I recently had posted on a board looking for a small RAK and make a trade if I had something the person wanted. I was looking for cling for some very small unmounted stamps I had gotten for Christmas. The person who replied not only generously granted the RAK asking nothing in return (and good sized pieces at that!), but also sent me some extra goodies of things she saw on my wish list in another RAK (reuse, renew, recycle - sharing things from our supplies). Some different colors of flower soft and some blending stumps for me to try the mineral spirits technique**. Truly a wonderful RAK and generous person!
This card I made for her is my first go at the mineral spirits technique. I added some of the flower soft she sent to the flowers and pop-dotted the greeting. I stamped the 'thanks' but I didn't think it showed up well so traced over it with a black Sakura glaze pen. My base card is white and looked brighter than image background, so I chalked around the edge of it with purple before adhering my embossed layer.
** The mineral spirits technique can be found by doing a search on youtube. All you need are wax-based colored pencils, mineral spirits (look for low or odorless - but still use caution), non-bleeding ink to stamp with, and a blending tool. You can use artist blending stumps/tortillons or some people use cotton swabs (aka "q-tips"). The better quality colored pencils you use, the better color. Use a smooth cardstock of decent quality or watercolor paper. The color blends better on smoother paper.
After stamping your image, you will lay color down around the inside of the lines. Then dip your blending tool into the mineral spirits to dampen it. Using your dampened tool, go over your color in small circular motions bringing your color out from the edge into your image. On images like thin stems, you can use just an up and down motion and the color will bleed out a little as you can see in my card on the flowers.
That's the basic gist of it. If you need a visual, just do a youtube search. Sometimes it's called the Gamsol technique. Gamsol is just a name brand of artist odorless mineral spirits. Have fun, and play around on different papers to see what works for you.
** The mineral spirits technique can be found by doing a search on youtube. All you need are wax-based colored pencils, mineral spirits (look for low or odorless - but still use caution), non-bleeding ink to stamp with, and a blending tool. You can use artist blending stumps/tortillons or some people use cotton swabs (aka "q-tips"). The better quality colored pencils you use, the better color. Use a smooth cardstock of decent quality or watercolor paper. The color blends better on smoother paper.
After stamping your image, you will lay color down around the inside of the lines. Then dip your blending tool into the mineral spirits to dampen it. Using your dampened tool, go over your color in small circular motions bringing your color out from the edge into your image. On images like thin stems, you can use just an up and down motion and the color will bleed out a little as you can see in my card on the flowers.
That's the basic gist of it. If you need a visual, just do a youtube search. Sometimes it's called the Gamsol technique. Gamsol is just a name brand of artist odorless mineral spirits. Have fun, and play around on different papers to see what works for you.
2 comments:
I've never considered myself a stamper even though I have a drawer full of them. I just know how to "stamp" with ink pads and my favorite - with paint and on wet paint for negative images. I love seeing and reading about other people's techniques though. Your card is so pretty and I can see it has a really nice texture.
I don't know what "cling" is, but I'll Google it to find out.
Fabulous card! I will definitely have to try this technique!
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