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Chalks
Ellen Gordon (Evo) evo@pobox.com
Chalks! I love the effects you can get with soft chalks combined with rubber stamping. You can use the "decorating chalks" - anyone who has ever done ceramics and used the chalks in that art form will be familiar with these - or those traditionally known as "pastels" in the art world. Some chalks are harder and more brittle than others, and some contain more oil than others. For the best effects... look for the softest, most oil-free.
Children's chalks can be used, but you'll find that the colors aren't as vivid in these as in the more professional products. Try this before you stamp! Take a small soft cloth, wrap it around your "pointer" finger, and start blending different colors on to your paper. You may want to start with yellow in the center, then work out with different colors to the edges of the unstamped card. You can blend the edges of the colors or leave the colors clearly separated. You can rub in circles, horizontally, vertically (or try both for a plaid look) or take a helter-skelter-willy-nilly-do-what-you-feel-like-doing-`cause-it-feel s-good approach. There are no rules here! You, my friend, are the artist.
Now you're ready to stamp! Stamp as usual, emboss or not. It's your choice. Wow! Your card will look as if you hand-colored your stamping. If you like what you see and feel your creation is finished and wonderful, stop here. If not, then you may want to "lift" out some color here and there with an eraser for highlights! Or, add some color here and there for accents. To add color, you can use the chalks and apply with small cosmetic sponges such as those used for eye shadow. Colored pencils and markers also work beautifully over the chalks. Anything you would normally do to the card can be done over the chalks. The chalks work best on papers that have a little tooth to them, not glossy or super smooth. You can rub layer upon layer of color until you reach the desired intensity. The more layers, the deeper the color. Try blending colors to create new colors! Red over yellow creates orange. Blue over yellow creates green. Experiment and have fun! Surprise yourself with different combinations of color over color.
More fun ideas:
Create a sun ray effect or horizon line by using the straight edge of paper as a stencil. Rub the chalk directly onto this paper, then sweep the color onto your card with your soft cloth. Repeat until you get the intensity you want. The result is a perfect line of color which softly fades away. Very effective done multiple times for sun rays. And don't forget your eraser magic here, too! Try "lifting" rays of lighter color by lightly pulling your eraser up and out in ray patterns. Create an aura of color around a stamped image. Stamp your image on your card and also on a separate sheet of paper. Cut out the 2nd image like a paperdoll for a mask, place over the image on your card. Apply the chalk directly to the mask...and sweep color outwards over the card.. Lift the mask, and enjoy the effect you've created! Fill in areas with color by cutting a reverse mask. This is good, for example, for a fish bowl that you want to fill with color. Stamp the fish bowl on your card and on a separate sheet of paper. Cut out the interior of the bowl on your 2nd image and use the outside paper as a mask. Place over your stamped image on the card so that you see only the interior of the bowl. Again, apply chalk around the edges of your mask and sweep the chalk from the mask toward the center of the bowl.
I have both the chalks on that round-ish artist's palette, which I got 3 years ago from Embossing Arts, and a variety of colored pencils - big set of Berols, Aquarelle, Conte pastels, and a small and a big set of Bruynzeel pastel pencils. The most recent addition, the Bruynzeel pastel pencils, are my most favourite. I've been playing with them for a couple of weeks, and I can't get over the smoothness, the ease of blending, and the soft luminescent colors. I did a Japanese wave postage stamp from Curtis Uyeda using a combination of pastels and LePlumes/Tombows, and was amazed at how even in those places where I inked over the pastel, the colors blended and became slightly more vivid. In the past, I've used the Berols a lot, and will probably continue to do so for some cards, but they require a lot of pencilwork to blend seamlessly, and I find the blending and smoothness much easier to achieve with the Bruynzeels (although the Bruynzeels were much pricier).
When I apply chalks over white embossing, I lay them on nice and thick with an eye shadow applicator, and I don't worry about getting any on the dark paper. Nobody believes it when they see what a mess it makes on the dark background, but it's OK! When I'm all done, I seal it with a matte acrylic spray sealer and you can see the chalks leach right into the paper! Just once should do it, but if the chalks aren't all the way gone, I spray it again. I've never had to spray it more than twice to have it looking great! The chalk is sealed on top of the embossed areas and the dark paper looks like nothing ever touched it! People around here call it Rainbow Chalking, but I think it's MAGIC!
