2019 #18 Shaving Foam: Wings, hats and numbers with I&D {by Corrie Herriman}

2019 Topic 18: Shaving Foam

Our bloggers have found this topic a bit of a challenge, and very messy! But it smells nice, and Corrie has certainly put this foam through its paces  with inks and stencils to create some interesting marbled backgrounds! ~ Leandra.

Hi everyone, it's Corrie here with you today, and I'd like to share the projects I made with the shaving foam technique.

I chose this topic because I had never tried the shaving foam technique before. I really enjoyed creating the final projects with the backgrounds I made with the technique but  making the actual backgrounds not so much. It is very messy ! On the upside: it smells really nice !  So let's start ! 

These are the backgrounds (all on PaperArtsy {Smoothy Card} stock) that I created. I used Distress Oxide reinkers and a cheap can of shaving foam. If you want to do this, make sure to use foam and not gel. Here is the first finished project:

Start with a plastic tray or paper plate, squirt on the shaving foam and smooth out a little. I used a pallette knife for this. Then use your reinkers to drop colour all over the foam. I used three shades of blue: {Tumbled Glass}, {Faded Jeans} and {Broken China}.

Next use a cocktail stick or a knitting needle to create patterns, making sure not to mix the colours up too much, then put your card in and press gently into the foam and take it out again. Use an old credit card to scrape off the foam and you end up with a nice marbled background. 

I forgot to take a photo of when it was just printed. So here's one where I already started decorating it.

I stamped the background randomly using I&D {MN29} and {MN75} and then used a brayer and Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic in {Antarctic} to tone it down a little. I was then ready for the main image:

I altered the image by masking off the butterfly on his head and replacing it with a hat. 

He is from I&D set {Wings2/WGS2}, the hat and the sentiment from I&D set {Pierrot2/PT2}.

Interesting fact I saw on YouTube: if you leave your foam with ink sitting for 4-5 hours and then take a print, the effect is totally different as you can see in the photos above. I think I prefer this to the sharp marbling.

For the next project I used greens and a beige: {Antique Linen}, {Twisted Citron} and {Peeled Paint}.

I used these ATC's for the next project: 

These were made in the same way as the card by stamping the background randomly with I&D stamps {Man of Numbers 2/MON2} and {MN23}.

For the main images I used I&D {Wings2/WGS2}. I added some colour the the faces and stamped the big butterfly with Distress Oxide Ink so I could add a little more colour to it. I just glued it over the top for the finished result. 

This card is my favourite of the four projects I did, I love the colours and those girls are sooo cool! Here's how:

I used the colours {Mustard Seed}, {Fossilized Amber}, {Spiced Marmelade} and {Carved Pumpkin}. First I took some prints as before and then I used a stencil {PS016} by Emma Godfrey to make another background:

Cool I think. So this became the background for my girls.

Again I stamped the background randomly using stamps I&D {MN23} and {MN75} and a small stamp from I&D {Pierrot2/PT2}. To add some more interest I added some stencilling with PA stencil {PS021}.

I decided that because they are "mad as a hatter" to add some bunting to the top of the card. I just used one of the hats from the set for this.

 

I also have a bonus project. After I took the prints that I wanted I used the leftover colour in the shaving foam and scraped it over another piece of Smoothy Card through a PaperArtsy mask {PM007} by Emma Godfrey to make another background. I then used this background for a journal page. You can see all the backgrounds I made in the photo at the top of this post.

Again I created this in the same way as the other three projects by stamping and stencilling the background. I used PaperArtsy stencil {PS021} and stamps I&D {MN23}, {Man of Numbers2/MON2}.

I added the Man of Numbers and the sentiment along with some doodling along the edges and it was done.

As I said at the beginning, I really enjoyed making the finished projects on the backgrounds I made with the shaving foam and reinkers and it smells divine ! It is very messy though so if you are thinking of doing it make sure you have enough kitchen roll to clean up. I do like the results; my favourites are the blue ones I took after the foam had been sitting for about 4 hours. The foam disintegrates and takes the ink with it, it looks a terrible mess but makes lovely backgrounds. 

