Sunday, February 7, 2021

As Promised the Tutorial!

 Today I am going to show you how to make this stenciled texture to look like tiles.  I sort of went through some of the steps in a post to one of my Facebook groups. I was asked for a tutorial.  I do not have a good camera or the type of connection in my small town to do video. This is my first tutorial so bare with me. 

Your supplies are shown as we go. 


I started out with the Tim Holtz stencil. I taped it over my Bristol paper. 

 

I used some Distressed texture paste in matte finish.  Apply it through the stencil with a pallet knife. Make sure it is very smooth. If you use too much return to the container.   






After you have it nice and smooth carefully take the tape off and lift the stencil straight up. Wash your stencil or put it water immediately. You do not want the texture paste to dry on the stencil. 


Now we let this dry. How long? I left mine alone for an hour and when I touched it I found it dry. I waited until the next day to complete the rest. Mostly because I did this in the evening. 


Ok now the fun begins. I have a very fine sanding sheet I use. I sanded the top to smooth the texture paste. You don’t have to but it is my intention that the end product will look like tile. 


Okay it is time to use color ink on it. I replaced the stingily at this point. I have chosen a color that will look good with the black soot oxide. In this case I used weathered wood oxide. 


I used my ink applicator and made sure it was all covered. 


Now I used the embossing ink I had on hand and a clean applicator. Could you not do that? Yes you can if your ink application is still wet go ahead and apply clear embossing powder. I really wish I had done that. If you choose to do the embossing ink use a light hand so it does not seep through to the back of your stencil. I had that happen. I will show you. 



So it is embossing time! YEAH! To me this is the best part 


You can see below where the embossing ink got under my stencil  try to avoid that!



Time to heat the embossing powder  when it is all turned to the shine you can put the heat tool away

Here you can see where the embossing ink bled.  Not good. 






Time to pull out the grout color. In this case it will be black soot oxide.  You can use any colors you choose. 



Now you will apply the grout color all over. Then wipe the tiles with a cloth. Then repeat the process. 




Now the end product.  



Now I am showing you my first experiment with this tile look. I used the brush type embossing pen. I did each tile. I did them little at a time. It was tedious to say the least. I used Tim Holtz embossing powder in speckled egg. This is a translucent powder. I hated the way it looked! That is until I used the black soot grout. Then I loved it the best!   The embossing was very even and smooth. It shined like tile. 




Now it is time to do your own in your own colors. Please if you do add a picture to a comment. I would love to see what you do!





In closing this out please check out my Etsy.com. The shop name is SweetArtAlways. 
Stay safe and healthy!

Friday, February 5, 2021

Valentines Always

I have been working very hard on my greeting card selection. I love doing them. I have worked on Valentines and I love that! I love the heart motif. I am going to work on a little project and hope to have a tutorial. I was asked several times from a group I belong to. So that will come up in the very new future. 






Now with my new iPad I seem to be able to see all of my work. Thanks to my husband who replaced my old one for Christmas. That will make this so much easier.





Can’t forget the men on Valentine’s Day! I did several and of coarse I have one for my husband. 








I love the textures on this card. That is something I love in all of my work. Whether it is cross stitch quilts or mixed media. I am constantly looking for textures to incorporate. 




I have been doing some flowers. I was working on some hydrangeas today. Hopefully they will be done soon.  


I hope everyone is healthy. This pandemic has been such a nightmare. Scary to begin with. Now it has worn on so long that I feel we have lost a year of our lives that we can’t ever get back. It is hard to see any silver linings with so much illness and death. Hopefully your relationships have prospered. I know mine has. Being stuck at home for such a long period could test anyone.  I pray for the children. Who knows what long lasting effect this has on them. I hope you stay happy and healthy. So long for now. I will be back soon.  Hugs everyone!  Sharon