Texture Paste

I used Texture Paste on my very first book cover and we are now up to Book Number 10!  On the previous cover we stamped into the texture paste, this time we'll be using it with stencils or simply using it to, well, add texture!   I stumbled across some recipes for home-made texture paste so thought I'd give this a go.  So I mixed up the correct quantities of the ingredients and I couldn't work out why, when I'd stirred it and mixed it thoroughly, it was rising up in the jar like bread dough on fast forward.   Hmmm... something wasn't right.  I had to keep stirring it to make it go back down but eventually it did settle ok and I could add a little paint to it to colour it so that was all good.  It wasn't until a few days later that I had an AHA!!! moment and worked out that in the USA, Baking Soda is actually Bi-carb Soda here in Australia, not Baking Powder (which is what I used).  So that solved the puffing up dilemma.  At least it still worked out alright and I know that the girls will be able to make their own texture paste if they run out of the store-bought one.  There is also available now more texture paste available from different companies and one that I do like very much is the Ferro ones as they are coloured.  I have the metallic iron one and the antique gold.  Those samples will be added later as I'll be  doing them as demo's in the classes.  In the meantime, here are some other samples and the book cover for Technique Book Number 10.

 

These are all created on Kraft coloured card stock, with some white and one other colour paint and a little black stamping.  I liked the simplicity of combining just a few colours.  If you want to try out the recipe for yourself, the one I used is:

 

HOMEMADE TEXTURE PASTE

1 Part White Acrylic Paint

1 Part Talcum Powder (or Baking Soda, called bi-carb soda in Australia)

1/2 Part White Glue (PVA)

Mix together in a re-sealable jar.  Add a little coloured

paint if you want to make coloured texture paste.  (I do this

on a plastic plate with just a little of the paste as I didn't want to

colour all of it.)

I'm not sure how long this mix will last, mine has been in

the jar for a week and a half and it's still fine.

 

"Believe"...

 

"Believe" (close-up) so you can see the texture...

 

"Angelic"... (this is on kraft card and is coloured

texture paste pushed through a stencil to create

the background).

 

 

"Create"...

"Artful"...

 

"Book Cover #10"... (this is 8" x 6" or 20cm x 15cm)

 

Close-up of Book Cover...

Black Utee & Perfect Pearls

This fortnight's technique is making an embossing powder by combining Black utee and Perfect Pearls.  I have made my own mixes of embossing powders for quite a few years, if you click here, this will take you to the post I did with the embossing powder recipes using ordinary embossing powders.  This particular technique this fortnight however, is made by combining a small amount of Perfect Pearls (in a single colour) with Black Utee to make very metallic looking thicker embossing.  It's one of those techniques that doesn't photograph/scan well so you'll just need to make up some of your own!   Visit a $2 shop (or if you're in the States, it's a Dollar Store) and pick up some small containers with screw on or snap on lids.  The size of the container I use is 4cm tall x 3cm diameter (or 1.5" x 1").  I half fill this with black utee and then using a pop-stick, add a small scoop of the Perfect Pearl in your chosen colour.  Shake well.   You only scoop a little bit in, less than 1cm on the pop-stick (or less than 1/4").  If you use too much PP, it affects how well the Black Utee sticks to your embossing ink.  Of course, this can't be used for detailed stamps but can be used to cover embellishments very well!

 

"Poverty and toothache"...

"Memory"...



"Hallucination"...

"Misbehave"...

 

"Star"...

 

As you can see, I've used different techniques to create the actual body of these atc's... from the top they are:Goosebumps Texture Spray, Watercolour Stamping, Coloured Soot Stamping and Coloured Soot Stamping again, lastly another Goosebumps Texture Spray. 

More to come!