DecoArt Ink Effects

Found time to play with DecoArt Ink Effects this week, i struggled to find the Base Coat that i needed to add to the 100% cotton dust sheet i was trialling. I recently  got my hands on a couple of bottles and started to experiment.

For the first experiment i printed out three heart shapes onto 80 gsm copier paper from Vera Lane Studio and painted the Red Ink Effect over the top. Left this to dry for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile i cut out a small piece of 100% cotton dust sheet from the mahoosive packet i bought from Aldi in February and lightly sprayed it with the Base Coat.

Next set up the iron, (no steam just a dry iron) to a cotton setting, when everything is dry and the ink has had time to react place the heart face down so the red side is facing the cotton.

Put a piece of copy paper over the top of the design and iron for 30 seconds moving the iron slowly and constantly, when done remove the paper slowly to see your design. Your design can be used many times.

As you can see in the above image i managed to use the red heart 5 times before it lost all of it’s colour. You can get three good images before it starts to fade dependant on the type of fabric you use.

I am keeping the paper hearts as i can use them on another project, the ink doesn’t disappear it stays quite vibrant as you can see from the picture.

Next up i wanted to make some dots to decorate a fabric bin for my Expedit storage.

Followed the same steps as before but this time i used the transfers three times to get this lovely dot pattern across the top of the fabric covered bin. You can see how buckled the material has become after i ironed for the 30 seconds, i think my iron might have been a tad hot. After 24 hours the material has flattened a little but not completely.

Macro of the first transfer colours.

The Aldi 100% cotton dust sheet, treated with the base spray and the dots after just one transfer. The texture of the dust sheet gives a ghostly impression…

Here is a You Tube video from DecoArt showing how to use Ink Effects with a freehand drawn image.

You can use these inks through a stencil, you can draw free hand designs and fill them in with the colours of your choice.

A quick recap; Use 80 gsm copy paper to draw your design, then paint it with the Ink Effects inks. When dry turn over and iron onto your fabric. When the ink has transferred peel back the copy paper very slowly to reveal your design.

This technique is easier than it looks, the video explains it all very well, hope you get the time to watch it!

Any questions please leave them in the comments below and i will try to answer them for you.

Thanks for dropping by.

xxx

Playing with Deli Paper

Wondered into Lakeland and found some Double Sided Wax Paper which i thought needed some exploring. I made sure that i could return the roll if it didn’t work for me and was guided to their returns policy which said yes.

I have some of AFTH Deli Paper both waxed and unwaxed and have done small test pieces to see which one i like best.

Today i printed some images from my inkjet printer that Andy Skinner has as a free download on his site. Daniel Craig and the tree with birds.

For Daniel Craig used both the AFTH and Lakeland waxed. Was a tad apprehensive about putting the deli paper through the printer but as soon as i had added the tape at both ends and tried that it worked i was off!

Painted a thin piece of balsa wood with Everlasting DecoArt Chalk Paint. Made sure it was dry before transferring the inkjet image using the Lakeland paper. Also added a couple of the hearts from a digital download from Vera Lane printed onto the unwaxed AFTH paper.

The tree image printed onto Lakeland paper and then transferred onto a piece of Aldi 100% cotton dust sheet.

Painted another piece of balsa wood with Everlasting, Romance, Legacy and New Life DecoArt Chalky paints. Used a wet wipe to blend the colours and then transferred the image using the AFTH waxed paper.

The panel in close up, you can see i also added one of the Vera Lane transfers over the top of the trees.

Like all the waxed papers but i will use the Lakeland as it is cheaper and easier to store.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit today. If you have any questions please leave them in a comment below.

Thanks for dropping by.

xxx

Update 30 April 2015:  So sorry i forgot to tell you how i did the transfer.

I rubbed the printed side of the deli paper onto each of the different surfaces using an old credit card.

You need to remember to flip the image if it is text or an image you want in a particular place so that you print off a reverse image.

When putting the deli paper through the printer i used 80 gsm copier paper as a carrier sheet. I cut the deli paper slightly smaller than the A4 sheet and used tape at each end to keep it in place.

