Hot Wax!

Hi everyone, Ruth here with my first inspiration post...eek! here goes...I've recently become fascinated with encaustic painting and have a desire to replicate some of those wonderfully luminous, layered mixed media pieces that are out there. Having looked into it, encaustic boards and paints can be quite an investment so I thought I would start small and use the equipment I already have to start exploring this wonderful art form....and maybe inspire you along the way.

The pieces I've created above are on 2" square pieces of stamp board (anyone else have stampboard stashed away?) I didn't intend to create such small pieces as I also had some larger squares but it's just the way it went.

I'm not about to give a run down of equipment and all the mediums you can use with encaustic work, it's too large a subject. I'm also only just beginning so my knowledge is very limited! I will put some links that have inspired me at the bottom of the post and I can also highly recommend  a book I recently received which is fast becoming my bible for this journey. It's 'Encaustic Painting Techniques - The whole ball of wax' by Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch.

However I will mention a few basic things.

• The surface you work on has to be rigid and absorbent, so ampersand bords (stampboard), birch plywood or HDF painted with encaustic gesso are a few options. I had some 2" square dense chipboard pieces above which I also used and worked, I think because they were so small they didn't bend. 
• Encaustic wax is beeswax with damar resin in it (a substance that gives durability to it), however beeswax will work fine and is what I've used in this post.
• You need a heat source to keep the wax melted at about 80 -100degrees C. Anyone have a meltpot? If not you could use a pan on a griddle and put the wax in a tin on it. You also need a heatgun 
• Brushes have to be a natural hair or they will melt, I used a hake brush, which was inexpensive.
• Watercolours, oils, dye inks, alcohol inks, oil pastels, pan pastels can all be used but acrylics can make the wax lift...so until I become more confident I'm not going there.
• Fusing...when you put a coat of wax on or add some oil pastel or paints you need to fuse that layer with a  heat gun, just heat till the wax goes from matte to shiny, no need to melt it all.

So were off, now as this is Stamps and Stencils, that is what I chose to use, I also used some 'scraps', dye ink pads and portfolio oil pastels. Apart from a melt pot masterclass with Hels Sheridan and a recent wax class that our DT leader Sue Carrington taught I have not made any other wax pieces so these are my first dabbles.

Wax is very forgiving, if you make a mistake just melt it off. My first piece didn't go according to plan and I was left with lines I'd scratched into the stampboard, not a problem. I said it's forgiving, wax softens sharp edges and gives a smooth sheen to everything, so even the roughest drawings and things you think are an almighty mess can turn out wonderfully with a coat or 2 of wax....honest.

 Heat the board before the first coat of wax to help it go on smoothly.

Oil pastel through a stencil, then fuse gently with a heat gun

Another coat of wax...and fuse

Portfolio oil pastel on an uneven surface, wipe away with a slightly damp cloth (oil if not water soluble pastels)

Wax left in dips...and fuse

Stamping...dry, wax layer...and fuse. A scrap of paper flower, wax layer.

Cutting in, I used a cutter to make an impression and then rubbed pastel into the crevice...like the pink board above. It can look quite cloudy at this stage but once cool a quick buff and a lovely sheen appears. So first piece done and I've explored a few ideas, not perfect but I had fun. 

Top - both are stamped with dye ink, bottom left is on chipboard and dye ink squiggles, last is stamped coloured paper and some tissue glued on and left to dry thoroughly.

Using ribbon to make an impression in the warm wax and then rub oil pastel on.

 Some stamped tissue paper circles and twine, 

Hope you can see the sheen on both of these

A piece of photocopy paper becomes translucent, some thread and red melted oil pastel

 Music paper and twine 

 The flourish can be seen behind the photocopy paper, 

the gold is mica powder, burnished on

If using metallics they need to be on the top layer or their sheen will just dissappear.

This is a larger piece which I made a right mess of when spraying dylusions through a stencil...but a layer of wax and it's softened and it's ready for whatever is coming next

Well done if you've got through that long, photo heavy post, it will be a short one from me next time!

I'll leave you with the links to  

• France Papillon - Encaustic play and  Forgotten 
• Shari Replogle- Wax on Wednesday series
• Nancy Crawford - Encaustic Techniques

Ruth x

Welcome to today's Guest Designer, Annie !

Today we are welcoming a Guest Designer who I know won't be a stranger to you. Annie of Curious and Crafty Treasures. I'm sure you'll all give Annie a warm welcome !

Hi everyone..it’s Annie here as Guest Designer for Stamps and Stencils challenge theme of 'Anything Goes’. 

I was so thrilled to be invited to take part in this month’s challenge, which is the first here at Stamps and Stencil’s blog. The  very talented Design Team have created some fabulous, inspiring projects and I hope you will find time to take part in this “for fun” challenge. 

As many of you know I  have been crafting for over 20 years dabbling in a variety of  styles, but mainly vintage/grunge. I am a huge fan of all things Ranger and Tim Holtz so of course I had to create a project using stamps/stencils and Idea-Ology pieces from Tim’s vast range. Mixed Media is fairly new for me but I am really enjoying the way that I can incorporate paints/gesso/texture paste in to  so many projects and it’s nice to recycle items too. 

