Faux Bleach Techniques

I just love playing with my Posh Impressions inks!! They make you feel like an artist without having to work to hard as the ink and water does all the work for you! These cards where created using the ‘faux bleach’ technique – instead of bleach you clear emboss then paint over inks to achieve a resist effect.

Read on for details…

Supplies Used

* Cream Or Tan Card Stock
* Versamark Inkpad (Tsunekio)
* Clear And Gold Embossing Powder (Stamps n Stuff)
* Card Blanks
* Gold Brads
* Letter Stickers (Stampendous)
* Gold Leafing Pen (Krylon)
* Posh Impressions Rainbow Inks: Earthtones Set
* Paint Brush
* Cup of Water
* Artists Paint Palette

Rubber Stamps Used

* Gloria Angel (Stampendous)
* Leaves (Personal Impressions)

Directions

There are two ways to create these kind of cards;

The first method involves embossing your main image and using the inks to create a kind of ‘wash’ effect. The other way involves using a waterproof inkpad (memories) to create a colourful background without the resist effect.

The directions below are for the ‘faux bleach resist effect’:

1. Take cream or tan card stock and stamp your main image using a versamark inkpad. Emboss immediately using clear embossing powder. Allow to cool.

2. Crumple the card you have just embossed into a very tight ball, squeeze, then open it up again.

3. Place a drop of each of the colours of the inks you are going to use in an artists paint palette.

4. Using a paint brush soak the card stock completely with water.

5. Next dip your brush into one of the ink colours and paint it directly onto the water soaked card stock in a light sweeping movement. Don’t think too hard about this as you want the water to do all the work and blending.

6. Wash your brush out and apply a different colour of ink to the card.

7. Continue until you have created a background wash of colours. Heat set to dry.

I used: Butterscotch, Tan, Burgundy and Green to create my backgrounds shown on this page.

Notice how the crumples in the paper create and add a texture to the ink and how the embossed image creates a resist to the ink. You may notice the ink seeps under the embossed image in some areas, this is normal.

You can experiment adding less or more ink or water to create deeper and lighter shades and hues.

8. Once dry tear round the image leaving a generous border. 9. Apply Versamark inkpad along the torn edges and emboss immediately using gold embossing powder to create a rustic midas background.

10. Create a background of ink wash as described above to layer your art onto; only this time do not crumple the card stock. Apply more water after you have applied the inks to create a lighter wash. Heat set to dry.

11. Apply gold brads to the four corners of the leaf wash background.

12. Affix ink wash background to card stock with double sided tape.

13. Affix main image to the front of the card.

14. Add lettering stickers to spell out LEAVES.

Your ink wash card is complete.

More Ink Wash Background Cards

Card On Left is Stamped With Memories Art Print Brown, Card on Right is Uncrumpled and embossed with clear on tan card stock

Vintage Cracked Glass Art Technique

I thought it was about time I had a go at the ‘Cracked Glass’ Technique! So I did! This variation used walnut inks and floor wax instead of an embossing inkpad to make the embossing powder stick to the card stock. It gave the artwork a really cool textured glass effect which I liked! Have a go and see what you think….

Supplies Used

* White (ordinary none gloss)
* Black Card Blank
* Permanent Memories Inkpad: Black and Art Print Brown (Stewart Superior)
* Ancient Page Reinkers – Saffron, Sage and Henna (Clearsnap)
* Paint Brush
* Walnut Crystals
* Future Floor Wax or Johnsons Klear Wax
* Clear Embossing Powder
* Heat Gun
* Pair of Scissors
* Hot Of The Press Scrabble Letters Scrapbook Sheet
* Handmade Leaf Paper
* Double Sided Tape

Nature Rubber Stamp Used By CARDSNSTAMPS.COM

Directions

1. Stamp the nature image onto white card stock using black inkpad, let dry.

2. Tear around the image.

3. Paint over the entire surface of the card using floor wax.

4. Dip your brush into the walnut crystals and paint over the top of the surface of the card; try and keep the actual stamped image part of the design free of ink but allow the ink to flow freely at the same time.

5. Using a paint brush, drop a tiny bit of colour from the reinkers and paint onto the actual stamped design – I used Saffron for the paper part, sage for the leaves and henna for the shells.

6. While the surface is still wet pour on a generous helping of embossing powder and heat. Once heated apply a second layer and heat then allow to cool a little.

