Caution, causes burns!

What a great week so far,  on Monday I held a workshop called Stamping a new Dimension. This was a real fun day using dimensional paintable mediums along with inks, acrylic paint and Ranger products to produce tags, Coasters and a steampunk box!


On Sunday I had a play with etching copper using Ferric Chloride (available from Maplins in the UK) caution needs to be used when using this product as it can cause burns, so if attempting it please follow the safety guidelines on the bottle and you will be fine.


My main aim for buying this etchant was to make a copper etched plate for the altered guitar project I am working on.
I placed a Tando Creative Cogs Group mask over the copper and sprayed with Americana Matte sealer. Once dry I placed it into a tupperware box and added the etching solution so that it just covered the surface of the copper, then left it for a couple of hours before removing it and running under cold water.


As you can see from the picture the Matte sealer protects the copper from the etchant, the unprotected copper starts to turn black and will be gently eroded. The longer you leave the copper submersed, the deeper the etch will be, I left the cogs in for two hours and it worked great!…Sorry I am not going to show you the finished plate until it is finally fixed to the guitar but here are some small copper enamelling tags I have done using the same process, except I stamped them directly with Stazon which protected the copper from the etchant….simples!


I am not sure how to finish these tags, weather to use alcohol inks, patina them or possibly enamel and distress them as pictured below.
If anyone wants to know where to get the copper blanks, drop me an email from the contact page and I will get back to you.



Finally I will leave you with a picture of some enamelled pieces from the enamelling workshop I held yesterday.



A full list of this years available workshops can be viewed here.

Have a great day

Andy

Projects Underway…A Taste Of Morocco

Hi all,
Nothing actually completed to share with you today, but thought I would show you a project I am currently working on.

This is a toiletry box which measures 25cm x 16cm and is made of thick cardboard and ideal for this project.


I visited one of my favourite shops last week called EN ROUTE in Chesham, Its a little Moroccan emporium full of amazing goodies, If I get chance I will post some pictures of it on twitter later.
Anyway that's where the inspiration came from for this box.

Stage 1
Click On Images for A Larger View

First I cut the hole in the front of the box with a craft knife.
I then applied Decoart Stucco using a pallet knife to the surface, once dry I added a little Picket Fence Distress Crackle paint in random areas.
Script from my Simply Angelic stamp set was then stamped onto tissue paper and applied to the surface using Decoart Gesso.
Detail around the top of the arch was hand cut from Grunge paper and stuck with a strong glue.
The very very cool wrought Iron Gates are actually a Mask made by Tando Creative and available here at the Craft Barn.
I could not resist adding a battery operated LED light inside!

Here it is with the lights off.


Stage 2

The inside of the box had a brushed Silver effect (not very Moroccan) so I added Adirondack Alcohol Inks in Sunset Orange, Ginger and Rust.

Stage 3

I then added Decoart Glazing medium to Americana Yellow Ochre and Raw Umber, this gives the paint a very translucent quality, it was then painted over the Stucco with a brush and before it dried I gently wiped back the paint with a paper towel.
Here is a close-up of the effect and it also shows the Distress Crackle Paint.

The gates have been painted with Buttermilk,  aged and rusted.

Stage 4
Well this is far as I have got thus far, but I will post more when I have finished the outside and filled it with goodies!

Andy

Merry Citrus!

As promised here are my Christmas designs!  I do appreciate it's only July so I have used citrus colours to keep you in the summer mood! :)
The stamp sets are A5 and will be available at the end of the month.  You can PRE-ORDER them here


This is the first set of three, it is called Simply Angelic.
My main aim was to design two sets in which some of the stamps could be used all year round,  with this set for instance, the cherub, robin, words and script could easily be used outside of Christmas.



Set number two is named A winters tale.
This is a scene building set.
All of the stamps have been designed to fit together to enable you to build your own scene, exclude the Christmas tree and these stamps can be used all year round, they also combine beautifully with my Back to nature set.





And finally set number three, named Let The Festivities Begin.
This has an all out vintage Christmas feel with a little hint of retro thrown in.
I have even included a Victorian Christmas pudding recipe for you :)


Have a great day,
Andy

Video…. A New Way of using Alcohol Inks?

This week is Alcohol Ink week over at the Craft Barn Blog.
Here is a video I have made for the Wishing Well using Alcohol Inks in a slightly different way.
This technique is very similar to marbling, but gives a more subtle effect using Adirondack Alcohol Inks.
The results are very random and give really interesting backgrounds.

Results on 300 GSM Cardstock




Bisque beads


Tags




Use Adirondack Brights for more vivid results and be liberal with the ink, also allow to dry naturally and not with a heat tool.
Here is the video, have fun experimenting with this one and please let me know how you get on!

Andy

Lots to Tell!

