A Day Out with Oyster Stamps - Playing with My Oxides

What a fun day I had yesterday, Sunday, playing with my Distress Oxides and letting people know about some of the many things you can do with them.  It also meant I got chance to meet up with the Oyster family who I have not seen for simply ages.

I have spent time on the internet looking at the various techniques others have done, initially saw Tim Holtz demonstrating them at CHA in January, and as a result spent many a happy hour doing backgrounds as if they had gone out of fashion and finding out through experimenting what can be done with them.

If you know me you will know I have been a "Distress Ink Freak" for a long long time.  They have always been my 'go to inks' but now they have a rival - Oxides.  

Let's talk about DISTRESS OXIDES

The first thing to know is that Distress Inks are Translucent but Distress Oxides are Opaque.  

(Also note that the Hybrid inks contain a pigment that dries like a dye ink BUT Distress Oxides contain both Pigment and Dye ink and therefore can do much more than Hybrids.)  

Remember:

WET on WET blends - so if you use your Oxides together they will blend,

WET on DRY layers - if you dry between colours they will layer

Please always store your inks FLAT with the label UPWARDS and always use separate blending pads for the colours, don't use the same ones that you use for your Distress Inks.

(as an aside Tim H says you cannot contaminate the pads, if you do, simply wipe the pad with a dry piece of kitchen roll.  I don't take the chance).

Most people find these inks blend more easily than the Distress Inks.  (I tried it out with some of the ladies yesterday and they agreed, their blending was better, the ink simply glides on the paper)

Layering:  put two or three colours of ink on your craft mat (eg iced spruce, cracked pistachio and broken china) close to one another but not touching.  Now spritz them and then take your cardstock and swipe it through the puddle on your mat.  DRY with your heat tool.  Mop up some of your colour again and this time it will sit in a layer on top of the previous one.  If you don't particularly like it you can go on putting layer after layer on until you get something that you do like.  Sometimes it is knowing when to stop, but what fun you can have with these backgrounds.  Remember to dry each layer before adding the next one though.  Want something brighter - try Worn Lipstick, Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade - then on a later one bring in something warmer, eg Fired Brick as well as the tones already used for a different look.  Peeled Paint, Cracked Pistachio and Fossilized Amber is a nice combination, whilst either Pink looks nice with Iced Spruce just as a touch after lots of pink layers.  The beauty of these inks is that a light colour can sit on top of a dark one.  What else can do this?

When you have swiped through your puddle you often have droplets left on your mat, dab into them and create spots on your paper - dry again before proceeding.  

Try layering with a final colour that is totally different to your base colour, ie blue if you have a pink/orange background.  This will showcase that you do not end up with mud - PROVIDING YOU HEAT SET BEWEEN LAYERS.

Oxidising: they react with water, as do Distress Inks, but these give a more milky tone to the water droplets.  By adding more water you are separating the dye ink from the pigment ink.  You can see that it is lighter where there is more water.  By itself it is just pigment,  and the only way to oxidise them is to spray with water.  At first the colour really rises to the top when you spritz, keep applying water and drying and it will oxidise more and more; you can influence how much the dye and pigment separates from one another by the amount of water you add.  As it dries it all oxidises.

This has had a fine mist sprayed over it, you can see the delicate oxidisation starting

This has had water droplets from my hand on it, see the milky colour

Both the above samples have had only one layer of Oxides and then the water but you can go on by drying and then adding more ink, more water droplets/fine mist, dry, more ink etc until you are happy with your background.  Remember to dry between each layer though.

Smooshing: just as you put two or three colours on your mat try putting two colours on your acrylic block.  Spritz with water and this time "smoosh" your block over your paper/cardstock.  This can sometimes give you a more "blocky" type of look.  Dry with your heat gun and go again.

Watercolouring:  put three small dabs of different  toning colours on your mat with room between each one and add a little water to them all.  Take a piece of Watercolour Paper (or Acrylic Paper) and wet it all over.  Then using a paintbrush add your three colours, starting with the lightest, and make a graduated wash over your paper.

You can also use your Oxides like watercolour paint to colour your images.  The Crazy Bird, Crazy Dog and the Crazy Cat were all coloured in this way.  Simply put some on your mat and use water on a paintbrush - easy peasy.

