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

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!