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Domino Celtic Frame

By Nancy West Johnson
Off-Road Inksters
Intermediate Scramping Team Designer

This wee frame is a recent Blue Ribbon Winner at a local state fair. It looks equally great on a wall or displayed in an easel on a table. Try this technique with a wooden tea tray or inset table top for spectacular results! 

Supplies:

•  Various rubber stamps
•  Staz-On ink (Tsukineko)
•  Staz-On ink cleaner (Tsukineko)
•  18 - 1”x2” Dominoes (jumbo size)
•  Bleach, Gesso, or a fingernail sanding block
•  1 - 6x6 unfinished pine shadow box frame (Wal-Mart - about $5)
•  Acrylic spray paint to match the color of the Staz-On ink
•  Craft glue
•  Clear acrylic spray sealer

Instructions: 

1.          Prepare the dominoes for stamping by using one of these techniques:

a.    Soak dominoes in bleach for 24 hours to rough up the surface.
Remove, rinse, and dry thoroughly.

b.    Paint with a coat of Gesso.

c.     Sand the surface with a soft nail file cube.

2.          Select a coordinating ink pad color and spray acrylic base coat color of your choice for this project.  Spray paint the shadow box frame and let dry.

3.          Ink the side of each domino in Staz-On ink and let dry overnight or heat set with an embossing tool. If heat setting, use needle nose pliers to hold the domino to prevent burning your fingers.

4.          Stamp designs on single dominoes or place several together and stamp on all of them to get a connected image.
Dry overnight or heat set with a heat tool.

5.          Clean your rubber stamps with the ink cleaner.

6.          Arrange the stamped dominoes in the frame.

7.          Using craft glue, glue the dominoes to the inside of the frame.
Let dry.

8.          Optional: seal by applying a light coat of acrylic spray sealer.

 Tips:  

• Prepare extra dominoes in case of errors while stamping.  Also, stamping errors can be sanded off with a sanding sponge or sand paper as well.  Simply sand off and start over!
• To "antique" dominoes, soak them in very strong coffee or tea for a day or more. This gives the dominoes a tint varying from light tan to deep brown depending on how long they soak. Stamp on the stained dominoes with Brown Staz-On ink to impart a vintage look as though they've been gently ageing in an old trunk in the attic.

If you would like to print this technique including a near-full size image of the layout, click here.  Once you've saved or printed the technique sheet, use your browser's back button to return.

Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to obtain this file.  If you do not have Adobe Acrobat, click here to download and install.