DIY class hosted by Annette Warkentin on 1/26/08

See the gallery and upload your own images:
http://orientalstampart.com/v-web/gallery/FauxBatik

Method 1: Faux Batik With Wax

Materials needed:

• Fire extinguisher or a box of baking soda to put out any fire you may start.
• Scraps of cardstock in a variety of colors
• Images and stamp pads
• Scissors, punches, whatever strikes your fancy
• Old crayons, wax candles, paraffin (found in the fruit canning section at the grocer)
• Heat source, but preferably not your heat tool…A lighted tea light is a perfect source since it is next to impossible for it to tip over.
• Toothpick or scribe to move around the wax
• Chalks, markers or your favorite colored pencils

Procedure : 

You may want to do this in the kitchen with several layers of newspapers on the counter for easy cleanup.

Set your oven at Keep Warm setting.

Place the cardstock scraps on a cookie sheet and allow them to warm for at least 15 minutes if the scraps are layered on top of one another.  5 minutes will do if the scraps are not layered.  I use my toaster oven and leave single sheets in at the 1 slice setting until the toaster dings.

Melt a wax crayon, birthday candle or paraffin over a candle flame or heat source until it begins to drip.  Hold the wax over a cardstock scrap and let it drip onto the cardstock, tipping the paper so the wax runs.

Drip the wax onto several scraps of cardstock and allow them to set until the wax is cool and pops off when the cardstock is tweaked.  Speed up the setting time by placing the scraps in your refrigerator or freezer 2-3 minutes. 

Caveat: Be sure the wax is set completely or you will have a mess.

Pop off the wax by bending the cardstock and reserve the wax for future batik techniques. 

Stamp images using dye inks, color, trim, mount on your card front.  Voilà.  That’s all there is to it.

Alternate Procedures:

Follow the directions above, but move the molten wax around with the tip of a toothpick or a scribe, tines of a fork or any tool that strikes your fancy.

Use scraps of fabric and proceed as directed.

Stamp intricate images before adding the melted wax, apply molten wax, pop it off when it sets and stamp bold images.  Use a variety of ink colors and cardstock.

Punch out washi butterflies and embellish your batik art.

Spray liquid mists to the finished batik, sprinkle Perfect Pearls or ultrafine glitter to embellish.

Use your imagination.

Method 2: Clear Embossing Powder

Materials needed:

• Mulberry paper
• Clear pigment ink
• Clear embossing powder
• Heat tool
• Iron and ironing board or padded table
• Ink pads or reinkers or watercolor pencils and a spritzer or diluted acrylic paints or…
• Paintbrush or stippling brush (optional)
• Newspapers layered

Directions:

1. Using clear pigment ink, stamp a bold image on mulberry or tissue paper. Light colors of paper work best in my opinion.

A. If you choose to use tissue paper, be ever so careful because it tears.
B. Resist ink will work, but I prefer clear pigment ink. It seems to work better.

2. Heat emboss with clear embossing powder.

A. Be careful not to overheat the paper. If it starts to smoke, allow the paper to cool before proceeding.
B. The paper can also be placed on a cookie sheet and heated in an oven set at 350 degrees F. to melt the embossing powder.
C. Counter top toaster ovens are perfect for this technique. Paper burns at F451 degrees, so don’t be over anxious and turn up the heat.
D. Be safe.

3. Color the entire paper with ink or watercolors or watercolor pencils. Choose 1 of the following methods.

A. DTP method by stamping directly on the paper with the ink pad.
B. Stipple the color onto the paper with a bouncing motion and a stiff paintbrush.
C. Drip reinker onto the paper and spritz with water to blend the color.
D. Add 3-5 colors in various places and blend by spritzing with water.

4. Set your iron on its highest setting and

A. Layer several pieces of newspaper or tissue paper on the counter or ironing board.
B. Place your stamped piece face down so the embossing powder is directly on the newspaper.
C. Layer several pieces of tissue paper or newspaper on top.You should have a sandwich of newspapers as the ‘bread’ and the stamped image sheet as the ‘salami’.
D. Iron the sandwich for 15-30 seconds or more until the embossing powder starts to lift off the mulberry paper.

i. Repeat this step with fresh newspaper at least once more.
ii. Be sure to reserve the ‘bread’ pieces to use as backgrounds later.
iii. Check to make sure all of the embossing powder has melted off the mulberry paper. Repeat ironing if necessary.

5. Trim your finished batik if necessary. Back with white cardstock or text weight paper.

A. Use your Xyron to add adhesive to the back of the batik paper and adhere it to the cardstock or glue it.
B. Trim off the excess white cardstock after the batik is adhered.
C. You can leave ¼” of the white showing on the 4 sides if you want a faux layered look.
D. Note: Your batik is the correct image on the front, but it is a reversed image on the back. Take a look to see if you prefer the reverse image and mount it backward if you wish.

6. Mount on your card front, scan and load it to the Faux Batik album.

7. Email the group when your art is loaded.

8. Have fun with this technique. It is beautiful and adds dimension that always surprises.