I am really excited about today's technique tag!! There are a few things going on in this one that are easy, so fun to try and create really exciting textural finishes, and they are out of this world with how beautiful they are!
We will start by printing on a piece of "Real Wood,Thin Birch", for the tutorial on how to do that, refer to this post. Because I had run a really nice sized piece of wood through for my last project, I had plenty to use for this one.
For the tag base you will need a #8 Manila tag, "Silver" Adirondack Paint Dauber and the Heat It tool.
Start by painting around the edges of the tag.
If it looks thin give it another layer or two, nice coverage makes for a really exciting result.
Get out your Heat It and patiently heat each area until it gets a good bubbly texture going.
Here is a close-up of what it might look like when you are done.
Keep that Heat It out, we are going to be giving it a good work out today!
Trim a piece of the wood you printed on to 2 1/2" wide by 5 1/4" tall.
You will need a small piece of Cut N' Dry foam and "Tea Dye" Distress Ink, gently work a light layer of ink onto the surface of the wood. This is like a wood stain treatment that will bring variation and color in the grain and print on the surface of the wood.
Now here is where I am going to share one of my not so great learning experiences...
I applied my Distress Embossing Ink directly to the wood's surface, not the best idea. The ink from the laser printer rubbed off a little onto the surface of the ink pad from the direct contact. I strongly recommend that you use an Inky Roller brayer to apply the ink for this first layer. Not sure yet how the ink from the laser printer will affect the application of the Distress Ink on my future projects ;o)
When you have the entire surface covered with a nice layer of the embossing ink, sprinkle a layer of UTEE onto and then tap off the excess.
Then very patiently use the Heat It tool to melt it. It gets very hot and is difficult to handle so find a place to do this that won't be damaged. I always use my Non-Stick Craft Sheet for these projects because of its bullet proof surface. But make sure that whatever is underneath is also a pretty heat resistant surface.
The surface of the wood after this first layer of UTEE will be very uneven.
If you aren't familliar with UTEE, it is an acronym for Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel and is amazing stuff! Very versatile and comes in many colors! We will be playing with it again for sure!
Apply another layer of embossing ink, you can go direct from pad to surface from this point, but your brayer would already have the ink on it, so I would go ahead and use it to apply this layer. Hindsight is 20/20 ;o)
After you have a nice even application of the ink, sprinkle the UTEE on again and then gently tap off any excess.
Of course you will melt it with the Heat It again, you will need to be even more patient and careful. It is hot and you don't want to touch any part of it until it has cooled completely.
Of course when you are finished, you will see all of the incredible detail from the wood grain and the beautiful printing as well. It completely reminds me of a very fine furniture finish! Let me tell you, my mind is whirling with ideas on how to do this on a bigger scale...
Now that you have both techniques finished, it is time to start putting it all together. Adhere the wood to the tag using a heavy duty adhesive. I used my Scotch ATG 714 for this and was very generous in the application. The wood wanted to bend up a little and by applying a little extra adhesive it kept it in place really nicely.
Here is another view of how textured and beautiful this project is.
I gathered some pieces that would finish up the idea I had in mind, with black as a unifying color. The Maya Road Bird was painted with "Faded Jeans" and "Shabby Shutters" Distress Crackle Paint. There is a clock face and hands from Maya Road, a Glass Glintz in 8mm "Black" piece, and the "Jet" Double Flourish from Zva Creative.
Adhere the clock face with "Glossy Accents" and set aside to dry.
Adhere hands and Glass Glintz piece with the Glossy Accents as well and set aside to dry.
When that has set, place the flourish onto the clock face and over the top of the tag.
Adhere bird, and add a little black crystal for his eye. I just snipped the one off the bottom of the flourish, and put it in place.
and tie a piece of black lace through the top to finish it off with style!
I hope that you find some time to play with these techniques, they add amazing texture and are so versatile, you can them on so many different types of projects just by changing up colors, surfaces and images!
Thanks for stopping by!!!
B-
