OXIDES & PHOTO PAPER TECHNIQUES

 Photo paper is such a versatile product and depending on what other items you are using, both sides of the photo paper have specific properties that will work for various techniques. For this particular one, we'll be using the shiny side of the glossy photo paper.
When Oxide Inks come into contact with the gloss side of the photo paper they absorb immediately into the coating on the paper and when the ink has dried after a few seconds, you can usually see the chalky residue of the Oxide ink sitting on top of the photo paper. You can use a damp paper towel or a baby wipe and remove this chalkiness revealing a much deeper colour, and often a surprisingly different colour, has adhered to the emulsion on the photo paper. For some of my samples, I used a stencil to apply the first layer of Oxide ink, then applied another layer of a different colour over the top of the stencilled section. When you remove it, the first stencilled layer remains vibrant and if you've used a contrasting colour, it can look really amazing.
You can also use a white crayon to scribble first on the photo paper to create a resist effect before applying the Oxide ink. This leaves the white of the photo paper showing through after removing the chalky residue as before.

"Wild mind"
(The blue leaf is an actual leaf that was left over
from a previous Gelli printing class that I coated
with a matte medium before attaching it to the 
background. The blue colour of the leaf is from
the paint that was used on the Gelli plate. I 
loved the colour and the residual brown on it
just worked so well with the background.)

"Life is short"
(I used a die-cut to cut the jagged rectangular
section and raised it with foam tape before
slightly off-setting it back into position to
create a nice focal position for the vase &

floral arrangement.)


"Old"
(The white lines are the white crayon that was
drawn onto the photo paper before colouring
with the Distress Oxide which creates this
resist effect.)

"Make it work"
(I've used a scoreboard to mark the back of the
photo paper after colouring to create the 
scorelines, then swiped over some metallic
wax to show them up even more.)

"Light is fleeting"
(Vellum is notoriously difficult to stick down
without the adhesive showing but these ghosts
have had double-sided adhesive paper stuck to
the vellum before die-cutting.Consequently, the
whole of the ghost has adhesive on it so
doesn't stand out like it would if it was just a
a couple of bits of adhesive tape.)

"A busy life"
(A honeycomb stencil was used with Rusty Hinge
Oxide Ink before going over the whole background

with Fossilized Amber Oxide Ink. The bees were
stamped with Black Stazon Ink as that sticks
really well on the photo paper with no smudging).

MOMIGAMI & WATERCOLOUR ABSTRACTS

Momigami is a Japanese kneaded paper that turns paper into a fabric-like consistency with extra strength through kneading. It's simple to make your own Momigami kneaded paper using a brown paper bag (supermarket strength ones), metallic acrylic inks or acrylic paint (thinned with a little water if it's too thick) and baby oil.

I made a quick video showing the process, which is listed below if you want to try it out. I was inspired by the artist Jocelyn Benford who does some amazing large pieces using this watercolour abstract style. Mine are on the other end of the size scale, as atc's are a set size of 2.5" x 3.5" (6.35cm x 8.89cm). It's always a challenge to see if I can translate a particular style or technique into the smaller scale of atc's. I always use quotes or words on my atc's but these are an exception (bar one), as they were interesting enough with just the gold Momigami paper and watercolour shapes on them. I also used a Deco Gold Paint Pen, a Black Posca Pen and a black Pilot G-Tec C4 Gel Pen for the added drawn embellishments.

Video for how to make your own Momigami Paper:    Momigami How-To Video 

Momigami Yellow Black

Momigami Teal Green Silver

Momigami Purple Burgundy

Momigami Green Blue

Momigami Explore

(Granulating Daniel Smith Lunar Black & Lunar Blue)

Momigami Black Rust

Technique Book #32 cover
(this one is 8" x 6", or 20cm x 15cm)

EMBOSSING & FOIL ACCENTS

 I decided that I'd keep it simple for the last class for Book #31. CAS, clean and simple cards can be very eye-catching and generally don't take much time. Our background is Kraft card, the embossing is done only in white super-fine embossing powder and I've used my Tombow Mono Liquid Glue to create the designs that then have foil pressed on after allowing the glue to dry to the tacky stage. Zig glue pens also work well for this technique, but the Tombow Mono Liquid Glue gives the foil a little dimension and texture. 

