It was 10 years ago, when I attended my first rubberstamp convention here in Puyallup, WA, that Suze Weinberg was showing Melt Art. I dabbled with my Melting Pot since that time having loads of fun when I pull it out. It was so fun to see Tim playing with it today, showing how to create Shrink Art embellishments. We have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new rebranded product - I am hoping that Tim posting means that they will soon be on their way!
I thought I would share a twist on the technique Tim shared with you today; one that brings in some of the other products you may have in your stash.
These irridescent beauties sing in real life - LOL! OK, so that's stretching it just a touch, but they certainly are stunning. I think they might make the cutest earrings, as well as tag embellishments.
For this particular project I used Black Shrink Plastic. You can find it in this Sample Pack. I hope in the days ahead to share several of the other techniques that I played with today while I had my Melting Pot ready for action. There are SO many possibilities!
I put about 2 oz of UTEE into my Melting Pot turning the heat to the UTEE setting. Put the lid on and leave it untouched until the UTEE is completely melted.
Do not be alarmed by the twisting and turning motion of the shrink plastic as you place it in the hot UTEE and it begins to melt.
Remember UTEE is HOT!!! So always be cautious while working. I always have my Kooltoolz handy along with my self-closing Teflon tweezers. The spoon shown above works great for flattening your shrink plastic into the UTEE and you do not need to worry about damaging it with the hot pot and UTEE.
Once my piece is flattened I like to move it towards the front end of the pot into a more shallow area of the liquid and then grab the end with my non-stick tweezers. The UTEE will build up on the non-stick tweezers, but it is easily removed!
Before removing the shrink plastic ornament from the UTEE ink your stamp with Perfect Medium. This will aid in easy release of the stamp from the UTEE and provide the perfect medium for adding Perfect Pearls.
I followed Tim's recommendation to pull the embellishment along my non-stick craft sheet before continuing. It worked like a charm (ha, ha - get it, "charm.") Immediately impress your stamp into the warm UTEE. Allow the stamp to sit for a couple of seconds and then remove. Magical texture!
Perfect Pearls over black is STUNNING! Use a soft brush to apply the powder and to remove the excess.
I wanted to test a clear stamp to see if it would work, because I wasn't certain how it would hold up. Once again I inked the stamp with Perfect Medium.
It was wonderful being able to see through the stamp to precisely place my image on the ornament.
Perfection! As you can see the detail in this stamp is super fine, whereas the red rubber stamp I selected had a bolder image. Exciting to know that both types of stamps work for this technique!
Once again you will see the pattern and texture emerge as you brush on the powder. Place the excess powder back into the container when you are finished.
As you can see I had little "nubbins" on the edges of my ornaments. Once the UTEE has cooled you need to be careful about removing the excess, so as to not crack your project.
I like to use the edge of my Melting Pot to finesse my UTEE pieces. Be super careful so that you don't put your fingers on the hot surface. I find it quite simple to hold the piece and use the heat to soften and melt those weird little pieces that jutt from the edges. It also helps to soften the UTEE slightly so that cutting with scissors and or just scraping with your fingernail works easily.
To create my tag background I use a very old resist technique. This is one of the very first techniques I learned as a stamper and I love it to this day. Glossy cardstock lends a contemporary feel to a project and I wanted that feel with these ornamental beauties.
Ink your background stamp with a watermark resist ink and stamp on white glossy cardstock. I like to place my tag atop the stamp as shown above and then use a piece of scratch paper over the top and apply pressure evenly over the surface. Glossy cardstock is slippery and this helps me keep from smudging it with excessive movement.
Lightly heat the surface of the tag and set the ink. Then apply dye ink to your brayer and roll it over the tag. It is like watching a ghost appear :-D So cool!
Add a second color for interest. In this case I elected to use two green dye inks that are fairly monochromatic.
After brayering on the second color use a soft paper towel or cloth to remove the excess ink.
I don't know how many of you like to work with wire, but it was so fun to use it on this project. I like using a heavier gauge wire, shaping as needed. THEN to add interest hammer the wire, flattening it. You will not be able to change the shape once you flatten the wire so be certain you have the desired shape before hammering. Hammered wire is so cool looking!
I hope you enjoy the contemporary twist that I took with today's tag - bold, yet simple and elegant at the same time.
stamps: Hero Arts Cling Dot Flower Pattern, Antique Sweet Threads Cling Stamp,
ink: Perfect Medium, Inkssentials Watermark Resist Pad, Adirondack Juniper Dye Ink Pad, Iced Spruce Distress Ink Pad
paper: Glossy Cardstock
accessories: Tim Holtz Ornaments 2, Vintage Lace and Tags & Bookplates Die, Assorted Polyshrink Sampler, Perfect Pearls Brush, Perfect Pearls - Sour Apple, Grape Fizz, Pink Gumball, 20-gauge wire, Inkssentials Metal Foil, Brayer, Clear UTEE, Melting Pot, Kooltoolz, Tweezer Bee, White Silk Ribbon
Day 11 - it's hard to believe how quickly time passes! I have very much enjoyed reading your comments! Christmas Eve is typically spent together with my husband's family. I think it is their Welsh background that brings the tradition of making homemade beef and noodles each year. The noodles have to be hand-rolled and laid out on the counters to dry. It is quite the spectacle and oh, so delicious! I would love to hear what one of your favorite Christmas Eve traditions is. By leaving a comment (one comment per person please) below you will be eligible for the random drawing for the Mini Reindeer & 25 Die set and Shabby Accoutrements shown above. Please do so by noon on Tuesday, December 13.