Thank you so much for spending some of your time over here at the blog today! I really appreciate it. Please visit me in my other locations too:

blog: www.MadeByCHook.blogspot.nl

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YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/c/CorrieHerriman 

2019 #18 Shaving Foam: Infused marbling with ECF {by Dounia Large}

2019 Topic 18: Shaving Foam

For our first foray into marbling with shaving foam, Dounia has thrown herself into experimenting with Infusions and created some amazing marbled effects with superb stitching too.

Hello everybody, it's Dounia from France with you today, sharing my experiments with shaving foam and Infusions.

I love paper marbling and with shaving foam in particular; a relatively new technique for an ancestral art. I have seen it done with paint and all sorts of inks and wondered if I could make it work with Infusions. They are inks after all ! Here are my findings...

The technique is quite similar to marbling with other media and starts with a nice layer of foam in a plastic tray. I then sprinkled a selection of Infusions on the foam.

During my experiments I learnt that the different colours do not react at the same speed or with the same vibrancy. As I wanted pretty bold colours, I worked with Are You Cerise, Orange County, Golden Sands, Emerald Isle and A Bit Jaded.

As the Infusions are activated by water, I sprayed some on the foam with a fine mister. I then used a ruler to spread the colours. Each clump of powder makes a line, creating the perfect base to add a design with a stick. I often prefer classical marbling patterns and do a lot of feathers or non pareil but more spontaneous and random patterns also work well.

The amount of water you add impacts the pattern. More water creates diffusion and therefore less defined lines. The Infusions contain both powdered colours, (which react first) and walnut stain (which is slower to develop), so the more water you add and the more you work the foam, the more prominent the brown walnut stain will be.

Once happy with the pattern, I carefully placed the paper on the foam and "massaged" it to ensure contact. I then lifted it off the foam and carefully scraped it off. This reveals the pattern but also drags the undissolved Infusions, creating extra lines.

Most of the left over colour accumulates on the end of the squidgy so you need to clean it well and frequently or it will leave marks like here where I stopped in the middle to take the picture!

I like to reuse the foam again and again. With the walnut stain of the Infusions, it gradually turns a lovely brown shade that can be used to contrast with the white of new foam, as seen in some of these examples.

My next idea was to add stamping to the marbling. I had my heart set on this great plate by Courtney Franich, ECF06, as I like somewhat strange and abstract images and I thought the thin and detailed stamps would contrast nicely with the marbling patterns.

I thought the stamps would not really be visible over the marbling however so I made masks in the shape of the leaves and placed then between the foam and the final paper.

The indents left in the foam are really fun, but you cannot really keep them that white because of the dragging effect of the Infusions.

The white spaces left are enough to make the stamping pop whilst looking integrated. The stamping would have been a lot easier with a stamping platform though!

I was hesitating between black and brown ink for the stamps and tried a combo here but finally settled on brown as I though the back was too harsh.

Once I was happy my technique was working, I scaled up to A3 paper. I ended up putting the foam directly on a plastic sheet on the table...

I think marbling is a bit addictive: each print gives you new idea you just need to try so you can only have a full play session and end up with a big pile of marbled papers. I decided to go classic and use mine for a book covering.

One book uses the masked and stamped leaves paper. I really like how the marbling and stamping work together.

For the other book, I used a more randomly patterned paper where I used the brown "recycled" foam. To make the brown spots more interesting, I added the "bubbles" stamp from ECF06.

As they are also papered inside, these books were a good way to put a dent into my marbled papers pile!

I also have all the masking leaves, now marbled, that I have to find a use for!

Paper marbling using shaving foam is a fun and engaging craft and doing it with Infusions creates unique looks easily. Here I used only Infusions but I'm sure they can be mixed with paints or other inks for even more variations and textures for all type of uses. I hope you give it a try!

Stay creative!
Dounia