Stencilling: try using your inks through a stencil or a diecut with your blending tool - try blending two colours together for a different look - try them on black or Kraft cardstock.

"on the left is the ghosting technique and on the right just pouncing with your blending tool with several colours of Oxides"

Ghosting: you may remember I showed you ghost stencilling where you had an existing background and you sprayed water on your stencil and flip it over so that the water will go on your background.  You push the water off the stencil with a paper towel, section by section, lifting the stencil and dabbing it off again and again.    I also showed you the way I preferred which was to put the stencil over the existing background and gently spray though with water again dabbing, section by section, with a piece of kitchen towel.  To me this gave a more 'ghost like' image.

Stamping:  to me this is most impressive as you get such a clear crisp image.  Rub your ink over your image being careful so as not to damage the ink pad.  

Using Black Soot for the image

Multi-coloured stamping: it is best if you do this in conjunction with your Misti, especially if you are using a large background stamp.  Sorry I never got around to showing you this but it is fun to try.  Ink part of your stamp up with one colour, say orange, and another part with, say pink, and stamp.  Wipe the colours off and ink two other areas up. Say blue and green.  Repeat and clean stamp again, adding colours until you have a rainbow effect card.

Halo Stamping: again this is one I didn't show you, sorry.  Ink your stamp up with the Oxides and stamp on your cardstock.  Then take your blending tool and smudge the ink around to give a halo effect.  What is happening is the pigment is staying true to the image but the dye is moving around ie they are separating.  Repeat with another stamp, another colour, smudging each time.  Finally using your blending tool and another colour do the edges or do several colours on the edges.  Drop some drips on and remember, the longer you leave the drips on the more intense the colour will be on the edge of those drips.  Heat set and dab off with a kitchen roll.

Colouring with Acrylic Markers: no need to emboss your images if you want to colour them with alcohol markers, I tried stamping with various colours of Oxides and scribbled over them with my Promarkers.  I was pleased to see that the colour of the ink stayed underneath and the Promarkers didn't alter them at all.

Embossing: because the oxides give such a clear crisp image they are perfect for embossing with a clear embossing powder.  

The top one showing you it on black and the other on white card

Black Soot: if using Black Soot for your base layer the first layer will not stand out.  You need to go back in with a second layer that is not standing on the black - it is standing on the other colour.  Advisable to use the Misti for this.

Remember:  several of you asked if I used a special card.  No, I have used various white cardstocks, Manilla tags, black card, Kraft card, glossy card, photographic card (remember to heat from higher up with this or it will blister), vellum, acrylic and watercolour paper.  If I can think of any other card I will give it a whirl, crafting is all about experimenting and having fun!

Glossy Card

Glossy Photographic card

(remember to heat carefully with your heat gun high or the paper will bubble and peel)

Vellum - imagine using this for your diecut flowers

Black cardstock - left plain stamping, right clear embossed

Think that is it, hope I haven't forgotten anything and sorry I do not have samples of everything I mentioned - still, no excuse, you get trying them and good luck - Enjoy and have Fun!

NB always keep your eye on what you are doing.  Card can scorch when heating if you are not careful and always, when heating, have the room ventilated.

All images and the Distress Oxides and Reinkers are available from Oyster Stamps.

A Bit of Alcohol for Christmas - Artful Times Challenge (Long Post - lots of samples)

Phew!  It was a rush to get these things done for the challenge this week, somehow my feet have been dragging (or should that be my hands?) and I have two poorly arms to boost.  The left one (thank goodness I am right handed) is really painful - I had the flu jab in my right arm and the pneumonia one in the left.  Whinge over!  Here's what I made for the ALCOHOL INK Challenge (yes, not Brandy/Whisky or Mother's Ruin ie Gin)

Here is my Alcohol Inking:

The bottom left is a piece of mirri card that has been covered in rust shades after embossing - the same has been done with the diecut clock.  Between them you see a Microscope Slide - how many of you remember the craze for doing those a few years ago?  There are another two at the bottom right.  Both of these were covered in AI's and then a circle stamped on them using Archival Ink.  This was then wiped off and it gets rid of the AI so you can then stamp something in the circle.  Those Hero Arts stamps work perfectly with Black Stazon.

