Basic Backgrounds 08/27/13

Hope you haven't lost your marbles because we are going to need them this week. You need a small container with lid, re-inkers, card stock and 3 to 4 marbles.

Tape the card stock to the lid of your container. Add the marbles and several drops of each color you want to use.

Close the lid and shake. Shake back and forth or up and down. Get crazy. Sit it down and open the lid to see what you have ended up with.

Here's the card I made.

Stamps - MFP a HC - Cracked Hello, Nature's Brushstrokes

Basic Backgrounds 08/20/13

Today I want to show you what to do with stamps to make that themed paper we all run to the Stamp Store in search of. For example I have a set with Firefighter images and words so I would have to go look for a piece of Designer Paper to match. Just don't have that kind of time, live and hour away from most places and I never know what paper to pick up for future stamps coming to make the trip worth while so here is what I do. These are cards I have shown before so you may have seen them.

It's really easy and you can choose to use whatever colors you want for the inks and the card stock. I opened my stamp drawer and just grabbed a set. I'll be working with Holly Jolly Greetings for this example.

I took one of the small stamps and randomly stamped on my piece of card stock.

Then I added another stamp. Here are two different examples. One with colors and one with blacks.

Now I added color to the images.

And now to the background using a sponge.

Here is the other one.

Santa looks great with both of them.

Now I'm ready to make my card and I didn't need to run to the store for Christmas paper.

Basic Backgrounds 08/13/13

I was reading a Forum on a stamping site and kept seeing Gelli plate. I ignored it for weeks and then decided to see what it was. Did you know you could make backgrounds on Jello Gelatin. LOL I would rather eat mine but I thought how interesting is this so I bought a Gelli Plate rather than use Gelatin. I knew I would like it so it was a necessary purchase. You just don't know what you are going to end up with and you can do lots in a short time. You need space. Next time I will be doing it in the kitchen and have the sink full of water to put all my equipment in it as I used the for easier clean up. Today is my first time trying. You will be seeing my second try. The first one was a mess but I had to figure it out. There are lots of videos out there and a Pinterest page dedicated to Gelli printing. I will be watching them all. I LOVE this. I was only doing the basics today but adding textures and glitters will be another play day soon.

You will need paints, a spray bottle of water, stencils,texture tools and a brayer. I used both Printer Paper and Card Stock today.

Here is what a Gelli Plate looks like. You start out with about a Table Spoon of paint.

Brayer it all over.

Now the fun begins. I used a texture tool to make a design.

You can use really anything you want to remove the paint in a design. Next I laid a piece of plastic canvas in the solid areas. Pressed down and pulled up straight

Click on the photos for a closer view.

Now lay a sheet of paper on top and smooth with your hands

Peal off. Here is the first printing.

Make a second printing.

Now you can use them like this or add more paint to your Gelli Plate and continue.

I took drops of 3 colors of paint and just put a drop here and there of each. Carefully brayer so you don't muddy the colors.

I laid a stencil on top and brayered over the stencil without adding paint. I repeated this with a couple more stencils and then laid the second printing from above on top. Look what I got.

Next I laid a stencil in the middle of the Gelli Plate and Brayered red paint all over the whole thing.

I pulled off the stencil and then laid the First Printing from above on top of this. Awesome.

Here are a few more I made. I am loving this and can't wait for another play date.

Now to make a card using one of these truly one of a kind Designer Papers.

Basic Backgrounds 08/06/13

This week we will be using the brayer with alcohol inks.

Here is what you will need.

Glossy card stock, 2-3 Alcohol inks, Metallic Mixative, Bleding Solution and a brayer.

Drop a few drops of each color of ink, the Metallic Mixative and the Blending Solution onto your craft mat.

Pick the color up with your brayer.

You don't want to roll back and forth. You just want to roll over the ink and pick some up.

Brayer the color onto your card stock. Go back and pick up more color if you like. Don't worry about white spaces. You don't want a total coverage. You get a marble type look.

Next week I'm going to try a technique I just heard about and couldn't resist buying the supplies. I'll be using a Gelli plate. I can't wait to try this out.

Basic Backgrounds 07/30/13

I very seldom use a brayer. Just can't make them work. But this is one of those technique you can't mess up even with a brayer. Here's what you'll need: Spray bottle with water, Perfect Pearls, paint brush, Glossy card stock, Rainbow pad and a brayer.

First thing we're going to do is take a small amount of metallic Perfect Pearls, just what you can pick up with the end of your paint brush, and mix it with a little bit of water to make a paint.

Next take a rainbow ink pad like a Kaleidacolor or a Big and Juicy and using the brayer add the ink to your Glossy card stock.

Spray the card stock with water. Now using the paint brush pick up the Perfect Pearls and flick them onto the inked card stock. Spray the card stock with water once again. Using the heat gun and a balled up piece of paper towels, heat and pounce with the paper towel at the same time. It will only take a minute to dry up all of the liquid.

Here are 3 backgrounds I did using different rainbow pads and different metallics.

Check back next week for another quick brayered background technique.

Pat

Basic Backgrounds 07/23/13

Hi welcome back. We're going to do some sponging this week and make stripes. You'll need dye ink pads, sponges and white card stock. I've used post it notes to mask off a 2" strip on a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" piece of white card stock.

I've picked 4 colors and starting with the lightest one I sponge a 1/2" stripe.

Move the bottom post it notes up 1/2" and sponge the second color.

Keep moving the bottom post it notes up 1/2" and sponge with the 3rd and 4th color. Remove the post it notes.

Now you could fill the whole piece with stripes. I've chosen to just have color in the center.

Stamps - MFP a HC - Hello Butterflies, Birds & Trees

Next I'm going to show you what is known as the Pillow Top Technique. Take your card stock and line up two corners on the 6" of your measuring tool.

Take a piece of acetate longer than your card stock and starting with the two corners on the 6" start sponging off of the acetate just dusting the card stock. Keep moving the acetate 1/2 until you have filled the whole piece.

Now line up the opposite corners on the 6" and do the exact same thing.

 

And there's your finished piece. See you next week.

Pat