Technique Tuesday - Rollin' along!

One of the things I'm striving for now that I have my studio almost done, is to try new techniques. This week I had the perfect opportunity to try Beverly Stewart's Plaid Background technique. You can see the full tutorial on Splitcoast HERE  This is my attempt at reproducing the Faulkner tartan (plaid)

I used the following colors:

Brilliant Blue

Crumb Cake

Real Red

Summer Fun

Blushing Bride

Daffodil Delight (mat)

The sentiment is from Heartfelt Sympathy.

This card is going to my bestie from High School. Karen was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She's had the mass removed but will still undergo chemo and probably radiation. She is not dealing well at all. I ache for what she is going through. She needs lots of encouragement. To this week, she is the featured recipient on our Teapot Tuesday group at Splitcoast Stampers. (See How It Works) If you love making cards and want someplace to send them, I hope you'll become a teapotter. We really do have lots of fun bringing smiles and encouragement to others all over the country.  

One of the things Karen and I enjoyed most was music... specifically,  the Fab Five from Edinburgh - The Bay City Rollers. Her fav member was Eric Faulkner so I did my best to reproduce the Faulkner tartan on the front of the card.  

And since I can't be there for Karen in person right now, I sent our Fab Five in my place - in the form of a Pop Up (another technique I'd not tried).

I hope Karen receives lots of cards and can work through this difficult time in her life - with a little help from her friends. 

Here's a flashback for y'all.  Keep Rolllin'!

MIXED MEDIA MONDAY

Okay, this one needs some work, but I enjoyed playing with the background colors. I call this Windswept Leaves.

Another Pinterest find. The technique calls for you to apply your ink to an acrylic blog, mist then swipe across your surface. Takes a little practice to not overdo the mist while having enough moisture to spread.

MISTED BACKGROUND
By Lori Vliegen at elviestudio

Create a background by putting inks on acrylic block, misting with water then swiping across surface.


RECIPE:
Ink: SU – Elegant Eggplant, Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler,
      Cajun Craze, Tangerine Tango, More Mustard
      Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Northwoods Rubber Stamps (Broom), Craftsmart (pumpkins & Oct. 31),
      Uknown (spider web, spider, Halloween)

Wanted to try fall colors for a ‘blown leaf’ of color effect.
I wish I'd taken this the step further and used the diluted gesso she suggests in the center before stamping the Halloween. But I'll do this again so can try that next time.

MIXED MEDIA MONDAY

Continuing from last week's Mixed Media playing, I think this one is my favorite. This is one of those I really think needs some hardware. Maybe a birdcage charm or something. But since these posts for now are all about the technique, I'm happy with it for now.

I started with something like this:

That is an up-close look at the condition of my Papier Paints by Folk Art. I've had them for about seven years so I guess they are allowed to be clumpy. But as you can tell from the finished product, they still work. I took the fine tip out of the bottle and squeezed out a blob. Then I spritzed it good with water. A junk mail credit card spread the color around in a haphazard fashion just as if I'd used a good acrylic. I'm determined to use up these gunky paints and get them out of the studio so they'll be my base medium for awhile.

RECIPE:

Ink: Memento Black & SU Perfect Plum

Stamps: SU Nature Walk

Paper/ CS: SU Rich Razzleberry & paper scraps

Accessories: Folk Art Papier Paints – Baby Pink, Cobalt, Sunflower

Technique Thursday - Acetate Meets CuddleBug!

Today’s project was inspired by a demo I saw at the Convention last month.
Mary Key was running acetate sheets through the Cuddle Bug and adding color to the image! Okay.. that was just plain Cool! I knew I was going to have to try it.

Mary used gel pens to color in her images. Well, wouldn’t you know it, all of my gel pens had dried up! They just don’t keep well. So I tried painting in the areas with SU inks… but they wouldn’t dry on the acetate. Instead, they seemed to evaporate.

So here’s what I came up with:

I put a couple drops of ink in the pallet wells. Then off to the side I put a drop of Clear Gesso medium. You can see from the pic how the size of the drop compares to the largest pearl in the SU Basic Pearls.



Using a dry water brush I dipped it first in the ink then pulled a bit of the clear gesso off to the side and mixed them together. The gesso acts as a glue so when it dries, a translucent color is left. I also did one with Perma Markers and it turned out well.

Today’s card is a Christmas card using the Poinsettia background EB folder. I used Real Red ink with the gesso and the centers are Daffodil Delight. I layered it on Pear Pizzazz and accented it with Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding. The silk poinsettia in the upper corner is from Making Memories.

So what EB folder do you want to try? I’d love to see what you create! Make something then come back here and link me in the comments section.

Unless I can get the cutting table cleared off downstairs, there won’t be a scrapbooking post tomorrow. I need the whole cutting table to work out the logistics of how this house book has to go together. But I’m trying.

Creative Blessings!

Technique Series #3- Mono Printing!

Today we’re talking Mono Printing. Mono Printing is similar to letterpress except you use a die cut as opposed to an embossed image to take your impression from.

This is one of those projects where I should have warned you ahead of time. A good thing to have on hand if you’re playing with ink or paints is a piece of Plexiglass. You might even want a couple of different sizes. The one I used for this was 6.5”x7”. You can get them at most any hardware or lumberyard and they aren’t expensive. I have another one about 4”x6” and paid less than $5 for the two of them. Keep in mind the size of card front you work with most and go at least an inch bigger.

Aside from a piece of Plexiglass you’ll need:

2 colors of acrylic paint
A mister bottle
A brayer
Diecuts
Card stock (cut the piece a bit larger than what you plan to use it for.
Baby wipes or paper towels

Think what you want your background color to be vs. the image. I chose SU Almost Amethyst for my ‘sky’ background. Put a good-sized dollop or straight line or paint horizontal across the glass. Brayer it out to cover the glass then mist lightly with water.

Lay your die cut shape on a sheet of paper or craft mat. Craft paper, reused printer copies or butcher papers make great work surfaces for this.
Brayer your alternate color (I used green) and brayer the die cut shapes. Then mist lightly with water. Be careful not to ‘saturate’ the paint as the paint will run and you’ll lose the details of your image. You want just enough to thin it out a bit.

Turn your diecut, paint side down, onto the Plexiglass. Mist the entire area again with water. Then place a sheet of cardstock on top of the glass and gently rub your hand over it to transfer the image. Don’t ‘push’ as this might make your die cut slide.

Carefully lift the cardstock off the Plexiglass and set aside to dry completely. If it wants to curl let it dry completely then you can press it between a couple of books overnight or with a warm iron. (Yep I own two – one just for crafts LOL)

Vicki stresses this one might take a little practice until you get a feel for the paint to water ratio and the pressure of you hand. But the after effects can be beautiful.

This tree card looks a bit childish but my granddaughter will love it. One more Christmas card done! I used the Sizzix mini-ornaments for the bulbs/ lights/ star, adding gold and silver paint pen for adornment and a glitter pen for the light chord. The stamp is from SU – Holiday Best stamped in SU Marina Mist.

Remember to check out Vicki's blog  for great inspiration and pick up her book so you'll have full instructions and bonus tips for all 40 background techniques!

There isn't going to be a scrapbooking post tomorrow. I'm in St Louis at a stamp convention/ writers retreat. I'll see you all on Monday!

Creative Blessings
Kelly