You can use smaller sheets than A4 on the copier paper just remember to tape all the edges down so the deli paper doesn’t get stuck in your printer and line up your printer image accordingly.

My inkjet printer is a Canon MG7550.

Be careful handling the deli paper as the prints are quite wet when they come out of the printer and can smudge easily. This is how they should be and this makes it easy to transfer the images onto other surfaces.

Hope this has clarified the process for you, any questions please leave them in a comment.

xxx

MMW Challenge 2 - Bright colours

Over at Mixed Media World our challenge is all about Bright Colours. The theme was chosen by our very talented Amanda.

I attended an Anne Brooke workshop over at Creative Threads in March where we learnt how to make a wall hanging by printing, collaging then stitching. It was great fun, here is my nearly finished piece.

 

I need to add a few beads to the houses and then it’s ready for the wall.

For our challenge i decided to try my hand at a larger version using bright colours.

My bright colours might not be bright to you, but they are to me, i have Fibromyalgia and Hypersensitivity so colours, sounds, aromas and more are all heightened. I do hope you find my project bright enough.

I downloaded a few vintage papers from our sponsor for this months challenge, The Old Design Shop

Used a technique that i have wanted to try for ages by Andy Skinner. Here is the link to a previous post showing how i made the papers i am using for this project.

All the Media paints, Liquid Glass, Weathered Wood Crackle and the Matt Decou-Page Glue and more are from DecoArt. The stamps and stencils are all by Andy Skinner.

Used a Brother DS140 sewing machine, cotton and washi tape from stash.

Tear up the papers and adhere them with a glue stick to a piece of blank newsprint paper ( i did not use Tesco paper this is to show you it is easily available). Choose the length of newsprint you want your wall hanging to be and collage as you go along adding the colours and patterns as you wish. Don’t add too much glue it is just to hold the pieces in place until you sew them down. My wall hanging measures 24 inches long by 7.5 inches wide.

I like to save tea bags to craft/sew onto, when dry cut them open and remove the leaves, you can get some wonderful patterns to play with. Round tea bags have been coloured using three of the transparent colours from DecoArt and then dry brushed with my favourite Quinacridone violet.

When complete add a little stamping and stencilling. Your fibres, fabrics, metallic strips and more can be added once your piece has been sewn. You can add some before you sew your hanging just make sure that your project is still thin enough to put through a sewing machine. Add stitching over the top of your paper edges to keep them in place.

I have used a combination of the stitches i have on my machine and a little free hand embroidery. I like to use a combination of cotton and embroidery thread, this adds a lot to the final colour and design.

Dolloped a small amount of DecoArt Modelling paste and added some Suze Weinberg Bedazzles called Macarena and Personal Impressions Gold Sparkle embossing powder. When dry i heated it and the gold looked amazing but i went over the top using the Metallic Lustres as i liked the shine much more.

Used a piece of stencil waste to add the bottom layer of dots to the tea bag and used DecoArt Chalky Paint called Treasure to add a layer of smaller dots over the top using the DecoArt Kaleidoscope stencil then coloured them using the wonderful Metallic Lustres.

Wanted some dimension so added DecoArt Liquid Glass, can you see how wonderfully it domed and left such fantastic dimension! First time i have used this and i would recommend it as it keeps the dimension and is crystal clear.

Cut and embossed a few of the words from a Spellbinders die, used the Quinacridone violet to paint them through the die, removed them and don’t they look fab.

So, here is the final and completed wall hanging, i sprayed and flicked some of the paint from the yellow DecoArt Mister as OH said it needed a little more bright.

I hope this post has inspired you to get creative and come and join in with our Brights challenge, you could win 3 images of your choice from the Old Design Shop on Etsy.

I made two smaller wall hangings in the same way, i used them as my tester panels so i could try out techniques before adding them to my larger hanging. Do you use tester pieces before adding to a larger piece? This was my first time and i would do this again, it gave me more confidence as i knew i wasn’t going to make any mistakes on the larger piece.

Looking forward to your lovely comments, thanks for dropping by.

