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Search the archive, three years of Inklings.
Ask the Artist
Our Artist in Residence, Dina Kowal, answers your questions
October 21, 2015
Q: Mamie wants to know: "I purchased a die and no matter what and how I try, the paper gets stuck and the pieces don't come out. I've tried running wax and foil paper to no avail. Any suggestions/trick to make them come out w/out having to use a needle to pierce them out?"
A: Most low profile, solid dies have laser cut pin holes used for pushing paper out with a pointed tool. For those that don't have this feature, or for intricate dies with many small cut areas, you can purchase ejection foam - these are very thin adhesive foam sheets the thickness of the die's blade. To apply the foam to your die, simply adhere the sheet of foam to the die, cut it to size, and run it through your cutting machine. The foam will stick to the die, but has enough cushion to allow the die to cut cardstock, then push the cardstock out when cut.
October 14, 2015
Q: Karen asks: "I just found about 180 A6 envelopes. How can I make a card to fit this size rather than the A2?"
A: I use A6 envelopes for A2 cards - the envelopes are 4 3/4" x 6 1/2" so they easily accommodate that size, especially if your card has dimensional layers or you have some photos or extras to tuck inside. You can also extend the length of your 1/4 sheet cards to 4.25" x 6" if you want to fill the length of the envelope, or use 12"x12" cardstock to cut card bases that are 4"x6".
October 7, 2015
Q: Linda asks: "I'm new to blending. I like to work with charcoal pencil; I haven't used color pencil yet. Can I use the blending stump without any solvents?"
A: Blending stumps like the ones used in this tutorial are versatile items to have in your art supply arsenal. They are a pencil-shaped tool made of hard compressed paper, and they come in a variety of sizes suited to different levels of detail in blending. Try using them dry for blending chalks, pastels, PanPastels, charcoal, and graphite. Dip them in a solvent such as Odorless Mineral Spirits, mineral/ baby oil, or rubbing alcohol to blend wax or oil based mediums such as oil pastels, wax-based or oil-based colored pencil, or crayon.
September 30, 2015
Q: Nancy wants to know: "Will Bister or Brusho work over a stamped image, or does the image have to be stamped after the crystals have been sprayed and dried?"
A: As long as your stamping ink is waterproof, you will be fine applying watercolor powders over a stamped image. Versafine, Stazon or archival ink are a few examples of inks that are waterproof. If you're worried about bleeding, use a pigment or embossing ink and heat emboss the image before working with the powders. For more control of where the powders go, brush water just in the area where you want color, then sprinkle the powders into the water and allow them to blend. Allow the panel to air dry, then brush away any powders that fell outside the wet area.
September 23, 2015
Q: Sue asks: "I saw someone on YouTube say they use a separate sewing machine for sewing on paper, not the same machine they actually use for sewing fabric. Do you recommend the same?"
A: It's not necessary to have a completely different machine, but you might want to designate a needle for paper that isn't used for fabric. Paper quickly dulls the needles and cause them to catch in the cloth. Mark your paper needle with nail polish or an alcohol marker so it's easy to spot (I always used Purple for Paper). Also, be sure to clean your feed dogs and bobbin case after sewing on paper, as it creates more dust than fabric sewing.
