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Bleach Techniques & Twinkling H2Os

By Mary Shoebridge
Crafty Cruisers
Intermediate Stamping Team Designer

Supplies
Poinsettia Stamp (TAC)
Crackle Background Stamp (TAC)
Versacraft Emerald Pigment Ink (Tsukineko, Inc.~*TAC)
Dark Green Cardstock (TAC)
Red Cardstock (TAC)
Light Turquoise Blue Cardstock (TAC)
Evergreen Embossing Powder (Ranger Industries)
Bleach (Clorox)
Small container to hold a little bit of bleach
2 #2 Round Fine Tip Paint Brush; one for bleach, one for paint (Princeton Art and Brush Company)
Sponge, a small piece (TAC)
Twinkling H2Os: Pink Azalea, Persimmon, Black Cherry, Sunflower, Moss Green, Blue Grass, Key, Ocean Wave and Sky Blue (LuminArte)
Corner Rounder (Mary Uchida)
Decorative Deckle Scissors (Fiskars)
Heat Gun (Milwaukee)
Red Deco Color Opaque Paint Marker (Marvy Uchida)
Red Holiday Tulip Time Cord (Michaels)
Gold Leafing Pen (Krylon)
Glue Stick (Uhu Stic)

Instructions:

Some suggestions of paper for Twinkling H2Os are watercolor paper, watercolor cardstock, and vellum.

Experiment a bit with the colors on some different kinds of paper. 

1.  Cut the Cardstock to the size needed.
     Cut Red cardstock 4 1/4” by 5 1/2” card size.
     Cut the Dark Green 4 1/4”x3 1/2”  with the decorative deckle scissors.
     Cut the Light Turquoise Blue Cardstock  4” by 5”.

2.  Ink up the Poinsettia image with the Versacraft Emerald Ink and stamp in the middle of the Forest Green Card.

3.  Sprinkle wet ink with the Evergreen embossing powder.

4.  Heat emboss the card using the heat gun.

5.  Bleach out the Poinsettia image.  Dip the paint brush in the bleach and carefully bleach the design staying within the lines until it appears to be a light tan or cream color.  Thoroughly rinse the brush out with water.

6.  Apply bleach to the Crackle stamp.  Using a paint brush, apply bleach onto the sponge and daub the sponge onto the crackle image.  Stamp carefully around the poinsettia image. Repeat this process until the desired effect is reached.  It will be a light color. Promptly and thoroughly rinse out the stamp, sponge, and paint brush after bleach use.

7.  Paint the bleached out Poinsettia image.  First, add a few drops of water to each color cake to moisten them with the paint brush. Rinse the brush between colors.  I started painting at the tip of each flower petal with the light color of red.  I painted the darker red towards the center of the flower.  Touch up the flower petals with the Sunflower color for highlights.  For the leaves, I used the three colors of green. I painted the top of the leaf lighter and painted the bottom darker.  This gives the appearance that the leaves are lit from above.  Around the flower, paint the colors of blue like the sample.  The blue should fill in the crackle design in the background.  Blend the blues out from the flower towards the edge of the paper. You can blend the colors together to get other color variations. An example of this:  blend the moss green color with the blue grass color to achieve a third color.  The blues and reds can also be mixed this way as well. 

8.  Paint Blue Green Poinsettia  Background Paper for Layering. Round the Corners on the Turquoise Blue Paper you previously cut.  Stamp with the Poinsettia image with the Emerald Green Ink around the edge of the paper and emboss.  Paint on some of the turquoise (Sky Blue) color you used in painting the poinsettia card. Touch up the center of the flowers with the Red Deco Color paint marker. Add gold dots to the center of the Poinsettia on the green card.

9.  Assemble the Poinsettia Card. Glue the blue green poinsettia paper on the red card with the glue stick.  Layer the Poinsettia image that you cut with the deckle decorative scissors on top of the blue layer. Tie the red cord and attach on the top left side of card.

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