TEXTURED WEB BACKGROUNDS

 This class is a revisit of a previously used product that isn't intended for the papercraft world and it's surprising how many cross-over items from one art/craft style transfer quite easily into another. The last time I did this in a class was in 2017 but I had used it many years before myself but hadn't singled it out as a stand-alone technique. I'm using it differently this time by applying acrylic paint over the top as well as embossing powder, which I used in 2017. The acrylic paint just adds another way to add texture and colour. You can still get the shine you would if you just use the embossing powder by swiping over metallic waxes if the paint dulls it. 

What am I talking about? Hemming web tape, or double-sided fusible interfacing. It has to be applied with a heat gun and you need to work fast while it is still hot enough for the embossing powder to attach itself. No need to stick it down with glue or anything, just work quickly to apply the heat from a heat gun and immediately dump on the embossing powder, then re-heat it to melt the powder. It creates beautiful lacey-looking backgrounds that add texture and interest to your surface. If you click on each image and scroll through them, you will see how much texture and depth you can get from this product. 

"Foreboding"


"Enjoy the little things"

"Flabbers be gasted"


"Beautiful self"

"Time moves slowly"

"Beauty"

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)