Cherlyn Conway
One might ask, “What do marbles, plastic wrap, straws, alcohol, and water bottles have in common, and what could these items possibly have to do with Sassy Stampers and card making?”
On July 20 about 40 Stampers attended the Technique Day in which Stampers are introduced to the various mediums and types of inks available to make cards. These techniques expand the newbies’ horizons to card making to think outside of the normal tools that fill our crafting tables, such as acrylic stamps, rubber stamps, dies, and the common inks that we use.
Debbie Warrick shared her years of experience and knowledge in card making with four techniques. Even the many tenured crafters in our club found some of the techniques new to them as they visited each of the four tables that were set up with a technique and a table teacher. It’s probably a good thing that you couldn’t see inside the rooms, as anyone passing by might have thought we had a kindergarten class with Art Day with the messes being made.
One table was using straws to blow designs on the paper, which had been sprayed with alcohol and drops of alcohol ink. Guess one could say it was like coloring Easter eggs, as it was a surprise as to what type of design ended up being on the finished piece.
One table found marbles in an enclosed container. You decided on your colors, put drops of ink in the container, tape your card stock on the lid top, close the lid, then shake away and watch the marbling happening on the card stock. It reminded me of Shake ‘n Bake. It was amazing to see how the ink coated the marbles.
One table found rolls of plastic wrap. You cut a piece of wrap, wad up the wrap, create a palette of ink, use the wrap like a brush in the ink, then apply to card stock with long strokes, swirls, or just a tap tap tap. You could then spritz with a water bottle to get a new look.
One table found pigment powder dry inks that you sprinkle on the card stock. You then spray a fine mist with the water bottle to see the dry inks come alive with colors. The amount of water you used would determine how the color spread.
The various types of inks involved in Technique Day had several of us looking like we just did a finger-painting craft. Some of us spent some time at the sink to get cleaned up.
Everyone went away with a stack of unique designs, with one technique liked over another. We were challenged to make a card using the designs we created to showcase in the Sassy Stampers’ window. Make sure you stop by the CATC to see the works of art showcased, as well as the many other cards crafted by the talented ladies of the club.