Third time's a charm - literally!

I've been saving these frames that I got from Eclectic Paperie for a rainy day - Ive been wanting to make a larger pendant for a long necklace, and I loved the 1-1/2" size - turns out a 1-1/2" Art Square fits in the frame perfectly. The metal frame opens at one corner - it's not hinged but pretty flexible - and has a little hook that holds it closed after you've positioned your artwork or photo inside.

It took me a couple of tries to get my Art Square right. The first time I stamped it I had it all lined up perfectly, colored in the bird with markers, then began to watercolor the sky area... and the ink immediately began to run. Huh?? Turned out I had stamped on the back side of the square! So for all you unbelievers... Art Squares really do have a right and wrong side!

Here's a photo comparison between my first two attempts. The image on the bottom is the one I did first - the back side of the matboard piece did take the marker coloring fine, and the watercoloring too, so don't panic if you get it wrong - the difference was with the stamped images. You can see how the ink (Memento) lifted and bled on the back side when I started applying water. On the top sample, I did the watercoloring first, then stamped the sentiment... that worked much better. BUT... I tried adding a layer of Ranger crackle glaze over the top... and THAT lifted and separated the ink. *sigh*

Regarding the front and back sides of the Inchie Arts matboard, here is some helpful information from their website.  "The squares have a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ side. Artwork should be done on the side that is NOT smooth. The pebbly texture replicates a high quality art paper and has what artists refer to as 'tooth'.  It's not the end of the world if you create on the back side, but it is essentially a piece of backing paper to the solid core matteboard. It's like stamping and coloring on a piece of xerox paper and will dramatically feather out."

If you're accustomed to cutting your own dies, you'll be able to tell the difference by looking at the edges - the edges of the top are smoothed down, and the edges on the bottom are more sharp.

Here's my third and final attempt - when I finally got it right! I'm still waiting for the chain for my necklace - it's on order with a few other fun things from Etsy. I sandwiched my artwork between two squares of clear cardstock to protect it. I used Shinhan Premium Watercolors for the sky area, and Touch Twin Markers for the bird. I added some details with a white gel pen and a sepia pencil as well. The sentiment is from my newest set from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (God Is), and the Perched Bird is from Art Impressions. Love his sweet little face. :)

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