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Techniques

Tuesday Tutorial – A Simple Masking Technique by Kate

masking-01

Masking is a great way to add perspective to your stamped images and it’s super easy to do. In just a few steps you are able to layer stamped images so that you see all the lines of the images in the front and some of lines on the images at the back are partially hidden. By doing this your stamped designs will look much more realistic.

The example I am going to show you today is very basic but I wanted to show you just how easy this technique really is.

flower sketch

I used a cute little stamp that is an outline of a flower and Memento Dye inks for stamping and colouring the flowers. That’s one great thing about these inks that is different from other dye inks – once they are dry they won’t run and bleed if you get them wet. So, I stamped the flowers with the Tuxedo Black and then water coloured them later and the outline stayed crisp.

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The first step is to stamp the images that you want to be in the foreground (at the very front) onto cardstock. In this case I stamped three of the flowers along the bottom edge.

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Next you need to stamp two more flower images onto scrap paper (not cardstock) and cut them out. These are going to be your ‘masks’ and you need to cut out as many as you would need to cover all the images that you have just stamped on the cardstock.

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When they are all cut out turn them over and give them a light coat of  Wacky Tack glue and let them dry. That will make them sticky just like a Post-It note and you can use them over and over. This is a great glue for any application where you want something to be repositionable.

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Now you need to place them over the images that you already stamped on your cardstock to cover them completely. Make sure they are lined up correctly and none of the original images are showing through.

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Ink up your stamp once again and stamp right over the masks so that part of the image is over them.

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See how the images all overlap. That is what it would look like if you hadn’t done any masking and just stamped one on top of the other.

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Here’s the magic part of all this. When you take off the masks, the other flowers look like they are sitting behind the first ones you stamped. So cool!

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Imagine all the possibilities! Combine different flowers into beautiful bouquets. Put bigger elements behind smaller ones.  Make a realistic looking forest of trees. There’s just no end to what you can do with masking!

To finish off the card I watercoloured the flowers using the Memento inks. It’s a quick and easy way to colour any image. To use your ink pads for this just rub them on to a plastic pallette of some kind and then add water from a brush until you get the shade that you want and then water colour as usual.

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To finish off I cut around the flowers at the top, added some yellow glitter to the flower centers and mounted it on my card base with foam dots. Then I used my Tombow Mono Aqua and put dots of clear glue all over the top of the card and added crystal glitter on top. A little yellow bow and you have a quick and easy card.

masking-01

Hope you enjoyed this week’s tutorial and that you will give this technique a try.

Thanks for dropping by.

Kate

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Tuesday Tutorial – Watercolouring With Memento Markers by Shellie

Hi Everyone, Shellie here with this week’s Tuesday Tutorial.

My favourite way to colour my stamped images is to watercolour them!  I find it so quick and easy and very versatile!  Below I will show you two ways to use your Memento Markers to watercolour your favourite stamps.

1

Start by Stamping your images (I used Inkadinkado’s Doodle Flowers) on watercolour paper, I use StazOn to ensure that my images do not bleed.

2

Scribble onto a painter’s pallet using your Memento Markers.  Your markers will not dry on your pallet making it the perfect ‘paint’ tray for your inks.

3

Using a wet watercolour paint brush dip your brush tip into your ‘paint’ or scribbled Memento Marker.

4

Starting with your lightest colour start colouring your images.  It is important to start with your lightest colour first so that you can layer your colours giving your image depth.

5

I layered a few of the colours to create this look.  My fave part of watercolouring is the fact that you do not have to worry about staying in the lines, in fact if you look at the famous watercolour artists they colour outside of the lines all the time!!

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I cropped my artwork down to a more desirable side for the size of my project!

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Here is the finished project!  I made a frame for my watercoloured collage using the Inverted Scalloped Squares Nestability Die from Spellbinders and papers from the Crate Paper paper pack Baby Bee.  I added a few layers, some May Arts Ribbon and some Kaiser Craft Pearls to finish my card!

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Another way to watercolour using your Memento Markers is by using the direct to stamp colouring technique and a spray bottle.

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Starting with your lightest colours first colour your image ( I used the Asian By Design  stamp set from Inkadinkado).  I layered a dark pink over a light pink to create a more realistic cherry blossom.  I am not sure if you can see in the picture but the flower is light pink with dark pink only detailing the center of the flower.

10

Sprtiz your coloured image a few times with a mister spray bottle.  I sprayed my image 3 times while holding the spray bottle approx 6 inches away from the stamp, but it all depends on your spray bottle and how close you hold it as to how many times you will have to spray.  I recommend you do a test run to see how your spray bottle wets your ink.

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Once you have misted your stamp, stamp your image onto watercolour paper.  Your image will look like the one above.

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To watercolour the edges of your project, first colour your Memento Marker onto a sponge ( I use grouting sponges from Home Depot cut into small squares)

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Sprtiz your sponge a few times using your misting spray bottle.

14

Scrape your sponge over the edge of your watercolour paper leaving a soft edge of ink.

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Your finished artwork will look like this.

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Here is my finished card.  I used the Crate Paper line Avenue for my background paper.  I added some gold accents from the Peel Offs package Decorative Lines to both my Bazzill cardstock mat and my May Arts ribbon.  I mounted the card front on a piece of Core’dinations cardstock that matched the pink watercolouring perfectly!  The card is simple yet very pretty!!

Well I hope this inspires you to try some watercolouring of your own!  I would love to see what you come up with!  upload your cards to our Members Gallery for everyone to see!

