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Tips And Tricks
- Bling
- If you don’t have the right color jewel for your project, try coloring one with permanent markers.
- Distressing Techniques
- Tear the paper to give it a rough edge
- Crumple it
- Sand with sandpaper or a file
- Rub with creamy metallic rub-ons
- Dry-brush with acrylic paint
- Smear with ink
- Rub with chalk
- Peel off layers
- Roll the edges of torn paper
- Sew on your pages
- Dip it, spray it, or smear it with walnut ink
- Dry Embossing
- One
type of embossing is dry embossing, which you actually make the surface
of the paper pop up. To create this type of embossing you will need a
stencil, a embossing stylus, and a light table or similar backlight
(sunlight through a window works well).
- If you have a matching stamp for your embossing, stamp the page first where you want the image.
- Place
the stencil on the light box with the design face down. Then lay the
paper over the stencil face down. Make sure if you are using the stamp
pattern first that they match up with each other. Use the stylus to
trace over the paper. If you prefer, you can also place the paper face
up so that the image is indented instead of raised.
- Heat (Thermal) Embossing
- The
two best inks for embossing are pigment ink and embossing ink. Both
stay wet long enough for the powder to stick to them. They both come in
a variety of colors. Pigment ink can be used as regular stamp ink or
embossing ink. Embossing ink can only be used for thermal embossing.
You can find both kinds of ink on pads or in pen form.
- Embossing
powder is usually purchased in small jars and comes in a variety of
colors, including metallics. Clear embossing powder is favored for
using overcolored ink.
- How to Thermal Emboss an Image:
- Lay a piece of scrap paper over your work surface to catch the powder.
- Ink the stamp you want to use with a pen or ink pad, then stamp the image on the page.
- Pour
embossing powder generously over the stamped ink while still wet. After
covering the ink, tip your paper and let the excess powder slide back
into the jar. A brush may be needed to remove stray particles.
- Hold
a heat gun a few inches away from the image and slowly move it back and
forth. A hair dryer cannot be substituted for a heat gun because it
does not get hot enough and usually blows the powder off of the inked
surface. If you don’t have a heat gun, hold the paper over a toaster
oven. Don’t get the paper to close to the heat source or you will
scorch the paper. When the powder is melted it will have a shiny raised
appearance.
- Inking the edges
- Swipe
the sides of the item against an ink pad, angling it to apply the right
amount of ink to the edges and corners. Remember that the distressed
look is supposed to be imperfect, so variations are expected.
- Another
method is “pouncing,” which is essentially dabbing the edges of the
item rather than swiping them. This is best achieved with soft, spongy
ink pads with pigment or chalk inks. Different looks can be achieved by
varying the amount of pressure as you dab; experiment with both
pouncing and swiping until you feel comfortable with both.
- Letter stickers
- Instead
of applying letter stickers directly to the paper, line them up with
just the edges sticking on a clear plastic ruler. Once you have the
entire word or phrase spelled out, you can position it exactly where
you want over the paper and smooth the letters on. This is particularly
helpful for centering text and for preventing crooked letters.
- Newspaper clippings
- Make
a photocopy of the newspaper article on acid-free, buffered paper.
Don’t forget to record the title and date of the article where it
appeared. If you want to store the original article, spray it with
de-acidification spray and mount it on buffered paper before placing it
in the sheet protector. Store it separate from other photos to prevent
acid migration.
- pH Testing
- If
you are not sure if paper is acid-free, you can test it with a pH
testing pen. To use the pen, simply draw a line on the item, either on
the back or in a concealed area. Observe the color as the line dries to
determine whether there is any acid in the product.
- Red-Eye Problem
- Try to take photos with lots of light in the room. Ask people to look
to the right or left just slightly to avoid looking directly into the
camera. Some cameras are available with red-eye reduction.
- Sometimes
red-eye in photos is unavoidable. You can use simple photo-editing
software to remove red-eye in digital photos, or purchase a red-eye pen
to dab on printed photos until the red color is gone.
- Rub-ons: Applying and Removing
- In
a pinch a fingernail or Popsicle stick will do, but using a better tool
will greatly increase your success in applying rub-ons. Check out the
BasicGreyRub-on Roller, or use the stylus provided in American Crafts
rub-on books. A bone folder can also be an excellent rub-on transfer
tool.
- Sometimes you can remove unwanted rub-ons with a soft
eraser, but the easiestway to remove them is with a piece of tape.
Softly apply the tape over the undesired rub-on and gently lift it off
the paper. Sometimes you may need to dab several times to completely
remove the image.
- Sanding
- If you want to sand the whole surface of something, use sandpaper, a
wire brush, or steel wool. If you just want to sand the edges, use a
coarse-grained emery board from the beauty supply store. Check out the
BasicGrey Precision FileSet, which contains six files of different
shapes to fit into the nooks and crannies of chipboard or other items.
- Make
sure your sanding surface is white scrap paper or a cutting mat.
Sanding on top of colored cardstock can cause some of the color to
transfer to the item you are standing.
- When sanding the edges
of a photo or white-core paper, try positioning the item so that it
extends very slightly over the edge of the work surface. Use an emery
board at an angle and buff the exposed edge, creating an etched white
border around the edges.
- Scoring
- If
you don’t have a bone-folder handy, try using the rounded edge of paper
clip instead. Line it up with a ruler, apply pressure, and slide the
paper clip down the straightedge over the paper to score it, making it
easier to create a crisp crease.
- Trimming
- You
can save a lot of time if you don’t measure, but just “eye it.” Line
elements up and mark where you will trim them, rather than measuring
with a ruler.
- Instead of using a pencil to mark where you
should trim, press the paper or photo with your thumbnail to make a
slight indentation where you plan to cut.
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Location: Heartfelt Creations
407 West 9000 South
Sandy, Utah 84070
Phone: 801-233-9028
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