"Live simply"


"I'm a fungi"


"Downward spiral"

"Listen to your heart"


"Leap"

"Like a tree"

Finally, a card that I made for someone special to me who wanted to thank

his Doctor for doing his part in making sure this person was still around. Our 

medical professionals don't get enough recognition I think and a simple

card can make them understand how much they are appreciated.

GELLI PLATE TEXTURE

 It's been a while since we used our Gelli plates so it was time to rectify that. I have a variety of items that I've been putting aside to use for texture on my Gelli prints so this was the opportunity to get them all out. My texture items include: corrugated card, wool (particularly wool bits hanging off it), bubble wrap, scrunched-up baking paper, plastic fern leaves, lids from containers, bag mesh (from citrus produce), texture plates (for clay making or baking) and the list goes on. I didn't use all of these in my samples but it's a good idea to put items that you think will work all together in a container for use in your Gelli printing as that way you won't have to hunt things down, they'll all be together. (Don't forget, to see these images much clearer, click on each one.)

"Results may vary"
(Stringy-style wool was pressed into the paint
to get this texture on the Gelli plate.)


"Leaf blower"
(A plastic fern leaf was pressed into the paint
to create this background texture.)

"Regret nothing"
(Wool with bits hanging off it was pressed

into the Gelli plate to create this background.)

"Care factor"
(Wool for this background on the Gelli plate.)

"Angel face"
(This background was made with scrunched up
baking paper pressed into the paint on the
Gelli plate.)

A close-up of Angel face with the gold highlights
from using the Pebeo Mixtion Relief with gold
foil pressed over the top when it dries to its

tacky stage. Beautiful in the flesh!

"Weird"
(Corrugated card was pressed into the paint on the

Gelli plate to create this texture on the

background.)

BOOK PAPER ACCENTS

Book pages have been used in papercrafts/mixed media for many years as there are so many different ways you can use them. Stamping, die-cutting, stencilling over them, tearing them into strips to create a background, and even using them to make a complete collage scene. I have incorporated a few various ways in my samples below. For more detail, click the image.

"Nothing will change"

"Be bold"

"Mint"

"Wildflower"

"Dreams"

"Live Gently"

This is a card I made using a stencil and acrylic paint
over a piece of book paper.

A close-up of the card.

WATERCOLOUR PENCIL TECHNIQUES

 I have several sets of watercolour pencils and find them particularly useful when colouring in small areas on stamped images. They can also be used in other ways and my samples below reflect some of these methods. You can colour through stencils, or pick up colour directly from the lead and then apply that colour straight to the paper (wet or dry paper). You can also colour directly onto a stamp with a damp pencil, spritz lightly and then stamp, plus the usual way of colouring your image with the dry pencils and activating them with water to get a watercolour blended look. For this class I used my woodless Ranger Distress Watercolour Pencils, they are solid pigment with a wrapper around them to keep them and your hands clean and come in the same 72 colour range as the Distress line.

"Beware the beat"


"Fake plants"

"Eat local"


"Disturb the peace"

"Lookin' sharp"

"Count me in"

DIMENSIONAL ACETATE

 If you've ever tried embossing on normal acetate you will know that it warps and distorts as it is heated so unless you use the specialised "heat-resistant acetate", it can be problematic for embossing. However, you can use this distortion to your advantage by stamping, colouring, and heating. While it is still warm, manipulate the acetate to give it some dimension and waves to create a unique embellishment for your atc's or cards. I've included some videos so you can see the dimensional aspect of these acetate shapes.

"Edible"

"Beautiful Chaos"

"Be original"




"Flowers don't tell"

"Breathe"

"Be-leaf"