Faux Batik Paisleys (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are enjoying the hot and spicy samples that the Design Team are bringing to you this month, courtesy of the stamps that we used on last month's TV shows on Hochanda. The DT had a lot of fun creating projects using these fabulous stamps.

I wanted to use the faux batik technique on my first batch of projects, and show how this could be adapted for a range of uses. I created a masterboard, using an A4 piece of drawing cartridge, stamping a leafy image from the Nature's Paisleys stamp set, using Versamark and clear embossing powder all over the page. Once completed, I blended a range of bold coloured Distress Inks over the page until I had covered the background. The clear embossing powder acted as a resist for the inks. I placed some copy paper over the top of the page, and used an iron on a medium setting, to iron off the embossing powder, leaving a flat surface.

For my first project, I trimmed a piece of the masterboard into a tag shape using a large die. Using the same die, I folded some black card, and drew around the die to create a card base. I added an elephant image that had been stamped onto a spare piece of card and coloured with Distress Ink and a water brush. The sentiment had been stamped onto card coloured with Distress Ink and edged with toning ink. All of these images were from the Paisley Elephant stamp set.

I used another piece of the masterboard, trimmed to fit a square card blank, for my next project. I stamped a sentiment from the Birthday Words stamp set over the top. Because the surface is flat minus the embossing powder, you can stamp over the top. I created a flower as an embellishment by stamping and clear embossing one of the smaller paisley images from the Nature's Paisleys stamp set onto card that I had coloured with Distress Ink, and cutting them out. I added a large gem in the middle.

I decided to create a card in a similar style using kraft card. I stamped and embossed a paisley design using clear embossing powder onto the kraft card, and thought how fabulous the embossing looked against the kraft card, just by itself. I decided to make a card in this monochrome colour scheme there and then, it was a discovery by happy accident. Sometimes you just need to experiment, and you find extra ideas as you go along, this was one of those times for me. I added some cream flowers from the Little Birdie range, and a sentiment, using clear embossing as before, and my card was finished. Without the flowers, this card could have been more masculine.

On to the card that I was intending to make now! I embossed the kraft card with clear embossing powder, and added blue Distress Ink before ironing off the embossing powder as in my first projects. The background looks like an old faded bandana, and I love this effect. It would look great with red or plum ink as well. I sprtitzed some cream Little Birdie flowers with Turquoise Brushos and a bit of gold shimmer, also adding some gold leaves from my stash. I added a sentiment stamped onto kraft card, and used a layer of kraft card to mat the background.

I thoroughly enjoyed making these projects, and hope that I have given you lots of ideas. Most of all, I hope you will experiment, because you never know where it might lead you! Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx