Bleached Flowers

Hello, Crafters.

This is the second card showing how to use the large

flower image from the Blended Seasons Stamp Set

without having to colour it! I say that very loosely because

the flowers and leaves do need to be “painted”,

but for this technique with regular household bleach.

I was really pleased to see that the bleached area looks

like various shades of Soft Sea Foam! I started my

image by stamping it in Versamark and then heat

embossing it with Black Embossing Powder.

The heat embossing helps to keep the bleach within the

area it’s supposed to be in, but it isn’t a guarantee. It’s

just as easy to go over the edges as it is when

you’re colouring with any other medium.

I love this technique, not only because the effect is

absolutely amazing, but also because you never know

what colour the cardstock will change to! On today’s card

I did try something new, but I am definitely not

recommending it despite the fact it worked brilliantly!

As a one-off it’s probably fine, but if it’s done a multiple

amount of times, it will definitely damage your stamp! I

chose the sentiment from the Itty Bitty Greetings Stamp

Set, and dipped the stamp surface onto the surface

of the bleach I had in a small bowl.

I stamped it, and then washed it under running water

immediately. When I went back to look at my bleached

sentiment it was just a blob, there had been

far too much bleach on the stamp!

For my second attempt, I took the brush I’d been using

to paint the bleach onto the flowers, and painted the

sentiment. As soon as I had stamped the sentiment, I

quickly went out to the bathroom to wash the stamp under

running water again. What you see on my card is the result!

I’m really pleased with the result, but as I said previously,

I can not recommend this because, although my stamp

appears to be fine, I don’t know if they’ll be any long term

effects! I’ll keep an eye on it and if I notice any problems,

you’ll be the first to know!

If you’d like to see a video showing how this technique is done, I

made this one about three years ago: No.65 – Bleach Technique.

That’s about it from me today. Until tomorrow, happy crafting.

JanB.