Craft Convergence – Pottery Painting Meets Scrapping

October 10, 2010

For the scrapbook makers Carissa (a staff member at “All Fired Up”) has discovered some fabulous ways to leverage ideas and create original ceramic pieces. Here’s what she told me about blending the two craft crazes — scrapbooking and ceramics.

“Borrowing ideas from the scrapbook store inspires my pottery painting,” she said. “It takes the stress out of coming up with every design element. Designers have color combos, patterns, and characters all at your disposal. A pack of patterned paper provides a color palette. A stamp set inspires a theme and it all converges on a simple piece of pottery.”

Monogram Coffee Mug Theme

Here’s a cookie and coffee mug present she made for her friend Karen. Carissa started with a paper flag, stamped on it and glued the flag to a wooden dowel, so that it would stand in the mug. Then she made a tag for the outside of the mug. To keep with the theme, she baked cookies and frosted each one with a “K” (for Karen). She stacked the cookies in a cellophane wrapper, letting the top of the cellophane fan out of the top of the mug. For a finishing touch she added a ribbon to the wrapping.

“I was delighted in every step in creating it!” Carissa said, “Of course if you are an overachiever, you can even make a handmade card that matches! It’s all in the details!”

Five Stamp Types – Tips and Tricks

Rubber woodblock stamps

Provide the best image quality.
Make sure to use a flat or slightly uneven surface, and rock the stamp very carefully.
Keep the wood block dry so it doesn’t deteriorate it.
Use damp paper towels and a toothbrush to loosen the paint for speedy
effective clean up.

Acrylic clear mount stamps

Work with high quality, deep etched stamps. Hero Arts, Tim Holtz stamps are
great examples.
Mount the stamp on a block to use a flat surface for stamping.
OR stamp on a curved surface like a mug with just the stamp (make sure to
grip it tightly and flatten it evenly on the surface).
Paint can cling to the stamp unevenly. Roughing up the surface can help.
Take a pencil and “erase” the stamp before putting paint on.
To clean up, run the whole stamp under water.

Foam Stamps

Work well for blocks of color, but not for details.
Super easy for kids to use or for a stylized perfectly imperfect look.
Be careful because foam stamps with paint on them will slide.

Un-mounted Rubber stamps

This is just the red rubber part of the stamp. There is no mount and no
block.
Red rubber seems to take the paint the best, in both un-mounted and mounted
form.
The wrap around kind we have at “All Fired Up” work really well.
For the smoothest effect press evenly over the back of the stamp.

Stamping Technique:

Spread a small amount of paint on a tile. Use a sponge to dip into the paint and cover the image. Use a blotting motion over the whole image, and use light tough for clean, clear lines.
With a steady hand carefully place the stamp on the pottery. Firmly press the stamp into the pottery. Rock the stamp back and forth a little, especially the surface is not completely flat.
Press around the edges of the stamp and the middle, too. Do not slide the
stamp, as it will wreck the image. If you use a clear stamp, be careful not to
press too hard when stamping the image. It can distort the image. Practice on a
tile to get an idea of how much pressure to use.

Carissa’s Five Tips For Stamp Success

Allow paint to dry a little and firm up first.
Remember stamped images only get one coat of paint because you can’t stamp
over the image.
Light colors, give a soft look and “hide” small imperfections easily, while
a dark colors will reveal where a stamp may have not been so perfect.
Line images work best for this technique. A solid form will have a difficult
time coming out one hundred percent.
You can paint over an image and make adjustments or start over.

“I’ve found some solid images come out nicely. It will all depend on the stamp.” Carissa said, “Playing with it is half the fun. So don’t be afraid to experiment.”