Salted background

[Tina]

For those interested in my 'Grasstrees' card - thanks for the lovely comments :)
(yes, grasstrees are native to Australia. They are spectacular but grow very slowly, approx 1cm per year. I have seen them over 2m tall and am in awe of them - amazing)

The salted background is done on glossy cardstock, basically you spritz your glossy with water then smoosh your dye inkpad (I use kaleidacolor) onto the cardstock till it's all covered in ink. Spritz again with water to get the colours moving on the glossy, you want them to blend a little but not be too wet. Sprinkle with table salt or chunkier rock salt - either work well and give different effects. Use your heat tool to dry the piece - you will notice the salt changing the visual properties of the ink as it dries. When piece is completely dry, brush off the salt. Stamp, mount and/or use as desired.

Enjoy :) Tina

[Christie]

Very cool!! I'm going to try this as soon as I get more glossy cardstock!!

[emmcee]

This sounds interesting. Need to find my glossy cardstock

[hbpuppy]

Thanks for the tutorial Tina. I love to try new things. I think this one is doable for me.

[Vintagegal]

Tina, your technique is similar to what I do. But, instead of wetting the paper first, I brayer or smoosh my ink pad on the glossy cardstock first. Then, I anchor the corners down with something heavy (the paper will curl once I start spritzing it with water). Then, I scatter rock salt over the paper. After that, I spritz the paper with water. The salt will absorb some of the ink. The paper will want to curl, but if you've got it anchored down very well, it will prevent the curling, and prevent the salt from moving around and smearing (unless that's the look you're going for). Sometimes, I use the rainbow inkpads. Sometimes, I'll use different colors randomly on the paper to get a nice rainbow effect.

[loobylou]

Thanks for the tutorial Tina. i will give it a try
Sarah