Creative Framing & The Art Box
  • Home
  • The Art Box
  • Art on 12th
  • Creative Framing
  • Gifts
  • Our Blog
  • Classes
  • About Us
  • Inspiration
  • Exhibits & Events
  • Sales
  • Contact
  • Home
  • The Art Box
  • Art on 12th
  • Creative Framing
  • Gifts
  • Our Blog
  • Classes
  • About Us
  • Inspiration
  • Exhibits & Events
  • Sales
  • Contact

Our Blog

Join us on our Creative Journey.

Alcohol Ink Fun!

7/31/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
We have carried Jacquard Inks for a while but some our staff hadn't used them.  Amanda and Jill got a chance to experiment with them at a recent trade show.  They used the Jacquard Alcohol Inks on Ampersand Claybord panels.  It was so much fun! These inks can be used on glass, plastic and leather.  Some of our watercolorists use these inks on Yupo.  With 17 vivid colors to choose from including gold and silver, you can make magic.
The process was very simple.  The ink comes in dropper bottles so you can put as much or as little ink on your surface as you would like.  Tilt the surface to move the colors around or add some rubbing alcohol (from the drug store) to get more ink movement and to clean up your brushes.  If you don't like what you did, use some rubbing alcohol to remove the ink!  So easy, so much fun!
Picture
This is what Amanda made!  Beautiful colors flowing into each other with wonderful layers of transparency.
Picture
This is Jill's experiment with alcohol inks.  They both love the rich blue colors but this piece has some gold added for extra sparkle.
1 Comment

Daniel Smith PrimaTek Watercolors

8/31/2017

2 Comments

 
Picture
​So what is PrimaTek?
Glad you asked!  Daniel Smith started his company in 1976  to make professional artist grade  printmaking inks.  In 1993, he started producing watercolor paints.  All of his paints are manufactured in Seattle, Washington.  The PrimaTek colors have been slowly added to the watercolor selection.
PictureImage courtesy of Daniel Smith Co.
There are 38 PrimaTek watercolors available.  The exciting aspect of these paints is that they are all created from natural minerals and semi-precious stones.  The company sends their geologist around the world seeking out the finest natural materials. Rhodonite from Germany, Serpentine from Australia and Lapis Lazuli from Greenland and Mt. Vesuvius in Italy to name a few.

Picture
Each mineral is tested in house by their color chemist to see if it will meet the high company standards. The minerals are all milled to the optimum size for that specific material.  If the size is too large the paint will be grainy and if the size is too small the color will be dull.  Just like in the Goldilocks story everything must be just right!
Many of these colors granulate as you paint with them.  That means that some of the pigment will settle into the valleys of your paper giving great texture effects.

Watch the video below to see how PrimaTek mix to make wonderfully complex colors.
2 Comments

Marabu Art Spray

4/25/2017

2 Comments

 
We love the new Art Spray from Marabu!  It's great for mixed media fun!
​Click on the picture below to see it in action!
Picture
2 Comments

Easy Marble Demo

3/29/2017

3 Comments

 
Picture
Hi Folks! Here is a demo of one of our most interesting products. It is made by Marabu, and is a resin based marbling compound that is easy to use and will stick to almost anything.
Here's what you need to gather to do this project:
Some eggs
Two large safety Pins
A disposable bowl or bucket to hold water
3 or 4 Colors of Marabu Easy Marble
Paper towels
​Wax Paper to cover your table
Picture
We decided to make marbled easter eggs, so we started by blowing a bunch of fresh eggs from Anne's free range chickens.
Picture
"Princess Penny of the Pillows" got to eat the yummy contents...
Picture
She probably would have liked it if we had blown even more eggs...
Picture
Next, fill a "non-precious" container with water.
Picture
Drip the colors onto the surface of the water.
Picture
Swirl the color on the surface of the water with a skewer or stick.
Picture
With your egg suspended from two safety pins, lower it into the marbling mixture.
Picture
The marbling compound will wrap around the egg as you lower it below the surface of the water.
Picture
Once you have lowered the egg into the water, you should blow on the surface of the water to move the extra marbling paint away from the egg before you lift it out.
Picture
A finished egg. They dry to the touch in about 10 minutes.
Picture
Our beautiful basket of Easter Eggs. And soooo EASY.
Check out our YouTube video!  Watch Amanda in action.
3 Comments

    Creative Framing ​& The Art Box

    Join us on our Creative Journey, encouraging people to embrace the Arts as we share our experience!

    Archives

    November 2021
    July 2019
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    February 2018
    August 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    April 2014

    Categories

    All
    Art Supplies
    Demonstration
    Framing
    Gifts
    Preservation

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • The Art Box
  • Art on 12th
  • Creative Framing
  • Gifts
  • Our Blog
  • Classes
  • About Us
  • Inspiration
  • Exhibits & Events
  • Sales
  • Contact