WATERCOLOUR TISSUE PAPER

The last class of the year is always a Christmas theme with a technique thrown in for good measure.  The technique this time is Watercolour Tissue Paper.  Tissue paper can be a little temperamental to handle when it's really wet but by doing this technique directly onto your craft sheet, then drying it in place until you can move the tissue easily without it tearing, makes it a whole lot easier.  Virtually anything that can be diluted down with water to make a wash will work.  I used Distress Stains and Distress Sprays. 

I have found some of my Distress Stains have totally changed colour so I am always cautious about using them straight away and test them first on a scrap piece of paper to see if it has altered.  My Pumice Stone looks like Forest Moss!  My Tumbled Glass looks like Broken China.  But you work with what you have.  After colouring the white tissue paper and then drying it, I've stuck it down to a piece of white cardstock using a Xyron.  You can either stick the tissue paper down flat or scrunch it up first to add extra wrinkles to it.  

Merry Christmas everyone... see you in 2018!

"I don't smell".... (this is my FAVOURITE!!!)

"I like your balls"...

"Happy Yule"...

"Wreck the tree"...

"Fleece Navidad"...

VELLUM OVERLAY

I bought myself a Stamp Positioner (Stamp Master one) some time ago and I wanted to use it in a class as I know that others have bought them and there they sit, in the box, unloved.  Whether you have a Misti, the Tim Holtz Stamping Platform, the Stamp Master or whatever, they all do a wonderful job of creating a really great, dark impression by stamping over the same image time and time again with no blurring.  Of course, you need to use unmounted stamps with these as the wood block ones just don't work.  There are lots of Youtube videos on how to use one so if you have one and haven't tried it out, give it a go!  

These atc's have the background stamped on plain white card using the Stamp Positioner to get a really dark image.  Then I have used a Xyron machine (puts sticky onto the white card face) and then pressed vellum down over the stamped image.  An alternative is to use a sewing machine (as in the sample below - Courage to fly) to stitch both the vellum and white card together.  The final layer on top of the vellum is die-cut shapes cut from plain black card and these are then stuck over the vellum to continue the story.  It's important to have the underlying stamped image suit the die-cut shapes to continue whatever theme you are going with.  Wording and maybe a little extra embellishing by way of crystals, Stickles, foil, Liquid Pearls etc will finish it off.  

"Unpleasant dreams"...

"Courage to fly"...

"Gardening"...

"Observe Life"...

"Black fixes everything"...