Until Next Time,

Happy Crafting,

Shellie

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Tuesday Tutorials – Back to Basics – Heat Embossing

Today it’s Spike on Tuesday Tutorials. We (at Scrap ‘n Stamp) thought it would be great to get back to the basics.  It’s a great way for novices to pick up basic techniques and a review for experienced crafters.  If you’d like to see  other technique basics, please drop us a message or an email on what you’d like covered on Tuesday Tutorials and we’ll do our best to do them!

Heat embossing is melting embossing powder, where it creates a raised and glossy image. Heat embossing to me just adds that finishing touch to projects and I usually use it on all my stamped sentiments. Before we dive right in to embossing, let’s talk tools because having the right tools makes the job so much easier!

Heat Gun Heat embossing needs something hot enough to melt the embossing powder. Craft heat guns are made specifically for this purpose to provide a hot, focused heat. Hair dryers aren’t hot enough. I know some folks have tried using the heating elements on their stove but I strongly don’t recommend this! Burns and fires can easily result!

Embossing Powders
There’s a difference in embossing powders and each have their own specific use. Some are coloured, some have sparkles or glitter. In the picture below are both clear embossing powders. Fine Detail on the left and Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) on the right. There’s also regular clear embossing powder where the crystals are a little larger than the Fine Detail Powder but difficult to see the difference because of the size.

Embossing Powders

The powder on the left, notice how fine the crystals are compared to the coarse crystals on the right. Fine detail embossing powder is used for intricate images or images that you want to may colour where there are fine lines, best for sentiments. Regular embossing powder is great for general use, larger and lesser detailed images. Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel is perfect for areas where you want create dimension or a glass like appearance.

The Perfect Printing Pouch It’s anti-static. It’s very helpful when working with coloured embossing powders to prevent stray powder from sticking. (Of course it works with clear embossing powder too, it’s just not as noticeable.) The Perfect Printing Pouch is a felt pouch that contains a white powder that prevents static when applied to your paper or cardstock before stamping.

perfect-printing-pouch

Ink (yes, we will be doing a tutorial on all about inks, it’s on the list! 😉 )
Somehow the embossing powder has got to stick to the image long enough to melt it and depending on the ink used, the ink will help the powder stick.
Pigment inks usually stay wet long enough to make embossing powder stick to it. I like to use Tsukineko’s VersaFine Ink but one should sprinkle the embossing powder on top, immediately after you stamp your image as the ink is fast drying.

VersaFine Ink

Dye inks usually dry really quickly, that by the time you sprinkle the embossing powder, nothing sticks!  On the other hand, Ranger’s Tim Holtz Dye Distress inks DO work, they take a little longer to dry so it’s perfect for embossing. If you’re unsure about your ink, give it a try!

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VersaMark Ink It’s a clear ink that stays wet longer and is slightly sticky.

VersaMark

These are made for embossing! (and watermarking too!)

Let’s begin! Using the VersaFine Ink.

1. Take the Perfect Printing Pouch, tap it on your cardstock and then drag it along the length to smooth the anti-static powder.

perfect-printing-pouch2

2. Stamp the image in Onyx Black VersaFine. I’ve used the Inkadinkado Clear Stamp Set, Floral Flourishes

stampedimage

3. Cover the image with fine detail embossing powder. (I like to store my embossing powders in a disposable hard plastic sandwich container with a plastic spoon, it makes it sooo much easier to collect the excess powder. Plus prevent it from getting all over the place!)

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4. Next tap off the excess embossing powder back into the container.

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4. Heat the embossing powder using the heat gun.  (Now others may do this differently and that’s okay, it’s what is most comfortable for you!)  I like to heat it from the back approximately 3-5 inches away.  This is so I can see where the embossing powder is melting.  One thing to have handy is a clothespin or tweezers to hold the image and save your fingers!

heatingep

See on the right, where the powder is melting? After an area has JUST melted, I move the focused heat onto another spot. Be patient! I’ve burned far too many images because I’ve been impatient. Also, heating in the same area for too long will overheat the embossing powder where it will completely liquefy and be absorbed into the paper.

heating

Move the heat gun around until all the embossing powder has melted.

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And there you have it an embossed image!

Now, if you’d like to use a quick drying dye based ink. It’s a two part process made easy by using acrylic stamps.

1. Prepare your paper as in #1 above using the perfect printing pouch.
2. Stamp the image using the dye ink. I used Memento Rich Cocoa

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3. Clean the stamp. Then ink with VersaMark Ink and reposition over top the stamped image and stamp.

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4. Sprinkle with embossing powder and tap off excess.

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5. Heat.  The results will look the same as above, it’s just using a different ink and using clear VersaMark.

Lastly, using the VersaMark alone.

1. Prepare your paper as per #1 above.
2. Ink up your stamp using VersaMark, in this case I used the VersaMark Champagne Dazzle.

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3. Sprinkle with embossing powder and tap off excess.

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4. Heat
Voila! (the blue hue is from a reflection)
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(with camera flash, I included this photo as you can see the gold sparkles in the embossing)

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There you have it, heat embossing! One of my favourite techniques that I use very often but with anything, it does take a little bit practice to get it to work just right!

Here’s a card that I made with some of the parts from this tutorial.

embossincard

I used a black 0.5mm fine liner for the fine detail dots around the image and a white gel pen on the background.

Thanks for stopping in on today’s Scrap ‘n Stamp Tuesday Tutorial! Have a fabulous day!!

Love,

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