Aiming for texture with Stillman & Birn

Recently I won a Stillman and Birn Delta Series Notebook.  I plan to review it, but some travel and a few other commitments to take care of before I do.

Meanwhile I thought I'd share my first foray with the journal.


I'd seen this video -Stamping Techniques - Faux Metal (Two Peas In A Bucket)--and was struck with the idea that an embossed Faux Metal piece would add incredible texture to an art journal page.

I used black cardstock, and Stampendous Aged Silver Embossing Powder and used one of the Mary Vogel Lozinak stamps from Viva Las Vegastamps! - Flower Background 3 1/4 x 6 1/2 Item 18369 Plate 1401.


You have to move fast in the last step of the embossing process, and I dropped my stamp.  It's a large one, so I ended up only getting part of the stamp embossed.  That was okay though.  I was aiming for texture, and I got it.  I flexed it a bit to get cracks, and I ripped the edges to show more of the black cardstock, then I used 1 inch wide Miracle Tape to tape it into my Stillman & Birn's notebook.

This Stillman & Birn has a thick watercolor paper in it, but the tooth is smooth enough that I felt safe using fabric-tipped markers/pens.  Pitt Big Brushes are waterproof, so I used Cold Grey III and Skyblue to draw marbling and blend in the edges of the embossed piece.

Tim Holtz Distress Markers are NOT waterproof--they are designed to used for watercolor effects.  I colored in Victorian Velvet around the edges of the embossed work and along the marbled lines I'd added.  Then I used a water brush to spread the color until the whole page was colored.

I used an American Craft Precision Pen .01 to add some tangle patterns, and a Pentel White Gel pen to add a 'silvery' cast in a few places.

The paper held up, with no buckling or dimpling, to the weight of the embossed piece and the wet media.  There was a little pilling with the Distress Marker, but I've had that happen when I've used those markers, so it wasn't the paper.

I'll be using this technique again, though I think I'll go a bit smaller with the embossing!

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