I
was thrilled when I opened the May kit. I've wanted to play around with
the parchment pergamano technique. The kit included a Clearprint Vellum
book which contains a form of parchment, so my chance had arrived!
Parchment Pergamano Technique
Pergamano
is essentially a dry embossing technique. Using instruments with
rounded tips you press into the paper as though you were drawing. This
embosses, pushes the paper out on the other side, turning it white. I
decided to gussy up the cover of the vellum book.
Stencils are often used as guides with pergamano so I decided to use the typewriter from the kit.
It's
a bit difficult to describe the process so I'm going to start by
showing you the finished embossing. The Clearprint Vellum book has two
covers, one a heavier vellum (which is desirable for pergamano), and the
other a slick cardstock with printing.
I
placed the stencil on the back of the translucent vellum and ran my
embossing tools in the open spaces so the raised surface would be on the
front of the book. Here you can see how the vellum turns white and is raised.
I
used two different sized ball styluses for most of my embossing. For
the tightest, narrowest places I used the tip of a palette knife, and to
even out the large areas, I used a pencil eraser.
When I was done, this is what the front cover looked like.
Creating Depth
Having
two covers, one of them translucent, gave me the perfect opportunity to
create even more depth. For this part of the project, I used both
Fresco Finish paints, the Fireworks spray mist and the Chalk Edger ink in Pastel Peach, as well as the circle of dots stamp.
With
a waterproof black pen, I sketched in the image of a piece of paper on
the inside cover, and then painted around it with Beach Hut.
I
inked up the stamp with Pumpkin soup and stamped circle all around the
pages, keep the 'paper' clear. I added a second layer of Beach Hut to
the top portion of the page so there would be a 'wall' and a 'desk'
area.
I
always seem to forget to photograph at least one step, LOL. Laying the
vellum cover down so I could see the stamped circles underneath, I took a
waterproof black pen and outlined them. Then I turned the vellum over
and used the pergamano technique to create white outlines.
With a red oil pastel, I colored on the
back side of the vellum, leaving the embossed areas white. I used a paper stump to smooth out the color.
I spritzed the front of the vellum with the Fireworks spray.
And
sponged on some Pumpkin Soup in some areas. I then wiped off most of
the Pumpkin Soup so it just tinted most areas, except where the
Clearprint logo was. I left it dark to help cover the logo, and to be
the base for the dragonfly.
Gluing the Covers Together
Once everything was dry, I used a foam brush
to spread gel medium on the inside cover.
I
pressed the vellum cover down to glue both covers together. While it
was drying, I used the largest ball stylus tip to work beside the
embossed areas so they'd be sure to adhere. I didn't apply too much
pressure though, as I didn't want to leave marks.
I set the book aside and went to work on the 3D embellishments.
Creating the Dragonfly
For
this part of the process, I used a mold that I had already created
using Amazing Mold Putty (for more about that project, check out this
post).
I made a dragonfly knot with waxed thread, mixed even amounts of both
putties, and pushed the putty around the knot, resulting in a shallow
but nicely detailed mold.
To color the dragonfly, I brushed Alumidust Powders into the mold.
I
cast my dragonfly with Amazing Casting Resin, mixing equal amounts of
Parts "A" and "B", and then stirring until all swirls were gone, about
2-3 minutes. I poured quickly – the resin will set within minutes.
My finished dragonfly glowed with color!
For
the wire elements, I placed some gel medium and some Alumidust on my
craft sheet, and dragged the wires through the gel first and then the
Alumidust. I dabbed the gel medium on the wood pieces and used a paint
brush to pick Alumidust and brushed it on.
All
that left was to glue the dragonfly, wood and wire items onto the
cover. Because both the resin and vellum have slick surfaces, I used
E6000® glue to make sure they'd stick and stay on.
List of tools used:
- E6000® Adhesive
- Gel Medium
- Waterproof black pen
- 2 sizes Ball stylus
- Palette knife
- Pencil Eraser
- Make-up sponge
- Foam Brush
- Paint Brush
- Paper Stump
