So I do have a lot of catching up to do - so here goes!
Pink Peonies in Parchment
Claritystamp Groovi Plate Mate
Peony Groovi Plate
I have to say that this piece is not what Parchers usually produce. I have embossed and coloured on the back as normal, but I had also chosen to do something a bit different and showcase the wonderful Grooving achieved using the Groovi Plates. So fine and precise! Hence why they are on show!
First thing is to give your Parchment a Smooch with a Tumble Dryer Sheet or Soap Bar to help your tools glide rather than scratch, The idea is to stretch the Parchment.
Then find a framework to work within.
You can do this by using an aperture card (as above)or by using the Border Plate Straight Lines and your Mat to mark out your Frame. If you use an aperture, tape your A5 Parchment to it securely when marking out your frame.
So with Peony Plate in place, Small Ball Tool in the Groove, Build up your design by putting in the flowers you want and where. As you can see, I started with a couple of smaller flowers in the corners then went about balancing it out. Remember try not to go over the lines of the previous flower.
I find the best way to get really white lines is to use the small ball tool and go over the grooves ONE way then change to the smallest Tool and go back along the OTHER way. No need to add any pressure. You can come back again the opposite way to get it even whiter.
Next step is to get some Alcohol Blending Solution and some Alcohol Inks. I used Adirondack Cranberry and Wild Plum. You will also need two small blending tools (or two separate pads) and a fair wad of kitchen roll, folded not crumpled up.
You can tape your Parchment down to a mat if you wish as long as you can turn it if needed Apply a very small amount of your chosen first colour (lighter) to the pad and dab lightly over the flowers.
Keep going in where you want to (it is entirely up to you) until first pad is dry.
Next Pad...Darker Colour and same amount, repeat what you did before but try to avoid too much of a build up in one area.
Now the next step is key. Parchment does NOT like to get wet so you only want to apply as little Blending Solution as possible. That is why Kitchen Roll and not a sponge for this bit.
Apply the Solution to the Kitchen Roll and as soon as you touch the Parchment start quickly but gently moving in small circles, this will move the ink around. You will also see that the ink will gather into the Grooves you have made using the Groovi Plate. Using the same bit of Kitchen Roll (You will know what bit that is as it will be covered in ink lol!) apply a bit more solution....you really are just tipping the bottle up and down again....not much at all.
Go back into your picture and start to move the ink around a bit more....guiding it towards the outer areas while trying not to take too much away from the center flower. And as you can see it is OK to make a mess outside the Frame as you will be hiding this bit!
Start by taking the Kitchen Roll (Paper Towel if you don't know what I refer too) and gently remove some of the ink from the very center. Then when you are happy with that, do the same to the outer part of the outer petals. You will be able to tell by now that some of the ink is just not for moving and that is fine for giving you the appearance of a curve in the petal. Now Leave to Dry for about Ten minutes. If there is any tiny bits that you are not happy with, you can use a Cotton Bud and a smidgin of solution to get it working again.
Want to see what it looked like from the other side?
Now that you have done this, you have learned to colour parchment with Alcohol inks! The same principal applies to the Pergamano Wax Crayons. And as you can see you can still go in and emboss a design into the Parchment but please let the Parchment rest if you want to colour first and then emboss.
Now at this point you have a choice...........
You can go in from the back (that is where all this work was taking place) and do a bit embossing to whiten some areas (you will need a large ball tool or hockey stick for the biggest flower and then progress down the sizes.....light smooth strokes as opposed to sharp heavy ones)
or
You can go in from the back and add more definition to the shading
with some Spectrum Noir Pencils
I chose to go back in with pencils to the areas where a Petal would naturally overshadow another Petal. There was also a couple of little bits at the edges where there was space between the flowers which was ideal for darkening up.
Once you are happy with your colouration it is time to frame your work.
I trimmed my piece (having decided at the outset what I wanted was a card) and attached it to an aperture card...didn't like it! I Put it aside and when I went back to it, it had fallen over on its side...voila! I knew then that it was to be mounted, sideways on, on canvas. The aperture just didn't look up to scratch when I put it against one of my canvases so I cut out another slightly larger framework, attached the picture to the Canvas and then attached the new framework on top.
Neat trick with a ball tool (medium or large) If you hold the ball tool at a 45 degree angle along the outer edge of your framework (which would mean your arm would be positioned OVER the frame) Then gently but steady run the ball tool along the outer edge, turnframe and continue round all 4 sides....this will curve the edge downwards slightly with gives it a better finish. You can do the same on the inside of the frame (best to do it before attaching your parchment to it) If you have a closer look at the top picture you will be able to make out the effect I mean.
Now I hope that you were able to follow my instructions ( I can waffle - use 6 words where two will do) but most of all I hope you have fun. Any questions leave me a comment and I will get back to you (barring blogger being a pain that is lol). Hopefully I will be back soon with another Groovi Parchment Blog!
Happy crafting
Hugs
Emma x
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