7. As soon as the embossing powder is cool to touch take it in your hands and fold and crack the image to crack the embossing powder itself thus created the ‘cracked glass’ effect.

8. Take the Art Print Brown dye inkpad and gently rub over the cracked glass areas to make them more visable. Also rub the inkpad along the torn edges of the paper.

9. Layer cracked glass image onto a sheet of torn handmade paper and affix to the front of a card blank.

10. Add NATURE words from scrabble sheet.

Your card is complete.

Beeswax Collages

Materials Used:

o 100% Pure Beeswax
o Embossing Heat Gun
o Metal Non Stick Yorkshire Pudding Tin – or muffin tin/bun tray
o Heat Proof Surface – I used a block of wood
o A6 Sheet Tan Card Stock
o Paint Brush – course bristle type i.e. a decorators paint brush
o Stamped Images And Backgrounds Scissors
o Tweezers (optional)
o Heart Shaped Die Cut Card
o Scrap Book Papers : Rusty Pickle & K&Company
o Rebecca Sower – Fresh Cuts,
o Clear Pink Accent Beads
o Hand Charm (Rubber Stampede)
o Postage Stamps etc.
o Safety Pin and Beads
o Gold Krylon Pen
o Gold Vellum
o Fleur De Lys Craft Punch

Rubber Stamps Used:
o Face – Cherry Pie
o Minnie – Dawn Hauser (Inkadinkadoo)
o Heart in Circle – Diffusion
o Marilyn Monroe – German Company (Unknown)

Rubber Stamp Supplies Used:
o Crayola Magenta Coloured Pencil
o Brown Memories Inkpad
o Black Stazon Inkpad
o Cream Card Stock
o Forest Pigment Ink Paint Palette (Colorbox)
o Versamark Inkpad
o Copper Embossing Powder
o Interference Red Embossing Powder

How To Create:

Preparation For Beeswax Collages:

Before assembling the collages you need to prepare all the bits you are going to use; here is what I did:

1. Stamp images to use in collages on cream card stock. I stamped the main images with black stazon inkpad. I then overstamped the images using the heart in a circle stamp in brown memories ink. Next I applied lime green ink to the images by rubbing the inkpad direct to the card stock. The images where then tore around and colour added using a Crayola coloured pencil.

2. I also created a stamped border, by repeat stamping the heart in circle stamp on cream card stock with brown inkpad, the background colour was applied using the tan inkpad colour from my paint palette colorbox inkpad. Once I was happy with how it looked I tore the edge of the border.

3. To make the Safety pin embellishment I threaded a few small beads onto a black safety pin.

4. The Fleur De Lys punch was used with gold vellum, then tore around.

5. To create the Embossed Heart Embellishment I inked up the heart shaped card die cut; sprinkled on 1 layer of copper embossing powder, heated to melt, applied a second layer, heated, applied a 3rd layer. Then I sprinkled on interference red embossing powder and pink accent beads and allowed the heart embellishment to cool.
6. Finally I tore sections and strips from various scrap book papers to use as backgrounds and cut out a ‘Fresh Cuts’ square section.

Creating The Beeswax Collages:
1. Place the block of beeswax into the non stick cooking tray and place onto the heat proof surface.
2. Blast the tin with your heat gun, wait till all the wax has melted and gone clear. You don’t want the wax to be too hot as it is flammable!
3. Next take the scrap book paper or stamped image, and place it into the tin of wax carefully, you can use the wooden end of the paint brush to make sure the wax completely covers it.
4. Lift using tweezers (or fingers if your careful) and immediately place and press flat onto the tan card stock. You need to be quick because if the wax goes cold the paper wont fuse to the card and stick. If this happens you can blast it with your heat gun to warm it up again.
5. Continue dipping and pressing the collage pieces, stamped images and background papers onto your card stock until you are happy with how your collage looks. At some point the wax will solidify in your tin when it cools down; when this happens just reheat with your heat gun so you are always working with melted wax.

6. Once you have placed down all your collage bits you can paint on a layer of thick beeswax to completely cover the collage. I love this effect as it makes the collage look all aged and muted! The beeswax layer can be as thick or as thin as you require – depending on the overall effect you are looking for.

7. You can now press your embellishments into the final layer of wax (reheat the wax to melt it) and hold them in place, at this point I sprinkled on accent beads to finish.

