PRESS'N SEAL TECHNIQUES

 Layering several die-cuts over the top of each other in a pleasing composition can be fraught with problems, until the discovery of Press'n Seal.  Fortunately, this is now available in Australia at Costco as none of the other grocery stores here carry it.  I have found it is also perfect for placing down fiddly and intricate die-cuts, especially if you have cut it out of thin paper, like metallic paper.  Especially if you have added your double-sided sheet to the back because when you peel off that release paper, the die-cut just wants to fold up on itself and stick together.  By placing a piece of Press'n Seal over the top before pulling off the release paper, you have much greater control over placement on your background.  You'll see I have a bit of a floral theme going on here.  The main dies I have that can be layered are the floral/weed/leaf dies but luckily these work perfectly.  This technique however will work with whatever die-cuts you choose to use.

"Cultivate"


"Bloom"


"Specimen"
(The last atc (Season) has the inner
removed pieces of this die-cut used
in a plain shimmer background. This
will work with any die that has pieces
that can be removed and still create a
recognisable shape.)


"Beautiful things"


"Golden Soul"

"Season"
(The inner part of this leaf is from the 
Beautiful things atc above.  By cutting
the leaf shape from both an alcohol ink
piece and a gold metallic piece, you can
interchange them to create two separate pieces.)

DIE-CUT STENCILLING

 I think it's important to try and get as much use out of your chosen products as you can, and in that vein, this technique utilises die-cut shapes and the off-cut waste that you'd normally discard, by using these pieces as masks.  I have used Distress Oxide Inks for all of these samples as I find it to be a more opaque colour. Some die-cut shapes work better than others and sometimes you need to insert the die-cut shape and sponge over that as well as the original outside shape to depict the details.  The two bug atc's below are the perfect example of this.  If you simply used the off-cut waste to create your design, you would just have a big blank outline of a bug.  But by placing the die back inside the outside waste and sponging a darker colour, you'll get all the detail that you miss in the first colour. Both of the bugs also have highlights in Glossy Accents.  I also used some grey markers to create some depth and shadow, mainly noticeable in the windows on the first act and then around the gravestones on the third one.  Another trick is to use a Mono Sand Eraser to gently erase away some of the colours to imitate the light source. You can see this effect, just under the moon in the first one and also around the ghost and the moon in the last atc. Be careful to not scratch away the card!

"Later"

"Easily distracted"

"In memory"

"What the flock?"

"Two weevils"

"No rest"