frog dog studio: Letter It! A monthly series...with a lot of help from Lindy's

Yay! for our Limited Edition Kit!

The "jewels" of the kit of course are the Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Sprays.

No other product gives you the intense color and unique variation that comes with

Lindy's Starbursts and Magicals.

Our Limited Edition Kit included a VERY generous supply of Starburst Sprays...

(Industrial Chic) The WHOLE set...love that! Thank you Tina!

For this project, I used Magicals instead of the sprays, because I had them on hand before

I received my sprays in the mail.

The Industrial Chic Magicals produce the same colors as the Starburst Sprays,

but they allow you to create a specific "concentration" of color as you go, because you can mix small portions, varying the amount of intensity by the ratio of powder to water.

The Sprays offer the advantage of having the color already mixed and ready to spray.

When using the magicals as a spray, you must mix with warm water in a separate spray bottle.

I often "grab" a bit of the Magical powder with a dry brush, placing it in the lid of the container.

Then, I add a little water to my brush and stir, until I get the color I want.

This is the technique I used and these are the colors on my journal page...

Rusty Lantern Lime

Shabby Turbine Teal

Steampunk Sepia

Time Travel Teal

Steel Shimmer(Glitz Spritz)

with the addition of
Cajun Carnelian Red

I began by drawing loose wavy lines across my water color journal page in pencil.

Then filled in each space with color.

Above you can see the set lined up...notice the color in the lids...I used these as my "palette" loading a dry brush with a bit of powder, then spritzing a little water in each lid. I mixed until the color became uniform, then spread it on the page, adding water as needed to keep the color flowing.

You can "paint" the sprays on your page in this same way, by shaking your spray bottle to make sure all the lovely bits of color are mixed, then open your bottle and dip your brush in!

The variation of tones and the shimmer from the mica in the powder is difficult to capture in a photo, but I think you can see some of the shimmer above.

I used my 2 favorite pens to add doodles to each color space. (Scarlet Lime, and Uni-ball Signo)

The next step is to "lay down" an image or words that will be left "uncovered" after adding black (or you could use white) paint, leaving the image or words showing with the doodles coming through.

If you feel confident to draw letters/images free hand -do that, OR trace letters and shapes

like the ones below.

You can use chipboard like above, or you could find a font you like, write your "sentiment" in a word document (creating the appropriate size for your project) then print out...cut out...and trace!

Above you can see where I first drew the words with a pencil, then went over those lines "sometimes roughly" with my "Scarlet Lime" pen.

Next, I covered the rest of the page with black gesso. (you can use acrylic paint in any color, but I thought the black would be a great contrast to the Lindy color and compliment the doodling.

Below, is the Rusting Powder from our regular kit.

WE ALL LOVE THIS STUFF!!

To use it, simply apply any type of glue (including matte medium, embossing liquid, or craft glue) then sprinkle the powder over those areas. Make sure you tilt your piece and catch the excess to put back into your jar...you won't want to waste a drop, it's so fun to use!!

To activate the Rust Powder, spritz with a white vinegar....then let dry. You'll see some of the rust effect within 10-15 min...but more will appear with time. If it is not rusting as much as you want, spray with a bit more vinegar. Let this dry.

I happened to have a "rust activator" that I use with a "rusting paint" (pictured below)