Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Stamping in UTEE

If you saw the card and lay-out yesterday I promised to share how I made them today :)

UTEE 0508002


I wanted to start out by saying this will NOT hurt your stamps. I have used this technique many MANY times without it ever harming either my red-rubber or clear acrylic stamps. I have never attempted to use any foam stamps for this but I don't think it would be a good idea. I'm pretty sure that most all foam melts fairly easily so the UTEE may be too hot.

Another bit of info on stamps ~ I have found that the texture stamps sold in the Polymer Clay isle work GREAT for this technique. They are large enough to cover most any chipboard piece and they are far less expensive than Background "Rubber Stamps". I paid $6.00-7.00 for each 4"x6" Polymer Clay stamp as opposed to $15.00 - 30.00 for a background stamps from the popular stamp companies!! You don't have to use texture or background stamps for this technique either. You can use just about any image you want. Fine detail or photo image stamps don't work well with this technique as there is just too much material (UTEE) for the stamp to handle.

Well, on to technique....

Stamping in UTEE001


Supplies:

UTEE - Clear or Pearl work best - Ranger

Perfect Pearls - Ranger

Perfect Medium - Ranger

Heat It Craft Tool - Ranger

Non-Stick Craft Mat - Ranger

Embossing Pan - Club Scrap (or any will do - just happens to be what I have)

Mini Spoon - (to mix & sprinkle on additional UTEE) Art Glitter

Small Container (to mix the dry UTEE & Perfect Pearls)

Chipboard Pieces - various (Maya Road, Basic Grey, Fancy Pants, etc.)

Texture Rubber Stamp - Crafts Etc.

Instructions:

1. Pour the UTEE into the small container. Add a bit more than you think you will need. It's hard to match colors once you have used up an entire batch.

Stamping in UTEE002


2. Scoop up a small amount of the Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder in the color of your choice. Usually one scoop will do the trick. (NOTE - try mixing 2-3 colors to see what you come up with, experiment!! It's fun trust me!!) Add the Perfect Pearls to the container holding the UTEE.

Stamping in UTEE003


3. Mix the Perfect Pearls & UTEE until all of the UTEE has been coated.

Stamping in UTEE005


4. Pounce the chipboard piece onto the Perfect Medium Ink Pad making sure to coat the entire piece.

5. Place the chipboard piece into your embossing pan & sprinkle with the colored UTEE.

Stamping in UTEE006


6. Remove the coated chipboard from the pan and place it on the Non-Stick Craft Sheet. Begin heating.

Stamping in UTEE008


7. As the UTEE begins to melt you will see areas that need additional UTEE. Alternate sprinkling UTEE onto the hot embossing powder & heating until you have a nice thick coat over the entire piece.

Stamping in UTEE009


8. After you are satisfied with the coverage, IMMEDIATELY press the texture stamp into the molten UTEE and let it cool. (Note, if your piece has cooled simply heat the entire piece up until it is once again molten.)

Stamping in UTEE010


9. Once your piece has cooled (about 1 minute) carefully peel the stamp off of the chipboard piece.

Stamping in UTEE011


If you pull your stamp off too soon you will end up with bits and pieces of the UTEE stuck to the stamp instead of the chipboard. If this happens, (trust me it will if you're like me) wait until the UTEE has completely cooled and pull the UTEE off the stamp. Reheat the chipboard and try again....remember it's better for it to cool a bit longer than you think so you don't have to pick the UTEE out of all the little cracks & crevices of your stamp ;)

10. You may get little bits of UTEE that seeped out along the edges of your piece...this is called Flashing. Simply trim off and discard.

Stamping in UTEE012


You have now stamped in UTEE!! I love this technique because it is fairly quick, creates stunning results and doesn't the melt pot :) Yes, I'm lazy - LOL!!! Try layering a couple pieces together....

Stamping in UTEE013


It makes for a great finished project!

Stamping in UTEE013


I hope you have enjoyed this technique and give it a try yourself! Once you get going it really is very fun to see what combinations you can come up with!


Tomorrow I'll share a couple more examples using this technique - one using hand cut chipboard shapes you won't want to miss :)


Till then...Happy Stamping!!

14 comments:

  1. That's gorgeous, I never thought of mixing the perfect pearls through the embossing powder before heating. I always added some on the top then headed again to make them melt in.

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  2. Oh, this is something I can try because I actually have Perfect Pearls! Yes, I have it and have not used it yet...(hanging my head in shame). Funny thing is, I never even knew it was made by Ranger!
    Love the fact that it doesn't use the melting pot (which I don't have!!)

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  3. Haven't used my UTEE in a long time -- many because most techniques involve the melting pan. Will have to give this a try. Thanks too for the tip re the polymer clay backgrounds, will have to keep an eye open for them.

    Sheryl H

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  4. I love this! I can't wait to try it!

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  5. The finished project is so pretty - looks just like an expensive medallion =) I bought some of the polymer clay stamps to use as background stamps for the same reason - you just can't beat the price. Can't wait to try this technique - thanks for another great tutorial!

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  6. Yay - I have polymer clay stamps, too. I love them! Like Tammy and Roni said, they are less expensive and they make great backgrounds. I lay mine flat on my craft sheet, ink it up and then place my paper carefully on top and either press with my fingers or brayer from the middle outwards to get a good, inky impression.

    And... you stumped me, Roni! I thought I new this technique but it turns out I didn't. I love the idea of mixing Perfect Pearls into my UTEE BEFORE heating.

    Hey - here is a TIP FOR MIXING SMALL QUANTITIES - save your plastic Kool-aid or Crystal Lite tubs to use as little mixing containers for powders, inks, paint, etc. The containers that apple sauce and pudding come in are great, too. Recycle, reuse! (*grin*)

    I am off to try it now. If it works, I will try to send you a scan, k?

    ~phinny

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  7. I just got through watching a webisode on the Hot Off the Press website that showed a similar technique only they used a frying pan to heat the chipboard with UTEE and embossing powder on it. I like your way MUCH better!! They said you couldn't heat with an embossing gun because the powder would fly off... because they didn't use any perfect medium or embossing ink! Silly!

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  8. Yes, you do have a few twists that I haven't tried before. Thanks for sharing...this goes on my list of
    "to create"...THANKS!...Jan

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  9. I did it, I did it, I DID IT!

    LOL I am SO proud of myself. I had a few... issues... lol, but I think I got the hang of it. (Now if I can just figure out a way to get the little EP granules out of the cat's fur...!?!)

    I sent you PICs Roni, so check your e-mail.

    ~phinny

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  10. wow! i wanna try this technique!!!! very very nice! the utee really makes a difference. the texture is awesome!

    could you mix pearl-ex with utee too? would it create the same effect with perfect pearls+utee?

    thanks roni! youre one talented artist!

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  11. This is gorgeous! Tim Holtz says you can also color your embossing powders with alcohol inks, although I suspect they don't become opaque the same way the Perfect Pearls make them. Never done it myself.

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  12. Yes Deb!! You can use AI's mixed with UTEE and it does result in some really pretty combos. That is actually on my list of things to share but there just never seems to be enough time. Eventually I'll get to it but in the mean time if anyone gives it a try you need to make sure that the Alcohol Inks have completely dried/evaporated BEFORE you put it into your melt pot ~ the alcohol WILL cause it to flame up if you're not careful!!

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  13. I love this! Where did you get those chipboard shapes?

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Thanks for your thoughts and comments!