Your Beeswax Collage is complete! Now you can mount it on card or use as a stand alone object d’art!

Birthday Book Cover Close Up – The Cover Was Created Using A Beeswax Collage!

Masking Tape Backgrounds

This one is pretty straight forward and very easy to do and it looks like old leather too!

All you need for this background is MASKING TAPE! You need the high tack variety otherwise it wont stick to your card surface very well so make sure its sticky and not that low tack stuff you can buy.

To create this background all you need to do is tear off strips from the masking tape and layer them across a sheet of card stock – it works best if you have a lot of roughly torn edges on the masking tape as it all adds to the interesting texture.

So at this stage all you need to do is tear and stick the masking tape all over the card stock till the entire surface area is covered.

Once youve done that you can add colour to your masking tape background -the best way to do that is to smoosh or sponge your colours directly from your inkpads or you can use dye re-inkers. I find dye inkpads work best for this but you can use brands like Brilliance pigment inks because you can heat set them.

Thats it! Very easy 2 step easy to create backgrounds!

Heres some examples below:

Worksheet Wonders

I keep reading instructions for techniques and projects both online and in magazines and some of them tell you that you must always protect your work surface with one of those special non stick sheets when working with inks and paints.

While in some cases I agree that you really do need to protect your work surface as some paints and inks are just too messy I also cant help but wonder if its just a marketing ploy to make you buy the special work sheets which you dont always need.

Take this ugly looking background for instance which you can see below:

The background above is just a sheet or ordinary copier paper which I used as a protective surface while stamping and dtp-ing inks onto a project.

I wonder how many of you would normally discard this worksheet after working on it?

But why throw it away when it would make a perfectly good base for a background!?

This is how my ‘Worksheets Wonders’ idea came about – finding a use for those scrap worksheet protectors which you wouldnt normally give a second glance…

Basics Directions For Worksheet Wonders Backgrounds:

1. When starting on a new project which doesnt involve too much paint or glue; protect your worksurface with a large sheet of ordinary copier paper or blank card.

2. As your working; deliberately stamp off the edges or smear inks off the edges and be a little sloppier than usual so that some of it transfers onto the worksheet page protector underneath.

3. When your done, take your basic worksheet and have a good look at it, if there are any empty blank spaces on the page; fill them up! Use an inkpad to dtp or spray inks or anything you have to hand to add colour to it to fill in the white spaces.

4. Next step is to add some interesting stamped images to the worksheet – I find that the best stamps to use are collage or wordy backgrounds. If youve got a big ugly darkspot in your worksheet like I had above you can use a white inkpad to stamp the images with or a metallic one to make the image stand out.

Continue till your happy with how the worksheet looks.

At this point you can now go and use your worksheet wonder background as is – trim or tear it into sections and layer it onto atcs and decos etc OR you can continue with the steps below to add a bit of glitz to the background…

Adding Glitz:

5. Sprinkle clear embossing powder over the entire surface of the worksheet.

Tips – Work in small sections of the paper until you have more or less covered the entire sheet, you dont need a lot of powder -just enough for a light coating.

I dont use embossing ink for this step as I find the sheet will be damp enough for the powder to stick to from the ink application.

Remember when heating the embossing powder with your heat gun, to move the gun slowly towards the powder as it gently melts otherwise you’ll get it all over the place!

6. After the clear embossing has cooled, crumple the entire page up to get some nice texture going on, you’ll find some of the clear embossing will crack and even break off. Thats ok 🙂

7. Uncrumple the sheet again and flatten it out slightly for the next step.

Again this next step is completely optional but I do think it adds a nice final bit of glitz! 🙂

8. Reheat the embossing with your gun so that it warms up and take some metal foil sheets – you want the types that you can use with double sided tape and glue to adhere.

9. Gently press the foil sheets onto the warm embossing powder, leave for a few seconds then lift it off to reveal a lovely foil finish which has stuck to some of the clear embossing. If you use different coloured foils for this step the end results are pretty stunning!

Try it and see! The scans on this page really do not do these backgrounds justice – you need to do them and see for yourself. If you dont have foil sheets why not improvise and use glitter embossing powders instead for a twist.

Worksheet Wonders Background With Embossing & Foiling Sample:

Close Ups Of The Background:

Art Work Featuring These Backgrounds: