Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Second Floor Challenge






Today is another Second Floor Challenge from Julie and Nathalie.
EMBOSSING POWDER.







 I hadn't used my embossing supplies in at least 10 years.
I thought I would use the back of an altered children's book.
Good and sturdy.




I started out by stamping the squares and sprinkling the powder....




......but after the heat, parts of it were still ooey-gooey and runny.




I sprinkled more powder and heated it again and it was okay, not great, just okay.









 I used markers and inks and colored it some more.
I am still not done with it but I am putting it to the side
for another day. It is still slippery....
maybe it just needs to dry more.
Do I like it? The jury is still out on that decision.







So then I tried the embossing powders with gesso.
I think that's what Nat did.
And I had no idea you could do that...so I tried it.
 
 
And then I was SO SO curious about it.....
I took a small 5x7 canvas I had
and brushed half with gesso
and half with embossing ink
and sprinkled four colored powders
down the length to see what would happen.
powdered, before heat
After heat
 


Look at the difference in the texture!
Plus the embossing ink leaves a blue color,
but it is a smoother finish.
It seems to lay more on the surface.

 Then I powdered it up some more with blue...
and added more clear powder over it all.
I played with inks and markers, trying to get it into all the bubbles.
 I got some interesting textures.
It was educational.
So I tried it on another piece.
Hmmmmmm.....
I got to thinking about embossing...
I hadn't done it in so long....
mostly because years ago I found an embossing replacement.
I think of embossing as being raised...
and I usually only use it selectively,
such as making lettering or titles stand out on a page. 

There is Definitely MORE experimentation in my future!
 
Well that was a long post. Sorry 'bout that.
It was a long morning doing it too.
But if you don't put in the time to learn something new...
then you will never know what you missed.
That is what I learned today.
You don't have to like everything you make.
Sometimes you can chalk it up to experience.
And if I'm not 'all in',
 bravely doing it,
I'll never learn it,
and I'll never know.
 
Here's to courage.
xo

3 comments:

  1. Love your experimentation and play!!! Thanks for sharing such great photos and information!

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  2. Looks like you had great fun!
    Have you ever tried stamping into embossing powder while it is still soft? It works like sealing wax. You can do that with a glue-gun, too.
    Haven't done that for a while... must dash, things to try out :)

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  3. Loving your side by side experimentation- awesome. Thank yoiu so much for playing along with us in the 2nd Floor Challenge!

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