"Irresistible" techniques

For our "Dusty Stampers" class on Tuesday the focus was on resist techniques. Rather than just present the techniques and the students return home with loose samples, I decided to have them also make a small booklet with tags. And, because the original class was scheduled for St. Patrick's Day but canceled due to spring break, I'd already planned on a "green" (recycling) theme.

This little booklet uses two recycled #10 envelopes (the ones that are usually included in junk mail or bills) and some small scraps of patterned paper and cardstock, ribbon and, of course, stamps and inks.

Here's the front cover which uses the "white pigment ink resist" technique. First stamp with white pigment ink on glossy cardstock, let dry slightly and then sponge on one or two dye or Distress inks. Wipe off excess ink. This results in a subtle tone variation. Can you see the other recycled item? It's the "buckle" which is a pop top from a soda can.

The first page shows the "watermark resist" technique where the image is stamped with Versamark ink, again on a glossy cardstock, and, without drying the Versamark, a dye ink is brayered over the cardstock. The more color that is added the more visible the image becomes. As you can see, this also is a subtle look as some of the ink does stick to the Versamark. In this picture you can see how the book was put together. Each envelope was cut in half and the flap stuck down. One end was then cut approximately 1/2" in from the end on the fold. One side is folded down with a strip of patterned paper attached with eyelets. A small piece of patterned paper was added to the other side (inside the envelope) and then tags were cut from cardstock to insert in each page with the technique written on it. The original envelopes are not visible at all as the fronts and backs are completely covered with either the technique sample or patterned paper.

The next page is the "embossed resist" technique. The image is stamped with Versamark and then embossed with clear or white on white glossy cardstock. After heat embossing, dye ink is brayered over. This results in a very distinct resist and a much clearer image. I used the same stamp for both this technique and the previous one to better show the difference.

The third technique is the "crayon resist" technique. The image was stamped with black permanent ink and then a white crayon was used sparingly to draw in highlights. This time the background was painted with Luminarte's Twinkling H2Os (shimmery cake watercolors). The waxy crayon resists the watercolor. It's hard to see in the picture, but this results in a beautifully rich shimmery color.

The last technique is "paint resist." White acrylic paint was sponged evenly on the stamps (I used various sized circles) and then stamped on regular cardstock. The paint was dried with the heat gun. Once it was dry Distress inks were swiped across the page and any excess ink was wiped off. This results in a more subtle resist as well, depending on how much paint and/or ink is used. You can also see that the Distress ink soaks into the regular cardstock faster than glossy and is harder to blend.So there you have a handy little reference booklet for a few resist techniques. Of course, there are many more and, if desired, this book could be added to by using more envelopes!