Crafty Tuesday Brayer Class

More fun with the brayer at Crafty Tuesday morning class today. Liz, one of my Stampin' Up! team members is moving to Cairns so she had the choice of what she wanted to do and Brayer techniques is what she chose.

I admit that I had a few "students" who were not happy during the early part of the class. I spent some time demonstrating using the brayer on Whisper White, Shimmer White and Glossy White card stock. Unfortunately Stampin' Up! no longer stocks the Glossy White (which happens to be my favourite base for brayering) but I wanted to show them the variety of finishes that could be achieved. 

I also wanted to stretch the creativity of the participants so challenged them to work "outside their comfort  zone" and try a variety of methods. As many of you know Brayering can be quite difficult and take a bit of practice, but by the end of the class we had some really great results.

I really like the effect achieved on this card using classic inks on Whisper White. Almost everyone tended to apply too much ink too quickly but this crafter used a lighter rolling motion and although she thought it was not good because it was not smooth, I soon convinced her to "see" various scenes in the colours. She added a couple of stamped images from "Wetlands" stamp set by Stampin' Up!, tied a piece of Linen Thread around it and matted on Black and White card. Lovely! I love the colours and balance achieved in this sample.

When the ladies got a bit heavy handed with the ink, I suggested they turn these samples (on the right above) into modern abstract cards that would be great for the men/boys in their lives. There are no better stamp sets to do this than Gorgeous Grunge and Work of Art stamp sets. You can find both of these in the Annual Catalogue - page 165. We actually used a very old Kaleidoscope stamp pad that I have had for  9 years as I purchased it when Stampin Up stocked this item. I wish they would bring these back too! But, by adding some Cherry Cobbler images and embossing with gold and white, an attractive abstract card has been achieved. Again the choice of mat and card base colours is important in the finished product.

 

These 3 images above are brayered onto Glossy White and you can see the difference in smoothness. It is much easier to get the colours to blend on the smooth surface of the Glossy White, and easier again if paler colours are used. 

 

By the end of the class everyone was looking into the brayered backgrounds, seeing different scenes or images. We all agreed the lower one is a face ( a little abstract but none the less - a face) Turn this sideways and you see a great mountain ranged or a rocky outcrop near the ocean - you just have to let your imagination run free, and I'm pleased to say I think everyone was doing that by the end of the class. 

Finally I have my example that I created on Whisper White.

You can see the build up of layers and variety of colours used. Also the combination of techniques:- brayer background; stamped images: heat embossed images. I really enjoy collage stamping and found this morning lots of fun and quite satisfying. Class went way over time but we all had a really good learning experience.

I hope you gain some inspiration from these samples and will give this a try. Experimenting is the basis of creativity - try something different - whether it be a combination of techniques, combining unusual colours and patterns or simply creating images and matting them in unusual ways.

Below is a list of many of the products used in these samples. If you would like to take advantage of the last few days of Sale A Bration and place an on-line order at my store, just use this code: 7VTN9W2P for the chance to win an ENVELOPE PUNCH BOARD. Make sure you leave your contact details in the order as everyone who participates this week will go in the draw. 

Orders close on Monday March 30. 

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