorrow morning, so be sure to post a comment if you haven't already done so!  You could win a prize pack from Ranger just for leaving a comment on our blog!

12 Days of Ornaments! Day 2

 
Welcome to Day 2 of Ranger's 12 Days of Ornaments!  Today we have some decorated paper mache pieces to share with you.

Susan Baldwin's Oval Box Ornament sings praises of Joy with:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen
• Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink Metallic Mixative in Gold
• Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink Tool and Felt
• Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Symphony Tissue Tape, Christmas Adornments, Christmas Memories Paper Stash
• Tim Holtz Alterations by Sizzix Movers and Shapers Joy Die and Vagabond Machine
• Core'dinations Distress Cardstock

Bonnie Egenton's dazzling star ornament was made with:

• Liquid Pearls in Rouge
• Claudine Hellmuth Studio Artist Brushes
• Archival Ink in Jet Black
• Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Inks in Bottle and Cranberry
• Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink Metallic Mixative in Gold
• Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink Tool and Felt
• Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet
• Inkssentials Glossy Accents
• Stickles in Holly and Star Dust
• Inkssentials Surfaces Gloss Paper

Congratulations to our first 12 Days of Ornaments prize pack winner: Elizabeth C.!

"Oh my goodness, what a lovely gift pack! I think this is a great carry-on from the 12 Tags. From the time it came out I have had such a jones for the Memory Glass items--I think I have every size, and lots too!"

Thanks, Elizabeth, and thanks to everyone who left a comment on yesterday's post.  Remember to post every day during the 12 Days of Ornaments to maximize your chances of winning a Ranger prize pack of your own!

 

Are you busy crafting your holiday ornaments these days?  Please feel free to post photos of your handiwork on our Facebook page!  We'd love to see your work and share it with all of our fans!

12 Days of Ornaments! Day 1

 
Like so many of you, we at Ranger are sad that Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas 2011 has come to an end.  But we're on a creative roll, so let's keep the holiday momentum going all the way til Christmas!  Thus, we are proud to present Ranger's "12 Days of Ornaments"!  Every day we will present some fun handcrafted ornaments for your viewing pleasure, along with some opportunities to win more great prizes (but more on that in a bit...)

Ready??  Let's get started!

Teresa Natividad created a cheerful ornament using:

• Inkssentials 2" x 2" Memory Frame in Black Patina
• Inkssentials 2" x 2" Memory Glass
• Stickles in Frosted Lace and Diamond
• Liquid Pearls in Buttercup and Lavender Lace

Debbie Tlach's deer ornament was crafted with:

• Inkssentials 2" x 2" Memory Frame in Black Patina
• Inkssentials 2" x 2" Memory Glass
• Inkssentials Enamel Accents in Black
• Stickles in Christmas Red and Star Dust
• Liquid Pearls in Bisque
• Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paint - Smidge of Blue, Sable Brown
• Claudine Hellmuth Studio Artist Brushes
• Adirondack Pigment Pad™ - Pitch Black
• Inkssentials™ Cut n' Dry™ Nibs
• Inkssentials™ Non-Stick Craft Sheet

You can check out the full project instructions for Debbie's ornament on our website, too; it's being featured this month on the homepage!  Also featured on the homepage throughout December is a video from Ranger's most recent Craft Night, where the Ranger Team had a blast creating ornaments with Memory Frames.

Time to choose our final three winners from our "Ranger's Inspired by Tim's 12 Tags" series!  Congratulations to:

NanaBeth W: "It has been a fantastic 12 days. I have really enjoyed seeing all the variations of Tim's tags. I've been motivated to step out of my comfort zone and try something new."

Nitasha Griffin: "Sad that the 12 Tags has come to end, but so happy to hear that the Ranger blog is going to keep the inspiration flowing! I have enjoyed each Tag inspired project and can't wait to see what else you all have in store for us!"

LorraineN: "OMG, I was starting to say "Ooh love the bookmark...then said ooh, love the wineglass charms...then ooh..." So I'll stop and just say I love all of the creations, lol! So inspiring!"

Thanks, everyone!

If you'd like to win a prize from Ranger, too, all you have to do is comment on the posts during the 12 Days of Ornaments!  We have a brand-new prize pack during this event:

If your comment is chosen (at random), you will receive:

• Archival Ink Pad in Jet Black
• Ice Stickles in Crystal Ice
• Inkssentials Memory Glass 2" square, Clear
• Inkssentials Memory Foil Tape in 1/4" Brass
• Inkssentials Memory Frames 2" square, Polished Chrome
• Inkssentials Cut N Dry Felt
• Inkssentials Surfaces Manila ATCs
• Tim Holtz Distress Reinkers in Barn Door, Forest Moss and Stormy Sky
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection Holiday ATC Cling Mount Stamps (COM025, COM206 and COM028)

Wow!  So keep those comments coming, and we'll keep the inspiration (and the prizes) coming too!  Deal??