For my project below I used the aluminium from a drinks can and some leather pieces from an old discarded purse in my stash. The large wooden tag was a recent purchase and was reduced to 50 pence in M&Co, so of course I just had to buy a few !!!!

Firstly I stamped on the aluminium using Jet Black Archival Ink from Ranger. ( see below) The gentleman is from Stamper’s Anonymous Tim Holtz Purveyor Stamp Set. A China Blue Distress Marker was used to colour the gentleman’s eyes.  To attach the aluminium to the leather I used my WRMK Cropodile to punch some holes and some nail headed brads.

The wooden tag was given two coats of Decoart Chalk Paint in Rustic, then Decoart Crackle Medium was applied. 

Once the crackle medium was almost dry I applied Decoart Chalk Paint in Whisper and you can see the fabulous crackle below. 

Decoart Media Texture Paste in Black was applied through Tim Holtz Cargo Stencil and also the Schoolhouse Stencil

Vintage Photo, Black Soot and Rusty Hinge Distress Inks were applied to the wooden tag, providing an aged appearance. Edging the tag with the Black Soot really defined the edges, making them pop.

I also applied some Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Inks to the edges of the leather.

Below is how the tag looked before I altered it.

And this is the finished piece……………..!!

Below is a closer look at the stamped images from the Purveyor Stamp Set. The  stamped papers were aged with Distress Ink and then wrinkled, spritzed and flicked with water. Some gears, a timepiece and spinner as well as a  metal wing complete the look.

Thank You once again to Sue, Yvonne, Julia, Toni, Ruth and Sharon for having me join in with them on this fantastic journey. I wish you all the very best and hope to catch up with you again. 

Crafty Hugs And Best Wishes

Annie xx

Apologies for the blip earlier with the photos not being loaded properly....these things do happen! 

Brushing Up On Brushos

Hi everybody! It's Toni here and I have the pleasure of presenting  the very first of our 'Inspirational Posts'. These posts will be popping up now and again, throughout the months, as we take it in turns to share some of our favourite products and techniques, which we hope will inspire and get those creative juices flowing. I've chosen to have a play with Brushos and this is what I've found out about these little pots of magic crystals !

Although they seem to be the new guys on the block, Brushos have actually been around for decades. I know this, because I had them in my classroom many moons ago! We used them as a dye substitute for colouring fabric. They are not fixable on fabric though, so it means that any fabric coloured with them,  must be for decorative purposes only.
Brushos crystals come in small plastic pots. A useful tip is to bodge a few holes in the top, a bit like a pepperpot, so that that they can be easily dispensed.

Here's a birds eye view of mine. I bought a set of eight colours and a single pot of Prussian blue. I started my experiments by firstly mixing a little of each colour with water in a palette. The colours are very intense so you only need very little. I jotted down the name of each colour, and painted a sample of each mixture on to a piece of water colour paper

On a second sheet, I spritzed each box with water and sprinkled the Brushos directly into each compartment. The colour spreads in a most fascinating way. I used these sheets as a colour reference for the rest of my experiments. I then cut lots of uniform squares of cream coloured card, approximately 12 x 12 cm. This is the size I often use in my card making, so it can be quite a handy for building up a supply of colourful  backgrounds. I started off by spritzing a piece of card with water and sprinkling on Lime Green Brusho, then spritzing the surface again to activate the crystals. This is what it looks like..

So the basic application I used is , spritz, sprinkle, spritz. You can decide whether to blot the surface or dry with a heat tool. I found that blotting the surface made the colours lighter and removed some of the detail.

 Here are some of my further experiments, I shall try and keep the details fairly brief but feel free to ask questions in the comments box if there is anything more you'd like to know.

In this group, the first picture is the background, next you can see the stamping, I used black Archival ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The third picture shows where I have used bleach to remove the colour and highlight the eye. Bleach works really well, but observe all the usual cautions. Here are some more bleach experiments...

In the first picture, I applied the bleach to a rubber stamp with a blending tool, In the next two samples, I used the same blending tool to apply  bleach through a stencil. This was fast becoming a favourite technique, I love these effects.

Oops ! just found some more bleach effects. The first is Stamped, and in  the second one the colour has been removed with a fine paint brush. Do use a brush with man made fibres, as bleach will rot natural bristles. The background of the second sample has been sprayed. I made up a few Mini Misters with water and a tiny scoop of Brusho crystals. I used Rose Red and yellow Ochre on this one.

Tearing myself away from the bleach.......

In the first picture, I've used the Brushos to water colour the stamped image, in the second picture the sprayed background has been embossed with a script embossing folder, the writing was then highlighted with Treasure Gold paste applied with the back of a piece of Cut and Dry foam. In the third sample, I mixed a very small amount of Prussian Blue Brusho, into white embossing paste, and applied it through a Wendy Vecchi Stencil.

