Did you catch the Ranger U video we posted on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube yesterday? If not, take a look… if so, take a look again! Here is a behind the scenes look at some of our recent grads in action.
Next up, while Tim was here at Ranger, he posted his tag for May. This month Tim combined Idea-ology Remnant Rubs with Distress Stains to create this amazing technique. As always, we were inspired to try this technique on our own projects.
As you probably know, this weekend was Ranger U. 24 amazing students spent 3 full days here at our headquarters in NJ learning as many techniques as humanly possible in that amount of time. We had a blast sharing our knowledge and products with such an eager bunch. We hope they had an amazing experience as well.
In the coming days, we’ll be sharing some photos and videos we took of the class hard at work, but we wanted to share a couple of shots with you on our blog this morning! Take a look:
It’s definitely been busy here at Ranger the last few weeks. We have a few things to share with you today, including the contest winners for our April Seasonal Color Palette Contest!
First up, we’ve spent most of our days recently prepping for The Collins Show, which wrapped up yesterday, and Ranger U. How can you not be excited about class when you’re surrounded by piles of Ranger goodness?!? Take a look:
Well, yesterday we posted our Spring Seasonal Palette with hopes of blue skies and blooming flowers and today we came in to a few inch of snow and it’s still coming down. Not to worry, we decided that being snowy is no reason to not get inky. We brightened up our winter wonderland with a Dylusions Snowman! A few people here at Ranger thought he needed a little bit more, so they decided to outfit him with a scarf, a beret, and, of course, a moustache! Dashing!
If you prefer your winter crafting to take place indoors, don’t forget that our friends over at Little Yellow Bicycle are still posting a project a day for the next week that features their Naturals line and Ranger inks. Today is day 5 already and they just posted an awesome scrapbook project. Check it out!
Attention store owners, teachers, and designers who want to learn more about how to teach and sell Ranger products: We are now accepting application for our 2013 Ranger University Session.
Ranger University will run from April 26th through the 28th this year. You can find more information about this program and download an application on our website here. Just a reminder, applications are due Monday, March 11th.
For the past two weekends in a row, we’ve hosted two great new Ranger U classes full of students eager to learn about all the awesome techniques and effects that can be achieved with Ranger products. Both classes were three days long, jam-packed with information taught by Tim Holtz, Claudine Hellmuth, and our newest signature designer, Dyan Reaveley.
Here are some snaps from our April and May sessions. Enjoy!
Tim teaching.
A student learns the "Perfect Distress" technique.
Adirondack Dye Ink Archival Resist technique.
Moving on to Melt Art!
Working with UTEE, the Melting Pot, and Texture Treads along with Inkssentials Memory Frames.
The tags completed on Day One.
Time for Studio techniques with Claudine!
We have the most enthusiastic students! Heat-It Craft Tool in the left hand, Mister in the right!
The artist at work!
Studio tags!
Dyan teaches techniques for using her Dylusions Ink Sprays along with her Dylusions Stencils.
Dyan shows the students some of her art journaling.
Here, the students are learning the Perfect Pearls Powders "lifting" technique. By stamping with Perfect Medium onto cardstock dusted with Perfect Pearls, you can "lift" the Perfect Pearls off of the cardstock to create a negative image!
Our students were given plain black embossed pieces of cardstock, and they colorized them by misting Perfect Pearls Powders with water on the Non-Stick Craft Sheet and dragging the cardstock through the pearly water drops. After drying with the Heat It Craft Tool, additional layers of color could be added, with a final spritz of Perfect Pearls Mists for a finishing touch.
This is an example of the Perfect Pearls Faux Suede technique, which was arguably the students' favorite technique of the day! By "massaging" an unexpected product, Inkssentials Ink Refresher, into black cardstock, the texture of the paper changes to a suede-like pliability, which can then be used almost like fabric to wrap on frames, book covers and more! Perfect Pearls were dusted on to highlight the wrinkles of the paper and make it look like leather before being dried with the Heat It Craft Tool.
After the Perfect Pearls techniques, it was time to learn all about embossing powders! The students absolutely loved our Holographic Embossing Powder, which actually changes color the longer it's heated! The powder first melts into a yellow-green glitter, then into a red-orange glitter, then into blue-violet, so it is possible to create a rainbow effect by heating different areas of your stamped image for longer times. (A vibrant turquoise state is also achievable but very difficult to reach, because if the powder is heated too long it will turn brown!)
After lunch, it was time for Melt Art! Several new Melt Art techniques made their Ranger U debut this year, including Wire Dipping with UTEE, a technique created by Debbie Tlach.
The students were given flowers made of wire, and by dipping them into UTEE melted in the Melting Pot, the petals could be filled in, creating a stained glass effect.
Classic UTEE techniques were also taught, such as Suze Weinberg's Amazing Agates technique. By melting colored UTEE in the Melting Pot along with a pinch each of Black, White and Metallic UTEE, you can create the look of faux stones! Students used this technique along with cookie cutters to create shapes of UTEE:
Some techniques and products made their Ranger U debut this weekend, while other beloved traditions remained from Ranger U's gone by (hello, Square Pizza Day!). Over the next few days we'll be recapping some of our favorite techniques and highlights from this year's Ranger U, so stay tuned!
Good afternoon, crafters! This is a friendly reminder that applications for the first session of Ranger U for 2011 (April 29 – May 1) are due this Monday, March 21! If you are interested in spending three amazing days learning directly from our signature designers while rubbing elbows with your fellow craft enthusiasts, be sure to visit the Ranger U page on our website for all of the details and to download the application (MS Word format).
Did you know that you do not have to be a store owner to attend Ranger U? We are looking for students from a wide range of backgrounds including: teachers, demonstrators, published designers, active bloggers and craft product manufacturers, in addition to store owners!
Are you intending to apply to one of the 2011 Ranger U sessions? Let us know in the comments!
Here is a behind the scenes look at some of our recent grads in action.
