EMBOSSING POWDER SKINS

 I have previously done a class where we used embossing powder to create blobs on a craft sheet that could be peeled up and used as an accent when cooled. This is a further adaptation to this class. I'm sure that everyone who has used embossing powder has a huge collection of colours that will last them forever so this is an excellent way to use what you have.  I used Ranger Collage Medium to glue my embossing skins down but I know that the Tombow Mono Glue and the Ranger Matte Medium will both work fine as well. The trick is to be gentle with your embossing powder skin as it can break where it is thin. To stop all of the embossing powder from blowing everywhere as it is in little piles, I use a piece of baking paper over the top as the baking paper can take the heat of the heat gun and it keeps
the powder in place. It can make the powder matte though, so you need to heat it once again without
the baking paper in place to make it glossy again. But that causes holes, so it's a fine balancing act between the two.

"Walk in nature"


"If found dead"

"No longer available"
(I've wanted to use this quote for a 
ghost image for ages.)

"Fake smiling"

"Broqué"

"Feels"
(This one is a little different. It has the layers of
embossing powder on top of some chipboard
wings that have been attached before dumping
all of the colours of embossing powder down.
This gives a very thick layer of embossing powder
in various colours that also run off the edge onto
the background to give a very organic look.)

WATERCOLOUR WICKING

 

Distress Oxide Inks and Distress Inks are both water-reactive which can be an added bonus when you want a stamped image that is not too perfect and precise. I used the Distress Oxide Inks for my examples below as I prefer the extra opacity of those inks as well as their oxidation that softens the colours. I have done the technique in the past where you ink up your stamped image, then spritz the stamp and press down onto your receiving surface. This creates a watercolour effect and blurs your stamped image. This one is different in that you stamp your image directly from an inked stamp, then spritz your stamped image with water which causes the inks to wick out and bleed. Working on atc's doing this technique can be challenging as you are working with such a small surface to start with and you need to be careful with which images you choose. I must admit, I wasn't particularly happy with any of mine as I was working on them, but found as I added more colour in the background or added some shading where needed and some words, they came together in the end.

"Aura of foreboding"

(This one is my favourite! I 

used my Stabilo All black 

pencil & my aqua brush to draw the
figures in the forest on the bottom left.

It can be nerve-wracking to spritz
the words directly on the background
as you don't know how much they will
wick out, and black is super-strong!)

"Get busy living"
(The Frayed Burlap tumbleweed stamps
wicked out really well but I found the
Hickory Smoke on the top of the twiggy
tree didn't want to wick.)


"WTF"
(This one has some added shading under the hyenas.)


"Live everyday"
(The floral stamps lost their definition a fair bit
so I used my Unipin fine liner to redraw the
shapes of the flowers.)


"Sea the positive"
(This one wicked out a lot!)


"Enjoy today"


Finally, a card that I made using my left-over atc that wasn't required for the class. I've started to make sure I turn these excess atc's into cards to add to my card stash for when they could be needed.

DISTRESS EMBOSSING GLAZE TECHNIQUES

 The Distress Embossing Glazes are a whole new ball game in the world of embossing powders. They are translucent which means anything you have underneath it will show through. They also blend beautifully together when using the "pinch" method of applying the powders. Tim's video's on the glazes will give you the best run-down on all of the various techniques you can do with them. I've only touched on a few for my class this fortnight.

"Bloom"
(Cracked Pistachio Glaze on top of a stencilled
 leaf design using opaque texture paste. I didn't
wait for the paste to dry, just heat set while wet
which will give you even more texture.) 

"Collect moments"
(This is made using the Pinch method of applying
the embossing glazes in various colours which
closely match the inked areas underneath. Stark
black die-cuts really pop against this background.)


"Organically grown"
(To colour the cacti I used a Distress Embossing Pen

then applied the embossing glazes to give the
stamped images their colour.)


"Simplicity"
(The Distress Embossing Pen was used again to
colour in the die-cut shapes and again coloured
with two colours of embossing glazes. The 
co-ordinating stamps were also embossed with
the glaze on this background as well.)

"Choose to shine"

(A simple atc using the embossing glazes to
create a subtle design on the background
without detracting from the focal image.)

"To the moon"
(Stamping and embossing with Villainous Potion
glaze creates extra interest to these moon phase
stamps. The little rocket charm just finishes it off.)



"Love you"
(This is a card that I made using both the Distress

Crayons and the Distress Embossing Glazes.
 The rainbow atc was made using the Crayons. 

and the two men die cuts were from
a piece of cardstock that was coloured with the
embossing glazes so they are shiny, compared

to the matte finish of the crayons.)

DISTRESS CRAYON TECHNIQUES

 You'll find my updated ATC Techniques List on a separate page at the top of my page directly under my banner, "ATC Technique List - Current & Previous".

I've found that I haven't been using my Ranger Distress Crayons to their maximum potential so I thought I'd do a class and try out a few different techniques so my girls could get the best of this under-utilised product.  These are not the only things you can do with them but I had to stop somewhere and we'll probably revisit them again in a future class.

