Techniques - Page 1

Acrylic "Ink"

• If you can't find the right shade of ink for your project, or don't want to buy an inkpad for just one or two cards, you can use those small bottles of acrylic paint found in any craft store
• Tape a small piece of felt to a plastic coated paper plate and squeeze a few drops of paint on
• Spread the paint with a small piece of cardboard and use just like a stamp pad
• When done, rinse out the felt and you can reuse it
• Be sure to wash your stamp quickly and thoroughly
• If you have a large stamp, you can tape the felt to a small piece of cardboard (to protect your fingers from getting painted) and dab the paint on the stamp, just like you would do with an inkpad.

• Write the word the exact size you want on a piece of paper
• Thread some seed beads on one end of the Artistic wire (do not cut piece of wire from coil)
• Using your left hand to keep the wire on the paper, bend the wire to follow the writing on the paper with your right hand (this is easier than it sounds).
• Bring a bead or two on the wire right before you make a bend for the next letter - the bead will stay in the bend
• Cut the end with scissors

  A few tips:

  1. Some letters like "a" will have to have the wire wrapped completely around and then down again
  2. For the letter "m" I used pliers to squeeze the bottom of each point

• Stamp on mulberry paper with clear embossing ink and clear emboss
• Brayer with pigment ink
• Place tissue paper (like you would wrap gifts with) on top of mulberry paper and iron
• Keep iron moving so you don't burn the paper
• You will see the embossing powder "melt" into the tissue paper
• Check to be sure all embossing powder is removed from the mulberry paper.

• Use any CD, especially those you get in the mail from AOL or other companies
• Cut CD with scissors. (I've read that you can warm the CD in hot water before cutting, but I haven't tried it yet). Occasionally the CD will crack so it helps to have a supply of them. (The embossing powder may cover the crack, but I haven't tried that yet either)
• Rub the edges of cut CD with fine sandpaper
• Rub shiny side of CD with clear embossing ink, sprinkle with colored embossing powder, and heat
• Repeat at least 4 times
• If you are stamping an image into the CD, ink the stamp now
• Heat the CD once more and when powder is molten, carefully press the stamp into the CD, holding it there about 20 seconds. (The surface is very slippery and you need to be careful not to let the stamp slide).

• Cut and sand edges of CD
• Use cotton ball and dab shiny side of CD with acrylic paints; let dry
• Stamp image onto CD
• Rub CD with clear embossing ink, sprinkle with clear embossing powder and heat
• Repeat 4 times
• Drill small hole in bottom of CD and attach jump ring
• Thread beads onto eye pin, bend edge to close and attach to jump ring
• Attach pin closure to back of CD piece
• NOTE: If you're giving the pin to someone, you may want to put several layers of colored embossing powder on the back before you drill the hole and attach the beads.

• Scribble with chalk on plain paper to create "dust"
• Dab at dust with a cotton ball and rub onto your card
• If you are applying chalk to an image that has been stamped with clear embossing ink, dab the chalk dust carefully and don't rub too hard
• Spray card with a sealer or the chalk will rub off

• Coat a piece of cardstock with a thick layer of acrylic paint (I used cream)
• Coat cardstock with crackle medium
• Let dry until tacky
• Apply a thin layer of contrasting acrylic paint (I used sage)
• The surface will crackle in minutes

  Tips:
  Paint thin top layer in one direction if you want the crackle to be in one direction
  This takes a little bit of practice - my first piece didn't "crackle" very well - I used short paint strokes and found that longer, smooth strokes work better.

• These are a great CHEAP substitute for mulberry paper
• Edges can be cut or torn. (Dip paint brush in water and brush down the edge of dryer sheet before tearing - this softens the fibers)
• Color can be sponged or painted on for highlight
• To dye sheets a dark color:
  • place few drops of acrylic paint into plastic container and add 2 drops water
  • Swirl til mixed.
  • Drop dryer sheet into container and"wiggle" around til covered with paint.
  • Spread sheet on pad of newspaper to dry

• You need a brass stencil, an embossing tool, and a light table for this technique. (I have a glass coffeetable, and place a flashlight underneath to provide the light)
• Place the stencil on the table and place the paper you are going to emboss on top. Secure it with tape but make sure the tape is not on an area that you will use as it may tear the paper when you remove it.
• Rub a piece of wax paper over the paper (helps the tool glide more smoothly)
• Rub the embossing tool along the edge of the stencil, following the lines. You don't need to rub the area between the lines.
  • Your embossed image will be the OPPOSITE of the way your stencil is facing, so be sure you face the stencil the right way before putting the paper on top
  • Embossing shows up much better on light colors. You would have to trace your image onto dark colored paper as the light will not show through.
  • Don't rub too hard with the tool as you may tear the paper