I talked to Bettie about the way you thought about using the chalk over the top of the clear embossing. She thinks it might be messy. She said she just takes a little embossing powder out and mixes it with the chalk. This way she still gets all the colors but not the mess.
Speaking of chalk has anyone tried scraping off bits of chalk with a knife into a container of water and then blowing in it with a straw to stir it around and dipping cardstock under it and back up then hang your paper up to dry and when dry spray it with hairspray to seal, makes beautiful paper.
There are a few different ways to seal you chalk artwork. Personally I use an acrylic matte spray sealant which you can purchase in the craft department at Wal-Mart. $5 for a big can and it lasts a long time. You CAN use hairspray in a pinch...but you KNOW what happens when you get caught out in the rain with hairspray on your hair..... ends up a big yukkky mess. So be careful if you ever use hairspray. It's a TEMPORARY fix only. I think Scotchguard would also work....but it's expensive and not really necessary...I only say this because I ran out of sealant once, and used it. I've also used the types of sealants which you spray on ceramics...and they work well. (had this on hand when I first started using chalks)
I have found that I get a much more even and easier application of chalk if I use the flat edge of one of my foam mounted stamps. Jim Stephen's foam mount works particularly well. It holds the chalk well, distributes it evenly on the cardstock and doesn't shred like the foam applicators or q-tips, and doesn't distribute oil like your fingers do. And cleans off with just a wipe on the jeans.
Another great way to get the chalk look is to use PearlX Pigment powders. They are so much fun to use. You can use them like finger paints (err....chalks) and rub them into your paper. You could also use a Q-tip if you wanted more detail than your finger will allow.
On white glossy card stock I sprayed lightly with gold and silver webbing spray. When completely dry I colored the paper with different colored chalks..applying directly from the chalk sticks..I tried a variety of colors and applications, i e some I made curly-que designs, or I used a broad sweeping motion. - Then I rubbed the paper, gently, with a soft cloth and then sprayed with Krylon Workable Fix. - When dry, the colors came back and rendered just "the look" I wanted.
I don't know if anyone has tried this yet but to get crisp lines I use a stamp positioner when using the chalks. I stamp, chalk then stamp again. When I first bought that positioner I thought I had no use for it now I can't do without it. It really makes my cards look 100% better.
Well, it's not new, but for me, the only way to color my debossed areas is with chalk. I also use them just with the stencils and no debossing. I like the way I can blend, and if it gets on the cardstock, an eraser ....well, erases it! Then, used on it's side (I use the artist pastels, the kind that are like a crayon) I use it to make background papers....just take a few complimentary colors, and swoosh `em across the cardstock in any kind of line or pattern.....but when used this way, it's best to seal them, I use hair spray cause it's cheaper!
If you emboss in white, you can use the chalks over the white. The chalk will stick to the white EP, with no need for a sealer. I've found that even if I get a little "sloppy" and get some on the dark cs, I can use an eraser to get it off the cs, and it will still stick to the EP! This technique works best with detailed or line designs, because there are a lot of pits or "pock" marks that show up a lot more on bold designs. (At least it does with my particular EP's and chalks I've used. Good luck! deb
You can use 3mm size pom poms for coloring with your chalks. Simply use a pair of tweezers to hold the tiny pom pom. Use one for each color and leave the pom pom right in its own chalk color. I prefer white pom poms. Unlike Qtips, pom poms do not break down and you can used them over and over again. They are so little that you can get into the smallest areas with no problem. Try them, you won't be sorry!
The first thing you need to know about chalks is what type of surface to use them on. You really need a good matte, or semi matte, cardstock. Glossy just won't work. This is because you need some "tooth" to the surface in order for it to "grab" the chalks. Second..you should always seal your chalk work when you are finished.
There are various ways of doing this...you CAN use hairspray in a pinch...but hey, let's think about this a minute. What happens to your hair when you spray it with hairspray and then walk out into a damp, humid or wet day? If you are going to go to the effort of making a beautiful chalk creation...the least you can do is use a specific spray sealant to seal it with. Krylon makes good sealants...as does Plaid. I use Plaid brand ceramic sealant which I buy at Wal-mart. This is a "final" sealant...to use when you are completely finished. You can also buy a "workable fixative/sealant"...krylon makes a very good one and I use this too. A workable sealant/fixative is a "temporary" fixative...you work your piece...spray it with the workable fixative..and then you can do more chalk work on top of it. THis comes in very useful at times. the plaid brand of final spray sealant is NOT expensive..maybe $5 for a big can of it and it will last you forever almost. Krylon workable fixative is a bit more expensive than the Plaid brand, but not that much more, and it will also last you a very long time.
