Tuesday, April 12, 2022

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.)





Wednesday, March 30, 2022

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.

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

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.



Tuesday, March 1, 2022

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"

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

INKED LANDSCAPES (ZOMBIES)

  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 love any excuse to be able to use my liquid acrylic inks and the combination of acrylic inks and bleach gives wonderful effects. I have created a different effect using salt with fluid acrylic paint and rock salt but the bleach just takes it to the next level. Credit must go to Lydia from Splitcoaststampers for the specific acrylic ink/bleach technique. I must also blame her for my obsessive search for some Zombie stamps. So very glad I found them as they suit this style so well. 
Mainly black was used for this technique but as you can see from Kraken below, coloured acrylic inks will still work. However, you can't beat black for the moodiness that suits the zombie stamps perfectly! The Vegan Zombie background colour is a combination of Carbon Black and Prussian Blue (both Liquitex Acrylic Inks). The addition of gel pens creates easy highlights where needed. The shark fin was made by cutting a small fin shape from craft foam and attaching it to a piece of acetate and used as a stamp. What's the saying about necessity being the mother of invention? 😉

"Vegan Zombie"


"Kraken"


"Middle of the night"


"Thrilled to meat you"


"Dead people"


"Grab a bite"








Wednesday, February 2, 2022

FAUX WATERCOLOUR DIP

 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".

So begins another year of techniques for my atc classes. Over the holiday break, I've been dabbling with watercolours. I bought a few new watercolour paint sets and wanted to try out some different styles to see what would translate well onto the small size that is an atc (2½"x3½", or 63mm x 89mm). Sometimes I'll try out new techniques on card size backgrounds first to see if they will be able to be done on the smaller size, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. 

This particular technique works quite well as it is basically a wash across the watercolour card getting darker as you go down. It's very hard to see in these pictures but the bottom edge is torn so it really soaks up the darker colour and creates a great contrast with the backing. Of course, like most of this type of work, it looks better in the flesh than on a flat screen. If you do nothing else this year, I encourage you to try out a new technique or style. You'll probably surprise yourself at how well you do! 


"Pause button"

"Imperfections"


"Not what they seem"


"Scenic Route"


"Jump in"


"Dead of night"

Book 27 cover
(20cm x 15cm, 8" x 6")









Tuesday, December 7, 2021

STENCILLED OXIDES

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 have a lot of stencils and I decided they are a very underutilised resource, at least as far as I'm concerned.  So I decided to remedy that in the final class for the year, which is always a Christmas theme.  I used various stencils and Distress Oxide Inks with a blending brush (like the make-up style ones) and I found the colour went on very smoothly and easily on my Neenah white card stock. Cleaning the stencils is a breeze with a little spritz of water and dabbing off with a paper towel, which led to the amazing background that is on the first atc, Poe Ho Ho. I need to be mindful of my time limit in a class situation so I didn't use any pastes, gels or paints in this class, though it is also a great way to get even more out of your stencil collection.  Who has only 1 or 2 stencils?  No-one, that's who.  

"Poe Ho Ho"

"Santa came"


"Zombie Claus"


"Happy Horrordays"


"Dashing"


"Christmas Lights"


When I teach, I always demo the technique during
the class so I decided to make some cards from the samples
from the previous class, Alcohol Inked Vellum. The 
"Seniorita" card was what inspired me to do the stencil
backgrounds for this current class.

"Seniorita"


"Happiness"