"Door of the tomb"
(This is a piece of plain card coated with a thin layer
of Collage Medium which, when dry, had 
crayons applied and smudged, then a skull stencil was
used to remove portions to show the skull. The little
bone fragment up the top is from Prima Marketing
Skull & Bones mould with the Quick Cure Clay.)



"Don't forget to fly"
(The Sizzix dragonfly was cut from watercolour card
then coloured with crayons. The background is a
simple smoosh technique.)



"Never stop exploring"
(The two floral pieces are cut from plain black card
then coloured with the crayons using an aqua brush
to get the colours to spread more easily. Another
simple smoosh style background with a little
stamping for added interest.)



"The earth laughs in flowers"
(I used the same two floral pieces as the sample above
but I pre-coated the coloured & stamped background
with the Collage Medium before applying the
Field Notes Snippets (these were also coated with the
Collage Medium). When this was dry, I added some
crayons to various areas for further depth.)

"Alternatively alive"
(To create the moon I used a mask from a post-it
pad, then applied the crayons to create the
background. This is on a piece of watercolour 
card, with stamping to complete the scene.)



"Expect nothing"
(This final example has a white embossed stamped
image on a black card that was coloured with the
crayons and an aqua brush. The background was
coloured in the same way to give a watercolour
effect.)

ACRYLIC INKS ON PHOTO PAPER

 This is another use for the amazing Acrylic Inks that are made by various companies. For my samples, I used the Liquitex ones exclusively this time. I found the metallics didn't spread as well as the normal inks but are ok when used as an accent. For the substrate, I used Kirkland Photo Paper and yes, I used both sides because they give very different results! I think I love the black ones the best and don't ask me how I got the 2 moons in the first example below, I have no idea as it was one of those happy accidents that you just run with.

"Not what they seem"

"No angel"


"No possible escape"
(You can see the metallic copper on this one doesn't spread
like the other normal colours do, but it's ok as a secondary
accent colour)

"Aquaholic"
(I loved how this one looked like water splashing up!)

"Just another insect"
(This is the back side of the photo paper, it gives
a very different look to the glossy front of the photo paper)

"Mood: nah"
(Another one where I used the back of the photo paper)

"Today is the tomorrow"

"Life looks better"

Finally, a card that I made using one of the atc
samples from this technique to use on a card instead
of an atc.  In each class, I try to make a card to
build up my card stash using one of my atc's 
from every technique.

DIMENSIONAL PEARL PAINTS

  You'll find my updated ATC Techniques List on a separate page at the top of my page directly under my banner, "ATC Technique List - Current & Previous".

Several companies make the Dimensional Pearl Paints in the bottles with the pointy dispenser tip, the ones I have are Ranger Liquid Pearls, Nuvo Drops and Decor Pearl Pens (also called Perlen Pens). They are all similar in that they can make small pearl accents in drops on your cards, atc's or journal pages. In fact, the Decor Pearl Pens can also be used on fabric as they are washable!  For this class I have used them in a few different ways, smooshing them, scraping them with a credit card, the usual way of adding dots and also accenting stamped images with them. I think a lot of people when first getting these pens just start out with gold, silver, black and maybe copper.  But there are so many other gorgeous colours available and they are reasonably cheap so you can increase your stash and you don't just need to do dots with them, as my samples show. If I had to pick just one though, it'd have to be the Silver Chrome from the Decor Pearl Pen range, just beautiful!

"Lucky"
(These are stamped images with some
Pearl Pen accents)


"New beginnings"
(A smoosh example with a Uni Pin Fineliner
pen for accents on the Pearl Pen trees)

"Middle of the night"
(An example of a credit card scraped background
with the Pearl Pens in 3 colours)

"I don't care"
(The usual dot technique that all of these pens
are made for)

"Lookin' sharp!"
(I used the Pearl Pens to accent areas of
the stamped images)

"Find Joy"
(Another example of a smooshed background)

This is a card I made using an atc sized black piece of card with the smoosh technique on it, but also added some further accents to create some wildflowers. The colours show up equally well on black as well as white backgrounds.

A close-up of the Pearl Paint design. The gold surround is a gold mirror card so it is much shinier in real life.

ALCOHOL INK PEARL EMBOSSING

 

With the release of the new colours of Alcohol Ink Pearls, I thought it was time we did a class just using the Pearls.  This technique, using embossing folders, works beautifully with the pearl backgrounds. By using a sanding block and gently sanding down the raised design, it really brings out the embossing folder design and the subtle shimmer of the Alcohol Ink Pearls really adds to these making gorgeous backgrounds.  Of course, in the flesh, these look so much better as the flat screens just don't do the Alcohol Ink Pearls justice.

"The way you carry it"


"Heard a strange noise"
(To create the black & silver on the embossed tree branches,
I used some Tombow Multi Glue, allowed it to dry to the tacky
stage then pressed some Black & Silver Decofoil onto the
tacky areas.)

"When the owl sings"

"Use your wings"

"Be a cactus"

"Life is short"