ROCK SALT PEARL BACKGROUND

In a previous class we have used Rock Salt to create gorgeous background effects.  In this class, we'll be using Rock Salt as well as Table Salt but to mix it up a bit and give a lovely shimmer, we'll be adding some Perfect Pearls to the salts.  Because the salt/Perfect Pearl mix is dropped into liquid, the water acts as a setting agent for the Perfect Pearls so they won't rub off.  I used Distress Spray Stains to do the backgrounds as they are both vibrant and wet enough to place the salt onto straight away.... but if it starts to dry before you ready, simply spray with a little water.  The salt acts like a wick and draws up the surrounding moisture to leave intense colour concentrations and the little bit of shimmer from the Perfect Pearls is just an added bonus!   I love how this first one below took on a rust-like appearance... all on a humble piece of watercolour paper.  Although, this technique will work on gloss card stock as well, the "Beautiful Life" atc below is on gloss with no Perfect Pearls added, just the salts!

"Only the young"... (Rusty Hinge & Smoked Hickory)

"Have no fear"... (Vintage Photo and Stormy Sky)

"Controlled"... (this time I used Gelato's, water and salt 

to create this background!)

"Untie the ribbons"... (Evergreen bough and Black Soot - be careful

using Black Soot as it can overpower other colours!)

"Beautiful life"... (this is the gloss card background

with no perfect pearls, just Broken China, Twisted Citron

and salt)

The images below are just the backgrounds before anything

has been added to them.  I find it easier to work on a size that is

2 or 3 times the size of atc's and then cut them up, so approx 18cm x 7cm 

(or 7" x 2.5").

Rusty Hinge & Smoked Hickory

 Vintage Photo & Stormy Sky

Gloss Card - Dusty Concord & Spiced Marmalade

Evergreen Bough & Black Soot.

FOIL STAMPING

Using Foil in stamping is another of those techniques that seems like it's been around forever!  There is a resurgence in interest in it though and there are now several ways to apply foil to your projects.  Of course the simplest way is to use a glue that will dry with a tacky surface that you then apply the foil to.... I like to use the Zig two way pen.  When you apply it it is wet, allow it dry for a few minutes (around 5 or until it goes clear-looking), place the foil (coloured side uppermost) on to the dried glue and press lightly with your fingers, rub over gently and when you lift the foil it will have transferred to the glue.  This same technique is used with the Ranger Sticky Embossing Powder, only you can stamp an image with an embossing ink, tip on some Sticky Embossing Powder, tap off the excess as you would any normal embossing powder and then heat it with a heat gun.  You only have around 30 seconds or so to get the foil onto the project so be prepared beforehand!  This is like a sticky glue so it will also adhere other things (like flocking, microbeads, glitter etc).

I have also experimented with my laminator.  Now I know that to laminate an image with foil you're supposed to use a laser printer to print your image, then run the image through the laminator with the foil on the top to adhere the foil but I tried it a different way.  I stamped an image with clear embossing powder, heat set it and then ran that through the laminator with a piece of foil over the top (enclosed in a piece of plain paper first to protect the foil) and it worked perfectly!  So you can see there are a few different ways of using foil and as it doesn't scan very well, I've shown below the samples with the scanned image first, then a shot I took with my iphone where I've turned the atc to the light to get the reflection of the foil to show up.

"Enchant"...

"Educated Weed"...

"Oh look"...

"Let's pretend"...

"Luminosity"...

"Black & White World"...

These last two below are the final samples from my previous class - Tyvek.  Loved this class!

"Right decision"...

"Solution"...

TYVEK!!!

Years ago when I was a part of the Cloth Dollmaking World and when I dabbled in Free Machine Embroidery, Tyvek was a product that we played with and I was amazed at the results of this unassuming spun woven fabric-like product.  You can now by Tyvek through places like The Thread Studio here in Perth or you can simply google it to find other suppliers.  Alternatively, the strong white envelopes that you sometimes get goods delivered from the US in, well that's Tyvek too!  Tyvek reacts to heat, both an iron and a heat gun but very differently!  The heat gun is used to make the beads and the iron creates the bubbly surfaces you will see below on my samples.  If you're ironing it, there's no need to iron both sides, one will do but if you're doing beads, better to paint both sides of it.  Using a metallic paint gives this finished product a wonderful sheen and looks much better than just using a normal flat acrylic paint.  I've used a variety of metallic paints  -  Jo Sonja metallics, Folk Art Metallic Paints, Deco Art Metallic Paints and Lumiere metallics.... simply gorgeous!!!!  There are a few you-tube video's out there so take a look to see how this stuff works 

"Disney"...

"Chocolate"...

"Regret"...

"Two inch sample square #1"...

"Two inch sample square #2"...

"Wrapped Tyvek Bead with Wire"... 

As this is the beginning of Book #14, this is my cover that's not yet complete...the Tyvek as you can see makes up the long wavy seaweed bits as well as the gold sections down the bottom.  The size of this page is 8" x 6".

