BLEACH STAMPING!Your task this month is to have some good clean fun using bleach on your projects! LOL! Sound scary? Never fear - I know how much you guys love tutorials, so I'm going to show you how to do it! Here's what I created:
Now before we get started on the tutorial, please read this important note about safety:
* You will be using bleach which has a strong chemical smell. It is IMPERATIVE that when doing this technique you are in a well ventilated area. Fumes can be dangerous, so take every precaution.
* Always wear protective clothing such as an apron to make sure you don't get any bleach on your clothes.
* Place newspaper down to protect your work surface.* If you are a child, get mum or dad to help you.
* Make sure you wash all your stamps and supplies that have been in contact with bleach as soon as you've finished using them to avoid any possible damage.
OK - so let's get into it!
YOU WILL NEED:
* Bleach - normal household bleach is fine. I used White King. The stronger the bleach the stronger your result will be. This is going to be your ink.
(ETA - Don't use "Colourfast Bleach". It's designed not to bleach your clothes, so won't bleach your paper either!).* A plastic or ceramic container, and some Chux or Paper Towel. I have used babies nappy liners (similar to chux) in my example, and they worked fine. Paper towel is more commonly used. This is going to be your stamp pad.
* Stamps! (Der! LOL!).
* Ink of your choice (optional).
* Some cardstock. Now, I have used Bazzill Cardstock. It is important to note that different cardstocks will give you different results. Some brands won't even work at all. Different colours will also give you different results. Have a play around with your scraps until you find the right one for your project. This technique will not work with most patterned papers, so stick to plain cardstock.
STEP 1:
Create your bleach stamp pad by lining your container with Chux/paper towel, and adding bleach. You don't want to flood it, just enough bleach to make it wet - like a normal ink pad.
STEP 2:
Choose your stamp and press it into the bleach pad to "ink" it up. Now, if you have overfilled your inkpad, your images will come out really smudgy. Your stamp will come out looking all bubbly like this:
If this happens, stamp it off on some newspaper once or twice, and then stamp onto your cardstock. Always try on a test piece first.
STEP 3:Stamp your image onto some cardstock. I have used Bazzill cardstock, so of course I stamped onto the smooth side. The bleach will take a few minutes to work - it will lighten as it dries. You can use a heat gun at this stage to speed things along. Your stamped image will turn out something like this:
The look you will get will depend on the stamps you've used. Foam stamps will give a very bold look as they will hold lots of bleach. Experiment with different types of stamps - Ive used detailed, bold, foam, rubber, acrylic and they all work great. Play around until you have the look you want.
You can use your stamps to create a background, or you can use it to create a feature on your project. Here, I have over-stamped the bleached image using black ink for a Batik look:
Too easy!
Now, you can also use bleach to colour your stamped images! I'm going to show you how to do that too!!
COLOURING WITH BLEACH.In addition to the items needed above, you will need:* Ink
* Embossing powder
* Heat gun
* Colouring tool - you can use cotton buds (Q-Tips), Aquash pens (make sure you dedicate one especially to bleach) or Fantastix. You could even use a small paint brush. :)
STEP 1:Stamp your image onto the smooth side of your cardstock, and heat emboss. I used Versamark Ink with black fine detail embossing powder.
STEP 2:
Using your chosen colouring tool, bleach the parts of your image that you want to highlight. Don't worry - the bleach will not lighten the embossed image. The embossing powder protects the ink from the bleach. You may find that the bleach will dull the shine a little. Use your heat gun to dry the bleach and bring out the colour.
Don't be alarmed if the paper you are bleaching starts to fluff like you can see in the head of my image - try using less pressure, and less bleach - build it up in layers. This will only happen when colouring and does not happen when you are just stamping with the bleach. Just dry it, then rub the fluff off.
Now, you can use your bleach to create bold colour in your image, or just to add subtle highlights. It really depends on the images you are colouring. Experiment!
Then all you need to do is cut out your image and attach it you your project! :)
WARNING! This technique is very addictive! I got a little carried away....here is a pic of my army of scary looking lads LOL:
All of those were stamped onto the colour of cardstock that shows on their shirts. I now have enough for heaps of cards, ATC's, etc! LOL!
You don't just have to use plain cardstock - you can also bleach successfully over backgrounds that have been created with things like Glimmermist, Distress Inks, etc - experiment! You'll be amazed at the results! :)* Note for scrapbookers - I'm guessing bleach isn't acid free, so if you're planning on doing bleach stamping on your scrapbook layouts, make sure you either laminate your pieces or keep them away from your photos. :) Alternatively, an inkpad called "Castaway" by Jacquard is available that will give you a bleached effect once heated.OK, so here are some close ups of my examples for this month (like I said - I got carried away, so there are 6 examples from me this month! LOL!):
Card 1:
The background for this card was made using the Wrinkle Free Distress Technique using TH Distress Inks. Once dry, I flicked bleach over the background and dried it with a heat tool. Here is a close up:
I stamped a mesh stamp (from Stamp-it) in the foreground with Black Soot distress ink, and the "Happy Birthday" stamp was done with Versamrk and heat embossed with black embossing powder. I then stuck my little men onto it, inked the edges, and mounted the whole lot onto a black Bazzill card base.
Card 2:One for the girls!
For this card, I used the bleach stamping technique to create a background around the girl's head which was stamped and heat embossed. (Again I've used the Stamp-it mesh stamp). I then used the colouring technique to colour her face. Here is a close up:
I just love the look of combining the 2 techniques together! I also ran some bleach around the edge of the background for a border.
ATC's:
The first 2 ATC's are examples of how you can use your bleach coloured images. The 3rd is similar to the card - this time I created the background by bleach stamping a Stamp-it checkered background stamp. I then stamped and embossed the head over the top and coloured the image with bleach.
And last but not least, another example of how to use your cut out bleached images - this time on a card:
Just a Spin and Splash background with the bleached cut out stuck in the centre. Happy Birthday was stamped and heat embossed.
OK - NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!!!Entries must be in by midnight (AEST) on 30th June 2009 to be eligible to win the prizes. I will be picking the winners this month! Please refer to the entry guidelines in the sidebar.
We have 2 exciting new sponsors in June, so stay tuned to hear more about them! This means there will be 7 prizes up for grabs this month. :)Get stamping!~Sarah~
PS: Please let me know what you think of the tutorial/technique/my samples by leaving a comment! :) I love hearing from you all!
