Colourwash Backgrounds & Embossing

Tonight's atc class is on Colourwash Backgrounds. The Ranger Colourwash Sprays have a fantastic range of beautiful colours, same range as the alcohol inks. This one below has lettuce and cranberry with a bit of butterscotch sprayed over the top. I then used my new Inkadinkadoo Bat Flourish stamp and embossed it with white embossing powder. I think embossing powders are highly under-rated! They are an old stampers favourite, I don't mean "old" stampers....but an old technique. There are many different ways of incorporating stamping into scrapbooking, altered books and all types of mixed media. It works on fabric too!

"Flight"...

Another neat trick with embossing powders is to mix your own colours! I do this for the girls in my atc classes and I have written on the jars the amounts to use of the various colours to get the same effect. This next atc is one that has what I call "Copper Dreams"....4 parts copper embossing powder to 1 part copper glitter. Very subtle copper shimmer and such a beautiful colour, unfortunately once again, the scan doesn't do it justice! Try it out.....you never know, you might just get adventurous and do some yourself. There is another couple of colours I use - Antiquities Cool and Antiquities Warm as well as Antique Pewter. When I go to work today I'll write down the quantities to make them and then post here as an Edit.

Below are some of my embossing powder "recipes"...

Antique Pewter is 1-1/2 parts black and 2-1/2 parts silver

Antiquities Cool is 2 parts silver to 1 part copper

Antiquities Warm is 2 parts silver, 2 parts gold and 1 part copper

Patina Gold is 2 parts black, 1 part gold

Granite is 5 parts black, 1 part white and 1 part silver

Antique Brown is 1 part black and 1 part copper

Copper Dreams is 4 parts copper and 1 part copper glitter

I use a tiny little measuring spoon for measuring the quantity, that way I still have enough of the original colours left over to use them as they are.

The copper/glitter colour embossing is the filigree stamp across the bottom and also the line above each set of words, wish you could see how good this looks irl! The image is done with transparency/rubbing alcohol transfer onto scrapbook paper, then a fine crackle stamp was stamped over the whole piece, some etal metal paper in the top corners finish it off.

"If you wait"...

Webbing Spray & a couple more colourwash atc's

I ordered a new stamp and absolutely LOVE how it turned out on this colourwash background! It's from Stampotique and is called "glimmering hope" (type the name in the search box on their website to find it)....cool name for a creepy cool stamp, or, as I prefer spooky cute! It's on a background of matte white card stock with some lettuce & butterscotch colours of the Ranger Colourwashes. Main thing to remember about these is WEAR GLOVES!!! Unless you don't mind multi-hued hands for several days that is.



I was really impressed with how fantastic the white embossing powder just jumps out from the background. The words Strange Reality have been stamped on white shrink plastic and shrunk (obviously!). You have to stamp her out on a larger piece of card to see her full beauty as she's a little large for an atc, she's 5" high.









Similar colouring in the next one, I'm not generally a green person unless it's an olive/khaki sort of colour but the combo of lettuce & butterscotch is just too gorgeous to ignore. The green I don't really like is more a lawn-coloured green. Maybe I like my lawn to be dying off in parts - hence the butterscotch! lol Once again, the wording (Life's Journey) has been stamped on white shrink plastic that has been coloured with those magic coloured sharpies then blended with blending solution.



The next atc class on Saturday is using webbing sprays. We have white, black, gold and silver in store and they are really easy to use. I do my spraying into a large spray box - actually a large shoe box with an attached lid, it's also where I do my colourwash sprays as well....keeps it all nice and contained and not all over your table.

Here are a couple that I've made for Saturday, one more is being finished today and I'll put that one up when I post next.

Next one is a little hard to see the white webbing spray on the dark gray background as the image in the frame is a transparency and I've mounted it onto foam tape so it has a fair amount of depth, which the scanner struggles with!

Off to work.......

More Colourwash,Resin Fresco & Beading too!

I spent today playing in my studio after waking at 4am and then laying there for a couple of hours going through some ideas in my head. Actually, the dog woke me.....old age being what it is she can't hold her "water" all night....something I don't have a problem with fortunately!

So this is the raffle atc for Saturday's atc class which is the Colourwash Technique.

I have another couple that I'm working on for Saturday and will post them later in the week. The bird, branch and hand holding the egg is from Michelle Ward's range of stamps, though they are from one of her clear sheets which, from memory, is sold through Stampington. The background chicken wire is a Lost Coast atc background stamp.



Next up is the raffle atc for next Tuesday night's atc class, Resin Fresco Technique using UTEE (ultra-thick embossing enamel for the uninitiated), gesso and paint. Love the lumpy bumpy texture that this creates! The brown colour down the sides is actually bronze paint (Golden's), don't you hate how the computer just flattens anything that is shiny or metallic!!! I've used Helmar 2 part crackle on the image in the centre.

This is another sample for that same class.....love this turquoise colour! Yep, used Michelle's large gothic script stamp for the background here, it's from her Printed Matter plate at Green Pepper Press. A girl can NEVER have enough gothic script stamps in my opinion or enough German Scrap available at Scraptivate (I used the white Baroque German Scrap and painted it with Aquarmarine FolkArt Metallic Paint).

This is an atc I sent over to Ruth, a girl on a yahoo group I belong to as a RAK....which I hardly ever do any more as my atc's these days are either made as samples or raffles. It's the tissue paper background from the last Saturday atc class. More German Scrap and some gorgeous Ranger Antiquities embossing powder in Rust.





Now for a throw-back to a previous hobby.....beading! I used to love spending hours doing beading, it's so therapeutic...you don't realise how long you spend absorbed in the little tiny beads, co-ordinating colours and creating whatever shapes you like. This is a beaded brooch that I made using the most glorious golds and browns. I'm a fan of free-style beading, no such thing as a mistake as you just go where you want with it. It's more more forgiving than some of the more structured styles, though I have done that as well and do enjoy it, free-style is still my favourite!

Colourwash Background Technique & help!!!

First off, I have a favour to ask, if any of you know the company that makes the stamp on this first atc, please let me know. Even better, if you have one and you want to sell it, let me know that too! I have a girl in my atc class who is desperate to own it....she'll probably sell you (or at least loan) her first-born she is that enamoured by it! It's a wood mounted one, it's called "Girl with a purse" but it doesn't have a company on the wood so I couldn't tell her where I got it from!

The background on it is the next technique that's coming up in about 9 days time - Colourwash Background Technique. Not saying too much more about it at the moment as you know my girls....they like to practice BEFORE the class and that is simply not allowed! lol I have stamped the image onto gloss and coloured it with Twinkling H2O's before cutting out and attaching to the background. Yeah....I know.....kinda bright for me but as I've said before, I'm a Gemini so I'm allowed to be changeable!

Next one is the same technique....

Now for another Tissue Paper background one from last Saturday's atc class, love the colours in this one!

Last one...this is the raffle atc from Tuesday's class - Canvas Paper Rinse Aid Resist.

Comments are always welcome, even from my friends who I see!!!! hint...hint...hint....lol