Would like to say ‘Hello’ to my new Followers, thank you for joining me on my crafting journey.

xxx

Art It Friday

The lovely Kim Dellow started Art It Friday last week on Friday April 17th. If you pop over and read her post you will see that Kim has been bitten by the drawing faces bug and she wants us to share our faces with her.

For my contribution this week i am going back to when i first started drawing so brace yourselves lol. I decided to start a drawing journal in February 2013, it was a struggle and these are the first few pages that i drew.

Made notes on what needed to be addressed, perspective was all wrong and so was shading.

Had a play drawing eyes, such a bad start and made me realise what an uphill struggle this was going to be lol.

The girl had eyes that didn’t match, her nose was too small and her hair is a mess as i wrote in my journal.

I didn’t start drawing again for quite a long time until June 2014.

Combined some Joanne Fink Zenspiration doodles, added words and then the Fairy.

All of the above faces were drawn during 2014. You can see most of them are hit and miss, there is always something that doesn’t work; the perspective is all wrong or they are not smiling but i did try to see if i have a style.

Next Friday i will share a couple of my faces from 2015, i do hope you have enjoyed seeing some funny faces and i really do hope i can get better during this next year.

Thanks for dropping by and i look forward to your lovely comments.

xxx

30 Techniques

I attended a workshop at The Artist Trading Post last Saturday where we got to play with different types of Gels, Paints and more. Our tutor was the lovely Kasia.

The purpose of this workshop for me was to try to new Prima range by Finnabair, the Gels etc not the stamps and stencils. I have to say i was not bowled over, I have other makes of Gels and beads and glitters that work just as well and don’t cost as much and I find the system costly. Pease remember this is just my opinion, i find what works for me and my budget.

Here are the images of the different mediums we played with, please note this is a picture heavy post, so get a cuppa, sit down and enjoy.

Above is the Prima Gesso in black, white and transparent. The top area has white over black gesso and was splodged, it took the longest to dry over 6 hours.

Amsterdam and Dina Wakley acrylic paints.

Ecoline watercolours.

New Prima Watercolour pencils. I learnt something from this play, more pressure to add more colour and and add less water to get a good blend.

Prima 3D Gel through a stencil and splodged with microbeads, takes an age to dry though, it wasn’t dry after 3 hours and put on parcel shelf on the way home.

Macro shots off the 3D gel.

Prima Modelling Paste.

Prima Sand Texture Paste and Clear Crackle Paste.

The colour on the paste was from paint that was already on the stencil when i added the texture paste. I do like how it has turned out.

Wasn’t impressed with Gelatos prefer my Portfolio Pastels.

A bowl of tea with milk and the tea bags still in it on a table. We painted from this mix to get the above look.

Ranger Alcohol Inks, always a pleasure to play with.

Ranger Distress Stains, one of my favourite techniques love the splodges!

I do love the Precious Stone colour from the Bloom Sprays, it is one of the colours i really love it is iridescent and has a wonderful shine to it. The other half of the page is a Dylusions spray, Distress Paint and Stains.

Macro shot of the Precious Stone colour.

Dylusions Sprays through a stencil. The texture is from a piece of kitchen roll mopping the colour up and then pressing this onto the card.

Luminarte Silkies are on my wish list, they are lush, silky and wonderful when water is added.

IZinks are another product on my wish list. I already have the silver and there were only 3 colours to try on the day but i love how these inks work with water and will get more.

I didn’t play with Distress Ink pads, I also didn’t play with the Paper Artsy Fresco paints as i already have these in my stash.

I might have missed a couple of the techniques as it was a busy day and we went from table to table trying out each different medium after they were demonstrated.

I came to the conclusion that we are all so different in our needs and that there is a different system for everyone which is why it is so difficult to recommend anything these days. Aren’t we lucky to have such a wealth of products to choose from! It was good to play and test out these products though.

All of the above items can be found on the Artist Trading Post web site so haven’t left many links. I have not received any free products or been paid for this blog post it is a reflection of the workshop i attended which i paid for.

Thank you for dropping by, i hope to read your comments and see if there are any products that you would recommend.

xxx