October 2005 - Mary P. W.
"Black Pearl With A Twist"

marypw@orientalstampart.com
Western Australia

(Click on picture for instructions)

How long have you been stamping?
About 3 yrs. I attended a workshop and was hooked immediately. I signed up for classes and the rest is history.

What is your favorite technique?
I really enjoy creating different backgrounds. For speed, I love brayering or sponging with Lumieres or other metallic type acrylic inks. I am very heavily into pearlescent, shimmery type effects. Mica is just the best thing.

Favorite stamp company?
Hmm . . . there are so many--it is hard to say. My tastes range from far and wide over the whole spectrum, so whatever I am using at the time is my favourite.

Favorite Asian stamps?
Backgrounds, geishas, butterflies.

Favorite stamping accessory?
Twinkling H2O's.

Favorite colors?
I truly love colour--the jewel colours appeal to me the most, I think. My choices very much depend on the subject and my mood..

Your favorite embellishment to finish a card?
I like to use fibres and beads.

What is the one tool you couldn't live without?
A scalpel, as a lot of things I do involve 3D effects that require precision cutting.

Any helpful tips for the group?
I wouldn't presume to give anyone tips--I am a relative beginner.

As a member of OSA, why do you like stamping in the Oriental theme?
One can go completely "Over the Top" with colour and have lashings of gold and embellishments. Also the images are very beautiful. I love pretty things.

Is there any one place or city you'd like to visit to find rubber stamps, supplies, or Asian art elements?
I would like to return to the USA. With the contacts I have now on the Internet, I would be able to find stamp shops everywhere. The only craft store I was able to find, when I was there, quite a few years ago was Michaels.

What other stamping lists or local clubs do you belong to?
Too many to name--I keep meaning to opt out of a few, but I like to have access to the information they provide.

What favorite Stamping magazines would you recommend?
Not really my thing, so I only subscribe to the Australian Magazine "Stamping and Papercraft".

Published in any magazines? If yes, please list.
No, I am not interested in that at this point.

Any other hobbies, talents or craft interests?
Everything else is in the past tense for the moment. I have been interested in complicated knitting, fine crochet, bobbin lace, bead jewelry, embroidery--the list is endless. I used to be a passionate cacti and succulent grower from seed and collector. Currently. my interest is in growing Liliums from seed and playing with cross pollinating. That, of course, all takes second place to stamping.

What inspires you to be creative?
I have no idea, I have always liked to make things since I was a child when I used to draw pictures from magazines and fiddle about collecting various things. I feel very unhappy when I can't indulge in whatever is my current passion.

Any art background?
No.

Have you used any unusual item in your stamping that wasn't necessarily meant for stamping?
I used an old plastic table cloth and stamp pad a few days ago to create a fabric look background. It worked like a treat. !

Any favorite websites you would recommend for inspiration?
OSA has a marvelous Gallery and tips and techniques site. I also like Trish Bayley's Creative Zone. I bought Trish's Technique CD and it is an invaluable resource. In actual fact, I don't spend a lot of time at the computer, as I like to be doing my stamping or other stuff in the garden.

Do you have a day job when you're not stamping?
Unfortunately no, my health no longer allows it.

Tell us about your family and where you live.
I live in the South West of Western Australia with my partner of 33 years on a small property in the 'bush'. I love the quiet life and don't feel the need to go to town unless I have to. Between us, we have 5 children--all of whom are grown and off into the wide world. We are very blessed in that they are all doing well in their chosen fields. Our babies are two beloved Rhodesian Ridgeback X Great Dane girl dogs, Sheba and Sook.

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Black Pearl With A Twist
By Mary P. W.

My card example uses the following background technique: Black Pearl with a Twist, based on an idea shared by Sandra Fullerton in Trish Bee's Creative Zone newsletter.

Supplies Needed:

• Newspaper & plastic to protect your work surface
• Single layer strong white napkins or paper towel
• Aluminum foil (pieces bigger than the napkin pieces)
• Craft acrylic black paint
• Cheap foam sponges
• Baby wipes
• Small container (for pouring paint into)
• Acrylic metallic paints i.e. Lumiere, or indeed any brand
• Double sided adhesive sheet from which you can cut out whatever size you require
  

Directions:

1. Protect your work surface using lots of newspaper. I also like to put down a sheet of plastic underneath the newspaper

2. Pour some black acrylic craft paint into a small container. If the black acrylic paint is too thick, just thin it with a little water before you begin.

3. Cut pieces of foil larger than the background you plan to make.

4. Prepare your napkin by cutting it in half and separating the ply layers, if necessary. Put one layer onto a piece of foil.

5. With a piece of foam sponge; dab some black acrylic paint on your napkin till it is completely covered. The napkin paper is very delicate when wet, so just be gentle.

6. Once the whole napkin is covered with the black paint, pour some of your metallic colour into a container or the lid, if using a jar of colour.

7. With a baby wipe or any wipe, pick up some metallic paint and gently dab it all over the wet black painted napkin.

You can use one metallic colour or you can play with more colours, eg., Lumiere Pearl Blue and Pearl Violet look great together. Metallic Olive Green and Metallic Bronze also look stunning. Don't go overboard on the blending if you use multiple shades or it will end up muddy.

There will be wrinkles in the background which gives it a lovely texture.
Some small holes might appear; but once the background is layered on cardstock the holes will not be noticeable.

8. Let the paint dry completely and when dry, GENTLY remove it from the foil.

8. Mount your tissue onto Jac Paper (double sided adhesive sheet from which you can cut out whatever size you require) and press down gently. Don't try to smooth out all the wrinkles they add to the texture.

9. My Twist - after the tissue is mounted I like to gently apply a metallic Gold (or whatever metallic colour you desire) inkpad DTP. It actually doesn't really matter what colour you use if you are going to emboss it. Just gently rub over the wrinkles and then either allow it to dry as is or sprinkle with Gold embossing powder and heat set. You can also over stamp it with a background image and emboss with gold or other metallic embossing powder to suit your background colours.

This technique is a bit messy but great fun to play with and see what different effects you can achieve-sadly, they are never the same twice. You can use other colours as a base besides black as long as it is a darkish shade so that the sponged top colours show up. I personally haven't tried any other colour as a base as I like the effect that the black gives.

To make the card featured, I have just simply cut my completed background to the desired size and attached it to black cardstock, then layered it onto frosted gold paper and finally attached it to a black card.

I stamped and embossed the Geisha image with Versafine Onyx Black and Transcendence Dye Base Embossing Powder. She was coloured with Tombow pens using the water pen to blend the colours. I also used gold paint to accent certain areas. After the image was dry. I applied 3D accents to all areas except those with the gold paint on them. When the 3D accents were dry, I cut her out carefully and used double sided mounting foam to adhere her to the card front. I made the lantern embellishment in the same manner. To balance the design. I attached a small Asian coin and attached metallic fibres and beads in colours to complement those used in the card.