These are unadorned beads, though the edges have been fluted (cut into diagonally) before I rolled and heated them on the skewer which gives them a raggedy look.

More to come!

DOUBLE EMBOSSING

For this fortnight's technique I've used my Big Shot (a Cuttlebug will work too!) and my embossing folders to create a double-embossed background.  The first two samples below are purely using the double-embossed method.  For this you need to have a background type of embossing folder, for example:  the first one below it is the stars folder and the next sample I used the tree bark folder.  Once your background embossing is done, use your ink pad to apply ink to the raised portions of the embossed areas.... it's important to note which side of your embossing folder will "push" the bits up so you can do this successfully.  Then you run the embossed card through the Big Shot again but this time placing the card on top of the embossing folder with a piece of paper towel over it.  When you run it through with your clear plate on top of all of this, it pushes the embossed areas back flat.  So your next step is to choose another embossing folder and run your piece of card through and once again use a different colour ink pad to hit the high points of this embossing folder to show up the design.  

The remaining three samples I've still done the double embossing as before but have used images over the top and used the double embossing as the background.  I used white card to create these first two and have sponged some colour onto the background so the card isn't just plain white.  Though the very last sample that is below I have left it white as I liked the strong contrast of the browns and the lighter stripes.  

"Outside his door"...

"Officially unfair"...

"Colour life"...

"Speak the truth"...

The eye sees"...

PLASTIC PARCHMENT BACKGROUND

This background technique is made using the humble white plastic shopping bag!  Layers and layers (about 12!) of white plastic bag is ironed together to create a beautifully textured background that is further enhanced by adding paints, wiping off, adding more paints, wiping off again, then metallic paints, wiping off.... well, you get the picture.  You must remember to protect your iron from the plastic with either baking paper or brown paper or you 'll have a huge mess!  Of course these samples on the computer do this background absolutely no justice at all, they are really beautifully textured in real life.  I used a combination of Jo Sonja Paints, Golden Paints, Ranger Distress Paints, Plaid Metallic Paints.

 

"Seed Fairy"... (colours for this one are:

Paynes Grey, Celadon, Silver & Micaceous Iron Oxide)

"One-way ticket"...(colours are:

Paynes Grey, Indian Red Oxide and Copper)

 

"Collect Moments"... (colours are:

Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna and Silver)

 

"Thousand times"... (colours are:

Peeled Paint, Rusty Hinge and Copper)

 

This sample below is unadorned so you can see a little of the gorgeous texture that you get.  Colours used were:  Paynes Grey, Turquoise Phthalo and Copper.

SPRAYED REVERSE SOOT

Soot technique has always been one of my favourites, it never fails to impress people who have never seen it done before.  When I originally did the soot technique in my classes years ago, we did it on plain white gloss card, then when some of the newer girls wanted to repeat the class, as usual I had to try and put a spin on the original so the girls who had done it before, learnt something new.  Well, it's time to re-visit soot again and once again, there's a spin on it!  This time it's called Sprayed Reverse Soot.  For the girls who haven't done soot at all before, I'll be showing them how to do the original way and then this new way which is the reverse soot using a Versamark Ink Pad (clear embossing ink pad) to stamp your image first onto a coloured (sprayed) background, then applying the soot and wiping gently off with a cotton wool ball.  The Versamark holds the soot onto the stamped image!

 

"Joy"... (reverse soot stamping - Broken China spray

and Cracked Pistachio)

"Extremes"... (reverse soot stamping - Pumice Stone

spray & Iced Spruce)

 

"Kinky"... (original way of doing soot stamping)

 

"Wild Life"... (reverse soot stamping onto

plain white card)

 

"Without the dark"... (original soot stamping on sprayed

background using Fired Brick and Fossilised Amber)

 

"Salvage"... (original soot stamping on sprayed

background using Broken China and Cracked Pistachio)

Finally, here is the last of the Bokeh Technique atc's.

 

"Live Well"...

BOKEH TECHNIQUE

Bokeh Technique is a photography term and basically translates to a sharp focal point in front but with the light points behind blurry so as to make them round discs of light.  Hope I don't offend any photography buffs with my inelegant explanation but it's an easy way to understand for stampers to create a similar technique.  There are lots of examples of this technique both in photography and in stamping on the web. 

 

I have used watercolour paper (smooth) with dye re-inkers with a little water mixed in for the backgrounds, then a rectangular shape of either cardstock or acetate with various sized circles die-cut out of it and applied white pigment ink, getting darker with the white as the circles get smaller.  Remember these are atc sized which is about 6.4cm x 8.8cm (or 2.5" x 3.5")so pretty small for this particular effect.  I've also included a couple of atc sized ones unadorned down the bottom so you can see the effect without all the stamping on top.

 

"Single Step"...

 

"Freak Show"...

 

"Sparkle Today"...

 

"Beyond Normal"...

 

Sample 1 Plain Background...

Sample 2 Plain Background...