My Favorite Things Color Challenge
#215
Good day, fellow crafters. Today I present to you my entry into the My Favorite Things (MFT) Color Challenge #215. As always with these challenges we are presented with a color pallet to use, though we aren’t limited to using the exact colors, which is great because once again I found my collection lacking for the exact matches. However I did my best and pressed on and instead of worrying about the exact matching of the colors decided to focus on a new to me technique, the Joesph’s coat technique. This technique grants you the power to create extraordinary and dynamic backgrounds, each one unique and captivating. Whether you're crafting thoughtful greeting cards or personalizing scrapbook pages, this is bound to leave your recipients spellbound. The possibilities are endless, and the results are sure to be nothing short of extraordinary. I hope you enjoy.
The name "Joseph's Coat" likely refers to the biblical story in the book of Genesis about Joseph's coat of many colors, which was known for its rich and diverse hues. The technique borrows from the concept of creating a beautiful, multi-colored effect and how they seem to come to life. The beauty of the Joseph's Coat technique lies not only in its artistic appeal but also in its accessibility. Whether you're an experienced crafter or a curious novice, this creative endeavor welcomes all with open arms. And while it may not demand extensive time and complexity, the results are nothing short of astonishing. The moment you witness the breathtaking interplay of colors, you'll understand why it's called the "wow effect"
To create this card I first started by trying to match the color pallet of the challenge, you can see my final selection of Distress Oxide colors on the left of the image above. Using a piece of white cardstock and my blending brushes I blended a random pattern of the colors across the entirety of the page. Some crafters choose to put their colors only on the stamps and then stamp them, but since I didn’t know exactly how I wanted to place my stamps on the page, I choose this option. Once I was satisfied I set the ink aside to dry completely, around 20 minutes just to be sure. I prefer to allow things to dry as naturally as possible because added heat sometimes causes curling or cracking for some media.
Once it was dry, the next step was to sort through my MFT supply stash and select my stamps of choice. For this project, I settled on the two stamps also seen above, that I would be using. These are the MFT Fresh Foliage (CS-782) and the MFT Tropical Flowers (CS-395) stamp sets. Using the foliage stamps from these sets I covered them in clear embossing ink and then stamped them onto my previously ink-blended cardstock. I next covered them in extra fine clear heat embossing powder and heat set everything.
This is where the magic of this technique comes into play. I next used some more Distress Oxide in the color Soot and covered the entire image. At this point, you are probably saying, well that is stupid because you just covered up your work, but bear with me a second. Once that has been done I used a microfiber towel, I have seen some crafters use a barely damp baby wipe, to wipe the excess Soot off the card. This reveals the beautiful colors I originally ink-blended in the shape of the stamps I used. Against the dark background, it really makes them pop.
The next stage for this card was construction. I trimmed the background panel to its final dimension, as well as a mat made from cardstock that was as close to the suggested Grape Jelly color as I could find. To add a bit of interest I chose a textured cardstock for this. I then adhered them together and mounted them to a pre-cut A2 white card base. I next used the MFT Thinking of You (MFT-2214) die set to cut my sentiment. The cardstock I choose for this step matched as closely as I could to the suggested Grapescile color from the suggested pallet. I then surface-mounted the sentiment directly to the card.
After I had completed the above steps I decided on some more visual interest being required so I picked out some floral stickers and applied them to the card. I then applied some flat-backed gems to represent the flower centers and to give them some shine.
The key to this technique is basically the same one I like to use when I want to watercolor an image, which if you follow my blogs you know I do a lot. The embossing powder, no matter the color, is in reality a thermoplastic and resin material. As you can tell by its name thermoplastic will melt easily with applied heat, like from a heat gun, and will turn from a solid into a liquid. The resin helps to make the thermoplastic nice and stable once it cools down. So once this product is applied, melted, and has cooled back down you have a nice bit of plastic sealing in your design. What makes it work for this technique is that the thermoplastic is also resistant to the inks that you might put on top of it. Think of it like what happens when a crayon is smeared on your wall and you decide to use paint to try to cover it up. If you have ever done that then you know what happens, if you haven’t then what happens is the paint will not stick to the wax and you are left with the crayon still on your wall, and possibly paint runs on your wall. I highly recommend not doing that, though I would highly recommend giving this technique a try and perhaps joining in on the challenge.
