MaryJo McGraw

That means that yard control is all about getting out there everyday and weeding for hours! today it is in the 90's so I need to wait until it cools down a bit before I head out there again. So... I am posing a few new photos.... one is of Chica my new kitten who I hope will be helping with the mole/ gopher situation around here. Chica came from my coworker Morgan who lives on a farm, I will be getting one more cat as well but thought I better get use to them one at a time. Chica is very sweet not the usual barn cat. It is Iris season here and many of them came up beautifully. Others not so much. I did a bunch of dividing last year and more to do this fall.

I have had a request from Olive in Springfield on how to use Lyra crayons. Well Olive there are lots of techniques! A smooth watercolor paper works best for most of these tips! 1.If you simply scribble them (hard) onto any watercolor paper and spritz them with water they blend beautifully. 2. you can use a damp paintbrush or waterbrush and pickup color directly from the crayon or scribble the crayons onto any heavy paper or cardboard like those old fashion kids paint & color books then pick up the color from the surface of the board. In altered books I put a palette of the crayons on the back cover then when I am done just blend the leftovers together. 3.You can use them to color all your stamps. Apply the crayons (dry )to a dry rubber stamp. Lightly spritz them with water just a couple of mists should do,then apply to any uncoated paper.Try several colors together. Remember the crayons work best when the stamp is dry but do not clean it just blot off the wetness when reapplying c...

Well it was a nice show this weekend but a bit humid! We had a good group of vendors and wonderful customers as usual. I will dig out some Copic marker samples I did and post them when I get unpacked. Anyway I just got back today and found it raining big time at my house everything is finally starting to fill out in the yard especially the dandelions! So I suppose it will be a weekend of weeding and mowing unless it is still raining which would then mean a weekend of movies! I will be at the downtown store of Spokane Art Supply 3-5 teaching my beginning acrylic class and tomorrow night is our Stamp Club at the same location starting at 6pm call for detailed info 509-327-6628

This year is speeding past as usual. My only visit to the East Coast this year is coming this weekend at the Heirloom Springfield show. I hope to see a few familiar faces and have some fun with Sheila and Dave from Heirloom! I will be demonstrating COPIC markers and a few other things I am sure. We also have our Masters class with Darlene Domel and Zana Clark. See the links section for info about Heirloom and bring along any book you want signed.

Hey all I had a great time last night at Stamper's Warehouse!!!! Thanks very much to all my regulars who always show up for fun!

If you are up in the Spokane or Coeur d'Alene Areas this summer or fall I will be teaching a series of Acrylic classes at both the CDA store Creative Element and at Spokane Art Supply. It will focus on techniques and recipes using Golden mediums and acrylics. I will also be at Apropos (a great paper embellishment and stamp store) in Spokane teaching some fun ways to use Patera charms and other items form Nunn Designs!

Our monthly stamp club meets tonight at Spokane Art Supply on Monroe. We start at 6pm tonight I will be showing some fun embossing tricks and paper masking techniques. bring along anything for a show and tell!

So much to do in the way of yard work this weekend. I think I will probably spend all day outside raking up junk. Here is a late spring picture. It will be a while till everything is up the evening temps are still a bit low.

All 3 stores in Spokane, Spokane Valley and CDA have a good supply of this tape and mucho JUDIKINS stuff, Stamps, DG, micro Glaze etc.

This is MOSAIC tape sold at JudiKins it come in two sizes one inch and two inch widths. I even know the code number of the two inch which is what I recommend, GP007. I quite often get this question..... why did I buy this tape???? Well it is simply one of the best tapes ever made. I use it for making stickers with my punches since it is a paper lined tape you can punch it easily. It can be foiled, embossed, beaded, layered and Pearl EXed( I know that it poorly phrased). I use it frequently for temporarily mounting rubber dies on acrylic or on the backs of mounted stamps. I put cards together with it.I even put things on my walls with it, small framed pictures or fabric work well.I use it to put fabric quickly on chipboard books. Pretty much anything thing that is paper to paper or fabric to fabric ( you can even sew over it).I have NEVER had a card put together with this tape fall off and I do have 15 year old cards and books I have done with it. I do use Miracle tape for clear applica...

I thought this technique was known worrld wide by now since I have been showing it at trade shows for 2 years,LOL. Kathy Martin of Post Modern Designs showed me the resist quality of these ink and I took it in a crazy direction by layering the inks over and over. To begin You will need Matte Kote or Kromekote paper (JudiKIns AKA JK) Colorbox fluid Chalk inks in a variety of colors including alabaster, burnt sienna,yellow ochre, french blue and dark brown Eclispe Strips (JK) Micro Glaze (JK) Rubberstamps Stamp several images in alabaster chalk ink on to the MatteKote paper (if using Kromekote allow to dry). Using the direct to paper method apply yellow ochre chalk ink over the entire surface. buff away the excess ink with a paper towel. This should reveal a resist effect between the alabaster and yellow ochre ink. Apply the smallest size of eclispe strips in a grid pattern over the dry inks. Add a layer of french blue ink within the squares then buff away excess. Let dry. Doing several ...