You may wonder what on earth that green thing is - well it is AI's on clear plastic.  I have a little stand which I am going to make into a calendar next year so I can record just briefly, maybe one word, what I did that day.

The top line is just AI's on Glossy Card - it needs to be a slick surface.  Now for some makes:

This is the cuckoo clock cut on Mirri Card.  I love the metallic effect you get when you do this.

This colour combo gave me this

Which turned into a trifold card

I used a JustRite stamp set I bought from Oyster Stamps last summer.  I must say these do stamp out awfully well.

This colour combo produced a bookmark

This was my desk in preparation for the calendar I am making and that is the calendar base with a sheet of paper behind so you can see the colour - the other side had the blue tone in and came out more turquoise.

The slides and the colours I used

When you use AI's on your slides you can put a backing sheet behind them and depending on what colour of sheet you use it changes the colour of the slide - sometimes quite dramatically.  Why don't you try some?  Try cream, purple, gold, silver, light and dark blue etc.  It's fun to see them come alive.

As you can see I have just pounced my blending tool on the various things I have done but you can make a checkered pattern too by dragging your tool across the card one way and then at right angles again.  Here's a quick one I just did for you - you can spend more time and get your lines much better than I have.

You can also paint with your AI's.

The background for this atc was made by simply putting some Blending Fluid on the mat I was working on, to kind of start the cleaning up, and then the card dragged and swirled through the resulting colour.  I then stamped the fairy and painted with AI's some parts of his wings and the flowers.  You can see one of my Erte stamps waiting to be coloured also.  I bought this palette a while ago from Ali-Craft at one of the shows.  It has a lid and I just put a squirt of AI in the various sections and they dry, then when I want to use the colour I just add a little of the Blending Fluid and use a brush.

Some of the things I still have that I did quite some time ago but showing different mediums:

Remember my cut down milk carton (plastic)

and the metal flowers (as shown by Linda Brown)

Glass test tubes from a car boot sale

Shrink Plastic Jewellery

I would wear this jewellery as I still like it and find it wearable.  Just random cut shapes of clear SP coloured with AI's and then shrunk.  Gold Krylon around the edges finishes each 'shard' off.  In fact - I need to find some more Shrink Plastic, not used it in a long time.

If you have stayed through this mammoth post - Thank You!  You deserve a medal - but if you have I hope you will try some of the AI's on different "slick" surfaces and show us what you made.  Any queries just email me (see pretty child picture on right hand side, near the top, for email addie).

Bye for now!

Masking - Artful Times Challenge

The new challenge at Artful Times is Masking.  I love to use the technique of masking in my stamping - there is something fulfilling about getting it right - although it is easy to get it wrong with a little bit of overlap of images if enough care is not taken.

I don't seem to have used an Asian stamp in ages so decided to get three of them out for this challenge.  I started off by looking to see what colours I should use to do with China and then realised afterwards that the image really is Japanese.  Phew!  No offence in my choice of colour.

Red - Life (also anger and danger but we won't think of that)
Yellow - Courage, Aristocracy, Cheerfulness, Beauty and Refinement
Green - Eternal Life, Youthfulness, Freshness
Blue - Everyday Life
Purple - Privilege Wealth
White - the white carnation symbolises death (ooh)
Black - Mystery and the Night

If you want to know about other cultures and colour click here.

Right now to get to my Scrapling - remember, the bit left over when you have made a square card - 2.5" x 11" folded in half!  Here is how I made it - step by step masking.

First stamp your main image (the one you want at the front) on your cardstock and again on a Post It Note making sure you have stamped so that as much as possible has the 'sticky' on the back.  Cut out the Post It Note image just on the inside of the black outline.  This is now your "Mask".

Lay the Mask over the image on your card and stamp other image(s) over the top.  These should hit the mask so that it does not show through on your card.

Your image should now look like this with no overlapping images, just the appearance of them in the background.

I then coloured my cherry blossom with my Distress ink Pads by pressing them down on a small acrylic mount, using a larger one to spritz a little water on to make the ink thinner when I used my brush in it.

I did use my Twinkling H2o's for the dress though 
as I wanted it to look sparkly as befits a lovely Japanese lady.

