Day Two of Ranger U...

...hey that rhymes.

Rightio then...moving along...Day Two started us off with a new teacher - one Claudine Helmuth at the 'Helm' of the classroom with her fab products and techniques. What I love about this experience is that we get answers to our questions from the source. No rumor, no "I heard from a friend who heard from..." we get the straight dope on the why's and what's and 'who invented this anyways?'

Also to hear some of the stories of some of the goings-on behind the scenes are a right stitch, and Tim is a great storyteller.

Back to the day. Claudine is a very talented artist who has painted for over 20 years. Through her extensive experience with acrylic paint, she has created to her own specifics an acrylic paint that is smooth and buttery (just not on popcorn) and rich in colour and variety. We used paint, along with 4 different gel type mediums to do her signature techniques and this was great as my exposure to painting has been limited. We mixed painting with stamping, transferring images and even embossing into paint (I can't really explain it better right now - v. tired). I will show all when I get back.

These are projects completed by Claudine that she brought for us to view, like a mini trunk show. Our techniques were also done on tags that, for some reason, I didn't do a group photo of when I was done them. Sorry!

Then we broke for lunch, provided by Ranger, and when we returned we got to do some crafting of our new techniques on a wooden basket(?). I am not the speediest scrapper in the world, so I didn't get mine done, but it was great to see the ones around me. Very inspiring.

After that we tucked into 5 hours of Distress Products - prefaced by a very elightening story of how Tim came to work for Ranger in the first place, which lead into what makes Distress inks, and the Distress line different from other inks on the market. I didn't realize how much chemistry was involved, although I would have had I stopped to think about it, but apparently their chemist is something of a wizard who was able to take Tims creative Distress product ideas and turn them into reality. Regardless there IS a difference between other dye inks and the Distress inks, and it has to everything to do with how they react to water. Love it!

But we started with Distress Embossing Powder, which I am still trying to get the hang of. We worked on paper as well as Metal which then lead to prepping tags with crackle paint (which had to dry) Then the inks themselves, the reinkers, the stains, and the stickles. We worked with a crafting iron, grunge board, metal flowers, stickyback canvas, trim and of course, cardstock. I have to say that if I had to pick one word that would define Ranger in any aspect, it is 'thorough'. 'Orgazined' would be the close second - both things I try to be and maybe will be when I grow up. =)

A few samples from an afternoon well spent.

We were done at 7pm, at which point a double car load of us decided to go down to the Jersey Shore line (not the actual Jersey Shore of the tv series, but we were at the northern end of it) and here is a pic of their lovely boardwalk and shopping district. We had dinner at a diner named 'Stewart's and the food was 'ok'. I hope to have Sushi tomorrow night at a place called 'Sawa's.

And so that is how my day ends - with a leisurely meal with new friends and new ideas. I want to thank you for checking out my blog tonite, and I have full intentions of blogging tomorrow night, after which point I will be packing and getting ready to return the next day to my home and hearth. Have a lovely Sunday and we'll see you soon!

Jenn