Technique Series #1 - Bubble Wrap!

   Beginning today, I’ll be showing you my take on techniques from: CREATIVE FOUNDATIONS: 40 Scrapbook and Mixed Media Techniques to Build Your Artistic Toolbox   By Vicki Boutin  By no means does what I show take the place of anything Vicki 'details' in her book! The woman is amazingly creative and offers additional tips and variations along the way. The photography for the book is beautifully done. I'm just showing the possibilities of what you can do with every-day stuff. But grab Vicki's book and take it to the sky!

   I’ve always been a very structured person. I wanted to be freer on my creative path but the OCD in me held the upper hand. Lately, my creative life has been all about playing. I’ve been immersing myself in mixed media tutorials, books and web pages like Kellie Rae Roberts, Michelle at The Paper Dog and Roberta's Con Tain It.  I look at everything around me through new eyes.

   Even Bubble Wrap!

   This technique is incredibly easy but provides a cool background for cards, ATC’s and scrapbook layouts.
   Vicki’s tutorial used two sizes of bubble wrap – the quarter size bubbles and the standard. She also used two varying shades of blue acrylic paint. I wanted to work with blue, also, but only had a Navy. So I improvised. It’s that ‘freedom’ thing I’m trying to work on. ;-)

SUPPLIES:

Nonstick craft mat or piece of plexi glass (about 5x7) or large flat glass plate

for a braying surface

Acrylic paint 

Brayer

Bubble wrap

White cardstock (good quality like GP)

Spray Ink

You’ll also need basic card making supplies:

Paper trimmer, adhesive, images/ stamps

For the Spray Ink, I used a 3-oz mister bottle about half full of water. I added 4-6 drops of SU Brilliant Blue (retired) reinker. Start with only a couple of drops, mist for a color test and add more until you achieve your desired shade.

CREATING THE BACKGROUND:

Squeeze some acrylic paint on the braying surface. Roll the brayer through it to get an even coat.

Brayer a thin layer over the ‘bubble’ side of the bubble wrap. (See pic at top of page)

Turn the painted bubble wrap over and place paint side down on the white cardstock. Carefully lift off. Repeat the process to cover the entire surface. You can overlap the images and turn the bubble wrap different directions to achieve an ‘all over’ pattern. 

When you are finished, let it dry completely. A hair dryer will speed the process. I find the heat gun to be too hot for this.  When it’s dry, holding the spray bottle about 6” from your printed surface, spritz with the spray ink. Let dry. 

From this point you can cut your background for your projects. I’ll get several mats in varying sizes from this 8.5x11 sheet. For this project I cut a mat to fit the 4x5.5 card as well as smaller mats for image/ sentiment and several ATC’s.

TIP: If you plan to work directly on a 12x12 background for a layout, think about the placement of the items you’ll be using in the layout when printing your bubble wrap.

PROJECT:

Bubbles and blue told me water for this project os I chose a seahorse image from InkaDinkaDo and a simple sentiment. The ribbon is Offray MicroSpool Self-adhesive ‘bubbles’.

Play! Have Fun!

Creative Blessings!