Darkroom Door

Upcoming Events

Here's what we have on the calendar...

World Card Making Day - 4th October
I'll be doing some make & takes using the Darkroom Door Robot Collection at Erina Scrapbook Store from 1pm-3pm. Call the store on 4365 0770 for more details!

SENZ - 10th-12th October
I'll be teaching 8 classes over 3 days in Wellington, New Zealand for Create. Some of my classes are fully booked, but there's still some room in a few of them, so check out the timetable if you'd like to join in the fun. I've got some cool giveaways for each class too :)

Paperific, Melbourne - 17th & 18th October
Darkroom Door will have a trade booth on the 17th October, so if you're a business owner and would like to see our new ranges, please drop by the booth - we'd love to see you!
On Saturday 18th, I'll be doing Darkroom Door demonstrations at the following booths in the retail section:
Little Bits from 10am -12noon
Dragonfly Crafts from 1pm-3pm.

If you're attending any of these events, please drop by and say hello! :)

Lunchbox Surprise

A few days ago I put little surprise in my 7 yr old son's lunchbox. I made a little card using a Robot Filmstrip and one of the words from the Robot Montage. I wrote a couple of extra words so it said 'You are amazing', and also wrote a little message for him on the inside. I placed it on top of his food so when he opened his lunchbox at school he'd get a nice little surprise.

His reaction? He LOVED it! He said 'It was cool, Mum.'

These little cards also make great gift tags or cards for birthdays. They're so quick and simple to make too. There's both boy and girl robots on the Filmstrips and Montage, plus some 'friends' robots, so there's something for everyone.

Go make someone's day!

Guest Artist: Tim Holtz

 Name:  tim holtz

Zodiac Sign: capricorn

Lives: prescott, az. USA

Known for: all things distressed

Blog, website or gallery: www.timholtz.typepad.com
 
Loves to: ink, paint, sand, grunge, stamp, and eat those crazy bananas and tim tams!

Loves to create:  dimensional collage – anything to incorporate found elements.

Favourite Darkroom Door product: photobooth

Have you ever been in a darkroom? yes, I took 3 years of photography in high school and was a photographer for the school newspaper and yearbook.

Let’s say you’re invited to come into our darkroom for a day. What would you bring with you?  ink, idea-ology trinkets, grungeboard, and marmalade ☺

Are you afraid of the dark?  definitely not – the dark provides a quite time to explore your creative mind and process your deepest dreams

Now onto the projects! Tim has created a complete step-by-step project for us using a combination of Darkroom Door products and elements from his own product lines. (and they look fabulous together!) For anyone who knows Tim, he likes to be thorough and this time there's no exception! Loads of pictures and instructions for you to be able to re-create these little beauties! I'll hand it over to Tim... so sit back and be inspired...

"The nostalgia of photographs from the days gone by tell a story that words simply couldn’t describe.  My fascination with these elements of the past inspired me to create these timeless trinkets.  The eclectic images and vintage palette of Darkroom Door captures the look and feel of a well designed product line – thanks for unlocking this artist within…"

SUPPLIES:
Darkroom Door: Photobooth/Ladies & Gentlemen, Venetian Collection Papers, Little Dreams Stamp Set

Ranger: Distress Ink/Vintage Photo & Black Soot, Ink Blending Tool, Memory Frames
Tonic Studios: Scissors, Scratcher
Tim Holtz idea-ology: Sanding Grip, Embellishments
Other: adhesive; mica

 
STEP 1: Cut paper to 2x2 square & also cut a piece of chipboard 2x2

STEP 2: Glue paper to chipboard with glue stick

STEP 3: Choose image from Photobooth sheet and cut out

STEP 4: Sand edges of image with Sanding Grip to reveal raw white paper

STEP 5: Sand edges of paper tile as well

STEP 6: Extend Scratch Tool and drag it across photo to create scratches

STEP 7: Tap Ink Blending Tool on to Vintage Photo Distress Ink Pad and ink Photobooth piece (this will work ink into the sanded areas and scratches)

STEP 8: Continue inking until entire piece is covered

STEP 9: Mist a cloth with water from Mini Mister and wipe away ink from face to create a highlight

STEP 10: Ink edges of cardstock as well with Ink Blending Tool and Vintage Photo

STEP 11: Ink text stamp with Black Soot Distress Ink and stamp over various parts of the image