Hope you give Masking a try!

In the meantime why not see what Cathryn has done with this technique and look at Sam's modern twist on the idea.

Artful Times - New Challenge (23)

For this week we decided to do a Colourful Technique and I chose to do the Stazon Technique, a version of which I featured on my blog not long ago.  I was first taught this by Cath Wilson and then the other week Lynne (Wilkinson) repeated it for everyone at Victoria Stampers.

Here's the one I submitted for you to look at on the Artful Times Blog.

If you go over to the challenge blog you will see there is a link provided so you can go and watch a video on how to do it.  Here is a quick written version (all inks used are Stazon):

• Stamp main image at an angle on white card (coated if possible) creating four distinct corners (as shown purple).
• Take a smaller background stamp and stamp in the four corners.  Heat set.
• Using Post-It-Notes, to mask off areas you do not want to colour, apply Azure to the corners and then Blazing Red over the top with some cut and dry foam.  You now have a purple.
• Apply other colours to the central image one by one until the area is filled with bright colours (Cactus Green, Pumpkin, Mustard, Azure and Blazing Red).
• Heat Set again.

• Take word stamps, or use an alphabet stencil and stamp words at an angle across the card using Black Stazon.
• Take a Post-It-Note and put above the word and apply black ink off the edges of the mask to give a black frame effect.  Repeat kind of "upside down" to give a black frame at the base of the word.  Do this with all the words you have stamped.

• Now, using a white pen (my preference is the Signo), rule a white line where you masked the edges.  Leave to dry.  Repeat with other words.
• Highlight the letters with the white pen also.
• Put dots in the background stamped corners using your white pen.  Again leave to dry.

There you have it - the Stazon technique.

I did a variation using Distress Inks in the new colours and got quite carried away making these cards although they all require a word or two yet before they are finished.  Guess they could be left as they are not strictly Stazon technique are they?  But they would do for this challenge!  As you can see I did have fun with these (they were on my desk a while ago but in a pile) and I think I will have some more fun later, afterall this says "time for fun".

As you can see I used my white pen to do different things on my corners.  And did different colours in the corners rather than the central image.  Guess you could say - nothing like the Stazon technique at all.

Hope you join in with us with this challenge.

Just For Fun

This week Zoe was asking for you to use your stamps in a different way.  What a puzzler!  I have never ever stamped direct with bleach before, have stamped and then used bleach to take out the colour in some parts but never made a stamp pad with bleach.  In for a penny and all that ...

I was a bit wary of using a "good" or should I say "favourite" stamp so I chose this birdcage one.  It is red rubber, I guess polymer would not do for this technique, so it was a question of getting a stamp pad made with bleach instead of ink.  I first of all folded some kitchen roll up to make a kind of pad - put it on a plate and poured some bleach on it.  Then I carefully picked it up and turned it over so that the whole thing became saturated but not too wet.  (I only had thick bleach, suppose the thin stuff would work as well and would pour better onto the wad of paper.)

I then used a nylon paintbrush which is what I use when bleaching areas out and tried it on the corner of a couple of pieces of cardstock.  Mmm..... bleaches ok so let's go for it.

The first one turned out like this:

ok but not that brilliant

the second one was similar
Both in the bin!

Didn't want to use black but ...

Yes!

Now to wash my stamp quickly

Then a piece of cardstock I had left over from some Distressing caught my eye - would that work?  A dab with the paintbrush and yes, it worked.

Another stamp.  It had been fine with the other, perhaps one of my butterfly stamps as I have lots.  By this time I was in the mood for experimenting and I overstamped the bleached images with Adirondack Bottle.

A bit more experimentation, whilst the Bottle ink was on the stamp I tapped it in the bleach and it gave me the second butterfly top left - not sure about this - might need a bit more playing around with.  BTW it is pretty INSTANT on the Distress Inked background.

Did another, just using bleach and turned two of my pieces into cards - hope you like and you give this a try - very cost effective.  DO WASH YOUR STAMP ASAP WHEN YOU HAVE USED IT.  I am not going to be afraid of using any of my stamps to do this technique now. Thanks JFF for encouraging me to do it.

Have you something you haven't done before?  Join us at Just for Fun this week.  Look forward to seeing you there.