Monday, May 9, 2016

Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial



Hello all! We had a sudden change of weather and this weekend has been very warm. You can literary almost see the flowers blossoming. Today it is Monday and a new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is up, Emboss It. I love both heat and dry embossing and there are so many different techniques you can do with both of them.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
I decided to go all out for this challenge and made two mini art panels, which are coated with layers and layers of Ranger's Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) and various coloured embossing powders. Recently, I found some magnets that I made 12 years ago, and had coated in UTEE. I think it was the first time I used UTEE and I can pretty clearly remember the evening I made those magnets. So that was the inspiration behind today's project. At first I planned for these to be magnets too, but then I decided that they should rather be mini panels. The stamps I used are by Wendy Vecchi.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
I worked on the smallest of Dina Wakley's Media Boards, which is 3 x3 in. The corners were rounded with my Corner Chomper. The brick background was die cut with Tim Holtz new Mixed Media Set 3. Love those cool bricks. Glue to the board with Distress Collage Medium Matte. This was the first time I used Tim Holtz Collage Brushes and I was impressed with how smoothly the medium was applied, with no pooling anywhere.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
When dry, paint with gesso.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
The images were stamped on tissue paper, since you can't get a detailed impression on such a textured surface. You need to use a waterproof ink for this. I often stamp more images than I need, in case I tear one of them.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
Tear around the images and text. A torn edge disappears better on the background. Apply Gloss multi medium on the board and carefully place the tissue paper on top. Apply a second coat on top of the tissue. Gloss medium makes the tissue paper disappear better than matte medium, particularly on an already coloured background. On this project, you could have used matte medium instead.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
I coated them with a layer of Matte Collage Medium, so that the Distress Crayons would adhere better.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
Colour the boards with Distress Crayons and use your finger to smooth out and blend the crayons. Wipe with a very slightly moist cloth, and only on top of the bricks, to remove some of the colour.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
Stamp with the texture stamp from Wendy Vecchi's Faux Granite-Ware kit. Then give them a coat of Matte Collage Medium, working quickly so that you don't mix the colours too much. The reason for doing this is to prevent them from interacting with the embossing ink and powders.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
Apply embossing ink on one panel at a time and cover with UTEE. Pour the left-overs back into the jar and melt the powder with a heat tool. Be VERY careful with working with UTEE since it gets very hot. Don't touch it! Toss more UTEE on top and repeat this process about 5-6 times. You don't need to apply more embossing ink. If the UTEE cools down too much, just reheat. In the final layer, carefully sprinkle some coloured and glittery powders. Melt as before. Do not touch the panels until the UTEE has cooled down completely.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
 It is very hard to capture the effect of the UTEE. It looks like the panels are coated in a thick layer of vintage melted glass. Very cool. It also adds a lot of depth to the piece. 

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
Here you can see the Cornflower and Snowflake Tinsel powders floating in the top layer of UTEE, creating depth.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
Wendy Vecchi always has such wonderful sentiments in her stamp sets. Here I didn't use the last line of the sentiment, since it fit better in like this.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
Don't sprinkle on too much coloured powder, since it is opaque and will cover up the background. I love the mix of all the four powders here.

 Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
The second panel focuses on this pretty bird stamp and another lovely sentiment. By mistake, I stamped a few dots on the 'in' word, which makes it look like 'ni' instead. Oops.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
It is easy to colour the shapes with the Distres Crayons, and they don't really cover up the stamped lines, as acrylic paint would.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
The Snowflake Tinsel powder contains glitter and white. The specks of white adds highlights to the board. I couldn't quite capture the effect of the glitter on photo.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
Here's a close-up of another of the areas with coloured embossing powders.

Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
You might see the dimensional effect of the UTEE a little better on this photo, with the light reflecting on the UTEE.

 Layers of ink - Mini Art Panels with UTEE tutorial by Anna-Karin. with stamps by Wendy Vecchi, and Tim Holtz Distress Crayons.
These were the original magnets, made 12 years ago. I used both coloured powders, metallic inks and Perfect Pearl powder on these magnets. As you can see, I also stamped into two of them. I skipped that step today, since it would have make it harder to see the details on my boards.  

I hope you will join us in our Emboss It challenge. As every week, you have a chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.

 
If you want to, follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram, they post great stuff daily. 




If you use instagram add #sssmchallenge to your challenge entry uploads, so that we can see them on there too.





Thank you so much for visiting today!

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:





18 comments:

  1. I loved these mini art panels !wonderful colors n textures !

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  2. Fabulous little panels Anna-Karin, I love the step by step instructions and reading what products you used and why, great for a novice like me ;-) The colours and details are so pretty, LOVE them :-)

    luv
    Lols x x x

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  3. I love the techniques you used for your adorable panels, Anna-Karin. I am going to give this technique a try, it looks like so much fun! I love the color combos you used too! Cathie

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  4. These mini panels are so adorable! Love the colors and texture!

    *mwah*
    Steph
    Simon Says Stamp!

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  5. Wow! These are gorgeous. And it was a great tutorial. I liked seeing each step. Love the UTEE and other embossing powders too. :)

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  6. These are gorgeous, Anna-Karin! Love the spring yellows you used - finally we are getting some spring here too. Such a cool effect with the UTEE - I have not used mine in years, and I can see it needs to come out to play again! hugs, Maura

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  7. gorgeous mini art panels...love the colours and the wonderful effect you achieved with the UTEE...hugs kath xxx

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  8. Your little art panels are so cute! I like the colours you used and the techniques. I always enjoy digging out my embossing powders and trying new techniques (and really old techniques with them) They are always so much fun. I have found people that tell me they don't like stamping have been hooked once I showed them how to use embossing powder. lol
    Thanks for sharing your work! Always so full of great inspiration and lessons. :)

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  9. It's FAR too long since I dropped in here... (too much travelling for work), but I'm so glad I caught these marvellous little art panels. The colours and techniques are fantastic - a joy!
    Alison x

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  10. Great tutorial, Anna and these look amazing. It must have been a challenge to photograph but your pics are great and the glass effect is a great way to describe how the UTEE looks. I've never sprinkled colored powders on top and can't wait to try it. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. FAbulous work Anna-Karin! your tutorials are always fantastic, clever and easy to understand! Barbara

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  12. HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEEK sweet girl!!! What a fab step by step Anna-Karin. And so interesting too! I have a whole jar of UTEE and I don't think I ever used it - so you have inspired me!! AND... what a great TREAT to see your VIVIDLY BRIGHT and WONDERFUL mini panels. Perfect way to start my day - you got me in a happy mood!!! XXj.

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  13. Love your gorgeous creation, Anna-Karin. Great tutorial and inspiration! :)

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  14. These are fantastic!!! I love the colors and the power you packed into these mini masterpieces. How fun that we both used the brick die this week and if course I thought your use of it was brilliant!

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  15. This is a truly happy project. The colors make that! I love the small panels and all the texture you gave them. Great results with stamping on tissues. I have to try! Hugs, Marzena

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  16. Fabulous project, Anna-Karin! Love the touches of embossing powder! And I love bricks background! So very pretty! Hugs, Sandra

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  17. Fantastic project Anna-Karin! I would love to have a couple of these around my house!!! xxx

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Thank you so much for leaving a comment! Happy Crafting!