Back in the day, when there were still many crafting magazines available, free clear stamps were included as a cover gift. Somehow I still have a collection of these, which are all still clear and functional. Finding them in my stash, I came up with this month’s theme for the art journaling session at The Studio: twinchies. For the unfamiliar, twinchies are 2″ square elements for crafting and the giveaway stamps fit perfectly. Using mixed media and appropriate papers, I created this:

No step-by-step pics this time, sorry… I cut the paper to 2″ square to start with, using watercolour, coated, cartridge and scraps. For water based media, stamp the images with archival ink. For alcohol based media, such as ProMarkers or Comics, use Memento ink. For anything else, I stuck with archival ink. Stamp all the images first (I did six of each set of papers, to fit my page) and then work on adding the colour using the various media. Once all were dry, I edged with blended distress inks in a suitable colour and then stuck the twinchies down on to my sketchbook pages. Edge with a black border (particularly good at hiding a little uncovered space at the bottom of the layout). I smudged the paint pen on the bottom left corner, so wiped that off as best I could and then blended black distress ink around the rest of the page for an acceptable recovery of the cock-up mistake.

Used for these twinchies

• Stamps and papers as described (various sources)
• Ranger Archival Ink: Jet Black
• Memento ink pad: Tuxedo Black
• Derwent Inktense paint pans: conventional and metallics
• Derwent Inktense coloured pencils
• Faber Castell Polychromos coloured pencils
• Derwent Metallic coloured pencils
• Winsor & Newton ProMarkers
• Ranger / Tim Holtz Distress Inks: various colours
• Posca paint pen: Black (PC-3M)
• White gel pen

The next art journal session will be on 3rd February, 2025, 7:30-10pm, when the theme will be ‘industrial grunge’. Let me know if you’d like to book a place. It’s just £5, suitable art journals are available to purchase for just £2 and all materials and tuition are provided.