Do not spray the sealant INSIDE your home. Believe me..it will give you one HELL of a nasty headache and you won't even get a good buz so you can enjoy the "calm before the storm"..LOL Step outside on your deck or porch...go out in the garage..but don't spray it in your house. ick. Been there, done that..it ain't fun. You also need to use some type of permanent or semi-permanent ink to stamp with if you are going to use chalks. You can use Fabrico or Memories, be sure to heat set first. I prefer to use Ranger Archival Ink pads...no heat set is necessary just let it dry thoroughly. You could also use Ranger Ink for non porous hard surfaces.
Chalk Palletes: You can transfer the chalk from the little cube to your artwork using different tools. You can use the following: eye shadow applicators, blendor pens, qtips... I think for the pallette chalk...eye shadow applicators always worked best for me..and you can get them REALLY cheap just about anywhere. If you use your blender pen...choose one spot on your chalk and only use the blender pen on it...that will leave the rest of the chalk cube for eye shadow applicator or q-tips applicators. When you use a blender pen, the chalk is sealed and you don't have to use a spray sealant unless you just want to. Load up your applicator tool (qtip, eye shadow applicator, etc) and then rub it onto the cardstock. Repeat until you are thru. Seal.
Chalk Pencils.......these come in several different brands, I am most familiar with Bruynzeel Pastel Pencils. This is basically chalks in pencil form, which I find a LOT easier to use than the pallete chalks. Your pencils WILL be more expensive, but they are more highly pigmented, and last longer in my opinion. ALso, being that they are in pencil form, you are more apt to use them. Just take a chalk pencil and lightly color the area on the cardstock. Now, take some type of tool..(qtip, eye shadow applicator, make up sponge or stump) and rub the chalk INTO the cardstock. THe chalk just lays on top of the cardstock so you really NEED to work it into the cardstock. I find stumps to be most useful with the chalk pencils. (stumps are "paper sticks" which you can buy very cheaply at about any art supply store) If the tip on your stump wears down...take an emory board and sand down the stump until your tip is back the way you want it. Also...let's say you wanted a sky background....lay down a light color of blue....swish in darker blues, pinks and lavendars...now take your stump (or whatever you are using) and rub that chalk into the cardstock. The colors will automatically blend together as you rub them into the cardstock. You can add more color on top of this if you want. Just keep working it until it's the color you like. You can also use a make up sponge for this effectively..the only thing you need to know is that the make up sponge will remove MORE chalk than the stumps do, so your end color will be lighter. Spray with a fixative when done.
One thing to always remember is to work your colors light..to dark. You can always make something darker...but you can't make it lighter when it's TOO dark.
Chalk Sticks...also knows as chalk pastel sticks. Same thing as the pencils....only less the wood casing. Same applicator principals as above...
Liquid Chalks..I don't know much about this medium..never having bought any. But I saw the messages about it..and I figured hey..it's just "liquid chalk" right? I got chalks....and I got water...all I need is a "binder" of some sort. Well..I've also got gum arabic, which is a binder....so I scraped my chalk squares...and got a little puddle of colored chalk powder in a plastic pallette. Added in some gum arabic and enough water to get the "mixture" into paint consistancy...and used a paint brush and painted away...worked beautifully!
"Chalks" are really pastels.... so, instead of using the pastels in little cube forms.... run to the nearest art supply or craft supply store and buy an inexpensive set of pastels in stick form. You will then be able to apply that to matte cardstock of any color. You will be able to apply more of the Chalk Pastel using it in stick form than getting it from a cube.
Now, you do not want oil pastels... That is different. Chalk pastels also come in a pencil form and some people like this option as well.
You might like to use a spray fixative over the completed pastel-colored image so the pastels don't rub off. Oil pastels can and do leach oil out into the paper after a while. This will produce a halo effect around your image. To avoid this when using oil pastels, you might want to color your image, and then cut the image as close to the edge of the image as possible and mounting on a background.
Here's how I learned to do the pastel/chalk resist tecnique:
Tips & Techniques: Chalk Embossing, Chalk Marbeling
Product Reviews: Chalks