Clear Art Stamps

This week’s challenge at iCopic is to create a vintage or distressed look with Copic markers.

I used papers from Tim Holtz and stamps from Crafty Secrets Clear Art Stamps to make this: (click on the image for a larger view)

The secret to achieving a vintage look with Copics, which are known for their bright and intense colors, is to start with muted tones. Look for colors that have a lot of brown or gray in them, rather than the ones that are bright and clear.

Since I am a heavy-handed colorer, I also color these images backward — I start with a dark outline, then a mid-tone and finally cover the entire thing with the lightest shade.

When dry, I go over each portion quickly with a warm gray several shades lighter than the colors I used. This helps to tone it down a bit more without altering the shading.

Here are the colors I used on this one:

After I cut out the image, I used Distress Ink around the edges to prevent a white line and help it blend better with the background paper.

OK … Back to Christmas …

After a few years of making gifts for loved ones, it becomes challenging to come up with new ideas. So, this year I tried something completely different and came up with this for my sister-in-law (who, hopefully, doesn’t read my blog).

While this technique certainly isn’t new, it is the first time I have tried it. I suppose it was fear that kept me away before. Now that I know how easy it is, I’m guessing I’ll be doing quite a bit of candle decor!

I started with a simple green, scented pillar candle.

I stamped images (Vintage Christmas Clear Art Stamps from Crafty Secrets) and stamped them onto leftover tissue paper with black ink.

I then cut out the images as close as I could get to the edges without cutting them.

Next, I laid the image on the candle and carefully heated it with a heat gun (Ranger’s is my favorite).

This is where the magic begins! You will want to heat it until the wax gets shiny and then let it cool. Keep heating and cooling until the tissue paper vanishes and it looks like you stamped directly onto the candle. I used the back of a plastic spoon to help push the tissue paper into the wax during this process.

It is really that simple. But, it is also addictive, so don’t say I didn’t warn you!