Altered Arts asked about the technique I show at conventions using Colorbox Chalk inks. I usually use MatteKote Paper not Kromekote although both should work fine. The paper you might be using if it is coated and shiny could be plastic coated. Also be sure to only use Colorbox Chalk INK it is the only one that works for this!!!!! Try letting the first layers of Bisque, alabaster or any yellows dry a bit longer before applying the second layer. Also use a strong color like a blue or red. Greens for instance are not as good for getting the resist. Let me know if this info helps!

Here is a small section of our small table at Artiscape. At the Table on Saturday I had time to color in a few of Elaine's sample B&W laminated images with Copic markers. They turned out so bright. The Question of the day is from Susan Weber who asks if there is anything like the silk paint paint Stampa Rosa used to make. Not that I have seen Susan but you could create a similar product for yourself by trying one of these formulas for yourself. Diamond Glaze formula (Check my book Greeting Card Magic) to 2 tablespoons of DG add 1 tablespoon of water. Add 6-10 drops of Die Reinker. add a small amount of Pearl Ex less than a 1/4 teaspoon. shake or mix well paint on with a small brush. If it feels too thin add a bit more DG. OR Acrylic ink formula Add equal parts of Acrylic ink(like Doc Martens) to DG or Matte Medium (for a more matte finish. Paint on with a small brush.

Well I am back and we finally are going to hit 60 degrees today. Hopefully the rest of my driveway will melt. Elaine and I had a great time at Artiscape. The people at this event are always so nice and make it more fun every year! If you can get there next year DO IT! More later about Artiscape and a few technique questions stay tuned......

It is still snowing today although not sticking. It is a challenge that is for sure. took three sets of friends and neighbors to pull me out of the driveway over the last few day. It is so pretty and to be honest it makes me stay home on days I am tempted to head into town so in a way it is relaxing. BTW here are pics of my grandpuppy Juno! Cute huh!

I am home and boy it feels great even though there is still a pile of snow and both Chelsea and I (and my neighbor who got us out) got stuck in the driveway! The weather is good today so I need to get out and check out the property. Have to start putting away the stuff I brought back, water the plants, start packing for Artiscape, etc etc etc.....So much to do so little time.

Made it to Scottsdale! Last event on this LONG TRIP. Frenzy Stamper is huge. Debbie moved back in January and boy what an incredible difference there is so much more space of course debbie is filling it up FAST. I will post some pics tonight when I get back from classes. Todays classes are Mosaic Cards and Pretty Pateras using the new Patera Glaze from JudiKins. It dries in minutes!

More questions on the faux metal technique... If you do not have any Mica Magic try..... Brilliance, Encore and other metallic pigment inks will work but they may take much longer to dry especially on coated papers. I am not big on Opalites just not enough omph for me! You can also try Acrylic metallic inks available at you local art supply (usually in with calligraphy goods) or even metallic fluid acrylics like Golden's Stainless Steel.This piece was done with irridescent Fluid Acrylics Try it all you may come up with something fabulous.

Just finishing up the packing for this weekends trip to Scottsdale's FABULOUS Frenzy Stamper. I be there Friday and Saturday with 5 classes. This is a sample of what my paper Mosaic class looks like up close! After this bunch of classes I will begin my trek home. I will not be home long though since Artiscape is coming up very quickly!

This posting is for the folks who have Mica Magic questions (especially for NICOLE). When I demo for JudiKins we have a simple technique (originally done by Rosie Portillo of JudiKins) that we show using Mica Magic inks(reinkers) and brayers or brushes. These inks are incredibly metallic and dry really fast for a pigment ink. Simply roll a soft brayer over the ink onto a palette or Ranger Craft sheet then roll onto your favorite paper. Coated paper will give a more metallic look, uncoated papers look more like silk. Mixing a few colors together is gorgeous. If you think you might like a more textured finish use a color duster or fan brush. These are some scraps I had of the brayer technique using Burnt Orange and Yellow Gold then stamped with Purple. The little bit of EP is from Powder Keg I think it is called Tapestry. We only use the reinkers since the ink is so fast drying, pads are not the easiest choice. If you like this idea get your hands on the Mica Magic refills ASAP I have he...