Hi everyone,
I have a few things to post today as it's been a week since my last entry and there has been lot's happening this week.
First up is to let you know I will be at the Craft Barn on the first weekend of September. 
The Saturday will be a FREE demo day of which details are listed below and will also be holding a day workshop on the Sunday, unfortunately the workshop is now fully booked but I am hoping to do more in the near future.
Also the fantastic Wishing well over at the Craft Barn Blog are having an Andy Skinner week on the run up to the weekend..I feel so honoured!! 
The very talented design team will be providing step by step tutorials on the blog throughout the week so please check it out.

SATURDAY 3^rd SEPTEMBER - ANDY SKINNER DAY AT THE CRAFTBARN
From watercolouring to alcohol inks
Andy Skinner, Carol Cockbain and Lina McDermott will be showing you loads of ideas using Andy’s stamps combined with lots of other goodies in our free demo day at The Craft Barn.

Ok next up is the news that I have received in the post this week, the first sets of my new Christmas Stamps…Yes I know it's only July but I am absolutely thrilled with them.
I have spent a long time designing these sets, most of the stamps on two of the sets can be used all year round and not just for Christmas which was my main aim. The third set has more of a traditional…slightly retro Christmas feel to it.
I will be posting samples of them on here in the next few days.

Finally I just wanted to share my latest mixed media painting with you which is inspired by Gary Reef.
It is my first attempt on a 24cm x 17cm piece of Plexi Glass, adding layers on both the reverse and the front mean's the painting has great depth, although it is very hard to show this in a photograph.
Media used on this project is Stazon Ink, Acrylic paint, alcohol Ink, isopropanol and gold leaf.
I have a new video camera…yea!!! so I may do a little video of it enabling you to see the depth of the different layers.

Bye for now,

Andy

Texture Stamping Part 2

Hello,
Here is the finished book.

Stamps used by Lindsay Mason & Andy Skinner
Click On Images For A Larger View



Here we go, time to get messy!



Step 7  Pour some Americana Burnt Sienna and Tuscan Red on to the surface and rub it into all of the detail using your hands.



Step 8  Wipe back some of the colour using a cloth.



Step 9  Apply another coat of Decoart Duraclear Gloss Varnish and allow to dry.




Step 10  Repeat step7 but this time with a different colour. I have used Burnt Umber, Evergreen and True Blue.




Step 11  Wipe back colour leaving some of it remaining.
You can just keep repeating these steps until happy with the effect.




Step 12  Add a little distress ink with a blending tool. I have used aged mahogany, rusty hinge and wild honey, dry with a heat tool.



Step 13  Spray a very light coat of Americana Matte spray sealer, almost a mist.
This will seal and set the distress ink and you can apply a final coat after a couple of minutes.
You can build up layers of distress ink by inking between  light layers of the sealer.




I finished off by adding a new ribbon book mark with a small bird cage tied to the end, and Tim Holts metal corner protectors.
I also added a little vintage photo distress ink to the edge of the pages..

You can find part 1 of the tutorial  here


The video below by BozzoArt is amazing and where I got the idea from for this painting method, its kind of antiquing but using your hands.
He is using joint sealer where I have used modeling paste, and I have also included distress ink as an extra.

Andy

Just a Quickie!

Hello,

Just a quick post as I have Just finished my notebook!
I will post up part two with info on a great video for you to watch on you tube showing this painting process in more detail on my next post. (Thanks Lucia)


Sorry, not doing this as a tease,  just strapped for time but I was so happy with the result I just had to share it!

Andy

Texture stamping Part1

Here is a quick panelled tag I have made as an experiment using Personal impressions excellent 300 gsm card-stock.

I first cut the basic tag shape and then stuck 300 gsm cardstock panels on top, overlapping them slightly in places.
Rivet's were applied using  an Americana dimensional writer and the tag was decorated using Americana acrylic paint.
I have a little note book which goes with me everywhere in which I write down ideas that pop into my head.  I have decided to do a little demo with it using modeling paste or you could use gesso.

THIS IS PART ONE OF A TWO PART TUTORIAL







Step1
Spread the modeling paste evenly over the surface using an old credit card. once covered dip the card into some water and lightly smooth the surface.


Step2
Clean up edges with a pallet knife.



Step3
Dry the surface with a heat tool until it forms a skin, move the heat around rather than concentrating in one place to avoid cracking the paste.


Step4
Spray stamps and dowels etc..with water and stamp into the paste.



Step5
Once dry, paint the surface with one coat of Americana Buttermilk.


Step6
Once dry, paint a coat of Decoart Duraclear Gloss Varnish and allow to dry.

The second part, to be posted soon is a new way of using acrylic paint for me.

To be Continued…………..

You can find part 2 of the tutorial here

Andy