Discovering Ombre and New Materials

Our theme on the Clearsnap blog this month is "learning", apropros given that school has started for students, right? Learning applies to crafting too! I find that I do my best crafting when I am in a mode for discovery. Experimenting, trying new things, and being open to making mistakes all provide great learning opportunities in crafting. Moving away from what we usually do can not only help us learn something new but also get us out of a creative rut. 


Today I created an altered wood frame using no paper whatsoever - ink, fabric, and stamps were all I used! I consider myself a papercrafter so "no paper" was already going to be a bit of a journey in discovery. I recently received a painted wood frame from Twelve Timbers, along with a Nature Spritz Screen from Hampton Art. I love the flourish and leaf shapes of the Spritz Screens and knew I wanted those to be a big part of the design of my frame.

Spritz Screens are made to be used with Clearsnap's Smooch Spritz™ but I don't like to follow the rules so I wanted to use anything BUT Smooch Spritz. Like Alton Brown from the Food Network says there are no "uni-taskers" in his kitchen, I like to say there are not uni-taskers in my craft room. Every tool needs to have more than one use or purpose or it's outta here!


I love the creamy, rich finish of ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink and knew it would be perfect for the rustic frame. I laid the Spritz Screen on a scrap of paper and tapped a ColorBox Fluid Chalk Cat's Eye in Prussian Blue over the entire screen to cover it with ink. The capillary-like material of the inkpad releases more ink every time pressure is applied to it, so each time I press the inkpad into the screen, more ink is applied. I love this feature of ColorBox Inkpads!

 After the Screen had been inked completely, I turned it over (ink-side down) and placed it onto the frame. The matte finish of the Twelve Timbers painted frame is perfect for applying ink.

I laid a paper towel over top of the screen to absorb any excess ink and then used a brayer to press the Screen into the frame to apply the ink. If any ink bled from the front of the screen to the back, the brayer would pick it up and then apply it somewhere else on the frame. The paper towel helps absorb the excess ink and creates a barrier between the screen and brayer as a safeguard against unwanted ink transfer.

Remove the paper towel and gently pull up the screen to reveal the pattern. The texture of the frame is much rougher than a piece of paper so the ink was only applied to the raised parts of the wood's texture. 

I continued by layering several of the screens, inking one of them with Graphics 45's ColorBox Decades Antiquing Ink (exclusively through Hampton Art) for a darker image.


Next, I created several flowers out of denim to use as accents on the frame. For the centers, I wanted something unique. I had a few sets of button cover kits in my stash that I had not touched for 2 years -- a travesty, I know! 

I had some scrap canvas duck cloth fabric in a natural color that matched the frame perfectly but it look too plain. I stamped a decorative pattern onto the canvas using ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink in Pumpkin Spice. I then used the fabric to create the buttons for the center of my flowers. 

I laid the button on the fabric to make sure I had stamped a large enough area before creating the button according to the instructions on the package. The Fluid Chalk Ink is soft and rich and on the fabric -- dye ink and pigment ink have a tendency to appear harsh when stamped on fabric. While wet rubbing the ink into the fabric will blend it and give it a weathered look.

Using pinking shears, I cut several leaves out of the leftover canvas fabric and laid them in a Color Catcher. Again, like the canvas I used for the buttons, they looked plain and washed out against the frame. I love working trends into my crafting and wanted to experiment with ombre on this project.  Ombre has been trend in fashion for the last year - it is a French term for "shaded" and is used to describe anything that fades from one color or shade into another, from hair to fabric and beyond. I knew it would be perfect for giving these leaves color and depth.

I sprayed one end of the leaves with Smooch Spritz in Gingersnap, a golden orange. Then I sprayed the other end of the leaves with Smooch Spritz in Spun Sugar - do you see that Jumbo Smooch Spritz bottle? The area where the colors overlap is where the ombre magic happens and the colors blend seamlessly together to create a shaded effect on the leaves.

While wet, I hot glued the leaves to the frame and then used a heat gun to dry them and set the color. While drying, I crumpled the leaves to give them a realistic texture.

I plan to use the finished frame on my dining room table with a vignette of pumpkins and candles for Fall. Here are some closeups of the flowers, leaves, and buttons:

As a final touch, I inked the corners of the frame with ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink in Pumkpin Spice to tie it all together:

Next time you sit down to craft, try doing something a little different, stepping away from your usual materials. You never know what you might discover!

Clearsnap Products:

• ColorBox Decades Antiquing Ink by Graphic 45 and Hampton Art
• ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink in Prussian Blue
• ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink in Pumpkin Spice 
• Smooch Spritz in Spun Sugar and Gingersnap 
• Color Catcher

Other Supplies:

• Twelve Timbers 4x6 Frame in White
• Denim - old pair of jeans 
• Die - Fresh Vintage by Sizzix 
• Button Cover Kits - Dritz 
• Canvas Fabric - Joann's 
• Nature Spritz Screens - Hampton Art
• Heat Gun

Posted by Jennifer Priest

http://hydrangeahippo.blogspot.com