STEP 12: Ink flourish stamp with Black Soot and stamp as an accent

STEP 13: Dry stamped images with heat tool

STEP 14: Glue Photobooth image on to inked background

STEP 15: Apply glue to edge of collage

STEP 16: Press a piece of mica and hold in place to dry

STEP 17: Trim off excess mica with scissors

STEP 18: Using scraps, continue gluing various pieces of mica until collage is covered

STEP 19: Trim off all excess mica pieces so background is 2x2

STEP 20: Attach vintage film strip or ribbon to background

STEP 21: Adhere word from label maker or vintage book

STEP 22: Open Memory Frame by carefully bending tab on the side our from edge of frame - *Do not straighten out this tab – leave it at an angle

STEP 23: Bend Memory Frame apart and insert collage - *Be Sure Jump Ring is on the BOTTOM of your collage

STEP 24: Insert tab back into slot in Memory Frame and bend back down to close

STEP 25: Attach a Jump Ring through a Hinge Clip

STEP 26: Clip on to top edge of Memory Frame and insert chain through Jump Ring and Attach a Key or Charm through bottom Ring attached to frame

Hey everyone, how great are these projects!! I've known Tim now for a few years, and I'm always inspired by his creativity, products and friendship. Thanks so much Tim for sharing your artwork and creativity with us, and for taking the time to play with our stuff :) You're work is always amazing!!

Unlock the artist within!

Photobooth Artist Trading Card Swap

So we're in swap fever right now... and have decided to run a Photobooth ATC swap! Here are all the details: (Photobooth ATC on the right was created by our guest artist Michelle Loffler)

Use Darkroom Door 'Photobooth'  images to create Artist Trading Cards. You can use other embellishments, papers, stamps, techniques etc, but you must use one original Darkroom Door Photobooth image as a part of the ATC.

You can use all ladies or all gentlemen, or a combination of both in your swap.

ATC's: 9 for 9

Due Date: Friday November 14th, 2008.

If you're keen to join, leave a comment here and we'll send you the full details! This swap is open worldwide - everyone is welcome!

And remember...
Unlock the artist within!

Darkroom Door Swap Gallery

I have just finished hosting the first ever Darkroom Door Swap! Participants could take part in the Card swap and/or the Artist Trading Card swap, and needed to use Darkroom Door Rubber Stamps as a part of their creations. All up there were 30 artists who took part. I have loved receiving the swap parcels in the mail, eagerly opening each one to see what goodness and creativity was inside! I especially loved seeing how the stamps were used. The artists really used their imagination in this swap. There were lots of  inking techniques, layering, collage, interesting backgrounds, unique stamp combinations, papers, Photobooth, and lots of texture. For a few of the artists - this was their first swap ever! I'm so pleased you all took part and shared your creativity with us.

Here are the galleries to check out all the art:

2008 Swap Card Gallery

2008 Swap ATC Gallery

Thank you to all of you who participated! I feel like I can never express how much I love seeing our stamps used in such different ways. When I design the stamps, I have a fair idea of how I'd be using them myself, but I always look forward to seeing what other artists create with them. It's the most wonderful feeling knowing that you are enjoying using them too!

I'll be hosting a Photobooth swap soon... I'll post the details up on the blog next week.

Thanks again to all the participants for this swap - your artwork is truly inspirational!

Unlock the artist within!

New Releases on the website!

Thank you to all of you who have been patiently (and not-so-patiently, LOL) waiting for our new collections to be released... I'm happy to say that all of our new collections are now up on the website!

Music Collection

Robot Collection

Essentials 2 Collection

Pearlesecnt Collection

The gallery has also received an update, with new images in ALL of the galleries, including the first collections. I hope you will enjoy browsing through the creations. I still have so many more projects to complete, and loads of ideas swimming around in my head on how to use all the products - so I will be updating the gallery and this blog as I continue to complete them.

As it's the 1st of the month, you may be wondering if we have a Guest Artist for today. But no, we decided the new release and gallery would be enough excitement for now! However later this week I will share the creations from the first Darkroom Door swap! The artwork in the swap had been amazing!

We hope you enjoy the new collections.

Unlock the artist within!

Cheers
Rachel & Stewart