Three more, hope you're still with me ! The first one from this group, was initially stamped with Versa Mark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. Brushos were then applied with the spritz, sprinkle, spritz and blot technique. In the next sample, I applied gesso through another of Wendy Vecchi's stencils, dried with a heat tool and then applied  Rose Red and Prussian Blue. In the third picture in this group, The Brushos were applied through a Layering Stencil using Mini Misters.

In this last group, the first one shows a background that has been embossed and highlighted with Treasure Gold. The second one has a Terracotta background, that also has a spritz of Tarnished Brass Distress Spray and a stamped image. It's a pity the glitz doesn't show up in these two as it goes really well with the Brusho colours. In the last sample, I've used the thickening powder, that came in the Brusho set, to make a paste. It's a bit like wallpaper paste, I spread it through a Layering Stencil and sprinkled some Brushos on top. I need a bit of practice with this as the paste is much thinner than embossing paste and is inclined to seep under the stencil, interesting though. 

So, what did I do with all my samples........

I mounted all the samples and made them into a book. I used my favourite bleaching technique for the cover, I think it's very 'batik like'. I also stamped over the with a crackle stamp to enhance the batik effect, The Seam Ribbon has also been coloured with Brushos too. Here's a close up of the cover

Well if you've managed to get to here, I applaud you !!!. As you may have guessed, I'm definitely loving my Brushos. They are a wonderfully simple product that hold a myriad of possibilities. The colours are very intense, so you need only to use very little, to get good results. I think they are great for making backgrounds for stamping, stencilling and embossing and they combine really well with Distress Ink. I blended Distress Ink around the edges of several of my samples. So if you've been wondering whether to take the plunge I can only say GO FOR  IT ! Until next time, happy crafting x.

Anything Goes !

Today is very exciting as it's the start of our very first challenge! We're keeping it easy too and starting off with Anything Goes ! We are a mixed media challenge so as long as your project follows this theme and includes either stamping or stencilling anything goes !

Please take time to read through the challenge rules which are at the top of the page, there's not many but to avoid disappointment please check them out. 

We don't have a prize to offer but we are here to have fun and share some tips and techniques along the way. We are a monthly challenge which will start on the first Thursday of each month. The winner of the challenge will be invited to join us as Guest Designer and will receive a winner's badge. The DT will also be choosing the top 3 who will receive a top 3 badge.

So, without further ado let's push on and see what the DT has created to inpsire you !

Yvonne

Julia

Sharon

Sue

Ruth

Toni

So now it's over to you, let your imagination run wild !

An InLinkz Link-up

Meet the DT part 3 !

Today we're introducing the last two members of the DT, last but by no means least !

Sharon

I live in a small market town in Derbyshire which is known as the Southern Gateway to the Peak District. I spend most of my spare time doing crafts of some kind. It started with my Gran teaching me embroidery, which got me interested in Cross Stitch, then I was introduced to scrapbooking and rubber stamping. Now I like to dabble in journalling, altered art including altered books, Zentangle, up cycling and most recently pounding petals. I am always looking for objects which can be used in different ways than that what was intended. 

In my spare time I enjoy walking and playing football with my best pal Bru!

 

Sue - DT Team lead

I live in a village in Derbyshire in the UK with my very understanding partner!. I've always followed a crafty path even from young when I used to make stuffed toys. I studied art through to exam level at school and then moved on to cross stitch, floristry and even web page design ! My passion for crafting has only gotten stronger over the years and after I was introduced to embossing powder about 12 years ago the rest, as they say, is history. I love nothing more than being elbow deep in paint, ink and embossing paste and very often this is the case !

So, all that remains to say is check back tomorrow when you'll find out what the first challenge is and also see the fabulous projects the DT have created for your inspiration !

 

 

 

 

 

Meet the DT part 2 !

Hello ! Thank you to all those who left such wonderful messages yesterday, It's also great to see our followers growing so quickly ! So, today it's time to introduce the next two members of the DT ! 

Ruth

I live in a Cheshire village on the border of the beautiful Peak District. I've always enjoyed a variety of crafts. I was lucky that as a child my mum taught me how to knit, crochet and embroider. As an adult I've dabbled in projects ranging from home decor to making celebration cakes with wired sugar flowers and it was over 20 years ago when visiting a sugarcraft exhibition that I popped into the hobby one that was next door and was introduced to stamping and heat embossing. I've been hooked ever since. I love stamping, paints, inks and anythings that adds texture to projects....messy is good!

 Yvonne 

Hi, I'm Yvonne aka Meggymay. I live in the N.E.  in a village  with the Roman Wall. passing close by. I have a very supportive husband, my rock and soul mate of many years.   I have always  crafted , beginning with cross stitch, which fitted in with work and  family. Then progressing to my love of all things inky. I am happiest when I can experiment and try out new techniques.  We are now retired and spend time away in our caravan. The craft stash packing always takes priority, you could say I was addicted to crafting, as my journey of discovery into the crafting world is never ending.

See you tomorrow so you can meet the last two members !