Ranger's Inspired by Tim's 12 Tags: Tag #9

Join the Ranger Team as we create our own projects inspired by Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas 2011!

Tim's ninth tag:

Here are the projects from our outstanding  Ranger team!!

 Teresa Natividad made this delightful gift bag using:

• Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool and Foam
• Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet
• Inkssentials Heat It Craft Tool
• Embossing Powder in Clear
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink in: Aged Mahogany, Scattered Straw, Gathered Twigs and Pine Needles
• Claudine Hellmuth Studio Sticky-Back Canvas in Natural
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection Creative Textures and Mini Holidays 2 stamp sets 

Bonnie Egenton crafted a joyful gift cardholder with:

• Inkssentials Surfaces #8 Manila Tag
• Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool and Foam
• Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet
• Inkssentials Heat It Craft Tool
• Inkssentials Wonder Tape
• Embossing Powder in Clear
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Iced Spruce, Gathered Twigs, Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Wild Honey, Tea Dye and Black Soot
• Archival Ink Pad in Jet Black
• Liquid Pearls in Bisque
• Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink in Sunset Orange
• Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink Tool and Felt
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection Holiday Wishes and Joyful Song stamp sets
• Tim Holtz Alterations by Sizzix Christmas Words Texture Fade

 

Susan Baldwin's cozy cabin card was made with:

Stickles in Frosted Lace

Tim Holtz Distress Stickles in Tumbled Glass

Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet

Inkssentials Heat It Craft Tool

Embossing Powder in Clear

Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Pumice Stone, Stormy Sky, Brushed Corduroy and Barn Door

Tim Holtz Distress Stains in Picket Fence

Adirondack Pigment Inks in Lemonade and Snow Cap

Liquid Pearls in Peacock and Rouge

Tim Holtz Alterations by Sizzix Rickety House Bigz, Mini Bird and Gathered Twigs  and On the Fence on the edge dies  and Vagabond machine

Tim Holtz by Tonic Studios Kushgrip Snips

 

Terry Horvath's made such a Tweet ornament with:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Walnut Stain, Evergreen Bough and Iced Spruce Seasonal Distress Inks
• Inkssentials Surfaces Manila Cardstock
• Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool and Foam
• Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet
• Inkssentials Heat It Craft Tool
• Embossing Powder in Clear
• Tim Holtz Distress Stains in Crushed Olive and Forest Moss
• Inkssentials Glossy Accents
• Stickles in Diamond 
• Tim Holtz Distress Stickles in Frosted Lace
• Tim Holtz Alterations by Sizzix Holly Branch Bigz Die, Die Pick and Vagabond machine
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Plain Grungeboard and Tissue Tape
• Core'dinations Distress Cardstock
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection  Falling Leaves  and Creative Textures stamp sets
•  Tim Holtz by Tonic Studios Kushgrip Snips

Patti Behan crafted this exquisite tag using:

• Inkssentials Surfaces #8 Manila Tag
• Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool and Foam
• Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet
• Inkssentials Heat It Craft Tool
• Stickles in Platinum
• Embossing Powder in Clear
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Victorian Velvet, Seedless Preserves, Bundled Sage, Vintage Photo and Brushed Corduroy
• Perfect Pearls Mists in Sunflower Sparkle
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Seasonal Paper Stash
• Tim Holtz Alterations by Sizzix Mini Paper Rosette Decorative Die Strip and Vintage Market Alphabet Die and Vagabond machine

Diane Spiak's dashing tag was made with:

• Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet
• Inkssentials Heat It Craft Tool
• Embossing Powder in Clear and Silver
• Tim Holtz Seasonal Winter Distress Inks
• Tim Holtz Alterations by Sizzix  attered Florals Bigz Die and Vagabond Machine
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection Retro Holiday stamp set
• Tim Holtz Idea-ology Reindeer charm

 

And now, Congratulations to our lucky winner from yesterday's blog post: Vicki B 

"Every project today is simply wonderful. I hope everyone who is creating for the blog understands how much we like their creations and appreciate all their hard work. Thanks."

Awww, thanks so much for your heartfelt comment, Vicki!  We hope you have as much fun playing with these fabulous Ranger products as we have; they will all be on their way to you shortly!

Lords a leaping...can you believe just three more days for tag inspirations.  Remember to check back on Monday for Tags 10, 11 and 12.