Sunday Stamper - Week 259 - Some Like It Hot

Gooooodly Morning Stampers and a very happy Sunday to you all.  Many thanks for the fabby vintage creations you all made last week!  This week is a VERY special Sunday Stamper indeedily!  Before I go on waffling about that I will do the usual housekeeping things:  Firstly the challenge theme for this week is... EMBOSSING POWDERS.  To join in is simples: make a little something - it can be anything you fancy.  Add in the theme and some stamping and then pop back here with a link to the place you are showing your entry.  If you haven't got a blog, don't worry, you can also join in via email or on Facebook.   The challenge will remain open until 21:00 Saturday June 1st 2013. **entries received after this time will not be added into the prize draw**

And on with the most important bit!  Oh yesh, I am very honoured and proud to have been asked by Ranger to be a part of their Melt Art Mania event that they have running HERE on their blog.  The event runs from May 15th through to May 31st and has tonnes of fabulous inspiration featuring, along with amazing projects by some very talented designers... hence why I am chuffed to little mint balls to be asked to be amongst these incredily clever peeps!  Anyways... being as I am a part of the event, Ranger have very kindly offered up a brilliant prize...   to be in with a chance of winning this box of goodies all you need to do is leave me a comment here on this post.  If you join in with the Sunday Stamper as well.. you get two entries.  Another important thing:  if you join in any other way than on your blog, like sending me an email, you need to remember to leave a comment on this post telling me you have done that... otherwise it would be crazy to try and add in peeps names in the right order.  Each comment will be assigned a number, the total comments will then be fed into Random.org and the winner chosen at random, being announced next Sunday, June 2nd.  Ranger will then send out your prize directly.    I think that is everything....   and on with the post!   Oh yes, here's the FAB prize!!!

Firstly, here's a little peep at the finished project.... but before I show you all about that, I have a little tutorial for you, making my fave Faux Jade/Turquiose.  This is a technique I learned from the wonderful Suze Weinberg.  Please do take time to pop over to Suze's youTube channel too... her art is amazing!  Anyways... on with the tut!

STEP 1
Add 1/3 white UTEE to your Melt Pot and then add 2/3 clear UTEE to the pot and allow to melt thoroughly. (**HINT  Always pop the lid on your Melt Pot whilst melting UTEE... it melts faster with the lid on... and also you have less chance of sticking your elbow into the melting UTEE's)  Once melted give the contents a good stir to amalgamate the two together - use  your Kool Tool spatula for this.

STEP 2
Add a generous droppage of Heat It Inks to your white UTEE mix - I have used Green - you will see it is more of a turquiose colour! You will see the UTEE bubble a bit - this is normal.  Pop the lid on and allow the ink to get to the same temp as the UTEE.. this will only take a minute or so. I have found this helps the mixing in of the colour.

STEP 3
Give the ink/UTEE mix a really good stir using your Kool Tool spatula so the colour is uniform.  If you are quick, you can also pour this while the colours are totally mixed for a cool white/colour look.

STEP 4
Add in Platinum UTEE using your Kool Tool as a spoon (or a plastic spoon, be careful not to dip this into the UTEE though... it will melt!)  Pop the Lid back on the pot and leave to melt.

STEP 5
Use the tip of your Kool Tool spatula and gently marble the Platinum through the colour, you don't want to stir this as it will be all muddy, the trick is to bring one colour through the other.  It is now ready to pour and become gorgeous faux jade/turquoise.

And here's what you can make....  I poured the UTEE mix into a heart shaped mould (made from Mold & Pour) and once it was cooled, I lightly heated the front of it so it is a little shinier than it would normally be.  BTW, check out the heart at the back.. the technique was just a bit of marbling, cookie cuttering... but the ickle heart which is nearly but not quite cut out was an idea I saw a lovely lady called Angela adopting on a class I taught the other week... FAB idea!  Thanks Angela!  That is what I so love about the Melt Pot, it just begs to be played with... experiment, play... have fun!!! 

My project is a wooden trinket case that I decided to alter, using Distress Paints to cover the wooden bits.  I started by removing the hinges and clasp from the chest and put them in a safe place.  Cut & Dry foam to apply the Antique Linen DP to the outside of the chest and also, inside the "shelves"    I added Broken China DP to some Cut & Dry and gently dabbed this around the edge of the lid.  I had also used masking tape to cover up the edges of the glass on the lid too... saves scaping paint off later!  Once that was how I wanted it, I added Pitch Black Dabber using Cut & Dry foam, to the edges and front of the shelves.

Some stamping onto cosmetic tissue with a couple of Tim's stamp and Archival Ink was the next step.  Ensure you give the Archival a good zap of heat to set it before you use beeswax on it otherwise the ink can bleed a smidge.

I popped my Project Pan into the Melt Pot and some beeswax pellets - these are white ones, I prefer the clear effect of white but the natural ones are gorgeous too if you want a more antique effect.  I tore piece of tissue, used a real hair brush to apply smidges of beeswax to the frame and then painted more over the top, using the heat tool all the time to re-melt the wax and ensure the tissue was stuck down.  Once I had all the collaging done, I added more blobs of wax to add a bit of texture to the chest.

The insidey bits are created with a range of different UTEE techniques.  Pouring into moulds, pouring into Memory Frames, Texture Treads, stamping into UTEE and using cookie cutters... I wanted a "curiosity" effect... which this is... the Beeswax Curiosity!

I hope you have enjoyed the tut and seeing my special project.... like I said... I am so honoured to be a part of this amazing event with Ranger... and of course, it is no secret how much I loves Ranger and the Melt Pot!    I am away to Crafty Bunch in Telford today for another Melt Art class..... see, I loves my Melt Pot!   I shall away... don't forget to check out Ranger's blog for all their inspiration...  Thanks for looking, have a great day!

TTFN

Hels x